Author's Note - This is one of the many stories that has been building up in my mind that I was finally able to get out of my head. Infinitely curious with the diversity of spirits and lore in the many cultures of the world, I thought it might be fun to play with a theme that was both grounded but still played with the idea of an entity that had powers strong enough to relinquish those of a Guardian. I don't intend to go heavy handed with this, as it's more of an adventure-type comedic story that involves some characters, some older that you might remember, that we know and love.

Last thing I want to note is that this is, at the moment, going to be a one-shot that simply entertains the idea. This is, again, one of the many stories I do want to flesh out, but I'm still figuring out which one I want to dedicate myself to first. I'll figure that out once I've put all the stories out on the table. Until then, I hope you enjoy the read!

P.S. If you haven't already, please watch Rise of the Guardians before reading. It will make both our lives easier. Also, it's an amazing movie that deserves way more credit.

The sun was barely over the tree lines before Jack was awoken to the bustling of the foliage that surrounded him. The winter spirit was still taking his time adjusting to the spring season that had recently put an end to his daytime merriment in his hometown of Burgess, Pennsylvania. However, today felt very unusual with the morning not leaving him in the chirpiest of moods. As a matter of fact, he was awoken to the most throbbing headache he'd ever experienced.

"Ugh… Brain… Shut up…" he grimaced as he gripped at his scalp, feeling the pulsating pain from within his head. Rising from his lying position, he found himself in the cave he had turned into his home for so many generations. Barely a meter away from the lake in the forest he was reborn in, the den proved to be much more comfortable overtime than the barks of the treetops.

"Man, it's a bit cold in here. I thought it was spring?" He said jokingly with a smile, attempting to divert his attention from his beating head. Then it dawned on him. Cold? That doesn't seem right.

Wait… I'm Jack Frost, I don't get cold. He stated to himself, looking to his hands, feeling the chill between his fingers. Suddenly, his thoughts were brought to attention by another aspect of him that wasn't right.

"What happen to my sweater?" He said aloud, as if he had to hear his own words to confirm that his mind was working with his body. He pulled his wrist inches from his face as he observed his sleeve from end to end. The frost-like pattern at the end of his sleeves were gone. He quickly gripped at his chest and pulled his sweater outwards to get a better look at his clothes. His iconic frost patterns were all gone. Additionally, his full attire was not as tinted as it once was. The sweater was a deeper navy blue and his trousers were a tinge browner overall.

"Okay, that's odd." He noted as he stretched out his legs before pulling his bare feet closer for a better look, taking in his change of appearance as he wiggled his toes. Luckily for him, because of this change, he had all but forgotten his headache that had plagued him only moments ago. Now his thoughts were preoccupied with what had happened to him.

Alright, it can't be that bad. Just a little less frosty is all. He assured himself, picking himself off the ground and went in search of his staff. Thinking to himself what had happened the previous day, he was having trouble recalling anything. There was a mental fog that shrouded it, unable to remember anything that happened prior to his waking up.

He placed his hands against the walls, still weary of his wake up call, following the caves ever so slowly as he tried to navigate his home. It was a lot darker than he remembered, though the dim sunlight at the end proved to be a great source of light. Darker, colder, and impossibly unfamiliar. A little like Pitch's attitude. He snickered.

"Aha! Found you." The boy cheered as he reached for his trusty staff slacked against the rocks. "Aw, great… not you too…" He stretched his arms out to get a better look at the full length of the straight tree branch. It, too, was lacking in the ice patterns department.

Suddenly, realization hit him like a speeding bullet.

Are my powers gone?

Looking to the hook end and taking on a defensive stance, he concentrated all his energy into it before lunging his staff forward, expecting his usual blast of frost to erupt from the tip. Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened. His stomach churned for a moment as he recreated the act once more and, again, yielding no results.

"Uh oh…" his voice slightly trembling at the thought of his abilities now gone. "Alright… Maybe I'm just sick. Guardians get sick, right? Totally normal and it simply hadn't happened to me before in…" he paused as his face dropped slightly. "300… years… Oh! Okay, maybe this might work. Wind!" He swung his arms up in preparation to be swept away. Normally, the tunnels would suddenly fill with the gushing breeze that would launch him like a cannon and onward to any destination he so chooses. However, he was left standing idly by, waiting for something he was afraid was not going to happen.

"Come on, wind. Not now. I know you've got my back…" the air escaping his throat was growing increasingly more inconsistent with each word spoken. He gripped at his staff even tighter, feeling almost naked and abandoned. It's been a long time since he's felt this insecure about anything, the last time being many years ago when he was tossed down the chasm in Antarctica.

"Okay… I probably should start to worry now…" he forced a smile, knowing full well how serious his predicament was. He stood still at the entrance of the cave, looking to the sky changing from a slight indigo to blue.

"Mmm…" a coo was heard from behind, sounding slightly sleep deprived. Jack shuttered at the noise, tensing his muscles, now realizing he wasn't as alone as he thought.

"Jack? Jack is that you?" the female voice questioned. The guardian suddenly relaxed, finally recognizing the person behind you.

"Thank God, it's just you Tooth… Listen, I think there's a probl-" Jack turned to face her. His face immediately exploded red as he whipped his head back around. "Jeez!" He extended his arms towards her, his palms opened and insisting her to not move any closer.

"What's wrong?" The maiden said in a slightly groggy manner. Suddenly, she was brought to life by the peculiar sight. "Jack! Your hair! It's- it's brown!" Toothiana's hands rose to her lips in shock. Looking to all his features, her first thought was on his hair. His iconic snow white hair was now brunette and his usually pale skin was flushed with color. His face was brimming red from ear to ear.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure I mistook who you were but, er… you might want to-"

"What are you talking about?" She questioned as she continued to observe his flustered demeanor, moving closer to him to get a better look. "It's me. Anyways, what happened to you?"

He could hear her voice getting closer, causing him to launch his other hand holding his staff in her direction, making sure she wouldn't get any closer. "I don't think you're who I think you are." He was still unable to look her direction. She had a deep look of concern. For one who teased and joked so freely, this was nothing like his usual self. Did it have something to do with his change of appearance?

"You're starting to worry me. It's me, Jack. It's Tooth." Her voice was filled with remorse and worry. This wasn't some case of mistaken identity. He called out to her just a moment ago.

Gathering all the strength he had in him, he took a peek at her before completely turning his body around, his body stiff and standing at attention.

"Okay! If you're Tooth, then we've got a problem…" his voice cracked at the last word, only adding more to his embarrassment, launching his hand to his face.

"Problem? What probl-"

"You're naked." He interrupted, beads of sweat trickling from his face.

She pondered at what he meant before. Naked? Technically, she's always been naked. It's never bothered him before. She looked to her arms. To her surprise, her feathers were gone. Shock enveloped her as she continued to scan her body. No feathers, nothing. Even her skin was a much darker tone than before. Her usual white, almost pinkish skin was now a light shade of brown from head to toe. No wonder why Jack thought he mistook her. She couldn't even recognize herself, considering how recognizable she was before.

"Wha- what happened to me?!" She shrieked as she continued to look all around her. Turning back to Jack, she noticed him taking off his sweater, causing her to blush slightly. "What are you-"

"Catch." He tossed his blue sweater in her direction, aiming it without actually looking her way. Lunging slightly forward, she extended her arms to grasp at the fabric gifted to her. "Something happened to us and I'd like to talk to you about it but…" He glanced over again and whipped back around. "I can't really do that with you… like… that."

She looked at the blue sweater in her hand and back at him, quizzically. Suddenly, she finally put two and two together. Oh. She thought to herself, quickly putting on his clothes to properly cover herself up. She felt her skin crawl the moment her arms went through the sleeves. It was an unusual feeling for sure. The moment she put her head through the collar, she was almost overwhelmed by its unfamiliarity. It had been millenniums since she wore actual clothes. Heck, it had been forever since she had felt anything grace her bare skin. Clothes did feel nice, she mentally noted. Albeit, a bit uncomfortable but nice.

"Okay… you can turn now." She stated a bit awkwardly, pulled the sleeves up a little to get some visibility on her slender fingertips. The sweater sleeves were a bit long on her and his sweater just barely extending past her hips.

With a bit of fear and as much willpower as he could muster, he finally turned around. A sigh of relief and a weight had suddenly been lifted off his shoulder, cracking a smile as he began walking up to her. His movements began to slow as he began to actually take note of how she looked. Her usual feathers that lined her forehead in its almost monarchy-like crown was now replaced with a dark brunette hair, a slight bit disheveled. Her bangs were draped just a little over her eyebrows and her hair extended a little past her shoulders. Had it not been for some yellow highlights in her bangs and a hint of green and blue hue that shined in the light and faded into the rest of her hair color, he would have never been able to make the connection.

Then again, there were those yellow feather earrings that lined each side of her earlobes. Wait, those were earrings?

"Um, Jack?" She waved her hands in front of him. The gesture seemed to elude him, however.

He was still observing her from head to toe. As he leaned slightly closer to her, Tooth was momentarily taken off guard by his forwardness. He was both looking at her intently and curiously. She looked pretty good in his sweater. Then again, he didn't have many opportunities to see himself in it either. Maybe it was the new look of the attire. The frost didn't assist in its clean look before.

"Are you sure you're Tooth? This might be the understatement of the century but… you don't look like Tooth. You know because of… well…" He stretched his arms and waved his other hand over it to gesture the lack of feathers.

"I don't know what happened. This has never happened before, or ever!" She still had a look of shock and uncertainty, barely able to wrap her head around the situation they were in. "I mean, look at me!" She extended her hands outwards to show off the fact that this is the most human she has ever looked in a very, very, very long time. The point was completely missed by the boy the moment she stretched her arms outwards and slightly upwards. The action had lifted his sweater just enough for it to rise slightly above her waist. His eyes immediately shot upwards to avoid seeing anything.

"Don't…" He took her arms and put it at her side, slowly reaching to the bottom of his sweater and pulling it down. It felt like surgery to try and avoid touching her skin or the features lying behind his sweater. "Don't do that again." He patted her arms and sat her down in a kneeling fashion. She was unsure of what caught him so up in arms. Aside from her change in appearance, she was still Tooth. She didn't find it all that weird. It was even weirder for her to be wearing clothes now, considering how long it's been.

"Either way, something's happened to us. You're also… different…" Tooth commented in a rather low and monotone voice, looking to his hair. Out of nowhere, she gasped as her eyes grew large due to a sudden realization. Jack looked at her oddly before he suddenly felt her hands grip at his wrist and pull him all the way outside of the cave and in the light.

"Tooth, what are you- ARGH!" He was interrupted as her hands suddenly launched up towards his mouth and stretching his cheeks wide to reveal every aspect of his teeth. Pulling his face closer and getting a better look of each minute detail of their features. She tilted her head upward to get an even closer look at the top third molar on the left, as it was the usual trouble maker in his chewing habits. Luckily, they were spotless, though this did not deter her from continuing her scanning.

"Tooph, wharr are yerr-" looking down to her face, Jack couldn't help but notice her bright pink/violet eyes. This feature would usually go amiss due to her usually colorful appearance. However, as she was now, her eyes and a bit of her hair is what stood her out the most. Looking further at features that may have eluded him before, he was brought back to the realization of what happens when her arms suddenly whipped upwards. Averting his gaze back to the sky, he calmly took her hands out of his mouth. She was a bit more defiant this time around but finally abided to his demands, knowing full well of her more intrusive habits. He, once again, put her hands to her side and pulled the sweater downwards with the patience and concentration of a monk. "Again… don't do that."

She pouted her lips but let out a sigh. "Well, at least your teeth are still white as snow…" Her words sounded much more confident than before.

"Yeah, but that's not what the real issue is here. Aside from my hair, I've also lost my powers too." Jack began twirling his fingers left and right with nothing appearing from his hands. Tooth's hands shot to cover her mouth.

"I didn't even think of that!" Her face turned grim at the thought. "Oh no… my fairies! They must be worried sick!" He could clearly hear the pain in her words and how heavy they must have been to speak. "What do I do? Jack, what do I do?!" Her eyes began to tear as she started to panic. His hands launched to her shoulders, gripping at them to avert her attention from her woes. Her eyes gazed at his, clearly watery from her outburst.

"Calm down! It's gonna be alright!" He tried to reassure. It was hard to see Tooth shaken, considering how strong she usually was. However, when it came to her fairies, any harm done to them was like watching a mother break down for her child. He tried desperately to quell her thoughts. He looked away and began snapping his fingers to come up with a way to fix things. Then again, to make things alright again, he'd need to figure out a step one in a plan. He was still trying to get to the make a plan part of the whole aspect of things.

Feeling her uneasiness slowly seep away, his thoughts were now turning like clockwork. Being reminded of the fairies had sprung an idea that seemed almost too brilliant for even his standards.

"Okay! I got it! All we have to do is get someone to find us, right? Who works every day of the year?" He asked with a large grin over his face. She tilted her head in confusion as she tried to answer his question.

"Sandy?"

His mouth was gaping before his shoulders slacked. "Okay, yes him, but who else?"

She still looked at him confusingly, not making the connection. "Um… You? Technically."

"No! You!" He shouted and aggressively pointed. "Billions and billions of teeth in the world, all the loose ones tucked under a pillow for a certain someone to pick up."

Her face lit up as she finally realized what he was getting at. "My fairies! They'll come to get the tooth and find us!" She cheered before embracing him. He returned the gesture, more so to reassure her once more as well as mentally pat himself on the back for a job well thought.

Finally releasing him, she looked to him with a bright and glimmering smile. "So, how are we gonna get the teeth?" She grinned and nodded, waiting in anticipation.

He smiled again, putting one finger in the air as he was about to say something equally brilliant. He paused momentarily before deadpanning. What was the first step to the plan…?

His hand dropped quickly as he tried desperately to figure out what step one of that plan was. He wasn't going to punch himself in the face just to get a tooth. Even if he did, there weren't any pillows around to tuck it under anyways. That's how it worked, right? Regardless, if step one was to force a tooth out of either of them, then the plan was without its flaws. Also, he doubted Tooth would even let him anyways. She treated his teeth like the epitome of what a nice pair of pearly whites should be, constantly being compared to snow. Her outburst before had all but cemented the notion.

If only he had his powers. As dangerous as it sounded, he could probably play with some kids and lead them into some high jinks that would…

His eyes went bug eyed for a moment before a slightly menacing smirk graced his face that began to worry the girl in front of him.

"Um… Jack-"

"I think I have an idea…"

"Jamie, are you awake yet? You're gonna be late for work if you don't get ready soon!" A lady called out from the kitchen as she began chopping onions on the cutting board.

"Not 10 anymore, honey, and I'm putting on my tie right now…" He lied as he was still lying on the bed with one leg hanging over the side. Mornings were an absolute nightmare for him and it didn't help that it was still cold in the morning even though they were already in mid spring. Why was it such a chore to wake up? Shouldn't our bodies be used to the routine by now? Being an adult sucked.

"Have you checked on Abigail yet?" He heard his wife call once again. Her tone was slightly more assertive this time around.

"I'll get right on it!" He affirmed loudly. He knew just how much their daughter meant to her, to the both of them. He haphazardly rose up from the bed, now in a seated position, and let out an overly exaggerated yawn but kept it quiet to not garner the attention of the lady below.

"Well, when you're done getting out of bed, which I'm sure you're still in, be sure to change her diapers." Busted, he mentally face palmed. He's known his wife for almost all his life. There was no way she wouldn't know him so well. "You're thinking of how awesome I am and how much I know you, right?" She called out again, a little more smugly he noted.

He groaned, knowing she enjoyed her little victories. "Yes dear…"

"Now hurry up and get ready." He could almost see the beautiful smile on her face. A mixture of defeat and happiness at the mere thought of her smile left him smiling. As he groggily rose from his bed, wobbling his way to the closet for some pair of pants. Today at work wasn't going to be too expecting of him now that one of the major housing development projects were finally settled almost a week ago. It was no longer his problem for the time being.

Finally putting his tie on like he had mentioned, he picked up his jacket and made his way towards his daughter's room. Opening the door, his heart was overjoyed to see his little girl sleeping soundly in her crib. He tiptoed his way to her and planted a kiss on her cheeks. There was no way he'd try to wake her up by changing her diapers now. Nothing smelled so it was safe to assume the coast was clear on that front. Finally leaving the room and closing the door behind him, he began whistling to himself. The mere sight of his daughter was the greatest wake-up call he could ask for.

"You're in an awfully bright mood today." His wife smiled at him after he landed a kiss on her cheeks and made his way to the table. He was practically singing at this point.

"Why wouldn't I be? Lovely daughter, lovely wife, lovely house… job… and amazing friends. Living the dream, I'd say." He laughed as she placed the plate in front of him.

"You're job isn't that bad. Though, our daughter is a godsend in comparison." She smiled playfully. He let out a hearty laugh before taking a bite.

"I don't know, Pippa. For some reason, today feels like it's gonna be a good day, you know?" He added, mouth full of the delicious food. Another blessing that he'd never take for granted. It's difficult to find any faults when your wife was a chef.

"When will you stop calling me that name?" She grinned as she leered at him with a cocked eyebrow. His smile only got bigger.

"When you start calling me James." He snickered. "But, really, I feel like today might just be a great day."

As he said his piece, they began hearing knocks on the door. This brought a bit of confusion to both their faces. "Who in the world would be at the door this early in the morning?" Pippa questioned.

"Give me a sec. I'll get that."

Rising from his seat, he made his way towards the front door of his house, looking outside his window to make out who could possibly be knocking. A half-naked boy and girl with no pants. This was an interesting start to the day. What would be less interesting is a police warrant for two missing kids, if there was trouble that followed the two. He grunted before forcing himself to open the door. Regardless of the trouble, he couldn't simply let two kids stand there in the cold, not without reason at least.

Opening the door and looking to the two, probably in their late teens, he observed them for a moment. "Can I help you two?" He asked, still perplexed by their attire, though there was a bit of familiarity to them.

"Wow, you've really grown, Jamie." The boy smiled. This left the man momentarily dazed. This kid knew him?

"Do I… Do I know you?" He asked wearily.

"Well, it has been a while, given the fact you look like… well… like that!" He gestured to all of him. The boy began laughing. The girl next to him simply smiled. "Anyways, can we come in? It's kind of an emergency." The boy shook his head in the direction of the girl beside him, clearly wearing a sweater a little too big for her. She waved at him with a bright smile of familiarity. Jamie determined that the sweater didn't actually belong to her and was the guy's sweater.

"Erm… I'm sorry but I'm not one to let strangers into my home." He tried to not sound offensive. However, he noticed the boy feign hurt from the comment.

"Ouch, I know it's been a long time since you've seen us, but I don't think we're strangers."

The confusion was now leading to a little frustration. Did he really know these two? "I'm sorry, but who are-" He paused when he noticed the feather earrings on the girl. He quickly glanced back to the boy. Looking to the object in his arms that he had failed to notice before. A tall hooked staff. Taking note of the missing shirt, he glanced back to the girl. A blue sweater. Looking up to her hair, it was primarily brunette but had a variety of colors interlaced in the bangs of her hair. Suddenly, these familiarities were beginning to piece together. It started slow as the puzzle pieces fell in place. However, it rapidly grew to exponential heights as he went bug eyed.

"Jack?!" He yelled uncontrollably loud, causing the pair to flinch. His mouth was gaping at the thought of his childhood friend and guardian. He heard his wife charging at the door.

"Dear, what's wrong? Who are these two?" Pippa looked to the two at their front door. They both shot her a smile before greeting her, also addressing her by her name, which caught her off guard.

Jamie turned to face his wife, mouth still agape. "I'd like to say you're not going to believe it but-"

"Believing is the first part of seeing." Jack chimed in, a smile spread across his cheeks from end to end. Truly, this was a start to a very odd day.