Chapter 5 - Invisibility


-ROTG-

This EXTRA BONUS CHAPTER POSTING this weekend is brought to you by alight, whose reviews (and Tumblr follow up) made me laugh quite a lot, actually. And by DragonflyonBreak who made this chapter better with her superior BETA-ing. And by everyone who reviewed, followed, favorited and Tumblr-ed (special shout out to Magiccatprinces). And by the letter G.

I'm not shipping anyone in this story, or the fandom in general, but if I had to choose one… I'd be all for rainbow snowcone or frostbite or whatever they call it now. Toothy, I love you!

Chapter after this is Bunny. Chapter 7 is North. :) All chappies are Jack!

Dude, twenty-five thousand words in and we haven't even made it through a week in the timeline. Beginning to see why people do one-shots.


-ROTG-

Jack had thought he'd have trouble getting the perpetually busy fairy queen's attention. He couldn't have been more wrong.

In fact, he was a solid mile away from the tooth palace's mountain when a powerful ball of colorful feathers practically knocked him from the sky.

"FINALLY!"

Jack laughed. "Am I late?"

He tried not to wince as she squeezed still-aching arms. Tooth darted back a couple of feet, her hands still holding his shoulders.

"Of course not, I was just- of course not."

Her slightly nervous look was replaced with one of close scrutiny, and she began to visually inspect Jack from the top of his head to his feet. She mentally went through her checklist.

Face: I think it's paler than usual!

Eyes: Look more tired than a few days ago!

Body: I'm certain it's even thinner than before!

Teeth: Ahhhh. So pristine. So perfect. Maybe I'll paint a picture of them. I'd have to hide it, or it'll distract my fairies. Speaking of distracted. Get a grip, Toothiana!

She put her hands behind her back just to make sure she didn't give into the temptation to touch the pearly whites. Then she settled for giving him another quick hug instead.

"I'm just so glad you're here!" She grabbed the smiling boy's wrist and began to fly back toward her palace. "I have so much to tell you! Show you!"

The tooth fairy slowed and turned to face Jack, her expression more serious. "I've figured out a LOT about the memory problems. It's… well… troubling but hopeful!"

As Jack's happy smile faltered into insecure territory, Tooth moved her hand from his wrist to his palm and gave it a squeeze. His wince was ever so slight, but Tooth was a very focused fairy. Bringing his hand up to her face, amethyst eyes widened.

"Jack, what happened?" Concern filled her voice as she inspected the injured tissue.

"Just… just a little accident with some thorns, Tooth, in a week it'll be like it never even happened!"

If he thought he was getting his hand back right away, he had once again gravely underestimated Toothiana. "Mm-hm," She looked closely at Jack, but let the explanation go. "You know, I have just the thing…"

It didn't help that Baby Tooth and no fewer than twenty other mini fairies happened to fly up just then. He instinctively gave them a rather roguish grin. The boy never stood a chance.

Five minutes later, Jack sat practically buried in cushions in the fairy queen's chamber, Tooth's more moderate response having been taken to the next level by her excitable little helpers. Twenty bottles, vials and jars of various healing ointments that had all been applied to the little cuts stood on a nearby table. Seven layers of gauze restricted the movement of his hand (he had firmly refused the sling). Aromatherapy filled the air. And only Tooth and Baby Tooth remained by his side (at the queen's insistence, finally).

Hey, they were efficient.

"Um, I can't help thinking I'm distracting you from your work rather than helping, so far," he teased, hoping to guide the conversation to the reason he came rather than other uncomfortable topics.

"Nope, we have more important things to talk about today," She gave the bandages an amused final pat and began to flit around the room replacing the medicine containers her fairies had gotten out. She sent a slightly resentful glance at Baby Tooth who remained snuggled under Jack's chin on his shoulder. The little underling ignored the pointed look and nestled closer.

"More important than preserving memories and protecting children, and gaining more believers so we can continue doing the first two?" Jack paired his ironic tone with a lifted eyebrow. He hefted a pillow experimentally and then tossed it at the tooth fairy. She caught it easily before it hit and struggled to hide a smile as she gave him a Look. He grinned back. "Come on, you don't create a pile of cushions like this unless you want a pillow fight…"

Tempting. Sooo tempting. But Tooth, unlike Bunny, was able to ignore a challenge (much to her own regret in this instance).

But the fairy queen was suddenly serious again. "Yes, it's more important." Stashing the last bottle, she flew back to him. "Actually, hah, it's technically about all three of those things. Come with me, Jack. Baby Tooth, you have other work to do right now, please." She grabbed a large roll of paper and flew from the room.

Jack gave his tiny companion a final rub on the head. "Don't worry, we can have our own pillow fight later," he whispered. Baby Tooth switched instantly from tearful to excited and buzzed out a window chirping. Jack popped out of the cushion pile and followed the larger fairy, very curious, as she flew almost straight down until she reached a corner of the cavern floor. On the ground was a large, solid golden circle, about 30 feet in diameter.

Tooth set down the paper and pulled a stone lever set in the wall. With the sound of moving rocks and gears, the golden disk split in half and began moving apart, revealing a pool of very still, dark water. Jack hovered over it, but neither frost nor the wind marred its smooth surface. The winter spirit realized the other reason it was so unnerving. There was nothing reflected in the pool, as if it was simply an endless pit covered by a thin membrane. Except… there was a thin, translucent outline of him, an almost transparent reflection. He sent Tooth a questioning look.

The Guardian of Memories smiled and spoke in a hushed voice. "I thought so. I wanted to show you."

She moved to join him above the mystical surface and Jack gasped as a perfect, vivid replica of Toothiana mirrored her progress.

"This is a special memory pool. It's surface interacts directly with the part of yourself that imprints on people's memories. You can see what effect you've had on others. It's a relic of more powerful times." She touched a slender foot lightly to its surface. Instead of physical ripples, scenes of Tooth's life with others flashed by in expanding circles, until they slowly faded. Jack gaped.

"Wow. Oh! Have you ever tried using this on the Groundhog?! He could really use a reality check," Jack chuckled wickedly, "I'll bet we can even get Bunny to help us nab him, he's pretty good at manhandling people into sacks for transport..."

Tooth snorted. Not a half bad idea, really. The rodent got on everyone's nerves.

But they were getting off track. "You try it."

Jack's bravado dropped instantly. "I don't know if that's a good-"

With a no-nonsense look, she quickly pushed down on his shoulders, lowering his feet the last few inches to the liquid's surface before he could react. He tensed, clutched his staff and screwed up his eyes, dread filling him at what might appear. Braving a peek, he straightened. Nothing. The surface was as black as ever. Blinking rapidly, he looked back at Tooth, who was inspecting the spectral outline of Jack's reflection.

"I thought so."

"...glad to meet expectations?"

She laughed, but it was a little sad. "What it means, is that something is blocking the way memories of you are formed. There is no…" she rolled her hands, looking for the right word, "Permanence. Impression. It is like… your mark on Memory itself is completely mutable."

At his scrunched brow, she sighed. Best to start at the beginning.

"I started noticing something wasn't right during the permanent ice thing with North. I know memories, and I know North, that was highly unusual. Then Sandy mentioned he felt like he had lost a memory." Better to keep the full 'conversation' with the Dream Guardian to herself.

"So I asked the Man in the Moon."

Jack's eyes widened. He really didn't want Tooth to know about his punishment. "I'm sure it's noth-"

"He sent a dream and showed me everything."

The winter spirit became completely inscrutable.

"…

...everything?"

"Yes! Well, not everything, I don't know how or why, but I know what!"

With a burst of energy she raced back to the wall and unfurled the large poster of paper. As she began fixing it to the stone surface, Jack stared, completely confused by the complicated looking diagrams and notes sketched across it.

She pointed triumphantly at the large document. "You're behind a veil. A memory veil. One crafted with a skill and strength I've never seen before. Whoever made this was powerful and likely ancient."

"What… what does it do?"

Tooth nodded. "Great question, Jack! From what Manny showed me, and what I can tell by looking at your Memory aura- which, by the way, more evidence of the veil's masterful creation, because I could not see this thing without knowing exactly what to look for- it shields other peoples' minds from making a strong or permanent impression about you. People can't help it! They'll just be inclined to overlook you and then forget you over time!"

Tooth winced when she realized how harsh that sounded. But if she expected anger or demands to know who had done such a thing, when she turned from her diagrams back to Jack, she was to be surprised.

He had pulled up his hood and the glossy eyes looking out just seemed fragile. After a heavy pause, he asked a question that sent a crack through her heart.

"What about… my memories?"

Pale fingers tightened around the thin pole of wood he was shielding himself with, waiting for her answer.

"That's... still a mystery, it doesn't seem directly connected" she admitted. "It's not designed to work against your own memories, it affects the outside world's response to you."

She missed Jack's hopeless look, immediately followed by resigned self-loathing, as she turned back to her documentation. "Which is why the solution has to come from your side of the veil. We can't put together our memories, but with the right arrangement, you can push yours through. I believe I can create a binding connection between us that will allow those of us outside the veil to prompt for memories, and for you to then share yours. To create a pathway through the veil."

While Tooth was explaining these details, Jack's mind was also working on a whole other line of thought. This all fit better than Tooth knew. So, it wasn't the veil that affected his memory- that was still his fault. And what better punishment for someone who forgot their family than to make sure everyone else forgot him? That would mean the Man in the Moon had been the one to place the veil. And if he chose now to tell Tooth how to get rid of it, then this was all part of the second chance he was giving Jack. To earn a better existence again. To earn a family. Maybe even, someday, other friends. Hope was a stubborn thing, and it just kept bubbling up this week, just when he was at his lowest.

He focused intently back on Tooth's lecture.

"You see, Jack, my best theory, and I have a lot of reasons to believe it will work," she tapped the diagrams and notes, "is that every time you allow a memory through, it will wear down the veil. Fray it. It will become less and less potent as it unravels, until it's completely worn through. Gone. And it may very well repair everyone's erased memories as it goes, restoring the natural state of Memory itself!" She grinned at him with clasped hands.

This was sounding better and better. Jack flew right in front of her, fully getting into the conversation. "Tooth, you have no idea, this makes SO much sense. I mean, hah, guess who created FROSTY the Snowman, but do people remember that part? Nooo, and it's the snowman who gets a song and a movie and toys…"

"I would rather hear the Jack Frost story, any day!" the fairy laughed.

That gave the winter child pause. "When you say share my memories… what kind of memories? Can it be anything?"

Tooth ran a hand over her head feathers, "Well… it will probably work most easily if there is a common thought on both sides of the connection. It'll act as a sort of conversation- ask and tell. It may be a little unpredictable, but you should have to ability to choose what to share, if anything, once one of us has posed a question."

"Us?"

"Sorry, I'm jumping all around, aren't I? What I was going to suggest is that we create these bonds between you and the rest of us Guardians." At Jack's dubious look she held up a hand. "Take a little time to think about it, certainly. But it will work best with people who are spending time with you already, and the more people getting through, the faster it will go.

"And… I'm sure this isn't something you can believe right now, but we're in this team thing with you for the long haul. We want to get to know you, and you can trust us to respect your boundaries."

The idea of opening up his memories and experiences to anyone, let alone the people he reeeeeally wanted to make a good impression on, made Jack feel queasy. He needed... space to think it through, but another thought occurred to him.

"Wait, what about the kids? My believers? Is that related? I tried everything for years and years and this is the first time… Are they… forgetting me right now?"

The memory keeper seeming reluctant to answer, again. "It's likely, but remember, the process is slow enough that as long as you're with them regularly, it should be OK. Especially if we're weakening this awful… thing."

She then perked up. "Actually, just having us keep consistent attention on you has been straining it the past few days, I can already see. I think it was a little bit of that combined with Jamie's extremely open and imaginative mind that helped you land that first believer, finally, despite the veil. Which is why it is so important that we get rid of this thing in order to develop your believer base. The thinner the veil, the more believers you'll get!" she finished with triumph.

He couldn't help getting caught up in her enthusiasm. She was doing all of this for him, after all. He flew around her quickly and relished her laughter as the frosty breezes ruffled her feathers. "Thank you, Tooth. I will think about it." His feathered friend's lovely beaming smile made him think he may have already made his choice.

"I still don't know who created this or why you lost your earliest memories, but I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of everything as we work together." Tooth pushed back his hood and wound her arm around Jack's shoulder, as she looked with hope first at the diagrams she had made and then at the boy next to her.

Perhaps, he realized, he didn't deserve this second chance. But he sure as heck was going to take it anyway.


-ROTG-

Jack lay on his stomach on the dilapidated roof of an abandoned house on the outskirts of Burgess. The gauze used to wrap his hand had been discarded, and he held a pen instead. Whatever medicated goo Tooth had used was a miracle cure, because he could barely see any marks where open wounds had been just hours before.

In front of him was one of the many sheets of paper Tooth had given him. According to her, writing was a good way of working through his thoughts. He knew she had suggested it to tackle the veil decision, but so far he had only succeeded in creating a Mad Lib and writing another rather random letter to Pitch.

Without any reply from the Boogeyman, Jack didn't know what to do other than send something random. But the lonely winter spirit had learned long, long ago that even brief small talk could mean so much if you felt invisible.

With a shrug, he flipped up, over the side of the building and through an open window frame. He had chosen this building for a reason: it had a bed and it was vacant.

Having "delivered" his letter, he wasted no time stashing his writing supplies and heading straight to Jamie's house- a site he'd been visiting casually for years. There were two things that were particularly precious to him right now: time and believers. The idea that Jamie, the first child to see him, touch him, believe in him, could actually forget him was a maddening thought.

It was 2:30pm, and Jamie would be home any minute. The town was Jack Frost's birthplace and home, so it understandably had a reputation for being unseasonably cool for that part of the world. The light layer of snow still covering the ground in mid-April wasn't unusual enough to remark upon.

Snow falling in a bedroom, however, was.

When Jamie rushed in to his room to drop off his backpack, all he could do at first was stop in delighted shock at the little crystals filling the air and the grinning Guardian perched on his dresser. Then he gave a great whoop and rushed over to Jack, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him down.

"You're back, YEAH!" Having succeeded in pulling his friend down to his level, the brown haired boy latched onto him in the kind of ferocious hug only kids with no inhibitions can manage. And for a moment, nothing marred the peace and joy in Jack's heart.

Without fully letting go, Jamie looked up into Jack's face. "I totally thought you'd be too busy with Guardian stuff to come see me until next winter!"

Jack laughed, "Too busy for my best believer? Never!"

As Jamie flushed and his eyes glowed, Jack continue, "Although you're right, the Guardian stuff is keeping me pretty busy, and probably will for a long time. It's fun, though, so I can't complain."

Jamie jumped back, flopping onto his bed as he began asking questions rapid-fire. Jack, hopping up to perch on the chest at the end of the bed, treated it like a game and sent answers back just as fast.

"So what are you guys working on?"

"Getting believers, and learning to work together as a team. That's my challenge, mostly."

"How are you doing that?"

"Hard work and deadlines! Haha! Actually, we're looking at what things we can do new or better. I get to spend time with each one of them at their work each week. How cool is that! Although, don't tell Bunny I said so…"

"Cooooool! What have you gotten to do so far?"

"I created an elf monarchy at the North Pole, started to learn how to use my frost powers with Sandy's dreamsand, and checked out some of the mystical things at the Tooth Palace."

"The Tooth Palace?! Whoa!"

"Yeah, I was going to spend the whole day today learning about tooth fairy business, but Tooth said she was going to be busy preparing something that… well, something for the next Guardians meeting."

"I'm glad. I mean, that you had some free time today. I usually draw a picture of you every afternoon, but it's so much better to see you in person." With a gap-toothed grin, Jamie pointed to three new pictures on his walls. They all depicted scenes with the winter spirit.

Jack's lips parted in wonder. A humbling feeling stole over him as he looked at these homages his new believer had made. At Jamie's next words, however, he felt like something fragile inside him splintered.

"I know it's silly, and I know what you said about always being there and me keeping belief in my heart, but I just… still felt worried for some reason. I want to remember everything about you always. I still had this scared feeling, like if I couldn't see you, I'd forget. So I decided I just needed lots of ways to remind myself."

Suddenly it wasn't just sweet and charming anymore. Jack noticed the crayon drawings had been placed all around the room, as if to ensure that no matter where he looked, Jamie would be able to see a reminder of his frosty friend.

At Jack's silent and sad look, Jamie crawled across the bed to his side and hugged him once again.

"But you're here for real, and that's the best way of all."

Sometimes children can embrace intuition far more easily than adults. So when Jamie sensed that the hug he was receiving back from Jack was a little desperate, he didn't question it. If his magical friend was the one needing comfort this time, he would give it without hesitation.

"How about Sundays, for sure?" Jack murmured without releasing his young believer.

"What?"

The winter spirit finally backed up a bit, resolution and determination blazing in his eyes.

"How about I for sure come visit every Sunday? There are tons of fun things we can do, even if the weather is warmer!"

The enthusiastic response was all Jack could have asked for, and even though it was only Wednesday, they got started right away. Jamie knew he'd get a lecture for not doing his homework first, but he gave it barely a thought as he burst from his back door and raced the frost spirit to the nearby woods for a game of hide-and-seek-stealth-snowball-war. Somehow, almost organically, the rest of the children showed up within 10 minutes after they began the battle. The Call of Fun was a strong one.

By the time the sky was getting darker and the young people really couldn't delay returning home for dinner any longer, every one of them felt happier and lighter, their hearts stronger.

Even Jack, who knew he had to get back to the grueling work of Spring, couldn't stop grinning as he bid them all goodbye "until Sunday!" and flew over the town to check on a certain bed. Sure enough, the shadow beneath the mattress was all that remained.


-ROTG-

Perhaps if Jack had been less distracted, he would have noticed them earlier. If he hadn't been thinking so hard about how to handle removing his veil curse, now that he was absolutely determined to do it no matter what, he would have remembered whose territory he was in. If he had thought to check his surroundings rather than pouring everything into creating the pillar in front of him so he could quickly move on to the next, he may have gotten away without trouble. It's not like the other beings were easy to miss.

So Jack really felt he could only blame himself when, just as he was beginning to fly away, he was snatched from the wind in a large fist and slammed into the ground he had just left.

Frost giants. Three of them. In full form.

Their glimmering, translucent, fifty foot figures of shifting, living ice and mist only seemed airy and transparently ethereal. To Jack, it was like several tons of muscle were trying to simultaneously smush him into the ground, crush his insides, and pull him apart. In fact, it may very well have been the fact that they couldn't decide on a single gruesome fate that prevented any one of them from being completely effective, as they fought to snatch him from each other.

The frost giants were not usually a match for Jack Frost. He was slippery, he was fast and he could fly. But if he was actually caught, their sheer brute strength could certainly do some damage before he managed to escape. After all, beings that could shepherd glaciers to create and maintain the fjords themselves were nothing to sneeze at.

And two minutes of being manhandled by giants- squeezed in massive fists, slammed into rocky surfaces, yanked around by whatever part of him they could grab hold of- could do a number on anyone. Finally managing to dart out of range, Jack flew as fast as he could from the Scandinavian part of the world toward a certain continent floating alone in the Pacific. He was able to mentally take stock once the screaming pain in his head had died down a bit.

Whole body: Ow.

Head: Definitely not in one piece, it felt like. It was probably only the spikes that seemed to have been driven into his cranium that was holding it together. Not sure if it was still attached to the rest of him.

Ribs: Only curse words came to mind. Definitely some cracked.

The most important thing, though, was whether any of it was visible. It was Thursday night, and the winter spirit had just completed four more pillars within the past day. His chest and stomach were hollow and wound tighter than a tornado from the effort. Until the frost giants, he had managed to avoid trouble- and he couldn't really blame them. In their eyes, he was a snow spirit using the power of Winter to extend the reach of a different season. Unforgivable.

But in less than eight hours he would be hanging out with a Pooka who missed nothing. If he thought Tooth was too observant, he couldn't imagine what facing Bunny would be like.

So, as soon as he spotted a glassy surface of still water below, he flew low, keeping his frost to himself, and looked at the few exposed areas of his skin. His feet weren't a problem. Hands, shaking with a scratch here or there. Face… ouch. One side was solid black and purple here he'd been slammed into the frozen earth. Somewhere in the hair on the other side he must have a deep gash, judging by the red that was dying the strands.

The pain was matched with frustration. He could take five or six hours and waste a good portion of his lagging energy to do some surface healing to cover up the marks. But that would be the whole night wasted, not to mention his power reserves, which were already practically dry. He kicked the surface of the water, which turned out to be totally unsatisfying.

What choice did he have? His personal mandate to not make anyone worry trumped the other considerations. It was his fault he was in this position in the first place, so it would be his burden, not someone else's. He would just have to make up for lost time and power later.


-ROTG-

Jack arrived at the Australian coast just as daylight was greeting the beautiful and strange landscape. A stop in the Himalayas, with their abundance of snow for his treatments, resulted in pale skin and white hair once again. Harnessing Winter power for healing was not an easy thing, and he was not particularly good at using it on himself, so he only attended to the cosmetic needs. The pain, swelling and cracked bones would take care of themselves over time, he knew.

The snow spirit had come to Australia not because he needed to meet Bunny in an hour- he could get to the Warren from anywhere, after all. But he knew for certain no Winter spirits would follow him here. There was only one he knew of who enjoyed this place, but Farore was not a threat.

In this southern land, it was Fall, not Spring. As he floated through a busy tourist district in Perth, drawn to the comfort of being around people, he tried to remember the last time he had seen the Autumn spirit, Demi. Rare as his encounters with her were, he had always enjoyed her kind, comforting, matronly nature. She never hesitated to give him a hand or good advice when he randomly met her every few decades. He wondered what she would think of his new position...

All thoughts of Demi vanished as a little tourist trinket caught the youth's eye, and he grinned. In a stall selling "authentic aborigine artwork" was a little wooden kangaroo that for some reason had a short, fluffy tail rather than a long, tapered one. His outburst of laughter came to a quick end as pain flared through his chest and he lost the ability to breathe. But the smile was back an instant later. Ohhh, this was too good. Digging through his pocket for the few lost dollars of change he collected out of habit along the street, he picked up the figure and left the money in its place.

Jack remembered a scene from a popular children's movie about talking toys that he had watched once through a window, and he knew how to make this "present" for Bunny even more fun…

After all, when invited to someone's home, it's only polite to give a gift to the host.


-ROTG-

Toothy, his hand wounds are the least of it! Heh, am I the only one who thinks she is going to go nuclear when she catches on to the whole Spring situation? Mweheheheh.

I know many have done a plot with Tooth finding a way to share Jack's memories for some reason. This is my (long, convoluted) spin on it. It didn't have to be Tooth who figured it out, but I figured it made the most sense.

I am going to be SO GLAD when I've set stuff up well enough that I don't have to do so much exposition. I hate slogging through writing it. Would rather just do fun character-centric or action scenes… If I were a better writer, I'd find a way to combine explanations more naturally in the story.

Bear with me. ;.;

To answer a reviewer question, you will have to wait and see what Jack's place is in the spirit world, especially as it relates to Seasons. Don't worry, I think I have a pretty satisfying headcanon and plot for it?

Randomness:

I love Jamie. Ugh, whatever, I love all these characters.

I don't really know any of the lore of frost giants, and I kind of wanted to keep it that way. If I'm taking something from myth/legend, I'm only keeping a loose similarity. Kind of like Joyce/Dreamworks. :)

The movie Jack is thinking of is Toy Story. The fear of abandonment really spoke to him with that one. He may have written "Moon" on the bottom of his foot at some point. I dunno.

Review if you think Jamie is awesome adorbs!