"It's not a matter of whether or not I trust him," Bunny insisted angrily.

A couple yetis paused in their work and looked nervously over. The Guardians had convened at the North Pole after their failed attempt at stopping the Pied Piper's abductions. Or at least, most of them had returned there. Jack had left dejectedly, without a word to the others. Nobody knew where he'd gone and Bunny had been quick to offer a theory, one that was not a matter to be discussed anywhere but North's workshop.

"It is entirely a matter of whether or not you trust him," North countered, his voice just shy of roaring through the workshop. "Jack learned before that talking to Pitch brings nothing good. He fought Pitch with us. He was the reason we were able to stop Pitch last time and now you think he would go talk to him about this? No. Is nonsense."

"What do you guys think?" Bunny asked, looking to Tooth and Sandy. Tooth shrugged, looking guiltily to Sandy to see if he shared the doubts that had been gnawing at the back of her mind as well.

"It's just... how did he know the Pied Piper's name? Who else would know that name?" she asked. It wasn't an accusation though, it was like she was desperately hoping that North could offer any explanation other than the one she had come up with.

Sandy shrugged, showing a picture of an opened book. But Bunny shook his head, tossing the theory aside.

"Researched it? Jack Frost open a book? I don't think so. He didn't know anything when we talked to him before we left, he left before all of us and he got there last. What do you think, he stopped at a library? Nah, that doesn't add up," Bunny said. "I think we all know where he stopped in."

"Jack wouldn't do that," Tooth said, but it was clear that she was saying it to convince herself more than anyone else. Bunny looked back sympathetically. It wasn't something he wanted to think about either, but if it was true, then they needed to deal with it before it got out of hand. Jack rushed into things, it was in his nature to do things without thinking or telling people.

"Someone's got to talk to him about it," Bunny said. Sandy was the first to raise his hand, a good-natured smile on his face, but North shook his head.

"Matter is complicated enough with words, Sandy. It would not be playing to strengths," North said. Tooth had been staring ahead of her pensively until now but she felt North's eyes rest on her.

"I'll go," she said. She rubbed her arms as though any amount of the cold outside could make it into North's enormous workshop. She was dreading the talk she was about to have, but Bunny was right. It was an unfortunate necessity.

Jack was in Burgess, sitting up in a tree branch near the lake that marked home for him. Frost had iced its way over the bark during the hours he'd been sitting there, watching the frozen water as though if he stared at it long enough the answer would appear there like an oracle. Nothing changed on the icy surface though and time was slipping uselessly away.

They had failed. They had been toyed with and tossed aside, but it was more than that. It was everything about this kid, this Piper, that had Jack's thoughts knotted up. He was a kid, it just seemed like he didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't evil, he was just a kid with no parents and no one to show him that he was doing something wrong. But he was also powerful. He'd kicked them right back out of his home without a thought, it was like trying to sneak into the North Pole all over again, except this time there was a heck of a lot more at stake. The kid thought the kids he took were his friends, he just needed to not feel alone...

"Jack?" Tooth's voice pulled Jack out of his thoughts and he looked up to the vibrant colors of the Tooth Fairy as she hovered just above him.

"Hey, Tooth. What's up?" he asked. She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes and her arms were crossed worriedly over her chest. She only did that when there was something she was afraid to say.

"Just wondering where you'd gone is all," she said. Jack paused a moment, giving her a second in case there was anything else she wanted to add to that.

"Here," he replied. "Just trying to get a moment to think straight, try to brainstorm about this Piper kid."

"You couldn't have done that with the rest of us?" she asked quietly, looking a lot more hurt than he had expected. What was going on here?

"Well, I mean I wanted to. I just didn't want to go into it not having anything to go off of. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. She was looking less comfortable by the minute.

"Jack, how did you know Piper's name?" she blurted. His gaze snapped straight to her, a sinking feeling in his gut. He'd said that. He'd said Piper's name and he'd had no way of knowing it back then... And now Tooth was looking at him as though she were hanging on his every word. He was lost for them though, he didn't know what to say. He'd been caught in the middle of a secret he shouldn't have kept.

"Jack?" she said again, hope slowly being overcome with disappointment. It was painful to see and he wanted to stop it with his whole being and he couldn't.

"I... I asked. I didn't know what else to do, Tooth!" Jack admitted.

"Oh, Jack. You went to Pitch?" she asked, but it was as if asking it physically hurt her to say.

"It was only for a second. He's still trapped. I only found out the name and that was it. I left just after!" he insisted, but the damage had already been done and it couldn't be undone. He'd gone to their enemy for help, to the person that had kidnapped all Tooth's precious fairies and stolen the teeth she had spent eternity collecting, to the person that had put everything she cared about in jeopardy. And the worst part was that this wasn't even the first time he'd done this to her.

"I'm sorry," he said, but the words were hollow and meaningless just then. Tooth shook her head.

"Jack, you went to Pitch for help. Were you that sure that we wouldn't be able to fight this on our own?" she asked and the silence as he fumbled for words stretched on until she broke it. "And what about now? Do you trust us at all?"

"Of course I do!" Jack replied instinctively. He'd seen them fight off Pitch before. He knew they'd been protecting the hopes and dreams of children for centuries longer than he'd even been alive. He knew that the moon himself believed that the Guardians were the best chance the world had. But he couldn't stand the thought that any kids would be threatened. And he couldn't stand the thought that he hadn't known how to stop it, that he still didn't know how.

"I knew it was a risk to go down there. But I thought it might be something to go on," he said, still trying to explain, although her expression made him think he wasn't helping the situation at all. Tooth shook her head and a frustrated sigh escaped her lips.

"Jack, this isn't just about you going to see Pitch. It's that you didn't tell anyone, you didn't even bring it up," she said. "I know you've been on your own for a long time, but you're not alone anymore. Being a Guardian doesn't just mean safeguarding children. It means being part of something, it means trusting each other and believing that together we can accomplish this. Because, Jack? On our own, there isn't a single one of us who can do this."

She caught his eye and the significance of what she was saying began to sink in. He had gotten excited about everything he'd sworn to when he took the Oath after fighting Pitch. Fighting darkness away, protecting the hopes and dreams of children, he could see why it was important. He could see why the Man in the Moon had decided this was his destiny.

But for three hundred years Jack Frost had existed on his own. He had been his own person with no ties to a single soul. He did his own thing and if it bothered other people so be it. No one relied on him, no one needed him. Heck, back then no one even saw him. Now all of that was changing. People expected things from him, the Guardians needed him. They needed him to trust them and to be part of a team, to work in coordination with them. Technically he'd signed up for this, but he hadn't really understood all that it meant at the time. Now, with Tooth looking betrayed and hurt, it was beginning to sink in what all was at stake here.

"Alright," he replied. "Give me a little while here to clear my head and then I'll come to the North Pole. I'll explain everything. And... I won't go behind your back like that again." It was a lot to promise so quickly, but he knew he'd ultimately get there when he was able to think. Mostly he just wanted to be able to get some space so that he could figure out what he was going to say when he got in front of the others. Just thinking about it made him want to run.

Tooth gave a small smile at his answer. It was sad, but it seemed genuine at least. She was hurt, but at least she still had hope that he wasn't a lost cause, which was more than Jack could say for himself just then.