Disclaimer: not mine

I haven't read the books, so my info comes from other fics and the Rise of the Guardians wiki. Are they worth reading as an adult?

Chapter 2

They sat around the roaring fire, hot chocolate and eggnog at hand. Today marked fifteen years since the five Guardians had once again become four. Jack had only been one of them for three years, no one had dreamed Pitch would regain enough power to be a threat in so little time. His first target had been Jack, not willing to see how his powers had grown since gaining believers. They hadn't known until Baby Tooth had hurtled through a window, screaming for help. Tooth had summoned them, and they had rushed to Burgess to find a silent battlefield covered in ice and black sand. Lying on the broken ice of his lake, had been Jack, staff snapped into four pieces scattered around his broken body. He'd still been breathing, and they had tried but his wounds had been too severe, he had never regained consciousness, dying within minutes of their arrival.

He'd been just a boy and he had died, had he thought they weren't coming? Had he thought he died alone, again? Manny never should have involved a child in the fight, three hundred years as a Spirit or not, he'd been made a Spirit before he could even turn fifteen. Then again, Manny had given Jack that extra time to live after he'd gone under the ice but…he'd been alone for all that time. Maybe…maybe death would have been kinder.

The Burgess kids had still believed back then, had found them on the lake with Jack's body. No one would ever forget the sound of Jamie's scream. Jack's death had shocked them all and while they had done their best to ensure the kids had wonderful Christmas and Easter's, they had grown up fast. It seemed like they wanted to be too old to believe anymore, to forget the pain of losing the happy Spirit who had been so much like them and always ready to play.

Jack had brought them back together, had forced them back into the world, and they had forced themselves to keep it up even once he was gone. They made sure to meet up at least once a month and not just to discuss work but to just spend time together. Was it strange that someone they had known for so little time had left such a big hole in their lives?

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North sipped his hot chocolate, staring at the crackling flames. The anniversary ceremony had been held, a candle burning over Jack's tile. It was hard to believe it had been so long since his death already. He had so many regrets when it came to Jack, between the Yeti's never letting him in to his own acceptance of a child being on the Naughty list for so long without investigating and then the way they had blamed him for that Easter…he'd thought he had forever to make it up to him.

He jolted as something shook the wards, hearing the Yeti call out. He was on his feet in an instant, the others rushing after him. He made it out into the main area, relieved to see the Globe was fine. The air above the Guardian symbol was rippling, shifting and he drew his swords, the others arming themselves as well, the Yeti ensuring the elves were out of the way. Was Pitch finally making another move?

The air almost seemed to twist somehow, and then they were forced to shield their eyes. When the light faded they saw a body laying over the tiles. A body with white hair…and a familiar staff.

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"Jack?" Tooth gasped and he glanced back to see North had an arm around her, holding her back.

A glance at Sandy had him nodding so they carefully moved closer, ready to fight if needed but the body just lay there. It was alive, the chest rising and falling with steady breaths and Aster carefully nudged it to no reaction. He knelt down and rolled the body over, staggering back in shock. It wasn't possible. There were differences; this Spirit was taller, older, his hair longer, clothing different…he looked like Jack if he'd been able to grow up. It wasn't possible, they had seen his body, Aster had held him as he breathed his last, they had returned his body to his lake.

"Bunny?" North called.

"It's…" he didn't know what to say.

He looked at Sandy as he pulled something from his hair, silver sand? The Sandman inspected it, eyes going wide, symbols flashing. Silver Dream Sand? How was that possible? Though it explained why the boy hadn't stirred.

"Move him to the infirmary, Yeti can guard him there," North called, and Aster carefully lifted the sleeping Spirit, Sandy taking the staff and small bag.

He set him down on a bed and a quick check found no injuries. They reconvened in the room they had been in earlier, Tooth flitting about, agitated, not that any could blame her. They were all on edge and very confused. Aster picked up the staff to study it. "Looks like Frostbite's," he admitted after a while.

Sandy opened the bag, finding a tooth box with a familiar face on it. He then pulled out a black crystal which began to glow, and he dropped it, but it hovered, and they all tensed. An image formed around the crystal and it was Pitch…but not?

"Greetings Guardians, my name is Pitch Black. If you are seeing this then the spell succeeded, and you have found Jack. His name is Jackson Overland, you may know him as Jack Frost. The spell was specific in sending him to a world where he either never became a Spirit, or had since died, and one where the Guardians are as they should be, even if the members are different to those here, or the same."

Okay…that sounded nothing like the Pitch they knew. Sending him to a world…was that even possible?

"Jack has no memory of the last three centuries, his last memory of his death, and then the few months he has spent with me to recover and at least learn the basics of how to control his powers. After discussion with Mnemosyne, the conclusion was reached that the only way to save him from what the Guardians had done was to erase his memory and then use the tooth box to restore at least his mortal memories."

What could have happened to Jack that the best option was to erase his life? Could they trust a word he said? He glanced at Sandy, seeing the same wariness but also hope. Of the Guardians, they were the only ones to have knowledge of Pitch before he had been Pitch, and this man seemed more like him.

"Jack was named as the Fifth Guardian and then all signs of him vanished," Pitch looked very uncomfortable. "I found him in the Tooth Fairy's palace where he had been kept for two months, locked in sleep due to the Sandman's help."

Tooth gasped at that, looking at them with wide eyes. "I'd never…"

"We know," North patted her hand.

"For two months he was tortured, his memories altered and his body…used. I retrieved him but the damage had done. When he woke he was completely subservient, little more than a living doll, only capable of obeying orders."

Tooth outright sobbed at that and Aster felt sick. How could anyone do that to another? He would never understand it, despite having seen it during the war against Pitch and then even on Earth as humans turned on each other for whatever reason, though they lacked any magic to do it with.

"While the technique was a little different, Jack is far from the first they have changed. Any Spirit or Sprite who dares to speak against them will disappear and if seen again, will be extolling their virtues. None of them were meant to be Guardians though. They would not stop coming for Jack and what they would do with him… the only way to save him was to send him away. They have no way to follow him to you, I destroyed the book with the spell, and performing it will kill me. Jack does not know that; I know he would never have agreed to it if he had. Please, look after him, help him." With that the crystal fell to the floor, dead.

They sat in silence, minds reeling. It really was Jack in the infirmary? Not their Jack but if it was the same boy at the core then…would he really be that different? That was, if they could believe the message.

Aster got up and went to the infirmary, nodding to the Yeti on guard before entering, watching the boy…young man sleep. How had he become a Spirit so much older? Jack began stirring and he stepped closer.

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He woke slowly, feeling lethargic but peaceful, and then he remembered Pitch using the sand on him….the spell! He sat up, looking around wildly, not recognising anything.

"Easy mate, you're okay," a voice called, and he looked over, breath hitching as he saw the rabbit…no…the colour was different. "Jack?" he asked, and Jack nodded hesitantly.

"Who…who are you?" he asked nervously. Had it worked? Was he really in another world. "Are you…a Guardian?"

"I am. I won't hurt ya," he promised gently, and Jack studied him, he didn't look cruel or anything like how the Guardians back home were. "Can I come over?"

Jack nodded, pushing himself to be sitting against the headboard, the rabbit carefully perching on the edge of the bed. "How long did I sleep?" he asked, curious.

"You arrived about an hour ago. We saw the message your Pitch sent."

"Oh," he looked away. It was one thing Pitch knowing but strangers?

"Things aren't like that here Frostbite, we would never do what he said they did to you. Jack…our Jack was one of us, a Guardian. He was killed fifteen years ago in battle, a surprise attack. By the time we reached him it was too late."

"I don't remember being Jack Frost," he admitted, fidgeting with the blanket. He wasn't sure how he felt about being somewhere there had been a Jack Frost, would they expect him to be like him, to take his place? Or would they want nothing to do with an 'imposter'?

"The message explained that your memories were erased. You're also older than he was."

"I'm eighteen," he admitted. "How old was he?"

"A few months off fifteen."

"Oh…" what could have made such a big difference?

"Jack…who were the Guardians in your world?" the rabbit asked.

"There were four; Santa Clause, Sandman, Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny," he answered softly. "I don't remember ever meeting them, but Pitch had books with colour pictures. You…look like the Bunny except you're a different colour."

"Oh?"

"He's dark brown and white and you have markings," he indicated the marks on his arms and head.

"What about the others?"

"The Sandman is made of Dream Sand, so he's silver; Tooth Fairy is half bird or something with crimson and white feathers; and Santa has grey hair and a short beard, he wears green and white."

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She was horrified by what they had heard. Could they believe the message? Massive magics had been involved in Jack's appearance so his being from another world would seem to be true but the rest? The idea that she, or anyone else in her position, could do that to someone…how? It was something she would think of Pitch doing to an enemy. Then again, back then he hadn't really been interested in that kind of thing, beyond turning children into Fearlings. At least the Guardians of his world hadn't done that to him.

How similar would this Jack be to the one they had known? He had lived longer and didn't remember his life as a Spirit, that would surely make him very different. He hadn't spent that time isolated and alone after all. Would he want anything to do with them? There was so much they could teach him and if Pitch was still out there, he'd target Jack as soon as he heard of him.

"Do we believe the message?" North asked, looking from her to Sandy.

"I think we have to give him a chance, we can't judge him on who sent him here," she answered.

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"Okay, that's different," Aster admitted. Would the fact they shared the same titles make the kid scared of them. Better he tell him now though then let him see the others and make the connection. Very few beings knew their real names but maybe they would need to tell Jack to help him separate them from the ones who had hurt him. "I'm E. Aster Bunnymund," he offered his hand and Jack started but then slowly reached out and he shook his hand in his. "Nice ta meet ya."

"Nice to meet you," Jack smiled slightly, not the grin he remembered but it was a start.

"My name's not my title though," he warned carefully, and Jack stiffened slightly, eyes widening.

"You're…"

"Yeah, I'm the Easter Bunny. Sounds like we're worlds apart though if he didn't have any markings. I'm a Pooka, not a rabbit or human or anything."

"Pooka?" Jack asked in confusion.

"An alien mate," he grinned slightly as Jack's eyes went even wider.

"Alien?" he asked in disbelief and Aster nodded. "Oh…he was a changed rabbit or something." Jack shifted on the bed, chewing his lip absently. "Are the others…the same titles?"

"Yeah mate, but none of us are anything like them," he promised. "The Tooth Fairy, Tooth, she's half human and half Sister of Flight. Her feathers are blues and greens with some gold thrown in. Sandy is the Sandman and his sand is golden, not silver. He was part of the League of Star Captains a very, very long time ago. The League of Star Captains steered stars to every corner of the universe and their primary duty was to bestow the wishes made to their stars. Finally, there's North. We're in his Workshop, specifically the infirmary since we didn't know if you were hurt when you appeared. He has white hair and a long beard and wears a lot of red."

Jack was listening at least, that was good. He had to remember he was mentally eighteen years old, and from the 1700's. How much did he know about the modern world and would what he knew transfer over or were their worlds different?

"What's going to happen to me?" Jack asked.

"Pitch's message said he'd been teaching you to control your powers. We can help you keep learning. There hasn't been any new Winter Spirits made since Jack died so the role is there for you to step into and there's a growing belief in Jack Frost thanks to the battle when he became a Guardian," he explained awkwardly. No one could replace their Jack but that didn't mean that this Jack couldn't become a friend. The idea of him leaving and living the kind of existence their Jack had, was not something he liked. And if Pitch came across him… "About Pitch," he hesitated, and Jack stared at him before frowning.

"He's the bad guy here, isn't he?" he asked surprising him. "He said that might be the case, that just because he found a balance did not mean other versions of him would."

"He's the reason our Jack was chosen as a Guardian. He was the only reason we beat Pitch and three years later…Pitch killed him. We've seen no sign of him since, it's possible he died too or he's off licking his wounds and regaining power."

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Jack nodded, mind spinning. Everything was flipped, the opposite to his world. The idea that Pitch had killed the younger version of him made him feel sick. Their Jack had been a child, he knew what he'd been like at that age…though that Jack had three centuries of extra memories.

He'd been a Guardian, a real Guardian by the sound of it. Would he be asked to do that too? Could he? "I'm not him," he warned, wrapping his arms around his knees, glancing at…what was he meant to call him anyway?

A warm, furry hand gently rested on his arm and he started in surprise but didn't pull away. He trusted Pitch's spell work, he did, which meant these Guardians were how they were meant to be, protectors. "There are similarities, you both started life as Jackson Overland, but you aren't him and you shouldn't try to be. Maybe we'll mess up sometimes, say something he would have understood or think you know something, but that's our problem not yours mate."

Jack nodded, uncurling, blushing when his stomach rumbled, and the Bunny chuckled.

"Feel up ta meetin' the others? Or do ya want to eat in here?"

Jack was torn but…if he didn't face them now…he'd never want to. He carefully got up and stretched, looking around. "My staff?"

"With the others."

"Uh…what am I meant to call you?"

"Around the Guardians or in private, Aster's fine. Otherwise everyone used Bunny. It's better to keep your name secret, which would be part of why Manny gave you the name Jack Frost."

Jack nodded in understanding and then followed him out of the infirmary, looking around as they headed through the halls. Aster moved into a cosy room with a roaring fire and Jack froze in the doorway, they looked so different to the pictures, like Aster had described them.

Sandy spotted him first, floating up, and Jack watched him as the small golden man approached, symbols flashing over his head.

"I…I don't understand, sorry."

Sandy wilted a little but then smiled and motioned for him to move further into the room even as the room fell quiet.

"Ah, Jack! Welcome," North offered. "Come, come," he waved him in, and Jack took a deep breath before walking in.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hello Jack," Tooth smiled softly at him. "How do you feel?"

"Okay I guess. A little lost."

"That's understandable," she held her hand out to him and he took it, letting her lead him across the room to a couch. "It sounds like your home is very different."

"It's not like I remember a lot of it," he shrugged, curling up on the couch and then Aster handed him his staff and he wrapped his hands around it, feeling better just having it in his hand.

Soon Aster was handing him a tray of food and Jack's eyes widened as he took in the choices. He carefully began to eat, relieved to find nothing too hot was there. Warm was okay, hot made him feel a little strange. And…Tooth had led him to a couch that wasn't too close to the fire as well so…they really had known another Winter Spirit at least; he was still struggling to get his head around the idea of a younger version of himself. Thankfully, they had settled back in their chairs, talking quietly among themselves and not watching him.

He set the tray aside, trying not to fidget, unsure what would happen next. Just listening to them talk, they sounded nothing like Pitch had told him their Guardians were like. North was loud but it was a…jolly kind of loudness. Tooth seemed very energetic but also genuinely concerned for him, not the sort of person who would do what had been done to him. He'd need to see more to get any idea of Sandy but Aster…he was a bit awkward and blunt, but he had really tried to explain things, to help him. It would take time for to truly believe they were different, even with the spell that should mean they were, but so far it was going better than he could have imagined.

"Jack?" Tooth called and he looked over at her. "Would you mind telling us about yourself? And we can answer your questions too."

"Wouldn't you already know?" he asked in confusion.

"Just because you both became Jack Frost, it doesn't mean your past is exactly the same, after all, you're physically older," she pointed out and Jack nodded.

"Okay," he agreed, shifting to get more comfortable on the couch before trying to work out what to start with. "I was born on January 15th in 1698 and I…died on Christmas Day 1716," that seemed the best place to start.

TBC…

So on the wiki it gives different physical ages for Jack, saying the book author listed him as 14 while the movie say he's 17. So I made him different ages in the two worlds.