Note: Alright, this is a finished version of one of my Random Stories. #5 I think. Hope you enjoy it!
It had been eons since the Death had come. Since Jack Frost had been freed of his oath as a Guardian so that he could survive it.
He had survived it, just. With a lot of help from the Man in the Moon and Mother Nature. Mim was now his best friend and closest confidant, Mother Nature...well they essentially did the same thing now, they were two parts of the whole. Though they rarely talked, or even saw each other. They couldn't really, as he brought the cold, and protected life, Mother was needed elsewhere. Their wanderings marked the passage of the seasons now, new spirits springing up in their passing.
In the Billions of years since the last life died and the Guardians faded from lack of belief, Jack had reshaped the world. Together he and Mother Nature had revived the Pookan race, and the Human race. Now they shared the planet called Earth.
The nature spirits, and all immortals born after the death tended to avoid Mother and Jack alike. He personally could not blame them, they reeked of power that had long since abandoned the earth. Jack was known only as Winter by immortals, they cared little for a name for something so old. He was careful though, he made sure that they only stayed away from caution never fear.
Jack himself, had grown significantly in the time since the Death, both physically and in power.
Taller now by some way, at least according to Mim, Jack could have matched Bunnymund in his prime. He was as thin as ever, though not without muscle, winter had never been affiliated with full meals.
His power and strength had grown into something much more terrifying. Where once he had associated with only ice and snow, Jack could connect to a cool breeze or a chilling rain. His staff had long since rotted away. And not even Mother Nature could command the aid of the Winds. He was a master of Autumn as well as Winter, painting the leaves red and gold with a flick of his wrist. Nature talked to him now, after all, all things needed two parents.
Jack grinned a little to himself as he watched the reincarnation of an old friend practice with his boomerang. What Aster would have said to the Pookans and Humans alike worshiping Jack and Mother Nature as gods, he had no idea.
But with the revival of life came the revival of fear, and E. Aster Bunnymund was not the only past immortal to be reborn. Pitch was slowly regaining strength and power, it was a good thing Sandy had already been around for a long time, had rediscovered the power of the Sands with the help of Jack and Mim.
Jack knew that as much as he wanted to, he could never be a Guardian again. He had spent too long alone, with only the wind for company. And no matter how you looked at it 16 Billion years was far longer than 300. He had almost lost sight of his centre too many times. He was too old, what he wanted now was rest.
But Mim seemed reluctant, and despite everything had been nudging Jack ever towards Guardianship again. He would be the eldest this time, instead of the youngest.
Jack thought it would get plain weird, ever since the death he had worn a heavy cloak and hood, ice had formed down his front to look like a beard, and when no one could see his face to prove otherwise. They had called him 'Father Frost', 'Old Man Winter'. The name Jack Frost had long been forgotten.
"I'm going to give them their memories, at least enough for them to know you."
Mim was dragging the skeleton from the closet once again.
"Why? They don't need to know me. I am not a Guardian any more."
It was an old conversation, that they had had over millennia. Mim sighed.
"Jack, whatever else you may be you are a Guardian. And oath or no, you never stopped."
Jack was inclined to agree with this, though he would never tell Mim so. But what made him stop from the witty remark he had on the tip of his tongue was Mim's next words.
"I have already told Sanderson that he was not the first that I chose. When the time is right Jack, you will fight beside them again."
Mim had already told Sandy? Well that was just great.
Even now as he watched the young Pooka warrior practice his drill, Jack remembered the horror as he watched him die. When the Guardians had faded, leaving only him, alone again.
Being believed in as a deity meant a number of things, one of which was being seen and being able to choose who saw him. It was nice, once there were actual sentient lifeforms for him to show himself too.
The young Bunnymund was getting closer to the rock outcrop Jack was perched on, Mim had said it was time he was given his Guardianship, be made as much a spirit as a being of flesh and blood.
Standing up from his comfortable crouch Jack let himself be seen by a young, inexperienced E. Aster Bunnymund.
Still the Pooka did not notice him, Jack shook his head to himself, his old friend would have wept at such a lax attitude to one's surroundings.
"E. Aster Bunnymund!" Jack called, well the subtle approach wasn't working, and in the fading light of dusk he doubted that it would.
Jack wished he had a camera, he wished that camera's still existed or had been reinvented because Bunny's face was priceless and jack had to control himself more than ever to stop himself laughing. It would not do to have the Spirit, no God of Winter laughing like a teenager.
He looked just like the old Guardian of Hope, if a little younger and Jack went from trying not to laugh to trying not to cry in the space of a heartbeat.
"Who are you? What da' ya' want?" As Bunny became more nervous his accent became stronger. The Warren was always in Australia, or the equivalent considering that Jacks many temper tantrums over the eon's had shifted the landmasses more often than he could count.
"I am Winter, I want to talk to you."
Bunny's reaction changed so swiftly from angry and defensive to servile and anxious it made Jack stomach role. Were they really so afraid of him? He hated fear.
"Do not be afraid of me Bunnymund, I came to ask your help."
The large Pooka's ears twitched and he straightened.
Under his hood Jack allowed himself to smile, he needed to smile more often he thought. Especially since he had finally given in to Mim, he would return to being a Guardian, though only officially when the others were all assembled.
"Why would Winter need my help?"
"Because the darkness is rising, and with it comes fear. You have something that can help fight that fear."
"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"
So like Bunny to be defensive, though to be fair Jack was letting himself have way too much fun being cryptic.
"Hope."
"Hope? Really? That all?"
"Well, the warrior training might come in handy. But it is the Hope that you can give that will make you strong against the fear. You are the Guardian of Hope."
It was well known across the globe that Sanderson Mansnoozie was the Guardian of Dreams. That the Man in the Moon was the Guardian of Wishes and the first. People were slowly recognising Jack or 'Father Frost' as a Guardian too, though what of no one really knew. Bunny was therefore very aware of the honor that he was being given. Chosen as the Guardian of Hope.
"M-Me?"
"I don't see anyone else around."
"Bu-But, why?"
"Because you always have Hope, that is your centre. It is going to be needed in the coming war."
"War? Now hang on you never said anything about war."
"Well, there's going to be fighting involved, and a lot of death. I would say that is war. You can help though, you can give people Hope for an end."
Bunny was still shocked, Jack could see that, but he also saw the beginnings of the warrior. Slowly Jack watched as a Bunny he was far more familiar with rose to the surface.
"What hav' I gotta do?"
"Don't give up. As simple as that really, no matter how bad things get, do not give up. Your magic is already growing when you need it, it will come."
Jack had passed his message on, but seeing his old friend, who wasn't his friend hurt too much, right to his centre. Jack leapt up into the air running from the past and a future that could only hurt him.
"Oi! Were're ya' goin'."
"You have what you need, I cannot fight in this battle. Good luck."
With that Jack left the young, confused and proud Pookan warrior in the southern outback.
Mim had talked to Sandy directly, the other Guardians he was leaving to Jack.
The second meeting was Tooth, the war with the dark had been raging for 500 years. Bunny had risen as the greatest General of the people a true beacon of hope in the ever encroaching darkness. People had started to forget what the light had been like.
It was time for them to remember.
There she was, or rather, she wasn't. The young dark skinned girl dancing in the courtyard of her families home. Though already Jack could see the changes, feathers slowly poking out through her thick black hair and the slight lump on her back where wings were starting to form.
The dark brown eyes had long ago given way to violet.
Jack blinked and shook himself, it would not do to cry in front of the new Guardian.
"Toothiana."
The girl, young woman really, stopped her giddying twirls and stumbled to a halt as Jack allowed himself to appear from the cold in front of her.
"Father Frost."It was no more than a whisper, but it was enough to make Jack smile. She still had that wonderful tendency to flutter when she was nervous, her bird like nature coming to the fore.
"Hello Toothiana, I come with a message from the Moon."
"T-Th-The Moon?"
Underneath his hood, where she could not see him Jack was smiling.
"Yes, a new Guardian is needed. You have the right centre. You have been chosen to guard Memory."
"What!?" The girls shriek echoed in the empty space of the courtyard.
Jack was desperately trying not to laugh. It would not do to laugh in front of her, not yet.
"B-But I'm nothing special! I shouldn't be a Guardian."
"You are very special, Toothiana, or have you not noticed the changes in yourself?"
The girls hand flew to her hair, the blue and green iridescent plumage showing through.
Eyes wide she answered, "What do I do?"
"Your magic has been growing for some time, although the physical changes are new. I will have to leave you to find a way to preserve peoples most important memories, and remind them of what the light was like."
Toothiana nodded, a faraway expression on her face. Jack smiled to himself as he took his leave. She was already thinking of teeth.
As time went on, and the Queen of the Sister's of Flight rose as the Guardian of Memory, Jack watched and waited.
More than anything now, he wanted to help those who bore the faces of his friends, his family.
He spent many a night arguing with Mim about it.
"I could help them! I could stop this!"
"No Jack, not yet."
"Why?"
"They are not ready, the Guardians are not yet complete. Until they are you must remain as Father Frost."
"But-"
"They would not accept your help yet at any rate, can you imagine Bunnymund letting his Pride accept help before he was desperate?"
Jack could not help but smile. No, Bunny would not accept any form of help from him. Especially after leaving him for 800 years to cope on his own.
"True, but I'm tired of waiting."
"The Humans are slowly developing, North should be ready soon."
It was another 500 years before a bandit called Nicholas St. North discovered magic. In that time, people had remembered the light, and hope and dreams for it to come again were strong. Both in the Pookan and Human races.
Religion had not faded. Which had surprised Jack and Mother Nature both. Normally by this time in any races evolution deities such as they were would have been long forgotten. But the Pooka have long memories, and Toothiana was not likely to let the world forget two of the powerful forces for good. Even if they rarely let themselves be seen.
As he wandered through the woods of a Northern continent, not unlike what Russia had once been, Jack thought that it was nice to be seen.
Of course, the children did not play with him as they had so long ago. Their parents were too wary of an all powerful deity to allow such behaviour.
His presence still had the power to reassure them, and despite what Mim said Jack made a point of ridding towns of Nightmares and Fearlings whenever he was passing through. He even made a point of being seen doing so.
In the far distance he heard the sounds of a fight, shouting and the clashing of steel.
Jack had seen the others at work many time. Sandy sending out his golden ropes of Dream sand, Bunny dashing back and forth between battles boosting the moral of all those who fought on the fronts. Toothiana had long since taught herself to master the sword, she truly was the Warrior Queen now, yet she still flitted from town to city to town, collecting the teeth of children.
Jack shook his head slightly, he had one more Guardian to make.
Shifting through the cold, Jack, known as Father Frost, appeared in the middle of what North would call a heated argument.
Jack made no attempt to conceal himself and with religious belief still so strong his appearance quickly diffused the previous tensions.
Not that there was no tension, it had only shifted onto him.
Jack couldn't help it, the looks on some of the bandits faces were priceless. His obvious amusement at their expense coming through Jack broke the silence.
"Am I interrupting something?"
It had been a general inquiry, and the laughing tone in his voice helped the brigands relax slightly even if they could not see his face.
A scraggly looking man, with the face of a weasel stepped forward hesitantly.
"Lord Winter," the mans voice had far too much oil in it to be healthy, "too what do we owe the honour?"
Jack's sense of humour was very quickly negated by the man's attitude, he did not care for the lack of respect but the obvious digging for favour grated on his nerves.
"I'm looking for someone."
This announcement led to a great amount of shifting and general uneasiness amongst the group. Enough for Jack to spot, on the ground behind weasel face a slowly moving huddle with dark brown hair.
"Uh, wh-who are you looking for, Lord?"
Weasel face was really pushing his luck, why couldn't Jack have found North on his own like the others?
Not that Jack was paying any attention to the other bandits by now, Mim had given him an image of a young Nicholas St. North. The man trying to regain his senses on the ground fit the description perfectly.
Without answering, Jack moved forward. The bandits scattered, all except weasel face, unfortunately for him as Jack had him gently (or not so gently) beaten aside by the wind as he made his way to the huddled figure.
North was apparently conscious enough to recognise him, and his approach caused the younger man to panic slightly in his dazed state.
Crouching down to the Cossack's level, Jack could hear the muttering of the bandits to either side.
Ignoring it in preference for the man in front of him Jack ran a critical eye over the fallen man's injuries.
It wasn't good.
Blood was flowing a little too freely from a number of deep cuts, and his left arm was grossly bent out of shape.
Jack's anger flared. This man bore the face of one of his greatest friends, and they DARED to hurt him.
Roughly pushing his anger aside Jack looked again at the injuries, he could heal them easily enough. Another blissful side effect of becoming closer to the earth.
Careful to keep his face in the shadows of his hood, Jack extended his hand, laying it gently on North's head.
With the touch North sighed gently as the pain from his wounds was lifted.
A series of gasps ran around the group, and one or two (very stupid) discontented mutterings.
Jack stood, and again extended his hand for the other man to take. Pulling North to his feet Jack could not help but smile.
Already the story of Nicholas St. North was a wondrous one.
"Nicholas St. North?"
"Yes."
Jack smiled, even with all the changes he had done to the earth and with the restart of life itself, nothing could stop the accent of the Guardian of Wonder.
"May I ask, how did you come by those injuries?"
Jack would get to the Guardianship later, but for now he wanted to make sure that no one would hurt his friend again.
North shifted uneasily on his feet, glancing at the bandits grouped on either side.
"We had, uh...minor disagreement."
"Minor disagreement? What would happen over a major one, I wonder. What about?"
"My sister, Katherine."
Jack smiled, he remembered Katherine, and the stories North told of her. She may not have been his sister by blood, but he was still very protective of her.
"I see, could you be more specific?"
Weasel face chose that as a good time to interrupt.
"Just that it was time she started earning her keep, Lord Winter, nothing more."
Just like the elves, Jack thought, always getting under your feet and tripping you up.
"Oh."
If the bandits had been able to see the smile that stretched across Jacks face, they would have run then. It wouldn't have done them much good, but they would have tried.
Jack reached out a hand again, and with a gentle wave the bandits shrank. By the time they stopped they were foot high creatures with long pointed ears and dressed in red woolen hats with bells on.
North, understandably, was a little shocked.
"Sorry, about that. But they did insist on interrupting."
"Ah…"
"Now, North, I am here to ask a favour."
"What?"
"I am here on behalf of the Moon, to make you a Guardian."
"A Guardian?"
The normally loud and boisterous man had been reduced to parroting, apparently. North it seemed noticed his own lack of initiative and forged ahead.
"Why me? Why now? What can I do?"
That was better.
"People dream and hope and remember better times. It is time for them to understand that joy can be found even in the darkest moments. You Nicholas St. North, are the Guardian of Wonder."
North's slightly staggered posture straightened, determination glinting in his eyes.
"What do I need to do?"
"Your magic is growing, and will be there when you need it." Jack glanced around at the elves. "You could probably convince these guys to help you build a base, how would you like to start that toy shop you always wanted?"
At the mention of his toys, North was both surprised by Jacks knowledge of it, and pleased at the prospect of starting it.
"Of course when the time comes, you will have to fight alongside the other Guardians. And remember this, when it matters I will be there to help."
With his message given, and the light of creation shining in Norths eyes Jack vanished from sight and traveled with the cold back south.
Looking up to the full moon in the sky, Jack sighed.
"And now we wait."
It wasn't long before the Darkness and Fear rose to a point where not even the Guardians could push it back.
North, though he had grown into a favourite amongst the Guardians he could only help so much. With the constant pressure of fighting, Sandy and Tooth could not spread dreams and collect memories. Bunny, always a beacon of hope had long since lost sight of an end, his own hope weakening.
200 years after Nicholas St. North was made a Guardian by Old Man Winter, it was time for the Guardian of Fun to make an appearance.
The latest battle between the Guardians and Pitch Black had forced them into a difficult situation.
"North! Behind you!"
"Sandy, on your right!"
"Look out! Bunny!"
"Tooth, above you!"
None of the Guardians liked being forced into such a tight group. Normally they would spread out and take care of entire fronts on their own. But Pitch had other ideas, herding them into a small knot. Why he thought that a small lake in a forest in the Western Continent gave him a strategical advantage, Bunny couldn't be bothered thinking about right now.
"Well, well, well...what have we here?"
The sneering voice from the shadows echoed around the trees.
"Pitch! You shadow sneekin' monkey, come out where we can see ya'!"
"Now, now rabbit. Let's not forget our manners."
Bunny growled.
"Oh, I think I'm going to enjoy this. How does it feel Guardians? To know that you've lost."
"I was chosen by Father Frost himself! I haven't lost yet!"
"Father Frost?"
The contempt in Pitch's voice was almost tangible as Jack appeared from the cold behind him. The Guardians were of course too preoccupied to notice, all except Sandy, who couldn't say anything.
"If he cared rabbit, where is he now? You think he would-"
Pitch stopped abruptly as a loud cough rang around the clearing by the lake.
Whirling around so fast that Jack was mildly surprised that he didn't give himself whiplash, Pitch turned to face the interloper. Only to be faced with a man with white hair and blue eyes. He didn't look older than 20, with bare feet and giving him what could only be described as a 'cheeky' finger waggle.
"Who started the party without me?"
It is safe to say that Jack will never again use that phrase. Of course the Guardians, bar Sandy, were as shocked by his appearance as Pitch. But all the same the crickets in the background took it a little too far.
Jack sighed at his unappreciated humour and decided to use it to his advantage.
The snowball Jack threw knocked Pitch halfway across the now frozen lake.
"Man, I've been wanting to do that for ages." Jack wandered over to the Guardians shaking out his hand.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Bunny's voice was almost comically high.
Jack blinked a few times before a grin plastered itself across his face, in the background he could hear Tooth sighing. He had let his hood down when he arrived, but now Jack reached a hand over his shoulder and pulled the garment back over his head. The remnants of frost still decorating his front completed the image.
"F-Father Frost!"
Unfortunately by this time Pitch had recovered enough to stand and was currently slipping and stumbling his way back across the lake.
"You will regret this! Nothing can kill fear!"
"Oh, I know. But a little fun can keep it at bay for a time."
Jack sent a second snowball after the first, pushing the Boogeyman back out onto the ice.
Of course it was only then that Pitch recognised the hood which the interloper was wearing, the look on his face was quite comical.
And it was all the fear the Nightmares needed to attack. The Guardians had long since forgotten their panic and were more surprised than anything. So when the King of Nightmares was dragged into a small hole in the ground by the beings which he had commanded for so long...they were rendered speechless for a number of minutes.
This of course gave Jack time to freeze the entrance's to Pitch's 'lair' solid. Keeping him trapped for at least a couple of thousand years.
Walking back to the still stunned Guardians Jack finally let his smile slip, not that they could see it with his hood still up.
Jack heaved a sigh and pushed his hood back again.
"Let me guess. You want an explanation."
"Damn right!"
"Bunny! If it's not too much trouble?"
Jack couldn't help but laugh, and this time he made no effort to hide it.
"Alright, firstly. Sandy how much do you know?"
The second eldest Guardian shrugged, making a series of symbols above his head.
Much to Sandy's and the other Guardians surprise, Jack had no trouble reading and understanding them. His favoured system had, like Bunny's and North's accents, survived death and reincarnation.
As Sandy explained that all he really knew was that he was not the first and people had suspected Father Frost to be the missing Guardian for sometime, Jacks face grew steadily darker.
He managed to keep his anger in check until the Sandman had finished his explanation before whirling around and glaring up at the moon.
"You said you would tell them!" Jack shouted angrily. "You said you would tell them who I was! Come on cheese face answer me!"
There were a few gasps from behind him at the insult, and even more when the moonbeams strengthened and sent a reply.
The Guardians, with the exception of Sandy, had never had a message directly from the moon before.
"Sorry Jack...but I couldn't get through to them, Pitch kept blocking me."
As quickly as his anger had mounted and flared it died, and Jack let his shoulders sag, before he turned back to the moon and spoke in a voice the others could only describe as 'tired beyond all reason'.
"Fine, could you tell them now, I don't think I can."
No sooner had the request left him than the moonbeams changed to focus on the four Guardians. For four of them it was the first time they heard the voice of the Man in the Moon.
"Hello Guardians, I'm sorry we have not spoken before now, I have something I need to show you. Maybe then you will understand the reasons for 'Father Frost's' distance."
Jack sat to the side in a handy snowbank as the four Guardians of Earth were washed in brilliant light. He could see their eyes change as they watched memories from a life before the one they now had.
He prayed that they would still...know him.
Staring at his hands, Jack did not see as the light lost it's intensity, did not see the first looks of recognition in the eyes of his friends...his family.
But he felt when Bunny was the first to move and embrace him. Quickly followed by Sandy, Tooth and North.
Jack couldn't be bothered to hide his tears, or his smile.