Freeze Time

"Tempus enim non cessat. Time stops for no man Jack Frost."

Chapter 1

A Chance Coincidence

Though no one could hear it, the sound of laughter filled the streets of a southwestern town while snow and ice began to blanket the quiet neighborhoods. It was mid December and the Guardian of Fun always liked to make this particular area of the world just a little colder than it should be—after all, the kids in this area rarely got to see snow, so why not let them have a day or two of fun? Jumping from building to building, Jack Frost grinned as he watched the snow he create dance around the street lights and stick to the ground to make the streets cold and icy; the kids were going to have quite the surprise when they woke up! Leaping to a nearby pole that housed a large faced clock, Jack balanced himself atop it, his bare toes curling around the metal as he squatted down to inspect his handiwork. Frost spread down the metal pole in intricate; creating fern-like patterns that covered the face of the clock while icicles began to form at its base. Looking around, he smiled at the fresh layer of snow that was upon the ground and then to the sky, where more snow continued to fall. It was going to be a lovely snow day in the morning, and Jack couldn't wait to see the fruits of his labor.

It had been a good ten years since his initiation as a Guardian, and as such children all around the world had begun to believe in him. They laughed as they played in the snow that Jack Frost "nipped their noses"—it was a wonderful feeling, to be believed in. Giving a contented sigh of relief, he looked around the cool night sky, and found that the moon was just barely peeking through the clouds he had created. The soft light of the crescent moon bathed his face like a warm caress, and Jack just couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. The Moon had always watched over him, even if silent.

"What do you think Manny? Think I did a good job with this one?"

The moon was silent, but Jack kept talking anyway; it was perhaps habit that he kept talking to the moon, even though it barely replied.

"Yeah, I thought so too. It's a pretty nice snow day I've made. I mean, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think I really knocked this one out of the park."

Jack chuckled, looking up right as the moon was hidden behind some clouds, but that wasn't the thing that caught his interest. The Northern lights were shining in the distance, and though they didn't happen naturally this far south, Jack knew what they really meant. North was calling the Guardians together.

"Oh no," Jack whispered as he leapt from the telephone pole and called for the wind to give him speed on his journey towards the North Pole. When North last summoned the Guardians, Pitch nearly took over the world and plunged it into darkness—whatever was going on, it wasn't good.

Jack arrived at the North Pole in just under a day: the Wind had done a marvelous job getting him there quickly. Flying into the open observatory at the height of the Workshop, Jack had to duck out of the way quickly as a few planes and other flying devices whizzed past his head. The workshop was in full swing; the Yetis were working overtime to make sure that the demand for toys was met this year. It was a stressful time of year, honestly—at least for the other guardians. North was busy monitoring the Yetis' work on the Christmas toys, Tooth was busy collecting teeth that had become lodged in Christmas chocolate, Sandy was busy making sure that every child was having good dreams, and Bunny was busy preparing thousands upon thousands of eggs and other goodies for Easter. It was another time when the Guardians were all hard work and deadlines, something Jack honestly couldn't understand. While they were busy doing their jobs, he was out causing mischief and snow days—it still baffled Jack as to how he became a Guardian in the first place.

Landing softly on the plush red carpet, Jack looked around the area and found that the Elves were busy shuffling with treys of eggnog and cookies, Bunny was warming his feet by the fire and painting a few eggs, Tooth was hovering about the place giving orders to her little fairies, and Sandy was enjoying a nice big cup of eggnog. To Jack's surprise, none of them looked very happy, neither one really smiling and each looking pensive and reserved. This was normal for Bunny, but usually Tooth and Sandy were bursting at the seams with joy. Something was definitely wrong, though perhaps it was just stress—Jack hoped it was stress. Leaning against his staff in the middle of the room, he just watched the other Guardians; his eyes darted now and then to the Globe of Belief as if trying to discern the cause of the grey mood that had seemed to settle over the usually jolly Workshop. The peace was short lived however, as Bunnymund quickly got sight of Jack and bounded up and got right into his face.

"Where the blue blazes have you been, mate? We've been waiting on you!"

To say that Bunny sounded tense was an understatement: it was more angry than annoyed, which caught Jack only slightly by surprise. He was used to being on the receiving end of Bunny's anger, but this time it seemed a bit more tense. Chalking it up to nerves, Jack just shrugged it off with a grin.

"Someone had to bring winter joy to the kids, Cotton Tail. Relax, I'm here at least."

Looking around, Jack tried to figure out why they were called, but still nothing seemed to stick out to him. Glancing back at Bunny, who was fuming in his fur, Jack just gave him an innocent smile,

"So, what's the occasion? I can't imagine we were all summoned here for cookies and eggnog."

Bunny didn't seem to have a retort this time—in fact, he looked as confused as the Jack. Raising an eyebrow, Jack looked to Tooth, who was still giving orders to the others, lost in her own little world as work consumed her. Sandy, on the other hand, had moved closer and was standing at Jack's side; his small warm hand tugged up at his sweater. Looking down at the round little man, Jack smiled and nodded. "What's going on Sandy, any idea why we're here?"

A small question mark made of sand appeared over the round man's head, signaling that he also had no idea what was going on. Jack furrowed his brow, his confusion mounting. He looked around in search for the Guardian of Wonder, but he was nowhere in sight; however, his voice could be heard echoing through the workshop. He was barking orders to the Yetis and scolding the Elves for always tripping him when he walked. Large footsteps echoed through the wooden house as North stomped his way towards the others, his face set in a serious expression as he eyed the other Guardians. He seemed to give a slight nod upon seeing each one of them—four nods for four other Guardians. Stopping in the middle of the room, North nodded once more to Sandy, who had approached him; the two began to converse about something Jack couldn't really hear, but he could see the little symbols above Sandy's head form. First a he formed the Aurora Borealis, and then the profile of Pitch, and finally a question mark; North just shook his head, saying something too hushed for Jack to hear.

Lifting his staff and resting it on his shoulder, Jack meandered up to North, one hand stuffed in the front pocket of his sweater as he looked up at the imposing Guardian. When North failed to look at him, Jack spoke up. "So what's going on, North? Is something going on? Is something going on?"

North shook his head and began to speak, but Jack quickly cut him off. "Is it Pitch? Is Pitch back? I swear if he comes back I will send him back into the shadows myself!"

Before North could respond or even form a coherent thought, Jack flew up towards the Globe of Belief, floating around it, his large blue eyes searching over the twinkling little lights and seeing if anything was going on with them. None were fading, but Jack continued to scrutinize them. Questions continued to tumble out his mouth, barely allowing anyone else to speak." Where is he? Is he harming someone somewhere? Where is he North I swear I'll send that no good, rotten -"

"JACKSON OVERLAND FROST!"

North's booming voice rang through the Workshop, his thick Russian accent adding a certain menacing quality to his tone. For the first time Jack saw North annoyed: a serious look was on his features, his brow had pulled together and his shoulders were tense. The booming command had caused Tooth to quiet herself and land softly on the ground near Bunny, who was looking between North and Jack with a confused look. Sandy was wide eyed with shock at the sudden outburst from the usually jolly North. Keeping his mouth shut, Jack slowly floated back to the cool tile, his bare toes causing a bit of frost to form, while his expression became one of bitterness. What was that for, all he did was ask a few questions. Unable to really stop himself, Jack asked through gritted teeth, "Why did you summon us here North? I want answers."

When North opened his mouth to answer, footsteps sounded from the floor above them, effectively silencing the large Guardian. They weren't as heavy as North's but they made a definite sound, and every now and then there was the click of what Jack could only assume to be a cane. All five Guardians looked above to where the footsteps were going, their eyes following the sound as the footsteps made their way to the balcony behind North. After a few moments a figure appeared, a grin on his bearded face.

"North didn't call you here Jack Frost. I did."