AUTHOR'S NOTE! This Text means speech in the recordings, This text means action in recordings.
The halls of Santoff Claussen were silent and bare, the workshop moved to the emergency location of Rose Haven, Mother Nature's home. But, since Pitch was physically incapable of entering the Hall of Records, everything there remained; including the reserves of weapons North stashed in case of emergencies.
"Shhh!" hissed Joy, Emma stepping on a forgotten toy. The place was cold and dark, not a soul inside other than the five Pookas. Joy shivered, cool air running past them, ruffling their fur.
"Wind-" a familiar sound of crackling ice reached their ears, Joy's head turning in the direction.
"Calm down Jack." Purred a sinister voice. "Your power is mine now."
"Mom…?" Joy peeked around the corner, looking into the globe room. Pitch was seated in North's great throne, stroking a tentacle of black sand, the darkness now infused with ice blue. The sand seemed to have gained a wisp of consciousness, feebly trying to break free from the Shadow King. Scowling, Pitch dug his nails into the sand, wincing as the sand calmed down.
"Don't be like that." He scolded. "I've said it before; nothing goes better than cold and dark. I gave you the chance to join me willingly, now I'm taking it by force. You're trapped, but look at the bright side; when we raid the stupid guardians, your power will be their destruction. And your brats…you're going to kill them, and you're powerless to stop it."
"The sand…" whispered Joy. "Mom's in the sand!" Pitch turned, the kits jumping out of sight before he caught them. Pitch stared a moment, but dismissed the noise as the wind through the halls.
"But how do we get him out?!" whispered Hunter.
"I hate to admit this, but we need to get to the library." She shuddered. "Ew, books…"
"I got it covered." Chuckled Hunter, slipping towards the Hall of Records, Emma, Rose and Nick right behind him with Joy bringing up the rear. When they finally reached the wing, they found the doors broken, but still standing tall, like Pitch had tried to force his way in and failed. Hunter oiled the door hinges, standing on Joy's shoulders to reach the top hinges. Gingerly he stepped down, and both Joy and Hunter pulled on the door. Silently the door slipped open, revealing the tidy hall the two had visited the night before last.
"Wow…" said Nick, big eyes wide with wonder. Emma set Nick down on a chair as Joy plucked the big book from the pedestal.
"How do we open it?" asked Emma, Rose poking the book. Joy looked at her Mother's staff, an idea forming.
"Mom said we needed a guardian." Said Hunter. "But there's more than one way to skin a cat, even if the comparison is horrid."
"Maybe…" began Joy, turning the staff in her hand, the stick seeming to have a life of it's own. Gently, she tapped the cover with the bottom of the staff. Hunter sighed as the book remained the same, no rustling in it's ancient pages to betray they had succeeded in opening it.
"Maybe something in here will-" Suddenly a loud crack came from the book, tendrils of frost slowly spreading across the cover, settling in almost invisible grooves to form the insignia of the guardians, the clasp opening with a metallic click.
"Wow!" said Rose. "Joy is a guardian!"
"No." said Joy. "It's Mom. When Pitch snapped it, remember? Mom hurt, like Pitch broke something in him."
"So the staff is Mom?" asked Emma.
"A part of him." Said Hunter. "Now that I think of it, he always taps things with it. North must have designed the lock to recognize Mom's staff." Joy opened the book, revealing blank pages.
"What?!" exclaimed Joy. "It's empty!" Hunter rolled his eyes.
"It's enchanted, idiot. You have to ask it a question. You know, like looking something up in the dictionary." Joy looked doubtfully at Hunter. Sighing, Hunter turned the book to him.
"History of Pitch Black and the Guardians." The pages began to glow, a shimmering orb hovering above the pages.
"The Moon chose us all."
"Grandpa North!" said Nick, clapping at the familiar voice.
"In the beginning, there was only the Man in the Moon, Sandman and Pitch Black. Humans were simple, basic. They had no time for Wonder, Hope, Memory or Fun. They only needed to survive. But, as humans changed, became intelligent, the old ways died. Mother Nature and Father Time were made, to preserve the order and balance of the growing world. But Pitch Black began to fade. More was being found, and less was to be feared. It was then he brought a great weapon, breaking the only rule of the Moon; to physically harm a living thing was forbidden. The Black Death spread across Europe, killing off millions. It was then, the Man in the Moon created us, the Guardians."
"Pitch spread the bubonic plague!?" exclaimed Hunter. "How in the-"
"Shut up!" said Joy, the book's page turning.
"Sandy was the first Guardian, the Guardian of Dreams. For many years, he kept Pitch in check. Time passed, and the people soon began to forget Pitch and fear. But the peace was short-lived. Soon it was not only humans bearing the brunt of Pitch's rage. The Pooka were his next victims, leading humans to their secluded Warrens with lies of blood thirsty beasts. All were slaughtered and burned, buck, doe and kit alike, until nothing was left. Man in Moon, seeing Sandy was no longer enough to contain the dark, chose the second Guardian; Toothiana, the Guardian of Memory. Some believe it was in honor of the now long forgotten Pooka, their blood sacrifice at the hands of the dark. For hundreds of years, Tooth and Sandy battled Pitch, until they too were unable to stop him."
"Daddy…" murmured Emma. "Pitch hurt Daddy?"
"Pitch was, thankfully, stopped before he could do his damage. Man in Moon would not repeat his error, and before Pitch could strike he chose myself, Nickolas St. North as the third Guardian, the Guardian of Wonder. As we grew stronger, Pitch grew weaker. He fled with the first colonists, to the harsh and unforgiving land of what is now North America. For short decades, we heard nothing, until we discovered the fourth Guardian, the Guardian of Hope, and the last remaining Pooka. With the help of our new ally, E. Aster Bunnymund or as children know him, the Easter Bunny, we were able to send Pitch into hiding for centuries. For years, things were peaceful, and the four of us became closer. The world grew, Hope, Wonder, Dreams and Memory keeping the Dark at bay. The only disturbance in the peace came, not as a result of Pitch as we had expected and in the form of minor annoyances, from the weather. We only knew Old Man Winter had gotten another spirit, but come the Easter of 68', the name Jack Frost would be well known by all of us, and the boy would weasel under Bunny's fur and become the bane of Bunny's existence. Unfortunately, Jack was as willing to take oath as Bunny to admit Christmas is superior to Easter. Nonetheless, it was Jack Frost who saved us from Pitch, and kept the last light glowing when the world stopped believing, even when we abandoned him again. Pitch is adaptive, but as Fear can change, Fun is always the best defence against it. Jack needs no believers to be strong, unlike Tooth, Bunny, Sandy or I. He will not fade when the children no longer believe, like Sandy.
Pitch has always favored the dark. The key to defeating him is to keep him away from a shadow, and attack in numbers. Beware. He can use your greatest fears to control you. He controls nightmares, and like spirits of Nature will not fade or weaken without belief. His strength is fear, and he will feed off it like a leech. If you are hearing this passage, then the Guardians have failed. Pitch has defeated or destroyed us, and you are the last thing standing between Pitch and the children. They must be protected. They are that we are, and all that we ever will be."
"Whoa…" murmured Joy. "Dad is OLD."
"I think the point was we are royally screwed." Said Hunter, jabbing her in the shoulder. "No way we can beat that! If the Guardians can't, how can we?" A loud bang came from behind, Nick laying flat on a green and blue book.
"Nick!" sighed Joy, picking up her youngest brother. "Be careful! You could have-"
"Lookit!" he said, book, a glow coming from it.
"North is gonna kill me for this, but it has to be recorded." The kits stared, hearing the voice of their Mother from the orb.
"Mom…?"
"Nick was just born last week, Joy is thirteen, Hunter is twelve, and Emma and Rose are now five. The Moon spoke to me last night, about them. He's never been clear to me, and never answered my questions before, but this was abundantly clear, and told me not to breath a word of his to anyone. I don't know what he's planning, but if anything happens to my babies I swear to God MiM will have his rocky ass served to him on a silver platter. He told me Pitch will return soon, but didn't tell me when. All he said was make sure they're ready. For what, I don't know, but if MiM told me over North, he must have a good reason. When whatever MiM foretold happens, I just hope we did a good enough job preparing them. But, I think they'll be fine no matter what I do. Joy is turning into such a strong, independent young lady. She's so much like me it's scary, but definitely has her Father's talent with a paint brush and boomerangs. Hunter is almost too responsible, but in a way someone has to be. He loves his books, and probably knows more than I do already. He's always working things out with North, and as much as Aster complains about his love of Christmas and inventing, he couldn't be prouder. Emma and Rose are so much alike, but so different. Emma reminds me so much of my Mother when I was human, obsessed with propriety and perfection, is always so polite and already has so much artistic talent. Rose, on the other hand, is as hyper as the BabyTeeth on Red Bull, and sneakier than a snake. Both of them are amazing actresses, and already love theater. Nick is very quiet, so quiet it scares me. Sometimes I don't know if he's dead, asleep, or just staring. Something tells me he'll be a soft-spoken genius when he's older. As North would say, 'I veel it in my belly'. For now, until MiM decides the others need to know, I'll hide this from them. MiM says things for a reason, and if keeping this knowledge a secret will protect my kits, I'll never breathe a word of it. I've set this book to play this if Pich's History is revealed, because that probably means MiM's warning came true. And if I'm right, and Pitch defeated the Guardians, right now all five of you are listening. Your Father loves you, I love you. Do your best, and Pitch won't know what hit him. You're stronger than you think, and I know you can kick his scrawny ass into the next century. Make us proud; do everything you can and you will not lose. I love you, and I'm sorry if I'm not around to tell you this myself."
The book closed on it's own, the lock snapping shut.
"…What are we supposed to do?" asked Rose. Joy picked up the Book and placed it back on it's pedestal.
"What Mom said." She replied. "We fight."
"In case you haven't noticed, we aren't exactly Guardian material." Said Hunter. "Nick is two. Emma and Rose, no offence but you freak out at worms! I have asthma and you already proved you can't handle Pitch on your own Joy! What the Hell is the Moon thinking?!"
"Well, it's what everyone would want us to do!" A loud crack came from behind, cracks forming in the statues.
"What's happening?" asked Rose, ears flat as she backed into a shelf with Nick and her twin. Joy shuddered, looking at the cracks in her Mother's statue as similar imperfections wound their way through Tooth's statue.
"He's destroying the Guardians..." She whispered, fur standing on end.