Me: (dancing) I got it out I got it out I got it out~

Bunny: What's she talking about?

Tooth: I think it might be this new chapter...or DID YOU HAVE A TOOTH TAKEN OUT?!

Me: Nope! Your first guess was right!

Tooth: Oh phew! You had me worried there for a second!

Me: ROTG does not belong to me! Hey, that rhymes!

Jack wiped the sweat off his forehead, the brief battle was over and now he was feeling the fatigue that came from the tension of nearly getting knocked unconcousious and being taken to Pitch's lair for… who knows what.

Now free, Jack decided to investigate something that had been bugging him.

The fight had pushed him out of the alleyway and he now walked back in. A downed nightmare leaned against the wall. He poked the large black body with his staff. It was covered in ice, and frost traveled around its body, when he poked it, the ice sparked on contact. It was a good shot. But Jack wasn't the one who did it.

Jack heard a small hiss come from the body. Startled, he prepared to fire.

The small white snake slithered out of the leg and into the snow; it hissed again, tiny red tongue flicking towards Jack. Then pointed its head to the nightmare, its golden eyes never leaving Jack's blue ones.

I did good, didn't I? It seemed to say.

Jack laughed, "You did, but don't let it get to your head,"

If Jack didn't know any better, he would have sworn that the snake actually smiled at him.

Jack twirled the staff once and set it down with a thud. Like a signal, the snake traveled up the staff and into his sleeve.

He looked up to the clouds, "Wind! Take us to Santa's Workshop!"

North rose from his armchair. As Jack, hair ruffled and clothes smudgy, stumbled through the window.

"Jack! What happened?"

Jack looked at him with tired eyes and smiled, "Just a run in with some of Pitch's nightmares,"

North moved closer, "Pitch! Did you-?"

Jack shook his head, "almost did,"

"Almost?" North shook his head, "First, sit, then we talk,"

Jack sat on the floor.

"I meant arm-never mind," North sat back, "So, what happened?"

"And then the nightmare pinned me to the ground!" Jack paused for dramatic effect and to take another bite of cookie from the plate on his lap and a gulp of milk.

North was on the edge of his seat. "Then?"

As if on cue, the snake peeked its head out again, Jack smiled at it.

"This guy happened, I don't know what it did, but it stopped that thing from cracking my head open,"

The snake was completely ignoring the conversation, more focused on the food in front of it. It bent its head, taking a cookie in its mouth.

"Hey!" Jack tugged the cookie away, "That's mine!"

Then he saw how shiny it looked. Thin trails of ice crawled around its surface from a central point, making it shimmer.

Jack looked at the snake, "Did you do this?"

The snake moved its head in a nod, reached towards the cookie, and bit it.

Frost spread from the snake's point of contact. As it touched Jack's fingers, he let go. "Cold!" he yipped.

The snake, finally having its prize, retired to Jack's sleeve with a triumphant 'hisssss'. Munching sounds followed and Jack knew that he would have to clean out cookie crumbs from his jacket afterwards.

North meanwhile was resting his chin in his head, "I think it is time to call for other guardians,"

Jack looked at his hand, "No kidding"

Bunnymund eyes popped wide open.

"Y-you're-he's keeping it? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS?!"

Jack smiled, the snake lazily slithering around his staff. Even the sight of the no-legged reptile gave Bunnymund the shivers.

They were in the workshop, standing under the globe that showed the lights of the children who believed. And now, Bunnymund could not believe was he was hearing.

"Bunny, this is no ordinary garden snake," North turned to Jack, and nodded, "Show him,"

Jack threw up a cookie into the air and the snake was off at once. It zoomed through the air, like a living lightning bolt, it sunk into the cookie in midair and landed with an audible plop on the ground.

Right in front of Bunnymund.

The guardian of hope hopped a few meters back, trying his best not to look terrified.

"Very funny, Frostbite," Bunnymund frowned, "but what was the point of that?"

"Take a closer look,"

Thankfully for Bunnymund, (Who wouldn't have gotten near that cold-blooded reptile with a ten foot pole) he didn't have too. Everyone could see the cookie turning white as more layers of ice froze it solid.

The snake slithered to the nearest guardian (Which happened to be Sandy) and dropped the cookie, which made a patch of ice where it lay, spreading to the area under the guardian of dreams' feet.

Sandy looked at the patch, the snake and at the other guardians. Three simple sand-pictures flew over his head.

A snowflake, Jack and a snake.

Tooth took a breath, understanding, "Just like Jack…"

"Now you see?" North stepped up, "I think that snake was meant to be here,"

He started to pace, it must have been something that had been in his head for a while, "In all my years, never has an animal snuck into my sack,"

"First time for everything," Bunnymund muttered under crossed arms, soft enough so everyone heard it.

"But a snake? Snakes go to sleep in winter! Even you, Bunny, know that,"

Bunnymund didn't speak again.

"It could be from tropics true, but most are green or brown, never white, and it cannot be albino, no red eyes," He paused, waiting for any argument.

There wasn't, so he finished.

"'sides, Snake has ice powers, Jack has ice powers, how is that coincidence?"

"Coincidences don't really happen that often in this neighbor hood," Jack admitted, picking up the snake with one hand.

North nodded to him, "So I am proposing that snake stays in Pole until further notice, everyone agree?"

Tooth agreed fully, Sandy nodded, Bunnymund grunted, (which they assumed was a yes). With the topic of the meeting settled, the guardians went back to their duties. All but one.

"North?"

"Yes Jack?"

The snake was curled around his neck, slithering in a circle, Jack himself seemed kind of sheepish, tapping his staff over and over on the floor, leaving small patches of frost where it made contact.

North stepped closer, "Something wrong?"

"N-no, um, yeees…Maybe?" Jack took a breath to calm down, "its about this guy," He pointed to the white band around his snake.

"What about him?"

"Well…" Jack was now twirling the staff around, "Can I keep him?"