Hi Everyone!

This is the one shot I promised for Little Apple in which Jack loses his memory. Yes, I know this is a somewhat cliché plot bunny, but I have to admit, I want to take on the challenge on whether or not I can breathe new life into an overly used idea.

ENJOY!

And again…I do not own ROTG

Jack's staff whirled as he fought Pitch, nightmare sand flew all around him as he deflected it with ice, and his face was hard with concentration. Nearby, the other guardians slashed and burst through hundreds of nightmares, each straining to stay ahead and not give Pitch even an inch of ground. Leaping high into the air, the winter spirit flipped backwards landing on a rock ledge, and swung his staff down creating a broad sweep of icy blades hurtling towards his enemy. Pitch merely dodged, creating a large scythe, and swinging it at the boy. His aim was wide, and merely cut into the stone Jack was standing on. The winter child gave a robust laugh, focused his energy, and sent out a large explosion of pure magical power at his opponent.

Unfortunately that explosion caused the seam in the stone to only widen, and crack, causing Jack to teeter dangerously over the edge of a cliff.

Pitch took this as his opportunity, and unleashed a torrent of black dream sand crashing into the already flailing figure of the winter spirit. Jack felt his staff slip from his fingers as waves of black sand raged against him, and without barely a second to defend himself, he was effectively pushed off the ledge and down into the ravine. Bunny slashed and kicked, destroying nightmares left and right when he heard the sound of wood clattering against stone, and a cry of surprise and fear yelp from Jack's throat. His ears twitched, and he turned to see Jack's staff lying on the ground while a familiar shock of white hair fell over the edge of the cliff. Green eyes widened with fear, and the warrior rabbit felt the entire world slow down to a crawl as he watched the boy tumble into the gaping crack running through the earth and disappear from view.

"JACK!"

He ran forward, only to be stopped by over a dozen nightmares. With a snarl, the Pooka narrowed his eyes at his enemy, his teeth grinding at the sound of Pitch's laughter. "You" he growled "stay outta my way!"

A strange burst of power, a kind he had never felt before, welled up within the Pooka, green energy flowing off his in angry writhing waves. Clenching his paws, the warrior rabbit let out one solid scream of defiance, and suddenly green flowering plants shot out of the ground, wrapping their vines around Pitch and he dark creations. The Nightmares disappeared in explosions of black sand, while Pitch was bound and gagged with sharp rose thorn vines. Bunny didn't stop to wonder how he had just accomplished such a feat, didn't even take the time to admire his work, he had something more important to do. Hopping over the tied up form of their long time enemy without even a glance, Bunny took a running leap off the cliff edge, diving down to where he hoped Jack was. Balancing on the sheer drop of walls leading down to the bottom of the ravine, Bunny jumped from side to side as he descended, his heart racing with fear for his little brother.

"Jack!" he cried as soon as he reached the bottom, his nose twitching as he sniffed for the boy's scent "Frosty? Snowflake!"

A crack of thunder boomed as more rock dislodged itself from the walls of the cliff and came crashing down around the Pooka. Bunny dodged it, barely comprehending his movements as his eyes searched desperately for their youngest member. Up above, the other guardians peeked over the edge, Toothiana and Sandy coming down to aid in the search. Sandy sent frantic images of a snowflake and a Band-Aid, his face a mask of worry and fear. Tooth cast her eyes around, only to gaze on Bunny, watching as he frantically dug various holes in the rubble and hopping to different spots, searching for the winter child.

"We," Bunny panted "we gotta find 'im! He could be hurt, or…worse."

"Bunny, Tooth," North bellowed from above "do you see Jack?"

"No" Tooth replied a sob riding just beneath her words "we're still looking!"

"Jackie!" Aster called, his voice growing more desperate and panicked "Where are ya mate?"

By now his paws were trembling with anxiety, and the rabbit wasn't even picking out areas where the boy could be, he was just frantically digging any and all places that his eyes landed on. Lowering his face, he sniffed the ground, and then tasted the air. Huffing the breeze in search of the scent of newly fallen snow and icicles. Finally, a small smell reached his nose making it quiver, and the rabbit burst forward following it to its source. Under a pile of rubble, with only a hand and part of his head visible, lay the winter spirit. Bunny pounced on the pile, his paws flying as he dug the boy out, and finally dislodged him from the chunks of rock lying on top of him. Aster snuffled his muzzle against Jack's temple, eliciting a small groan from the teen. Almost weeping for joy that he was still breathing, the rabbit quickly gave a field physical, noting every cut and broken bone.

Picking the child up, Aster winced at the amount of blood flowing from a ragged head wound, no doubt sustained from hitting it on stone during the fall. Snuggling the boy close, the Pooka sighed with relief "Don't worry ankle biter" he whispered "I got ya, we're gonna get ya home, and patch ya up."

Bleary blue eyes opened at the Australian accent, then the brow furrowed in confusion "Da?" came the wondering reply before the crystal eyes once again slipped shut, leaving Bunny shocked and surprised.

Shaking his head, the Pooka stood Jack cradled in his arms, and called out to the other guardians, alerting them that Jack had been found. Within moments, and not without a good deal of worry and panic, all five were well on their way to North's workshop. Bunny didn't even protest riding in the sleigh, all his attention was on his youngest sibling, and keeping that child alive. Finally after riding for what felt like an eternity, the North Pole had been reached, and the guardians piled out of the sleigh, racing for the infirmary, the Pooka leading the way. North bellowed out commands to various yetis, causing them to scramble as they followed their boss's instructions to prep the medical room. Phil stopped, sparing half a glance at the limp bloodied winter spirit lying in Bunny's arms, and with a huff of determination, proceeded to bellow out his own orders to the yetis urging them to hurry.

The next couple hours flew by as all worked to aid their fallen comrade. A broken wrist was set and splinted in a cast, cuts and gashes were cleaned up and stitched where needed, and the head wound was cleaned and bound up tight in medical gauze. Until suddenly, the four stood feeling helpless and insecure with nothing to do but wait for Jack to wake up, and pray for his swift recovery. Bunny paced the room, never going beyond more than five feet from the bed, his paws twitching as he checked vitals every few minutes. Tooth hovered, one thumbnail firmly set between her teeth as she worried over her fallen baby. Sand stood, unable to concentrate enough to fly, one foot tapping as he stared out into space with eyes firmly set with worried concern. North stood in front of the fireplace, his blue eyes watching the flames as if they held the secrets to whether Jack would make it through or not.

One hour, then two, five, and then ten with still no sign of change from their beloved winter spirit.

Finally, a cough accompanied by a groan. Bunny raced to the boy's side, and sat in the chair next to it, one leg bouncing as his keen gaze watched and waited for the sprite to wake up. Tooth flew in behind him, her lavender eyes wide with anticipation. Sand and North also joined, gathering on the other side of the bed, and all four waited breathlessly for Jack to waken and assuage their fears with his typical joke and bright smile. Unfortunately, that was not what they got. Bright azure eyes fluttered open, containing a strange childish nature that was unusual to see in the spirit, and the teen gazed up and around with a face etched in confusion and…fear.

"Who," Jack began in strangely Irish accented English, all four guardians leaning in to hear the soft words uttered by the sprite "who are you?"

Shock reigned for a solid five minutes.

Bunny's jaw dropped, as his paws fell limply onto the blankets. Tooth forgot she had been flying, and promptly fell to the floor with a large thump in a disbelieving heap. North's mouth moved as he gasped for air, and attempted to process just what Jack had said, looking much like a fish out of water. Sandy stood in shock, his eyes glazed over, and his mouth hanging open. After five minutes of galvanized horror, the first person to recover was Toothiana, who promptly flew over the bed, and grabbed Jack's face, squishing his cheeks between her hands.

"Jack," she cried "It's me Tooth, the tooth fairy! Don't you remember me?"

"No…" Jack said slowly before his eyes sparked "Wait…Faerie? My Mam told me about you lot, about the Sidhe, have ya spirited me away? Are ya seelie or unseelie court?"

"Wait…what?" Tooth spluttered "I'm neither!"

"Where am I?" Jack queried his voice wobbling "What have ya done to my family?"

"Jack," North said softly "you are at workshop, I North Pole."

"North Pole, workshop?" the boy spluttered "I have no idea what yer talkin' about! And stop calling me Jack, only my Mam and my Da call me Jack, my name is Jackson, Jackson Overland."

Bunny, who had been sitting in his seat, his whiskers twitching in shock induced disbelief finally recovered enough to speak. His voice soft with pain "He doesn't remember us" he practically whispered "He has no clue who we are, or who he is, his mind is back to when he was human."

"What do you mean was?" the Irish brogue snapped accompanied by angry azure eyes "Last I checked I still am, so shut yer trap ya overgrown field rabbit!"

"Wha- what?!" the Pooka spluttered "What did you call me?"

"Yer an overgrown bunny," Jack repeated slowly "and I don't need ya so close to my person, so I suggest that ya back off before I show ya what we do to rabbits in my part of the country."

Once again Aster's face fell in shock before it twisted in fury "Oh it's on now Frostbite!" he snarled.

"Stop calling me strange names!" the boy cried with an exasperated slap to the bed sheets "I don't know who ya think I am, but I assure you, I'm not him!"

"You are Jack, er… Jackson" Tooth stumbled "You're name is Jack Frost, you are the spirit of winter, and the Guardian of Fun."

"That's the biggest load of blarney I've ever heard," Jack scoffed "I'm no spirit, I'm a human, and I'm going home out of this banjaxed place and away from you lot of wankers."

"OI!" Bunny bellowed cuffing the boy upside the head "Watch ya language, I may not know yer parents, but I'm pretty sure they didn't raise ya ta talk like that."

"Dry up ya useless bag of fur!" the teen retorted with a sneer his hand massaging where he had been cuffed, which was fortunately on the side that hadn't been injured "You aren't my Da, so don't think ya can act like him!"

"That is impossible Jack," North sighed "you cannot go home."

"Watch me…"

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, the spirit attempted to stand, his arms sticking out on either side to maintain his balance. His face scrunched in a wince of pain as one hand clutched his head, a throbbing headache pounding behind his eyeballs, but the boy was not daunted. Taking a deep breath, he set determined eyes on the door, and proceeded to walk towards it. Bunny hopped into his path, his arms crossing flexing the large muscle, and rising to his full height. Jack looked up at the rabbit, his eyes widening from the intimidating warrior, before once again setting back into their previous stubborn gleam.

Staring down at the boy, Aster growled in his most serious voice "Ya ain't goin' anywhere, Frostbite."

"I'd like ta see ya stop me, rabbit." Jackson snarled back.

Glancing around, the amnesiac caught sight of a staff leaning against the wall, and reached for it. As soon as his fingers touched the wood, the object seemed to sing to him, and his entire being was drawn to it. Jack shook his head, turning his attention onto the anthropomorphic animal in front of him. He had a broken wrist, but he could fight just as well with one hand. So squaring his shoulders, Jack took a defensive stance, and gave a threatening whirl with his staff.

"Take one step," he taunted "and I'll show ya the ways of the Celts that my Da taught me as a lad, and I promise that you won't enjoy the experience."

Bunny snarled "Ya know North, I prefer our Jack a lot better than this brat, I've half a mind to bend him over my knee and spank him."

"Roasted rabbit slowly cooked over a fire is sounding better and batter to me, wanker" Jack retorted "so bring it on!"

"Jack, please don't be angry" Tooth soothed sending a sharp look loaded with daggers at Bunny "we aren't lying to you, you really are Jack Frost."

"Oh really?" Jack scoffed "Then why don't ya prove it?"

Lips pressed in a tight line, Toothiana sped out of the room, only to return with a small hand mirror "Look at yourself Jack, this is who you are!"

The boy cast an incredulous gaze at the fairy before looking into the mirror, his face suddenly going slack with shock "What…" he murmured as trembling fingers ran themselves through white locks of hair "What did ya do to me? My hair, and my eyes, they're the wrong color! What did ya do to me?!"

"We didn't do a blasted thing," Bunny cried in frustration "you're Jack Frost, spirit of winter and Guardian of Fun. It's impossible for ya to go home because it's been over three hundred years since ya became a spirit."

"No, no…That can't be right." Blue eyes fell to the floor in grieved disbelief "I'm thirteen years old, not three hundred. But…if it were…then….then that would mean…." Jack gulped heavily as his eyes filled with tears and his chin began to quiver "That would mean that my Mam… My Da…. My little sister…they're…all dead."

The staff clattered to the floor as both hands went up to cover his mouth, and thin shoulders hitched as Jack began to hyperventilate, a wrenching sob riding on each shuddered breath. Sinking to the floor, the boy sat with his knees pulled tight against his chest, as his arms hugged himself. Rocking back and forth to combat the horrible pain of heartache, the tears sped faster and faster down his face as reality rang its dreadful chime like a death toll over a city, and Jackson could only grit his teeth against the sobs crawling up his throat.

"No…No…" the boy gasped "This can't be happening….Can't be happening…I don't want to be alone…"

Bunny hopped forward, a feeling of guilt saturating his heart over letting himself get riled up from a situation that Jack obviously couldn't control. Slowly reaching out, the Pooka attempted to place hesitant paws on the boys shoulders, but wasn't expecting said distressed child to stand and neatly flip him onto the floor over his shoulder. Staring up at Jack in yet only more shock, the rabbit felt a small cough wrack his frame from having the wind knocked out of him. Jackson stared down at the rabbit, guilt battling with anger and sorrow in his blue eyes.

"Don't touch me," he growled softly "Just leave me be!"

With that, the boy snatched up his staff, and ran out of the room leaving the four guardians standing in emotional turmoil. North looked out the door and sighed, firmly plopping himself into the nearest chair. Bunny groaned, splaying his arms and legs across the floor, and banging the back of his head on the hardwood. Tooth looked between them, her lavender eyes shining with aggravation, and then fury. Small fists clenched and propped on her hips, the tooth fairy sent her sternest glare at her cohorts, wings buzzing with anxiety.

"Well aren't you going to go after him?" She demanded.

"In a minute…" Bunny sighed "This is a whole different Jack, and I don't quite know how to handle him yet."

"What do you mean this isn't Jack?!" Tooth snapped.

"I mean," Bunny growled "that this isn't our boy! This is a young child, trapped in the body of a three hundred and seventeen year old spirit, who has no clue where he is, or why he's here. He isn't goin' to listen, and until he is, we aren't goin' to be able to talk to him. So I'm takin' a breather, and waitin' until he cools off."

Tooth hovered in the air, her chest heaving, angry disbelieving eye glaring at the Pooka "NORTH?!" she finally wailed.

"Sorry Toothy," North groaned "but will tackle when I have more strength to fight."

"Not you too?!" Tooth snarled.

"Toothiana," North said in as calming a voice he could manage while massaging his temples "Like Bunny says, Jack does not trust us, and he will not unless we give him reason to. Chasing after him like angry Cossack will only increase anger and distrust further."

"Sandy?" Tooth pleaded.

The golden man shrugged, showing that he agreed with North and Aster. Golden sand created images of a sad Jack being chased by overzealous Guardians, and then becoming angry and flying away. Sandy thought giving the boy his space for a few minutes was probably a good idea, for the present time anyways. Toothiana was not happy, her feathers rose and fell with her heavy breaths, and her nose flared as her fury rose, until finally she gave a scream of aggravated frustration.

"ARGH!" The fairy snarled "You…MEN…are so…SO…IMPOSSIBLE!"

Bunny bent his head up and backwards from where he lay on the floor to share an amused yet confused look with North and Sandy, what did them being men have to do with it? Toothiana flitted from the room, and with a sigh, the others pulled themselves to follow along. They knew she would find the spirit in a matter of minutes, and it was best to protect him from her while they had the energy, somewhat. Looking left and right, Tooth fled down the hall, searching for her baby. Finally the group came across a yeti, grunting and growling in his language, waving his arms in a distressed way. North listened carefully, and then gave a firm nod. Turning around, the large man addressed his fellow Guardians, his eyes twinkling in slight amusement.

"According to Phil," he said softly "Jack took one step outside, freaked out, and then returned back into the workshop. He is currently hiding in closet."

Exchanging a look, the four Guardians took off down the hall, following North as he led the way to the closet where Jackson was currently hiding. Finally they reached a small wooden door set into the side of a staircase, and Tooth flew up to it, knocking gently.

"Jack, sweetie, you need to listen-"

"I don't want to listen!" Jack wailed from inside the closet.

"Snowflake," Bunny tried "we can help…"

"No you CAN'T!" these words accompanied by a sniffle "You can't help me, you could never give me back my family."

"Jack," this time North spoke, placing one hand gently on the door "we ARE your family."

"No you're not!" This time a broken sob echoed through the door "You don't understand…you couldn't…" His words trailed off, softening to almost a whisper "…I want my Mam…"

"Oh Jack…" North sighed, his head bowing in grief.

Hopping up to the door, Bunny tried the knob, and deduced that the only thing keeping the door closed was probably just a well placed broom. Flexing his muscle, the rabbit gripped the doorknob and gave a firm yank, neatly pulling it open. Gazing inside the small room, the Pooka felt his heart break at the huddled form of their youngest guardian, with a sigh he bent down till he was eyelevel with the kid. Frightened blue eyes, red rimmed, and swimming with tears dared to peek up at the warrior rabbit. Sniffling, Jack lifted one hand to swipe away at the moisture leaking from his eyes, and scooted his body further away from the Easter Rabbit.

"Leave me alone," he hiccupped "it's bad enough I'll never see my family again, I don't want to be hounded by a bunch of faeries."

Catching the boy as he scooted backwards, the rabbit pulled him towards himself, gently increasing his grip when Jack began to fight and thrash against him. After a little bit of juggling and pulling, the Pooka finally had the child in his lap, and had wrapped his arms around him in a warm hug. Jackson pushed, and struggled, but finally rested his head against the sinewy shoulder of the rabbit when he became too tired to fight back any longer. His chest heaving from exertion, the boy was suddenly filled with a feeling of nostalgia, like he had somehow been here before; the smell of the fur, the feeling of the strong arms around him offering comfort and security, and the quick heartbeat of the anthropomorphic rabbit. It was strange, and he couldn't explain why he felt so…at home.

"Look Jackie," Bunny said softly, his voice overflowing with conviction "We ARE your family. We've made some mistakes, and heaven knows we don't deserve ya, but you're part of our family. We love ya, and we only want to help ya, and protect ya. Ya need to know that."

Tooth flew inside of the closet, folding her wings, and joining in the hug. Sandy also joined in, wrapping his small arms around the boy, while North reached into the closet and pulled all of them out into his arms. The five of them sat there, Jack's head spinning with the overwhelming sense that he had been there, and experienced all this before. It was then that it happened, a tsunami of emotions and memories piled into the boy's brain, leaving him a quivering mess. The Guardians were unaware of Jack's sudden experience, thinking that his trembling frame was due to his distress over the shock about his family. Eyes wide, Jack sorted through the memories, his fist gripping Aster's fur as he snuggled closer, his mind sparking and buzzing with the new(or old) information. He knew who he was, he remembered, and it was only because of the Guardians that he was able to do so. Their love and acceptance helped him remember, and the boy was grateful, because he truly understood just what they were and what they had become. His family.

Looking up, Jack glued blue eyes up at the person who had become an older brother to him "Bunny?" he said softly.

The Pooka stilled, and slowly looked down. There was something about his eyes that seemed, clearer, older even. "Jack?" Aster asked slowly.

"Yeah," the teen smiled through his tears "it's me, the old me, now the new me….feeling supremely weirded out."

"Oh thank GOD!" Bunny exclaimed gathering the boy in for another crushing hug while everyone exulted around them.

"We thought we lost you!" Tooth cried, happy tears welling up in her eyes.

"Indeed," North laughed "we were worried that our Jack was gone."

"Nah," Jack chuckled softly "As strange as it is, I think the hug is what did it. I remembered everything."

"Don't ya ever do that again!" Bunny bellowed into Jack's face shoving him away from him so that he could scold him better "What, were you out of your blinkin' mind?! When fighting an enemy, don't go towards the cliff edge, go away from it! You were practically begging to be killed!"

"Aw, Bunny" North sighed with a longsuffering look "Can you not wait for yelling? Let's just be happy that Jack is back to rightful mind."

Tooth giggled "I agree." She concurred blissfully.

Bunny groaned at the tag team, but finally just rolled his eyes and settled back into his spot, and for a few moments, they just sat there, enjoying each other's company. But eventually Jack began to fidget, until finally the winter spirit blew out a sigh.

"Hey guys…?"

"Yes Jack?" North said happily.

"Can we stop hugging now?"

I hope you all enjoyed this One Shot!

I had fun writing it, and I will try to make Pooka Jack next, BUT I won't promise anything. I am writing things as my muse wanders, BUT I WILL promise that I will finish Pooka Jack, I won't abandon it.

Read and REVIEW!