A Rise of the Guardians / Guardians of Childhood Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez
Author's Note:
So, yeah…December was pretty busy for me, especially since I just released my book last month, hence my inability to update as frequently as I would have liked. Anyways, I want to dedicate this chapter to Catapapalilar x3who reviewed the previous chapter, thereby sending me an email from FFN about a new review and reminding me that I haven't updated this fanfic in a while…not to mention the other readers who added this story to their favorites and alert list.
Hope you all enjoy. Also, Happy New Year to everyone! Read and review! :D
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-Eight
The Return of Jack Frost
The wind could not be any faster, even if it wanted to. And it did. The urgency of the situation made it hustle more than it is used to—and that is saying something. Even with Jack Frost, the newly-crowned Winter King and long-time closest friend, urging the wind to hasten, it still couldn't be fast enough for both of them.
The look on Jack Frost's face told how worried and frightened he was for Toothiana's safety. His feelings calling forth snow—and occasional hail—to the places he passed by, some melting to rain before it hit the ground. Other places where there snow never fell was suddenly buffeted by it. He kept praying, hoping, and believing that Toothiana and her Mini Fairies were well, knowing how difficult the battle she was facing was, for the wind had told him that she was fighting against the Monkey King, himself.
If anything happens to Toothiana, Jack thought to himself as he and the wind rushed towards Punjam Hy Loo, I'm going to make sure the Monkey King pays for it with his life.
News, when it comes to spirits, travels fast—especially if one is in the presence of other spirits. After all, every one of them had friends and helpers to tell them of the latest gossip. So, when the word spread of the Winter King's death by the hands of an unknown flame spirit, and when news broke of the coronation of his successor, everyone was surprised.
When the Mini Fairies who had been tasked to search for Jack heard about the newly-crowned king's name, they thought it was a mistake. They even thought it was someone else. Never would they have imagined that Jack Frost—their Jack Frost—would be chosen to lead the Winter Kingdom.
'Well, we might as well check and see if it really is true,' one of the Mini Fairies said.
'We've got nothing to lose. Besides, they might know something.' Agreed another.
And so, the half-dozen Mini Fairies rushed to the direction of Antarctica, hoping that the wind would help propel them forward and would keep them from freezing over or exhausting themselves too much.
As the Mini Fairies were all flying as fast as they could towards Antarctica, they felt a cold wind blow. It was a familiar feeling. And despite the frigid temperature it brought, for the Mini Fairies, it was associated to a warm welcome—a tell that Jack Frost as around. The quickly scanned their surroundings, and upon seeing a flash of something silver, made their way towards it.
To say that Jack Frost was surprised when the group of Mini Fairies appeared before him, would be an understatement. He had thought that they were with their Queen, helping her out. He had wanted them there, knowing that Toothiana would need all the support she could get.
Jack found it curious that the others were not with Toothiana. He had asked the Wind where the other were, but even the Wind knew so little about their whereabouts that it only served to fuel Jack's worry even more.
'Jack!' cried one of the Mini Fairies who immediately beeline at him. 'We've been looking for you! Queen Toothiana, she—'
"I know," Jack nodded and added in a reassuring way, "The Monkey King attacked is fighting with her. I heard the news, I'm heading to Punjam Hy Loo now."
Jack knew the Mini Fairies were connected to Toothiana. They shared a bond that cannot easily be broken. But the surprise and shocked looks on the faces of the Mini Fairies before him, told him that this was news to them.
"What?" Jack frowned, though he did not slow down his flight speed. "Didn't you girls know she was in trouble?"
The Mini Fairies looked at each other, confused looks were on their faces, before they turned their attention back at Jack and shook their heads in reply.
'Queen Toothiana only asked us to find you because she was worried,' a Mini Fairy admitted. 'We didn't know trouble had erupted in the palace. We didn't sense it…'
Jack focused his sights on the direction the Wind was taking him, his mouth a thin line. "Can you sense anything from her now?" He was afraid to ask, but he knew he had to.
The Mini Fairies tapped into their collective consciousness—that pool of thought that connected them with their Queen—as they flew beside the newly-crowned Winter King. After a full second, they all looked at Jack, the worried expression on their faces told Jack the answer to his query.
And it was not an answer he liked.
There was a commotion in the Tooth Palace. Every single Mini Fairy, as far as Jackie could see, seemed more restless than ever. Even Baby Tooth, who stood out from her sisters and who always seemed so calm and collected, was acting strange. Jackie wished he could understand them, maybe then he could help ease their worries—whatever those worries were.
But as Jackie could do no such thing, he was left to watch and feel worried for them. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his friends. He also couldn't help but think that, with the way the Mini Fairies were acting, something bad might have happened to Queen Toothiana, herself.
Meanwhile, Baby Tooth was trying her best to stay calm. Even when she felt like screaming inside. Like all of her sisters, the connection they had with their Queen had suddenly been severed. And none of them knew why.
Baby Tooth wanted to go out and search for their Queen—just like her sisters wanted to do as well—but she couldn't. And neither could they. Something strange was afoot—a powerful presence that was keeping them locked inside the palace. It was a nightmare. Baby Tooth and the other Mini Fairies didn't just think of the whereabouts of their Queen and her well-being, they were also thinking about the number of teeth that were piling up, waiting to be claimed. They could not stay inside the palace much longer, lest the children start to lose faith and belief in them as well when they wake up and find their tooth still there. That would only serve as a repeat of what happened during the Battle of Belief.
'What are we going to do, Baby Tooth?' One of her sisters asked her. As to why she would be asked that question and be looked up to as someone who could have a solution, Baby Tooth didn't know. She was, after all, the youngest of them all.
'I don't know,' she admitted, it would do no one any good if she pretended she had an answer up her sleeves. 'I just hope Queen Toothiana, and our sisters outside, are alright.'
Toothiana hated her predicament. She hated herself for being so careless and for not being able to use her wings. But most of all, she hated the Monkey King and that abominable weapon he now has in his hands.
The Queen of the Toothfairies didn't need to ask the Maharaja what the weapon was, nor where the cursed human had obtained such a thing. The Monkey King himself gloated about it as Toothiana hobbled after its tip had struck her and sucked a fraction of her energy away. That fraction lost caused some of the Mini Fairies that were with her to disappear.
"Impressive, isn't it? Much more impressive than that ruby-tipped arrow that I had tried to use against your mother," the Monkey King had said, looking at the scimitar that glowed with malevolent light in his hands. "I would never have thought the Nightmare King capable of doing such a feat. I never even pegged him for someone who practices magic."
Toothiana saw it as an opportunity to know whatever plans Pitch Black had up his sleeve, and so she said nothing. She waited for that moment when the Maharaja would divulge with her the information the Guardians need. She knew, after all, how much the Monkey King enjoyed running his mouth, gloating, and spilling secrets when he believed he had won.
True enough, the Monkey King went on with his spiel.
"As demented as the Nightmare King is—and how much I do not trust him all that fully—I have to admit, Pitch Black does have his moments," the Monkey King said. "Who would have thought that he would use the Man in the Moon's own Moonbeams against the lot of you? As loathed as I am to admit it, such a thing never crossed my mind. And to infuse those Moonbeams he had turned evil into our weapons—weapons, may I add, that were already made from the earth's core—it certainly provided us with the means to destroy those who bow down to the Man in the Moon and oppose us. I certainly wish I was the one who thought of all that. Perhaps then the rest of the Fright Knights would look to me with respect!"
Pitch Black infected the Moonbeams with his darkness? That's…how can that be possible? How did he learn to do such a thing, and without the knowledge of Tsar Lunar as well…? Toothiana couldn't help but frown at the Monkey King's words, even when her attention was divided into listening to him divulge their secrets and trying to find a way out of the mess she was in. And it would seem that Pitch really had formed an alliance…'the Fright Knights'…
"But, I digress," the Maharaja went on speaking. It didn't occur to him that perhaps it wasn't awe or fear that had kept Harim and Rashmi's daughter from speaking. It didn't occur to him that perhaps Toothiana was merely bidding her time. His pride at seeing his enemy in his mercy kept him from thinking of such possibilities. "The fact is, you can expect no help will come for you. As I have mentioned before, your so-called 'friends'—the other Guardians—are currently facing their own…shall we say…demons."
"What have you done with them?" Toothiana found herself asking, wondering if the reason why Jack was missing was because of the Monkey King. She balled her fist, If something has happened to Jack because of me…
"Me?" The Maharaja laughed, "You give me far too much compliment, your majesty. I had nothing to do with it. I—just like the rest of the Fright Knights—had merely been asked to do whatever we want; given free reign by Pitch Black himself to finish the battles we had left unresolved. Our battle is mine."
Toothiana bit her lip. She wanted to ask the Monkey King directly what had befallen Jack Frost, but she didn't want him to use it against her. She was already distracted enough as it was.
"Now, enough chit-chat," the Monkey King leered, as he turned his full attention back at Toothiana. The time for talking has passed. It was time to finish the job, and the Monkey King knew there was no escape now for the creature he had hunted for a very long time. "Shall we end this, your majesty? I have a lot more things to do once we are done here, after all."
Toothiana readied herself, cursing whatever was keeping her from letting her Mini Fairies know of the trouble she was with. Part of her was glad, however, that they were not around. She didn't know if she could still bring back the other Mini Fairies who were lost because of the Monkey King's accursed weapon.
The Queen didn't want to admit the possibility of it, but she knew that she was at a disadvantage. With her twin knives in hand, Toothiana hoped that she would, at least, give a good fight. Maybe even bring the Maharaja down with her, if that would aid Tsar Lunar and the other Guardians in their plight against Pitch Black and his newly-formed Fright Knights.
But just as the Monkey King was about to charge at Toothiana, a powerful blast hit the Maharaja square in his gut and sent him flying, hitting trees as he was pushed by a tremendous force. And before Toothiana or the Monkey King knew what was happening, a whirlwind of snow, ice, and hail, erupted as the Winter King descended upon the base of Punjam Hy Loo.
Jack Frost had arrived, and just in the nick of time!
"Jack?" Toothiana didn't think it was Jack at first. She had been so used to seeing the Winter Spirit his old clothes that seeing him in anything but those threw her off. If the Mini Fairies she had sent off to find them weren't with him, it might have taken her a second or two to realize who her rescuer was. Never mind the fact that it bewildered her and made her wonder why Jack decided to don such clothing. He didn't seem the type to wear something so frivolous and somewhat fancy, after all.
Jack cocked his head to his side, and smirked at her. He was amused by the way she called out her name, like she didn't know if it really was him. Briefly, Jack Frost wondered if Tooth had thought him a mirage—an illusion.
"Sorry, I'm late," he smiled apologetically at her, knowing being late wasn't the only thing he needed to apologize for. He would put aside time later for that.
At that moment, however, Jack turned his attention at the creature that had attempted to kill a friend of his. The kind and warm smile that he had given the Queen of the Toothfairies disappeared, and was replaced by a glare so fierce and icy that it looked so foreign on him.
"Come out, monkey," the Winter King called out. "From the stories I've heard from my friends, you're not one so easily defeated by an attack such as that."
An arrow flew at him in response—one that Jack deflected with a flick of his finger. It surprised Toothiana that Jack didn't even need to make use of his staff. The only time Jack's powers didn't require for him to use the staff was when he was breathing out magic, or calling forth snowflakes.
If that wasn't strange enough, Toothiana also noticed how the Wind seem to be moving to defend Jack even without his behest. As close as friends the two were, Toothiana had never seen—nor heard—of the Wind doing something like that. The Wind, after all, was one of the spirits who only watch and do not necessarily ally themselves with anyone. He would only help ferry sprits—allow them to ride with him—but never blatantly defend them. Jack Frost would have to be the first one the Wind ever did that for.
What's going on? Toothiana couldn't help but wonder as the Mini Fairies that were with Jack flew towards her, checking up on her and making sure she was alright.
As Jack fought against the Monkey King—who used every trick he knew to defeat Jack—Toothiana turned her attention to the Mini Fairies.
'Are you alright, your majesty?' One of them asked, worry oozed from them in waves. 'Did the Maharaja injure you?'
'If we knew you were being attacked, we would have rushed back,' another one commented. 'We only learned what was happening when Jack told us when we found him rushing here.'
"So that's how you found him," Toothiana nodded, although her Mini Fairies didn't really 'find' Jack Frost. With the frown of confusion still plastered on her face she asked, "Did he tell you what happened to him…he doesn't just look different, I have this strange feeling that he is different…"
The Mini Fairies looked at each other, before they spoke in unison with a mischievous glint in their eyes saying, 'You'll have to personally ask him that, your majesty.'
Suffice to say, Toothiana began to wonder what kind of trouble Jack got himself into this time.
The Monkey King didn't expect to come across the Frost-brat. He had thought—as with all of his cohorts—he was being taken care of by Pyro. To see Jack Frost—Pitch Black's most hated adversary next to Tsar Lunar—at that moment threw the Monkey King off. His plans were in danger of being destroyed.
What is Pyro Jack doing? He wondered, confused and aggravated by the unexpected turn of events. Why is Jack Frost here, of all places? Pyro should be dealing with him!
Arrow after arrow he let fly towards the Guardian of Fun, growing frustrated with each passing moment and with each time those arrows were swatted off, like it was nothing more but flies. Of course, the Maharaja knew those arrows alone couldn't hope to defeat Jack Frost. But he had thought, after what Pyro had done—that little "test run" Pitch Black had ordered him to do—that Jack Frost would be weaker. Much weaker. The strength that Frost was displaying, however, went against what he was told and led to believe.
But I will not give up so easily. The Monkey King swore to himself. I will destroy Toothiana. Even if it is the last thing I do.
It amazed Jack Frost how much stronger he had gotten without the need to train himself, or strain himself. He could feel the power that had been transferred—given to him—by the deceased Winter King swirling inside of him.
He didn't expect something like that to happen. He thought the crown only had with it mountainous volumes of responsibility. Even though he was still apprehensive about being crowned the new Winter King, at that particular moment, Jack Frost was glad. He didn't know the extent of the Monkey King's powers, but if the accursed creature had caused Toothiana problems, Jack figured he would be as problematic as Pyro Jack was.
I'm going to take every help that I am given, Jack thought to himself. I won't let anything happen to Toothiana.
With that in mind, Jack focused held his staff tighter in one hand—and to ensure that the Monkey King would not be able to hide from him and let any more arrows loose on him and Toothiana—waved his staff creating an arc of cold and icy air that immediately rushed towards where the Monkey King was. Everything this arc touched turned frozen.
Not wanting to end up as a Monkey Popsicle, the Maharaja jumped out of the way, thereby allowing the Guardian of Fun to pinpoint his exact location. Wasting no time, Jack propelled himself to the enemy, his staff glowing and swirling with magic just waiting to be unleashed.
It was at that point that the Maharaja threw the crossbow he had been holding and unsheathed the cursed scimitar.
When Jack saw the blade, and the familiar glow it gave off, he hesitated in his attack and instead opted to jump back and away from the monkey.
Seeing the way Jack responded to seeing the weapon in his hands, the Monkey King grinned.
Perhaps there really is a way for me to win this, even against Jack Frost himself. The Monkey King thought to himself, his mind beginning to devise a way.
"Feels familiar, doesn't it, Jack Frost?" the Monkey King sneered. "It should, after all, it is made from the same material that Pyro had tested on you."
Jack frowned, So that's why!
Toothiana decided, at that moment, to share to Jack what the Maharaja had said, "The blade is made from the earth's core, Jack! It has also been touched by magic. Dark magic. The Moonbeams, Pitch corrupted them and turned them evil!"
"What?" Jack was surprised to hear that, while the Monkey King was annoyed that Toothiana told the winter spirit that.
"Now why would you go and tell him that, your majesty?" the Monkey King spat, glaring at Toothiana. "Where is the fun in telling him that?"
"You should have thought twice about gloating and sharing that information with me then," Toothiana retorted, glad that she managed to render the Maharaja speechless with it.
Having felt that she was rested enough, and could once again fight, Toothiana then stood up and walked to stand beside Jack, her Mini Fairies surrounding her. Even though she still couldn't make use of her wings, Toothiana felt that she could still do something to help Jack Frost.
Jack, of course, would rather she stay out of the fight, "Leave this to me, Tooth."
"Not a chance, Jack." Tooth replied, she was going to be adamant about it if needed. "The Maharaja is my opponent, and although I am glad that you're here to fight him with me, I am not going to sit this one out. We're going to do this together."
Jack shook his head, but smiled nonetheless. "Alright, but it might be hard for you to fight like that." To the Wind he then said, "Wind, you think you could give Queen Toothiana a hand? We have a monkey that needs to be taught a lesson."
The Wind, in response, swirled around Toothiana and lifted her gently up. Surprising her even more, the Wind said, 'Just tell me what you want to do, Queen Toothiana.'
Toothiana could only nod, once again confused as to why Jack could command the Wind and why the wind would follow. She itched to know the answers to her questions, and it made her want to finish the battle at hand in a hurry even more.
"Ready?" Jack asked her.
It was really strange, yet Toothiana managed to nod in response.
The way the Mini Fairies all flew towards their Queen when they arrived at the palace, coddling her, said enough of how worried the little creatures were. Even Baby Tooth joined in, which didn't happen a lot unless she was really, really worried. It was the first time the Mini Fairies paid him no mind when he arrived. Watching them, Jack couldn't help chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Jackie asked, wondering what was going on. He followed the question with another one, "And where have you been, Jack? Queen Toothiana said you left for something important."
Jack had a troubled and far-away look in his eyes when he replied, "You could say that. I…was paying an old friend a visit for one last time."
"An old friend?" Jackie asked, curious. "Who?"
Toothiana heard Jackie's question, having piqued her curiosity even before, she also wanted to know where the winter spirit had been…and maybe give him a piece of her mind for making them all worry about him like that.
"The Winter King," was Jack's answer, and the way he answered made him sound guarded.
"You went back to Antarctica? To the Winter Palace?" it was Tooth who asked, "I thought you said you've been banished from there."
"Well, apparently, the king thought I've been banished long enough." Jack smiled that mischievous smile of his. Toothiana noticed that the smile didn't reach his eyes, however. "And, well…I don't think it would look good for the kingdom if they chose to keep imposing that on me."
Toothiana raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"The King…Pyro attacked him and managed to kill him," Jack looked away, anger clouding his features and darkening the sky outside. "He did it to get to me."
"Oh, Jack," Toothiana said as she walked towards him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. She had yet to regain her ability to fly, and the Wind had stopped carrying her around after the Monkey King had run away. "I'm so sorry. What's going to happen to the Winter Kingdom without him?"
"Ah…well…" Jack was embarrassed, his face blushing in a way that confused Toothiana. But Jack didn't really know how to tell her what had happened; who he was supposed to be now. It still felt…strange, bizarre, that he would hold such a title. "The King made…precautions. They told me he was sick and dying even before Pyro came and attacked the palace. He had already picked an heir."
"Who?" came the obvious question.
Jack looked at Toothiana for the first time since their conversation started, and replied, "Me. I'm the new Winter King."
