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Ch. 3

He wished his panic froze the hot spring solid, but no such luck. His back made contact to the (now) lukewarm water and the last thing he saw before his vision was blocked by the water was Bunny turning to look at him in surprise.

And then… it was déjà vu all over again.

He could feel the warm currents slowly turn cold and he did the only thing he could do when he was in panic. He thrashed and struggled against the unknown force that was slowly pulling him down.

This was one deep hot spring. Or it probably wasn't.

He can't tell when he's panicking, okay?!

He forgot he didn't need to breathe, since he was a spirit. He forgot what he had learned about basic swimming (though he never really did put it to practice). He forgot everything around him as he watched with wide eyes at the ice that formed above him.

No! NO!

Everything around him suddenly changed. The bright lights that shone from above darkened. The last bit of warmth from the hot spring vanished and everything was dark and cold once more.

And suddenly, he was in his lake again.

And he was drowning… dying.

And there was no Man in the Moon there to save him this time.

He reached out towards the ice. His only escape! He tried to move his limbs… to swim. It somehow worked as he grew nearer. But everything went wrong as he sensed the lake's temperature getting lower… and lower… and lower.

It was freezing. The lake was freezing and he'll be completely stuck if he didn't get out soon. He'll be forever trapped in ice and he didn't want that! He didn't want a second death! He slammed his fists against the sheet of ice. Begging it in his mind to break and shatter.

But just like in his dream, it only seemed to grow thicker, and the water around him was slowly solidifying.

Fear, panic, despair and horror –all these emotions were raging inside him and he couldn't think straight anymore.

Help..!

Crack.

He was surprised to see a crack form and luckily, the only sane part of his brain kept him from touching the ice which would surely be fixed. Another crack form and slowly it grew larger, but Jack's attention had turned back to the water that was slowly but steadily solidifying towards him.

He shut his eyes tightly as he was sure he was going to freeze and never again see daylight. He will be stuck being alone again for who knows how long (probably longer than 300 years), with no company but the darkness.

No more snow days.

No more Jamie.

No more pranks.

No more North.

No more Sandy.

No more Tooth.

No more Bunny.

No more guardians.

No more… family-

JACK!

Then he felt something warm grab his outstretched arm and pull him up, away from his prison. He gasped as he finally got out and the cold air immediately hit his wet body. He trembled, not from the cold, but from the adrenaline rush and the fear.

He wasn't aware of the choked sob he let out or the furry arms that surrounded him in comfort. He didn't hear the worried voices that spoke in soothing tones and didn't feel the towels that tried to dry him up or rather, scrub the ice that had replaced the water.

Finally, he tried to calm his breathing and tried to regain his posture as he clutched the towel draped over his shoulders, "I'm sorry –I-I'm fine."

"Fine?! Yah expect us to believe that, you drongo?" Bunny clutched his shoulders, "What happened back there?"

"Why you freeze yourself up, Jack?" North asked him as gently as he could.

"It wasn't on purpose!" Jack looked up at them, he tried to glare, but the shock was still there that his gaze wavered immediately. He probably won't be able get up with his legs trembling so badly, "I don't think anyone's dumb enough to freeze themselves up."

"No arguing there- ow!" Bunny glared at Sandy who had hit him.

"Then… how come this happened?" Tooth gestured at the perfectly frozen hot spring. Jack tried not to wince as he looked and quickly turned away, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"It must really be a big matter…" North watched as frost kept spreading around their youngest member.

Jack didn't reply, instead he turned to Sandy who tugged at him. The stout man smiled comfortingly and gave him a thumbs-up with a question-mark on his head. The teen made a small smile, "Yeah… I'm fine now."

The three other guardians exchanged looks and nodded in understanding. Questions later. Jack was their top priority right now.

"Let's go back to workshop, da?" North suggested.

Jack nodded looking a bit grateful that they weren't pushing him to speak, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel a bit of guilt. Here they were being nice to him… they should at least deserve a proper explanation of what just happened.

He felt Bunny's strong arms help him up and he listened to Tooth's words of comfort. He heard North suggesting a cup of hot choco to help calm him and for once the guardian of memories didn't argue about the delicious sweet drink rotting his perfectly white teeth. And he could feel Sandy holding his free hand reassuringly. Squeezing it once in a while to make the Winter Sprite smile.

And no sooner did they left the warrens with one of the tunnels that lead towards Santa's workshop, walking side by side in comfortable silence… just like how a family would.

"Ya should've seen his face, mate… it was pure terror I tell ya'!" Bunny told them as he paced back and forth in the globe room, looking very troubled, "And the way he called out ta me… I never heard 'im use such a tone."

"Iz very big thing. We know that much." North nodded, "But we can't find out without Jack telling us. We can't force 'im either."

"I've never seen him that scared before…" Tooth softly commented as she looked down, "I never even thought that it was possible that he could look that scared."

Sandy frowned but did not make images. His thoughts were too deep that not even his sand can portray what he wanted to say.

And thus, the tensed silence.

"You know what… zis going nowhere…" North finally spoke up as he heaved himself into an upright position and walked towards the exit, "I go check on Jack in the meantime…" he opened the door, "Just to see if he's still sleeping –Jack!"

Everyone turned to the door in surprise. Jack stood by the entrance (now wearing his old blue hoodie) and was looking at anywhere, but them. An uncomfortable look was plastered on his face as he shifted on his feet, "Uh… hi."

"What are ya doin' ere, mate? Ya should be restin." Bunny hopped towards him with a frown.

"I did. And I think I already had enough rest, kangaroo." Jack stood a little straighter.

"Hey-!"

"You should really rest more Jack." Tooth interrupted the pooka, obviously not wanting an argument to break out between the two, "I mean… you just froze an entire hot spring solid."

The snow haired teen flinched at that, "Yeah… erm… about that. I just heard you guys awhile ago…"

They immediately exchanged alert looks, "Oh. Uhm, iz better if we forget about that, da? We promiz to never mention-"

"No, no. I-it's okay." Jack rubbed his arm and shrugged, "If you guys really want to know… then I guess I could tell you."

"It's okay if you don't want to." Tooth spoke up while Sandy nodded in agreement. As much as how curious they really were at the occurrence, they knew better than to dig deep in things that could probably hurt their youngest member.

"No need ta push yerself, mate. We're not desperate." Bunny frowned as he crossed his arms.

"You really don't want me to tell you, huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow and the smallest of smirk appeared on his pale face.

They did not say anything but the determination on their faces said it all. Jack chuckled and put a hand in his hoodie's pocket, "Really? Are you guys seriously going to let this opportunity pass?"

"If it means not freezing us solid, then I guess we got the bettah end of the deal." Bunny smirked as he felt Tooth elbowed him.

"Details not important anymore… what matters iz that you're okay now and we swore to not repeat mistake again." North approached the teen and gave him a brief hug before patting him in the back.

"I'm sorry for not listenin' ta ya, mate. I should've known bettah." Bunny puts a paw on his shoulder.

"We're all sorry for scaring you like that." Tooth zipped towards him, followed by Sandy, "We won't do it again. We promise."

Jack smiled. He was touched by their words and concern, and it amazed him to no end on how selfless the guardians were, "Thanks." He told them, hoping that they could hear the sincerity that laced in his voice, "And for that, I would like to show you guys something."

Sandy gave him a curious look while a couple of question marks formed around his head.

The winter sprite then took out a small familiar looking golden case.

"Jack!" Tooth gasped, "That's—"

"I know." Jack tilted his head to the side and Baby Tooth suddenly appeared from his hood, chirping excitedly and before anyone could speak, the two touched the surface of the memory box and then… memories… memories that they were sure they didn't own, flashed within their minds.

TBC...

One more chapter to go! Just a quick warning.. I'm sometimes not that good at endings.