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Well, I meant to post this sooner, but I felt like I could barely stay awake most of the past week sooooo… here it is now.

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Jack was fine.

He really was right then.

The veil of apathy had settled around him again, and he could finally breathe, finally move without feeling like the weight of his own loneliness was smothering him.

Sure, he wasn't happy, but he wasn't sad, either. Or maybe he was. There was some floating awareness of the heaviness in his chest and the squeezing of his heart, but at the same time, he didn't really feel it. It was as if he was disconnected from those sensations, as if they weren't entirely his own even if his body could still feel them.

Good.

He liked it better that way. As long as he didn't really feel it, as long as those emotions didn't feel like his own, he would be okay. When his mind disconnected, he couldn't feel happy or sad or anything else really (though he usually didn't feel happy otherwise, anyway), but he could do things. He didn't feel the desire to do them, either, but if it was something he knew he was supposed to do, he could do it without difficulty. He didn't have to spend hours just trying to convince himself to move, as if he was a frozen sculpture of ice.

This way, at least he was somewhat functional.

And so, taking advantage of the disconnected apathy while it was there, Jack left the South Pole and began to make his way to the northern hemisphere. He had to make sure the weather didn't get too messed up while he was gone (and how long had he been gone, anyway? Even he wasn't really sure).

Before long, he confirmed that everything was generally in order. After all, he was the shepherd of winter, but it didn't really need him to keep it on track at all times (usually, anyway). His main job was monitoring to check if anything is going wrong, and if it is, to fix it. The Earth typically had normal day-to-day things covered.

By the looks of it, it was getting to be winter, now. That gave Jack pause for a moment, since it had been sometime around the end of winter and the beginning of spring that Jack had retreated to the South Pole.

Had it really been that long?

Eventually, Jack managed to find a calendar hanging close enough to someone's window that he could see it, confirming what he'd thought. It was almost the end of November now (not technically winter by date, but certainly by weather in this part of the world).

"Huh. Guess it really has been a while."

That was probably the longest amount of time yet that Jack had hidden himself away like that. Some part of him knew he should care, knew he should probably be concerned, but he didn't feel or acknowledge it. Instead, he just recognized the slightest bit of shock.

He gave himself a moment to think over the information before shrugging.

"Well, not like it matters, anyway."

XXX

Sandy had heard the whispers of some of the other spirits.

Apparently, Jack Frost had returned.

And even if those whispers leaned toward either neutral or annoyed, Sandy felt a sudden lightness in his heart.

Jack hadn't been captured. He was okay (or at least, okay enough to be seen flying around).

But now, they had an opportunity to find Jack and tell him that he was supposed to be a Guardian (After all, Manny had still selected him, and you don't just stop being a Guardian once an immediate threat passes). This was their chance to fulfill the failed part of their mission Manny gave them, and they had to take it before Jack disappeared again.

With this thought in mind, Sandy flew to the North Pole so he could ask North to send out the Lights.

XXX

Jack flew through the air, tumbling around spinning and diving until he came dangerously close to the ground, only to shoot back into the sky again. He let out a whoop as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. He still didn't feel the accompanying emotions, but the feeling of adrenaline was intense, so he was aware of the physical sensation.

He only paused his stunts when he noticed a group of children having a snowball fight in the park.

This was likely the first snowfall in this area heavy enough to have a snowball fight this year, and it seemed the local children were taking advantage of that. Somewhere in his mind, he wondered whether the children had a snow day or if it was a weekend. Even though he'd just looked at a calendar the other day, the exact date had already been lost to him and he just knew it was the end of November. Exact dates start to lose meaning once you've been alive as long as he has (especially when you have such little use for dates beyond the season).

Seeing them, Jack began to fly lower so he could participate in the game. He didn't know when exactly this became a part of his job (was it?), but Jack somehow felt like he was supposed to make sure the children he came across were having fun. And even though it seemed like these children had it covered, considering all their laughing, he figured it couldn't hurt for him to join in.

He threw a snowball at one of the children, not really noticing the extra bit of sparkle that was there for a moment.

"Ah! Jamie, I thought we were on the same team!"

The words sounded upset, but the child was laughing.

"Wait, I didn't-"

Before the young boy could finish responding, the other child threw a snowball at him, hitting him in the chest, where the snowball ended up sticking to the boy's scarf.

"Looks like it likes you!"

Before long, the children's team game turned into an all-out snowball war, with no sides and a bunch of laughing children.

Something told him that he should be smiling. He should be happy right now.

Yet, he knew that, even if he didn't feel so numb right then, he probably wouldn't be smiling anyway.

That was fine, though.

It wasn't like anyone could see him (or his expressions), anyway.

XXX

The Guardians were all gathered in North's workshop, looking between each other as they each tried to figure out what's going on.

"So? Why'd ya call for a meeting, North?" Aster questioned.

"Pitch isn't back, is he…?" asked Toothiana.

But North just shrugged.

"Sandy called meeting," North corrected. "Though, I do have a feeling in my belly."

With that, everyone's attention shifted to Sandy, and the Sandman began to show them a series of pictures: a snowflake, a clock, a map, and a traveling arrow.

"You're gonna hafta clarify a bit, mate."

Rolling his eyes a bit, Sandy put extra effort into his sand symbols, creating a group of five figures: the four of them, as well as a boy holding a crooked staff.

"This is about Jack Frost?" Bunny asked, nonplussed. "What, did he do something?"

At this response, Sandy raised an eyebrow and made a symbol of the moon, gesturing at it pointedly.

"Oh dear!" Toothiana exclaimed. "I've been so busy that I forgot!"

Then, North hummed.

"That is right, Manny selected him to be new Guardian," North mused. "Perhaps it is time we tell him."

"Wait, what? We already defeated Pitch- We don't need that little troublemaker causing problems!" Bunny complained.

"But Bunny, Manny already chose him," North argued. "He would not be new Guardian just for Pitch. We could not find him before, and then we could not spare time to look, but now things have settled, yes? Perhaps we should find him before pre-Christmas chaos starts."

"What's the sudden rush for? If we didn't need him for Pitch, why do we gotta drop everything and look now?" Bunny argued.

"We are not dropping anything. It has been months, and Sandy has reminded us to do what we should have done. Perhaps this is what my belly has been telling me," North argued back. "Besides, is closer to my holiday. Would you rather look for him before Easter?"

This made Aster let out a displeased noise.

"Fine," he huffed. "But I'm not lettin' 'im screw up anything."

Ignoring the second part of what Bunny said, Toothiana spoke again.

"But how are we going to find him?" she asked. "Last time we looked, we couldn't even find a sign of him."

Sandy answered with another series of sand symbols.

"Well, why didn't you say so!" North chuckled.

In exasperation, Sandy rolled his eyes.

XXX