Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, How to Train Your Dragon, Tangled or Brave! None of me is in anyway affiliated with Dream Works or Disney. This is a fan fiction, written only for fun.
This is the first time I've written a fan fiction for something besides Gundam Wing, so bear with me while I try and get my footing.
Seasons Change
Chapter 1: Reborn to Night
He shifted, everything was dark around him and cold. The cold encased him and pushed back when he tried to move, pinning him down. So he pushed harder, and when the darkness and cold around him shifted, he found himself sitting up into a bright night lit by a full moon that looked enormous in the sky.
What had been holding him down was earth and rocks, Now he pushed that aside and started brushing it out of his hair and off his arms. The bright moon illuminated the area around him, and there was a beach not a few yards away from him.
He moved his legs up out of the earth which fell away easily now and moved to stand only to find himself flat on his face as he tried to walk to the water. Air wooshed out of his lungs and he inhaled dirt as he pushed up to turn over.
Coughing, he wiped his mouth and looked down at his legs. His leg.
The panic flowing through him burst out and the dirt around him flew up into a small cloud. More coughing, but he was surprised to find that the sudden wind was so warm.
There was nothing for it but to crawl to the water, he was so thirsty. Then maybe he could figure out what was going on. Reaching out to pull himself towards the gently lapping water, his hand came down upon something softer than rocks.
He pulled it towards him and looked at it in the moonlight. It was just a little taller than him, with a 'Y' at the top, made of sturdy wood that felt warm in his hands, sun baked. He used it to stand, pulling himself up and then hopped towards the water.
Trying not to think about his missing leg, and how that could have happened, was hard, but not as he realized just how alone he was. There was no sound but that of the ocean all around him. Behind him was the rise of a mountain, just him and the beach for as far as he could see.
He had no urge to call out, who would he call to anyway. The night wasn't cold, he was quite warm. But he was going to need fresh water and food eventually. But which way to go. He stared at the water and saw the moon there too, shining happily down at him.
He looked up and saw the friendly face smiling down at him in the shadows on the moon.
"Hiccup?" It jumped from his lips and sounded quite loud in the quiet night.
A warm wind flew into his face, welcoming. It smelled of fresh earth and tall grass. The urge to run over took him, but one step took him down again. But before he could get his arms out to catch himself, despite one hand still holding onto the staff he'd found, the warm wind came back and picked him up, carrying him a few feet before setting him down again.
His one foot in the water, Hiccup balanced himself with his staff and laughed. His hair stood on end and his vest was half falling off, but he hadn't tasted dirt again. That had been a rather strong wind, Hiccup smiled to himself and tried again.
He reached out with both hands, balancing precariously on one foot and just like that, he felt the pull on his arms. Pulling them out to his sides and away from each other, he felt the warm wind come and hit him in the chest, pushing him right over backwards into the water.
"Perfect." Hiccup sat up and shook the water from his hair. That was when he noticed that the water, that had been cold when he'd fallen back into it, was now lukewarm.
He reached out and put his hand in water further away from him. It was cold, really cold, but as he left his hand there, it warmed up.
Hiccup levered himself up again, and tried using the wind to push him to land, succeeding only in an awkward summersault towards dry land. "Ouch."
Hiccup stayed sitting this time, what else could he try this warming up thing on?
He tried it on several rocks, warming them up from their ice cold state and set them in a neat little pile. Why was he giving off so much heat?
Hiccup looked up at the moon again, smiling down at him without any worry, and blew his bangs out of his eyes with a heavy puff.
The shadow that flew across it was making a turn. What gave off a shadow like that?
Hiccup stood, he felt uneasy again. He couldn't get away with only one leg, and there was nothing here to hide behind. But when the shadow grew closer and he saw a contraption being pulled by some kind of flying animals, something tight in his chest eased up and he stood up to wait.
Whatever it was was coming for him, and didn't feel sinister at all.
"Woah, slow down. You stop now, here, stop here!" The loud voice boomed, carrying easily over the water and Hiccup watched the sleigh being pulled by large deer come to land on his beach.
"There you are Viking. I have been looking all over the sea for you." His heavy accent was strange but his eyes glowed brightly as he came over holding his arms out wide.
"Uh, wait...wait!" Hiccup tried to take a step back, but again forgot about his missing leg and started to fall. This time the large man picked him up before he actually tasted dirt and embraced him in a crushing hug.
"We have been waiting for you, so you come now. Yes!" He set Hiccup down and strided back to the sleigh.
Hiccup coughed, getting back the air the man had squeezed out of him. "W-wait! Who are you? Who's waiting for me? What's going on?" Hiccup limped towards the sleigh, suddenly afraid of being left behind on his own again. "Hold up, I can't..."
"Ha! I know, of course I know, and so I have brought you THIS!" The man turned with a big flourish and held up an odd looking contraption. He looked so very proud, but Hiccup was less impressed then it seemed the man wanted him to be.
"What is it?" Hiccup asked.
The man looked at him, eyes big with surprise and a small frown on his mouth. "It's your new leg. Now, come here."
The man reached out and easily picked him up, turning with him, and sitting him down in the sleigh.
"Oh Jeeze." hiccup leaned back as the man took what was left of his left leg and started attaching the contraption to him.
"Ok, look, while I appreciate the gesture, I don't think, you see, this is..." Hiccup held tightly onto his staff and tried to pull his leg back several times, but the man was stronger than him.
"Your thanks are welcome. There." The man stood up and Hiccup wearily looked down at his leg.
"Uh, it's... well, it's..." Hiccup didn't know what to say about it. It didn't look like it was going to support him.
"You stand now, yes?" The man picked him up once more and then set him on the beach.
"Ah, stop doing that!" Hiccup turned around to smack him with the staff, missed as the man dodged and kept spinning. "AHH, Woah!"
He didn't realize till he stopped and stared at the man that the fake leg had supported him, had worked just fine.
"There, you're fixed!" The man laughed, "Now, we go! Everyone is waiting!" He waved Hiccup towards his sleigh.
"Who are you!?" Hiccup demanded, brandishing his staff, refusing to take one step towards the sleigh until he got some answers.
"Nicholas St North!" The man gave him a bow and gestured to the sleigh again. "Call me North, now, we go!"
Hiccup sighed, and then just got in the sleigh. Someone, somewhere, knew what was going on here. He just hoped that this "Everyone" who was waiting would have proper answers.
He sat back, reaching out to hold onto the side of the sleigh after seeing that there was no way to hang on otherwise.
"How do they fly without wings?" Hiccup asked as North climbed in.
"How else my little Viking friend, Magic!" And with that he was calling out to them in a language Hiccup didn't know, and they were surging forward on the beach.
Hiccup held on tighter as the sleigh bumped and thumped along, roughly trying to toss him out. "Uh, we're not flying" Hiccup called out, but North didn't seem to hear him. He yelled again and with a great lurch the sleigh caught the air and they were off into the night sky.
Hiccup gasped for air as the night embraced him and he slowly stood, leaning against the side of the sleigh. He looked behind them at the lonely beach where he'd woken up. Looking on it high from the air he saw that he place he had been was all black, spreading out from where he'd been all around half the island. What had happened there?
North said something and Hiccup turned to ask him to repeat himself, and found a swirling of light and colors exploded in the air in front of the sleigh. And North didn't look to be changing course.
"What is that?" Hiccup yelled into the wind.
"Holding on tight" North yelled and they flew right into the vortex as Hiccup yelled.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
She was wrapped in warm arms, held tightly as she woke slowly. Everything was dark, but as tired as she was, something was pulling her forward. She reached out and tried to feel for whatever was pulling her, her hands drifted through soft little pieces of orange and red that crinkled and snapped, moving out of her way as she moved.
She took a step and the leaves fell away, falling to her sides, sticking in her hair and to her dress. Her hands grasped the wood of the bow, waiting for her, as she stepped away from the large oak tree. All around her were trees and grass, glowing a soft green in the night.
She took a few hesitant steps, there were the usual night sounds echoing trough the forest, but there was no one out there. She kept walking, looking for some break, somewhere she could get her bearings.
Ahead was a glow, the moonlight was bouncing off something. She pushed through the brush and stumbled out, her long dress snagging on roots and branches and she stepped into a clearing. She brushed more leaves from her dress and stood up, the bow tight in her hand.
There was an almost perfectly round clearing here, ringed by large rocks that towered over her. All but one, one looked to have been knocked down and was laying inside the circle, underbrush striving to grow and climb over it.
She stepped out of the shadows of the forest and into the moonlit circle, looking up as she did to a full moon. It almost seemed to smile down at her as she regarded it, looking around, she brought her bow up, and walked to the center of the circle.
She did a full turn and when she got around to where she'd come through the forest, she found her way marked by a shock of red and orange. Many of the leaves in the surrounding trees that she'd brushed against were not of the ground, burnished gold as if autumn had caught them unawares. She walked back to the spot and bent down, there was a small berry bush right next to the path she'd made that now had plump, ripe berries hanging there.
She reached out and picked one, popping it into her mouth. A bit of juice dribbled over her lip as she wiped at it with her sleeve while standing up. Doing so brought her attention down to her dress, the front of it was marred at the shoulder where it looked like something had raked her with large claws and ripped through the fabric. She felt her heart begin to pound and she reached under the dress and tried to shift it to see under the tight sleeve.
There were four perfect scars resting there on her skin, had she always had those? But they lined up with the rips in her dress. She started checking the rest of her, and the rest of her front was fine, if not covered in leaves, but reaching around she found loose fabric dangling off her back.
There was no way for her to see, and it was high enough that no matter how much she reached, she couldn't find the source of the rip. She nearly fell over twisting and turning and found herself in the center of the stone circle again.
In frustration she shoved the bow over her shoulder and she walked over and sat with her back against one stone and looked up at the moon. She might have to wait here until sunrise. The moon smiled back at her worried frown, easing the restlessness in her, and she couldn't help but smile a little back.
"Merida." She hadn't realized she'd said it out loud til she noticed how quiet the woods had gotten. She waited with her lips pressed tightly together til the night sounds picked up again.
Looking back at the path, the red and golden leaves, Merida stood and started for it again. Standing, she brushed at the leaves stuck to her dress. But they didn't move, so she brushed again, her great mass of curly, red hair falling forward into her face and showing her just how many more leaves were stuck in her hair. Merida pulled at those, trying to shake them out, but everything clung to her.
In frustration she growled and really attacked her dress, waving her arms wildly, and just like that a strong wind came and lifted her about two feet off the ground, taking half the leaves with it, and dropped her back down. Merida froze, hands out for balance as she waited for something else to happen. When it seemed nature was done attacking her, Merida tried to bring her hair back down from where it had frizzed out in the wind and shook her skirts back into place.
Then she tried picking off leaves again, it was probably useless, she'd probably be covered in them again in no time, but this was a personal battle now.
And once again, when Merida got angry and began beating her skirt again, the wind came and lifted her up, carrying her over and into one of the large rocks as it did. Merida let out a little screech as she braced her arms out, and rolled to the ground when the wind left. She sat up, lips set in a firm frown as she imagined how her hair must look now.
She stood and cursed the wind, shaking her fist at the sky, as she did so, leaves around her on the ground picked up and danced. Merida watched them, losing her words, and stopped her motions. The leaves fell to the ground.
She took a breath and began waving her arm around again, leaving off the words this time, and watched the leaves start to dance again. This time, she didn't stop. This time Merida waved bigger and bigger and then twirled, watching the leaves move with her, red, brown, yellow and orange flying in a wild banner round her as she spun again and again.
Merida laughed and then bent low and then stood quickly, raising her arms at the same time and the wind came and picked her up, tossing her over six feet in the air. But as her arms stilled, so did the wind and she fell back to the ground, crying out as the soft grass cushioned her only a little bit.
"Ow." Merida rubbed her hips as she stood. Checking to make sure her bow was in one piece, and then rubbing her hands together, getting ready for another try.
That's when the glow darted through the trees to her left. Merida turned quickly to follow it and lost it in the night. She listened, but there were no other sounds besides insects and small animals. Merida pulled her bow back over her shoulder and held it tight in front of her, very aware that she had no arrows to loose.
Off to her right, there it was again, a soft, golden glow. Darting into her vision and then gone when she turned to look. Merida swallowed hard, "Is someone out there?"
Her voice was weaker than she expected and she felt a little flare of shame. She got ready to call out louder when the glow came up over the trees and flowed gently towards her. It was like a small, golden river in the sky, tumbling over invisible rocks and swirling in unseen eddies.
It spilled over the trees at the edge of the clearing like a waterfall and then came to dance around her. Merida laughed as it danced on air and reached out as it curved around her. Her fingers glided gently through it, little splashes jumping up, and then before her eyes turning into small birds that glided around her head and soared higher above her.
Merida reached out and tried to grab some of the golden river and brought it up to her face. Sand, the little magic was sand, golden and glowing bright.
It made a swirling cone around her, climbing high and then went back to the trees where a small golden figure floated, coming towards her on a cloud made of the magic sand.
"Who are you?" Merida asked, smiling brightly at a small man, wearing clothes made out of the sand, who smiled gently at her.
In a gold burst, a hat appeared over his head, which he reached up to tilt at her, and then it was gone. He was controlling the sand, she was sure of it. But he said nothing to her, only smiled and held out his hand.
"I'm Merida, who are you?" She tried again, reaching out, thinking he meant to hold her hand in greeting.
But when his small hand gripped hers, rather strongly, he pulled her up and she found that she could stand on the sand swirling beneath him.
The cloud began to rise, taking them high above the trees and a sand fence appeared around her waist for her to hold onto as they stopped climbing and started forward, where the little man pointed north.
"Where are we going?" Merida asked him, she wasn't terribly worried. She was oddly at ease with him, actually.
The small man pointed in the direction they were headed and above his head appeared three small cones. Merida raised an eyebrow staring at them, oddly lumpy, and then realized they were mountains.
"Oh." Merida started to ask another question and then the sand above him changed again, forming different shapes at a growing speed. "Wait, wait, I don't understand." Merida said and then suddenly she was overtaken with a yawn.
"Don't you speak?" She asked him, and with an almost sad smile, he shook his head. "Oh, that's too bad."
Merida was surprised to find herself sitting in the next moment. "Well, how long till we get there?" She asked, rubbing her eyes, sand was floating up and getting into her eyes as they flew.
She tried to see the small sand man's answer, but her eyes were so heavy. Maybe if she just took a short nap, by the time she woke, they'd be there.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
There was a gentle tickling along her arms and legs, and neck and face, as she opened her eyes and looked up. Bright green leaves moved away from her face, enough for her to sit up and look around. She held her arms tight around herself, pulling her knees up and away from more of the vines that were falling away. She was on a rock, next to a small brook. The gentle sound of the water bubbling over rocks was soothing as a lullaby.
The stars above winked at her, but they failed in brightness next to the full moon hanging low in the sky. She was thirsty, so she stood and went to get water from the brook, but something pulled her back by her hair and she squeaked as she nearly fell over.
She turned to tug at it, and found it was everywhere. Her hair was long, very, very long. It came off her shoulders and went clear to the ground, where it then spilled over the rock she'd been on, and then twisted and turned all over the ground where it was snagged in branches and twigs. She couldn't help the little tears that popped up to her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She simply sat on the rock and started to gather her hair to her, pulling out twigs and such as she went, coiling it up next to her.
It took a long time, but she was finally free, so with a huff she gathered it in her arms and went back to trying to get to the brook. She knelt, set down her hair, and bent down to get a scoop of it in her hands and brought it to her lips. She drank a few hand fulls and then sat back on her heels, looking up at the sky. The night was calm and quiet, the moon almost looked happy to be sitting there, looking down at her.
She smiled to herself, and bent forward again, intent on splashing water over her face. She rolled up her lightly pink sleeves of her dress and froze as dread and horror washed through her. There on her arms, were long, fresh pink scars. Running in a vertical line from her wrist to the inside bend of her elbow. She quickly rolled her sleeves back down and covered them, looking around as she did so as if expecting someone to jump out and start yelling at her.
She backed up, crawling until she found her rock at her back and then curled her arms around her knees, holding them tight to her chest. What was going on? Where was she, who was she? And why were those scars on her arms?
She did let the tears spill this time, burying her face into her arms and simply crying. Why was she alone here? Had she been asleep, but they why had those plants been covering her. And why was her hair so long?
She let the tears go until they were spent and then finally looked up and back to the brook. Crying had made her thirsty again. She crawled back, her legs cramping underneath her as she went from sitting curled up too long. She wondered, as she sipped, how long it would be till morning.
The moon was much lower in the sky now, kissing the tops of the trees on the other side of the brook. Ready to slide beneath the horizon for another day. So she stood and looked around, but as the moon sank, it got darker and darker.
She was wondering whether or not she should try moving tonight or wait until morning when there was a sound behind her. A sound she had never heard, or ground shifting and moving.
Slowly, fear thrumming through her, she turned around and looked.
Rabbit. Really, really tall, big rabbit!
She didn't know what to do, why was it on two legs, what was that strapped to it, why was it staring at her like that.
"Hey" It spoke to her, paws coming up.
She screamed, screamed for all she was worth and fell back over her rock trying to get away from it. Her hair dragged behind her and she started pulling on it, bring it to her. How could she survive this if her hair wouldn't let her?
Her scream had startled it, it had jumped back away from her, back towards a hole in the ground that hadn't been there before and watched her with big eyes, ears facing her, paws up as if reaching for something behind it.
"Now just, calm down." He, it was a he. And he was talking to her like she was the frightened creature instead of him.
"Don't tell me to calm down, just go away." She told it, him, firmly as she could.
"Wait, please, Will ya just hear me out?" He asked her, thankfully he wasn't getting any closer, and she had all her hair on her side of the rock now.
"No, please go away." She told him, her heart was beating so fast it felt like it would burst.
"I'm not going to hurt you, ok?" He told her, his paws came down and he stood there, waiting for her to say something.
Rabbits ate grass, and carrots, and stuff like that. He was at least six feet tall, but he talked. She couldn't decided what to make of him.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
"I'm Bunny, the Easter Bunny. I'm a Guardian. Will you please talk to me?" He asked her. "What's your name?"
She felt panic rising again, she was so very lost. "I-I don't know."
"What?" His ears, flipping around and twitching, came forward as if he hadn't heard her.
"I don't know what my name is." The whimper came unbidden to her voice. She tried not to cry again, not now.
"But that's," He looked behind him and up, as if someone should be there, shrugging his small shoulders. "Ok," He sighed. "Um, I have an idea."
"What idea?"
"To help you find your name." He said gently and she stared at him, hope coming up in her like a warm drink.
"Really?" She asked, almost unwilling to believe him. But she was so desperate to know who she was.
"Yes, if you'll just come'ere and..."
"No." She ducked back behind her rock.
He looked mad for a second, and then it went away, but it had been there. She was scared, the night around her was getting darker and darker. What would happen when the moon set and she coudln't see him anymore?
"Ok, You don't have ta. Will ya just do me a favor?" He asked, sitting down on his haunches and watching her.
"What?" She asked, trying to pick up her hair in case she had to run.
"Will ya look at the moon?" It was an odd enough request to make her stop.
"What?"
"Just, look't the moon." He repeated, as if eternal patience ran through his veins. A ruse obviously. Look away from him is what he really meant.
"No, now go away." She told him, the end of her hair in her hand. She needed to coil it or something, but there was no easy way to carry it.
"Please? Just look at the moon. And if it doesn't work, I'll go away." That caught her. Sure this was probably a trick, but what if she could buy herself enough time to get a head start?
"I look at the moon, and then you'll leave if I still don't know my name?" How was looking at the moon supposed to help her remember her name?
"Yes, I promise." He said, still waiting quietly for her.
She looked down at her unbelievably long hair, looked at her arms, tightly covered with sleeves though she knew what they were hiding, and then looked up at the giant rabbit.
Was she dead? Was this the... after?
Who's to say it wasn't? She had no memory, obviously something had happened. And a giant rabbit,wasn't that her biggest clue?
Her hair started to glow then, the warm light surrounded her and then spilled down along each strand.
"Eh!" The Easter Bunny stood up again and looked at her with shocked eyes. "What are ya doin?" He demanded.
"I Don't know!" She said in a panic, dropping her hair and backing away from it, as if she could escape it.
"Ok, Ok, calm down." He said, his paws out in a calming gesture.
"But what's happening? What do I do?" She asked, tears coming up again.
"Please, just look at the moon." He said again, talking about the moon while her impossibly long hair was glowing. "Quickly, before it sets!"
Without any other thoughts coming to her, she finally just turned and looked at the moon. If this was the after, she needed guidance, maybe that was why he was here. Maybe...
The moon gave off such a nice glow, soft and strong at the same time. Her hair, though glowing around her, was warm and hugged her as she stared at the moon. Was it smiling at her?
"Rapunzel"
She sat down on her rock, her hair moving around her as a light breeze played with it. It was cool, but the wind held the promise or warmer days, smelling of flower and new things growing.
"Rapunzel?" Bunny was standing next to her. But she wasn't afraid now. Even as the moon set she reached out and took his offered paw.
"Yes?" She asked, she felt a little dazed, but a lot calmer now.
"We have to get going." He told her, a smile on his face now. His funny bunny face, whiskers twitching as his nose moved.
"Where are we going?" Rapunzel asked as she stood. He helped her gather her hair, no longer blowing, and then lead her to the hole in the ground.
"Somewhere where friends are waiting for us." He said, reassuringly.
"Ok." Rapunzel smiled back, letting him lead her.
"It's going to be fast, just hold on t'me." He told her.
"Ok." Rapunzel said, and then let loose a screech as they suddenly plummeted into the ground. "Wait, wait, no! I changed my mind!"
"Almost there" His funny accent told her as she clutched at his fur. Rapunzel squeezed her eyes closed tightly and waited for the world to right itself again.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Jack sat with Tooth in an empty room at North's workshop a the north pole. He was perched on a table, while Tooth was next to the window talking to baby teeth who darted up to talk to her and then away again.
Jack sighed for probably the hundredth time that day. He hated being corralled here, especially when he didn't want to be here at all.
"It'll be alright, Jack." Tooth said, pausing in giving directions at the sound of Jack's unhappiness.
"I don't understand why this is necessary." Jack grumbled, knocking his staff against he table leg and watching his frost climb it.
"Because the Man in the Moon..." Tooth started with a gentle smile.
"Ok, no, I know why. I just don't understand, why!?" Jack nearly wailed, feeling almost completely abandoned and betrayed.
Not because of the new Guardians, not because it was taking any attention away from him or anything like that. But because the Guardians were so quick to go and help.
Right there when these other "Turnlings" woke up. Ready to help them, guide them.
Three hundred years ago, where had they been? Had anyone helped him?
No. He'd had to learn it all himself, and wait all this time to find out who he really was.
It hurt, it stung and burned like a fresh wound that he couldn't find.
The table beneath him became encased in ice and he let some of his anger out. It was worlds unfair. There was no way he was going to welcome these Turnlings. No way.
Jack once again regarded the window Tooth was at, wondering if he was fast enough to get by her.
"Don't even thin about it Jack." She scolded. "Don't worry, it's going to be alright." She hovered over and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Let's just see how things turn out?"
It sucked having a babysitter, but the Guardian's had been right in their assumption. After he'd heard the news from MiM, he's exploded in anger and refused to help.
He was a Turnling himself, in charge of frost and snow days, helping the season winter come and go. He had his own job to do, he had no time to bother with Spring, Summer and Fall.
There was a great thud from somewhere below them and Tooth darted to the door. "Oh, I think North is back."
Jack sighed heavily, yet again. "Great."
"That means the others shouldn't be much longer." Tooth darted back to the table where Jack was coming off it, about to make a mad dash to the window. "Come on, let's go greet them!"
Tooth was excited, Jack felt faintly sick and angry. Maturity was being set aside for the side of him that felt totally abandoned. But Tooth had a hold of his arm so he let her drag him out into the main work shop and walked up to the giant fire place where North hid their crystal from MiM. He walked over to the windows on either side, they didn't open, but they made him feel better, and leaned against one, pulling up his hood.
No way was he going to be all accommodating and friendly. He could hear Noth's booming voice approaching, as well as the ringing of bells which was probably elves scattering out of his way. Well, Jack braced himself, he was going to make sure that these Turnlings would never...
And that was when North walked in with the first Turnling, a young boy.