Previously:
Jack couldn't get over his shock. "Clara," he breathed. Over her shoulder (because she still had not let him go) he saw her parents. "Carzat. Tasha. You're here." As if saying it out loud would make it more real in his mind.

The Guardians looked on, confused but strangely happy for this boy they hadn't even known that long. They could tell something momentous was happening.

"Hey! What about me?" An indignant tone brought their attention to...Zordah.

Apparently memories were not the only thing Ralf could restore. He was back in his larger, stronger body. He held his arms wide open, waiting for the group hug that had been long, long overdue.

There are some people you click with so well, you can pick up exactly where you left off twenty years later. People who you get along with so well, you wonder how you survived without them. Platonic soulmates, if you will.

Jack came to find out this was very true of his family. Somehow, he and Zordah interacted as if they'd caught that moose the day before. Clara and her parents quickly picked up the roles they'd had in his life before they died as well. A day of reacquainting themselves with each other, and they were able to get back on topic.

The Guardians merely watched at first; happy to allow Jack time to get used to having those he loves back in his life. It was amazing to see. In the last 300 years, after Jack had first introduced himself to them, he'd had fun, sure. Even made jokes and laughed. But he'd never looked so carefree as he did now. Zordah was able to pull out a confidence in Jack they'd never seen before. Clara drew looks from Jack not even the Guardians could remember being bold enough in their youth to send anyone's way. And Corzat and Tasha's very presence seemed to be the source of the feeling of home. Even the Guardians could feel it.

As the group all sat around the fire—Jack and Clara a little farther than anyone else—they contemplated their next steps.

"So what are we going to do to get them immortal?" Bunny asked, starting the conversation.

"What do you mean?" Tooth asked.

"Well, we can't exactly make them immortal the same way we became immortal, can we?" Bunny was obviously still a little testy from their argument earlier.

"Obviously." Tooth said grumpily. "But I thought that since they regained their memories, they would already be immortal now."

"Do you feel their auras?" Bunny demanded.

"Now that you mention it..." Tooth sunk low in her seat.

"I rest my case."

While they had been arguing, Jack was resting his head on Clara's shoulder. Her fingers carded through his white hair like they did when she was Claire. That cabin was so long ago, but it felt like yesterday. His eyes were closed, soaking in the environment his loved ones created. The Guadians had become his family just as much as his first family.

"Jack?"

He pulled away from Clara and smiled. "Clara?" It was surreal to be speaking with her again.

"Do you hate how fate gave you powers over the same thing that killed you?" she asked.

He thought about it. "No." He said finally, "I have come to love it despite regaining my own memories. It feels as though the ice is what gave me my new life, rather than what killed me."

Clara smiled softly, as if a weight was lifted. "Do you think it could be the same for us? What our powers are?"

Jack shrugged and lay silent until a thought popped up and forced its way to the front of his mind. His head snapped back up.

"Clara," Jack said softly. "How did you die?"

Still smiling, "A wild wolf."

"She was saving the youngest in our clan." Zordah spoke up. "Threw her out of the way just as the great wolf attacked. I killed the wolf myself right after."

"How did you die?" Clara asked.

Zordah smiled humorlessly, as if seeing an irony they didn't. "I pushed Corzat out of the way of a rock slide."

Jack smiled grimly back at him. Dying a similar way Clara did not long after was certainly ironic.

"Corzat died in a war with a neighboring clan." Tasha said, sidling up next to Clara. "I died falling off a cliff into a grove of trees pushing an enemy away from Izzy."

"If we hold the same logic for me with you, then you might have powers connected to the things you died from." Jack said thoughtfully. He didn't know who Izzy was but assumed it was a friend of hers that arrived after his death. There certainly seemed to be a pattern.

"Why are we trying to figure out their powers?" Nicholas asked. "Is that not skipping ahead?"

"I don't think so." Jack said. "It might be the key to their immortality. When I was still learning about my abilties, anytime I learned something new, I felt a great power awaken a little more inside me."

"So, what? We help them connect to their own power within?" Bunny said before snorting. "Seems a little far fetched, doesn't it?"

"No, you might be onto something." Jack said, leaning forward, causing Bunny to stare at him in shock. He rubbed his chin, thinking deeply. Movement caught his eye and he turned to see Sandman speaking for the first time that night.

"I think Zordah might have powers with rock. And Clara with wolves."

"I think you may be right, Sandman." Jack said. "Zordah, try finding a connection with the rock in the cave. We will try you first, as it may be harder to work with wolves."

"Since you haven't become an immortal the normal way yet, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't work right away. It might even take years." St Nicholas said warning.

"Do we have years?" Corzat asked.

"I don't think so." Jack said. "We'll have to just figure something out. For now, let's try this first."

The next months were busy. They moved frequently, and always without magic. Which made it difficult when they chose to hide in the lairs of other Guardians but they made do.

Turns out, Tasha was the first to figure it out. The transformation was spectacular; she had a connection to trees so the trees in Bunny's hideout responded immediately once she connected. It might have been made easier because they were magical.

She didn't glow, but the branches reached toward her as if to envelope her in their safety. Her hair had been a light, subtle brown. Now it was a rich, dark brown. Like the beautiful soil on the forest floor. Her skin was perhaps the most noticeable change. It had a slight green tint and what looked like vine tattoos running up and down her arms. Eventually, the vines would fill with flowers and leaves as she learned more of her powers. Nicholas called in one of the oldest among the immortals called Mother Nature to help her with that.

Zordah was next. He had meditated so long and hard one day that he'd looked as still and immovable as a boulder. His physical change was less dramatic.

His skin and hair hadn't changed from the deep tan and brown color but his eyes had taken on the likeness of the marble statues found in Rome. It was unnerving to keep eye cotact for a while after that. He found an anchor in a black quartz that enabled him to throw his powers four times the distance. Now he could manipulate rock as far as his eyes can see.

Corzat found he could summon any weapon, and once Nicholas asked an ancient samurai immortal and a medieval king named King Arthur, any fighting style came easy to him. He too did not change in appearance much. He gained necessary muscles for each fighting movement, and an armor that he must have been wearing when he died. The armor, they learned, came enhanced with high durability.

Clara had the most trouble. Wolves were hard to get close to initially. Especially since Jack was with her. They could sense the presence but could not see him. They thought it best they begin with wild wolves then move onto domesticated canines if she could. Once they accepted her presence (without Jack), she could work on her connection with them. If she had one.

For nearly a year, it looked like she would make no progress. Spending as much time as she could with the pack, searching for that connection between human and canine that went beyond a mere bond.

Then, one beautiful winter evening, it clicked. She did glow: the wonderful silver of the moon. Once it faded, she was draped in a fur coat of various colors of wolf pelts. Her brown hair turned white silver, and blue eyes turned a deep brown, like a wolf's.

As she discovered more of her power, it became apparent that she could transform into a wolf with the same fur as her human form. She could also pull on attributes of a wolf into her human form like extend claws from her fingers.

"Beautiful." Was all Jack could say when she showed him.

—- —- —-

"Any elf or tooth fairy we send out now only gets transformed." Tooth reported bitterly at the very next meeting. "A shadowy, mockery of their true forms."

"How?" Jack asked, concerned. His thoughts immediately went to Baby Tooth.

"We do not know." Nicholas said, just as concerned. "We only know from our survivors that they are now under Pitch's control."

"Well, that's not good." Zordah muttered from Jack's right. He hardly left Jack's side now. The three of them (Zordah, Jack, and Clara) were nearly inseparable.

Jack didn't say anything. He knew everyone there looked to him for guidance. His next step had to be carefully thought out. Glancing at Clara for reassurance, he smiled almost imperceptibly.

They had been working on their powers for the last year and a half. Things had progressed much quicker on the topic of Pitch Black than he had anticipated and he wasn't sure Clara and the others were ready for the inevitable confrontation with him. They had figured out their connection to their powers and have become immortal, yes. But they are far from discovering their purpose. That is the ground breaking revelation every immortal went through and needed in order to rise to their full potential.

There was no Guardian without a purpose.

The purpose and idea that everyone assumed Jack had was 'fun'. This is only part of it. There is a love and wisdom that comes with that. Jack was the only one to know that his purpose was not merely 'fun.' But joy. The child-like enjoyment that came from just being a kid. The innocence and unconditional love that presents in every child born. The fearlessness, and compassion that no one really needs to be taught.

This is why he was chosen. This is why he is the Guardian of Guardians.

Clara caught his eye and smiled widely. "We're more ready than you think we are, Jack."

Jack still hesitated. That purpose was going to be important. But there was nothing more revealing than a challenge. Perhaps they will discover their purpose in the coming fight. Everyone depended on it.

"Then let's issue the challenge."