A Rise of the Guardians / Guardians of Childhood Fanfic

By Sakura Martinez

Author's Notes:

Ahhh...it has been quite a while hasn't it? I've tried my best to make sure the wait didn't seem all that long with all the one-shots that I released prior to this update, but it can only do so much...especially if you are interested and have been invested in this fanfic.

I suppose, this chapter should be enough to make up for it in some way. Be forewarned, this is a long one. 12,697 words—give or take—long.

For those who would rather have short, bursts of chapters and who are wondering why I couldn't have just divided this up even more, I have to say that three chapters dedicated to Katherine's back-story is enough, and there really is no way to cut this chapter up in parts that I felt comfortable with.

In this chapter, I have merged two of the Guardians of Childhood books and took liberties with adding, deleting, changing some things here and there. Which is why some would find this chapter quite familiar...especially if one has read the books.

Having said that, the next chapter will be released on Wednesday (April 16) on Tumblr and Thursday (April 17) here on FFN.

Dream on; Fly on!

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 Thirty-Seven

Katherine's Story, Part Two

A bundle lay on the cold, snow-covered ground. It would have been impossible to see for any ordinary person, but Ombric Shalazar was not just a normal person. He was an Atlantean. And he was also a wizard of great power.

Ombric had been on a trek, in search of the perfect place he would call his home, now that Atlantis had sunk. It was only by sheer coincidence and luck that he stumbled into that inconspicuous looking thing. Of course, it had been quite a surprise—for even though Ombric was a powerful wizard, he was still prone to surprises—that wrapped inside was a little baby girl.

The little girl wasn't crying, the cold weather had weakened her immensely that her breaths were shallow. She was pale, and her small fingers and toes were already showing signs of frostbite. Ombric knew he didn't have a moment to lose. He needed to save the little baby girl.

As Ombric willed magic into the air—magic, which he used to give warmth and feeling back into the baby in his arms—he looked around. Surely the baby girl's parents were around. No one would be heartless enough to leave an infant behind in such cruel weather.

He found no living souls in that place save for the two of them.

Just as he was about to go on ahead, braving the wintry weather that was lashing out on him and the child in his arms, something caught his foot and he almost stumbled. His staff had saved him from such a blunder.

Looking down, however, Ombric saw what had befallen the child's parents. There, lying in the snow not too far from where he had picked up the baby was the frozen corpse of a young man with a deep slash mark on his chest. Beside him was a young woman who fared no better.

Bandits, Ombric thought with great distaste. This place is rife with them. Bastards with no regard for life! Bah!

Looking at the little baby girl in his arms, however, Ombric sighed. The child was an orphan. She had no one else to care for her, and no one else who knew of her existence. She was just like him. And that thought solidified Ombric's intention to care for the young infant and raise her as his own.

He was going to keep her safe. It was what he promised her parents that day, as he turned around, waved his staff and called forth flames that consumed the frozen corpses and gave them a warrior's burial.

Katherine loved to watch Ombric work. She loved the stories he told during bed time, and loved how he let her explore and allow her imagination to soar. Yet, sometimes, Ombric could be a little bit strict. There were all sorts of rules—like curfews and why she couldn't go out to play and instead would have to study—that she didn't understand.

She huffed, holding the book Ombric had instructed her to read and understand, as she watched the other children playing outside. Nighttime was supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be the time of day the parents gave to their children to enjoy after long hours of studying.

It wasn't that Katherine didn't love to read. She did. She loved stories, and enjoyed reading new things. But she also would love to play with the other children of Santoff Clausen. She didn't need any more of them to think that she was different any more than they already believed.

"How is the reading coming along?" Ombric chose that time to pop up in her room. "Almost done?"

Katherine nodded. She was still angry with him. She wasn't going to say anything until he gave her what she wanted: which was to play outside with the other children.

Ombric knew what was going on with the little 5-year-old girl. It was impossible not to. Every night had been the same, after all. Yet, despite knowing that she yearned to go out and play, Ombric couldn't allow it. Not until he was done with the fortifications of Big Root and Santoff Clausen.

Ombric also knew that Katherine was already hungry, and so, just before he left, he snapped his fingers and willed for every single one of the little girl's favorite food to appear. Katherine, for her part, kept herself from touching any of the delectable goodies Ombric had brought her. She also kept herself from showing any form of emotion. She held it until after she was certain that Ombric had gone. After which, she dug right in, eating as though she was famished and grinning from ear to ear.

She didn't like being in an argument with her adoptive father, but sometimes it had some perks…even if she couldn't get what she really wanted.

Katherine never really let it bother her before. She knew what fate had befallen her real parents. Ombric had told her the moment she could understand and comprehend words and their meaning. She was fine being an orphan, living with Ombric, playing with the other children of Santoff Clausen.

She didn't really know when it started, or why. She was happy. She knew she was. But then she started to yearn for the parents she never knew. She wished for the caress of a mother, and strong arms of a father. She began to feel the wisps of jealousy clinging to her whenever she saw the other children with their parents.

She knew she loved Ombric. He was a great father to her. But there was something missing.

Yet, despite what she was feeling inside, Katherine never let anyone know. She hid these emotions so well. She kept the smile on her face. No one would ever know what was really going on with, if they were to hear her stories or see the way she cared for the other children. No one saw the sadness in her gray-colored eyes. She was just so good at hiding her emotions like that.

Everyone was so scared when darkness, so unlike the ones that came with the night, enveloped them. All the children with her were shaking, and so was the lamp and torches that they carried, which in turn caused the shadows to dance even more.

There was a laughter, sinister and evil, and it brought everything they were scared about to come flashing before their mind's eyes. Some of the younger children with her was already crying, and Katherine knew she had to do something. No. She needed to do something.

And so she thought of all the beautiful things in the world that Ombric had told her; she thought of all the wonderful things she read in books; she remembered all the happy memories that she had made for herself. And that allowed her to be strong. To be courageous. To look fear in the eye and speak up, telling the other children that everything would be okay and that they needn't be afraid.

And as she said those words, she found herself believing it was not a lie meant to make everyone feel better. She found that she truly believed it.

And that was the state she was in when she first caught a glimpse of him.

It was just a quick glimpse really. She wasn't even able to make out his features. She wasn't even certain if she actually saw a glowing boy drove off the darkness. It was only when she had returned to the safe confines of Big Root and heard whispers of a glowing boy who saved the day, that Katherine knew for certain she wasn't hallucinating.

That night, as she lay in bed, she hoped to see him again. Her curiosity, and desire to know who and what he was, was in her mind as she fell asleep.

Katherine didn't know what to think about the burly and gruff-looking man that was lying in the bed in one of Big Root's vacant rooms. She had never heard of a human—a sane and sensible man would not have challenge a bear, especially one that Ombric had made protector of Santoff Clausen and Big Root and who was (as she had been told) possessed by the darkness named 'Pitch Black'. And yet, here was a man who did just that. Who protected her friends, her family, and her home, without much care for his well-being.

He was either incredible brave, or incredibly daft. Maybe even both.

And yet, no matter how insane the wounded man was, she was glad that he came to save them. As she watched his chest rise and fall, his wounds slowly healing, she wondered what kind of stories he could tell her; what kind of adventures he had been in. Surely he would have a lot of stories to share.

And so she looked forward to him regaining consciousness. Both to thank him and to hear his stories.

Nicholas. That was what the gruff-looking man introduced himself as. And he wasn't just gruff-looking, he was really rough. He spoke in a weird accent that made it hard for Katherine to understand half of the words that spilled out of his mouth. He also loved to complain. He didn't like rules as much as she did. And he was just as clueless about magic as he was of how to handle children.

At first, Katherine was both frightened of him and was equally drawn in. He was a clumsy oaf who could barely talk properly to children. And he would glare at her whenever she asked him a question. When she try to talk to him, he looked as though he would rather have someone hit him so hard he would lose consciousness again. Yet, despite how fearsome Nicholas St. North was, Katherine persisted. She saw the good in him—the goodness that he tried so hard to hide, as if it was some sort of weakness. She couldn't fathom why he would think of it like that.

Little by little, Nicholas St. North began to soften. Those weary and haunted eyes transformed into one filled with wonder, mirth, and awe. He looked like he was a child once more as he learned that there was more to the world than he first thought. Nicholas began to smile and show kindness to everyone, especially to children. When Nicholas learnt of Ombric's wizardly skill, he begged to be taught and Ombric complied. And Nicholas began to open up even more.

He also became more animated, and more invested to Big Root, Santoff Clausen, and everyone who lived there. He swore to protect them, most especially Katherine whom he had grown close to and whom had grown close to him. He made inventions of all sorts, imbuing magic with ingenuity, in hopes of making everyone happy and always he would look at Katherine and Ombric for approval. Katherine, of course, was quick to give it. Ombric? Not so much.

And that, Katherine noticed, seem to grate into Nicholas' nerves.

When he created the Djinni Robot, Katherine was ecstatic for him. She was as certain as he was that Ombric would find it fascinating as well. And was just as stunned when their mentor didn't even bat an eyelash and when he even went so far as to call North's invention "worthless".

She felt for her best friend. But of course, that changed when he suddenly decided to leave with Ombric without her. She was so angry with him that she was only half-listening when Nicholas gave her the compass, forcing herself not to cry at what she thought to be a betrayal.

Katherine was stubborn. She knew that. Everybody knows that. And it was that stubbornness that made her decide to follow Ombric and Nicholas. She kept repeating the words she remembered Nicholas tell her about the compass. The where 'N' was, that's where Nicholas is. She kept glancing at the compass as she went about the chores she was expected to do, and continued at it even as she rode Petrov, Nicholas' beloved and faithful horse, around the perimeter of Santoff Clausen. And she was looking at it during the moment for which Petrov's hoof was snagged by the crack in the ground where Pitch had been sucked into after being defeated by Ombric weeks before.

Though Petrov was not gravely injured, the horse limped as they made their way back to Big Root. Katherine felt that it was a bad omen. She did her best to relax and push the thoughts of omens and worries away. Soon, Katherine reached the end of the day and was doing the last of the chores in her list, which was feeding Ombric's owls. She had been so distracted that she almost forgot.

Dressed in her nightgown, Katherine made her way to Ombric's Library. When she opened the door, she was so surprised by what she saw.

It was a mess. Which was a first. Ombric took such good care of his books and his library that she had always thought it impossible to find the room in the chaos it was in. She knew Ombric and Nicholas had left in such a hurry, but she didn't think they would cause such a commotion in the library.

Sighing, Katherine got to work. It was such a bother, but she wanted Ombric and North to be pleased with her; pleased to find their workplace in order. As she picked up parchments and books written in odd and indecipherable language (at least, to her it was), she noticed several odd indentations in the soft, pulpy paper.

Ombric couldn't have left these marks, Katherine thought to herself as she took a magnifying glass and inspected the dents once more. But then…who—?

The dents, upon closer inspection, looked similar to fingerprints, albeit a strange kind of fingerprint. Katherine looked closer still. They looked familiar, as though she had seen them before. As she struggled to connect her memories, the feeling of dread intensified. Something was wrong. She was certain of it. And when the pieces clicked together, that dread turned into panic.

"The Djinni!" She gasped. "B-But…Ombric would never let a machine touch his books, especially his spell books!"

Coming to that realization, she quickly flipped the book to look at its cover. She struggled to read the title, at first, but after a while, she managed to translate it with the help of two dictionaries. But once she did, fear for the sake of her friends gripped her.

Because the book the Djinni had touched and studied was entitled, 'Spells of Enslavement'.

No sooner had Katherine made that alarming discovery concerning the Djinni, every owl roosting in Ombric's Library began to hoot. They had received a message from the wizard.

Katherine couldn't help feeling annoyed with herself at that moment. She spoke very little owl—which, for all its simplicity was one of the most subtle and difficult bird languages to master. Still, she listened intently. The owls, for their part, was very patient—though one had to wonder if they had a choice on the matter or not. Still, after a while, Katherine managed to understand one key word: Danger.

The owls knew she had understood, and when she asked them if that was, indeed, what that particular hoot meant, they nodded in confirmation.

She then turned her back to the owls and rushed to Ombric's globe and pleaded, "Show me where!"

The owls pointed their beaks to a vast white area in the central Himalayas.

"Ombric and North are in danger?" she asked one last time, as if wanting to be absolutely certain. In response, the owls hooted vigorously.

The young girl bit her lip. She had waited a long time to have her own great adventure, and now the chance was here. It seemed she had the instincts for it.

Perhaps, she thought to herself. This is something passed down to me by my parents. This thirst for adventure…

She didn't know if that was true, however, or simply wishful thinking. She didn't dwell on the thought for much longer than a second. She had worked to do. She needed to prepare; to formulate a plan. But as she worked and toiled, she was surprised to find how natural it all came to her.

She faced the owls once more and commanded them to fly to the forest and bring her Ombric's reindeers. She used her hands, miming the order with them, to let her message be understood. The owls took off with a loud rustling of feathers a heartbeat later.

Once alone, she looked at North's compass, pointing the way to him. Steeling herself, she ran to her room for her coat and dagger. Where she was going was most certainly going to be cold and dangerous.

Katherine never really believed she would see the glowing boy again. And soon, too. Though she would have rather met the boy once again under different, and in less life-threatening circumstances. He was fighting the Robot Djinni. The Robot Djinni that was under Pitch Black's control.

Riding the reindeer through a mist of light, Katherine readied herself for battle. She could not see Ombric and Nicholas, and she hoped and prayed that they were both alright. And then she saw them, not as themselves but as miniaturized version of themselves. They were nothing more than toys, puppets. And it was probably Pitch's fault why they were that way now.

She urged the reindeer to land heavily near the small figures of Ombric and Nicholas. As soon as its hooves pounded on the snow-covered ground, Katherine snatched her friends in one hand. She saw the Djinni looking at her as she leapt back to the lighted mist and they vanished into the sky. She was surprised and delighted when she saw the spectral boy flying alongside her and the reindeer. She had so many questions to ask him, but she thought better of it. There was something else that was more important at the moment.

When Katherine felt that they were far enough, she steered the reindeer toward what looked to be a safe and comfortable spot: a cave midway up one of the massive mountain peaks.

Night was falling, and she would not have been able to see much of their surroundings had it not been for the spectral boy's glow and she was able to see the terrible predicament Pitch had forced her two friends in. Somehow, Pitch Black had turned her Ombric and Nicholas into dolls with blank faces and unblinking eyes.

"North? Ombric?" Katherine whispered, choking back tears. "How can I save you both?"

Despite the fear and worry that was in hear heart, her determination kept her from faltering. She was going to do everything in her power to bring both of her friends back. She wasn't going to give up on them…even if it took her the rest of her life, she would find a way.

The spectral boy was quiet. Merely watching her intently, despite sensing her sorrow. The reindeer, who had stayed outside of the cave, however, nosed its way back. It was worried for her. But even as it showed that, the wind outside began to pick up, spewing an otherworldly howl that pierced and echoed through the cave.

The boy shielded the light from the tip of his staff as he inched close to the mouth of the cave, curious as to what was happening outside. Immediately, he withdrew his head. The sky, he saw, was dirtied with countless of Nightmare Men and Fearlings and he knew they were searching for them. Dense clouds began to blot out the Moon's light. With the coming of Night, Pitch grew more powerful, his bag of tricks seemingly infinitely full. Against the army of Nightmare Men and Fearlings, a glowing boy, a little girl with a dagger, and a reindeer was hopelessly outnumbered.

Katherine rocked herself back and forth, cradling the dolls that were her friends. Her mind continued to try to think up a solution, a fix. But it was not helping much. She was drawing a blank. She didn't even notice the boy looking at her. She didn't notice the look of awe on his face, or the way he looked at her as if remembering a fond memory. She didn't even seem to notice that they were trapped. So glued was she to Ombric and Nicholas' predicament that she was failing to see her own.

She also didn't notice when the boy had slipped out, not until it had grown dark inside the cave. The darkness snapped Katherine's attention back and she rushed to the mouth of the cave just in time to see the spectral boy holding his staff aloft and shining brighter than ever as he flew to the sky, swooping and circling.

Katherine didn't understand what the boy was doing. Until one of Pitch's soldiers took notice of him. Then the boy rocketed towards the clouds. The army of darkness followed hot on his heels.

She knew beforehand that the spectral boy was strange. It was only when Katherine heard him laughing as he led the Nightmare Men and Fearlings away from the cave, that she reaffirmed that of him. He really was strange. And amazing. And he was risking his life for her and her friends.

Watching him, Katherine couldn't help but think that, perhaps, this spectral boy could perform a new miracle that would save them. Watching him also made her that much more determined. Looking at the mouth of the cave, Katherine knew she would have to find a way to hide it from Pitch's minions. Thankfully, she had the reindeer with her.

She urged it to use its antlers to push snow up on the cave's mouth until there was only a small hole left. Katherine waited with bated breath as the reindeer did what it was asked to do. She was certain that one of Pitch's minions would look at their direction and find them before the reindeer was done.

With the blockade done, Katherine began to feel the cold biting her fingers and making them incredibly numb. She couldn't build a fire—she did not have the means to, and even if she did, the smoke would probably alert Pitch to their location. She couldn't risk it. All she could do was wrap Ombric and Nicholas even more tightly around her coat and push herself to the corner, huddling against the reindeer for warmth.

Katherine forced herself to stay awake, but she was deeply tired. She sought escape of some form, and sleep was able to give her that. She spent the night drifting in and out of sleep, dreaming. But her dreams were not ordinary ones.

There's a rare kind of dream children have. A dream that unfolds like a storybook, but a story in which the dreamer does not take part. Instead, they watch the adventures of someone dear to them in a sort of movie of the mind. And the dream Katherine was having starred Nicholas St. North.

In her dream, Nicholas was a hero of a thousand adventures. He was not a wizard, a thief, or a warrior, but a powerful figure of unending mirth, mystery, and magic, who lived in a city surrounded by snow.

Katherine's dream, however, was cut short when she was awakened by a loud blast. The snow covering the mouth of the cave flew at her, revealing the Robot Djinni—Pitch. She was just about to stand up when she Pitch was already upon her, his hand on her neck. She kicked and clawed trying to get him to let her go, but his grip only tightened. The only good it did was wake up the reindeer, and spook it in the process.

She could only manage one strangled cry, "Get away!"

Despite her struggling, Pitch managed to roughly tug her coat off and Pitch threw her to the other side of the cave. She skidded on the snow-covered ground, and once coming to a stop, droves of Fearling came at her. All she could do was curl herself into a ball as the Fearlings push her further into the ground.

Pitch laughed. He looked at the doll in his hand—Nicholas—and mocked him, saying, "Little man, how useless you have become."

Then, facing Katherine, the Nightmare King added, "I once had a Fearling Prince slip out of my grasp, I won't let that happen again. But before I turn you into a Fearling Princess, I want to hear one last scream."

He smiled so malevolently, wickedly. And then he threw the doll that was Nicholas at one of the Fearlings present with him.

"Crush him." He ordered the Fearling. "Now."

Katherine watched in horror as the Fearling threw Nicholas so violently onto the rocky floor. There was a sickening sharpness to the sound as the toy Nicholas was shattered.

Seeing the doll's broken body propelled Katherine to break free from the Fearlings. She forced herself not to scream, even though she could already feel it inching its way up her throat. She would not give Pitch the satisfaction.

She gathered the pieces of Nicholas' body quickly and carefully. Ombric had taught her—Ombric had taught them all—that the real power of magic is belief. She had seen that power first-hand and believed that it would happen again.

It had to! She thought to herself as she raced to the back of the cave.

Pitch watched her, amused, and allowed her a second's head start. The Nightmare King was just steps away. In a moment's time, Katherine knew she'd be taken, turned into a Fearling.

"What a feisty Fearling you'll be," Pitch's cackle boomed through the cave.

The Djinni's robotic arms—the same ones that had carefully caught her that day back in Big Root—cut violently through the air. Then, surprisingly, they stopped. Pitch couldn't move closer. Katherine watched, mouth agape, as Pitch struggled to take control of the Djinni once more.

"This cannot be!" he hissed in disbelief.

At that moment, Katherine wasted no second. Her hands worked nimbly and she began to piece Nicholas back together. Setting the last piece of Nicholas' form into place, she took a deep breath and whispered the first spell Ombric taught her.

"I believe. I believe. I believe. Please be real again. This will work. I believe…"

But before Katherine could finish her plea, a terrific rumbling came from outside the cave. At first, she thought it was thunder, but as it grew closer, louder, she realized it was coming from the ground and the sky. She looked towards the cave's entrance at the same time Pitch and his Fearlings did.

The sky outside was brightening.

The rumbling intensified until the cave began to shake.

Howls of Fearlings and Nightmare Men filled the air outside.

Then, without forewarning, the entire top of the mountain was blasted away. They stood exposed now. Katherine's eyes swept her surroundings. On every mountain and valley, on the ground and in the air, were swarms of Nightmare Men and Fearlings. Every inch was filled with the nasty horde.

But, closing in from all sides was a wave of magnificent hairy creatures, white as snow, as big as the bear, and armed to the teeth. With a deafening clap of thunder, the clouds above parted and the moon shined down. From it came a fleet of Moonbeams led by none other than the spectral boy. They raked the skies, felling every dark creature that faced them.

Pitch turned angrily at Katherine. At first, Katherine didn't know why Pitch's enraged face turned into one of surprise before reverting back to anger.

It was only when someone spoke from behind Katherine that she realized she and Pitch were no longer alone.

"Dark and sinister imp," bellowed a voice, an oh-so-familiar voice that made Katherine smile and feel relieved, safe. "You are very annoying."

Nicholas was on Pitch even before Katherine could really comprehend what had happened. Their blades stuck at a pace that seemed impossible. Katherine could barely believe what she was seeing. Their sabers exploded with strobes of fire and sparks, taunting each other as they fought.

"How does it feel," Pitch spat, "to have your beloved invention beat you in every way?"

Katherine had thought those words would get to Nicholas. The Robot Djinni was something he had been proud of. It was something he labored very hard for. And now it was being used against them.

But instead of being aggravated, the ex-Cossack merely smiled and confidently replied, "What I make I can destroy."

"I've scuttled whole planets, burglar. You are just another inconvenience." The Nightmare King glowered. Katherine could imagine him glaring at Nicholas. It made her smile knowing that his friend had riled Pitch up.

Nicholas shook his head, then to Katherine and Pitch's surprise, lowered both of his swords. He stood up straight, spread his arms, and to Katherine's horror, closed his eyes.

"Do your worst, Pitch Black." The words—the challenge—was calmly said.

"What sort of trick is this?" asked Pitch, then he shouted, "I can slice you in two before you can lift a sword!"

Nicholas shrugged. Pitch's words did nothing to scare him. Briefly, Katherine wondered if Nicholas knew really know what he was doing; if he had some sort of plan. His stance was insultingly calm. Grating Pitch's nerves even further, he began to whistle.

It was not hard to get Pitch to do what Nicholas wanted after that. He could not resist striking down his foe. He swung the Robot Djinni's arm which had turned into a blade with all of his might. Katherine closed her eyes. When she didn't hear the thud of Nicholas' body to the ground, she forced an eye open. What she saw made her jaw drop.

The Djinni's metal arm stopped just an eighth of an inch from Nicholas' brow.

Pitch was flabbergasted as well.

Then Nicholas opened his eyes, glanced at Katherine and winked.

"It's the drawing on his chest," Nicholas said slyly, pointing at the scribbles Katherine remembered drawing on the Robot Djinni. "He can turn us into toys, but with his own hands, he can't do us real harm." Then he smiled brightly at her and said, "Your artwork is very powerful, my girl."

Katherine couldn't help but giggle with relief and amazement. She knew Pitch could understand what Nicholas had said; what he had insinuated. He had been defeated yet again. The tide of battle was going against the Nightmare King, even outside. He was no fool.

Turning sharply at Nicholas and Katherine, Pitch smirked. If he was going to retreat, he was not going to leave empty-handed.

"I'll keep the Djinni as a gift. Let's just say it…suits me."

Then he took to the sky, transforming into the Djinni's flying machine. Within seconds, Pitch, the Fearlings, and the Djinni were mere black specks on the horizon, vanishing westward, just ahead of the coming dawn.

They watched as the Nightmare King fled, and then Katherine turned to Nicholas with a smile so wide and bright before she launched herself at him, hugging the warrior fiercely. Nicholas returned the gesture, laughing as he picked the little girl up and spun her around.

The Temple of the Lunar Lamas was extraordinary, and the same could be said of its denizens. Katherine walked the halls of the temple wide-eyed and slack-jawed as Ombric told them of who those people are.

According to the wizard, the history of the Lunar Lamas was shrouded in mystery. No one knew exactly how they came into existence, or how they came to devote themselves to the Moon and the man who ruled it.

"I was a boy when I first heard of them," Ombric had said. "Back in Atlantis. And even the greatest minds of our people found them allusive and confounding. Regardless, they would certainly be interested to learn of the Nightmare King's return."

Katherine also learned from Ombric that the Lunar Lamas were a secretive bunch. And overly cautious. They never made contact with the outside world, not even with wizards of Ombric's stature. According to the wizard, even he was not welcomed when he first arrived, back when his body had been turned into a toy and he had projected his soul there.

Ombric had pleaded with them. Yet they answered none of his questions. Sworn into secrecy as they were, they kept their silence—and will continue to do so—until ordered otherwise.

They would not have helped had Nightlight not arrived.

"Nightlight?" Katherine asked as they walked the halls, following the Lunar Lamas.

Ombric nodded. "You've seen him before. The boy who drove off the darkness back when Pitch first attacked Santoff Clausen."

And that was how Katherine learnt of the spectral boy's name. And she was glad to finally know it.

Since the battle with Pitch, there had been relative peace and quiet in the world. Katherine, Ombric, and Nicholas has stayed with the Lunar Lamas in the Himalayas. They knew that the Nightmare King and his army would strike again.

But they were wiser now than they were before. After the battle, they had met Tsar Lunar. He had given Nicholas his father's sword, and spoke of four other relics from the Golden Age that could be helpful—even essential—in defeating Pitch once and for all. But where Pitch was hiding, or what they should do next, remained unanswered.

On that particular day, however, Katherine had her mind far from Pitch and the problems the Nightmare King brought. She had been extremely excited. For days she had worked hard on a gift for the other children of Santoff Clausen—a gift she had asked the Lunar Lamas for help with. It was a gift meant to bring relief to her friends. Likewise, Ombric and Nicholas had also set to work with their own gifts for the children. They had made a towering stack—all identical—of packages.

The packages were special. Magical. They were meant to give the receiver anything he or she wanted, so long as they believe. It was Ombric's idea.

Katherine's gift was just as special. It was meant for everyone.

Her present was a book she had written regarding her adventures. It was the best she could do, until the moment she reunites with her friends again. It was the first time Katherine realized her affinity to stories.

Staying with the Lunar Lamas was interesting, though it left Katherine little to no choice with companions. Nicholas had been busy training with his new weapon. Ombric has kept to himself doing who-knows-what. That left Katherine mostly by herself. Thankfully, Nightlight had been spending time with her.

Katherine felt happier when he was around. Though he never uttered a word, they had become very close. He really was amazing, capable of speaking with Moonbeams and taking flight. He made her laugh and always kept her safe. In their companionable silence, the strength of their bond could be seen. She had the rarest and best kind of friend: a friend who understood everything without being told.

It would take a long time before Nightlight would be able to tell her properly, but Katherine knew the time he spent with her and the time he spent guarding the children of Santoff Clausen was the happiest of his life as a Guardian. Whenever he leapt onto the breeze or a cloud or helped guard the children, Katherine could feel Nightlight being braver and stronger and brighter. Of course, Katherine was thrilled to know that Nightlight was most happiest when he was with her.

But Katherine's time was not just spent with Nightlight and stories. She had also been appointed as mother and caretaker of a baby gosling—a Great Snow Goose, who had taken to her the moment it hatched and saw her. She had named the gosling 'Kailash', after the smallest mountain in the Himalayas. Other times, Katherine would be with the Yetis.

Although she enjoyed their company, she loved Nightlight's even more.

Katherine tried to rein in her panic. Yet, no matter what she tried, her voice betrayed her as she told Nicholas and Ombric that Nightlight was missing.

"He hasn't returned since last night," Katherine explained in a rush. "No one has seen him."

Both Ombric and Nicholas tensed. They knew as much as Katherine did that Nightlight's visits were as regular as clockwork. They also knew that Santoff Clausen was always his last stop before returning to the Lamadary.

"Only one thing could delay the lad," Nicholas' voice was low.

"Pitch," whispered Katherine.

Even as they spoke, Ombric was already trying to contact his owls. They were constantly on watch in his library and always ready to report to him telepathically. Katherine watched her adoptive father straining to establish a connection, but it was to no avail. He couldn't form a link with them. He couldn't feel them.

Something passed between Ombric and Nicholas.

"To Santoff Clausen?" Nicholas asked.

A nod was Ombric's reply.

Katherine was extremely worried, and her worry only grew the moment they arrived at the outskirts of Santoff Clausen. They had to squint to see the village. Clouds blocked the moon and the stars. Most unsettling was that not a single light shined from any windows. The village lay in complete and total darkness.

She watched as Nicholas unsheathed the magic sword he got from the Man in the Moon. He had a tense expression on his face when he looked over at Ombric.

"Stay behind me. Run if I say so," he told Katherine, the sword transforming itself as he spoke. Light emerged magically from the blade, its golden glow lighting their way.

They walked towards Big Root slowly, scanning the mournful landscape for any signs of life. Katherine had never seen a night so black or heard silence so quiet—not even on the night when Pitch had first found her and her friends in the forest. It was as if all the life of the place had gone away. There was no movement. No wind. Not one firefly or night bird flew to greet them. Even the raccoons and the badgers were nowhere to be seen.

Katherine reached for Nicholas' hand while she kept another around Kailash's neck and asked, "Where is everyone?"

Nicholas was unable to answer as Ombric stopped short. Something was glinting in the light of Nigholas' sword. The old wizard stooped to pick up what appeared to be a small piece of glass. He held it up to the light. It was a tiny porcelain squirrel.

"It appears that Pitch has further mastered the Spell of Enslavement," Ombric noted, looking more troubled than before as he began walking again, his eyes continuing to search the ground.

Though the eerie quiet persisted, the thick cloud covering Santoff Clausen began to dissipate as the threesome made their way into the village, the moonlight penetrating the gloom. But this simply allowed them to better see the horror all around them. In every direction, Katherine saw small porcelain versions of living things. Whole platoons of squirrels, raccoons, and foxes all frozen in mid-battle.

Try as she might, Katherine couldn't keep the tears back. Even the Spirit of the Forest had been frozen, her normally flowing veils hung still and still, her gemstones dulled with the lifeless shine of ceramics. Her expression was one of fierce determination and she was holding a jeweled sword. Katherine deduced she had been petrified during a moment of intense struggle.

Katherine peered into the Spirit's glassy eyes and noticed something she had never expected to see there: fear.

Wiping the tears, Katherine willed herself to shed no more. She needed to keep alert.

As she desperately hoped to find at least one living thing who had been spared from Pitch's enslavement spell, Nicholas was barreling ahead. But when they neared the village and Big Root, Katherine realized that that was not to be. Every breathing creature in Santoff Clausen had been turned into a china doll. Even the bear. Again, Katherine had to fight back tears.

Katherine had never really seen Ombric angry, until they saw the parents of the children frozen, terrified, with expressionless faces. His eyes swept into Big Root, and Ombric grew angrier still. The library—Ombric's precious library—had been stripped bare. Not a single book remained. The beakers and test tubes Ombric used for his magical experiments had been dashed to the ground.

"No book and no children," Ombric said quietly. "And where is Mr. Qwerty?"

Katherine came up behind him. She wondered where Sasha, Pete, and all the Williams were. She sank to her knees, carefully brushing her insect friends to one side so they wouldn't be stepped on. One glittering piece of crystal caught her eye and she reached for it, only then did she notice a sliver of a blade nearby. Then another. And another.

Her hand shook as she examined the pieces. Glistening drops, like beads of light, surrounded them. And then it hit her.

"It's the tip of Nightlight's staff!" Katherine gasped.

Ombric and Nicholas crouched beside Katherine. A small tarnished Moonbeam—Nightlight's Moonbeam—was hidden beneath the largest piece of the shattered blade. With great care, Katherine cupped the beam into her hands.

"What happened, Moonbeam?" she asked gently. "Where is everyone?"

Apart from Nightlight, only Ombric spoke Moonbeam, so he waved his staff and suddenly the small Moonbeam's memories were displayed on the round glass of the globe bed. The Moonbeam shimmered with all the strength it could muster, and though it wavered and flickered, Ombric, Nicholas, and Katherine could see and hear the terrible story of Pitch's return.

Pitch wanted the spell books. That was what it boiled down into. According to the Moonbeam, Nightlight had a plan, and his plan involved throwing his staff at Pitch and telling the Moonbeam that 'not everything is as it seems'.

The Moonbeam also told them that Pitch grew angrier when he could not find the books and he had taken the children as leverage. He also took Nightlight whom Pitch had thrown the staff back at and had caused the knife with the Moonbeam to shatter. Nightlight's light had been dim and flickering the last time the Moonbeam saw him.

Katherine's heart pounded, aching as the Moonbeam exhausted itself in telling them his story, dimming as he lay in her palm. The trio tried to make sense of what the Moonbeam told them. They knew the situation was dire, but they kept surprisingly calm. They had been growing in confidence ever since they took the Man in the Moon's oath. Now, Ombric, Katherine, and Nicholas work almost as one—as one in mind.

There was a particularly strong kind of magic. It was the sort of thing born from the strongest of bonds. It held powers beyond words or possibilities. The power of friendship, the magic it holds, was strong between the three of them. They could feel one another's thoughts coming together, sorting through the various threads of what the Moonbeam had reported, discovering questions, searching together for answers.

Katherine asked the first question aloud, "Where has Pitch taken Nightlight and the children."

"What is this new sword he wields that can devour light? And why the devil did Pitch want the library?" Nicholas asked next.

"The diamond dagger was shattered," Ombric declared. "Strange, indeed."

The old wizard strode over to his empty bookshelves and began examining each intently. Only a few scraps of paper remained, a bit from Spells of the Ancient Egyptians, another from Interesting Unexplainables of Atlantis, some tattered corners of random maps and charts. Even Katherine's storybook was missing. There was no denying it, the library Ombric had carefully amassed over hundreds of years had utterly disappeared.

Katherine watched as Ombric closed his eyes and concentrated. He uttered a spell to search for remnants of leftover magic, but found none, and he shared this with his companions.

"I find no evidence of a vanishing spell," Ombric had said. "No magic was used. The books still exist…somewhere."

Suddenly, Ombric's eyes grew wide, the tips of his shoes stood on end.

"He has taken them to the Earth's Core!" Ombric proclaimed triumphantly. "That's where Pitch obtain the lead. His saber and cloak are made with it!"

Nicholas cocked his head. "Lead? What's so special about this lead?"

"Lead found at the core of the Earth has been there since the planet was first formed," Ombric explained. "It has never known light of any kind, so no light can penetrate it. It absorbs it. That's how Pitch was able to attack Nightlight and the Moonbeam. He stole some of their light."

"The madman is growing wilier by the day!" Nicholas exclaimed. "And the library? Why was he after that?"

Ombric spoke more carefully, as if figuring it out as he went. "Pitch needs all the spells and enchantments in my volumes to become more powerful. To become, perhaps, invincible. But, somehow, the library disappeared before he could get it. And that's the part I can't make heads or tails of."

"Without magic, how can all those books just disappear?" Nicholas asked.

"Exactly!" Ombric said. "That's the puzzlement."

Katherine took in all of this new information. Her mind worked with lightning speed as she pieced together all the clues herself, from what the Moonbeam had told them, what they found in the library, and what she thought it all meant. Then, suddenly, she knew.

"Nightlight! It's Nightlight!" she shouted. "He told the Moonbeam not to believe everything it sees. He found a way!"

Ombric, Nicholas, and Katherine knew what needed to be done, but they were forced with a conundrum. The denizens of Santoff Clausen were still under the Spell of Enslavement and they cannot be kept that way for long, Nightlight was hurt, and the children needed to be rescued…and yet, they cannot do everything at once—save for saving Nightlight and the children, which required them to go to the Earth's Core. They needed to make a choice.

Though they would all rather stick together, Ombric decided to stay behind in Santoff Clausen to reverse the effects of the spell. He had tasked Nicholas and Katherine to go to Easter Island to find the Pooka whom the wizard said would be able to lead them to the Earth's Core.

Neither Katherine nor Nicholas could object, although the ex-Cossack did try. And so they went back to the shuttle that had serviced them to Santoff Clausen and made their way to the Easter Islands.

Katherine didn't like that they couldn't all stay together, but she was certain that her adoptive father was right. Only he could manage the delicate and lengthy task of undoing the enslavement spells the Nightmare King had conjured in Santoff Clausen. Still, she had been brave for so long, and truth be told, she was a little weary of having to be such a grown-up. She wanted Ombric near, but all she could do was bear this anxious feeling silently.

She knew they would need to be at their best—perhaps even more than their best—to save their friends and once again undo Pitch's dark and sinister plans.

Easter Island was…strange. There were hundreds of giant stone heads that sat ominously across the barren beach. Katherine had seen drawings of these colossal sculptures in Ombric's library, but they were much bigger than she'd expected and larger than she imagined. Nicholas had noted that the sculptures were carved, though the question remained as to who would do such a feat.

There were no signs of life. No humans running over to see what had landed on their beach. No birds cawing in alarm. Katherine and Nicholas walked among the stone heads and wondered if there were any living creatures on the island at all. The only sound they could hear was the waves crashing in the shore. Oddly, Katherine thought she smelled a hint of hot cocoa in the salty sea air. She also had the strangest feeling that they were being watched.

And they realized they were being watched! One of the stone heads had turned in their direction. Then another. And another. With the screech of stone scrapping against stone, all the heads as far as they could see were slowly rotating towards them.

The orb on the magic sword glowed even brighter as Nicholas took a chance and asked, "Where can we find the Pooka? We need to get to the Earth's Core, on the double!"

The heads didn't answer, but as the echo of his shouts died away, something—or someone—twisted up out of the ground a dozen feet away, sending sand and grass flying in all direction. Katherine and Nicholas found themselves looking at an extremely tall rabbit. He stood completely upright, not crouched like a bunny. He was at least seven-feet-tall and wore green egg-shaped buttons. Around his waist was a purple sash and waistcoat with egg-shaped pockets. He held a staff with an egg at its tip.

Katherine gave the Rabbit Man an uneasy smile. The rabbit did not respond. He didn't even blink. In fact, he was so still that Katherine thought he might be a statue as well. She took a step closer, but to her utter surprise, a group of armor-covered eggs with tiny arms and legs emerged from under the hem of the rabbit's robe. The eggs raised their bows. Their arrows, Katherine noticed, had tiny egg-shaped points.

Katherine pulled back again, but Nicholas was less than cautious.

"You are the Pooka, I presume?" Nicholas asked.

The rabbit became a sudden blur of motion. In less than a blink, he was standing in front of them.

"I am E. Aster Bunnymund," he said in a melodious voice. "I've been expecting you."

Meeting E. Aster Bunnymund had been a strange experience. Granted, Katherine didn't really have any expectations on the said meeting. Having said that, however, she didn't think meeting him would involve eating lots of egg-shaped chocolates or being caught in the middle of one argument after another between him and Nicholas.

She also didn't expect the Pooka to be so obsessed with the chocolates he had made, or his obsessiveness with anything egg-shaped. He was also very passionate in defending that the Earth was neither round nor flat, but egg-shaped and that the only reason it became round was because ovals are unstable in orbit and he had to fix it to save it from colliding with the sun. Katherine didn't know whether she believed him or not, but she chose to keep her skepticisms to herself.

What surprised her the most was that Bunnymund was not interested in helping them. She had thought anyone who could would not hesitate in defying Pitch and putting a stop to his madness. Nicholas, on the other hand, was not just surprised. He was also enraged.

Believing that he didn't need Bunnymund around, Nicholas proposed searching the relic Bunnymund was keeping by themselves. Katherine, albeit not wanting to look around without the Pooka's permission, followed after Nicholas who had instructed his magic sword to search for the said relic.

The first few chambers were similar to the one they had already been in—equipped for candy making. One smelled curiously of cinnamon and another of a sweetness that was so powerful and tempting they had to fight the urge to stop and inhale its trancelike perfection forever. The next chamber they found themselves in was a strange kind of egg museum. There were shelves upon shelves of intricately crafted, jewel-encrusted eggs.

"I know a Russian tsar who would pay a fortune for some of these," Nicholas whistled appraisingly as they were led by the sword to another chamber.

The next room too was kind of a museum, but the eggs there were natural. There was a bumpy, yellow and orange shell labeled as "Sea Monster" sat beside the green-speckled egg of a "Mesopotamian Dragon". Rows and rows of eggshells lined the walls ranging from the giant egg of a mega-octopus (pure white and bigger than Nicholas' head), to the miniature ones of a hummingbird (smaller than Katherine's thumbnail). There where chicken eggs and goose eggs, duck eggs and swan eggs, and even the tiny illuminated yellow eggs of a glowworm, barely the size of pinpricks. There were so many sizes and colors and patterns and speckles that these eggs seemed to Katherine to be even more beautiful than the eggs carved of gold and jewels. Nicholas let out a long, slow whistled.

Katherine ran to the next room, excited to see what she would find next.

Inside was just a single egg. It sat on a podium of gleaming silver. The egg looked as if it were made of the same mysterious metal as Nicholas' sword and was covered in gorgeously wrought carvings of suns and moons and stars. At its center was a crescent moon that glowed with the same intensity as the orb on the magic sword. In fact, the egg and the sword seemed to be reaching for each other.

"That's it!" Nicholas cried out triumphantly. "That's the relic!"

He raced forward, reaching out to snatch up the egg, but before he could get his hands on it, he found himself being hurtled across the room, landing against the wall with his head pounding.

When he could focus again, Bunnymund was standing over him.

"Naughty, naughty." He said.

Nicholas jumped to his feet, rubbing the back of his head. He glared at the Pooka and asked, "Did you do that?"

Bunnymund again went so still that he didn't appear to be breathing. Then his nose twitched.

Katherine sensed a fight coming, so it seemed did the Warrior Eggs. A mass of them trotted into the chamber on their tiny legs, bows again at the ready. Katherine ran over to stand between Nicholas and the Pooka.

"That egg does not belong to you," the rabbit told Nicholas firmly.

Nicholas clenched his teeth to keep from yelling. "Don't get your whiskers in a twist, Man Bunny. I doubt you even know the power and significance of that precious egg of yours! That was fashioned by people, not by rabbits or Pookas, but humans from an age more grand than you can imagine. And that it was intended for purposes of good, honor, and bravery, not to be used as some useless bauble that satisfied the puny whims of your precious collection!"

It was clear that Nicholas' argument had a powerful effect on Bunnymund. The rabbit stepped closer. He stood ramrod straight while his nose and whiskers twitched and stilled. Twitched and stilled. The twitches were soon as fast and blurred as the wings of a hummingbird in flight. Then the Pooka spoke very calmly and firmly.

"I know the egg's powers and its origins quite well, Mr. Nicholas St. North. I helped, in fact, to make it." He paused for a moment, letting Nicholas absorb that information. He drew himself taller, adding, "Inside its curved shell is the purest light in all of creation. Light from the exact beginning of time. It is the light that all Pookas were sworn to wield and protect. But men, people, cannot be trusted with it. We tried once, during the Golden Age."

"Fine! Then you must help us stop Pitch," Nicholas pressed. "He killed the Golden Age! He is a creature of darkness! A monster—!"

"But," Bunnymund interrupted. "he was first a man."

Nicholas wasn't ready with a fast retort, but the Pooka raised his hand as if he were and continued. "Pookas were the gatherers of this light. We brought it to worlds that we felt were ready for its power. We thought that the people of the Golden Age showed the most promise of all, and they used it well. But then Pitch came. He destroyed everything. He is why I am the last of my kind. I came here with the hope of a new Golden Age." He fixed Nicholas with a stare. "That is why Tsar Lunar, the Man in the Moon's father, sent this 'relic', as you call it, to me. And since it has been in my possession, I've tried over and over to help the world of humans. I've invented most of your trees, flowers, trees, Springs, Jokes, Summer vacations, recess, chocolate…but none of it seems to have changed anything. Humans all behave badly and never seem to cherish the light."

A forlorn look crossed Bunnymund's face, and his voice grew solemn. "Man cannot be trusted."

"All that you invented—all of it—will be lost if Pitch has his way," argued Nicolas. "He'll drain all the light out of the world. Can you let that that happen?"

Bunnymund seemed to think about that for a moment.

"Pitch and his Fearlings don't even like chocolate or eggs!" Katherine added. She wasn't sure if that was true, but it sounded good.

Bunnymund was deeply disturbed by that remark. He puzzled and puzzled. The egg warriors seemed unsure. They lowered their weapons a few inches.

Finally, the rabbit spoke.

"The fiends! Not like chocolate? Not like—" Bunnymund gasped, "eggs? Now, won't you please stop talking—you humans use so many…so many words. And so few of them are about eggs. It's exhausting!"

Bunnymund eased the relic from its shimmering stand and held it aloft. "I will return in approximately one hour and seven minutes, human time—with your friends."

"I'm ready," Nicholas said. "Let's go."

"Oh, no, no, no," the Pooka said. "I work alone."

No one will ever know what furious argument would have followed Bunnymund's insistence that he go to the Earth's Core without Nicholas and Katherine, for in that incredibly tense moment, seconds after the Pooka had made his declaration, Kailash came waddling into the chamber and honked loudly.

The three of them turned and looked at the goose—Nicholas with slight irritation, Katherine with concern, and Bunnymund with complete and total awe.

"Is this one of the Great Snow Geese of the Himalayas?" Bunnymund asked, his nose not twitching but sort of rotating slowly in amazement.

"Yes. Her name is Kailash," Katherine told him hesitantly, a little rattled by the rabbit's shift in interest. "She thinks I'm her mother. I was there when she hatched."

The Pooka inhaled deeply, "Tell me everything," he insisted. "Was the egg very beautiful?"

Nicholas fought his every impulse to shake some sense into this strange, long-eared creature. Time was tumbling by, and the rabbit wanted to talk about eggs! But Nicholas' calmer self sensed an opportunity.

"Tell him about the blasted egg," he said, motioning to Katherine to hurry.

Katherine put an arm around Kailash's slender neck. "Well, her egg was large and silvery, with swirls oof pebble-sized bumps that glistened like diamonds and opals."

"As I've always imagined it! Come," Bunnymund said, pointing to his egg museum. One of the shelves had an empty space labeled 'Himalayan Great Snow Goose'. "It's the one egg I don't have. My collection is not complete. It's silvery, you say?"

"Silvery and blue," Katherine elaborated.

The Pooka could scarcely contain himself.

"Kailash would be grateful to anyone who did as we asked," Katherine said.

The Pooka was almost quivering. After a long moment, his former reserve seemed to return. His nose twitched. Then he spoke, "My army is already assembled. I am at the ready, as I hope you are. Any friends of the Great Snow Geese are friends of mine. Come this way. We'll take tunnel number seventeen twenty-eight." He paused dramatically, then added with a flourish, "Straight to the Earth's Core!"

"Finally!" North grumbled, placing his hand on the hilt of the magic sword. The weapon began to glow, as did Bunnymund's egg relic.

If there are Seven Wonders of the Known World, Bunnymund's tunnel to the Earth's core would be the first of the unknown world. It was shaped like an egg standing on end and seemed to go on forever. Nicholas was intrigued by how quietly the Pooka's train was traveling. Despite their remarkable speed, the train barely made a sound, just a quiet sort of clucking noise.

And though Katherine was increasingly worried about Nightlight and her friends, she couldn't help noticing how enticingly strange everything about Bunnymund's conveyance was. The railroad cars that were whisking them deeper and deeper underground were, of course, egg-shaped…as was virtually every knob, hinge, door, window, light fixture, and mechanical component. It was even more opulent than the Lamas' flying tower. Plus, the cars immediately behind her held and imposing army of well-armored Warrior Eggs wielding an impressive array of weaponry.

The smallest eggs were the size of a common chicken's egg, while platoons of other eggs were nearly as big as a good-sized suitcase, and a surprising number of eggs were huge—more than ten feet tall. Katherine was very interested about where those eggs could have come from.

Nicholas, on the other hand, was having a difficult time taking these Warrior Eggs seriously. But he tried not to betray his doubts and instead asked his host in a tone that at least hinted at politeness, "Very pretty eggs, Bunnymund, but can they fight?"

The Pooka regarded him evenly, his nose not even twitching. "The Greeks thought so at Troy. Though why they built that clumsy horse instead of an egg, as I suggested, I'll never understand."

Katherine, sensing another potential argument brewing, thought it best to interrupt, "Are we getting close?" she asked.

"At our current rate of speed, we'll be there in exactly thirty-seven clucks," Bunnymund replied.

Clucks? Nicholas and Katherine both wondered, then decided not to ask any more questions for a while. Bunnymund's answers always left them feeling, well, they just weren't sure. Bewildered? Uncertain? Odd?

Meanwhile, Bunnymund regarded the two humans. He found himself concerned for them.

Their musings were interrupted by an insistent clanging sound, far off at the moment, but growing louder and closer as his train barreled forward.

"We've very nearly there," he told the others.

Katherine could tell, for she could smell the dank, sulfuric odor of Fearlings. She held her dagger tighter. At the same time, Nicholas' sword and Bunnymund's staff both began to glow. Danger was apparently just ahead.

Katherine thought she made the right choice. The oldest and wisest creature on Earth and the greatest warrior-wizard had once again begun fighting, acting like brats. She didn't want to waste any time. Time was not a luxury for them. Not when Nightlight was hurt and the children in need of rescue.

And so Katherine snuck out of the train and walked down the dark tunnels by herself. The tunnels were dim, its walls getting rougher with every step she took. The egg-shaped lanterns that had illuminated the tunnels thus far now appeared less and less frequently.

As she continued forward, she could barely make out where the tracks ended. The light of those ahead of her—the last lantern she could see—was mistier than the others had been. Its shine hit in odd directions. Katherine paused, trying to sort out why.

The ominous clanking they had heard earlier grew louder and louder, she could feel the reverberations. But she continued forward until she stood under the lantern and its strange glow. The light looked as if it were being blown in the wind. But there was no wind.

She followed its fading glow as it twisted farther away. She took a few more steps forward, following the light. And with each step, the tunnel grew wider and taller. And then, to her complete surprise, it just…stopped. A gray vastness loomed in front of her—a giant wall that blocked her from going any further. But it didn't stop the light. Katherine could see that the misty steam of lantern light was actually flowing into this wall of dense, dark, metallic-looking rock.

And then she knew. She was at the Earth's Core.

She approached the wall cautiously, her dagger at the ready. It occurred to her that he weapon couldn't possibly be of use against a wall, but perhaps it could defend against what was on the other side. Katherine kept her dagger raised and listened intently.

The sounds from within were deep and menacing, like growling thunder from an oncoming storm. She heard what she thought was Pitch laughing and a cold shiver ran through her soul, sending gooseflesh to rise.

Katherine reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the locket that she had gotten from Ombric. She looked at the picture of Pitch's daughter. Again, she felt a strange sort of sadness. She had lost her father before she'd ever really known him, and yet she missed him every day. Their time together had been so very short, but the bond she had with him lived on. She knew it would never fade or die.

She studied the picture of that little girl from long ago and wondered, Might this locket be a much more powerful weapon against Pitch than any dagger?

A shift in the lantern's light caught her attention. The light was changing, twisting down and splitting into different threads, fanning out like a web that arched behind her. She spun around. Surrounding her stood a dozen or so Fearlings. The tendrils of the lantern light fed directly into their leaded armor.

"Nicholas!" Katherine managed to scream before they whisked her away to the awful place behind the wall.

Katherine could barely remember what happened next. There was a whirlwind of Fearling activity, and before she knew it, Pitch had his cold and rough hand by her collar and was dragging her with him.

"Come, sprite," the Nightmare King had said. "I've no time to dilly-dally with you right now."

They rushed from chamber to chamber as Pitch shouted commands, making sure his dark army was in place and ready. Katherine dangled at his side like a sack, all she could do was watch every movement of the Fearling troops—which was no easy feat as she was being buffeted about with Pitch's grim grip around her neck.

She saw the trap Pitch was planning. The Fearlings were going to let Nicholas and Bunnymund make their way deep into the hollow of the Earth's Core, then surround and overwhelm them. Her mind raced. As Pitch planned to destroy her friends, she plotted how best to stop him.

Time was short. Bunnymund's war cry was getting louder, and so was the sounds of battle. Katherine had so few choices and none played to her favor. At that moment, as Pitch was hurrying them into yet another chamber, Katherine saw the metal cages holding the children. Tall William and the others could see her as well. They yelled and stuck their hands through the air holes to wave.

Katherine tried to shout back, but Pitch swung her suddenly to his other hand. As he did so, she noticed, for only an instant, that his hand seemed different…changed. Almost human-looking. Then she heard the opening of a metal door and she was shoved into a small room. The door slammed behind her and she was immersed in total and complete darkness.

And though she did not yet know it at the time, Pitch had put her in the one place where she most needed to be.

Magic truly is a mysterious force. Its way can sometimes be erratic, and it holds far too many surprises. The moment Katherine was forced into the dark confines of the room, tears falling down her cheeks, she felt a familiar tug; a call that verged on distressing. Something was wrong with Ombric. He needed help. Nichoals and Bunnymund needed to know about Pitch's trap. As those thoughts circled around Katherine, it allowed her to bridge her mind with Ombric, Nicholas, and Bunnymund. For the second time, she experienced their minds melding into one.

Katherine told Nicholas and Bunnymund of the trap Pitch had laid for them. She had insisted on calling for Ombric at that moment, and although it seemed impossible to teleport someone so quickly and so deeply inside the Earth's Core, the three of them believed they could do it.

The last message she left to her friends before she cut off their connection was one of caution, telling them to wait for Ombric and wait for herself. She had a plan.

It was chaos and pandemonium. Katherine had to force herself to stay true to the plan, even when Nicholas had been gravely injured.

She was on Nightlight's back, the two of them bidding their time and waiting for an opening that would allow them to put Katherine's plan in action.

It was a dangerous plan. One they had no idea if it would work. Yet, it seemed like ti was the only way to claim for victory, for even as the Robot Djinni had been freed from Pitch and had returned to obeying Nicholas' orders, they were still greatly over-powered.

Despite his strength having returned to him, Nightlight held back in fighting Pitch, merely parrying his blows even with the diamond dagger—the tip of his staff—repaired. When Nicholas and the others saw an opening, they moved in for the kill.

But before they could strike, Katherine raised up her hand and held something towards Pitch. It was not a weapon. It was something that she wanted him to see.

The locket.

For a moment, time stood still. Pitch stared at the locket, his face twisted and monstrous. His gaze did not waver from the picture. Then his face began to change. The anger and fury faded, replaced by a look that was mournful, anguished, and unbearably sad. Nicholas and the others held steady, hardly believing what they were seeing.

The Nightmare King was no longer horrifying, but horrified. He reached out with his damaged hand—the one he had used to try to change Nightlight into a Fearling, the hand that now looked human.

He tugged the locket away from Katherine, and for an instant she felt his hand against hers. His touch was not of a creature of fear. It was a touch of a father who had lost his child.

Pitch then let out a long and haunted scream that came from the depths of whatever sort of soul he had left. It was a scream Katherine would never forget.

He looked at the picture for one more moment, then faded. Vanishing completely away. The Fearling army disappeared with him.

And just like that, the battle was over.

Katherine thought for certain that Nicholas was going to die. When he had lost consciousness after the battle, she had touched his hand and they were cold. He had looked so pale, weakened, and all she could do was cry. She had thought that he would not be made whole again.

They had returned to Santoff Clausen. The children were in high spirits, playing games as they have always done. Katherine, on the other hand, was in her tree house with Kailash. Often she would stay there to write stories and rhymes of the adventures she had, adding a new volume for the Battle at the Earth's Core.

She also had one more companion: Mr. Qwerty, who was once a glowworm but now had been transformed.

When Nightlight had told Mr. Qwerty to eat the library to save it from Pitch, something remarkable had happened. The spells and the magic contained in the thousands of pages had transformed the glowworm. In his cocoon, he had changed. But it was not into a butterfly. He became something that the world had never seen before.

He had wings, many of them, but they were made of paper. He had become a sort of living book. His pages were all blank. It was on these pages that Katherine wrote her stories.

Katherine could hear her friends playing in the woods. They were making a story too, of that great and terrible battle. It always changed as they acted it out. Sometimes, whoever played Bunnymund would come too late, or the bear would run off too soon, or the squirrels would decide that they wanted to join in the battle and escape from their "cages" too early. But one part always stayed the same: when Nicholas fell. Somehow, it seemed important to do that exactly as it happened.

As Katherine sat in her tree house, she heard her friends readying for their game's final battle. She stopped writing to listen.

Down in the forest, William the Absolute Youngest had fallen to the ground, the stick that was his pretend sword lying at his side. Sascha, Fog, Petter, and the others stood over him as he seemed to die. Then he reached for the magic sword.

Suddenly, a voice came booming from the trees at the edge of the clearing.

"No! No! No!" Yelled Nicholas St. North. He came striding towards them. "That's not how it happened! Bunnymund gave me that magic chocolate first."

Nicholas came up to them looking very hale and hearty. He carried with him a large sack thrown over his shoulder.

"The magic chocolate saved me," he went on to say. "I grabbed the sword and it began to glow again."

"But our stick sword can't glow for real," explained the youngest William.

"Well, this one can," replied Nicholas cheerfully as he dumped the sack upside down. Toy swords and staves, and relics and costumes, spilled out on the ground before them. "I made them this morning. Well, the Djinni helped a bit."

The children were delighted with their gifts. They grabbed their different costumes and weaponry and prepared to continue their game.

Katherine flew down on Kailash. She wanted to watch how her friends would act out the rest of the events now that they had props. Bunnymund came popping out of the ground nearby, Ombric with him. The two had become close collaborators since the battle, once Ombric had discovered that it was Bunnymund who had saved him long ago, when he had tried his first magic.

A silent spirit watched them all. Nightlight, the one who said the least but perhaps knew the most. He held in his hand his staff, the dagger of which was bigger now. It contained not only his Moonbeam, but the tears of the children—including Katherine's—when they had been kidnapped. He had used them to bind the broken dagger back together. He had always known that taking the sorrows of those you love makes you stronger in the end.

Remembering that made him glow a bit brighter.

Katherine, sensing his gaze, turned and looked up. She could not see him. He was hiding. But she knew he was there. The power of friendship was magical. The happiness Nightlight felt spread to all of them. They had done what good friends should do: they had saved one another.