Author's Note: With all the time traveling in the Companion series, there were a few spaces in time that I didn't get to cover, but were only vaguely eluded to. I have a series of one shots that will hopefully fill in those gaps, and make some things a bit more clear. We start with the first time Jack met Hiccup and Merida, one year after being resurrected into a winter spirit. For our vikings, it's been about four to five years since they returned to the past in "Stone-Age Companions."

Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, Brave, Rise of the Guardians, Frozen, Tangled, Epic, or any other stories or characters mentioned within. The original Hiccstrid children were of my own imagination, until the third film came out. I changed their names and ages to reflect the canon, but kept Cecilia in there because I liked her character.


Merida crouched in the snow-laden bushes, her bow at the ready. Beside her, Hiccup lay flat on the ground, looking through his new binoculars he had invented, shivering but completely oblivious to the creature behind him.

"Hiccup," Merida hissed. "Tell your dragon to crouch down low and be inconspicuous, would ya? He'll give us away!"

Hiccup turned around and looked at Toothless, who was sitting like a dog and sniffing the air excitedly.

Toothless, Hiccup said in his mind. What are you doing? I thought you came back to help us hunt the new dragon?

I did, but it's not a new dragon, Toothless said. It's not a dragon.

What is it, then?

The dragon twitched, agitated. I recognize it but I don't know.

Dangerous?

No. It smells like a friend.

"Toothless says it's not a dragon, it's a friend."

"Who?" Merida asked, raising her voice a little. "We're miles from town. One of the Guardians?"

Suddenly Toothless jumped over them and the bush. He ran, well, more like waddled, through the forest. Hiccup and Merida followed suit, running lightly on the fresh snow. They ran for only a minute or so when Toothless stopped abruptly. Sniffing, he looked around, then up.

Jack! he said excitedly, looking up at the trees.

Hiccup followed his gaze, unbelieving. There, perched in dark limbs of a pine tree, was their old friend Jack Frost. But his clothes were brown, old and tattered. His blue eyes were wide with fright.

No, Hiccup decided. That couldn't be. Not Jack Frost.

But it was true. His staff slowly lowered and pointed at Toothless.

"Easy, Jack!" Merida stepped between them. "'E won't hurt yew."

"Who are you?" Jack demanded. "Why were you hunting me?"

"Um, Merida, put your bow away," Hiccup suggested. "We thought you were a new species of dragon. Sorry."

"Who are you?" he asked again. The suspicion melted into curiosity. "How can you see me?"

"We're Guardians," Merida explained. "Immortal spirits like you."

"You mean like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy? The Easter Kangaroo?"

"Well, yes. Sort of. My name's Hiccup, Guardian of Trust, and this is..."

"I don't care," Jack interrupted. The air around them dropped ten degrees.

"Ok," Merida said. She swung up into the branches and sat next to him. In response, Jack flew across to another tree. "What's wrong? You're Jack Frost, Mr fun and friendly guy."

"Ah, so you've heard of me?" He smirked at them.

I'm so confused, Toothless whimpered. Why is he like this?

Relax, bud. This is before he meets us.

"I have," Merida was saying. "And I've wanted to meet you for the longest time. I'm Merida, Guardian of Courage and Hiccup's cousin. I don't suppose you've heard of us?"

"Nah, I'm new at being a spirit. I only know the big shots so far."

"Really?" Hiccup asked as Merida fumed. "How long have you been around?"

"Only about a year," Jack replied casually. "Long enough to get a reputation."

"A good one," Hiccup pointed out.

"Ha!" he laughed coldly. "Only for you apparently. Everyone else hates me."

"And why's that?" Hiccup asked.

"You don't know?" Jack stared at them.

"Well, we're pretty new at this, too. It's only been a few years for us."

"I, erm, accidentally froze the Sandman's dreams one night. And fell into the Easter Kangaroo's tunnel and may have filled half of the other tunnels with snow. In the same night."

"One night?"

"I was still learning how to use my powers. It took me awhile."

"So," Merida interjected, finally rejoining the conversation. "They hate you because at one point in your life you couldn't control your powers?"

Like Elsa, Toothless said, perking up.

Like father, like daughter, Hiccup agreed.

"And destroyed their stuff. They were pretty mad. They won't hold a grudge forever, right?"

"No, no. Not forever," Hiccup promised.

"Uh, let me rephrase that. They won't hold a grudge long, right?"

"Well…" Merida said, drawing it out.

"Great, I'm an outcast forever. I'll never get in."

"That's not true," Hiccup said. "Not never, just a while. Bunny is pretty stubborn."

"Who's bunny?" Jack asked, snickering. Suddenly his expression changed from mocking to interest. "Have you ever talked to the Moon?"

"As in the Man in the Moon? Of course, lots of times," Merida said.

"But, like, has he ever replied back? Or talked to you first?"

"Occasionally. Not, like, every day or anything like that," Hiccup admitted. "But every now and then if we need to do or know something important."

"Hasn't 'e ever spoken to you?"

"One time, two words. My name." Jack looked at the ground. "And he hasn't spoken since."

"Well, don't give up hope. The Man in the Moon is really mysterious to everyone. Nobody knows everything about him. It may be years before he says anything else to you," Hiccup said.

Several hundred, Toothless added.

Hush.

"Oh," Jack said, disappointed. Around them, thick, grey snow began to fall.

"Has no one really talked to you aboot this before?" Merida asked.

"Nobody will let me near them. I've tried to get into the North Pole before, several times, but apparently there are these huge yetis that mean business. Seriously, the guy is Santa Claus. You'd think he'd be a little more open. And yet, like all the others, he closed me out. Because he thinks that I can't control my powers. But it's not true!"

But at that moment, snow began to spurt from his staff, shooting out so powerfully that Jack actually flew backwards several feet. Merida leapt from the tree and landed on a fresh pile of snow next to Hiccup. Toothless jumped over them protectively as a two foot snow drift covered the entire island of New Berk and Jack flew upwards into the sky. Toothless' nostrils glowed blue and his body grew hotter. It was hotter than a Monstrous Nightmare, but his body didn't catch on fire. Finally the snow around them melted, and they could see again.

"Jack!" Hiccup called.

But their friend was nowhere to be seen.

"Should we wait for him?"

"I don't think he'll be back for awhile," Hiccup said. "Not after he lost control like that. Come on, let's get back to New Berk and see how it fared with the snow fall. Literally."

"But do you think he'll ever come back?" Merida asked as they mounted Toothless and took to the sky.

"Of course he will. We're the only ones who've ever been nice to him in his whole first year. He'll come back."

Merida sighed. "I miss them."

"Me, too. But now we have other things to focus on, like digging New Berk out of the snow."

Merida snorted. "I think Astrid takes top priority for yew. Look at 'er."

She pointed and Hiccup winced. Astrid was standing on the roof of the chief's house with Valka and four-year-old Nuffink. Nuffink looked pretty happy, but his mother, with hands on her hips, looked very cross.

"Hiccup! Tell me you didn't have something to do with this?"

"I didn't, I promise," he said as Toothless landed next to them. "It was Jack."

"Jack Frost…" Astrid breathed. "Is he with you?"

"No, he flew off. But he'll show up soon enough."

"Jack Frost!" Nuffink exclaimed, jumping up and down in the snow. His scraggly blonde hair stuck to his cold face, but his green eyes looked up at his father warmly.

Hiccup picked him up. "That's right, Jack Frost! You may get to meet Uncle Jack soon now. Would you like that?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" he said, reaching over and petting Toothless.


The chance came sooner than they realized. Two weeks later, Astrid looked up from clearing the table and gasped. Jack was sitting on the windowsill. Hurriedly, she unlatched the window and let him in, calling Hiccup and Merida, who had come to visit, from the other room.

"So…you can see me?" Jack asked. "That's cool."

"Hiccup told me about you," Astrid said casually.

Hiccup, Merida, and seven-year-old Zephyr came in quickly, Merida holding three-month-old baby Cecilia.

"Jack Frost!" Nuffink exclaimed immediately. The young boy looked up in awe, while Zephyr scurried to hide behind her mother.

Jack was taken aback. "Hi," he said shyly, not sure who to look at.

"Welcome back," Hiccup said warmly.

"Sorry I flew off earlier," he blurted. "And covered you whole village in snow."

"We're used to it," Astrid said. "We're glad you're back. You're welcome any time."

"That's good…can I stay here for awhile?"

"Absolutely!" Hiccup said. "Wait, is something wrong?"

"No, not wrong. I just need a few days to hide from the Easter Kangaroo. I might have made him a little bit mad earlier today."

"Och," Merida scoffed. "That's wasn't a good move."

"I was just having some fun," Jack insisted. He turned his attention back to Nuffink. "Do you like to have fun?"

He nodded excitedly, unable to speak in front of his hero. Jack grinned and made it snow inside. Everyone looked around laughed, even the grown ups. Cecilia felt the snow on her face and woke up. Her hand waved wildly, and each time they touched a snowflake she laughed.

"Are these your kids?" Jack asked.

"Mine and Astrid's," Hiccup said proudly. "That's Zephyr hiding behind Astrid, and this little rascal is Nuffink. Merida's holding our newest, Cecilia."

"Can she see me, too?" Jack asked, looking down at the baby as Hiccup took her back from Merida. "I mean, I never know with babies. I really only know when they move on their own. If they go through me, they don't."

"Well," Hiccup said slowly, looking at Astrid. "No. Cecilia can't see anything. She's blind."

"Oh." Jack looked around the room somewhat awkwardly.

"You can sleep anywhere you like," Astrid said.

Without a word, he began flying around the house, and had disappeared. Astrid took a deep breath.

"300 years really changed him," Hiccup said quietly.

"No kidding," Astrid said.


Hiccup and Merida found Jack curled up in the most unlikely spot. He was nestled in between Toothless' legs and wings on the hot stone. A strange place for a winter spirit, but he seemed somewhat comfortable, although he was still as tense now as he was when awake, and he held his staff out defensively.

He wants a friend so badly, Toothless said.

I thought you both were asleep, Hiccup said, slightly startled.

Barely. He's too scared to sleep deeply. But, it's a start. I'll stay here a few more days until he settles down.

Are you sure? What about Luna and the kids?

They can manage without me for awhile. They'll be fine.

And so it begins, thought Hiccup.