A/N: So new story because I'm obsessed with Rise of the Guardians and this has been running around in my head since I saw the movie. Post movie about twenty-five years later.

I don't own.


Chapter 1: To Be Believed In


On the outside, Autumn Aki was just your ordinary twenty-year-old college girl. She had three part-time babysitting jobs and a full-time course load at the local community college where she was studying to be a teacher for deaf students. She was a high achiever and a practical joker.

Most people wouldn't think the two qualities mixed well, but for Autumn, it worked. When she wasn't practicing American Sign Language or studying for her Praxis Exams, she was hanging out with her friends in the café at the college and acting ten years her younger.

Her mother would say that Autumn had aged backwards. This was because, growing up, she was the most mature child anyone had ever met, but when adulthood started to approach, Autumn scrambled to pick up the scattered pieces of her childhood. She had missed out on all the things children did because she was so determined to grow up fast enough to look after herself. She had to do this because it was just her and her mother and they were very poor. Mrs. Aki had to work two full-time jobs just to pay the rent and wasn't around much to look after her only daughter, and as a result, Autumn had to grow up fast.

Despite this—or perhaps because of this—Autumn still retained some childhood fears and beliefs. At the age of twenty, she still kept a nightlight in her bedroom because she was afraid of the dark. She also insisted that her bed be just the mattress and box-spring on the floor instead of having a frame that kept it up. She told her mother that it was because she fell out of bed a lot and having the bed on the floor meant it was a shorter distance to fall. The real reason, however, was that she didn't want her bed to have an under. Furthermore, she would have no mirrors in her bedroom; this was because her reflection in the dark scared her more than she wanted to admit.

Bedtime still held that fear of monsters in the closet and the Boogeyman under the bed, but in the winter, it also held that old superstition of how to summon the snow. Every winter, Autumn cut up a paper snowflake, put it under her pillow and go to bed with her pajamas inside-out, all the while repeating one phrase in her head: Jack Frost, come and make the snow fall.

Autumn believed that all things were real. That is to say, all things that you can imagine; everything you ever read or watched in movies exists. Not in the conventional sense that you can see and touch it, but in the sense that there are parallel dimensions that these things exist in. However, there were only two things she believed, without a doubt, lived in her own dimension; two things most people didn't believe in. Those two things were the Boogeyman and Jack Frost.

She had believed in the Boogeyman for as long as she could remember. He haunted her nightmares and flitted across her bedroom at night in the form of a shadow. Her mother had told her repeatedly that he wasn't real, that she was just dreaming when she saw those shadows, but Autumn knew better. She had seen him.

She believed in the Boogeyman because she had seen him, but in the case of Jack Frost, she had never seen him. She started believing in him when she was in fourth grade.

It was winter and Autumn loved the snow. She would take the toboggan made of flexible plastic that she liked to call a crazy carpet out into the snow to shoot down the hills at an alarming rate. When she grew too cold to hold onto the crazy carpet any longer, she would go inside for cocoa.

She peeled off every layer except her thermal and rested them on the radiator to melt the snow off of them and ran to the kitchen, where her mother was making cocoa.

"Here you go, Autumn," her mother said, handing her a cup of cocoa.

"Thanks, mom!" she replied.

"That should warm you up, your face is all red from the cold," Mrs. Aki commented with a laugh. "Jack Frost has been nipping at your nose."

Autumn looked up in confusion. "Who's Jack Frost?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know, dear," Mrs. Aki replied, trying to remember where she had heard the phrase before. "It's just an expression."

Even at nine years old, Autumn knew that stories didn't come from nowhere and neither did common expressions. There was always a reason people said the things they did, and she was determined to get to the bottom of who Jack Frost was.

So after school the next day, she used a library computer to find out just who Jack Frost was. The best she could come up with was a small little article on Wikipedia. It said: "No one is really certain where the phrase 'Jack Frost is nipping at your nose' came from. However, speculations have been written with the belief that Jack Frost is the personification of winter and brings snow and ice when the cold season comes. It is believed that he is a mischievous spirit that 'nips' at the extremities in cold weather. One myth to summon snow says to put a paper snowflake under your pillow and go to sleep with your pajamas inside-out thinking the phrase 'Jack Frost, come and make the snow fall.'"

Every winter since, when the weather got cold, Autumn would repeat this ritual to bring the snow. And every winter, it worked; the very next morning, she would find that it had snowed in the night and everything would be crisp and white. This was why she believed in Jack Frost, even into adulthood.

But her belief in Jack was never as strong as it was in the Boogeyman, for she had seen the Boogeyman with her own eyes, and she had never seen Jack.


One Saturday in mid-November, Autumn went home after babysitting a five-year-old girl named Sarah and her baby brother, Max.

Her mother greeted her from the kitchen, where she was making fried rice and steamed vegetables for dinner.

"Hi, Autumn. How was work?"

"Same as usual, except that Sara lost her first tooth today," she replied hanging up her jacket and taking off her shoes.

"That means the Tooth Fairy will be paying a little someone a visit, eh?" Mrs. Aki poked her head out from around the corner to look at her daughter with a knowing smile.

Autumn scoffed. "You know I haven't believed in the Tooth Fairy since I was seven."

"I hope you didn't tell poor Sarah that the Fairy isn't real," her mother said with a frown.

"Of course not!" Autumn was affronted. "Just because I don't believe, doesn't mean I'm going to crush the dreams of an impressionable five-year-old! What sort of person do you think I am, mom?"

"I was just checking."

Mrs. Aki went back to the kitchen to attend the rice, while Autumn went upstairs to put her purse and keys away.

She sighed. Why did her mother always have to do that? She thought. She always had to bring up those silly little stories from when she was little; the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman. She seemed to think they were real.

Autumn had stopped believing in such things when she was very young. She once woke to her mother trying to replace her baby tooth with a dollar under her pillow when she was seven. And when she learned to recognize her mother's handwriting when she was eight, she realized that she had never gotten a gift from Santa. She had also pretended to be asleep one Easter when she was nine to see if she could spot the Easter Bunny, instead, she saw her mother hiding foil-wrapped chocolate eggs around the house. What's worse, she knew the Sandman couldn't be real and seriously doubted the existence of good dreams, because the only time she didn't have a dream that didn't turn out wrong, was when she didn't dream at all. In fact, Autumn was surprised she even believed in anything at all, what with all the childhood stories not being a part of her life.

Oddly, it was her mother who genuinely seemed to believe in all of these stories. She swore up and down that she saw Santa with her own two eyes when she was very little and never forgot. Autumn was sure her mother had been dreaming. Even stranger than a forty-year-old woman believing in Santa when her daughter didn't was that the most realistic thing to believe in, the Boogeyman, her mother insisted wasn't real. But the others… It was like her mother desperately wanted Autumn to believe and felt like she had failed as a mother because she didn't.

"Autumn!" her mother's voice broke through her musings. "Dinner's ready."

Autumn sighed again and made her way down to dinner, hoping to put this fairy tale nonsense on the back burner for awhile.

No such luck. As soon as she started to eat, her mother asked her a question that brought the whole mess to the dinner table.

"Have you started writing your letter to Santa yet?"

"Mom," Autumn said in annoyance. "Really?"

Her mother sighed and tried a different track. "Have you started writing your wish list yet?"

"Not yet," Autumn said softly. "I don't really know what I want. You can just get me anything."

"But I want to get you something you want," her mother pouted.

"You could just give me money, and I can save it for when I see something I like," Autumn offered.

"No, no. You'll just spend it on textbooks for school. I want to give you something you want, not something you need."

"Well, maybe I'll go window shopping next week and put together a list."

"Sounds like a good idea!"

Mrs. Aki seemed satisfied with that and they spoke no more during the meal.


After dinner, Autumn went to the television and popped an old movie into the old VCR. They couldn't afford much but they had gotten the television and the VCR at a yard sale a couple of years ago, along with a couple of tapes. Autumn had watched every movie they owned so many times, she had lost track of the number, and she had also memorized the words in every one.

Her favorite movie was "Jack Frost". It was a stop motion movie about the spirit of winter, who was invisible to all but his fellow spirits, and it was this movie she decided to watch tonight. She sang along to the songs under her breath and thought that tonight would be a good night to summon the snow.

As she got ready for bed that night, putting her pajamas on inside-out, she still hummed the song from the beginning of the movie out loud. She checked that her dream catcher was still hung above her bed, ensured that her closed door was firmly closed, plugged in her nightlight, and placed her paper snowflake under her pillow before turning off the light and climbing into bed. As with every winter for the last eleven years, Autumn chanted in her head Jack Frost, come and make the snow fall, as she drifted off to sleep.

As the young woman fell into a slumber, a shadowy figure drifted across the room. He was not impressed with the wintery ritual the she performed as she fell asleep. He was the Boogeyman, Pitch Black, King of Nightmares and he most certainly did not like Jack Frost. The boy was always messing up his plans and getting underfoot with his attitude.

Pitch had spent a long time paying for his last attempt to overthrow the Guardians and he was especially angry at Jack for the part he played in his defeat. Instead of attacking right away however, Pitch had come up with a plan. A plan that had somehow gotten lost in the beginning, twenty-two years ago, when he had escaped that wretched hole his own nightmares dragged him into. He had gotten distracted by something he couldn't quite recall and had forgotten the plan. But now he had a new plan, and it revolved around Autumn Aki, the adult who still believed in the Boogeyman.

He had never before had an adult believe in him to his remembering and it gave him such a boost in his powers that he had never felt before. It was as if the belief of one adult was worth that of a million children. He had paid Autumn special attention throughout her teenage years to ensure that her belief never faltered and neither did his powers over darkness and nightmares.

Unfortunately for him, though, the girl also believed in Jack Frost and that gave the winter spirit the same boost of power it gave Pitch. Fortunately however, Jack still struggled to get people to believe in him, and so he still couldn't match Pitch without the other Guardians backing him. Good thing for Pitch, Autumn didn't believe in the other Guardians or his plan would never work.

Still, though, he hated winter. So, silently as a shadow, he slipped his hand under her pillow and snatched the paper snowflake from beneath the girl's head. Pitch glared accusingly at the snowflake as if it were the person it was meant to summon.

"You won't win this time, Jack," he said softly with venom.

Then he tore the piece of paper into shreds and let them fall to the floor beside the girl's bed. He smirked at her and thought about what sort of nightmare he ought to give her.

He knew her face quite well, for he had followed her for several years. She had short black hair that came to her jaw and often fell in her face. Her eyes had a slightly Asian look to them as her mother was half Japanese, and he knew that her irises would be dark brown, almost black. She had small features that were relaxed with sleep, but not for long.

Finally deciding what nightmare to give her, Pitch sprinkled black sand over her face. As he did this, Autumn's relaxed expression suddenly became pained. The sand formed itself into her dream giving it shape. She was caught in a fierce blizzard wearing only her inside-out pajamas, getting colder and colder by the second. The sleeping girl gave a whimper and began to mutter in her sleep.

"No… Jack… stop…" she pleaded softly.

Pitch chuckled in satisfaction. Take that, Jack Frost.


Autumn woke up in a terrible state. Her nightmare had felt like it was mocking her, like the entire time, someone had been enjoying the show.

She glared at the dream catcher. Fat load of good that stupid thing did her; it couldn't even do what its name implied. Looking past the useless thing, she turned her attention to the window and wondered how much Jack Frost had made it snow.

She crossed the room and pulled back the curtains to find… nothing. Not one snowflake, there wasn't even any frost on the grass. She didn't understand; it had always worked before.

Autumn looked down at herself, wondering if perhaps she had mistakenly put her pajama shirt on right-side-in. Instead, she noticed something white and fluttery on her floor by the head of her bed. Upon closer inspection, she found that it was tiny bits of paper. But that was odd, where did that come from? It looked almost like snow at first glance…

No, it couldn't be! She lifted her pillow to find that her paper snowflake was gone; in its place was a handful of what appeared to be black sand. She started to shake with fear. The Boogeyman! He had been in her room last night, and he had caused the nightmare and ripped up her snowflake! She looked nervously about her, worried that he might still be there, lurking in the shadows.

Finding nothing, she thought it best to start her day. She had babysitting in two hours and couldn't afford to be late. She quickly dressed and scarfed down her breakfast before dashing out the door. Autumn had no car of her own, though she did have a license, she simply couldn't afford one. Instead, she walked everywhere. This meant she had to leave early every day in order to make it on time.

Despite the unnerving morning, Autumn found the day to be quite inviting. She still wished it had snowed, but that couldn't be helped. As this thought came to mind, Autumn found herself humming the song from the movie the night before and her mood lifted. She would try again tonight.


After watching Max and Sarah until their father got home around mid-afternoon, Autumn made her way to the bank to deposit her check. When she was done, she started to head home the long way because it was such a nice day.

She took a path she knew well along bike road through the woods. During the warmer seasons, there were usually loads of bikers racing past, but on this crisp and cold afternoon, the path was deserted. Except for a young man in his late teens sitting in a tree.

Autumn didn't seem to see him as she walked past, singing a winter song. The boy didn't mind, though, he didn't expect her to see him. Indeed, he didn't seem to mind a whole lot of anything. In fact, though the weather was quite cold indeed, all he wore was a blue hoodie and tattered leggings, and his feet were bare. It was as if the cold didn't bother him one bit.

He listened as the girl walked past and caught a few words of what she was singing.

"Walking in a winter wonderland…" The words trailed off as she got further from him.

Now that was one adult he didn't mind. Ordinarily, adults didn't like his work; they didn't like the cold or the snow because it meant shoveling driveways and scraping ice off car windows. But this girl seemed to like winter and made her alright in his books, because he was the Winter Spirit, Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun.

Jack took his staff in hand, ice forming where he held it, and leaped from his perch, drifting gracefully to the ground like a snowflake. He followed the girl, walking in front of her and turning to walk backwards to face her. He wondered if he had ever known her when she was a child.

She finished her first song and moved on to the next.

"You wake up one morning, and you feel that something's new…" she sang softly.

Jack felt like he knew this song from somewhere but couldn't quite place it. It touched something inside him and it felt like the first time someone believed in him. He missed a few lines in his musing and when he focused on the words again, the girl was singing even more familiar lyrics.

"He's nipping at your nose, you can feel it in your toes, if you try to turn around, when you hear his icy sound…" she became louder at this part and much more exuberant.

"Wait a minute…" he whispered, suddenly knowing the song.

"He is sure to disappear, but you know JACK FROST IS HERE!" the girl got really loud at the end and did a happy skip, effectively walking right through Jack.

Jack halted in his tracks. This girl, this woman, had said his name with joy in her voice, as if she believed in him, but then she walked right through him as if she didn't. He had to know who she was.

Autumn had begun to skip ahead of the unseen winter spirit, but the joy her song had brought her was short lived. The Boogeyman had ripped up her snowflake, what was to stop him from doing it again tonight?

"I wish I could talk to you, Jack Frost," she called to the still air. "I wish I could see you to tell you that I want it to snow."

Jack's eyes lit up. She did believe in him! So few children believed in him and here was an adult who still did! He leaped into the air and flew level with her.

"Hey, if you want to talk, I'm right here!" he called, hoping against hope that she could at least hear him.

His hopes were dashed, however, when she just looked sadly at the ground and continued walking in silence. He had to do something.

"You want snow?" he asked with a mischievous smirk. This will get her to believe, he thought. "I'll give you snow."

Jack planted his feet apart, took his staff in both hands and twirled it above his head. As soon as he began, flurries started to fall from the sky, coating the ground in crunchy white powder.

Autumn stopped in her tracks and stared open mouthed at the sky as snowflakes brushed her face like cold feathers and landed on her tongue. Then she started to laugh like she had never laughed before. For a day that had started out with crippling disappointment, it had to be one of the best she'd had in a long time.

"Jack Frost!" she cried happily. "You came!"

"You can see me?" Jack asked, coming close to her.

She merely laughed and spun in a circle with her arms wide. Jack jumped out of the way, not wanting to experience her walking through him again.

"Argh! How is it that you believe in me but you can't see me?!" he hollered in frustration.

"Jack?" Autumn called. "Where are you hiding, I want to see you!"

"I want you to see me too!" he cried. "Why can't you see me?"

"Maybe he's not real after all…" she muttered softly.

"No!" Jack cried desperately. "You can't do that! Not when you're so close!"

"Okay Jack," Autumn said, making a decision. "I've believed in you for years, and I've never seen you. I stopped believing in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Sandman, when I was younger than most. There are two people in this whole world that I've believed in the whole time, though and they are you and the Boogeyman."

Jack gasped at this. She believed in Pitch?

"I know for a fact that the Boogeyman is real because I've seen him. I've never seen you, Jack, but I still believed in you, because if the others aren't real, you have to be. Otherwise my world only holds the Boogeyman and that's too horrible a thought to imagine, and believe me I can imagine quite a bit. So please, for all that is good in this world, please be real. I need to believe in something good. Just show me you're real…"

Jack thought he was going to cry. This girl had been tormented by Pitch her whole life, and as a result, lost faith in the Guardians. All but one. Him.

"I'm trying," he said. "I'm trying to make you see me but it's not working. Some part of you must believe this is just a freak snow storm and not me, because you should be able to see me."

He thought harder than he had in all his three hundred years, how was he going to make her see him. What was a fool proof way to make her see that he was real? As he cast his mind about, his eyes alighted on the freshly fallen snow and an idea formed in his mind.

Autumn, not receiving any reassurance muttered "I knew it…" and sulked off back down the path.

"No, wait!" Jack called, scooping up a handful of snow and packing it into a ball. He blew a cool breeze onto it and it turned blue. "You're sure to believe this!"

He threw the snowball right at the back of her head. It hit its mark and crumbled into the hood of her jacket.

Autumn halted, eyes widening. She turned slowly on the spot to face the way she had come. There wasn't a person in sight. But then who threw that snowball? Could it really be him?

"Jack Frost?" she asked in a whisper.

Jack laughed and answered her with another snowball, right in her face. Normally, his magic snowballs made kids want to throw some themselves, but this time, they would have the effect of making this girl see him.

Autumn cleared her eyes with a gloved hand, and when she could see again, she found she could see more than just the snow-laden bike path. There stood a boy that looked not much younger than her, wearing a hoodie and tattered brown leggings with no shoes. His hair was as white as snow and his eyes were as blue as the winter sky.

"Jack Frost!" she cried.

"Can you see me yet, or do I have to throw another snowball?" he asked.

"Jack Frost!" she yelled happily, running to him and flinging her arms around him in the biggest hug she had ever given anybody her whole life.

"You can see me!" he yelled back and hugged her in return, spinning her around.

When he set her down, her cheeks and nose were red with cold and she was beaming from ear to ear. She had never been happier to see someone and Jack had never felt this happy to be seen, not even when Jamie first saw him.

"What's your name?" he asked her. "You know mine, it's only fair."

"Autumn," she said still grinning brightly. "Autumn Aki."

"Nice to meet you Autumn Aki," Jack said, holding out his hand.

"Nice to see you, Jack Frost," Autumn returned, shaking his offered hand.

"Nice to be seen!"


A/N: (4,344) I hope I did the characters justice. Drop me a review and let me know. R&R!