AN: I'm really sorry for the delay but I should be able to post more frequently now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians.

Summary: The Guardians and Jack go through more of Jack's childhood.


"Jack, why didn't you want us to see your memories?" Tooth asked gently as they waited for the next scene to appear.

The winter spirit bit his lip, eyes automatically looking towards the ground.

"Please sweetie, I just want to understand," she encouraged.

After a steadying breath, he finally replied. "I-I just don't want y-you all to see me differently."

The other Guardians let Tooth handle this one, remaining silent. "Oh Jack, all we are going to think is that you are even stronger than we already knew."

He was spared the necessity of responding by the next scene that finally appeared. It was as if Manny were sorting through the memories, picking carefully which ones to show.

"Jackie," a shrill voice screamed. The Guardians quickly saw it came from a little girl, almost three years old. She had a wild mop of brown hair. She was toddling after the little Jack, pudgy hands extended towards him. He was facing her, scooting backwards as he did so.

"Can't catch me," he teased.

"I can," she shrieked, giggling wildly as her brother made a silly face.

Very dramatically, he tripped to the ground, bracing his fall easily at the slow speed. "Oh no, you are going to catch me," he called out, melodramatic. His sister jumped onto him, laughing gleefully.

"I caught you. I caught you," she sang.

"Good job Poppy. You are so fast." He started tickling her laughing along with her high pitched giggling.

The scene shifted again, this time showing Jack with his friend who he had called 'Tholomew. They were standing together with their backs against a building, three larger boys surrounding them.

"So what have we got here," one of them sneered. 'Tholomew sniffed, knees shaking. "Looks like a crybaby and a half pint."

"I'm not a crybaby," 'Tholowmew murmured under his breath, sniffing again.

"What did you say?" another of the larger boys demanded.

The little Jack stepped forwards, head held high and a hard expression on his face. "He said that we aren't scared of you."

"Oh, you should be," the first boy stated, lips turning upwards.

"No, I think you are afraid of us," Jack shot back. "You had to bring two of your friends just to pick on a couple of kids who are two years younger than you."

The older boy grit his teeth, fuming. "I'm not afraid."

"Then you won't mind having your two friends back up so that you can fight us yourself," Jack countered.

The boy, a blonde with a mouth full of crooked teeth, glanced back at his friends. Uncertainty was written all across his face.

"You got them, Jacob," the third encouraged.

"Ya, I got you guys," Jacob repeated, curling his hands into fists.

Jack leaned close to his friend, whispering in his ear, "Remember Operation Fool You Twice?"

'Tholomew nodded tensely.

Jacob advanced, brushing back his blonde hair. "You are both dead." Jack ran forwards, straight at the bully, swinging a wild punch. It was dodged easily and the older boy just laughed, swatting the brunette with the back of his hand. The little Jack crashed to the ground.

The Guardians gasped, wishing they had actually been there so that they could help the brave little boy. They looked to their Jack, watching as he winced when his younger self fell down.

Young Jack got up, receiving a punch to the face for his trouble. He looked stunned for a moment but he recovered, dancing back from another swing. However, he took a full on punch to the stomach. He bent over, winded. As he readied himself for another hit, it was Jacob who stopped, stunned. There was mud dripping down his face, splattered from impact. 'Tholomew's hand was still raised and he looked about as shocked as the older boy.

"Run," Jack screamed, towing his frozen friend by the arm. Together, they sprinted away from the bullies, putting on a burst of speed as the three gave chase.

"Follow me," the brunette instructed. He wove through houses, crawled under fences and cut into the forest and then back. As they exited the cover of trees, the two younger boys stopped briefly, bending over their knees and catching their breath.

"We did it," 'Tholomew exclaimed, relieved.

Jack smiled, then gasped with pain, lip bleeding.

"Oh my God. Are you okay? Of course not, you're bleeding," the other boy ranted anxiously.

"It's okay, let's just get back to my house," the brunette murmured, heading to the nearby cottage.

As the door swung open, Jack's mom moved forwards, smile dropping off her face as she looked at her son. "What happened?" she asked. She took his arm, guiding him towards the sink. The memory faded out there.

'That was very smart,' Sandy signed, 'goading the boy like that."

Jack shrugged, smiling faintly.

"Although the fighting could use a little bit of work," Bunny contributed.

"A lot of work," the teen agreed, blue eyes raising to skim the four of them. He was slightly more relaxed, a little bit closer to his normal self. Despite the serious scene they had just witnessed, he didn't seem upset by the fact that they were viewing these particular memories.

"Did the bullies come back?" Tooth asked, concerned, despite the centuries separating their winter child from this memory.

Jack shrugged again. "Not right away but they came after me a few more times."

The next memory resolved itself with Jack and Lila playing outside in the middle of winter, building a snowman. However, a streak of pink interrupted them, racing around their creation.

"Poppy," Jack yelled. She didn't pay him any heed, just running faster, laughing all the while. "Poppy stop."

She stuck out her tongue at him, turning backwards as she did so. Then, she tripped over her feet, crashing right into the snowman. She shrieked.

"Penelope," he cried, then again when she didn't answer. He pulled her out of the heap of snow.

She sniffed, "I'm sorry Jack."

"That's okay," he murmured, relieved. "Just be more careful."

From behind him, he heard a loud snort and turned to see Lila with an incredulous eyebrow raised as high as possible. "You are telling someone to be careful? YOU!"

He scowled at her, giving his best glare.

She snorted again. "Hey Poppy," she said, bending down to be on level with the little girl. "How would you like to help us build another snowman?"

"Okay," Penelope accepted easily, encounter with a previous mound of snow already forgotten. The young Jack sighed, brushing snow off his pants as he went to join them.

In the next memory, it was still winter. Jack and Penelope were bundled up, trudging through the woods. However, it seemed to be slowly approaching twilight, the forest steeped in a sort of golden light.

"It's okay Penny," Jack encouraged weakly, "Almost there."

"You said that half an hour ago," she complained, trudging along. Her hand was firmly in her brother's and he was practically dragging her along.

"I know," he muttered. Then, louder, "But I mean it this time, I think I remember this stretch of woods."

"It all looks the same," Penelope moaned, close to tears.

"Hey, have I ever lied to you?"

She shook her head, brown eyes watery as she looked up at him.

"I'm not lying now either. I'm going to get us out of this." The eight year old spoke firmly, but the watching Guardians could see the panic in his eyes.

"What happened?" Bunny finally asked.

Jack looked down as if he were being chastised. "Penelope wanted to go for a walk but I took her farther than I remembered the way back. We got kind of lost."

The sibling stumbled around for a while longer until the young Jack's demeanor changed entirely. "That's the bent tree," he cried.

Penelope shivered, looking at her brother with a glazed expression.

"Our cabin is just up ahead." He started moving faster, practically running except his little sister couldn't keep up. She stumbled, falling hard to the ground. It was there that she began to sob in earnest.

"I-it's too cold," she whined.

The young Jack looked paralyzed for a moment, brown eyes betraying his panic. He stooped to be on his sister's level. "I know it's cold but we're almost there."

"No," she cried, "Too cold."

"C'mon, just a little farther," he encouraged.

She shook her head, stubborn.

Jack seemed unsure for a moment before he reached down, scooping up his little sister in his arms. "Don't worry, I'll get us there. Then we are going to warm up by the fire and mom is going to make us some hot tea and we are going to be nice and cozy in our beds."

His soothing speech seemed to nearly lull his sister to sleep. Her eyes were closing, head drooping against his chest.

At that moment, the trees seemed to thin and he rushed forwards, bursting out into the edge of town, nearly crying out with relief as he saw their cabin. It was dark around him, the sun almost dipping below the horizon as he banged open the door.

Both of his parents were inside, heads snapping upwards at the sound of the opening door. Mary came charging forwards, grabbing her daughter from Jack's hands. "Is she okay," the mother asked, panicking.

The boy nodded, "Just cold and tired."

Isaac walked forwards, deceptively calm as he advanced on his son. "Would you care to explain why you are late, Jackson? And why you've frozen your sister half to death."

"I didn't mean to," the boy cried, eyes pleading. His words tumbled out on top of one another. "She wanted to go for a walk and I just – I took her into the forest – and it was nice – and I followed some tracks. I-I thought I knew where I was but I looked up and I didn't recognize the trees. We walked everywhere and back and forth and I made it a game but she got tired and …," he trailed off at his father's stony expression. Finally, he looked down, muttering, "I got us out."

"And why did you think it was okay to just take off into the woods with your sister without knowing where you were," Isaac continued.

"It was an accident," Jack replied, voice getting higher.

"Your accident could have gotten both of you killed," the father nearly shouted.

The boy was quiet for a few moments, head bowed. Then, suddenly, he looked up, straight into his father's eyes. "Are you going to beat me?" The eyes were steady, but the slight tremble to his voice betrayed the otherwise calm words.

The Guardians all gasped, glancing between their Jack and his past self. Were they about to see him getting hurt?

Isaac gasped as well, eyes going wide. His face lost its fearsome expression it had worn moments earlier. He bent down to his son's height. "Jack, why would you ask that?"

The boy looked away again, rushing out a torrent of words. "My friends said their parents beat them if they do something really bad. I thought maybe I just had not done something bad enough yet but this was really bad and -," he trailed off, looking into his father's shocked face. "I just wanted to be prepared." When there was still more silence in the hut, Jack looked down again. "I really am sorry."

Finally, Isaac seemed to regain himself, blinking out of his reverie. "Oh Jack, I know. What you did was bad but I know you are sorry and I think you have learned your lesson." He looked quickly at his wife who still seemed to be shocked by her son's outburst. "Neither I nor your mother are ever going to beat you. We do not believe in that method of punishment."

"Oh," Jack replied lamely, a faint rush of blood tingeing his cheeks.

"Do not think that means you are off the hook though, young man," Isaac said sternly. "You are still in trouble."

"I know," the boy stated, squaring his shoulders as if readying himself for whatever was to come.

"No seeing your friends for a week and you have to do your sister's share of chores."

Jack nodded solemnly, taking the punishment calmly.

"And," Isaac added, "Next time I go hunting you are coming with me." At Jack's sharp glance upwards, he explained. "I do not want you getting lost in the woods again." With that, his smirk finally returned, one to which the boy gave a returning smile.

"Thanks dad," he murmured as his father stood, moving back towards the fire. Jack made his way over to his mother who was rocking Penelope to sleep. "Is Poppy okay?" he asked.

Mary nodded. "Now I expect you are hungry since you missed dinner."

The boy nodded, smiling widely and with a big thank you as his mother gave him a plate of food.

Mary and Isaac exchanged a look that the young Jack didn't see. It was one of pride for their son with a bit of exasperation mixed in.

"I can't believe parents actually beat their children," Tooth exclaimed. "How horrible is that."

North shrugged, "It happened all the time. 'Twas very common."

"But it's awful," Tooth protested.

"Awful or not, it happened," North brushed it off.

Jack shrugged too, it wasn't uncommon in his time. He was just lucky to have parents who didn't believe in it. That wasn't to say that he never experienced it when he was younger.

There was a flash of white and they were surrounded by snow in the middle of the forest again. This time though, the two people in the memory were the young Jack and Isaac. It seemed to be late winter, the snow in the process of melting.

"Hey Jack, ready to lead us back," Isaac asked.

The boy nodded, happily bounding ahead to lead the way. He kicked up bits of snow and overall just playing around as he ran on. It was one of those days where the sun shone brightly over the freshly fallen snow. It was bitterly cold but the happiness and radiance the young Jack was exuding seemed to brighten the day considerably.

Isaac just smiled as he looked at his son thoroughly enjoying himself. However, there was a howl up ahead and his grin quickly slid of his face. "Jackson," he called severely.

Quickly, the boy came running back, face tight with fear as he appeared to have heard the howl as well. "I thought the wolves around here are more active at night."

"They are," Isaac murmured, whipping his head back and forth. "That was a dog and they are usually found with the Indians."

The colour seemed to drain out of Jack's face as the words processed.

"We need to hide somewhere," the fathered murmured, scanning the nearly open woods around him. The bushes wouldn't provide enough cover and their tracks could easily be followed.

"Come," Jack instructed, grabbing his father's hand.

"What?" Isaac hissed. "What are you doing."

"We passed a place we could hide not long ago."

The father stared at his son, seemingly debating over whether he should trust the instructions.

"Come on, we are wasting time," Jack urged. His father finally followed, but not before grabbing a branch to quickly erase their footprints before they left. He swept it after them, getting rid of their trail. Together, the two of them ran, following the boy's lead. Quickly, he turned off the main trail, climbing over a few fallen trees before ducking into a tight area that was heavily screened. It seemed to be a couple of fallen trees together, one of them a coniferous tree with its branches still wreathed with leaves. Those leaves were covered with snow, making a great cover for the two of them to crawl into.

"Good job," Isaac murmured once the two of them had gotten settled.

Tooth fluttered up from where she had been sitting beside the winter spirit, fluttering her wings anxiously. "Oh my goodness," she exclaimed, wringing her hands together.

Jack had the nerve to send her a smile. "It's okay Tooth," he assured. "We were completely fine." However, his face dropped a moment later, something which all of the Guardians caught. Tooth seemed about to ask but Sandy shook his head. They would find out eventually and it was better not to make the teen relive whatever it is twice.

A tribe of heavily clothed men passed by, dogs tugging at their bounds. Some looked towards where Jack and Isaac were hiding but the others seemed uninterested. When the men had finally passed by, Isaac let out a relieve sigh. They waited a few more minutes to make sure.

"How did you know about this place?" the father asked when they had climbed out of the hiding spot.

"I saw it when we were walking around and I thought that if I were an animal being hunted, this is where I would go," Jack replied simply. He was already taking up the task of guiding them home again, apparently unfazed by their experience.

Isaac chuckled deeply, "I'm just lucky that I have a smart son.

The Guardians looked over to see their Jack smiling faintly at the compliment.

A few more happy scenes passed by: the family celebrating Mary's birthday, Jack playing with his friends, the boy laughing and getting into trouble with his sister. The season changed to spring and then to summer and Isaac left them again, going out to do his job. Jack showed both of his sides, his mischievous one by pulling pranks on his friends, on the village and very lightly on his mother and sister. However, he also showed how kind he was. He was constantly helping out his mother, spending time with his sister, offering to do chores or help out those in the village who needed it. Despite all his jokes, it seemed that those in the village were willing to accept his help. They knew when he was being serious.

Then, the next memory came with Jack standing at the entrance to the cottage, pouting.

"But mom," he whined, "I don't want to go to school."

Mary sighed as if they had been having this conversation all morning (which they probably had been.)

The Guardians couldn't help themselves. They burst out laughing, all except Tooth who was struggling very hard against it.

"Ya sound like every child who ever lived," Bunny laughed, looking at the winter spirit's neutral expression. Jack seemed unsure how to respond. The Pooka paused, looking back at the other Guardians. With all of these new memories of the winter spirit that they were seeing, it was sometimes hard to remember that he was still shy and unsure. He could only imagine how Jack was feeling, fighting with this other personality that was so much lighter and more carefree than his memories as a spirit made him.

"You have to go to school. No complaining mister," Mary added when Jack opened his mouth to do just that. "Bartholomew is going to be there and Lila is in the same schoolhouse. Now go, meet your friends."

Reluctantly, Jack wandered off, still with a despondent look on his face. However, upon seeing his friend, he perked up considerably, rushing up to Bartholomew. "Hey 'Tholomew, how about we do not go to school today."

The other boy shook his head. "We have to go," he insisted.

"No fun," Jack muttered, but otherwise gave no other resistance as the two walked to a large building. It was obviously the school house by the large number of children milling outside.

"Hi Jack," a voice called.

The boy turned, waving excitedly to Lila as she came up to him. "Hi Lila, do you want to not go to school today?"

"Sorry Jack," she replied, ruffling his hair, "We have to go."

He responded with a noise of protest as she messed up his hair. "You are going to pay for that," he called. With that, he was chasing after his friend, her laughing all of the way. Thoughts of ditching school were already forgotten.


This time, Jack was sitting in a desk, staring glumly down at it. It was obviously a different day by the fact that he was wearing a new set of clothes. However, the view out the windows was one of late fall based on all of the leaves nearly gone from the trees.

The teacher was droning on, his deep voice almost soothing in its monotonous tone. He yelled suddenly, calling out a pair of students for talking. He assigned them to write lines after class. Then, he screamed at another student for doodling on her chalkboard, telling her to come up and get the dunce cap. His temper seemed to be increasing, constantly spinning back to locate students doing something wrong.

Finally, just as the teacher had gotten back into the rhythm of his teaching, he spun back, yelling, "Jackson."

They young Jack had been staring into space, not paying attention. However, he quickly snapped to attention. "Yes sir," he responded.

"Come up to the front," the teacher demanded. Swallowing heavily, the boy did it. "Now hold out your hands."

"But –"

"Now," the teacher yelled.

It took Jack a moment to comply. He wasn't the first person to be caught zoning out in class. It usually just meant wearing the dunce cap, never this.

The teacher snapped up his ruler.

"No," Tooth gasped, "He wouldn't." She glanced at the teenage Jack and he looked away from her, away from the scene playing in front of him. That just confirmed her worst suspicions and she gasped at the sound of the ruler hitting the boy's hands. To his credit, the young Jack didn't gasp even though the Tooth Fairy did. The male Guardians winced, having seen this method of punishment before. It was always hard, especially now that it was one of their own and completely not deserved.

"That bloody ratbag," Bunny cursed after another couple hits. "You didn't even do anything," he aimed that last comment at the winter spirit.

Jack shrugged, not appearing fazed. It was all in the past after all.

The boy suffered through ten lashes to each hand, biting his cheek to keep from crying out. However, he was glaring up at the teacher. A burning fire took over in his eyes, an intense look passing between them when the teacher finally let him go.

"Are you okay?" Bartholomew asked when Jack made it back to his seat.

The boy just nodded numbly.

Class was released a few minutes later and several students gathered by Jack, giving him their sympathy and expressing how wrong the teacher had been to punish him.

"You didn't even do anything," one exclaimed.

"He should be driven out of the village," another commented.

Finally, it was just Jack, Lila and Bartholomew.

"Are you okay?" Lila asked.

"Ya," Jack murmured, glancing at his red hands. Then, he shoved them in his pocket, eyes hardening as he glanced back at the school.

"He's always had it out for you," 'Tholomew stated. "He gets you over the smallest rule breaking. Remember when he made you stand at the front with the dunce cap all day because you asked the guy behind you for a piece of chalk."

The brunette nodded mutely.

"Jack, don't do something stupid," Lila cautioned.

"I am not going to do something stupid," Jack assured.

She still looked concerned. "What are you going to do?" He didn't respond, just walking silently beside her. "Jackson," she exclaimed, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I know Mr. Jacovi is terrible, especially to you for some reason, but that does not mean you have to be stupid about it."

"I'm not going to be," he retorted.

"Then what are you going to do," she demanded, keeping a hold on him.

"I'm going to get even." With that, he spun out of her grip, storming back towards his house.

"Vhat did he do to you?" North asked cautiously.

Jack looked up at them from his place on the ground, looking around at their curious expressions. He sighed lightly, brushing his hair back from his face. He shrugged, "He was unfair."

"In what way?" Bunny questioned.

"He would punish me more than other people, get me on rules he did not apply to anyone else. He also would mark my tests wrong even if I had the right answers," the winter spirit explained quietly, not quite meeting any of their gaze.

"Why?" Tooth asked the question everyone was thinking.

The teen shrugged again. "He didn't like my father. Something about my father once selling him a bad sheep."

"That vas it?" North questioned, incredulous.

Jack nodded.

They got to watch the progression of Jack's revenge on Mr. Jacovi. First, there was the testing of the waters where the boy would get caught doing the smallest things, watching to see what the punishment would be. More often than not, it was much harsher than the infraction deserved. Then, there was the careful observation of the punishment others received for the same crime.

However, before the real retribution could begin, school stopped for the winter. Jack played with his sister, went hunting with his dad, tried to learn to cook from his mom. That last venture however was largely unsuccessful.

"So ya still can't cook?" Bunny asked, teasing.

However, Jack just raised an eyebrow, smirk decorating his lips. Otherwise, he refused to respond.

The other Guardians looked at each other, measuring the improvement in the winter child through the others' eyes.

However, winter was just a reprieve in the revenge. As soon as Mr. Jacovi showed to still be biased and unfair, Jack got right down to tricks.

At the beginning, he just wouldn't answer questions in class unless directly asked. Then, he began sneaking into the classroom before school started and erasing lines from the lesson. Him and Bartholomew chuckled about that for a while before the pranking vamped up.

Mr. Jacovi couldn't prove anything but his punishment of Jack increased. The two seemed to be locked in battle. The boy would find new and creative ways to prank his teacher without getting caught whereas Mr. Jacovi would find new and creative ways to punish his student. He made him stay late after school, erase all of the chalkboards, clean the floors, wear the dunce hat in the playground. There were more beating with the ruler, a few spankings. Once, seeking to embarrass the boy, Mr. Jacovi had Jack try and teach a lesson. However, that one had backfired as the brunette had proved competent, barely even stumbling over the advanced material.

Jack, Bartholomew and a grudging Lila were laughing about it all after school when the teacher came out, yelling out to Jack.

"Come here boy."

"Yes sir," Jack returned, voice exaggerating the politeness of the words so much it was almost rude.

"Come in." Mr. Jacovi marched to his desk, the brunette trailing afterwards. "Do you think you are clever?" he asked.

"No sir. I think my marks prove that." Again, he was poker faced, too innocent in his demeanor.

"Good," Mr. Jacovi shot back, biting into the words with relish. "At least you know that you are an imbecile. You will never amount to anything. You delight in terrorizing others for no reason other than your own entertainment. You will end up just like your father, a poor shepherd struggling to support his family."

The nine year old let the anger seep onto his face, teeth clenched tightly. "My father has nothing to do with this," he spat. Then, he added, "sir," in the best scathing tone his young voice could come up with.

"I believe that proper raising of a child has everything to do with this and is something your father cannot manage." He cut in at seeing Jack open his mouth to snap back a retort. "You will not speak unless spoken to if you do not want me to beat manners into you. It is my job to teach my students not only in the maths, writing and religion, but also manners."

"That ratbag," Bunny fumed, drowning out the teacher's next words.

"How can he do that?" Tooth shrieked.

Sandy crouched down beside Jack, ignoring his fuming friends. 'You okay?' he asked gently.

The teen nodded, looking into the dream maker's eyes. "It was a long time ago."

'I know, but memories can still hurt.'

Jack smiled lightly, then, it quirked upwards until it was a shadow of his younger self's deviousness. "I got back at him," he admitted quietly.

'I can't wait to see.'

The teacher was still fuming, seemingly wondering whether to bring out his ruler. However, the young Jack was standing, expression neutral as if unaware of what had angered the man.

"Do not deny your actions, Jackson," Mr Jacovi snarled.

"Have you not told us never to lie sir? I would never disregard one of your lessons," the angelic face was back, mocking the teacher. "Do you deny your actions?" the boy asked.

"My actions are not under question here."

"Oh, then you do recognize your actions as being unjust. I am very glad that we are being honest with one another."

"My actions are not unjust," Mr. Jacovi shouted.

"But sir, did you not just admit to that?" Jack asked, mock confused.

"No," the teacher spat. "You are twisting my words for your own comprehension."

"I could never do that. I am an imbecile as you so kindly informed me. An imbecile most certainly would not be capable of that. That is unless you were lying about that too."

Mr. Jacovi's face turned red and Tooth gasped, clinging to Bunny. The teacher looked mad enough to hit his student.

"You vere just nine, right?" North asked.

Jack nodded, sincerely confused by the question.

"Shoshtacovitch, if you vere that smart then, I am afraid for everyone as you grew up."

The teen smiled slightly, looking down at the ground.

Forcibly calming himself, the teacher lowered himself into his seat, seemingly defeated. "Your claims are unfounded, Jackson and I will be keeping a close eye on you. I do not stand for trouble makers in my class. Now get out of my sight."

The boy walked calmly out of the room, but began leaping with joy as he ran up to his friends. "I won," he exclaimed.

They all walked away, chatting and scheming as the brunette filled them in on the details.

There were more pranks and punishments sustained on both sides. The pranks getting more bold and creative, the punishments less so. Mr. Jacovi was furious, lowering Jack's grades even farther in retaliation.

At this point, nearly the whole class was aware of what was occurring. Many participated in Jack's crusade, pulling pranks and generally antagonizing the horrid teacher. Some got caught, some didn't. However, the result was the same. Mr. Jacovi was getting closer and closer to his wits end.

"Jackson, come in here," Mary called one day after school. Isaac was at home, stopping by for a week before going to visit another village.

Jack exchanged a glance with his friends, going nervously into the house. "Am I in trouble?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes," Mary said. Then, "No, I don't know."

The boy looked at her quizzically before turning his attention to his father.

"Your marks at school are dropping," Isaac clarified.

Jack waited patiently, not saying a word. His face was neutral as if he couldn't decide if his parents were going to chastise him or not.

"You are a smart kid, Jack. We did not think it was due to difficulties with the material," Mary explained. "We would like to hear the actual reason."

The brunette opened his mouth to respond, glancing back and forth between his parents before closing it. He looked more nervous than when he had come in.

"Jack," Isaac said sternly. "What did you do?"

"Why does Mr. Jacovi not like you?" the boy asked, changing the subject.

His father looked taken aback, confused by the swap in topics. "Is that what this is about, mine and your teacher's personal difficulties?"

"Not completely," Jack admitted, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

"Then I repeat," Isaac said, "What did you do?"

"Well," the boy blew out a breath, disturbing the strand of hair he had just tucked away. "He really does not like me. It started out as just a personal matter because he does not like you. Let's just say that I do not like being treated unfairly." He paused, fiddling with his fingers as he looked down. "So if he was going to be unfair, I was going to be unfair as well."

Mary sighed, rubbing a hand across her face. "Oh Jack. What in the world did you do?"

"He started it," the boy muttered. However, at the sharp glance from both of his parents, he sighed as well. "I may or may not have pulled a few pranks on him. I also may have erased some of his lessons, and put a bucket of dung over the door. I also may have put tar on his seat and put a slug in his boot."

Mary sighed, turning to her husband. "Isaac," she scolded, watching him chuckle quietly. At that, he burst out laughing, nearly doubling over with mirth.

"I'm sorry dear," the man managed through his chuckles.

Jack was stunned, face an open book of shock. "You aren't mad?"

"No, I mean yes," Isaac redirected at his wife's glare. He couldn't resist. "Have you been caught?"

The boy shook his head, bewildered. At his father's responding laughter though, he smiled slightly.

"Do not encourage him," Mary reprimanded.

"I really am sorry dear, but how do you not find this funny?"

"Because our son's marks are suffering because he has been pranking his teacher." She stayed strong for a moment before she also burst into laughter, unable to contain it any longer.

Penelope came barreling into the room, a questioning look on her face. "What's so funny?" she asked.

Jack turned to her, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He crouched down, lightly holding onto his sister's shoulders. "When you get to school, Poppy, always be nice to your teacher. If he or she is not nice to you, then tell me or mom and dad. We will deal with it."

"Oooookay," the little girl said, deeply confused by the situation. "I just wanted to tell mommy and daddy that I am going to play with some of my friends."

"Go ahead dear," Mary encouraged, pulling herself together.

Penelope ran out of the room, casting one last confused look at her family.

"I do not understand, Jack. You can be so mature, as you just were with Poppy. Then you resort to putting slugs in your teacher's boot."

The boy shrugged. "Poppy's going to be better than me. I know it."


It was only a few days later, as older Jack told them. There was no school that day, being a holiday, and Jack was helping his father prepare to leave.

He could have sworn that he only left the bag of feed outside for two minutes. It was the sticky kind, one that clung to your hands and anything you touched if the smallest amount of moisture was added.

Jack went outside, running to complete his chores when he stopped dead, eyes wide. There were two of their pigs, covered in mud, sticky feed and feathers, walking through the yard. "Oh no," Jack mumbled to himself. He ran after them, trying to grab them before they made it any farther. Unfortunately, he had no luck.

So that's why he was running into town, chasing two pigs that were covered in feathers and making an absolute racket. "Watch out," he yelled. "No, stupid pig…. Not over there … Really?"

The townspeople were looking on with varying reactions. Some were laughing hysterically, watching his failed attempts to wrangle the pigs. Others were sneering at him, cursing 'that Frost boy' for another prank. Finally, some did join in and attempt to help.

Jack had cornered one on someone's property when the person swung the door open and the pig dashed at the boy's momentary distraction, upending the man standing there and charging itself into another corner.

"I'm so sorry," Jack exclaimed, moving to help up the fallen man. He was confident in the other townsfolk's ability to catch the pig as they were already surrounding it.

"Do not even dare to touch me," the fallen man seethed. His turned his face upwards, revealing himself to be Mr. Jacovi.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Jacovi, that was a complete accident. Are you okay?"

"No, I am not," the teacher replied, pulling himself to his feet. "I am absolutely done with you and your nonsense." He seized the boy by the wrist, yanking him harshly towards the door. Mr. Jacovi ducked in to grab something before pulling Jack back outside.

"I swear, this was nothing to do with you," Jack tried. "It was a complete accident."

"Somehow, I just do not believe you. Funny how that works." He pulled Jack over to his fence, throwing him against it so that the boy's back was facing the teacher. "Now kneel down."

"What?" Jack exclaimed. However, he was not given the liberty of an explanation or repetition. He was just forced to his knees.

"Oh my God," Tooth exclaimed, looking at the item in the teacher's hand. "He isn't going to. He can't."

As Mr. Jacovi raised it, she buried her face into North's large jacket.

Jack watched them all react, blinking owlishly up at them. If they couldn't handle this, how were they going to react to seeing his memories as a spirit?

There was a whistling noise and then the younger Jack cried out, a line of red threading his back and a shred appearing in his shirt. There was another lash and another cry. The boy readied himself for a third when there was a sudden thud.

"What in the hell are you doing?" a voice called. Jack turned, watching his father run up to the scene. Another man stood between him and the teacher, arm still outstretched as if he were the one who had pushed Mr. Jacovi to the ground.

Isaac rounded on the teacher. "What the hell were you doing to my son?"

The man sprang to his feet, fuming. "Only what he deserved."

"He deserved nothing that you gave him."

"Oh really? He is just a no good trouble maker who will end up like his pathetic father some day. I was just trying to teach him a lesson."

Isaac's voice was deadly as he spoke. "If you cannot keep your private and professional life separate then you are not worthy of respect. If you cannot keep your temper, you are not fit to teach children."

"You are not fit to teach my son," a woman called from the crowd.

"Or my daughter," a man added.

"Or mine."

"Or mine."

"You will never get another job in this town again," someone else cried.

"Pack up your things and leave," Isaac instructed, only turning from the man when he went back into his cottage. Then, he bent down to his son, brown eyes filled to the brim with concern. "Oh my God Jack, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry," the boy murmured.

"For what?" the father asked, bewildered.

"About the pigs. It was an accident."

"Oh Jack. I know. Now let's get you home." He helped Jack to his feet, watching as his son winced.

The scene quickly transitioned to Jack and Isaac at home, a healer in to tend to his wounds.

Mary was fretting by his bedside, hands rubbing anxiously together. "Oh my baby. Are you sure you are okay?"

"Yes mother," he sighed, wincing slightly as the last bandage was applied to his back.

"Now you should rest for a few days, make sure those lashes begin to mend," the healer instructed.

"Yes sir," Jack nodded.

With the man gone, his family crowded around the bed, Poppy coming to sit directly beside him. Jack sat, leaning his back against the wall and tucking his sister under his arm.

"I think you have already received your punishment for being careless with the pigs," Isaac stated.

Jack nodded, looking down.

"Although you did not deserve what you got," the father continued.

"Who will teach us now?" the brunette asked suddenly.

"I do not know," Mary responded. "I am quite sure they will come up with someone more competent than your previous teacher though."

There was a loud knock at the door and Mary rose to take care of it. Moments later, she peeked her head into Jack's room. "Are you okay for some visitors?"

He nodded.

"A lot of visitors?"

Jack nodded again, furrowing his brows together slightly. Then, nearly the entire school came pouring into his small room, cramming themselves in together while the others stood at the door. They all shouted out their congratulations and thanks to him for getting rid of the teacher. Bartholemew and Lila came to sit directly beside him.

"Are you okay?" Lila asked.

"I will be," he murmured back to her.

"Good job," 'Tholomew congratulated. "You are going to be the hero of the school."

Lila rolled her eyes. "Yes, the boy who took one for the team."

"It was an accident," he confided to them.

"Yes, but that is not the story you need to tell," Lila winked conspiratorially.

"Oh my goodness," Tooth exclaimed once again, this time going right up to the teen. "Are you okay?"

"It happened a long time ago," Jack stated, speaking to the ground.

"You did it though," North declared, "Got rid of that horrible teacher."

At that, the winter spirit looked up, giving the Guardians a rare wide smile.

AN: In response to Guest, I am going to be showing Jack's memories of Pitch, that was really my whole reason for showing the memories. However, the childhood (and I'll also be showing early spirit life) are just added bonuses.

So, that reference to Indians in the middle somewhere. I am not trying to be offensive. I just wanted to stick with the times and the word they probably would have used. Also, the reference to dogs is not necessarily historically accurate.

Also, that story right at the end with the pigs. If it seems a little familiar, that is because Jack told part of it to Jamie during the Playdate chapter.