"Did you see that?"

Baby Tooth chirped at Jack and shook her head as if to say no.

"It's me! I had a family, I had a sister. I saved her!"

Chirpchirpchirp

"And that girl! The one I saw through the ice! Who was she? I...I have to find her."

Chirpchirp

"I know it's been several centuries Baby Tooth. But she's out there somewhere, I can feel it."

Chirpchirpchirp

"What do you mean we can't go now? Oh right, Pitch. But-"

Chirp!

"You're right. The Guardians need me. She's waited a few hundred years, she can wait for a while more. First, the Nightmare King. We have to get out of here."

As it turned out, she could not wait a while more.

Jack had felt it during the battle, the beginnings of their connection weakening, but it had been swept under all the adrenaline. Now that it was over and he had said his goodbyes to Jamie, he could tell for sure. Whoever she was, she was disappearing. He needed to find her, and fast.

"North, I gotta go."

The massive Guardian looked up from his sleigh and nodded, understanding shining in his eyes.

"Go, Jack. You know how to find us."

Jack took off, not quite sure where to go but hoping that their bond would guide him there. He had to find her. He had to. Even if it was just for a moment, he needed to see that girl.

Come on, ice lady. Where are you?

The Guardian grunted in exasperation. This was getting him nowhere. Jack felt the frustration bubbling in his chest. At this rate, he wouldn't get to her in time. He looked up to the moon.

Help me out here. Please.

Just then, he felt the wind he was riding on blow harder and move faster. Jack looked down in confusion before he realised the wind was bringing him somewhere. It was trying to bring him to her! A new wave of determination settling in, he flew as fast as he could in the direction the wind was guiding him to.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally saw the tips of a castle peaking over the tops of snowy mountains. The castle was like no other. It was made completely of ice, and shimmered in the sunlight. However, Jack could see small droplets of water rolling down the sides, reflecting even more light. The castle was melting.

Jack felt the wind guiding him to a balcony and landed there. He saw a figure pause on the other side of the massive door, and at that moment, he knew it was the girl he had been looking for all this time. They both rushed towards the door separating them, and Jack threw them open. There stood the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her hair was no longer in the braid he remembered her in, but it was free and blowing in the wind. She wore a white dress that shimmered in the sunlight, and her sandals were so clear it was almost as if she were barefoot.

Just like me.

But Jack could see the snowflakes floating around her, and he knew he had not imagined their weakening connection. Her powers were fading, and so was she. They had no time left. In all the years since he had died and become a spirit, he had never wanted more time, not until now. Her eyes, as blue as he remembered, bore into his and shone with longing. Jack had no doubt that his reflected the same.

Just before she faded into millions of tiny snowflakes, she smiled brightly at him. It was the brightest smile Jack had ever seen, and definitely not what one would expect from a person - if she was even human, she probably wasn't but Jack didn't know what she was nor did he care, just that she was the girl he had been looking for and she was very pretty and she was disappearing fast - who was about to fade away.

"Hello."

Snowflakes swirled around him, but Jack barely processed it. He knew they would meet again someday, and if her first and only word to him was any indication, she knew it too. But he couldn't help the feeling of regret that was surging through him. Ever since he had woken up 300 years ago, he had felt a strange sensation in his chest, but he had just brushed it off as one of the many things he didn't understand. And when he finally regained his memories, when he finally realised that the strange feeling was actually his soul calling out to hers, her time had run out. He hadn't even managed to get her name.

Just then, he felt the ice beneath his feet fade as well, and he just barely managed to call the wind in time before the rest of the castle dissolved into snowflakes as well. He may be a Guardian, but his experience with Pitch had shown that he could still feel pain, and he would really much rather not be sent hurling to the ground a second time. Jack floated higher, intending to make his way back to the North pole, but his eyes caught sight of a small town in the distance. Maybe he could learn more about her there.

Welcome to Arendelle!

Jack looked up at the massive stone sign at the gates leading into the city. Arendelle. He remembered coming here several decades ago when he had been wandering around the world. It was what he called the city of ice and snow. The entire place looked like it had been frozen over, but it had also been one of the most beautiful places he had ever been to. Now however, the city looked like it was thawing. Jack realised with a start that it was most likely her powers that had kept Arendelle frozen. It would explain why he had felt like there was something calling out to him when he had visited back then, but he didn't remember seeing her. She had probably been away. Jack cursed internally. They could have met so many years ago. The two of them really had impeccable timing, just in the wrong way.

Floating through the city, he heard the citizens' excited chatter.

"Did you hear? The newborn princess has platinum blonde hair and blue eyes! Just like the Snow Queen Elsa did! Do you think she has the same powers?"

Platinum blonde hair and blue eyes? Powers? It sounded just like the girl. Her name must be Elsa.

"Arendelle thrived after it froze over hundreds of years ago. What will happen now that we're finally thawing?"

"Since the new princess has powers, I'm sure we'll enter another golden age! Didn't you know? Those powers are seen as a sign of prosperity and good fortune!"

"The sculpture in Olaf's Plaza is still frozen. I don't think Snow Queen Elsa's magic is gone, they've just been transferred to the Princess."

By this point, Jack was sure that the girl's name was Elsa and that she had faded away because some baby got her powers. The thought of a child excited him, and he flew excitedly towards what he was sure was the royal palace. Since he was here, he might as well do his job.

Peering in through one of the massive windows, Jack spotted a small bundle with the same blonde hair he had seen on Elsa. As he approached the cradle, the baby caught sight of him and let out a giggle, her tiny hands reaching out to him. Snowflakes swirled around them.

"So, you're the reason I didn't get to spend more time with Elsa huh."

But there was no maliciousness in his voice. Instead, a huge, cheesy grin had broken out on his face. The princess was adorable. He created a small cloud above her head and let tiny snowflakes fall on her. The princess let out another giggle as a snowflake landed on her nose, more snowflakes joining the ones he created.

"Don't forget me okay? I'll be back to play when you're a little older. We can have snowball fights!"

Blue eyes peered at him as if begging him not to go, but a yawn soon took over. Yet, those same eyes continued to stare at him blearily, struggling to stay awake.

Jack couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He liked her already.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it. Snowy dreams, princess."

As if she understood him, the princess' eyes slowly closed. Before long, she was sound asleep.

Deciding he might as well explore the palace, Jack wandered out into the corridors. Passing by what seemed like an exhibition room, he jumped when he caught sight of Elsa from the corner of his eye. However, when he turned, he realised it was just a statue.

You've got to be kidding me. She was royalty? He figured he should've known from how the townspeople had been referring to her as Snow Queen, but he had thought it was just a title. He didn't realise she had actually been a queen.

Passing by the other statues, he stopped in front of Elsa's. She wore the same outfit he had first seen her in, a hand outstretched with a snowflake sitting atop it. Her braided hair sat over her shoulder. She was still pretty, but Jack personally thought she looked better with her hair unbound and free. He bent down to read the plaque at her feet.

Snow Queen Elsa

1817 - 1838

Daughter to King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, and older sister to Queen Anna, Queen Elsa is the first to have been born with powers of ice and snow. She took over the throne at a young age due to King Agnarr and Queen Iduna's early passing. Prior to her official coronation, her powers were kept a secret from the general public. Queen Elsa froze Arendelle during her coronation and for a short while, her powers were thought to be a curse. However, after her passing at the hands of Prince Hans of the Southernisle in the same year, her powers were seen as a blessing as Arendelle entered a golden age. Queen Elsa is thought to have been reincarnated as a spirit. Many have claimed that she has come to visit them when they have lost hope, and brought hope back to them. Arendelle's beautiful snowfall is said to have been her doing. She has since been known as Snow Queen Elsa.

Jack stared in shock. 1838? A spirit? She had been around for about as long as he had! How had they not found each other for so long? Jack let out a sigh. There was no point in thinking about it now. She was gone, and who knew how long it would be until they found each other again? Hopefully when that time came around, it would be for more than a few seconds. Figuring that it was time he left, Jack headed for the window. He would be returning to Arendelle anyway.

Jack sighed yet again as he stared into snowy nothingness. He had made his way back to the North's Workshop and reported to the rest of the Guardians, before excusing himself to think. But as he sat on one of the snowy cliffs, he wondered if maybe he should've stayed inside. Currently, he was not having fun with where his mind was bringing him.

"Penny for your thoughts, my boy?"

"I'd have a fortune then, North. Or maybe be in debt, seeing how I might prefer to pay someone to get rid of them."

"Did you find her?"

Jack whipped around to face North.

"How did you know?"

North only smiled and made his way to sit beside Jack.

"I only figured it out when you left. She was the Snow Queen, Elsa, am I right?"

Jack nodded.

"Did you know her?"

"You could say that. Elsa had, after all, been around for quite some time as well. I saw her once a year, when I would visit Arendelle for Christmas. We never really talked for long. She came by several decades ago, looking for someone. I didn't realise it was you."

"Yeah, well. Turns out I was in Arendelle at that time she was away."

"But you eventually found her, did you not? So what's gotten you in such a tizzy."

Jack let out yet another sigh. If he wasn't immortal, he would probably have already sighed his entire life force away.

"She faded into snowflakes seconds after I found her. Turns out her powers had been transferred to another princess. I...I know I'll see her again but… but what if I'm wrong? The first time we saw each other, we had both been human, albeit on the brink of death. The second, we were both spirits. And even then, we barely saw each other for a full minute. We had years to find each other North, over 300, seeing that she had become a spirit around the same time as me, yet we only found each other when she was about to disappear. What if I never find her again? Or what if I find her and she doesn't remember me? What if she's reborn as a human, and she doesn't believe in me, and can't see me? I...I don't think I would be able to handle that."

Jack flopped back onto the snow. While it had felt good to let that out, Jack doubted there was anything that could be done to absolve his worries.

"When Elsa came by all those years ago, she had talked about how she felt like her soul had been tethered to another's. Did you feel the same?"

Jake grunted in agreement.

Contrary to what he had expected, North let out a hearty chuckle. Jack sat up and stared at him like he had just declared Christmas to be the worst holiday ever.

"My boy, you have nothing to worry about! The two of you are soulmates!"

"...what?"

"The two of you are connected by some magical power even I can't explain. You met for the first time as humans on the verge of dying, and then again as spirits. You've found each other in 2 lifetimes, what makes you think you won't find each other in the next? You said it yourself Jack, you know you'll see her again. There's no need to doubt yourself."

"North. I'm immortal. We all are. There is no next lifetime for us."

He had expected North to say something, but the big man had been silent.

"...North?"

"What do you think immortality means, Jack?"

To say Jack had been taken aback by that question would be an understatement. He hadn't expected it at all.

"Not dying? I don't know. I guess I never really thought about it."

"You're not wrong, but not right either. Immortality means not dying, but it doesn't quite mean living forever either. The two aren't mutually exclusive."

Jack only stared at North like he had grown another head.

"Take Elsa for example. She was immortal, was she not? She's been around for centuries, just like you and me. Yet, when her time came, she still had to go. She didn't die, but she didn't live forever either, did she?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"As Guardians, or as spirits, we're going to be around for a long, long time. However, that doesn't mean we'll be around forever. Just like mortals, our time is also capable of running out. But unlike them, we do not have a finite, or predicted lifespan. We could be around for another 100 years, or another 1000 years. Maybe we'll really be around forever. Who knows? Probably not even Man in Moon. It's unpredictable, really. But that is why it's even more important for us to live everyday to the fullest. To see everything with wonder, with hope, with fun."

"But…if we're going to be gone one day, then who's going to protect the children?"

North let out another hearty chuckle.

"Do you remember what you told little Jamie? You don't stop believing in the moon just because the sun comes out. The Guardians will always be around. Maybe it won't be you or me, but there will always be someone to protect the children. We just have to trust Manny.

"You'll see her again one day. Maybe it'll be as a spirit, or maybe it'll be when you're both reborn. The connection the two of you have is stronger than anything you can ever imagine. Have faith, Jack. When the time comes, you'll know."

The Guardian of Wonder ruffled Jack's hair, making it even messier than it already was. Jack swatted his hand away, glaring playfully, a smile forming at his lips.

"Thanks, North."

"Hey North?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"I think it's time."

The massive Guardian smiled woefully, pulling the winter spirit into a big hug.

"We'll miss you Jack. Remember to believe in us."

Jack burrowed his head into North's chest, trying to hide his tears. The man had grown into a father figure for him.

"I will. I'll even try my best to stay on the nice list"

North let out a belly laugh, the last Jack would hear for a while.

"Don't worry, my boy. I'll come see you even if you're naughty."

"Goodbye, North."

North released Jack from the hug. Jack smiled up at North, tears brimming in both of their eyes, before he faded into millions of tiny snowflakes.

"Goodbye, Jack. I know you'll find her again."