Chapter 3 - Introductions

She made the drinks. Jack had no idea how to use any of the controls, and well, after that incident with Jamie's microwave, and his mom's laptop, he was hesitant to really deal with anything technological.

Still, she could have asked what he wanted! Dang crazy woman not even asking his preferences. But then, he did suppose kidnappers were more concerned with their needs – possessing people – and not what the possessed person wanted. What if he wanted what she was drinking? That, orange, bubbling drink? Granted he didn't know if it was was bubbling because of carbonation or because it was, well boiling. For all Jack knew, she could be drinking liquid fire. She was a fire alien after all.

Suddenly, Jack was thrilled with his glass of water. Even if it tasted a bit funny.

"Are you gonna take me home now?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's a relief! Why'd you kidnap me?"

She rolled her eyes. "I did not kidnap you, you belong with me. You've simply been missing for centuries."

Ri~ght. "Look, I know I still don't have all my memories, but I can guarantee you, you don't appear in a single one of them."

"You don't have all your memories? That would explain why you freaked out earlier."

"Excuse me?! You just showed up out of no where and brought me here and started talking in your gobbledygook. Anyone would freak out!"

"It's not gobbledygook! It's Verbal! Your people used to speak it all the time with mine. Our species worked in harmony. Surely if you don't remember me, you must remember others of my kind."

"No."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Your memory must be full of gaps. Do you even know your true name?"

"True name?"

"In your own tongue."

"English?"

"English? Don't tell me you've forgotten how to speak Soneta. Well, good thing these translators still work. Same question. What is your true name? The name you were born with."

"Jackson Overland."

She wrinkled her nose. "That's very unusual for your kind."

"Why? Cuz it's not related to my job?" He supposed the other spirits had names that had some link to their function. Mansnoozie, snooze. Toothiana, tooth, Bunnymund, bunny, North...North Pole?

"Yes."

"Well, I usually go by Jack Frost. Cuz, you know," he tapped the end of his staff on the ground and the metal plating found itself cover in frost ferns.

"Still, rather odd. Though I suppose some of your kind had names relating to the cold and darkness of space."

Some of his kind? Crazy and rude.

"Do you have a name too?"

"Oh, Daddy would be so ashamed, forgetting my manners in my excitement in meeting you. I'm Seraphina Pitchner, but no one's called me that in ages."

"What do they call you?"

"The AI calls me 'Miss'."

"Do you want me to call you 'Miss?'"

"Don't be silly. Sera is fine. Now," she set her drink down and returned to the habit of invading personal space.

Sera placed her hands on either side of Jack's head, moving it back and forth. "It would help immensely if you actually had all your memories. Well, we'll see what I can do."

"You can retract memories?"

"Well, yes. Maybe. Depends on the brain."

Jack wasn't entirely sure wanted Crazy Sera poking around in his brain, but well. His teeth had given him very few memories considering he had been human for a full fourteen years. Okay, maybe he shouldn't count years one to three cuz who remembered anything from then. So, eleven years of memories. Jack figured if you stitched all the memories he had into a movie, it would be exactly one hour, thirty seven, and eleven seconds long.

Not much to show for all those years.

"This won't hurt, will it?" He asked, relenting to her pulling as she led the way to a different part of the ship.

"Maybe? I mean, well, it shouldn't, but this ship is older than me. Not that I'm very old. Maybe eight million? No where near the age of change, I'm maybe only half way there. But well, if everything is in working condition this won't hurt at all! Except maybe if you did something to your own brain to make you forget." She shoved him in a chair and Jack watched with horror as she pulled a helmet from the wall.

"And what if someone else hid my memories?"

"Well, if he wanted them gone forever, than this is going to hurt."

The helmet slammed down on his head, he heard a flip switch, and then his mind was full, bursting with color and sounds and images, changing too fast for him to pick anything out, no focus or anything to ground him, Jack felt like he was spinning and spinning while at the same time falling and flying, and vaguely he wondered if this was what Jamie felt like when the kid complained from too much homework, too much information stuffed into his head, a brain freeze, where things turn painful and then shut down because it's too much, too much at once and...

The next thing Jack could fully understand was the space toilet under his hands (which really was just a hole in the ground) and the heaving his stomach was doing. Ugg, worse than when he tried to see how long he could stand on the Equator.

Crazy Sera couldn't even let him feel awful in peace. "Did it work? Did it hurt? Do you remember Verbal now? Or Soneta? What about the Lunanoffs?"

"Please, just, shut up. And get me a glass of water."

With a huff, she walked away. When she returned, she forced the glass into his hand hard enough water spilled over the sides. It froze when it came in contact with Jack's skin.

Sera prodded at the frozen water while Jack concentrated on rinsing out his mouth. He was surprised that the contact didn't result in water running down his wrist. Maybe she could control her fire touch. He could think of a few elementals that couldn't, much to his displeasure. But maybe there was a difference between being someone magical, an embodiment of an element, and just being an alien with powers over an element.

"So, did it?"

"I, I think so. My brain feels so full, it's hard to say. But I certainly feel as if things are missing less. I can...I can remember my mother! All of my memories before were of my sister and the other kids. But there she is! Standing on the ship. And...Dad! Wow, I...Olivia and I obliviously take after Mom."

"What about language?"

Jack tried to stop her from ripping off the translator. To no avail. She said things in two different languages, but Jack didn't understand either of them.

"Look," he said, slipping the headband back on. "I didn't forget those languages, I never knew them. Heck, I was born on Earth and have never left it since you showed up at Sandy's and...are you even listening to me?"

The ship shuttered and Sera jumped to her feet. "We're here, we're here, we're here!"

"Where's here?"

"You wanted to go home, and so here we are! Come on, lets get ready to disembark, you'll love it."

Of course he would love it. He was very fond of Earth, missed it dearly and as interesting as this trip had been once the headache disappeared and his thoughts settled he would be very glad Sera helped him get his memories. But he would be very, very happy to leave her company.

A/N: Personal note, I named Jack's sister after the actress who voiced her. Cuz I don't know if she has a name and my rare Internet time is better spent posting chapters than researching for them. I think anyway.