A Rise of the Guardians / Guardians of Childhood Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez
Author's Note:
By somewhat popular demand, it's time for an update!
Really apologize for the cliffhanger you all had to experience (and will continue to experience for a while), but it has to be done. I can assure you, by the end of this whole 'Battle Rondo'-thing, it will be worth it.
Anyways, I hope this will satiate the appetite of some of my favorite people right now, namely: Frostfairy, Elliryanna, jtdarkman, Catapapalilar x3, and chocykitty. These guys made me update quickly. :)
With that said, I'll see you all when I update again. Until then, 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 Fifty-Three
The Battle Rondo of Light and Shadow, Part Two
It was eerie. Not that Nicholas St. North thought it would be anything otherwise. Anything—and everything—Pitch Black touched tend to turn that way. Ever since he had been turned from the famed hero of the first Golden Age and into the Nightmare King, Pitch Black's touch had been like poison. It was such a shame, really. Had things turned out differently, North believed Pitch would have been one of them.
Even Tsar Lunar believed that too.
But the Nightmare King had slunk so far back into the darkness that no amount of light could coax him out. The Nightmare—the darkness—that had coated his soul black had made it impossible to turn him back to who he once was. And with how things had progressed—with how Pitch Black had acted as of late—North also knew just how dangerous the battle with the Nightmare King was going to be for Jack Frost and Pyro Jack.
As he and Bunnymund slunk in the caverns, jumping from one hiding spot to another, North couldn't help but think of the new addition to their team. Though he did not say it to anyone else, Nicholas St. North believed that Pyro would be instrumental to finally defeating Pitch once and for all. Simply scaring the Nightmare King away was no longer enough. The Guardian of Wonder firmly believed it was time to finish what Nightlight had started.
And to do that, Jack and Pyro must work together. It was that thought that had pushed North into teaming the Winter and the Flame spirit up together.
"This is very strange, North," Bunnymund spoke, breaking North from his reverie. His ears twitched as he searched for something that was not there. "It's quiet. Too quiet. And you know what I say about a silence like this."
North nodded, his grip on his swords tightening. Bunnymund was right. "Nothing good ever happens when it is this quiet, yes?"
"Why, though?" Bunnymund asked, peeking behind the large rock they were hiding. "You'd think the children would be crying their lungs out."
North didn't want to think of the implications. He didn't want to think they were too late. He knew the number of children missing was staggering. As Guardians, it was their job to protect the children; to keep them safe. Nicholas St. North cannot allow failure. They will rescue the children!
"Let's go," his voice was gruff as he led Bunnymund out of their hiding place and further into the dark and silent caverns.
There were no monologues, no taunting. The moment the double doors flew open and darkness rushed in, so did the Fright Knights and the army that they had brought with them. They poured in great numbers and Toothiana only had seconds to issue final orders.
Like how they planned, she stayed to fight, felling enemies one after another with equal parts grace and ferocity. If anyone had ever doubted that the Queen of the Toothfairies could fight, they would have cast their doubts aside at the sight of her. With the help of her Mini Fairies, and the Sandmans sand creatures, they managed to keep their enemies from overrunning them.
As she fought, Tooth kept her eyes peeled for the Fright Knights. She made sure every single one of her movements would get them to notice her. It didn't take long, however, as the Monkey King quickly bounded to her, a crazy, wide grin on his grotesque face.
"Toothiana, you're mine!" he shouted as he launched himself in the air, his sword high above his head.
The Guardian of Memories dodged the attack, as she kept her eyes peeled for the other Fright Knights. She couldn't let them make a jump on her.
She caught sight of Nyx fighting the sand creatures that had descended upon her. Smiling at how things were going in their favor, Toothiana returned her focus on the Maharaja, though she wondered where Krampus was.
He looked gleefully at her, excitement at the battle at hand oozing from him. It was nothing new, of course. The Maharaja had always been excited when it comes to ending her life and taking revenge for what her parents had done. His eyes burned with malice, his leery smile revealed hideously, rotting teeth. He looked just about ready to launch into his self-absorbed blabbering.
Before he could, however, Toothiana rushed forward, her knives at the ready. She had planned her movements well in advance before she committed to them. In a speed that left the Monkey King speechless, Tooth did the one thing she was certain would rile the Maharaja up more: she wounded his face, cutting its side by her knife as she flew by him.
The monkey howled in pain and did what the Queen of the Toothfairies knew he would do: he rushed after her.
"Monkey, where are you going?" Tooth heard Nyx shout out before she flew through a door leading to the many maze-like passageways of North's Workshop.
The Maharaja, consumed by anger, did not hear his comrade—or if he did, chose not to reply. As he followed Toothiana, the Monkey King let out a string of expletives, as well as promises of what he would do once he had caught up with her.
Toothiana didn't listen, though. The first phase of their plan was working.
The echoes of Nicholas St. North's footfalls were the only noise they could hear. No matter what North did, he couldn't keep his footsteps light. He cringed every time he heard them. Bunnymund could only give him a withering look.
"Can you try to walk a bit quietly, North?" Bunny hissed. He did not wish to run into any of Pitch's cronies.
"I am trying," North hissed right back. When he still couldn't muffle the sounds of his footsteps, Nicholas St. North resorted to using his magic to allow him to hover several inches above the ground. "Ha! There we go."
Again, Bunnymund had that strong desire to slap his paw to his face. Glaring at the Guardian of Wonder in exasperation, he asked, "Why didn't you do that beforehand, North?"
"I forgot," laughed North. "It's been so long since I used magic like this."
He looked pointedly at North, and before he could say anything, North added bashfully, "Sorry. Right. Keeping quiet now."
The Guardian of Hope could only sigh and shake his head. Sometimes he wondered if North just enjoy tormenting him like so.
They continued on their way after that, following the directions that Pyro Jack had left them with. Still, no matter how closer they got to the central caverns where the children were being kept, they still didn't see nor hear any signs of life. It made both Guardians more and more worried with each passing minute.
E. Aster Bunnymund couldn't help wondering if Pyro had tricked them. Surely if the children were being kept in that place, there would at least be Nightmares, Fearlings, snakes, monkeys, maybe even demons, guarding the place. But there was none. Either they had been played, or they were running right into a trap.
When they finally got into the central caverns, it was as though their worst fears have been realized. There, slumped on every inch of the rocky and uneven ground were the children. All of them were pale, much paler than Jack Frost. It was as though death had already claimed them.
Quickly the two Guardians rushed to a nearby child, their hearts beating like a galloping horse. They held their breath as North checked for the child's pulse and breathing. It was there, but only barely. It was so faint, so shallow, so labored.
There were no indications that the children were physically abused and harmed, yet from the way they were all fighting to keep air in their lungs, how weak their heart was, how pale their complexions were, as well as how their lips were starting to turn purple, it was clear that they were almost out of time.
The children were dying.
The Sandman opened his eyes. Toothiana was coming. And so was the Monkey King. It wasn't really difficult to tell that Toothiana was bringing to him their first Fright Knight, what with the amount of noise the Maharaja was making.
Sandy puffed his cheeks and rotated his shoulders, bouncing up and down the balls of his feet, as he got himself psyched up. He looked over at a sand creature he had created out of the likeness of the Queen of the Toothfairies—which had been one of Pyro Jack's idea, something that the Flame Spirit had shared with him while they were waiting for Tooth to put some sense into Jack Frost's stubborn skull.
This was the part of the plan that Pyro had cooked up himself. A plan that involved the use of the Autumn Spirit's specialty: trickery.
It was simple really, though brilliant. Although the plan's success largely depends on whether Pitch Black had bestowed protection against his dreamsands or not. They were going to use Tooth's dreamsand doppelganger to fight against the Monkey King inside a dark room, hoping that the darkness would be able to hide the fact. The dreamsand will slowly work on putting the Maharaja to sleep. After that, he was going to encase the monkey in a coffin made of his sand and have one of his sand creatures cart the Maharaja off to his island. The Sandman's Island was, after all, the perfect place to bury the Monkey King in eternal slumber.
If his dreamsands' power didn't work, however, then they would proceed with Plan B: which involved a two against one battle with the Monkey King. One that would end with the Monkey King being sent into an eternal slumber of a different kind.
The Sandman wasn't entirely certain which of the two plans Toothiana would like to come to fruition. The Toothfairy, after all, had wished to put an end to the Monkey King for as long as he could remember. The only reason why the human-turned-monkey was still alive was because of Katherine who did not wish for the Guardians to dirty themselves with the blood of their enemies.
He shook his head. If it came down to it, however, they might just break the promise they had made to the human—to Jack's mother.
It's not as if we're not going to break it now, Sandy thought to himself as he imagined the battle that Jack Frost and Pyro Jack would have against the Nightmare King. Jack and Pyro might not have made the same promise, but they are still Guardians…and they might be the ones to break that vow Tooth and the others made with Katherine. I honestly can't see our victory without Pitch's ultimate demise…
"Sandy, he's coming!" Toothiana shouted at him, as she flew by, effectively pulling him from his thoughts.
The Sandman nodded. It was now his turn.
As Toothiana hid herself behind Sandy, the Guardian of Dreams then motioned for the dreamsand Toothiana to move into position. The doppelganger did as it was told, and in the cover of darkness poised itself just as the real Toothiana would, waiting for the Monkey King to appear.
It didn't take long for the Monkey King to bound into the room. He didn't even wonder why it was dark, the moment he saw the doppelganger's silhouette—which he believed was Toothiana—, he attacked.
The dreamsand Toothiana moved just like the real Queen of the Toothfairies would. It zipped out of the way, then doubled back to deliver a counter-attack. Its movements were swift, lifelike, which didn't make it difficult for the Maharaja to think that he was really facing the Queen.
"You think this darkness will save you?" the Monkey King shrieked the second time the doppelganger's attack connected with his arm, resulting in a wound deep enough for blood to flow out of. "It will not, Toothaina. I am a Fright Knight! I thrive in darkness just like Pitch Black!"
Sandy looked over at Toothiana, giving her a questioning look that asked if she would like to answer the Monkey King's words. Tooth took his offer.
"You may be a Fright Knight, Monkey," Toothiana said, allowing her voice to travel and making it appear as though the dreamsand version of herself was the one talking. "But I am a Guardian, and this is North's Workshop. Pitch's darkness has no claim over it. Not while we're around."
"Nicholas St. North is dead," the Monkey King didn't know any better, speaking gleefully about the subject as he brandished his sword imbued with the Tainted Moonbeams around, hoping to hit the doppelganger who had begun darting around him again. "And soon it will be your turn. And I will make sure that it will be as slow and painful a death as possible. I will make it so that your parents' death look like child's play!"
Toothiana closed her eyes, controlling her breathing and the anger she was feeling at the memory of her parents' death. She thought she had let it go, but there were still remnants of her desire to kill the Monkey hiding within the very depths of her heart. The Sandman was certain that she was going to forego the plan, regardless of her promise. That was why it surprised him when Tooth exhaled deeply, opened her eyes and showed how much clarity there was in them.
Sure she was angry. Every fiber of her being was screaming for revenge. But she was willing to put that aside for the greater good.
"Do it," she told Sandman, pushing herself off the rafters where she and the Sandman were hiding. "I'll go and get our next victim."
The Sandman chuckled, 'We shouldn't call them that. It makes us sound like the bad guys.'
Tooth smiled a little at his words, though she didn't give any reply as she silently and stealthily circled back to the foyer, leaving the Sandman to deal with the Monkey King.
"What are we going to do, North? This looks really bad," Bunnymund asked, hopping from one child to the other in search of even one who was not dying. So far, he found none.
"How did this happen?" was North's chosen question. "What did Pitch do to them?"
"More importantly, North, what are we going to do with 'em?" the Easter Bunny looked at the Guardian of Wonder. There was fear and panic in their eyes. "What can we do?"
North shook his head. They need to find the cause of the state the children were in, and fix it fast. North doubted they could do that with just the two of them, however.
"There is one thing we can do," North replied. "We have to get them out of here. But, where do we take them?"
Another silence, heavy and thick, descended upon the two Guardians as they weighed their options. Finally, Bunnymund spoke.
"We can take 'em to the Warren." He said.
"The Warren? But, Bunny, the Warren…"
"It'll be fine," I hope. "Besides, we can't take the children to Sandy's Island. We can't take them to Punjam Hy Loo, either. And we most definitely cannot take them back to your workshop or to the Winter Kingdom. There's nowhere else they could be kept safe. I doubt any of Pitch's goons will even think of searching for them there."
North mulled over Bunnymund's suggestion. It was true that they had nowhere else to take the children, but a still-dead Warren didn't seem any better than the cavern the children were being kept in. Nicolas St. North wanted to at least provide the children a cheerier place to wake up in, provided that they could find a way to keep them all from dying.
No, North shook the pessimistic thought away. We will prevail! There is no other choice. I swear none of these children will die today.
"Well…why don't we bring them somewhere else? Somewhere, err, brighter." North asked. He already had a place in mind. "No offense, Bunny, but Warren not very cheerful place to wake up in now."
Bunnymund wanted to argue. Sure the Warren was lacking much color the last time they checked, but like his powers, he could feel returning there little by little.
Without waiting for Bunnymund to answer, North forged on. He could perfectly see the annoyed expression on Bunnymund's face.
"What about Maria's place?"
"M-Maria? Maria Makiling?" Bunny almost sputtered the name. "A-Are you serious, North? She lives on a bloody mountain! An infamous mountain. You're going to further jeopardize her reputation if you bring the children there and one of the humans find them."
North frowned. Bunnymund had a point. Maria Makiling had been known as a spirit who kidnaps other humans. That wasn't true, of course. Maria was one of the kindest mountain spirits that North knows, but the humans didn't think she was. They believed she was taking them away as revenge for the wrongs they have done to her.
"That's true. I forgot about that."
"Of course, you did." The Guardian of Hope rolled his eyes. North would take any opportunity he has to visit Maria, after all. It was not going to work this time, however. "We're taking them to the Warren, North. Now get your Snow Globes ready. There are a lot of children here, we better get started getting them away from this place."
Nicholas St. North didn't argue any further, his reservations he kept to himself. Surveying the sea of unconscious and dying children, North took from his pocket a couple of Snow Globes.
One wouldn't do. He thought to himself as he shook them all, and then whispered, "To Warren" before throwing them all into the air. They all opened up the way to the Warren at the same time. With that done, North and Bunnymund were faced with another problem.
"How are we going to carry them all through?" Bunnymund asked.
"We?" North raised an eyebrow as he eyed Bunnymund.
"Yes. You doing the heavy-lifting and me delegating. Now hop to it, North. Time's a wastin'."
North rolled his eyes once more. Trust the Bunny to be all bossy.
He huffed, rubbed his hands together, and grinned at Bunnymund. He was going to surprise the Bunny with something else. He was a little rusty, having not used that kind of magic in a long time, but he believed he could do it.
Stretching forth his hands, North concentrated the best that he could. Bunnymund watched him, not entirely sure what the Guardian of Wonder had planned.
His nose twitched and his ears perked up as he felt the magic swirl in the air. Bunny looked pointedly at North.
"You wouldn't…" the Pooka said, when he noticed that mischievous glint in North's eyes.
"See you on other side, Bunny." North grinned.
Without another warning, he flung Bunny on the other side of the portal (the Pooka managed to shout bloody murder at North before he hit the portal). At the same time, the children all began to hover in the ground. They formed a straight line and, one by one, passed through the portal as well.
North nodded at himself. "Yep, still got it."
Despite the caverns seemingly empty of Pitch's minions, North didn't let his guard down as he watched the procession. It was a good thing he didn't. Because just as the caverns were starting to fill out, a large battle axe was hurtled at his direction.
Nicholas St. North managed to dodge the attack. Thankfully, it didn't hit any of the children as well. He whirled to face the darkness from whence the attack came. And that was when he heard the familiar voice say, "Well, well, well…this is certainly a surprise. Nicholas St. North, back from the dead. And much, much younger than when we last met, I see. What have you to say, Krampus? You assured me he was dead."
There was an angry howl—the only thing Krampus was willing to say. No, rather, it was what all the Demon of Yule could say. He was very, very angry.
"Pitch…" North tried his best to hide his surprise. He wasn't expecting the Nightmare King to be there.
Pitch materialized from the darkness. Beside him was a very agitated Krampus. Both looked evilly at North. The Nightmare King then gazed passed the Guardian of Wonder and towards the children being spirited off, then back at North again.
"I see you've found the children. Well done, North." Pitch was taunting him. "Did you like what I did to them? It took quite a lot of work harvesting their hearts. Thankfully, I have my Fright Knights to help. I wouldn't have harvest nearly enough if it weren't for them."
Harvesting their hearts? North finally have the answer to one of the mysteries they had of the children's condition.
"You will not get away with this!"
In reply to North's outburst, Pitch laughed. "Oh, but I haven't gotten away with quite a lot already. As surprised as I am to see you're still alive—" at this he glared once more at Krampus, "—it doesn't change much. I will still win this war."
"Not if I can help it!" North readied himself.
"Oh, please. You may be younger now, North. But there is nothing you can do against Krampus and I." Pitch retorted, brushing his shoulders off as though there was lint on it.
"We will see about that!"
And that was all North had to say as he launched himself at Pitch, blasting a forceful magic at Krampus' direction that managed to throw Krampus away, though not enough to completely knock him out of the fight.
As he fought against Pitch and Krampus, North couldn't help but wonder, If Pitch is here…then where are Jack and Pyro?
