A/N: Chapter three already! Oh my god, I just watched ROTG for the sixth time in the last three days…and my roommate and I are planning on watching it again tonight… we're not obsessed!

I should be working on my thesis for graduation…but Jack Frost is too distracting! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! Please take a moment to read the author's note at the end!

Disclaimer: Dreamworks, may I own ROTG? –loud laughter- I'll take that as a no, then.


Chapter 3: Snowy Situations

"We need your help."

It was strange, Jack mused, how four simple words could cause so much tension. Immediately, all the children donned looks of apprehension, determination and fear.

"Is it…him?" Cupcake asked, hands clenching into fists. The Guardians looked at Jack uncertainly, wondering how much to tell them. The other children stared at Jack intently; Monty seemed about to faint.

"Yes, but not like last time." Jack knew better than to sugarcoat the situation, but he was quick to shoot them a reassuring grin. North came up behind Jack, looking resilient and capable.

"Do not worry, children. Pitch has not threatened any of you; he has learned his lesson." The large Russian man smiled fondly as the small children puffed up their chests proudly.

"Wait…" Jamie frowned, thinking. "If he's not after kids, then that means he's going after…"

"Us." Jack supplied, looking inappropriately unconcerned. "No big."

"No big, no big!" Sophie sang, unable to maintain a somber attitude for very long. She stood up and began hopping around like a bunny, laughing at her own footprints. Bunny would have smiled at the sight if he wasn't too busy glaring at Jack. The winter spirit met his gaze and shook his head minutely, signaling that he would explain later.

"So, what do you need us to do?" Jamie asked, slightly confused. Jack turned back to face the kids, looking at their curious faces.

"Remember I told you guys about the Man in the Moon?" Jack began to explain how "Manny" was the one who alerted the Guardians whenever there was an issue, helping to ensure that the children were protected and the Guardians were believed in by communicating through the Moon crystal.

"So, without the Moon crystal, the Man in the Moon can't send you guys off to save kids?"

"Right. We can't monitor the whole world, you know. Manny helps us out with that. And there's the issue." Jack replied, looking at the children. "Pitch broke up the crystal and poisoned it with his dark magic. If we don't get all five pieces together soon, we won't be able to put it back together before the darkness completely ruins it."

"We probably can't do it alone." Tooth added, flying behind Jack and resting her hand on his shoulder. "Pitch may have given the crystal sections to people who won't be able to see us so easily. We might need some help."

There was silence for a moment as the immortals all waited to hear the children's answer. Suddenly, Jamie smiled.

"I'm in."

"Me too."

"Let's kick his butt."

"Kick, kick, kick!"

Jack laughed, twirling his staff as he stood up. "Thanks guys! So, here's the deal. You guys hurry home and eat lunch so your parents don't get suspicious. Then, come back here and we'll begin our search. We have the whole afternoon to look for the crystal, but I'll whip up a few flurries just in case we need a few more snow days." Jack's icy blue eyes sparkled mischievously, making the children giggle. They quickly agreed to the plan and scattered, promising to be back within the hour. Sandy and Tooth waved them off cheerfully, but the moment the kids were out of hearing, Bunny whirled on Jack.

"No big? Listen, frostbite, I get that you don't like being serious, but this is a big deal. Our very existence depends on this mission and you're just writin' it off as nothing…"

"Bunny, I know." Jack sighed, and suddenly he seemed almost as old and wizened as his years would suggest. "They're kids, though. They've already lived through one Pitch attack, and it was hard enough. If we tell them just how bad the situation is, what will that accomplish? It'll just scare them, and I want to protect them from danger as much as possible. If they don't think it's a big deal, then they'll leave when we tell them to leave. Otherwise, they might try to protect us, and it probably won't work out as well as it did last time."

Bunny faltered, realizing that he was right. He nodded once, recognizing that Jack had gone with the best course of action.

"Now about that snow..." Jack smiled, looking as puckish as ever. He stretched his long arms, hearing a satisfying crack as he prepared to take to the sky. Saluting his friends playfully, Jack felt the wind gathering around him. He raced up to the sky, swinging his staff and creating beautiful swirling lines of snow that gently floated through the air. As the others watched from the trees, loud cheers and cries sounded out as the flurries were noticed by a group of teenagers who were walking through the park.

"Oh my god, no school tomorrow!"

"Sweet!"

"Dude, snowball fight!"

"No fair, I wasn't ready! Take this!"

"Eek! That's cold!"

Tooth covered her mouth, trying to stifle a giggle as a teenaged girl squealed loudly and jumped around trying to get snow out of her jacket. The boy who had thrown the snowball laughed, not noticing the dangerous gleam that began to twinkle in the girl's eyes. His open mouth was abruptly filled with snow, and suddenly the high school students were playing just as freely as the elementary kids, whooping and hooting as they stumbled around in the snow.

Bunny ruefully smiled, remembering back when he had first criticized Jack's apparent inability to bring joy to children. An echoing laugh rang through the trees, and they watched as a snowball suddenly pegged one of the students in the back. Then Jack was back, lounging on a branch above their heads. He chuckled as he watched the mayhem unfold, one leg swinging lazily.

"Was this really necessary?" Tooth asked, trying to look disapproving. Jack nodded demurely at her, though his eyes sparkled mischievously. Sandy laughed silently, occasionally throwing a snowball to instigate further retaliation while North coughed to cover up his guffaws.

"That was fun." Jack declared, looking proudly at the chaotic situation. He hung his staff from the tree limb and swung backwards out of the tree, flipping in midair so he could land on his feet. He kicked the tree expertly, catching his staff as it fell from the branch.

"Anyway, that should give us at least another day to look for the crystal. I can always whip something up later tonight to make sure."

"Good thinking, Jack. But now, we plan. How should we look for crystal?"

They all pondered this, offering suggestions that ranged from splitting up (too dangerous) to asking the kids to spy (too risky). Eventually, Sandy raised his hand, using his sand to make images of little fairies.

"Good idea, Sandy!" Tooth whistled sharply and about a dozen little fairies zoomed over to her.

"Alright girls, listen up." Tooth began to describe what she wanted her helpers to look for, and soon the little feathered creatures flew off to scout out the area.

"Now, let's see…" Jack began to pace, trying to remember if there was anything they forgot to deal with. "Claude and Caleb have to go to the dentist tomorrow afternoon, Monty has piano lessons at four, and Sophie goes to daycare from two until six every day. So, we'll just have to work around that."

"How do you know that?" Tooth asked, amazed.

"Simple," Bunny snorted. "Frostbite spends all his time goofing off with the little ankle-biters instead of handling serious business like the rest of us."

"That's not true!" Jack protested mildly. "I could do that for anyone young enough to be a potential believer in Burgess. Not just the kids."

"Oh really?" Bunny asked. "What about the sheila in the green jacket?"

"That's Missy. She's in the art club at Thaddeus High School, and every Wednesday she stays after school to work on her oil paintings. She likes to paint the snow."

"What about tall child, there?" North pointed to a gangly youth who had just narrowly dodged a snowball.

"That's Ethan, he's also at Thaddeus. He isn't in any clubs, but he does work at the grocery store. He's saving up to buy some sort of fancy computer. He wants to make movies one day."

Sandy pointed towards a short, subdued girl who was sitting on a bench across the way.

"That's Lily. She's very quiet, but nice. She is homeschooled, but she gets along with the other people in the neighborhood pretty well. She and Missy are best friends. Lily wants to be a writer."

"Mate, how do you know all this?" Bunny wondered, looking between Jack and the mortals. Jack shrugged.

"Nothin' else to do, sometimes. I mean, I couldn't talk to anyone for three hundred years… you get pretty good at observing people with that much practice. I live in Burgess, so I know the people here pretty well. Like Missy usually has paint on her face, or the school bus doesn't stop at Lily's house. Little things like that are pretty universal, so I'm able to figure stuff out about people even if I don't really know them."

Bunny nodded, silently thinking that it was surprising how observant the normally obnoxious troublemaker was. Jack turned back to the teenagers, watching as they broke down into laughter. Slowly, they all stood, brushing snow off their backs, and continued walking through the park. Lily joined them, talking quietly with Missy as the large group passed by the invisible guardians.

A few minutes after the park emptied, their young friends all came racing back. As they plopped down in front of the guardians, they eagerly asked what they were supposed to do next. Before they could answer, one of Tooth's fairies came hurtling towards her queen.

"You found a shard? Where?" The whole group watched in silence as the little pixie squeaked and chirped.

"You say it is with a woman named… Joyce Franklin?"

"Miss Joy?" Sophie looked up at the little fairy, green eyes opened wide. Everyone looked at the little girl, then stared at Jamie, who had covered his face and groaned.

"Who is Joyce Franklin, Jamie?" Jack asked, wondering why the boy suddenly looked so annoyed.

"Joyce Franklin is Sophie's daycare teacher. Good luck getting her to believe in you guys… she's been surrounded by kids for so long that she basically just tunes fairytales out. Sophie's gotten into so many fights about you guys with that lady. She just won't believe."

Everyone looked dismayed at this. Teachers, especially those in daycares, were used to ignoring the fantastical ramblings of young children. It would be difficult to make one of them believe in something that they spent so much time ignoring.

"Well…what if instead of just telling her, we also give her a little show?"

Everyone looked at Jack, who had begun smiling roguishly. Tooth sighed and Bunny groaned, recognizing Jack's troublemaker expression.

"Here's what we do…"


A/N: Okay, chapter three done! I hope you guys like this chapter; it was hard for me to write. I know this is kind of like a filler chapter, but the real action will start next time, promise!

I didn't really get any reviews for the last chapter… I think the guy who told me it only takes forty seconds to review gave me another one… He has given me eighty seconds of his life, people. That makes my day! Please, please, just take a second to review. Otherwise, I won't know if I'm doing something wrong or if there is a mistake. Let me know what you think, okay?

Love, frost and wind,

JA