((Hi, guys! After watching Rise of the Guardians about 50 times, I got the inspiration for a fanfic. This is more of a tester just to see if others would be interested if I pursued the idea. If not, I'll just scrap it. So..yeah! Enjoy!))
Prologue: The Start
"What is snow?"
"He is snow."
"Who is he?"
"The man who has forced us to live on the limits of reality. He was wronged us and needs to be punished. I want you to find him and end him for once and for all."
"Yes, Pitch."
"I hope you have reason for calling us here, North. Easter's in less than two weeks and I have eggs I need to paint."
"I have called you here for very important reason," a heavy accent trilled. "We have important news from Man in Moon."
"Well get on with it, North; haven't have all day!" Bunny retorted, impatiently tapping his foot.
"Wait!" A feminine voice chirped, followed by the beating of wings. Tooth drew herself away from her position by the window to rejoin the group located in the center of the room. "We're missing someone!"
"Oh?" North hummed, furrowing charcoal eyebrows together. "Who are we missing?"
Bunny crossed his arms across his chest in an aggravated gesture while Sandy cocked his head to glance around the room. The sound of doors slamming open simultaneously reverberated into the air, followed by a voice. "I'm here, I'm here!" An annoyed huff rose from Bunny as the young man sprinted forward.
North's perplexed expression dropped into a welcoming grin upon spinning around and seeing the younger Guardian trotting toward them. "Jack! Glad you could make it!" he greeted, clasping a friendly hand on the young man's shoulder once he had finally joined the group.
A short chuckle—free spirited and genuine—came from Jack Frost's lips as they slid into a smirk. He leaned casually on his staff, blue eyes gleaming with a sort of child-like mischief as he appraised the group before him.
"It's about time you showed up, Mate," Bunny murmured, tossing Jack an impatient stare to which he simply shrugged off with a smile. The two weren't the most intimate Guardians of the group, yet they could tolerate each other—to some extent.
"It's good to see you, Jack!" Tooth beamed, her attention drifting more to his teeth than to Jack himself. Jack, noticing Tooth's fixation on his teeth, cleared his throat, to which she allowed a sheepish smile to grace her lips. "Sorry, they're just so white!" she marveled.
"Can we get on with the point?" Bunny piped up.
"Ah, yes!" North made his way over to the globe. "Man in Moon has informed me that there is to be a new guardian coming to us."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Jack questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean 'yes and no'?" Bunny inquired, squinting in apprehension.
"A new guardian is good because we can protect lights better," he gestured to the lights illuminating the countries covering the globe, "but then that means that we need help to protect lights."
"You think Pitch is back?" Tooth asked, fluttering nearer to North. Her forehead creased in concern.
"Guys, what are you so worried about? If we beat Pitch, then we can beat him again!" Jack spoke up optimistically. Beside him, Sandy nodded enthusiastically, agreeing with Jack's positivity.
North shook his head solemnly. "Man in Moon says we cannot beat Pitch if we do not have fifth guardian."
"Well where are they?" Jack questioned.
"I don't think it's that easy, Mate," Bunny added.
"That's the problem, we don't know who or where the fifth guardian is," North concluded.
"Then we'll just have to find them," Jack announced, leaping up to perch on his staff. He was confident, his moral causing Sandy to rock onto the balls of his feet, eagerly nodding, while earning a smile from Tooth.
"It's not that simple, Jack—"
Bunny was cut off by North, who suddenly had a change in heart. "Jack is right!" he bellowed, stretching out his arms. "We will find sixth guardian and defeat Pitch for good!"
