A/N :
Q-A the Authoress : *lol* You're welcome, hehe. The thought is disturbing and strangely entertaining at the same time, isn't it?
Nora Frost : Can't find the typos you mentioned but anyway but nice ti hear you liked the chapter. ^^
Shamangirl1 : I kinda doubt he would have taken her seriously and I just can't imagine Tooth getting all scary and violent. XD
Phantom Ice : At least that prooves that Sam does his job right, even if he's a jerk. :P
Okami1001 : As violent as it could go without being totally out of character. Hhm, haven't thought about them changing their opinion all of a sudden, that's surely something to keep in my mind for future chapters. I probably won't write a chapter about the guardians watching Jack's memories because I've read quite a bunch of stories dealing with that already and can't think of anything new to come up with concerning that. But at least one guardian will be told more about how he became Jack Frost in this chapter here. ;)
Xion5 : Yeah, Bunny is most likely the most violent one of them...and the fluffiest. *ruffles his fur and runs away* Damn, I'm too slooooow! D8
the rest : Thank you! *group hug*
The following oneshot is inspired by a plothole which caugth my attention ever since I watched the movie for the first time.
The Tooth Palace was bustling with activity. Hundreds if not thousands of little hummingbird-like fairies were buzzing through the air like darts, freshly collected teeth in their tiny hands ready to be stowed away in the toothboxes or getting new golden coins which would soon be exchanged for a child's lost primary tooth.
Jack had never seen this place like this. The only time he had visited Tooth's home had been two months ago when Pitch had attacked it. By the time he and the guardians arrived the majority of the fairies had already been caught by the nightmares and the intricate Asian buildings were starting to fall apart, an inevitable side-effect of losing the belief of the children.
But now everything was bursting with life, joy and a good portion of hecticness, but no one seemed to mind the incredible speed of their work.
No matter where he turned there were always several fairies flying past his head, the constant sound of wings buzzing echoed in his head and some of them kept sending admiring looks in his direction. He tried to avoid smiling at them, the last time he had done this mistake at least a dozen of the small feathery beings had severely invaded his privacy by clinging to his face and trying to get a better look at his pearly white teeth or even touch them.
As he entered what he assumed to be the central building of the palace he kept a lookout for the owner of this impressive place. All of a sudden a very familiar fairy dashed towards him and snuggled against his cheek, happiness radiating from every milimeter of her tiny frame.
"Hey Baby Tooth! Nice to see you." Jack greeted his little hummingbird friend who instantly let out an excited squeak.
"Can you tell me where Tooth is? I need to talk to her."
The fairy nodded and made a motion with her hand gesturing him to follow her before she flew into the opposite direction than the one he had originally been headed for.
Soon they arrived at a golden construct which reminded him of a mixture between a tower and a bird cage. It was covered with mosaics in various colours, gold surface shining in the sunlight and all kinds of shapes intertwining to create a breathtaking piece of architecture.
And up there, at the highest floor, was the Tooth Fairy commanding dozens of her little helpers at the same time it seemed.
Jack had no idea how she managed to talk to them all at once, let alone how she knew which children had just lost a tooth or where exactly they lived. To him it was a plain mystery.
The winter spirit perched on one of the flying buttresses of the open designed wall and watched the busy interaction for a while. He suddenly felt like disrupting the female guardian's work just with his mere presence. She hadn't noticed him yet because she was too busy communicating with her fairies who also were too focused on listening to their latest orders before they set out. Baby Tooth had vanished as well, probably she was called back to work just like her sisters.
Jack fidgeted with the smooth cold item in his hoodie pocket as if he wanted to say goodbye to it, mentally preparing himself to let go of the one thing which had changed his outlook on life for all eternity.
His mind was still elsewhere when a certain little fairy floated right in front of her 'mother's' face and pointed her tiny finger at where the frost teen was sitting. Tooth's eyes widened in joy at the unexpected but more than welcome visitor and asked her loyal helper if she could direct the orders for a moment. It wasn't something that happened often but even the Tooth Fairy needed a break once in a while and Baby Tooth, as Jack named her, had already proven in the past that she was capable of taking over that responsibility. Only for a limited time, of course.
"Hello Jack, what a lovely suprise to see you! How long have you been here? Why didn't you say something?"
The addressed winter spirit looked up like he had just been woken from a dream and pulled his hand out of his pocket, resting it on his staff instead.
"Oh, hi Tooth. Sorry, didn't wanna lurk here but I thought I might disturb your work so I, eh, wanted to wait for the right moment, I guess." he explained and suddenly felt the desperate need to facepalm at himself.
"Aww, don't worry, you're not disturbing me at all, Baby Tooth can do my job while you're here."
Sapphire blue eyes glanced at the tiny hummingbird being who was directing her sisters as if she had never done anything else. A fond smile graced the young man's face, he was so proud of her. But as soon as it had appeared the joyous expression changed into something else, something that made the Tooth Fairy uneasy when she realized what it was. Seriousness.
"That's great because...I need to talk to you."
Soon later the two guardians were sitting at the lake where Tooth had told Jack about the toothboxes holding children's memories for the first time. The mural on the rock had been restored just like the belief in the hummingbird-like fairy and was shining in its original bright colours.
Tooth was getting increasingly worried about her friend's quietness as he stared at the painting on the stoney surface. Just when she wanted to break the silence he beat her to it.
"I wanted to give this back to you." the frost teen muttered and pulled a golden item out of his hoodie pocket.
His toothbox. The Guardian of Memories had allowed him to keep it for as long as he needed it, on one condition. He had to take good care of it and had to give it back when he felt ready for it. While it technically belonged to him the fairy had the toothboxes of every human and spirit who ever lived stored in her palace and rules had to be abided. She couldn't make an exception and let Jack keep it forever. No matter how much she liked him.
"It belongs and is safer here."
"Thank you, Jack." the hummingbird-hybrid said and gently took the golden box out of his cold hand.
"Have you seen everthing you needed to see?" she asked softly.
"I think so...though I gotta admit it was a little much information all at once, you know? Seeing my family and how my life had been after 300 years of not having a clue that I even had a past life."
For a moment the green-feathered fairy thought she had seen melancholy in the winter spirit's eyes. But he quickly shook it off and replaced it with determination.
"Tooth, you told me the teeth hold the memories of children, right?"
The tone of his voice already was a clear hint that he knew the answer but needed to hear it nonetheless.
"Yes, they do." the fairy replied, unsure of where this was going.
"How exactly does that work? I mean, do memories just lock themselves in the teeth like a...I don't know, a flash drive only the person it belongs to can access?"
"That is an interesting way to describe it but yes, it works like this. With the exception that I can access all memories, only if it's really necessary, that is. Consider it as a sort of precaution." she explained quickly as she noticed the slight frown on the teen's face.
"Alright, but the moment the teeth fall out they can't store any more memories, can they?"
"No, as soon as they're gone they're gone. A flash drive can't save any more data when it isn't connected to the computer anymore."
She felt a little weird at explaining it with that technical metaphor but it actually made sense. Jack's eyebrows narrowed in deep thought, this answer clearly hadn't been what he was looking for.
"There is a reason why you want to know all this." Tooth stated rather than asked.
The frost teen nodded but kept staring at the mural painting until a small delicate hand was put on his shoulder.
"What is it?" the hummingbird-hybrid whispered in a motherly tone.
Blue eyes met purple ones and after a short sigh he started to tell her what had been keeping his mind busy for the last weeks.
"I've seen memories from shortly before and when I...became Jack Frost. But at that time I had already been 18 years old and lost all my baby teeth long ago. How can my teeth hold memories of events that happened years later?"
Good question. Very good question. Jack's hope about a logical explanation was extinguished the moment he saw the Guardian of Memories' expression which had transformed into one of utter suprise and confusion. So she had no clue either. Awesome.
All possible options were running through the Tooth Fairy's head, she had to come to a solution, she couldn't just admit "Nope, sorry, no idea, deal with it."
Maybe he was one of those rare cases who still had one of his baby teeth even though he wasn't a child anymore. But even if that was true the memories would still be in that particular tooth in his mouth and not in the toothbox. No, that couldn't be it.
Something about Jack had to be different, why would the Man in Moon first erase his memory and then...oh wait! Man in Moon! He was the only one who could be responsible for this!
Her eyes widened in enlightenment, wings going frantic as she darted to and fro and Jack, who had been quite downcast about the lack of a reply, looked at her questioningly.
"The Moon! It must have been him! No one but him has the power to influence the way memories and teeth usually work. He must have modified it so you would be able to see your whole past life lateron. But then I don't understand why he erased your memory in the first place, it doesn't make sense."
It didn't escape her how Jack was suddenly torn between realization and the doubt whether to share it with her or not. She didn't want to pressure him but at the same time she hoped he would reveal what was going on in his mind because she really really needed to know.
"Jack...you know why he did it, don't you?" she said so softly it was barely more than a whisper.
"It wasn't him." the winter teen remarked matter-of-factly and with a distant look in his eyes.
"I-I don't feel ready to let everyone know yet. You promise you won't tell the others?"
"Yes, I promise."
"Well, those 300 years ago I...I went ice-skating with my little sister. We had fun but then the ice under her started to crack. I managed to get her back to safety but landed on the thin ice while doing so and suddenly it broke and...I tried to swim back to the surface but it was so cold, I couldn't move and water started filling my lungs and everything went black. I ...lost my memories because that night when I became Jack Frost, I...had died."
Two tiny hands were raised and covered the Tooth Fairy's mouth as she let the words sink in, her glance wandering around the place in both shock and confusion.
"But...that's impossible. Well, at least I thought it's impossible till now. I knew Man in Moon was the most powerful entity of all of us but I had no idea he could actually revive someone. As far as I have heard he never did it before."
For Jack it was unclear if she talked to him or herself, according to her unfocused behaviour it was probably the latter. Purple orbs suddenly widened in sorrow before they landed on the white-haired boy in front of her again.
"Oh my God...Jack, does that mean you-you saw your own death in your memories?"
The young winter spirit avoided her gaze and nodded weakly. He didn't want to see the concern and pity directed at him. That had been the reason why he had hesitated to tell anyone in the first place.
"Awww, Jack-"
"It's no big deal, really." he cut her off.
"Can't change the past so it has no reason to dwell on it, right?"
In truth he was far from being at peace. Sure, he had a family now as well as the belief of a few children and finally knew why he had been chosen by MiM but his past life was still haunting him ever since he had seen his memories for the first time.
"But it's a big part of who you are." the Guardian of Memories stated, looking through his fake nonchalance.
"Yeah...guess you're right." the frost teen admitted and cleared his throat.
"So, that's why Manny did an exception for me, huh? Altering the tooth-memory-connection so I would be able to watch my memories once the right time had come. Cheeky guy." Jack smirked half-heartedly but it was enough to ease the fairy's concern.
"Yes, I think so." she agreed. "He definitely wanted you to see what you had to see sooner or later."
"It made me realize I was indeed a guardian..."
"Then it accomplished its purpose." Tooth smiled.
"Just...something else doesn't make sense now." the winter teen remarked after a short moment of intense pondering.
"What do you mean?"
"If MiM had the power to revive me, why didn't he just restore my memories when I rose from the lake or prevented them from being erased in the first place? Wouldn't that have saved a lot of trouble? And it would have spared me from wondering what the meaning of my existence was for freaking 300 years."
Jack's fingers curled tighter around his staff as his brows furrowed in decent anger. For so many centuries he had begged the Moon for answers, had driven himself to the brink of insanity with the constant questions and fears torturing his mind, until he thought that he must have done something really bad and this had to be his punishment. Being invisible, ignored, hated. There had been a phase, around 84 years after he had been 'born', where he severly hated himself and the Moon for everything. It had taken him almost two decades to let go of that anger and accept the situation, but sadness, fear and frustration haunted him for centuries to follow.
The Tooth Fairy didn't fail to notice the aggravation of her friend as his pose tensed up, blue eyes seemingly trying to burn a hole into the ground.
"Well..." she started and waited for him to look at her but his glare was still locked on the spot near his feet.
"Would your life really have been better if you knew about your family? Would it have been easier to deal with if you saw them every day but they weren't able to see you? I won't judge MiM's decision but maybe he just wanted you to start anew and have a new purpose in life, a second chance. If you had remembered everything then you would have gone back to your family and it would have shattered your heart to realize they were unable to see you."
She tried to sound as sympathetic as possible but the words still hit a nerve. What she said made perfect sense and deep inside he had to admit she was right. And yet, Jack was too stubborn to just accept it.
"I could have been there for them, especially for my little sister. Even if they didn't see me. But I-I at least could have tried to draw attention to me still being around. I could have protected her, could have watched her grow up. I have NO idea what happened to her or my parents after I died! With my memories I would have known the reason why I'm here! It would have helped me coping with my new life instead of asking the same question again and again and never getting an answer!"
His breathing had gotten more frantic with every sentence until his shoulders trembled from vainly suppressed frustration. The hummingbird-like fairy floated towards the upset teen and put a comforting hand on his arm but he flinched away from the touch. A soft sigh escaped her lips.
"Jack...do you really think you could have watched your family die?"
The question was blunt and stung in his heart, but female intuition told the Guardian of Memories it had to be said out loud. A part of the tension left the lean boy's body and his glare softened just the tiniest bit.
"I know it hurts, but imagine how it would have felt. Are you convinced it would have been easier to see your loved ones leave this world instead of only knowing what it's like to be on your own? It must have been terrible for you to be alone for so long but wouldn't it have been even worse to stand if you could remember what it was like to have a family?"
The statement was cruel in its own way, but she only intended to convince him of MiM's motivations. After all, the entity was older and wiser than any other spirit in existence. He didn't do anything without having a valid reason for it.
"Maybe Manny just wanted to protect you from your past."
The further he thought about it the more Jack realized she was right. It would have shattered his very core to witness his mother's, father's and above all his sister's death while not being able to do anything against it and having to continue his life alone. Only several weeks had passed after he became a guardian but that short time of having friends, a family to call his own, had already been enough to prove him that once you had a taste of something it made the mere thought about having to live without it again unbearable.
But still, it was utterly frustrating that no matter how hard he tried to remember things on his own he never succeeded to do so. Even when watching his memories he saw the images, heard the voices, shared the feelings but he couldn't actually remember them. He knew they were the truth but he couldn't recall anything his toothbox made him see.
Most likely it was yet another circumstance he just had to accept. If only the task of letting go of his past was as easy as it sounded.
The young guardian sighed deeply and his shoulders slouched as the grip on his staff loosened as well.
"Maybe. It's all a very complicated situation, isn't it?" he gave her a weak smile.
Tooth returned it and put her delicate hand on his arm, relieved that he didn't flinch away from her this time.
"It certainly is. Now, are all your questions answered or is something else on your mind?" she asked softly.
"Nah, I heard what I had to hear." the winter spirit stated and looked at the sun which slowly began to set.
"Well, I should get going, blizzards don't spread themselves." he winked and jumped off the rock he had been resting on.
"Yes, I shall better get back to work as well, not that Baby Tooth thinks she's the new boss. The little lady has quite the guts." the hummingbird-hybrid chuckled.
"Oh I can totally confirm that!" Jack laughed and pushed himself off the ground but halted in his tracks just as he wanted to fly off and turned towards the green-feathered fairy again.
"Uhm, Tooth? Thank you for...well, for listening and...being here."
He sent her a grateful smile, suddenly feeling very awkward and the next moment he was gone. The Guardian of Memories watched him quickly vanish in the distance as the wind carried him to his next destination. A gentle smile graced her lips before she flew back to her palace.
"You're very welcome, Jack."
