"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Tooth?

The other original Guardians nodded. Tooth was holding Jacks memory box. They were going to watch a single memory from Jacks childhood in order to understand Jack more.

"Remember" she warned, "We will see this but not through Jack's eyes. We will be there but no-one will be able to see us. It will be as if we were there. Also, the most important memory of her child hood may not be the happiest." North, Bunnymund and Sandy nodded to show they understood. Tooth touched the box and the most important memory was revealed.

Jack was on her lake. The original Guardians recognised her even though her hair and eyes were brown. She was about to tie on a pair of ice skates when a crack sounded from behind the Guardians. Jack's head snapped up and she looked through them with a look of fear.

An identical smaller replica of Jack stood wearing ice skates. She looked scared and there was a small web of tiny cracks beneath her feet.

Jack stood up. "Jack I'm scared" the little girl said. Jack took a deep breath then smoothed her face into an obviously forced smile.

"Don't worry Pippa" she said, "You're going to be fine"

The little girl looked at Jack with her brown eyes, "How do you know?" she asked.

"Um... Because we're going to have some fun instead". The Guardians' eyes widened. They remembered Jack saying that to Jamie when they faced Pitch.

"No we're not!" she wailed, looking close to tears.

"Would I trick you?"

"Yes! You always play tricks!"

"Well not this time." Jack said. She took baby steps towards thicker ice. "We're gonna play hopscotch instead, like we do every day."

"1... 2..." She pretended to slip while taking baby steps and made her sister giggle. "3!" Jack jumped onto the thicker ice and grabbed the wooden staff that was on the ice.

"Come on, your turn." Jack crouched down on the ice so she was level with Pippa.

Pippa took a tiny step."That's it!" Jack encouraged. She took another, this time the ice cracked alarmingly.

"3!" Jack cried and

used the staff to pull Pippa away from the cracking ice. The momentum pulled her forward at the same time but she obviously didn't care- her sister was safe. Pippa started to laugh as she realised she was safe. Jack propped herself up onto her elbows and chuckled with her little sister.

Jack started to get up when the ice cracked again. She was on the ice Pippa had been on! The Guardians sucked in a breath.

She gave Pippa a calm stare, "Pippa, I need you to listen to me" the little girl nodded, "sit down carefully and take off your skates." She did what she was told. Pippa looked at Jack with a worried expression.

"Now walk carefully to the edge of the lake and wait there." When Pippa was stood on the bank, Jack slowly pushed herself to her hands and knees. She took deep calming breaths as the ice cracked again. Jack tried to crawl forwards but froze as the ice gave its largest crack yet and she could see some water through a crack. Jack tried to keep her voice steady and said, "Pippa, I need you to do something for me, I need you to scream for help. I need you to say breaking ice, breaking ice, okay?"

North explained to the watching Guardians that for the people who lived near frozen lakes, ponds or rivers, 'breaking ice' meant someone was on ice that was breaking and was a signal for help. Pippa nodded furiously and with a deep breath, started screaming.

The guardians somehow knew that nearest house was thirty metres away and they prayed that the people could get here before the ice gave way.

Jack stayed completely still but they could see the ice was moving slightly beneath her. She gulped. A scream answered Pippa's, it echoed through the trees and the Guardians sighed with relief.

Pippa was still screaming. "Pippa, you can stop screaming now"

The younger girl looked scared and she asked Jack, "Why are you still on the ice?" Everyone looked sadly at the younger sisters' innocent face.

They could tell Jack was thinking. She seemed to have an idea because she forced another smile. "Once, there was a girl" Jack began, "she had a younger sister" Pippa sat down and looked at Jack happily, (Pippa obviously liked stories and didn't know how much danger Jack was in), "and the younger sister was everything to the older sister. She would have done anything for her and wanted to always be there for her... but one day, there was an accident. The two sisters were playing and the younger one was in trouble. To get her out of trouble, the older one swapped places with her." Pippa seemed to be understanding that the two girls were her and Jack. The ice cracked again and a few small pieces broke off from the main sheet covering the lake.

Jack looked away for a minute and took deep breaths. When she locked eyes with her sister again she said, "Pippa, I love you. I'm gonna need you to be careful and always try to be happy. Don't go back to Pa, go live in the orphanage."

The Guardians shared startled looks as Pippa's eyes widened, "No" she whispered, "Jack we need to go home, I want you to look after me!" the ice cracked again and they saw Jack wobble unsteadily on the cracked surface.

"I don't think I'm going to make it home Pippa, I love you" Jack said. They heard shouting, someone was coming.

Pippa looked relieved but Jack let a tear slide down her cheek. It was too late. With a mighty crack the ice gave way beneath Jack.

Jack smacked her head on the ice and managed to grip the edge with her hands as her body tumbled into the water. "JACK!" screamed Pippa, running towards her. Jacks face was on the surface but Jack's body was in the water up to just under her collar bone. Her face was ashen and she had a few more tears running down her cheeks. She kept gasping, she couldn't seem to draw breath, as if the icy water was burning her. Jacks eyes were glassy and unfocused but she looked up at her sister. Pippa grabbed her hand and tried to pull her back up. There were tears streaming down both sisters faces. Jack tried to kick her legs and pull herself out but her movements were sluggish and she couldn't.

Tooth and Sandy were crying heavily whereas North and Bunny were sniffing hard.

The 16 year old let go of the ice with one hand and pushed Pippa back as far as she could-she obviously didn't want Pippa to fall in.

"JACK!" She screamed, "JACK!"

The Guardians saw a light shining in the trees coming closer but Jacks eyes were closing.

They saw the icy water claim her as the ice Jack was holding broke, and the girl sank beneath the waves, not seeing the people running forward onto the ice as the water closed over her head.

It was as if time had suddenly jumped-there were no people around and it was night.

Somehow the Guardians could see through the ice.

Jack's body was suspended in the deep lake. She had stopped sinking but all the warmth from her body had been leached out long ago by the icy water. Her long hair floated around her face. A tooth was floating in the water near Jack. It slowly floated to the surface and travelled through the ice. A small colourful bird picked it up and looked at it sadly. The mini fairy flew away with the tooth.

The Guardians were suddenly in the town.

They watched as the townspeople lit a funeral pyre for Jack, because they would not be able to reach the body till spring. Everyone wept for the young girl who had saved Pippa's life with her own. The funeral speech showed how sorry the people were to see her go; she was the person that kept their spirits up when there was no food and talked with anyone who was lonely. She had been admired for her bravery-she had hunted for her family- and for her kindness. The Guardians cried too. Bunnymund felt guilt racked. How could he have accused Jack of being selfish if she meant this much to the town? How could he have told her she never helped anyone?

The Guardians saw when the moonbeams caressed Jacks face. Her hair turned pure white and her eyes faded to blue. Her eyes fluttered open, and Jack Frost saw the moon for the first time.

The original Guardians were thrown out of Jacks memory. They sat in North's workshop still teary-eyed as they thought about what they had seen.

Author note:

You may not have caught it but here Jack dies when she is 16