The group soon came back to reality to see that Jack was counseling a now shaky Innocence. Neither of the two moved while the Guardians stared. Sandy raised a sand question, but no one noticed as their guide simply continued to talk in a low voice.

"Let's go," he walked away from the white-haired boy after ruffling his hair with a smirk, "We have to get to Jack's mind. There's still a long ways to go."

The looked at the youngest among them with an unsure, concerned glance, and Jack's expression softened as he smiled a little, "Guys, Innocence will be fine. I had a talk with him, and he's going to go play in the forest where no one will bother him. Come on."

"Bye!" Innocence shouted out cheerfully as they all waved at the boy before he flew away doing flips and spins.

"Where to next?" A curious Tooth floated near Jack as she watched their surroundings like a hawk. The whole group headed in the direction they had been going to before the second version of Jack was encountered. The sound of feet crunching snow, the flutter of wings, and the wisp of the wind was the only thing heard for a good minute or so.

"Aren't ya supposed to know where we are goin' next, sheila?"

'Bunny,' Sandy formed the sand figures well enough for all to understand, 'We already talked about this.'

"Tooth is new to vis too." North's booming voice echoed around the space.

"But-"

"You guys should hear yourselves," Jack cackled as he flipped upside down in front of them, so they all would listen, "No offense, but how did you survive being Guardians this long without having a world-ending argument or something?"

Tooth blushed bright pink, Sandy smiled sheepishly, North raised a confused brow, and Bunny scoffed at the spirit before he continued to laugh at their expense. No one could make a comeback because they wondered about the question too.

"Whatever, mate," the bunny pushed his arms out as if the action would make them forget about the conversation, "Let's just find the ankle-biter's mind and get out of here."

No sooner had he said this that the scene began to change gradually. Frosty trees faded into nothingness as the snow under their feet melted into a large pool. The Guardians that were walking had to pause to not fall from the thickening ice forming under their feet. Unfortunately, North didn't stop in time and went sliding onto his back as the others winced.

"Vhat is happening?" He grumbled as he got to his feet much more carefully. Everybody busted out laughing as he gave them a flat glare that wasn't too worrisome, so they laughed even harder until the burly man joined in too. They continued on their way, and before anyone could state anything, an overwhelming feeling crashed into the group. No noise was heard except the slight echo that followed them around. All four suddenly felt a crushing feeling come over them, and glanced at a concerned, but not surprised Jack.

"What is going on?" The hummingbird-human hybrid asked as she stopped floating and held her hands over her chest, "Why do I feel like everything hurts so much that I'm going to explode?"

"That's our next Jack," their guide didn't even glance at them before frowning slightly, "Just letting you know now...He usually can't tell anyone is here."

"What do you mean?" Bunny demanded as he felt more of the feeling crash into him, and he was reminded of when that kid had walked through him on Easter.

"Hello?" A voice rang through the silence and sounded as if it came from all points around them, "Anyone there?"

'Who is it?'

"You'll find out in a second," Jack sighed before preparing to meet up with the soon-to-be-met person, "But you might be really...well, sad."

"Vhy would ve be sad?" North began in confusion before the voice called out again.

"Is anyone there?" The four in the group shared glances before watching the almost blankness.

Out rushed a teen who was looking around in desperation as if he were looking for someone. His dulled white hair fluttered here and there as he came closer to the watchers. He was in the same outfit that their regular Jack always wore, and his blue eyes seemed more ice than usual.

"Where are you?" He shouted as he raced closer yet.

"We're here!" Tooth greeted back only to get no response, "What-"

"Listen," their guide waved his hand as the figure was still a dot in the distance. They halted mid-call as they noticed something was off. There was no people talking back, no murmurs, no natural sounds, and not even the sound of the wind even though the guide Jack was still floating in the air. As the teen came closer still, they saw what was wrong.

He didn't have his staff. It was nowhere to be seen. It was as if the piece of wood suddenly disappeared into a bunch of snowflakes and dispersed along with the wind that carried them. The Guardians quickly tried to get the rushing spirit's attention, but he acted as if he couldn't hear a word they said.

"Hey," the teenager came forward and paused hesitantly as he spun around, "Why won't anyone respond?"

"We are!" The Pooka yelled as he stepped towards the winter child, "Why won't you respond, mate?"

"Because he can't," their guide spoke for the first time in awhile with a blank expression on his face, "That's Loneliness. He wanders forever without hearing anyone. Even the other versions of Jack can't interact with him."

"What?" Tooth gasped as Loneliness called out once again only to get no answer.

'How did it get like this?' the sandy Guardian asked as he pointed sadly to the boy.

"Three hundred years is a long time," he claimed as he floated gently on the current, "If he had been found earlier, he'd wouldn't be as much a mess."

"Tell me," Tooth begged as she forced her tears back at the sight of the lonely boy, "He wasn't always like this, right?"

"Not at first," Jack's blank expression went, even more, blank if that were possible, "At first, Jack had a way to pretend that he was fine. He had the wind as his friend, and the North Wind, in particular, was always willing to let the new spirit ride her."

"There's a 'but' in there somewhere though."

"Yeah," he winced as another call from the emotion came, "He got walked through."

All the Guardians cringed as they heard that. They all felt helpless and a bit guilty that they had forgotten that fact when they had tried to recruit their Jack, especially Bunny. They had been locked up in their own places, long since forgetting exactly what it felt like to hold the pain of the loneliness in their hearts. They felt all the worse for how they treated Jack before.

"The first few years, he was okay," Jack smiled heartbrokenly as he saw the other boy sit down with his head in his hands, "A few decades came, and he adapted. He talked to himself; it helped drive off the loneliness. He passed his time starting snowball fights, so he could feel included. He learned how to read and write much better than before. He hung out at libraries when he could to read books that could throw his mind off his problems. But none of it mattered. The loneliness only grew."

No one spoke as they watched the figure pull his hood up and rock himself back and forth. Tears gathered in their eyes at the boy. He had needed someone, and they had left him to be lonely for all those years? It wasn't even a question anymore; they'd definitely help him never be lonely ever again.

"So Jack began to question everything," their guide explained as they gazed at the boy, "He didn't know what to do, or who to trust anymore. And with that, he blamed himself."

"What am I doing wrong?" Loneliness demanded as his voice cracked softly, "I try everything, but no one sees me. Just tell me why. Why did you put me here?"

'Who?'

"MIM," Jack responded as the Guardians frowned, "He didn't talk to Jack. Only gave him his name, and that was it."

"WHY won't anyone answer?" The other boy demanded in a shout as he curled further into himself, "What did I do wrong? Why can't they see me? Why can't anyone see me?"

"But," Tooth frowned in thought as she watched the kid sadly, "Why does he keep saying that? He has people who can see him. Jamie, Sophie, and the others."

"He has us, no?" North joined in with a semi-quiet voice, and the others shook their heads while looking at their guide, "He isn't as lonely now."

"Sadly, no." Jack ignored the looks of surprise, hurt, and confusion as he landed on the ground before turning to them, "I'm not going to sugar-coat it. I'm not going to be mean about it either. You guys have to understand."

He sighed as they all heard Loneliness cry out once again. All five flinched when the boy began to cry even more.

"Jack hasn't had very much contact before. He does right now with you guys and the kids in Burgess, but that's the past few months. Like I told you earlier, three hundred years is a long time." Jack waved his hand and gestured at the rocking boy on the ice, "If anything, it's made it worse."

"What do you mean, 'Made it worse,' mate?" The bunny hopped around a bit to look right at guide Jack's face, "Shouldn't it make it better not worse if he has more contact?"

"Usually, yes," the guide agreed with a small head shake, "But Jack's been feeling that he's not worth being around anyone."

"Vat?" North boomed as he seemed ready to crush the boy (either one in the area) in a hug, "Vhy? Jack is very special. He is worth being around."

The others quietly agreed with the large man.

"He's learned about you guys and feels like he's not good enough. That he doesn't deserve a family like you," Jack sighed angrily as he never took his gaze off the Guardians, "He doesn't know how wrong he is. And the thing that is messing with him hasn't helped. Loneliness is getting worse."

'What can we do to help?' Sandy asked without pause as the others took the info in.

"Well, that's a good question," the white and brown haired teen did a quick back flip so he was resting on his trusty staff, "Be there for him."

They gave him a look that clearly stated something along the lines of 'are-you-crazy?' and 'well-duh-we-know-that-already.'

"Be there for him," Jack stated once again without so much as moving one muscle, "Don't control him, but be there. Jack's a free spirit. That's who he is and who he'll always be. If he really wants help or attention or something, he'll come to you."

"Jack," Tooth suddenly looked up from the lonely boy to the guide with a sudden thought in mind, "Why isn't another bad Jack here? With Innocence, Darkness came. There isn't anyone else here besides Loneliness."

"Like I said earlier," Jack answered as he leaped off the staff and silently landed on the ground, "He can't interact with the others. All of us know we can't bother him. Nobody tries to anymore anyway. Waste of effort as far as most are concerned."

The four flinched at the truth in those words. They hadn't tried hard enough when it came to the boy they were trying to save now. But they were going to be there for him from now on. They nodded as they watched Loneliness get up and wander off once again as if they had never stepped foot onto the ice. The emotion's calls soon faded into nothingness as he disappeared from sight.

"Time to go," no one stated anything as they walked away from the scene. They could only wonder what else they were going to see in this place. The Guardians hoped it didn't get any worse than it already was, but they had the unnerving feeling that something grave was going to happen soon.

Hey, guys! It's been a long time since I've updated pretty much any of my stories, and I need a favor...

Review me with ideas on what I should write. I need the motivation and ideas may make my brain flow...The ideas can be about anything for this story; which emotions to write for Jack (like Affection, Loneliness, Darkness, and such), some of the memories to watch, and so on.

Thanks, and I'll be typing the next chapter shortly (can't tell when I'll get it published; may go faster if get more reviews)

~Angelicat2