Secret of Frost and Moon

by Alaia Skyhawk

When death turns out not to be the end, you can't help but ask for what purpose you were brought back... What differences would it make, to remember your past right from the begining? To learn your purpose, piece by piece, right from the start? How would that change the life, future, and secrets of the Spirit of Winter; Jack Frost?

43. World War

Alaia Skyhawk: Sorry for the wait. I've been ill, and putting some extra sleep in each day, so I've not written much over the past couple of weeks. But I'm back now, so here's the next chapter :)

And to answer the question by anonymous reviewer "Hannah", as to if the other Spirits and Lieutenants of the Seasons would sense when Pitch attacks him and so come charging to the rescue, the answer is no. The only ones who would sense it are Mother Nature and the Lieutenants of Winter. The Lieutenants WILL show up at the end of the scene where he fixes his staff, but Mother Nature doesn't and she stays out of the way. She knows he can take care of himself, even against Pitch :)

And one last side-note, North is still using the old-style sleigh hehehe.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

~(-)~

Chapter 43: World War

War... It was something one would think he'd be used to by now, given the wars he'd already witnessed in various places around the world during his two centuries as the Spirit of Winter. But no matter how often he'd already seen them, Jack never failed to view them with frustration at the foolishness of those who started them...

It was September 1914, and a massive war had broken out a few months ago in Europe; fought between two alliances of nations. The Immortals were, for the most part, keeping their distance as usual except when performing their duties. But the hostilities were escalating, and there were already brewing signs that more and more countries would be drawn into the conflict.

Jack sat on the side of a mountain, somewhere near the middle of Alaska, where Northern Winter had already taken hold. It was too early still to go to Burgess, Winter Threshold wasn't for another six weeks, which meant he had little to distract him. The first war he'd witnessed, the American Revolutionary War as it was called these days, he'd buried forts and intervening wilderness in snow to hamper hostilities during Northern Winters, but that wouldn't make much difference these days.

Humans had machines now, vehicles that could with modification, plough through the snow unless he made it really deep. But he couldn't do that, even if he blanketed both forces, because of the sheer numbers of soldiers he knew it would kill. Be it through cold, or through starvation because supplies couldn't get to them, he couldn't and wouldn't do it. There were certain lines that were never crossed, no matter how distressing it was to sit by and do nothing.

Jack scowled to himself, his thoughts turning to another matter. Once again he'd been forbidden from spreading frostdust over the affected regions, to ease the fears of the children living in them. He understood the reasons why, the need to prevent any chance of Pitch discovering the truth about him, but it was becoming harder and harder to accept that restriction. Each war he witnessed, pushed Jack closer towards the need to act and to rebel against the Man in the Moon's instructions. All he could do to alleviate that frustration was to spend time with the children of Burgess, but until Winter Threshold that option was out-of-reach.

The Spirit of Winter let out a sigh, cursing under his breath, before in a fit of temper he set off an avalanche on the isolated slope beneath him. He was a long way from any people, that was why he'd picked this mountain. So that he could vent his emotions without harming anyone, while still being in the North of the World tending to his duties.

Jack watched the snow tumble down the slope, picking up more as it went and growing larger and larger. The similarity to how conflicts picked up momentum in the same sort of way, then crossed his mind unbidden and he took flight to get away. Even his distractions were making him brood. He needed to find something else to do.

He didn't get far before a 'distraction' found him, instead of the other way around. It was one of the fairies from the Sanctuary of Nature, waiting beside one of the vine-encircled portals that granted access to it. It was directly along his flight-path, meaning Mother Nature had likely been aware of his position for a while before sending the messenger.

The fairy's expression was solemn, as she indicated the portal.

"You are summoned for a matter of urgency, for which Mother Nature could not bring the message personally. You are needed to attend a meeting, at once."

Jack frowned a little at the implication others besides himself would be attending, but nodded all the same.

"Then I'll go. Thank you for bringing the message."

He flew through the portal, the fairy following him, and emerged near the gazebo in Mother Nature's private garden. It was there, true to his suspicions, that he saw three others there besides her. Ariko, Achieng, and Oisin... Mother Nature had called together her Spirits of the Seasons, and that was unusual enough to keep him frowning.

She nodded in greeting as Jack entered the gazebo and sat on the seat that waited there for him. She then regarded all four immortals before her, and spoke solemnly.

"I am sure you are aware of the war that has broken out in Europe. It is in relation to that matter, that I have called you here today."

As Achieng and Oisin nodded grimly, Ariko scoffed in disdain.

"Why should we concern ourselves with the foolishness of mortals? They will battle it out as they always do, until a victor emerges bloodied and battered. Then there will be 'peace', before another foolish mortal sets off another one."

Achieng scowled and glared at her.

"Then it is you who are the fool. Your Lieutenants have barely any believers in Europe, so you wouldn't have noticed, but mine have many around the southern areas of France, in Italy, and other places around the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. They, and subsequently I, have suffered a considerable drop in belief and power during the past few months."

"As have I." Oisin was frowning. "It is not a Belief Blackout, but it is certainly a Famine that will clearly spread. It will weaken us all, even if we cannot lose our base power."

Jack remained silent, keeping to himself his agreement on that assessment, as Mother Nature confirmed and explained the gravity of the situation.

"I have been to see Ombric Shalazar, for an interpretation of the coming future. While his ability to view what will come is limited at best, for general matters such as mortal wars, he is capable of a clear view."

That got Jack's attention, and he spoke up.

"What did he see?"

Mother Nature's answer was grim.

"What he saw isn't good. The war will, in the coming couple of years, grow to involve all of the world's most powerful nations, and through their colonial territories, affect areas across the entire globe... It will be the first ever Worldwide War, and not only that, but Ombric foresaw that second one will follow it twenty-five years from now."

Even Ariko looked shaken by that, as the implications sank in and Achieng murmured.

"Wars always cause considerable drops in believers, even for immortals who have strong cultural traditions to bolster their footholds. Localised Belief Famines only affect a handful of immortals at most, but you're saying that this war could cause one that would affect us all?"

"Correct."

Mother Nature sighed, and would have continued, but Ariko spoke out first in a haughty tone.

"I still see no reason why this should concern us. Belief Famines happen, and when they do the Legend Immortals scramble around and panic. But we are Nature Immortals, why should losing a little bit of power for a short while, worry us?"

Jack rose to his feet, glaring at her.

"A 'little' bit of power? We are going to lose a lot of power once the Famine starts costing our Lieutenants more believers." He jabbed a finger at her. "It was Belief Famines that cause whole worlds to lose their Immortal defenders during the fall of the Golden Age, and in case you've forgotten, Pitch and the remaining Fearlings are on this world with us! He savaged the people of those worlds, made their belief crumble under the weight of the suffering he caused them, which weakened their defenders. Then, as the first few Immortals were crushed, the effect cascaded outwards and the people lost faith in them all."

Mother Nature's quiet tone of reprimand, continued this scolding of the Spirit of Spring.

"As Nature Immortals, you cannot be stripped of all power in that fashion, but do not believe that you could stop Pitch on your own without the help of Legends. I witnessed one such attempt, during the fall of the Golden Age. All inhabited worlds had their own Mother or Father Nature, and Spirits of the Seasons, although no other subordinates. Their power was no match against Pitch once he had the fear of their entire world fuelling his might, hence my insistence on you having Lieutenants. I learnt the importance of the power of believers, from the mistakes of my counterparts on those doomed worlds. If we stand back and allow this Famine to take place unchecked, there is every possibility that Pitch Black may take advantage. That is something that I cannot permit, not while there is much we can do to prevent it. Do you understand?"

Oisin nodded, and nudged the Spirit of Spring.

"We understand. Don't we, Ariko?" Ariko scowled, but reluctantly nodded as well, and he turned his attention back to Mother Nature. "I would guess you want us to assist our Lieutenants in retaining their believers."

Mother Nature shook her head.

"No. I want you to perform tasks that will assist all the immortals who have believers."

"What?"

At Ariko's exclamation, Mother Nature answered sharply.

"Most immortals only work within limited regions, a set boundary that restricts their powers to a degree so as to maintain a balance and prevent internal conflicts and aggressive competition breaking out amongst us. Only a few Legends are permitted to have worldwide influence, such as the Guardians. Tsar Lunar and I have already spoken to all of the localised immortals, instructing them to work together with their neighbours to minimise belief-loss, but that will not be enough."

Jack began to smile, having guessed exactly what she was getting at.

"But the Guardians, specifically Toothiana and Sanderson, affect the whole world all year round. You want us to keep tabs on the status of the war, and tell them what areas are suffering the worst at any given time? So they can give them extra attention? That in turn would help all immortals."

Mother Nature nodded, ignoring his smug smile at being right.

"Yes, although that is only part of it... I don't normally call for something of this like, but this is an exceptional circumstance. I need you four to perform 'weather miracles'. Nothing too showy, but enough to raise the spirits of the people at certain times. The world will have to pay for it in a few years, with some additional harsh weather, but that can be done once the war is over and recovery has begun. Save them for the areas in most need and use them sparingly. But still, use them."

Achieng rose to her feet now as well.

"We understand, and will do as you instruct." She glanced at her peers. "Now, how will we handle interacting with the Guardians? We've never worked with them before, and I am admittedly unsure as to how to go about it."

Oisin regarded her with a shrug.

"Simple, we send them messages informing them of what we see."

Jack interrupted, frowning.

"Won't it get messy, if they're each getting messages from four different people?"

"Then we'll use the winds to relay information to each other, and each of us will compile the messages for one specific Guardian."

Ariko butted in at that remark, her demanding tone making them all stare at her.

"Then I'll do the messages for Bunnymund. Spring is his favourite Season."

After a pause, Achieng nodded, as did Oisin.

"I'd prefer to deal with Toothiana, as her palace is in a very warm climate."

"And ice and snow aren't my forte, so I shall compile the messages for Sanderson."

Jack, a bit bemused at his best friend being hijacked by the Spirit of Autumn, sighed.

"Which means I'm doing North." He shrugged. "Although it makes sense, considering most of the kids he delivers to are in the North of the World, and Christmas is during Northern Winter."

Mother Nature got up, pleased that a workable solution had been agreed upon so swiftly.

"It's settled then... All of you, head out. Start gathering information, and begin sending reports to the Guardians as soon as you learn anything of note. All four of you are to patrol regardless of Seasonal boundaries, so that you can cover while some of you deal with your usual duties."

All four of them quickly departed, leaving through the portals by which they'd entered the Sanctuary of Nature. Jack found himself back over Canada, and immediately used and Ice Mirror to go to Europe. Watching wars had always been hard for him, but this time he now had a purpose for doing so. One that would allow him to make a difference for the children living in the affected areas, even if he still could not help them directly.

He did a first quick, yet thorough pass over the current areas of conflict, writing down the most needy locations using the paper and charcoal he pulled through a small mirror from his library. Once he was done he headed for North's Workshop, arriving not long after dawn local time, and for the first time since leaving a basket of Tooth Fairies there, he knocked on the front door.

When a yeti answered it after a minute or so, Jack spoke seriously.

"I am Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter. I have an important message to deliver to North."

The yeti didn't hesitate to usher him in, what with Phil being the only one here who knew about his attempted break-ins. He knew that, because the winds had told him that Phil had never mentioned it to anyone. And so Jack settled himself just inside the entrance-hallway, after informing the yeti who'd let him in that he'd be just find waiting there. He then sent an errant wisp of breeze through the workshop to a hallway nearby where Phil was sweeping. That tell-tale hint of cold air, being the cue that Phil had noticed always preceded Jack attempting to break in.

The yeti was put onto alert, meanwhile Jack leaned against the wall in the entranceway and whistled idly to himself while he waited to see who would arrive first: Phil or North...

It was Phil.

The yeti scowled when he saw Jack casually standing there, set aside the broom he was holding, and stormed towards him with clear intent to throw him outside. But before he could lay so much as a furry paw on the immortal, Jack raised a hand in a 'stop' gesture and spoke blandly.

"Ah ah, not today. I'm here on business."

Phil, caught off guard by that, and irritated by the hint of mirth in Jack's eyes, grumbled out a string of yetish and Jack shrugged. He'd learnt to understand yetish, after Ombric had pointed out that they were the most prominent Tribe of Myth who lived in snowy regions, and as the Spirit of Winter he never knew when he might need to talk to them.

Jack grinned.

"What, is it so hard to believe that I actually have a job? You seriously didn't think I play games all the time, did you?"

Phil grumbled again, and would have retorted to that, but for the booming Russian voice of North echoing down the hallway as the Guardian strode alone it to greet his guest.

"Ah, Jack Frost! What brings the Spirit of Winter to my workshop?"

Jack stepped around Phil, who had gone utterly still in shock at the revelation of who his 'mischief maker' was. His smile faded to seriousness as he approached North, and he handed over the report he'd written.

"Ombric has viewed the future regarding the latest war, and it's going to be 'worldwide'. Belief Famines are going to be a problem, and in light of preventing Pitch from taking advantage, Mother Nature has commanded the Spirits of the Seasons to patrol the world and report the areas in most need of extra attention, to the Guardians." He inclined his head respectfully. "I will be you liaison for that, while Ariko liaises with Bunnymund, Achieng with Toothiana, and Oisin with Sanderson."

North, his own expression having turned serious, accepted the report and unrolled it. After glancing through it, he then nodded.

"I shall see about getting some special little gifts made to send to Tooth, for her fairies to give along with coins in the worst affected areas. Will put extra effort into Christmas for those areas too." He rolled up the parchment, and sighed. "Thank you, Jack, for bringing this information."

"You're welcome."

Jack turned to leave, but stopped when North placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You not staying? Surely you can spare time for hot chocolate and cookies? I can show you workshop as well, hmm? Not many immortals get to come see where yetis and I do our work."

Jack glanced at him and smiled.

"I'd like to save seeing the workshop, for when you do that 'party' you promised. Maybe you could pick another little room somewhere, close to this entrance, and we can sit down and talk when I come here with my next report. I'd stay longer now, but I can't neglect my shepherding duties. Northern Winter calls me."

North nodded in understanding.

"Of course, of course... You have job to do too, I understand." He smiled. "And yes, saving workshop for that special occasion would be good, very good. I look forward to seeing look on your face on that day!"

He laughed, Jack joining in, before the Spirit of Winter gestured towards Phil.

"I'll let you get back to your work. This fellow here can show me out." Jack grinned. "He looks like yeti who can do a great job of showing guests out, be they welcome or otherwise. I'll see you in a week or so, with the next report."

Oblivious to the twitch from Phil at Jack's comment, North bit his farewell.

"Then I'll see you then, and have a room ready for that hot chocolate and cookies. It's been more than a decade since I had those at your Sanctuary, and you've not tasted hot chocolate until you've tasted my recipe!"

"I'll look forward to it." Jack waved as North left to return to his work, resulting in him and Phil being the only ones left in this hallway. It was then that Jack turned to face the yeti, and with a wicked chuckle he dashed through the air to the door and waited there. "So, are you going to show me out?"

Phil stared at him before stalking over to open the door, but made no attempt to physically throw him out into the snow. Jack instead walked out, still grinning, and flew away.

But three days later, that is the following Tuesday, the yeti felt that tell-tale trickle of a cool breeze. So surprising him that he actually dropped his broom in mid-sweep in one of the upper hallways of the complex. He then frowned to himself, turning to go the direction it had come from, and within fifteen minutes of starting his search, he found a white-haired figure slinking through the hallway roof-beams in the direction of the main workshop.

Jack heard the yeti stop beneath him, and with a sigh he dropped down.

"You caught me again." He ran a hand through his hair. "Ok, so maybe using the breeze to find out where you are isn't working anymore. It's giving you too much of a clue of where I am."

Phil just stood there, staring at him and hesitating as to what to do. When he noticed that, Jack frowned.

"Come on, Phil, what are you waiting for? You found me, so go on! Throw me out the nearest door or window like you always do!" Still the yeti hesitated, until after several moments Jack's shoulders slumped and his tone took on the edge of a disappointed while. "If I'd know that finding out I was the Spirit of Winter would make you scared to grab me, I wouldn't have pulled that prank the other day. Do you seriously think that, if I didn't enjoy trying to outwit you, I'd do this at least once or twice every year? If you don't throw me out, what am I supposed to tell the kids?"

At the mention of children, Phil blinked and uttered a startled query in yetish, which Jack answered.

"I'll admit, the first few times I broke in, for about five years, it was just for personal amusement. But then I told the kids in Burgess, my believers, about how I'd been trying to sneak into Santa's Workshop, and they begged me to tell them more." He smiled. "So every year, during the run-up to Christmas, I always try to break in a couple more times, so I have new stories to tell them about my exploits in trying to sneak past 'Phil the Yeti'."

Phil's eyes widened, and he pointed to himself along with a new question. Jack was telling stories to children, about him?

Jack started to grin, nodding enthusiastically.

"Of course, hearing about you is their favourite part!" Jack started to mime himself sneaking, before acting out grabbing something and bodily throwing it. "The love hearing about my trying to sneak in, about how you always outwit me and stop me getting into where the toys are made, and then how you throw me outside into the snow once you catch me." He held his arms out in a shrug. "Why do you think I refused North's offer to see the workshop? The kids want to hear about me sneaking in to see it for the first time, but if North showed me round, what am I supposed to say to them then? That all my efforts to sneak in, those stories they loved, were pointless because Santa decided to just let me in and show me around? I don't want to disappoint them, and I don't want to have to lie to them either and say I've not see it yet. That's why I made an excuse."

Phil was still staring at him, the explanation sinking in, before the yeti began to chuckle. Phil then thumped a fist into one paw, cracked his knuckles, and grinned in a way that said it all... Jack had better start running.

The Spirit of Winter obliged, whooping with laugher as he tried to dodge past Phil's impressively long arms, and for his troubles got snagged out of the air by one ankle and was divested of his staff. A minute later he was flung out of a top-floor window into the snow below, his staff clattering down beside him a moment later like always. And then, after standing up and brushing himself off, he looked up to the window to see Phil laugh and wave at him before slamming the window shut.

And with that, Jack knew his stories for the children of Burgess, about sneaking into Santa's workshop, were about to get a whole lot more fun.

~(-)~

The new 'agreement' with Phil, and the task of helping the Guardians know where to concentrate their efforts, went a long way towards raising Jack's spirits over the coming months. The children in Burgess whooped and cheered when he told them about being thrown out of a top-floor window at the Workshop, and were reduced to giggles when he told them about his next attempt... Where Phil trussed him up in wrapping paper and ribbon, and shut him in a closet with a dozen elves. Phil didn't have to throw him out on that occasion. Jack had fled to spare himself the embarrassment, of the yeti seeing him half covered in elf-drool from where some of them had chewed through the paper to get at the 'present' inside.

But that wasn't to say those were the only things Jack did to salve his frustrations at the stupidity of the war. As was revealed when he showed up at the workshop on Christmas Eve, with a report of where a few extra presents would need to be left.

North was overjoyed to see him, even if there were yetis' scrambling everywhere and he had been yelling at them to finish setting things up as he was leaving in less than an hour. Jack had actually had to come as close to the toy-factory entrance, in order to get anyone's attention, but he resolutely refused to peek in when North peered out around the door after being told he was here.

"Jack! Sorry for wait, am very busy as you can guess. What brings you here on Christmas Eve?"

Jack showed him a rolled-up sheet of paper.

"A few more locations that need a little extra Christmas Spirit."

North regarded him in silence for a few moments, before running a hand through his beard and sighing in stress.

"I no have time to read it, am literally about to leave." When Jack moved to protest, North raised a hand. "But, I have solution. I no have time to work out where all those places are, but you already know them. So why not come with me on sleigh?"

Jack stared, then pointed at himself.

"You want me to come with you on your sleigh, and help you with Christmas?"

North nodded, smiling.

"Of course!" He winced a little, starting to look embarrassed. "Also, it will sort of be apology for having no gift for you. You appeared on Naughty List last week, so I never expected you to suddenly swap over to the Nice List less than twelve hours ago. What was it you did, to do those things?"

Jack's expression became sly, and he chuckled.

"Well the naughty one is a no-brainer. I tracked down several officers of high rank on both sides of the conflict, and put a literal icy chill up their spines... But the good deed." His grin widened. "That's a surprise that I'm sure you'll notice during certain parts of your rounds."

North looked almost overcome with curiosity, but then a shout from a yeti jolted him from his thoughts and he cursed.

"Ack, will have to wait. You want to wait here, and leave with me on sleigh?"

Jack shook his head.

"I'll meet you over Japan, just before you make your first deliveries."

With that he headed out, racing from the workshop and using an Ice Mirror to put himself in the sky above the aforementioned country. Truth was, he wanted a moment to calm himself down, over the sheer thrill of being asked to help with Christmas. I mean, he'd done a little bit of rule-bending during Christmas Eve day, to surprise North, but even if he got no present for being on the Nice List for what was only the second time in his immortal life, he didn't mind.

The kids in Burgess were going to freak with excitement when he told them he'd gotten to ride in Santa's sleigh because of his job, and help deliver the gifts. He couldn't wait to be able to describe the inside of the sleigh to them.

Almost as if that thought were the trigger, he heard the distant sound of one of North's snowglobe-portals and immediately turned to head towards it. North waved enthusiastically when he saw him, and gestured for him to get in.

"Sit behind me, and mind you keep out of the area with gold line painted round it. My magic brings presents from workshop, into that part of sleigh, before another spell sends them into homes. You will be squished if you sit there."

Jack smiled and nodded as he went to oblige, but then after actually getting inside the flying vehicle he paused and stared.

Because from the outside, the sleigh looked immaculate other than a few scratches, but inside...

"When was the last time you made yourself a new sleigh? This thing looks like it's about to fall to pieces!"

North glanced at him over his shoulder.

"What new sleigh? I use same sleigh every year, ever since I started doing this." He thumped the front edge, and Jack heard the faint crack of protest from very old wood. "Why fix what isn't broken?"

Jack gaped at him.

"You're saying that this sleigh is over three-hundred years old, and you've never thought to build a new one? I was going to tell the kids in Burgess about getting to help you, but I can't describe this to them! I can't tell them that Santa delivers their presents using a sleigh where you can actually stick a foot through the bottom into open air!"

He demonstrated, using a fair-sized hold in the floor behind North, and the Russian winced.

"Um, good point. Children never see me flying about, so I never thought about that." He turned his gaze forward again, flicking the reigns to get his reindeer to pick up speed. "Perhaps it is time I designed a new one... But, enough of that for now, is time for me to get to work."

He clicked his fingers, ignoring Jack's yelp as a massive pile of gifts appeared in the back of the sleigh, causing the vehicle to groan in a very disturbing way. But they were there for barely the blink of an eye before they vanished and were replaced by a new pile.

Jack watched the process with fascination, losing count of the seemingly impossible number of gifts within seconds. He then got an idea, and looked at North. He'd already bent the rules once, what harm would there be in bending them a little more? It wasn't like he was going to be sending his power through the skies in full view.

"Would you mind if I add a little extra 'something' to your presents as they pass through the sleigh? I can guarantee, it'll bring an extra bit of joy to the kids when they pick up their presents and start to open them."

North glanced back at him again, his expression set in a slight frown of concentration from directing his spells.

"What did you have in mind?"

Jack grinned.

"Sandy things I should be a Guardian, for more reasons than just my love of making children smile. It's no secret that I can make people smile and burst into laughter, even if they're in a steaming rage. I'm just going to dust a touch of that power onto the paper wrapping the gifts. When the kids pick up the presents, they'll be hit with a rush of happiness and laughter in addition to the wonder of finding the present from you."

North went quiet for a moment, before he nodded and started to smile.

"If you think you can keep up with my spell, then go right ahead. With this Worldwide War going on, every little bit of extra joy will help."

Jack laughed at the challenge in the Russian's tone, and turned his attention to the space in the back of the sleigh, where gifts were still appearing and being replaced with blinding speed. He then tucked his staff into the crook of one arm, keeping contact with it with one foot, so he could hold both hands out in the direction of the gifts.

The faint suffusion of blue-white dust was barely visible in the air, but Jack kept it in place within the area where the gifts were, so that they would pick up a touch of his power in passing. The sleigh had been over Japan, surging through portal after portal, for barely four minutes before it moved to a new region. Another thought then struck Jack.

"So, how long does this actually take?"

North shrugged, keeping his gaze forward.

"A lot less than it should. Truth be told, not all gifts reach homes via my sleigh. Strictly speaking, I have no need to even leave my workshop to deliver them, but I enjoy doing this. So I pick a few countries, or parts of them, each year and go to those places in my sleigh. My spells send the rest of the gifts directly to children. It is a change I was forced to do, as population of humans has grown so much in past few decades. It became impossible for me to deliver them all through sleigh, and still have time to deliver gifts to the very good children, personally. I did not want to give that up, so I was forced to make choice even though I didn't want to."

Jack sighed in understanding.

"A compromise, to let you keep doing what you love to do, and yet still be able to bring wonder to all the children of the world." He glanced at the Russian. "But I'm glad you told me you don't go everywhere, or my surprise might have been spoiled. There are a few parts of the trenches, along the war-fronts in Europe, where you'll need to fly over if you want to see what I've done."

Curiosity once again lit up North's eyes, but even when he queried what Jack had planned, the Spirit of Winter refused to answer. And so it was that the Russian had to wait until they reached the trenches, before he was able to see... or rather hear... what the surprise was.

The soldiers in some of the trenches, men from both sides of the conflict, were singing Christmas carols to each other. It was like, for this single night and day, the fighting was being set aside in the spirit of good will. It was something that brought a tear to North's eyes, as he turned in his seat to look at Jack.

"You used your power to bring happiness, to bring light to their Christmas... Wonder and hope, and memories of the families they are forced to be away from, dreams of this war ending and being able to return home to them. I feel it in my belly, you've brought all those things here to these men, even if only for Christmas."

Jack flushed at the praise, still listening to the songs coming from below.

"I can't bring a stop to the fighting, but at least I could bring them this little bit of peace. And I wasn't even breaking the rules, because I did what I did for the people on both sides of the trenches. While I was doing that, I even heard a few talking about inviting the opponents to take part in a game of football in No Man's Land, and others talking about allowing each other to gather their dead so they can be buried properly. I think it'll help me find some peace as well."

North reached out to pat Jack on the shoulder.

"I can see you hate war as much as I do, and I agree. The rules that bind us immortals are hard on those of us who see things like you and I do. Is good that we can make a difference and give hope and joy, even if only a little."

Buoyed by the memory of soldiers singing carols, the two of them completed the deliveries and parted ways in America at the usual meet-up with Cernunnos 'post-race'. The following year, Jack accompanied North again, but this time the commanders had clamped down on 'fraternization with the enemy', and few if any soldiers raised their voices to sing across No Man's Land.

Each passing year, the conflict escalated as Ombric had foreseen, but through the joint work of the Immortals the Belief Famines were kept minimal. Before long, the war ended and peace returned. In some places recovery was swift, in others it was slow, but it did come. Not even the occasional strange bouts of harsh weather could dampen the hopes of the people in the aftermath.

But then came 1939, and the event which would see the World War renamed as World War One, or WWI. That event was World War Two, and in many ways it was as bad as, and even worse, than the first one. But one thing helped Jack get through them, even when news that some of the Bennett Family members who had moved away and forgotten him, had died in the fighting.

That thing was helping North, by visiting the workshop to douse the presents in the massive storage rooms, with frostdust each year on Christmas Eve. It was a compromise, a bending of the rules on not spreading frostdust, that the Man in the Moon didn't comment on. For it was little different than Sandy mixing it with some of his dreams, and it was something Pitch would never notice.

And if it stopped Jack from breaking down out of frustration at the restrictions he was under, that was for the best. For even as Jack brooded and occasionally begged for the restrictions to be lifted, Tsar Lunar shared in that pain. Not even he had expected Pitch to wait this long to make a move. He had never intended to make Jack wait so long, secret and separate from the rest of the Guardians.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: Yep, even Manny is starting to wonder what is taking Pitch so long to make his move. Poor Jack.