A Rise of the Guardians / Guardians of Childhood Fanfic

By Sakura Martinez

Author's Note:

A bit of a long chapter here for you guys. Though I have to warn you, right now, that this is an AU. Well, technically, the whole FF is, but this chapter, extremely so. Especially in regards to Bunnymund's past…and his actions.

I apologize if some of you may not like it. This has to be done for the sake of the plot…As always, there are things in the movie/books that didn't happen. And, well…just read and (hopefully) enjoy. Also, don't forget to review, 'kay? :)

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 Twenty-Four

The Queen of the Night

Everything was peaceful. Well, as peaceful as the Amazons could be. The sounds of rushing river, the leaves of trees and bushes dancing in the wind, and the cries of numerous nocturnal animals created a symphony that could only be found at that part of the world.

But that relative peacefulness disappeared the moment Nyx came slithering. The sounds of rushing river became muted, as if the river itself didn't want to sing for the half-human, half-snake creature. The leaves and the bushes stood as still as they were capable of. The nocturnal animals scampered and flew away, the sound of their retreat was the only thing that broke the silence.

Throughout the Amazons, everything was at a standstill. And this kind of homecoming welcome was something the Queen of the Night loved. The fear and the anxiety that she brought? It fed her; strengthened her.

But sowing fear isn't the only reason why Nyx had made a pit stop at the Amazons. There was something hidden within its bowels that she needed if she intended to completely seal of the Pookas' extinction.

So on Nyx slithered to her destination, snaking on helpless creatures she came across with along her way.

"Where the bloody hell is Frost?" Bunnymund asked angrily, though the question—and his anger—was not directed at anyone in particular. He wasn't even sure why he was feeling angry all of a sudden.

"If he is not feeling well, he couldn't have gotten very far," North said as a reply as he looked past the open window and into the raging storm. "Whatever caused Jack to leave…it must have really angered him if he's throwing such tantrum."

"But…what could that reason be?" Toothiana managed to ask, her head was filled with swirling thoughts and questions as to how she could have missed Jack feeling angry about something. "It couldn't have been what happened to Nathalie. He knows were already preparing for that. And he really did look sick before, he couldn't have been faking that."

'Then something must have happened after you sent him off to rest,' the Sandman said, pointing out the only plausible explanation for them at that moment.

North nodded, "Now the question is: what?"

Nyx's reptilian eyes shone with glee as she stood before the large structure ravaged by time and neglect that had once been her castle. It had been such a long time that seeing it still in one piece made all the plans she had for E. Aster Bunnymund's demise all the more possible.

But, firsssst…

The Queen of the Night entered her castle which had been overgrown by trees, vines, and other plants. The smell of decay permeated the air and skeletons of dead animals littered the floor. Yet the signs of abandonment didn't deter Nyx from what she sought.

Deeper in she went, bypassing many crisscrossing halls along the way and down several flights of stairs all in the company of darkness, for not even the Moon would shine down on that malevolent place.

When she arrived at the lowest level, she craned her head to listen for the noises she knew she would hear. The whole castle looked deserted, but in truth it wasn't. She knew her people were still there, hiding, bidding their time—as she instructed them to.

Soon, Nyx found herself in the middle of an underground cavern. She took a good look of her surroundings before she spoke in barely a whisper, saying, "Come out, my prettiessss. Your Queen hassss returned!"

No sooner had she uttered those words did a sound a thousand—maybe even hundreds of thousands!—of snakes erupted, filling the entirety of the cavern as it echoed like the gushing of water or the swaying of hundreds of leaves, only deadlier as serpentine creatures—one more venomous than the other—began crawling to welcome and meet their leader.

The lewd smile on Nyx's face widened as these creatures fought to get close to her. Those who succeeded slithered their way up her arms and legs. She could feel their exuberance in her return and their desire to feed.

"Don't worry, you all will feed sssooon," She cooed at them. "And it will be a feasssst for the agessss!"

The hiss of the hordes of snakes became louder.

Jackie had a feeling something was terribly wrong when the Guardians returned with a perplexed and alarmed look on their faces—a look, he noticed, they were trying to hide from him and from everyone. He wanted to ask them if Jack was alright, but the young boy decided to hold his tongue. He didn't want to trouble and annoy them further.

Even though he was just a child, Jackie was very perceptive. He understood—even as those around him tried to hide it—the enormity of the situation; that his twin sister was in a lot more trouble than they wanted him to believe or wanted him to know; that his being there—at the Pole—was only momentary and that they were already debating on where to take him next.

And that was why Jackie decided to keep quiet; to act the way they expected him to, even when he was wracked with worry and fear for his friends and most certainly for his sister.

"I really don't want to trouble anyone, Phil," the little boy murmured to the Yeti who had been tasked to look after him. "They really didn't need to bring me here, even though seeing this whole place was pretty cool."

The Yeti growled and mumbled something that Jackie could only guess were kind words in reply to his honest comment. After which, Phil patted the boy in the head making the boy laugh.

"I'm not going to remember much about this, am I?" Jackie asked. He already knew the answer, but he held out hope that it would be different for him than it was for his father.

Phil shook his head, looking apologetic.

"That's too bad," Jackie tried his best to hide that he was disappointed. "I'm pretty sure not a lot of people can say they've hanged out with a Sasquatch."

Bunnymund had returned to his turf, asking for some time to collect his thoughts soon after they had found Jack was not in his room. He walked silently down the corridors of his Warren, thinking about the events that had transpired and Jack Frost's disappearing act—which was something that bothered the Easter Bunny as much as it annoyed him.

That bloke, he thought to himself. He knows how short we are on man power; he knows we can't just go off without a word or warning to anyone; he knows Jackie is here…and yet he flies off somewhere and is—judging by that snowstorm—throwing some kind of tantrum.

Those thoughts made Bunnymund frown even more. He knows Jackie is with us…he doesn't have any reason to run off in a hurry. And the others are right when they said Jack wouldn't go by himself to save Nathalie if he figured something out. So, what could be his reason? What more could there be?

Bunnymund tried to think of anything he knew about the winter spirit, but Jack Frost's past was shady to him at best—which in and of itself was a problem for the ancient Pooka who had once known everything there was to know. He had been a keeper of knowledge—of secrets!—it was unthinkable that he found himself facing one secret after another that he knew nothing about.

Perhaps E. Aster Bunnymund was thinking too hard, but before he had time to realize it, his feet had brought him to a room he had not visited in eons.

Bunnymund looked up and around, shocked to see himself inside the room that held all the memories of his friends and family—of all the Pookas who had lived and died. Although he kept the room—along with artefacts from each and every Pooka alive—intact, the last remaining Pooka tried his best not to stray to that room for it held far too many painful memories for him.

His family, his friends, the entirety of his race had been killed in a war that none of them wanted to be a part of but had been dragged into. It was a war that affected by the rise of Pitch Black and the war between light and darkness that soon followed. It was a war that started with a woman, and ended with her as well.

The Pooka shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about that—all of that. It was in the past now. And he most certainly shouldn't have his mind wandering to the cause of it—the woman who had been cursed to live as one of the most hideous creatures out of another Pooka's spite.

It was that decision—that lone decision made without consulting the council—that had, unknowingly, sealed the fate of his people.

"I shouldn't be here," Bunnymund muttered to himself, quickly turning around. Just being in that room was reminding him of the sin he had committed against his fellows—one that he could never take back.

But just as he was about to leave the room, the ground shook and several of the artefacts fell down. Some of them were smashed into bits, others ended up getting a crack. The earthquake lasted for a lot longer than Bunnymund would have like, and when it finally stopped and the aftershocks that occurred were a lot less powerful and less dizzying for the Pooka, Bunnymund couldn't help but think of how much of a coincidence it was.

It's either that or this is a really bad omen…

And he didn't like it. Not one bit.

They had begun to move, and there was not one amongst them who did not look forward to what was about to happen. They did not know what had changed with their Queen, except that she now wields a power that was at par with that of the Man in the Moon. Whatever their Queen had done, whatever allegiances she had formed, they had a consensus that it was all worth it.

Each of them remembers. Each of them have their own vendetta against the last remaining Pooka. But over the years since the last war they had waged, their numbers—although having grown to the hundreds of thousands—were no match for E. Aster Bunnymund, especially with the Man in the Moon in his side.

But now, there was a shift in the balance of power—a subtle one, but a shift nonetheless. It was what they were all waiting for. After many years, a chance was finally being given to them.

As they scurried and slithered their way to the Warren, making use of the ancient pathways they had remembered taking, the hisses grew louder, their mouths began to water. The promise of revenge was too enticing.

But while all of them were thinking about how best to kill the Pooka from whom all of their troubles began, Nyx was lost in her own memories, revisiting everything and building up the anger and resentment she had been harboring even more.

There lived a young woman, the prettiest and smartest woman in her time. Her looks were the envy of others. Her brains the envy of scholars and thinkers, of architects and inventors. Despite all that she was and the promises of all that she could be, she was kind and humble; her days spent on learning and studying, of bettering herself in hopes that she could, in turn, make her village an even better place.

She would coop herself up in her room day in and day out with books and parchments littered about and would seldom leave. The oil in her house would burn throughout the night and on to the morning, and questions would surface if she ever slept. There were times when weeks would pass with no one seeing the village beauty, which is why many people thought her strange.

Her quest for knowledge often pitted her against a number of people in various fields, and often required her to venture out into the wilds at night. Regardless of how dark and black the night was, she would continue to roam about, unafraid of what the shadows might bring.

She didn't mind it, though. Even though she could have everything she wanted, the young woman preferred solitude. Still, their village was not without kind-hearted people who defended her whenever they got the chance.

One night, while Nylexia was out studying the herbs and flowers that grew with the Moonlight's touch, she caught sight of the most peculiar thing. At first, she thought it to be a big furry man. Later, she would think of it as a giant mammal—one that had never been seen before. But whatever it was she saw in the forest that night had piqued her curiosity so much that she ended up devoting her time to figuring out what it was and learning all there is to know about such creature.

Every night since then, Nylexia would go out in search of the creature believing that it thrived in nighttime. But try as she might, she found no clues and returned with no new knowledge than from when she left. It would appear as though the shadows had merely been playing tricks on her. Soon, those who scorned her—as most people who fail to understand others do—took to making fun of her bizarre actions, and began calling her 'the Queen of the Night'. Still, she persevered. She promised herself she wouldn't rest until she had gotten to the bottom of the mystery.

After many months of searching, Nylexia found her big break! She came across a footprint that was unlike any other. It was a footprint not made my any man or any animal, for it was much too big. And in the middle of that footprint was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen.

She took to the direction of where the footprint was heading, and once again found a dead end. And so, she returned to the footprint and the flower, 'Maybe I am missing something,' she thought to herself.

Every night she returned to that spot, believing—as most with an inquiring mind would—that whomever or whatever made it would return there. She never stopped, even when it was raining so hard and she was drenched from head to toe.

Unbeknownst to the young woman, however, she was not alone. Someone was watching her with the same bubbling curiosity. And each time she returned, his curiosity would double.

'Why,' he wondered, 'does this human find such a trivial thing so fascinating?'

]~[

The days of watching and waiting turned into months, which soon became years. Nylexia turned into even a bigger recluse than she was before she found the footprint with the flower. Yet, despite how much of a blatant disregard she had for what she looked like, her beauty did not diminish. In fact, it seemed to even blossom, making all the other maidens and their mothers that much more jealous of her.

But like always, Nylexia did not care at all about them. She continued on toiling, in search for answers. Until, one day, the creature who had left that footprint appeared before her.

'You're such a curious human,' a being cloaked by the shadows of the forest spoke from behind her, causing Nylexia to jump and whirl around in fright. 'Why do you keep waiting and searching? What good will it do you to find the answers that you seek? Isn't human life fleeting? Shouldn't you give your time to something more…productive?'

The questions surprised Nylexia, even as she tried to squint through the darkness to know whom the voice belonged to.

In reply, she answered, 'It's because I want to know the answer to the question I had devoted my life in. I don't need a deeper reason than that. Now, I ask you my own question: Who are you?'

The shadowy figure thought for a moment on how to best answer that question. Despite how easily one could have answered it, he knew how dangerous the question truly was. He knew he should keep to secrecy, there was nothing more to be learned from the human. After all, he had obtained the answer he sought. And yet, there was this indescribable pull. It was a force powerful enough to make him throw caution into the wind and not only introduce himself, but show himself to her as well.

An audible gasp escaped Nylexia's lips when she saw it was not a man who spoke to her. It wasn't even human. It was a human-sized rabbit with chocolate brown fur who wore a pair of googles over his eyes and a long, white coat, standing on its hind legs. The realization of what she was seeing, however, turned that gasp into a scream and before the human-like rabbit could tell her not to be frightened, Nylexia was already screaming and running away.

That was how Nylexia and E. Aster Bunnymund first met. And it wasn't their last, for when Nylexia got her bearings again, what she thought of all the things such a strange creature could tell her, she returned—days later—to the spot where they had met, the place with the footprint and the flowers.

She had thought the rabbit would no longer be there. After all, it had been a week since she ran like a scared little girl away. So one could imagine her surprise—and relief—that the rabbit was there when she returned.

'You're still here!' she exclaimed, excited by the prospect of being able to converse with him.

'Curious human, why are you happy now when you showed outright fear of me before?' the rabbit asked, 'What changed?'

'My…perception,' was Nylexia's answer.

No one could really say what E. Aster Bunnymund found in that answer, or what meaning there was to it, but whatever it was he saw made the Pooka relax. Thus began the friendship of the human and the ancient rabbit.

It was a friendship that bloomed in secrecy as each shared not just secrets but knowledge as well—something which was strongly frowned upon by the others of Bunnymund's kind. Yet, despite this knowledge, Bunnymund couldn't help himself. He wanted to show-off his knowledge to the human; to let her see how vast his knowledge was. It was a strange feeling for the Pooka.

To say that Nylexia was awed and amazed by everything she had learned, would be putting it mildly. She treasured each moment she got to spend with him, and the knowledge she accumulated. She kept his secrets, and guarded everything he had thought her as though it was the most precious of gems—which, for the human, it was. And as they spent every day together, both grew to care for the other.

But cracks began to form between their relationship on a day when Nylexia failed to meet with him. At first, Bunnymund thought that something merely came up—that perhaps Nylexia couldn't leave the village. But when the days she failed to meet with him began to stack up, that worry turned into confusion, which later planted seeds of doubt.

Those seeds pushed Bunnymund to go beyond the safety of the forest and into the borders of the village. There, Bunnymund saw something that changed not only his life and Nylexia's life, but the lives of all the Pookas. For there Bunnymund saw her in the arms of another man, a human; and there Bunnymund saw her look at the human in a way that she never looked at him before.

An emotion Bunnymund had never felt before overwhelmed him at that moment and the seeds of doubt turned into jealousy over the young human and the connection he and Nylexia had. It was at that moment—as Bunnymund silently disappeared back into the forest—that his brain began to devise a way that would bring Nylexia back to him.

]~[

Nylexia had never felt so happy before. She never dreamt anything like this could happen to her—of all people! For so long she had been ostracized, and in the recent years since she has been spending time in the forest by herself, she had also lost a lot of the people whom she had once called a friend. But now…now she had someone who sees her for who she truly was; who loved the things she loved; who looks beyond the strange, and the weird, and who isn't only attracted to her good looks.

To have found love in another and for someone to love her. It was amazing…and something she never would have thought would be possible. That was all she could think of. He was all she could think of. The young man who had fallen in love with her—and whom she had fallen in love with—could only think of her as well. Not only that, but he was also kind. There was never a hurtful word that escaped his lips. His shoulders were broad and strong, and his eyes had fire in them yet softened whenever they were locked on hers.

If Nylexia believed in fairytales and happily-ever-after's, being with Amar and being able to live with him with be hers. And she really did believe that she had found her happily-ever-after with him. That was, until one stormy night, when he suddenly disappeared without a trace. She looked everywhere for him, but she couldn't find him. Even when the whole village had pit in to help search for the missing young man, they could still not find any trace of him.

'If he is nowhere to be found in the village, then that would leave the forest.' She thought to herself. And so, she decided to go to the one person she knew—at that point—could help.

When she got to their meeting spot, she found—as always—Bunnymund sitting atop one of the giant moss-ridden rocks, humming to himself. His ears twitched as she approached, and slowly he turned to look at her.

'Bunnymund,' she called out to him, ready to get the search going. 'I need your help. A dear friend of mine has gone missing and we couldn't find him.'

'Why come to me?' Bunnymund asked, perplexed. 'What happens with humans are none of my concern. After all, Pookas are only meant to watch…we don't muddle with other people's business…unless, of course, we are forced to.'

'Well,' Nylexia replied. She never thought Bunnymund could sound so disinterested as he was sounding then. 'I thought perhaps he has entered the forest. Maybe you can help.'

Bunnymund shook his head. 'I won't be able to help you find this friend of yours. It's much too late.'

'Then we can begin tomorrow!'

'That is not exactly what I meant,' Bunnymund replied. 'It is much too late for him. He crossed over to where no human should.'

'What do you mean?' Nylexia asked. 'What are you talking about, Bunnymund?'

'You humans have full reign over this forest, but there are some places you shouldn't be. And, likewise, there are things you should never disturb,' Bunnymund replied, then he looked at the ground, to the direction where Nylexia knew the footprint and the flower—both left by Bunnymund, himself—was. She followed his gaze and found that, although the footprint was still there, the flower was not.

'There are some things that shouldn't be toyed with. There are some things that should be left alone.' Bunnymund went on.

Slowly Nylexia took a step back. It was like she was back to the first time she had seen Bunnymund as she once again felt fear towards him. In a whisper that both held fear and disbelief, she asked, 'Bunnymund, what did you do? What did you do to him?'

Bunnymund met her frightened and hurt-filled gaze with a stone-cold one. It was the first—and the last time—Bunnymund would ever look at someone like that.

'I did what I had to,' were the words that condemned the fate of E. Aster Bunnymund and his kind.

As soon as Nylexia heard those words, she fled the forest, crying in hurt and anger. Though Bunnymund never told her what, exactly, he had done to Amar, she knew then that she could never forgive him. And so, she vowed vengeance against him and swore to inflict the same pain to him that he did to her.

And as always, where there is anger, fear, and resentment, there is always darkness. And where darkness thrives, the Fearlings are never too far behind.

Slowly, but surely, the Fealings warped Nylexia, feeding off the darkness that was in her heart. Her anger and thirst for revenge became their fuel, and the more Nylexia clinged into these dark and ancient beings, the more she transformed until she was no longer the envy of the town—but something the town feared.

And thus, Nyx, the Queen of the Night, was born.

Seeing the ancient artefacts stirred those memories within Bunnymund. Had he known the consequences of his action—that Nylexia would morphed into the very creature who would put his people to the brink of destruction—he would have done things differently; he would have just let go and allowed her to live her life with the human.

But he was a fool back then. An arrogant fool. And it took the destruction of his home and the death of his people for him to see that—though it took much longer for him to accept that it, ultimately, was his fault.

Sighing, Bunnymund shook his head, 'Why am I even rememberin' these things?' he wondered. Before he could continue on that trail of thought, however, the ground once again shook. This time, the quake was far stronger than it was before.

And then he heard it. A sound like water rushing in. It was only when the wall burst open did Bunnymund realized it wasn't running water he was hearing.

It was the inevitable.

It was the Queen of the Night.