(Present)

"Is help coming?"

Crystal shushed Jack, keeping her eyes closed as she put her forehead on her pulled up knees and crossed arms. There was a moment of silence and she 'huffed.'

"They are being stubborn."

"Crystal..."

"Jack, I need to concentrate." She responded dryly.

"He's coming back..." Crystal hissed in a fearful breath, before Jack whispered urgently again. "Hurry."

(North Pole)

Tap.

"I don't like it, North." The multi-colored Tooth fairy was muttering. "There's no reason for winter spirits to drop off the face of Earth at the peak of their season."

Tap. Tap.

"Maybe global warming got 'em." Bunny mumbled and was hit on the arm. "Ow! Hey, I'm only state'n what the humans are."

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"They speak out of fear..." The big man with a fur-lined coat mused.

"North, you don't mean..."

Crack! The glass on one of the window panes shattered and a blast of cold wind shot into the room. A single, large, snowflake flew in as well, twirled till all eyes were on it and then took the breeze back out.

"North..." Tooth muttered and was cut off by the big man.

"Sandy, Tooth, follow it." The two disappeared out the window. "Bunny. We follow in sleigh."

(90 years ago)

"Crystal...You're spending too much time here," Jack motioned to the Vermont countryside, "I haven't been able to call any snowflakes recently and if you get behind in your work..." He visually tightened his stance, "Mother Nature is-"

"I know, Jack." The snowflake maker snapped, eyes flashing away from him as she gripped her gut as if in pain. "I know...but he," She nodded to the man studying her snowflakes, "He was the first one who has cared so much about what I do. You always get a reaction from your work. That's why you are here...to nip at people's nose's and have fun doing it and such." She sighed and rubbed her eyes, "While I have to diligently slave away at making trillions of snowflakes. I've never been able to see someone truly just...react to what I've done."

Jack was quiet a moment, his arm slung around his staff as he shifted to lean on it. "I know how you feel though...I basically live with the children I come to know and play with, just watching them grow up and change...but they never see me. I've always been invisible...kind of like how your snowflakes have always been invisible till they invented the microscope and someone cared to look."

Crystal met his eyes and she gave a pained smile. She was glad they had each other. One needed company, the other reassurance. That was the initial need of their relationship (probably why the Moon choose each other) but it had been changing. They knew the other deeply now, their strengths and weakness'. They had become more like an intertwined rope...and were stronger because of it.

Jack knew her idleness was not without suffering.

"I guess I should get back to the grind then." Crystal floated up into the air with a twirl, "Don't want Mother Nature to see how easily distracted I get."

Alright! So this chapter is a little chopped up between Jack/Crystal, the Guardians, and the past. A bit more interesting eh? I added another factor to Crystal's power. So if she's not keeping up with the demanded of snowflakes, she suffers. I thought this would be comparable to Jack's staff breaking. Since she can form snowflakes with her hands, that makes her conduit of power herself and if she is broken, that also breaks her ability to craft multiple snowflakes. However, she can form and control a single one with great concentration since her mind/spirit wasn't broken by Pitch's torture. Anyway, that was just an over explanation of things.

The next chapter needs a bit more work so just heads up that it might be a little late.

Please review! Let me know if things make sense!