A/N: Uh... hehe two chapters...

Chapter 34 – Answers

3rd POV

As soon as Jack stepped through the portal with Sandy, the wind swirled around the area taking Jack's bitter cold with it. He could sense the other spirits here deep within the jungle that seemed to be a mix of all elements.

How fitting for Mother Nature.

"Mother, I'm home!" Jack drawled out sarcastically as he pushed his way into the large chamber that vine covered doors concealed. They clashed against the stone and wood with a crack causing all in the room to look his way.

To say Seraphina was shocked would be an understatement. She was not expecting to see Hellebore so soon let alone with six arms and towering. His face was masked in a smile that made her uneasy as she took in the dark blue eyes of her winter spirit.

"Jack! What a surprise, you have never come to visit me!" She stated standing, telling her the others to stay back and quiet. She knew something was wrong by the worried look in her old friend eyes as he hovered over Jack's head.

"Oh, so you remember one of my names! HOW DARE YOU, HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!" He roared, causing the temperature to drop slightly as the wind howled around the room.

Sera gaped before stepping back slightly as she watched Jack's frame jerk and grow in his rage. "J-Jack? What, I'm confused?" She knew the instant those words were out of her mouth they were the wrong ones.

"J-Jack?" A whimper from the left caught Jack's attention, calming him slightly as he locked eyes with the girl he saved long ago. Hurt flashing across his face as he saw the knowing look in her eyes, the sadness. She knew she knew his pain and yet she still left him alone.

"Flower… You know who I was? I SAVED you and yet you still ignored me, kept me alone for three hundred years! By rights of what we are I should be your brother, we are family in a way so to speak because of Seraphina and yet you do not seek me!" he finished with a painful gasp before scowling and looking back at Seraphina, her face much the same but yet it was different, more aged in a way.

Not literally, she still looked like Seraphina Pitchiner, the youthful woman who saved his life long ago. But she held an air of something that made her seem like she aged, the knowledge of something.

"Don't apologise, there is no excuse good enough that you could explain why." He snapped as he saw her fumble her apology and reason why.

Sandy placed his hand on Jack's shoulder, causing the boy to relax. He too felt the anger at his friend from long ago, he had always wondered why Jack was abandoned the way he was with no one to guide him and yet he too was to blame. Always too busy to come to see Seraphina himself and ask for Jack's sake, maybe he could have avoided all those years alone. Maybe Jack wouldn't have had to suffer the burdens alone that his element so called causes; maybe then Jack wouldn't be so jaded and hidden behind masks of happiness and cockiness.

But Sandy knew deep down that perhaps Jack was jaded from the start. No, not the start of his life but when he had become a warrior and had killed many and seen the death and destruction of his people, he knew how hard it was for Aster. After all Sandy knew just how bad Aster's nightmares got and the stories that were told after one too many of North's vodka's.

"Tell me why you robbed me of my form; you took my pride away from me. Nine years on earth I suffered through that pain, only having the Overlands to help me. THEN you and Manny steal my memories of my heritage and everything that kept me sane, you pushed me into the dark. Do you know how many times I had felt a human, adult and child walk through me? With each painstaking cold ripple of hopelessness. Hopelessness the very thing my kind protected and wielded, with each one my hope was ripped from me and if, if it weren't for Man of Sand, Joy and Phil I would have welcomed the arms of your father without knowing what he did to me." He hissed causing Seraphina to flinch, no matter how mighty she was, who her mother and father were she couldn't ignore the words; couldn't hold back the flinch or the regret- the deep heart wrenching regret and shame.

"It was for your own protection Hellebores; you were hurt so very hurt and your magic core was damaged. We had to for the survival…" she broke off as a roar of wind tore through her palace once more. The butt of Jack's staff slammed down on the ground sending out bursts of frost to silence her.

"Who are we…? I remember there being more… Who did this to me?" he hissed before jerking back as a burst of diamond dust filled the room and revealed Old Man Winter and Fallen.

"Hellebore, calm yourself," he rumbled deeply causing said person to lock his eyes onto him.

"Winter!" He blurted before scowling. He figured that the old man winter himself was the reason he had been placed with this burden, sure he was a winter Pooka but to wield the element and season itself? No, he and his kind could never do that. They helped the season they were born into, it gave them the feeling of being needed for the earth, and it helped heal them when wounded and so on.

"Jack, it is a… surprise to see you." Winter stated slowly as he took in the appearance of the boy before him. "Hellebore." He corrected himself with a sigh as he saw the familiar glint in the boy's eyes.

"Tsar Lunar said this was coming but we didn't expect it this soon, what caused everything to come back?" Ombric's frail yet strong voice spoke up from the door, causing both Sandy and Jack to spin around with wide gaping mouths. "Still the same reception I see," he chuckled before looking at Jack with a sombre expression.

"Is your mate okay child? I would find my own answers but the path to his future has yet to be decided, you had helped but it is up to him to keep fighting or not." Ombric hummed, causing Jack to bare his teeth, as he blurted out the word that even aggravated him more.

"S'motis harmed him, s'motis was the one who took him from me and caused me to become this and now I am stuck and my mate cannot know the truth!" Jack hissed out while grinding his teeth together. Seraphina flinched away from Jack's words as if the very darkness of her father lashed out at her, the name of her father on the old tongue brought back many things and the slaughter of the Pooka race was one of them.

"What did Pitch do to Bunnymund?" Sera asked wairily causing Jack's sharp eyes to lock onto her.

"Nothing you need to worry about, my mate is fine; it is all as Father Time has said. Now I want explanations, ones I know I deserve." He muttered before looking at Sandy. "Worry not Man of Sand I will explain things to you when we leave."

Sandy gave his friend a stern look before nodding, placing his hand on Jack's shoulders once more.

I truly am sorry for all this grief Jack, I could have been there for you more, done something for you. I know you deserve answers and I agree but you need to be calm, you are already at nine feet because of your anger instead of the six feet… Calm Jack, calm your mind… I am here for you every step of the way, you are my friend and you are my family…

Jack relaxed further under Sandy's touch and gave him a soft smile, he felt the warmth bubble up in his chest and felt honoured that Sandy had felt that way, they had thought they were just friends and it made him wonder what he did exactly to be held in that high of a regard to him.

"Hellebore, there are many things that I would like to give my apologies for but there were many things that could have went wrong. If we did not do what we did… then you would have died and Aster… Aster wouldn't have taken it well, even when you died the night we brought you back… He could still feel you in a way… but if you died truly, honestly or Pitch had taken you…" Ombric trailed off sadly while gesturing to all of Jack.

Jack glanced down at himself and grimaced, yeah he could understand so much. He knew Aster would have gone in a rampage, Pooka's wraths are a force to be reckoned with… but it still didn't explain everything else.

"Why take my memories?" He asked in a whisper, almost afraid of the answer. "Was it punishment? Was 300 years of silence from Manny a punishment for something I can't remember doing?"

Sera, Winter and Ombric shared a look before frowning. They had thought Manny would have spoken to the child, but they knew the truth and couldn't deny it.

"It isn't punishment Jack, he-we-oh…" Mother Nature stumbled before sighing, "We wished we could speak to you… to guide you in the new life… We raised you from the brink of death, gave you a bit of ourselves to save you." She told him causing Sandy's eyes to shoot up and Jack's to pull down.

He cocked his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

They shared a look once again before looking at Jack. "The powers over winter, the staff… even your sense of time and stillness… Jack, we gave them to you, figuratively as a spirit, you are classed as our son."

A/N: well leaving it here! Oops…

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