Once they all made it back to the North Pole to celebrate their victory, Jack still couldn't help the large grin on his face. Then, Sandy came up next to him with a joyful smile, and apologetic eyes. "So..." Sandy started. "...North and the others tell me you have believers now."
"I do!" Jack answered with a giddy laugh at the end.
"How does it feel?"
"Oh...better than anything I could ever imagine!" Jack sighed as he sipped his hot cocoa.
"I'm proud of you, Jack."
"Thanks...that means a lot coming from you, Sandy, and hey...I never thought that I would be able to stand by Bunny's side, and see him smile. Speaking of which, we said something about that a long time ago, didn't we? The day you see Bunny genuinely smile is the day that..."
Sandy's eyes widened as he finished the sentence. "...is the day that there's a new Guardian. Well, I didn't think MANNY would take that to heart!"
"Actually...Sandy...there's something you should know..."
"What is it?"
Jack quickly peered around the corner and noticed that the others were too caught up with each other and their 'helpers' to notice them, so he let out a small sigh before telling him. "Well, Manny chose me from the very beginning. I...when I looked into my Tooth box...I saw that I had a good life. I had friends, a family, a sister that I adored, and we went skating one day...on my actual birthday which just so happens to be my spiritual birthday as well...and she went out onto the ice before I could check it. The ice started cracking beneath her feet. My shepherd's staff...this staff...which actually belonged to my Father for a very long time...I had dropped it when I rushed out onto the ice to try and help her, but then the ice cracked beneath me too. I was fourteen when this all happened. My sister was eight. I distracted her with a game of hopscotch so that I could get my staff...and then I had her do the same with her skates. The third step...she wasn't going to make it...so I used the crook of my staff to yank on her and trade places. I thought I was okay, but then the ice cracked completely. I drowned, but it was worth it. She lived. Then, the moon changed my hair and eye color, and pulled me out."
"J-Jack..." Jack's eyes widened as he looked over to see Bunny crouched low on his haunches, and his ears were flat against his head, and he watched as Tooth and North came forward with concerned looks of their own, but Bunny didn't seem to notice. "...you...did ya really...?"
"Yes, Bunny. I really died at the age of fourteen with my belief in all of you in tact. Manny brought me back to life because I was willing to sacrifice my life for my sister's without a second thought, and I used joy and fun as a distraction to help save her. That doesn't change anything...it just makes my origin story that much more interesting."
"Ya sure you're alright?" Bunny asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Cottontail."
"Ah...um...Jacky..."
That caught Jack's attention with a slight smirk. "Jacky? Since when do I get nice nicknames from you?" If possible, Bunny crouched lower and his ears were flatter against his head. "Bunny?"
"S-Sandy was right. I should've...I shouldn't have...the Blizzard of '68 I...the things I said..."
"Wait...does this mean you forgive me for what happened?"
To Jack's immense surprise, tears started to form and fall down Bunny's face. "C-Crikey Jacky...I...that's not...no. I mean yes, I really do forgive ya, but I...no, that's...that w-wasn't what I...that was not what I wanted to say. I...was wonderin'...hopin'...can you...I mean...you have every right not to...but I..." Bunny swallowed a lump in his throat, telling Jack that whatever he had to say was completely serious, difficult, and he was afraid of how he would react. "...I was wrong...and I...I was hopin' that maybe you could...f-forgive me."
Jack blinked several times, because this was out of character for Bunny, but recent events, he acknowledges that perhaps Bunny did actually get an opportunity to see what Sandy was talking about without any of them knowing it, but there was something neither Bunny nor Sandy knew. "Bunny, I forgave you a week after it happened."
"Y-You what!? But I...I called ya a..."
"And I forgave you for it." Jack quickly interrupted.
"Forgave him for what?" Tooth asked carefully, noticing the uneasiness in the area at the moment.
"I...I called him a monster." Bunny answered. "We um...got into a bit of a fight, and...Sandy had to break it up, but Jack was being a good sport about it the whole time...I see that now. I...was horrible, and Sandy had told me I was being horrible and cruel without even knowin' him, and...it was true, but there was just so much snow on Easter Sunday of '68...I was so angry."
"And I forgave you. Do you really forgive me?"
"I...there's nothin' to forgive, Jacky. It wasn't your fault after all. Even Sandy vouched for you for that one."
"Wait, Jack, how long have you known Sandy?" North asked with a quizzical expression as he crossed his arms.
"Two centuries this year." Jack beamed, and that threw Tooth and North for a loop.
"YOU'VE BEEN A SPIRIT FOR TWO HUNDRED YEARS!?" Tooth squeaked out.
"No, longer than that. I've been a spirit for three hundred years. It was just two hundred years when I was allowed out."
"Out!? Out of where!? Were you trapped, sweet tooth!? Who did that to you!?"
"Whoa!" Jack chuckled out as he got up from where he was sitting. "Chill! I most certainly wasn't trapped anywhere! I was..." Before he could finish, a portal was conjured next to him. "Well then..." He whispered out as he waited for her to come through. "...pleasure to see you as always." He nodded his head at her when she walked through, but no one else except for Sandy and Elaina was calm about seeing her.
"M-Mother Nature? What brings you here?" North asked cautiously.
"Huh, they seem afraid of you." Jack stated with genuine curiosity. He then walked over to Emily and looked down at her, mainly due to the fact he was three inches taller than her, and he gave her a slight smirk. "I don't see why. The only thing they need to be afraid of is your cooking." He joked which earned him a playful jab from Mother Nature.
"J-Jack! If you know who she is, why on EARTH are you talking to her that way!?" Tooth squeaked out.
"Because I do, in fact, know her. She's stubborn, headstrong, fierce, annoying at times, REALLY cranky, and more mischievous than me."
"A-Are you crazy!?" North whispered loudly. "Why would you speak of her that way!?"
"Why not, it's all true, isn't it?" He asked as he looked at her, and noticed the highly amused look on her face.
"You're doing this to them on purpose." She stated fondly. "And hey! What's wrong with my cooking?"
"Nothing!" He held up a hand as he pursed his lips in denial. "...if you don't mind charcoal that is."
"Keep in mind who TAUGHT you how to cook." She argued back with a defiant yet amused expression.
"Yeah, and as the saying goes...the student surpasses the master."
"Oh! You are so infuriating sometimes!"
"Wait...how...how do you two know each other?" North questioned with widened eyes.
"He's one of my spirits." Emily answered with a slight tilt of her head. "Wait...you mean you really don't know? I mean...Bunny knows a little, and Sandy knows A LOT, but really...neither of them told you? Not even Jack?"
"How can't he be one of your spirits! He has been chosen by Man in Moon." North's eyes were growing more and more confused by the second.
"Wow, Jack. This is rich." She started to chuckle low. "Well..." Emily waved her hand and another portal appeared to reveal the Snow Queen, Kala. "...this one was worried about you."
"Jack!" Kala moved forward and quickly wrapped her arms around him. "I saw you in Antarctica! I saw what Pitch did to you! Are you alright!? How is your staff back together!?"
"Kala, I'm alright, I promise. I'm fine. I put my staff back together on my own using my magic and focusing on...important things. Wait, hold on...what were you doing in Antarctica?"
"Well, I saw you flying away...towards Antarctica, and you were crying...so I followed you, but then I saw Pitch, so I hid. I thought he killed you, Jack!"
"Yeah, well, I guess I'm too stubborn to..." Jack looked over to North and Tooth who were still very much in shock. "...die." He smirked at the last word.
"Jack?" Kala questioned as she too looked at the others.
"Well, you know how I told Sandy about who I am and how I know all of you?"
"Yeah...?"
"Well, they don't know. Bunny has a rough idea, but Tooth and North...don't know."
"J-Jack...are you romantically involved with one of them?"
"Oh heaven's no!" Emily laughed out. "Jack already has someone he loves and I can assure you personally, it's not the Snow Queen or myself!"
"I could never! They're like sisters! Well, not so much Mother Nature for certain reasons, but..."
"S-Sisters? How? Jack, you are Winter spirit, no? Is that how you know them?"
"Oh wow...they're really lost aren't they?" Kala giggled out.
"Not lost. Just...unaware." Jack told her with a slight smile.
"Jack, if you don't tell them, I will." Emily groaned out as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You can go ahead and tell them."
"Very well. North, Tooth?"
"Yes?" They both asked at the same time, still bewildered by everything, but more so by the fact that Mother Nature was accepting Jack's behavior.
"Jack is my General of Winter. He is the King of Winter and the Embodiment of Winter. The Snow Queen is one of his most loyal spirits, and she worries easily."
"J-Jack is...he is General of Winter!?" North whispered out in awe and wonder.
"Jack is the KING of Winter!?" Tooth squeaked out as she suddenly stopped flying.
"Wait, back up to the part where ya said Jacky has someone he loves! Jacky's got a girl?"
"I have a woman, first off, Bunny. Not a girl. Secondly, yes...I am the General of Winter. I have been since the day Manny brought me back to life and pulled me out of the pond three centuries ago."
"Yes, and you worried me a great deal! I thought you had died! When he tossed you against the ice wall...and you lost consciousness..."
"Wait...is that what happened when you were with Pitch?" North questioned with guilt settling in his eyes.
"No...it was after Easter. After Bunny got walked through."
"Strewth..." Bunny breathed out as they all gained guilty looks while Sandy remained as confused as ever. "...we've NEVER done right by ya, have we, Jacky?"
"Sandy has...but the rest of you have plenty of time to make up for it. Besides, I'm not angry anymore anyway."
"You're not?" Tooth questioned in an unsure manner.
"No. I've got what I need. I've got my girlfriend, my best friend, and new friends." Jack stood a bit straighter as he walked closer to Bunny who tried his best to stand taller, but the guilt was still weighing him down a bit. "You said Easter is about New Beginnings, right?"
Suddenly, all of the joy returned to Bunny's features, and his eyes shined brighter than anything Jack had ever seen. "Too right!" Jack nodded his head and rushed forward to give Bunny a hug, which apparently he wasn't used to, but returned it anyway with warm furry arms. "Thank ya, Jacky."
"You're welcome, Cottontail."
"Aster." Bunny said, and everyone in the room, even Mother Nature gasped in shock as Bunny left the hug. "Jack, I entrust my true name to you. My true name is Elliston Aster Bunnymund, but if ya look in the books, it'll say E. Aster Bunnymund. However, I would rather ya just call me Aster."
"Y-You...you're true name? Bun-erm...Aster...are you sure?"
"Considering you were able to say it just now? Yeah."
'Maybe you should return the favor. You know your true name now, love.'
'You're right.' Jack smiled softly and nodded his head. "I entrust my true name to you. My true name is...Jackson Overland Frost." Jack grinned at the reaction Aster gave.
Aster staggered back quite a bit, holding a paw to his furry chest. "Y-You sure?"
"Yes. Actually..." Jack then turned to face Sandy who was showing a bit of jealousy. "Sandy, I entrust my true name to you too. My true name is Jackson Overland Frost."
Sandy's eyes softened, and he held up Jack's name above him using the alphabet. "Jackson Overland Frost. That's a nice name, Jack."
"Thank you. Aster? Do you wanna try and say it?"
"I...you're serious? But I...I called you a monster, and I...the things I've said, Jack..."
"The things that I forgave you for." He sighed out in frustration while still holding a smile on his face.
"R-Right...Jackson Overland Frost. I...I said it."
"Yes, and I'll entrust my name to North and Tooth as well. Since two people have already been able to say it, I don't think there should be an issue. Now, Kala...I'm so sorry for worrying you. It wasn't my intention."
"No, but how does your girlfriend feel about it though!? She was probably panicking like crazy! She had to watch it all too! And she was there to fight along side you against Pitch too!"
"Wait...Jack didn't have anyone else with him."
"Right, sometimes I forget others don't know about her." Emily sighed with amusement. "You would know her as the Wind, but sometimes she goes by Wendy."
"Jack's girlfriend...is the wind?" North asked with a risen brow.
"Yes." Jack answered seriously and proudly.
"No offence Jack...but how exactly does that work?" Tooth questioned as her brow furrowed in confusion and concerned.
"It works in Mother Nature's Domain when she has a physical form. Right now, not only she invisible, but she is the wind that surrounds me tightly. I can communicate with her vocally and telepathically. Now, before all of you get dirty minds, no, we haven't had sex. We've just kissed a lot...and danced."
"Seriously!? How long have the two of ya been in a relationship?" Aster asked with widened eyes.
"A hundred and sixty-two years this year."
"YIKES!" Aster bellowed out with pure laughter. "That's a hell of a commitment! You have the heart of a Pooka!"
"The heart of a what'a?" Jack questioned with a tilt of his head.
"A Pooka. It's what I am. I'm from an entirely different planet, mate."
"Huh...that makes sense actually."
"You accept things rather fast." North commented with a twinge of wonder.
"Yeah, well...anyway, what did you mean by the heart of a Pooka?"
"When Pooka fall in love or mate...we only ever have one mate for a millennia at a time. A thousand years at a time, and if we still love them by the end of it...a thousand years more."
"Wow...not half bad. Well, I've never once stopped loving her, so I guess so."
'And I'll never stop loving you either! Oh, the Pooka were a proud race! They were scholars, sorcerers, warriors, and oh the things they could do with Magic, Jack! You should ask him sometime...AFTER I reveal myself though.'
'Got it.' Jack told her, and then smiled at Emily. "So, is there any other reason why you're here?"
"Well, that's not very nice." She chuckled out.
"I'M not nice!? You turned my blankets PINK for a week!"
"Only after you and Wind decided that it would be funny if my shower was suddenly ice cold! Hail, Jack! You turned my shower into HAIL!"
Jack started doubling over laughing. "Oh! THAT was great though! Besides, if you hadn't tried to force beets down my throat! You knew I hated them!"
"Yes, I knew very well, but at the time I was mad at you for PURPOSEFULLY rearranging ALL of the books in my library!"
"And I did that, because you cheated in a sparring match! You even admitted to it!"
"Fine...perhaps the library was fair, but..."
"HOLD A MO'!" Aster shouted with ears at attention, and widened eyes in complete disbelief. "Jacky, did ya seriously prank Mother Nature?"
"Many, many times." Emily rolled her eyes. "But I always got him back."
"Yes, and it's been that way for the past three centuries. Now, seriously...why else are you here? If it was just to allow the Snow Queen to see me, you would've left by now."
"I...may have been concerned for you as well. You know who Pitch was to me..."
"H-He knew!?" Tooth, Aster, Sandy, and North collectively shouted. Well, as much as Sandy COULD shout.
"Yes, I know about it. A great deal of it, in fact. Don't I...Emily?" Jack challenged with a confident smirk, and a collection of Gasps were heard throughout the entire workshop.
"H-He...he knows...and he's trusted..." Tooth couldn't form a straight sentence as she gawked back and forth between a smug Jack and an amused Mother Nature.
"Yes, he knows, and he's trusted with my name. The reactions from you all is well worth him saying my name outside of the Domain."
"I'm so not sorry." Jack chuckled low. "However, you're avoiding again..."
"Right...well...I was worried. You know how I am with all my spirits, and you face off against my Father...you knew what he meant to me..."
"I know, but...Emily...he wasn't the same as you remember him."
"Trust me, I know that for a fact, but it couldn't have been easy for you."
"It was easier than you think."
"How?"
"Think Emily..." Jack sighed out while mentally telling her. 'Who was Pitch to Elaina? Not only that, but he was hurting children!'
"Ah...I see." A look of realization appeared across her features. "That does make sense."
"What does?"
"Hmm?" Mother Nature looked towards Aster. "Oh! His concern for children. Pitch was hurting children, and Jack loved them all. In fact...I have a globe of belief in my Domain, and Jack can tell you which light belongs to which child."
Jack groaned and face palmed himself. "Now why did you have to tell them that?"
"Because it makes you suffer." She answered happily. "So, how's life as a Guardian?"
"It's great so far." He answered honestly. "I have believers now."
"YOU DO!? Oh, Jack! That's great!"
"I know!"
"Oh, we should hold a celebration for you! The other Generals are going to smother you! It's going to be hilarious!"
"Oh no..."
"Oh yes!" She shouted before conjuring a portal and leaving with a mischievous looking Snow Queen, which meant she was going to tell all of the winter spirits.
"Well, now that THAT cat is out of the bag...all I ask is that none of you treat me differently."
"But Jack...you're the..."
"I know what I am, Tooth." He smiled softly at her. "I'm the General of Winter, the Embodiment of it, but honestly? More importantly, I'm a Guardian...and I'm your friend. Please?"
"Y-Yes...of course."
"You too, North." Jack sighed out as he looked up at him.
"Of course, Jack." He smiled. "Now come on! More celebrations! Food! Dancing! MUSIC!"