Sorry about the wait! This would have been up sooner but I was writing a fanfic for my friend, and I was trying to finish that. It's up now, so it's out of the way.

Key:

Memories/Manny talking

Normal

Jack's thoughts

Disclaimer: I really wish I didn't have to type these out every single chapter. Oh well... I don't own anything

Jack yawned and collapsed next to his tree, not wanting to have to get comfortable on a branch. He was too tired for that. After a year spent in the Antarctic, it was Autumn, finally cold enough for Jack to return to his home. He had raced to get here, and stupidly chose the quickest route, instead of the coldest, and he had been dragged through places that were way too hot for him, almost immediately sapping him of his energy. Plus, he had flown around the world, bringing winter to places that needed it. It had cost him more energy than he had thought, and had almost passed out on the way back because of it.

Jack's eyes drifted shut, and he began to dream, but was quickly awakened by something tearing at his skin. He screamed and batted the thing away with his staff, earning just enough time to scramble to his feet and look at whatever had attacked him.

It was a wolf, it's eyes bright and sharp as the beast growled fiercely at him. Jack remembered seeing the men from the village shoot at these wolves when they were threatened. He hadn't gotten much further than that, since seeing the men shoot innocent animals for food made him feel sick, even though he understood that it had to be done, otherwise families wouldn't be fed, it didn't seem fair that it had to happen. Especially to the little ones. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have anything to shoot these with. So his options were either to try and fight back, fly away or get ripped to shreds.

Jack was about to go for the second option but the wolf lunge at him again, sharp teeth meeting soft flesh, and Jack could only scream in terror. Pain shot through him as pointed ends punctured delicate skin, drawing blood.

By now almost a whole pack of wolves had appeared, surrounding him. Jack felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest, each beat telling him that he was still alive. Which was good, since he wasn't sure if he would even make it out alive.

As the pack drew in closer to the injured boy, trapping him against the tree trunk, adrenalin began to course through his veins and kicked him into action. With a yell of fear, Jack swung his staff, wanting it to push them away, willing for it to stop the beast that was hurting him, and ice shot out of it. He would have questioned it, had it not been for the fact that the others had begun to pounce. Bolt after bolt of ice was fired from his staff as the wolves began to reconsider their decision of ambushing him. At first his attacks were wild, uncontrolled and not always hitting the intended mark, but as the beasts began to lessen Jack got more control over his powers, and his mind became switched onto aiming his attacks more and more, until eventually he was hitting his marks with perfect accuracy.

Eventually they retreated, whimpering and most likely going home to lick their wounds. Panting, Jack flew up to a tree branch, where he felt safe, and began to think about what had just happened.

"So, I can fly, make it snow, frost things over, create ice and shoot ice out of my staff as well?" He asked, speaking aloud. He discovered that talking to himself could chase the silence away, if only for a little while. Jack knew that this could become a habit that would be hard to break, but honestly, he didn't care. It created noise, and noise was something he was fine with. It was better than the nothingness that hung in the air, ringing in his ears and slowly spreading around him until he was completely surrounded by it. "Is there anything else I can do?"

Jack looked up at the moon, hoping for an answer. As usual, there was no reply. "Moon, please, just this once, answer me. Please moon, just answer my one question and I'll never ask you anything ever again, I swear. I just want to know why I'm here." Silence. Jack sighed, dropping his shoulders in defeat. "Fine. Don't answer me, then. Just ignore me, like you always do. After all, you're good at that, aren't you?" More silence. Another sigh. "It's almost been a year and there are still so many things I don't know, things that I don't understand. Couldn't you at least tell me what it is I'm meant to do? Surely spreading snow isn't my only purpose. Please, moon, say something. Anything Just one word. Tell me I'm right, that I have a bigger purpose than this. I'm right, aren't I?" Even more silence. Jack hung his head, giving up trying to plead with the moon for tonight. "I just... don't understand why you're doing this to me. All I want... all I want is a friend."

Nothing, not a sound in reply. Jack whimpered slightly and pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and burying his face into his knees. He stayed like that for a long time, until a golden glow made Jack peek one eye out to look. There was a long trail of something golden weaving through the air. Sand. Jack smiled to himself and shot up. The Sandman was making his nightly rounds.

Having given up on trying to find the legendary Sandman, Jack chose to meet the trail of sand instead, and gently brushed the tip of it with his finger. A dolphin immediately sprang up, swimming around him playfully and making Jack laugh. Ever since his little incident with the water, dolphins had officially become his favourite animals, and seeing one always calmed him down, even if it was only one made out of sand.

Then, just as the sand dolphin swam off to continue with it's job, Jack turned and his jaw dropped. There, standing on a small golden cloud, was the Sandman himself.

Without any more hesitation, Jack shot over to the small golden man, slowing down slightly when he got nearer. His encounter with the Easter Bunny had left him wary of other 'spirits' and he didn't really want anyone to dislike him. Maybe one day he could make it up with the Easter Bunny, maybe apologise to him. Eventually he would get a chance to tell the rabbit how sorry he was. And he would take that moment when it came. But until it did, Jack would wait patiently for it to arrive. No matter how long it took.

The Sandman turned to him and, much to Jack's relief, didn't scowl or turn away, but instead smiled at Jack kindly, unknowingly showing Jack that it was okay, he was safe, no one would attack him. Jack smiled back and came to a stop in front of the legend, slightly nervous. "Um, hi. I'm Jack, Jack Frost. You're the Sandman, right?" He was rewarded with a nod, and Jack's eyes lit up. "Great! I've been looking for you for a while, but I couldn't find you. I, uh, don't want to take up much of your time, but I have a few questions." The Sandman tilted his head, curious, and motioned for Jack to start.

The winter spirit took a deep breath and began to speak. "Okay, so last year, when I first became who I am, I found out that no one could see me, but I didn't know why. All I was told was that my name is Jack Frost. And I've been trying to find out the reason ever since. I've got an idea of why now, but I just wanted... someone to confirm it was right. So, can you tell me, am I a spirit? And... can no one see me because they don't believe in me?" The Sandman nodded, and Jack's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wow... really? Thank you so much, Sandman!"

The Sandman smiled, and made a few sand images above his head. After a few minutes, Jack figured out that they meant 'you're welcome' and smiled even wider. "Uh, just two more things. The first thing is, can I call you Sandy?" A nod. Jack's smile grew. "And the other thing is, will you... will you be my friend?" Sandy looked a little surprised at the request, but nodded anyway. Jack let out a sigh of relief, itching to reach out and hug the elder spirit but not daring to, in case it chased his new friend off. "Thank you so much, Sandy. You've really helped me tonight. I won't keep you any longer. Thank you again."

With that, Jack flew off, looking too excited for words. He'd done it! He'd gotten his answers, he'd found the legendary Sandman, and he'd gotten a friend. Although he very much doubted that this had anything to do with the moon, at that moment he didn't care. Sandy was his friend, now, and no matter how little or often they met, they would always be friends. And Sandy would be there for hi whenever he could, especially if Jack needed his help or comfort.

Because that's what friends did, right?

Rapunzel suddenly turned to Sandy, surprising everyone. "Thanks, Sandy, for being there for Jack when these idiots-" Rapunzel glared at the other guardians for a moment before continuing. "Were too lazy to be there themselves." Jack sent her a disapproving glance before also looking at his friend, kneeling down to his level.

"Sandy, I never really got to thank you for that night. You helped me a lot during all those years, even though we almost never got to see each other, but I'm thankful for those rare times we did get, I really am. You have no idea how grateful I am – how grateful I will always be – for being there."

Sandy smiled and patted Jack's hand, signing with his dream sand. 'We'll all be here from now on, we'll never let you be alone any more'. Jack smiled and pulled the smaller man into a hug. "You have no idea how much that means to me." He whispered, then got up and turned back to the memory.

Jack settled down on a branch again, closing his eyes and willing himself to sleep. Yet whenever he tried, images of wild beasts attacking and killing him in his sleep haunted him, each one just as gruesome and bloodied as the last. He sighed and shifted his position slightly. He wanted to sleep so badly, but he didn't want to be attacked again. How was he supposed to defend himself if he wouldn't wake up?

Eventually Jack managed to force himself asleep, deep enough to dream but light enough to wake up if there was enough noise.

His dreams were more like nightmares. It started off with a snowball fight, every kid in the village and even a few adults involved, with Jack joining in and throwing snowballs with perfect aim. It was only when one of them walked through him that everything went downhill. Suddenly everyone stopped, looking tired and upset. They walked off, each and every one of them walking through him. Terrified, he ran into the forest, only to be attacked by wolves and bears. They tore at him, practically ripping his limbs out of their sockets and clawing him apart. He screamed loudly, and his heart lifted when he saw them – Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Sandy. But his lifted heart shattered when Santa and the Tooth Fairy turned away, ignoring him, as if he didn't exist. The Easter Bunny snorted and watched, telling him that he deserved it – that what the beasts were doing was right. And Sandy just scowled at him, words forming above his head. 'You are nothing, Jack Frost. You do not deserve to live. You shouldn't even exist'. Tears formed in his eyes and he could not stop them from falling. Then the Easter Bunny pounced at him, his ears shrinking and body changing form as the once-rabbit began to join in on the attack, transforming into a wolf before his eyes. It lunge for his throat, attempting to kill him and all he could do was scream...

Jack bolted upright so quickly he fell out of the tree and into the soft snow. He made no move to sit up, just continued taking deep breaths and telling himself that it was okay, he wasn't dead, he wasn't being attacked, he was safe. His entire body shook as he tried to remind himself what was real and what was fantasy. Whimpering, Jack curled up and fell asleep again, falling into an even lighter sleep so that no nightmares would come. He wouldn't let his dream become a reality – he'd fight before that happened.

Rapunzel had apparently made it her personal goal to ignore Bunny from here on out, with Hiccup following her example, and their backs were facing him.. Merida was just standing there, not speaking to anyone and looking as if she would very much like to strangle someone. Bunny's ears were flattened against his skull, reminding himself that it had been a dream, he had never hurt Jack, or watched as he was torn apart by wild animals. Jack shifted closer to his brother, and small, pale arms wrapped around a furry one. Bunny noticed it, but barely processed it, too busy trying to figure out why it was only him who had attacked Jack in his nightmare. Was it because Jack had seen him as just that – a monster, a wild beast who would be so heartless as to attack someone so innocent? Just because of their first encounter? First impressions were important, but that didn't mean they were correct. But, Bunny reminded himself, Jack couldn't give second chances in his world. Even if he did, he shouldn't. One bad first impression, and he probably had to try and avoid that person, so as not to get hurt.

Bunny then realised that this was only after a year had passed. Suddenly, he didn't want to see the rest of the memories. But he had to, and he would put up with it all and watch them. For Jack, if for nothing else.

After all, if their little troublemaker could go through all that still stand tall, then they could be strong enough to watch.

….. I have nothing to say on this chapter, other than the usual: Ideas are welcome, and reviews are loved.