To Be Believed In
Cosmic Horse: So my best friend and I went to see Rise of the Guardians and, while my favorite Guardian is the Easter Bunny, my favorite character is definitely Pitch Black. Cue plot bunny attack! And we give you To Be Believed In! Enjoy!
GodlyJewel: This was such a good movie, how could the plot bunnies not attack? That and Jack Frost is my favorite character out of the Guardians. Anyway, this is basically the same plot line as the movie, but Cosmic and I decided two of our favorite characters needed someone special. We hope you will enjoy our story.
Disclaimer: All rights to the Rise of the Guardians, and the photo above, belong to DreamWorks Animation. Elements from Guardians of Childhood belong to William Joyce. Some other detailed facts about the RotG characters also come from Rise of the Guardians Wiki. OC's belong to GodlyJewel and Cosmic Horse.
Prologue: First Encounter
The sun shown down on the little town of Burgess, Pennsylvania. It was the start of winter and a fresh layer of snow covered the little houses. One particular home belonged to the Bennett family. While Mr. Bennett was at work, Mrs. Bennett stayed at home. She sat in the nursery with her infant son sleeping soundly in her arms. By his silent, steady breathing his mother knew he had gone to sleep. She rose from her chair and settled the boy in his crib. With a baby monitor in hand, Mrs. Bennett walked downstairs. As she walked she could her something coming from the living room. She walked in and saw a small girl sitting on the floor.
The young girl was about eight years old. Her hair was light blond and she had brown eyes. She wore sparkly blue jeans, white socks, and a white long sleeved shirt, with sparkling snowflakes on the front and light blue strips down the sleeves. She was sitting in front of the television watching a special airing of the 1979 Jack Frost movie. Mrs. Bennett smiled. Her daughter's eyes always lit up whenever she watched the Christmas classics. Her daughter began to sing along with the ending song:
If you try to turn around
When you hear his icy sound
He's sure to disappear
But you know, yes, you know
Then you know Jack Frost is here
"And that's the story of Jack Frost," said Pardon-Me-Pete. The groundhog stretched and yawned before tipping his hat and tossing it to land on a coat rack. "Well, I gotta catch six weeks of shuteye." He pulled the covers over his head but before he fell asleep, he peeked his head out and said, "Pardon me. Bye."
Suddenly the television went black as Pardon-Me-Pete waved good-bye.
"Now that's enough for one afternoon," Mrs. Bennett said as she set the remote back on the table.
"But Mom," the girl whined, "they were gonna play it again."
"Now Roxana, you watch that movie every year. I'm sure you have the whole thing memorized. Besides, I just put Jamie down for his nap and I need the house to be quiet. Why don't you go outside and play?"
Taking a quick look outside, Roxana smiled and said, "Okay."
She ran to the front door and began to put on her winter coat. The coat was white belted bubble jacket with a faux fur-trimmed hood. Once that was on, she put on her blue and purple hand knit gloves and matching scarf. As she pulled on her purple winter boots with faux-fur lining, Roxana took a quick look at her white ice-skates. "Mommy? Can I go skating?" Roxana asked.
Mrs. Bennett hesitated before answering. "Yes, but only if there are other parents around. I don't want you skating by yourself."
Roxana agreed and eagerly grabbed her skates before rushing out the door.
"And don't stay out too late," Mrs. Bennett called. "Remember to be home before the sun goes down."
Roxana called back that she would and then headed out. She ran all the way down to the forest just outside of town. It was one of the girl's favorite places to go. Tall trees surrounded the forest and in the center was a lake wide enough for skating. When she got there, there was no one around. Not even the animals were out. This was how Roxana liked it. Though she promised her mother, this was one of the things Roxana liked to do. Skating by herself let her focus on her routine. Roxana quickly sat down and exchanged her boots for her skates. Making sure her laces were fastened tightly, Roxana sped out onto the ice. She was having so much fun just skating around; she even did a figure eight. She was pretty good for her age and even dreamed about becoming a professional figure skater when she was older.
As she skated along the ice Roxana hummed the "Me and My Shadow" song. She was so wrapped up in her song that she never saw the rough patch of ice that was in her path. Before she knew it, Roxana tripped and went sailing through the air. She landed on her head and skidded until she stopped at the edge of the pond into a large jagged boulder. The contact caused a small cut just above her left eyebrow before everything went dark.
XXX
As the sun set Jack Frost was returning from a day of freezing the grounds, and preparing the children for an upcoming — and long wished for — Snow Day. He loved how the kids would light up whenever he brought the beginning of winter for them to enjoy and play in. Not only did he get to immerse himself in the occasional snowball fight, but he was able to bring fun and mischief into the children's lives.
If only the children could see him. That was the downside to being him. No one could see Jack Frost. No one really knew that he existed.
Jack sighed and continued to sail on the North Wind. As his home came into sight, he noticed something was off about the forest. He dropped down a few feet away from the frozen lake and scanned the area. The first thing he noticed was that the ice was no longer smooth, but was cut and pitted. As he continued to scan the banks, he spotted something. Near the edge of the pond, half frozen in the snow were a pair of purple snow boots.
Jack instantly recognized the boots as those belonging to Roxana Bennett, or Roxy (as her friends call her), the little girl that liked to skate on his pond. She was such a sweet kid, and liked to cause mischief for herself and her friends. Jack had seen her with the other children before. She usually was the first to start a snowball fight, or persuade the others to sled down the biggest hill in town. She even stood up when some of the older kids would pick on the younger ones. Jack knew Roxy liked to come to this spot every year, and sometimes he would watch as she taught herself to skate. He even nicknamed her Snow Sprite for her love for the winter weather and her impish character.
Seeing the boots told Jack that the girl was near but if that was the case, where was she?
He stepped out and began to look around, thinking maybe she was skating on the ice, but Roxy was nowhere in sight.
Suddenly his icy blue eyes spotted a figure lying facedown in the snow. The figure was small and wearing a white winter coat and matching white skates. It was Roxana. Jack rushed to her side and brushed off the snow. Her eyes were closed and there was dried blood on the top of her forehead. From the blue tint of her skin Jack figured the poor girl must have been here for a long time.
"Come on Snow Sprite, wake up," he whispered. He lightly tapped the side of her face but got no response. She was still breathing thankfully, but she was in risk of catching hypothermia if she didn't get warm soon. Careful as to not to disturb her injury — in case she had a concussion — Jack lifted Roxana into his arms, shifting her to rest in one arm. He only prayed that his icy touch wouldn't hasten her already chilled body.
"Hey Wind, I need another ride." Jack raised his staff and was suddenly hoisted into the air. He flew over the trees and jumped a few rooftops until he spotted Roxana's house. Jack flew to the girl's bedroom window and saw her parent's sitting on the bedside. Mrs. Bennett's cheeks were stained with tears and Mr. Bennett had his hands on her shoulders. Jack knew he couldn't just place the girl in her room as planned.
Looking around Jack spotted a window near the living room had been left ajar. He softly landed on the porch and entered the open window. He padded over to the couch and laid Roxana down on the soft cushions. He removed her snow-soaked coat, gloves, scarf, and ice-skates, placing them by the fireplace. Looking around he found a lighter and got a fire going. Then Jack grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped the chilled girl until she was snug. He smiled when he saw her shiver then snuggle deeper into the blanket. He knew she would be warm soon enough. Remembering her boots were still by the pond, Jack knew he'd have to retrieve them and bring them back later.
A sound from upstairs caught his attention and Jack knew her parents were coming down the stairs. Taking one last look at the sleeping girl, Jack crept out the window and flew off into the night. What he didn't notice was the pair of brown eyes that watched him.
"J-J-Jack… F-Frost?" the little voice whispered.
"Roxana?!" Roxana looked over to see her mom and dad rushing toward her with tears in their eyes. They quickly gathered their daughter in their arms and started kissing her, and asking her where she had been. Unable to answer, her parents noticed that their daughter was freezing and carried her up to bed. Mrs. Bennett dressed her in warm pajamas and socks, while Mr. Bennett got her some extra blankets. He also got out the peroxide to clean his daughter's cut and placed a bandage on it. When their daughter was settled in, they wished her good night and walked out of the room.
But Roxana did not go to sleep.
When her door shut, Roxana's eyes opened, and she stared out her window, thinking about all that had happened. She remembered the fall and hitting her head before being consumed in darkness. Then she heard a gentle voice calling out before she was lifted into protective arms. For a moment Roxana had woken and, through half lidded eyes, she'd seen the town below her. She turned her head slightly and saw a boy with white hair before she fell back into unconsciousness.
Then she felt herself being laid on something soft and wrapped in a warm blanket. When she opened her eyes for a second time there was the boy again. This time she could see all of him, though his back was to her.
He was tall and thin, defiantly older than her. He wore worn brown, tattered pants bound with a lighter material from the knee down, and a blue hooded sweatshirt. He carried a long, wooden staff in his hand that looked like it was covered in ice, and it curved at the top like a shepherd's staff. Roxy was surprised he wasn't freezing; his clothes were covered in frost and he wore no shoes.
Instantly she knew that standing before her was non other than Jack Frost himself. Roxana quickly shut her eyes when he looked back at her, thinking he'd disappear if he knew she'd seen him. She opened them when she heard him sneaking out the window.
Roxana smiled to herself as the moon shone bright outside her window. I knew he was real, she thought. Suddenly Roxana found it hard to keep her eyes open and soon found herself peacefully dreaming. Had anyone been in the room they would have seen two golden figures flying over the girl's head as Roxana dreamed about flying through the Northern Lights with Jack Frost.
The figures were made from dreamsand, courtesy of the Sandman. He was currently soaring over Burgs as he sent that same golden sand into every house, giving each child a special dream.
But there was someone to notice the wondrous scene. The dark figure had been observing closely for years, learning how the Sandman was able to conjure such dreams at will and make them come alive to enter the sleeping minds of every boy and girl. The figure's name was Pitch Black, but he was better know as the Boogieman, the King of Nightmares and Fear. For centuries he had been forgotten by children due to the Guardians; beings hand selected by the Man in the Moon to protect the children. Many times in the past they had thwarted his plans, but that was all about to change.
A malicious smile crept over his lips as one particular trail of sand caught his eye. He quietly slipped into the shadows and made his way inside the little house; into the bedroom where the sand was headed, and where the Boogieman's first victim laid sound asleep.
Pitch slunk into a small, bright yellow bedroom. His dark figure loomed in the faint light given off by the pink rabbit shaped nightlight in the socket. In the light he could be seen as fairly tall and slender, with gray skin and glossy black hair styled in curved spikes towards the back of his head. He wore long black robes that cover his feet. With glowing silvery-gold eyes, he watched as the girl sleeping before him dreamed some happy little dream. A very fluffy bunny hopped around and faint laughter floated from the happy sand. He knelt next to the girl's bed and an evil grin creep onto his face. Her soft face looked serene and she snuggled closer to her stuffed white rabbit.
"Such a happy little dream you are having, aren't you little girl?" he questioned, his voice soft, almost kind.
With a light sigh he touched the dream, flooding the happy rabbit with darkness. He grinned as the girl's slight eyebrows furrowed in fear as the rabbit morphed into some evil looking creature. It had been a long time since he could conjure this fear. He was pleased he still possessed such power. However, he still had not mastered and the nightmare began to fade.
Suddenly, a pair of enraged grey-green orbs belonging to the girl met Pitch's eyes.
"Leave my bunnies alone Mr. Boogeyman!" she hissed, snapping the dark dream away.
Pitch leapt away from the girl and she slowly raised, her shocking eyes narrowing to stare at him. No one had been able to see him in such a long time that he was surprised and flabbergasted.
"You-You can see me?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Of course I can!" she said, softly stroking her plush bunny.
"How?" he asked, blending with the shadows so only his haunting golden eyes remained.
She hesitated. "I'm always afraid. Everything scares me. Why wouldn't I believe in the Boogeyman who controls all the scary things out there? No one believes in him…you anymore, and they all make fun of me for being such a scardy-cat," she confessed, her face suddenly realizing that he was the Boogeyman.
"You're the Boogeyman!" she suddenly said, hugging her plush rabbit closer and scampering backwards in her bed, pushing herself against her headboard.
Now normally, Pitch would be thrilled about striking fear into this girl's heart and mind, but for some reason, the sight of her practically cowering in fear of him made him feel…guilty? Looking at her, her face pressed against her bunny with wide, fearful eyes and a tangled mess of red-brown hair, he felt something within him stir. "I am… but I'm not here to scare you," he said softly, half hoping that she wouldn't hear his words.
But she did. "You're not?" she asked, her eyes still so fearful.
"No child," he replied, materializing again so she wasn't talking to just a shadow with eyes.
"Then, why are you here?" she asked, looking him up and down a couple times rapidly.
Pitch hesitated. He began to question: Do I tell the truth and scare her even more, or lie and maybe keep one person who could see me? "I… I don't really know…" he lied, bringing his hand up to support his hung head.
"Don't lie!" she said, making him jerk his head up. "Lying is bad."
A sly chuckle slipped from his lips and he said, "Well, I am a bad man," before giving her one of his scariest grins.
She gasped and tried to scamper back again. "No, you're not," she whispered.
Pitch tipped his head to the side, narrowed his eyes, and furrowed his eyebrows. "What did you say?" he asked, not truly believing his ears.
She gulped. "You're not a bad man Mr. Boogeyman…" she said a bit louder.
"How could you know? You don't even know me!" he practically shouted.
She winced. "Because if you were a really bad man, you wouldn't be standing here arguing with a scared little girl about it. You would be making me so scared that I could never sleep again," she said.
A tremor rippled through his chest as his nearly absent heart soften, and he couldn't stop himself before blurting out, "I would never do that to you."
She smiled. "See?" she said, slightly relaxing.
He halfheartedly glared at the girl.
"I'm Bonnie. Bonnie Clyde. Everyone calls me Bunny because of Bun-Bun here and the fact that I'm such a scardy," she said.
With a false bravado and a small bow, Pitch formally introduced himself. "I am Kozmotis Pitchiner, Master of Fear and King of Nightmares. I have been called many things: Boogeyman, Buka, El Cucuy, Bala, Babau, Butzemann, Baboulas, Bau, and Jumbi. You, however, may call me Pitch."
She blinked, taking in all his names. "It's nice to meet you Pitch," the girl, Bonnie, said with a weak looking smile. She yawned. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to sleep," Bonnie said before snuggling down into her bed.
Pitch slowly approached her bedside and, rather tenderly, tucked her into bed. He watched her sleep a moment longer, just making sure that her dream reappeared. It did. A small smile played at his lips at the sight of her plush bunny. He touched its soft white fur, accidentally polluting it with his darkness and giving it grey patches. He quickly snatched his hand away. With one last look, he slipped from her room and out onto the sidewalk. He glanced back just once before shadow jumping into the night. They way that she talked about her fears, and about him made Pitch almost reconsider his overall scheme. He smiled at the thought of her and vowed to return one more time.
Bonnie awoke the next morning and found herself a bit less afraid than when she went to bed the evening before. She thought that her meeting Pitch was all a dream until she saw her stuffed rabbit. His once white coat was now intermingled with grey patches on his ears, across it's shoulders and a grey fluffy tail. She picked up the bunny.
"You are now Butterfluff," she said, hugging the plush rabbit.
XXX
Cosmic Horse: Well, hoped y'all liked this. Get ready to jump forward to the movie, it's going to get bumpy from here (lolz).
GodlyJewel: We hope to keep the pairings fluffy as possible, but you never know. Hey, what do you mean by bumpy?
Cosmic Horse: Well, life isn't smooth as butter darling. These poor, pitiful characters are about to be thrown about with emotional turmoil and actual battles. Bumpy is an understatement really.
GodlyJewel: You have a point. Especially with how truly evil we are to our characters.
Cosmic Horse: Yes, yes all well and good. Now, on with the next chapter!