A Rise of the Guardians / Guardians of Childhood Fanfic

By Sakura Martinez

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the Guardians of Childhood series. It would have been awesome if I did, but I don't. Those belong to William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation.

Summary: Pitch's parting words to Jack and the other Guardians of Childhood during the Battle of Belief held a clear message: The Guardians may have won the battle, but the war was far from over. Now, Pitch is rallying the forces of darkness, calling to arms a dark and sinister group: The Fright Knights. The battle to end the war is underway, but are the Guardians ready?

Rise of the Fright Knights

Chapter Three

The Tales of Nicholas St. North

Jack had thought he was going to be the last one to arrive at the Guardian's headquarters in North's Workshop. That had always been the case in the past. So he was quite surprise—and so was Nicholas St. North—when he found out that Toothiana, Bunnymund, and the Sandman had yet to arrive.

"Well, well, this is a pleasant surprise!" North's voice boomed as he lifted Jack up and gave him a Russian welcome kiss. "Who would have thought Jack would be first to arrive! I certainly didn't!"

North laughed his hearty laugh and Jack couldn't help but smirking.

"I'm glad I could surprise you," Jack said, chuckling. But then he went serious and asked, "What's going on North? Is Pitch back? Is that what the aurora was for?"

"One thing at a time, Jack," North's tone became somber, but there was still that glint in his eyes that somehow calmed Jack down, like there was nothing bad going on. "For now, since you're early, walk with me. I have something to tell you."

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" Jack asked uncertain, taking a step back. His mind quickly thinking about all the pranks he had pulled and the spirits he had crossed in doing so. He hoped that what North was going to talk to him about, had nothing to do with any of that.

"Ah, what are you saying, Jack? You always in trouble." North laughed once more. "Or, rather, you always cause trouble. But we not talk about that. We're going to talk about what all the other Guardians already know."

"Please don't tell me it has something to do with that stupid book of rules you had me read," Jack sighed, remembering the thick book North had forced him to read the day after they had beaten Pitch. It had not been a pleasant memory, being stuck with North and his rulebook with no way out but to completely memorize to heart what the said book contained. "I'm telling you right now, North, there's no way you're locking me up with that thing again."

"No, no books tonight. " Then, like that day when he had been told he was chosen as a Guardian, North asked him, "Jack, walk with me."

Bowing and flourishing his free hand, Jack said, "Okay, lead the way."

The first time Jack Frost heard about a large man living at the frigid North Pole, he was intrigued. Just what kind of man would live at such a cold and lonely place? Was he someone like Jack Frost—someone who can freeze rivers with a touch and can send snow falling at a whim or a change of temperament? Was he as fearsome as some of the other spirits he had overheard said? Questions like that filled Jack's mind and he looked forward to meeting this man.

And then he heard something else about the Man in the North: he makes presents—all sorts of toys, has a very long list detailing who had been naughty or nice the whole year round, and delivers these toys in just one day, every year, to all the good boys and girls around the world.

And so, another round of questions entered Jack's mind—questions that were fueled by curiosity: Why does he do that? What does he get from giving those toys to children? How does he manage to go around the globe in just one day, or know who was naughty or nice? The more Jack heard about Nicholas St. North, the more he wanted to meet the man and see this famous workshop of his.

That was the reason why he would try, time and time again, to sneak into North's Workshop. He thought it was going to be easy. No one told him about the Yetis, though. Those big furry creatures easily spotted Jack despite how great he thought his hiding place was. They never failed to keep him out. That was why, ever since Jack had been welcomed inside the workshop, he had always taken the time to look around and explore. He had thought he had explored every nook and cranny of the workshop, that was why he was once again in awe when he found himself at a place he had never ventured before.

It was different than the toy-littered grounds of the workshop he had grown accustomed to. It was neater, more pristine. Wood coated every part of this new circular room Jack Frost had found himself in and it felt akin to what he thought being inside a giant tree's hollow tree trunk was like. Light entered from the stained glass windows of green, yellow, and red. Candles floated in the air lighting the room further. Owls, made from ice carvings, flew around and nested at one part of the room, hooting. There were more books there than there was in the entire workshop. But the volume of the books and the owls were not the center of the room's attention, it was the pedestal that held a crystal gong in the middle that was.

"Woah, what is this place, North?" Jack asked breathless and in awe.

"This is Big Root," there was hint of sadness as North spoke, one that confused Jack and made him wonder why.

Jack ran towards the owls, all of which flew away. He called forth the wind and chased one of them laughing. "What's a 'Big Root'?"

"It is my home," North replied. "It is the place where my life changed, completely. And where I was taught how to be more than just a Russian bandit."

"A bandit?" Jack laughed, landing right in front of North. He thought he was just joking with him. "Are you serious? You?"

"Is true," North grinned. "I was the most feared bandit in all of Russia! There was no treasure I did not try to steal, not adventure I did not conquer. But then, like you, Man in Moon chose me and led me to the people who changed my life for the better and opened a world I never knew existed."

"Oh?" Jack settled himself on top of a red sofa's headrest, certain that North was going to tell him more. "How did the Man in the Moon chose you?"

"He whispered to me, in a dream, told me of untold reaches beyond my wildest dreams hidden beyond a forest many feared to venture," North spoke animatedly in a mysterious tone. "I was buoyed by the desire for those riches and led my men to traverse ravines using clouds and rivers rushing and overflowing that you would have thought they were impossible to cross."

"Beyond the ravine and the rivers, was the forest thick with fog and magic. We made our way, undaunted by whatever it was the townspeople had feared about that place. And then, we came across the most beautiful woman we had ever laid our eyes on. She promised us riches if we followed her. The woman turned out to be an enchantress and one of the defenses a powerful wizard placed to protect the forest and the town that lay beyond. My men who took the jewels she was offering, all turned into stone. And I would have been too, had I not heard the cries of children asking for help."

"They were being attacked by giant bear. I forego the notion of riches and came into their rescue, even though—at the time—I didn't know why I would do that. As it turned out, giant bear was also one of the wizard's defenses whom Pitch had possessed to sow fear into the children of Santoff Clausen—children who are innocent and knew not of fear. The giant bear was very strong but I managed to defeat it, although I thought I had also fallen in that battle. When I woke up, I met the wizard who later became my mentor, and the girl who later became my first friend and believer and I learned where I was."

"Big Root," Jack guessed and North nodded. "So, who was this wizard you keep talking about, and this little girl?"

"The wizard's name was Ombric. He was the last wizard from Atlantis who ever lived beyond his city's destruction. Ombric taught me how to make magic, and led the battle against Pitch during Dark Ages."

"And the girl?"

"The girl's name was Katherine," But that was all North was willing to say about the girl, and no matter how many times Jack pestered him, North's mouth was shut when it came to her saying, "We save her story for another time, there is more important story you have to hear. A story all the other Guardians have heard and were told."

"Okay, well, go on then. I'm listening," Jack said. And it was the truth. North's stories had always caught Jack's interest and he never failed to listen to the bearded, jolly, old man.

North then walked towards the pedestal with the gong, and Jack had no choice but to follow him taking his staff along with him.

As he walked, North asked the young Guardian, "You know Pitch's story during Dark Ages, yes?" Jack nodded and North went on, "What you may not know is Pitch wasn't always bad guy."

"Yeah, right," Jack snorted. "And I was a the Lord of the Flies in a previous life."

"No need for sarcasm, Jack, I am telling the truth." North looked at Jack like he always did when making a point across to the fun-loving Guardian. "Before Pitch Black became known as the Nightmare King, he was the first Golden Age's greatest hero. He traversed the universe looking for Dream Pirates, Nightmare Men, and Fearlings, and he imprisoned them. The first Golden Age flourished because of General Kozmotis Pitchiner."

Kozmotis Pitchiner? Jack couldn't believe Pitch was anything but Pitch Black. And he most definitely couldn't believe he was a hero and a general to boot!

"What happened to him?" Jack finally asked. He didn't understand how someone many revered as a hero could turn evil like that.

"Darkness is a cunning foe, Jack. They took a moment of weakness to turn a righteous man into a madman. The Nightmare and Fearlings he kept imprisoned fooled him into letting them out. The darkness consumed him and turned him into the evil being we know now as the Nightmare King. He turned against the people whom he had been serving—the Tsar and Tsarina Lumanoff."

"The Golden Age—a magnificent age when travel among the stars and planets were common and galaxies were filled with airships and spaceships of every size and color, shape and birth imaginable—was in danger. And so was the House of Lumanoff whom Pitch wanted to destroy by turning all good dreams into nightmares." As he talked, North motioned for Jack to look closely at the gong in the middle of the room. Jack did so, and he saw images in them depicting what North was telling him. "Pitch hungered most of all for the dreams of little children who were pure of heart. And, one of the children he wanted more than anything to turn into Nightmare was the son of the Tsar and Tsarina Lumanoff. But, of course, the young prince's parents wanted to protect their child and so they constructed a remarkable craft—the swiftest in the galaxy—called 'the Moon Clipper', that with a turn of a switch could transform itself into a Moon."

"They set a course for a distant planet, known only to them, that was without a Moon of its own. Their plan was to turn into the Moon and hide when Pitch came near, but despite their best efforts, Pitch spotted them and attacked. It was the last great battle of the Golden Age, and the Tsar and Tsarina would rather die than let Pitch take their child away from them. But it was not the Tsar and Tsarina who defeated and sealed the Nightmare King for centuries, it was one of their most faithful warriors, and the first of the Guardians, Nightlight." The way North spoke of this Nightlight showed how much the old Guardian respected him. But, instead of telling more about the first Guardian, North segued and said, "The Moon Clipper's outer hull was breached and the swiftest ship found it could no longer move. It stayed stationary and became known as the Earth's Moon. And the young prince Lumanoff? He grew into a fine young Tsar and vowed to protect the children of the Earth from Pitch. He is now who we call, 'The Man in Moon'."

Jack was silent for a moment, soaking everything North had just told him in. His brow was furrowed. He had never heard such a story. The other spirits never said anything like that before. About Pitch. About this Golden Age North was talking about. About an inter-galactic war. He had never heard of such talk before.

And then Jack asked, "Why tell me now? Does this have anything to do with why you summoned the Guardians? Is there trouble brewing again?"

"Because Man in Moon decides when it is time to share that knowledge, and he has decided that for you, that time is now. And, he has also decided to meet with you."

"Meet? Meet with me?" Jack was shocked. Although he had waited for a long time to hear the Man in the Moon's words again—to hear him speak to him again—Jack just couldn't understand. "Why?"

Instead of answering him, North merely gave him a look that both asked Jack to be patient and asked him to be at his best behavior, before the old Guardian took a gilded scepter and rang the gong. Jack stepped back as the gong rang, sending a beautiful melody around.

And then came the bright display of lights that emanated from the crystal gong. The winter spirit had to close his eyes and shield them from the light. When the lights died down and Jack opened his eyes, he saw, for the first time, the rotund face of the Man in the Moon.

"Hello, Jack Frost," Tsar Lunar smiled at the young Guardian who was wide-eyed at seeing him for the first time. "I am Tsar Lunar, the Man in the Moon. And I have a mission of great importance just for you."