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Okay sorry this one is a little short and full of dialogue and explaining stuff. Oops. But next chapter I promise action and you will see why in this chapter. Have fun!

THE SECRET OF WINTER

They all stared down at the shaking form of Jack Frost in North's arms. There was no way that their boy was worse than a war. How could they fear Jack? He was the Guardian of Fun. Fun, as in happy, cheerful times in snow not bloodshed and terror. That was more Pitch's speciality. Mother Nature though didn't look convinced. In fact was that fear that North was noticing in her eyes?

"Nicholas you need to put that boy down now."

"Vhat? Why would - "

"Now!"

The deep rumble and slowly rising panic in Mother's voice was enough to convince him that something wasn't right. That didn't mean though that he was giving up their youngest so easily. He had already made that mistake once…well twice now if he counted the 300 years of isolation, which he did.

"Tell me why." North thanked Manny that his voice held just as much severity and conviction to it that he had hoped for.

Mother Nature pinched the bridge of her nose, then thrusted a slender finger in Sandy's direction.

"That staff was the only thing keep Frost's powers in check. Now he can no long restrain himself. What is about to come will hurt everyone here and I don't want that and trust me on my spirit hood Guardians neither do you. The wrath and power of winter is certainly not one to meddle with."

Jack chose that moment to let out a moan of pain. North yelped as ice suddenly started to spread over his fingers. In approximately 3 seconds his entire hand was covered in a thickening layer of ice.

"Nicholas St. North! Drop that boy."

This time North complied, setting his delicate and injured cargo on the iced grass. He hissed in pain at his hands. Mother grabbed one of them and gently began to thaw them out. The ice melted quickly before it was only a puddle by his feet.

"We need to move now. Toothiana I've always wanted another look at your palace. Shall we meet up there?"

Tooth nodded, but crunched her face in confusion, "what about Jack?"

Mother Nature simply shrugged one shoulder and walked past them, "that boy must stay here. Do not protest. You have no idea what is about to happen. I will set up a barrier to ensure his safety and ours hopefully. Please step aside."

A shimmering veil fell in a dome over Jack's motionless body. The temperature was rapidly dropping, now below 0 degrees Celsius and still falling. Ice spikes were being to bloom in the grass, aimed at the barrier. A clap snapped the Guardians attention to their opponent once again.

"Let's be off then. It's far too cold here for anyone's taste."

Colourful couches were pulled up for the Guardians and Mother Nature. They were seated outside on one of the many balconies, untouched tea in their hands. Tooth went to open her mouth to being the discussion when a tsking sound echoed from behind them.

"Well aren't we all in trouble then." Pitch grinned, "may I have a seat Tooth Fairy?"

"Pitch Black! You are not welcome here." Mother said jumping to her feet.

"Relax Mother. Pitch is, uh, neutral? Da neutral. He is friend of Jacks."

"Acquaintance," Pitch muttered under his breath taking a seat next to North.

Bunny glared at their former enemy, "thanks for the help back there ya bloody coward."

Pitch didn't even blink an eye. He knew better than to make an appearance when it involved the spirit world at war. His presence would have set everyone off. Sandy waved a hand catching everyone's attention and asking in his own way what happened to Jack?

"That Sandman is the question to be answered. You see Jack Frost has become unstable." Mother sighed.

"How so?" North asked, lacing his beefy hands together in thought.

"He is losing control of his power. You are all familiar with Frost's attachment to his staff, yes? Well it is in fact a conduit for his power not the source as he has lead himself to believe. The real power of winter is inside of him. The staff is how he controls it, regulates it and ensures that it…"

"Go on," Bunny said.

"Consume him…"

"What?" Tooth squeaked.

"The power of winter is vicious. Seasonal elementals are extremely powerful beings. Without a rein or leash on their power they will lose control and due to the vast raw power it can if left too long consume its host. By this I mean the Jack Frost you know will give in to the destructive and deadly side of winter. Eventually he will die…Winter in particular is the hardest to control. It's extremely unpredictable. The other Seasons albeit powerful cannot match winter in terms of raw power and its deadly nature."

Mother Nature was thrown a pile of questions once the shock of this new information had set in. Pitch wasn't paying attention to them though; he was far more interested in the Sandman beside him. The little man was thinking out loud, so to speak. Sand images flashed over his head. He followed his foe's thoughts until suddenly they both came to the same conclusion. Amber locked with golden brown and a sense of dread washed over their faces. Pitch cleared his throat. If what they had concluded was indeed correct then they had to find a solution, and fast.

"With Jack's powers soon to be unleashed this would mean the world would feel the wrath of winter correct?"

Mother Nature nodded grimly.

"Therefore we are looking at the possibility of a new ice age?"

"Yes. I'm afraid so."

"Bloody hell," Bunny muttered slumping in his chair, "how do we save him? There has ta be a way, yeah?"

"There is. The staff must be repaired. The magic that it was hit with is the course of the instability. Merely breaking it," Mother Nature shot Pitch a dark look, "will only cripple Jack's power. Meaning that if it was left broken for a while, the loss of control would be more gradual. I have to extract the magic in the staff without disrupting the existing magic of winter within it. It will take a day or so."

"Good. Okay then in the mean time we just have ta stop Frostbite from causing another ice age. No biggy." Bunny said, running a paw down his face in exasperation.

Bunny knew he was going to have a headache at the end of all this. He silently hoped that could help the Snowflake before he was too far gone…before he died.

Jack's mind was foggy. He couldn't feel his wounds any more. The only pain was in his chest. It felt like a bullet was ricocheting around and it was only getting faster and faster. The shimmering barrier had frozen over and smashed into shards of ice. He wasn't there any more. In fact he had no idea where he was. Jack was scared. That's all he knew. He was terrified and needed this pain out of his chest.

He felt…cold. He yelled into the wind and a sudden burst of white light engulfed his vision. The pain in his chest subsided a bit. He couldn't concentrate though. He couldn't hear anything other than the wind wailing. Jack couldn't talk to the Wind any more. It wasn't responding right. This wasn't his Wind. It was comforting but a chilling kind of comfort, an unstable comfort. He was sure his body had turned to glass he felt so ready to shatter.

After the burst of light dimmed Jack's vision cleared enough to see that he was on a mountain of some sort. He was in the eye of a raging blizzard. Then he was once again taken away by the pain in his chest. A split second longer of hanging on, of clarity and he would have heard his name being called frantically on the wind.

Yep. Everyone is in for it now. You all should have just listened to Jackie in the first place. Oh well. Let me know what you guys want to see in the next chapter. Stay tuned to see Jack go crazy powerful.