Terribly sorry for the long wait. (I've made the chapter slightly longer in compensation.) Apparently, trying to write 3+ stories at once is not a good idea while in the midst of other important work I should really be doing.


When North awoke the next morning, it was to the angry yelling of a certain pooka and incessant laughter of two teen boys. Groggily, and with a somewhat grumpy attitude, the large man rolled out of the blankets, taking a moment to do his daily morning routine before trudging out into the workshop.

"JACK!" Bunny's visage was dark with fury, fist raised and shaking in a threatening manner as he stomped towards the winter spirit. From the way his fingers kept twitching, North knew he was only seconds away from pulling out his boomerangs.

The youngest of the Guardians was perched precariously atop a shelf, nestled amongst several carefully crafted toys. Jack wore a large, obnoxious grin that was directed towards Bunnymund. North raised an eyebrow at the pooka, or more specifically, at his current appearance.

Bright blue fur was plastered with multiple leaves, more than a few of them turned shades not natural for fauna. When Bunny moved, one could see the glitter mixed into his fur. That didn't include the large, sparkly pink bow tied around his neck and the flower crown sitting on his head.

What worried North more than Bunny's appearance or the sparkles and random outlandish decorations of the room was the absence of Jack's newfound friend. His question was quickly answered as the blond swooped into the room, laughing as he performed multiple flips and cartwheels midair before landing next to Jack.

He had a new addition to the workshop's current residents. A small ball of light hovered by Peter, glowing with a golden hue. He watched as Peter spoke briefly with it, laughing as he does so, before turning to Jack to (presumably) relay its words.

The trouble making duo turned back to Bunny, who roared in anger. North stayed back, watching the entire scene with a sort of bemusement. "Chaotic, huh?" A familiar voice asked, and the man known as Santa turned with a beam towards the Tooth Fairy.

"Ja, but nothing unusual, yes?" He replied, and Toothiana laughed in agreement. "Who is friend of Peter?" He then asked, nodding towards the boys and Peter's accompanying light.

"I think he said her name's Tinkerbell. A pixie, I believe." North's eyes widen at her words, grinning as he steps forward to stop the inevitable clash between the three making a scene before them.

"Now, Bunny," St. Nicholas said, raising a passive hand. This did nothing to quell the Easter Bunny's anger, so he continued on before the Guardian of Hope could skin them both alive. "We have guests, no?"

"But those brats—" Bunny growled, Tooth cutting him off as she flew over.

"Let's just all calm down. And you two," she pointed towards the previously laughing boys, "clean this up, won't you?" The two pouted, letting out a series of pitiful groans and complaints. One look from Tooth, however, set them to work fairly quickly.


With the occasional help of a threatened yeti—courtesy of Tink—or a clueless elf, the two finished fairly quickly, at the end the room looking as good as new. Well, almost as good as new. But a few discrepancies wouldn't be noticed, Jack decided.

"Jaaack, I'm bored!" Peter's voice whined from where the blond was sprawled out on North's favorite armchair. "Let's go an adventure!" Jack looked down at the other, tilting his head to the side in an attempt to see the other's expression better.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked slowly, somewhat worried whether or not he should regret asking that yet.

Peter flipped off the chair with ease at his words, face lit up in excitement. "You haven't seen Neverland yet, have you?" He asked, already proceeding to drag the winter spirit towards the window. "C'mon! There's so much we can do there!"

Somewhat amused at his attitude, Jack let himself be practically dragged through the window and into the gentle snowfall outside, and higher still. Peter, at this point, let go and flew ahead, the small light called Tinkerbell hovering not far away.

Jack followed, idly wondering why Tink was with them, no offense to the fairy of course. Last he remembered, however, she'd been banished. As peals of Peter's laughter rang through the air, however, Jack Frost shrugged to himself. It wasn't any of his business after all.

"So where is Neverland exactly?" The winter spirit asked as he flew up to be level with the blond youth. Peter grinned in response.

"Second star to the right and straight on till morning!" He called out above the wind in response, pointing. As his finger located the aforementioned star, he shot forward, Jack yelping in shock at the sudden movement.

With the incentive of Peter's infectious laughter up ahead, he followed soon after, urging the wind to go faster.


The island that was Neverland glided upon crystal waters that Jack didn't think he'd ever seen so blue. Verdant forests covered most of the island, mountains rising up near the center. Peter pulled him along, tumbling over clouds and laughing.

"Over there is Mermaid Lagoon," Peter pointed to the right shore, "And over there is the Indian's Camp." His finger moved across the island to point at a small cape on the left of the island. "And that's Cannibal Cove. You can see the old codfish's ship there." He pointed to the southernmost area of the island, where indeed there was a large galleon with the words Jolly Roger inscribed in gold on the side.

"Codfish?" Jack inquired, raising an eyebrow in amusement at the younger. (Jack wondered briefly if he was the younger one. With both of them being immortal, it was hard to tell, especially when Peter seemed so against talking about the past.)

The blond grinned cheekily at the winter spirit as he explained the nickname. "Captain James Hook! But the old man's a codfish, so that's what we call him!" The white-haired immortal can't help but laugh at that.

Jack looks once more at the island as Peter resumes his 'tour', pointing out other notable areas like Crocodile Creek, which fed into the Cove, and Hangman's Tree, where the sprite's hideout was. The Guardian noticed a small island off to the north that his companion seemed to avoid.

It was a massive stone that seemed to be a hollowed out cave, its eroded appearance looking eerily like a decrepit human skull, with the missing section of the jaw seeming to be a perfect entrance for small boats to travel through; the eye sockets for any airborne guests.

His curiosity got the better of him, however, and against his better judgment, he pointed it out to Peter. "What about that?" He asked.

The blond visibly paled, looking away from the island and shrugging. "O-Oh, that's Skull Rock. It is—was a haven for the pirates to hang out." He replied, looking back up with a shaky smile as he tried to play it off.

"Was? Did something happen?" Jack pressed, not wanting to hurt the other boy but something about that rock… He felt as if he needed to know what it was. What had happened there…?

Peter simply shook his head, flashing the white-haired youth a blinding, yet hollow, grin. "Oh, you know the usual!" He chirped cheerfully—far too cheerfully for Jack. "They just went down to visit Davy Jones' Locker!"

It took a moment for Jack to understand what he meant by that, but the meaning of the words quickly dawned on him. "Peter, what—" He started, alarmed, only to stop abruptly as the blond swooped down towards the island. Angered, he leapt after the boy, freefalling the majority of the distance before the wind caught him. "Hey, Peter, wait!" He cried, but the blond didn't stop.

Peter laughed, waving at Jack to follow as he dove down, doing several flips and somersaults over the Cove before straightening out and making a beeline for Hangman's Tree. The small ball of light that followed him faithfully up to this point branched off; darting down into the midst of the forest, but this was the least of Jack's concerns at the moment.

He darted after the surprisingly fast sprite, weaving around boulders and ducking under branches as the two went lower and lower, until Peter's feet grazed the ground, running along it at a sprint. Jack continued flying, watching the other immortal laugh as he spread his arms wide; racing down the hill he'd landed upon.

To Jack's innate worry, Peter narrowly skirted around a cliff at the bottom, leaping over fallen trees and small animals as he ran, undeterred by whatever obstacles might lay before him.

He finally came to a stop nearly a mile from his starting point, huffing only slightly as he turned around to finally face Jack.

The smile stretched across his face fell somewhat at the sight of the Guardian's drawn eyebrows and downturned lips. "Peter," he began, landing gently on the ground. Frost spread out on the grass where his feet touched. "How can you say that so casually?"

Peter's head tilted, and he blinked. "They're pirates. What's the big deal?"

Jack sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair in an aggravated manner. "They're still people. You shouldn't treat someone's life so lightly like that!" His voice rose as he spoke, giving a sharp look to the other. Peter flinched at his tone, and Jack's eyes softened slightly. "I… Sorry, it's just…" He sighed again.

"It's fine." The blond muttered in reply, and Jack fidgeted as he tried to find something to dispel the heavy atmosphere.

"So, uh, Tink isn't banished anymore, huh?" He asked, somewhat awkwardly. "When did that happen?"

The brown-eyed boy, seeming grateful for the change in topic, jumped on the question almost immediately. He laughed uproariously. "What are you talking about? I would never banish Tink! She's my fairy!"

"Huh?" Jack blinked, staring in confusion at the blonde's words.

But what he had yet to understand was that Peter's memory of the incident that initiated this course of action was undesirable to him. It was a leash holding him back; a chain. So, he forgot. But while Jack had yet to fully grasp exactly what that meant, he knew, somehow or another, that it would be important.

Because the past will always come back to haunt you.