! - Please take note that this is a sequel! Please read Something Quite Peculiar and Fly Me Away first!


Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or the Guardians of Childhood series or the associated trademark, characters, and storylines. I am not associated with DreamWorks Animation or William Joyce.


Full Summary: The Man in the Moon is powerful, but compassionate. He is a gentle leader, a loving leader, with a constant smile and a desire to protect children and everything that makes childhood magical.

How do we know that?

Well, the moon told us so.

Jack Frost, deep in anxiety, grief, and identity crises, is no longer sure if he can trust the watchful moon that he used to confide in. There are too many questions, too many secrets, and too many unsatisfying answers.

The Muses and the Guardians are allies. When the Muses plan mutiny against their own leader, the Man in the Moon's character begins to come into question as well. Finding their future uncertain, the Guardians need to take a closer look at the past for clarity.

There may be more to the question, "Who are you, Jack Frost?" than previously thought.

The clock is ticking, and a deadline is quickly approaching that has the potential to throw everything into chaos. The answers will come to light regardless of anyone's attempts to keep them deep in darkness.


In the moment, the days seemed to drag, but when a week had passed, it somehow felt like the blink of an eye.


Chapter One: Places To Be


Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, a wedding had just taking place.

It wasn't anything grand or lavish, though some of the guests had traveled from beyond their world.

The reception was a simple dinner, and now the wedding party sat outside in the spring air, watching the vast galaxies above them as they reminisced. The Guardians, as they had been for so long, sharing memories in bittersweet tones, knowing it was the beginning of a new era.

New beginnings, of course, could only come with endings.

"There is a new sense of wonder, seeing the stars through mortal eyes," the groom had said softly, his arm draped around his bride's shoulders. Nightlight, in particular, had seemed beside himself at the notion of experiencing things as mortals did.

Giving up his powers had nearly killed him, but it was more than worth it to be sitting with Katherine now, ready to start a new adventure, a life they hadn't had a chance to consider while they were still Guardians.

"Is because now, it is temporary," North said with a nod.

"I suppose so," Nightlight said.

"We have to remember this feeling," Katherine said, leaning into Nightlight as she spoke. "This knowledge that everything is temporary. Beauty and life are fleeting, so we must enjoy them while they are here."

"I just—! … never mind," Tsar Lunar said from his place beside Toothiana, shaking his head slightly.

"You are still upset with us, aren't you?" Nightlight said. Tsar Lunar did not look him in the eye.

"Of course, I am! how can you sit there, poetic about the temporary nature of things?" Tsar Lunar confessed, his tone sadder than any of the others had ever heard from him. "You could have had the stars and beauty and life forever."

"When something lasts forever, you take it for granted," Ombric said with a shrug, taking a swig from a bottle in his hand.

"All stories must end," said Katherine.

"So, write more of them with us, with as many endings as you'd like, we may still be able to put you all back," Tsar Lunar said.

Bunny, and Sandy each exchanged uncomfortable glances, knowing this was not the first time Tsar Lunar had this discussion with the others.

No one was particularly happy about Nightlight, Katherine, and Ombric retiring, but the remaining Guardians had not pushed back much, for it was obvious that the trio had thought this through thoroughly and truly desired this.

"I don't want to just write stories, I want to live them," Katherine said. She glanced at her groom, smiling softly. "I want to live our story."

"'Live your story,' yes, so you've said," Tsar Lunar said with a sigh. "I'm just… I'm going to miss you all, when you go."

"Ah, we'll be back, I'm sure," Ombric said, patting Tsar Lunar's shoulder.

"You think so?" said Nightlight, brows raised at the idea.

"I don't think we just get one go at life," said Ombric. "We'll be back, we'll live different stories."

"Hm, little kids that believe in the Guardians and don't realize that in a past life they were one," Tooth said with a small smile at the notion.

"How wonderful to grow up believing, though. To hear the stories and carry them with you because they spoke to something in you," Katherine said. "And if Father is right, we'll get to do that, to believe in you all, to discover the stories anew, over and over."

"Different mortal lives, imagine all the possibilities," Nightlight said, thinking back to all the mortals they had watched over through the years. He turned to Katherine, "Though, I don't think I would want to have another go without you."

"Oh, we would find each other, I think," said Katherine. "We'll live lots of stories. Maybe next time I'll be a boy, and you'll be a girl. Or we'll both be girls or boys or neither. Or you'll be a prince and I'll be your advisor. Maybe I'll be a warrior, and you'll be a spy."

"Perhaps you would come back immortal," Tsar Lunar said.

"No, no, I think we're done with that. Or I am, at least," Ombric said.

"Why have one immortal story when you could have endless mortal ones?" Katherine said. "I want to experience all of them. I want to see how many different ways we would find each other."

"How would we know if we found each other?" Nightlight asked, seeming eager to hear Katherine explain this new story.

"I don't know," said Katherine. "But I think we would be drawn to each other. Certainly, even if we didn't know why."

"Hm, you two did take a liking to each other right away," Bunny observed.

Dream sand images formed quickly above Sandy's head, suggesting that perhaps they had already had past lives where they found each other, and found each other again in this one.

"Maybe," Nightlight said. "But it's been so long, it's hard to think of lives before this one."

"I wonder if we would know it's you," Tooth said.

"I would like to think so," North said. "But whoever you come back to be, we will always protect you, old friends, like we do all the children."

"If I spot you again, I am putting you back to work," Tsar Lunar said with a huff, prompting a chuckle from the others.

"No. You won't," Nightlight said with a smile. "You will find other Guardians if you need more, and they will be so skilled that you'll forget why you wanted us in the first place."

"I could never forget," Tsar Lunar said. "You are all so dear to me."

"And you are dear to us," Katherine said. "I know it has been difficult, but thank you, for giving us this opportunity."

Tsar Lunar simply nodded, eyes fixed to the sky again rather than to Katherine.

"Hey, now, this is a sad discussion for a wedding," Ombric said, raising his bottle. "To living lots of stories!"

"To living lots of stories!" the others echoed, only some of them with drink in hand.

Katherine, one of the individuals without a drink, compensated by kissing Nightlight, who smiled through the gesture.

Their happily ever after was on the horizon, and they were eager to make the journey there.


Once upon a time, many centuries later, in the year 2014, Jack Frost was sighing heavily at the sight of Nicholas St. North and about six yetis, all wearing tool belts and hard hats.

Jack Frost's cabin, from the outside, looked abandoned and sinister, maybe even haunted, with signs declaring it condemned and warning trespassers to stay away.

The problem, according to the other Guardians at least, was that the inside of the cabin had largely looked abandoned as well. Jack at least wasn't sleeping on a mattress on the floor anymore, but North had gently been suggesting upgrades ever since the one-room structure was claimed as Jack's in the first place.

Jack had reluctantly agreed to a set of blueprints pitched by one of the yetis on Christmas, and it was finally time for those blueprints to be put to use.

Aside from making the cabin feel more inhabited, North wanted to add some more enchantments as well. The signs wouldn't do much if a mortal got curious enough, which Jack had pointed out as soon as they had been put up.

After all, "No Trespassing" signs had never stopped him.

The enchanted doorknob that had been given to him by the Muses seemed to be doing its job in that respect, but a bit more magic couldn't hurt at this point.

Still, Jack was already exhausted just looking at North and the yetis, who all seemed thrilled to have a project outside the pole.

"Everything is packed?" North asked as Jack stepped aside for them to enter, immediately making the sparse cabin seem smaller as they squeezed in.

"Yeah, in the boxes there," Jack said gesturing to the boxes in question, set atop his chest of drawers, one of his few pieces of furniture.

"Good, good!" North said with a nod. "We will be done by the time the meeting gets out, Erato said it might take a while."

"Great," Jack deadpanned.

That was another reason Jack was already exhausted at the notion of these changes to the cabin. He would not actually be there to supervise and stop North if he decided to improvise or get too elaborate.

Jack was expected at Mount Parnassus, to meet with the Muses and review plans for the end of the month. He was to be the only non-Muse present at this meeting, a detail that was uncomfortable at the very least.

Sure, things were better with the Muses now. Well, most of them. But he had never had a formal meeting alone with all nine of them.

Why were there so many?

Jack stepped aside again, the yetis already moving the boxes and furniture from the cabin to make room for them to work, a few of the others already working on removing the shelves from the wall.

Everything was set gently in the snow outside the cabin. All of Jack's furniture already had to be fairly water and weather-proof due to the nature of his powers, and a few hours in the snow would do it no harm. This was good, as there really wasn't anywhere surrounding the cabin that wasn't covered in several inches of snow.

Still, Jack said, "Just be careful with the pictures and everything."

"Of course," North nodded. "Are you sure you do not need a portal?"

"Yeah, I'd rather fly," Jack said. "Thanks though. And thanks for all this, you really didn't have—"

"These guys watch a lot of home renovation shows," North said, his voice low as though he did not want the yetis to know he was revealing this. "They are very excited to get to do this, you are doing them a favor."

"If you say so," Jack said. The yetis did seem to be in high spirits, now lugging the boards that had once been Jack's shelves out of the cabin. "I should head out, though, thanks again."

"Good luck with the Muses!" North said as Jack kicked off the ground and the wind shifted to send him East.

One of North's portals would have, of course, spit Jack out in Greece in an instant. But he was hoping that watching the ocean pass, listening to the wind and the waves, would calm his anxious mind.

It was likely a losing battle. Each day that had passed since the new year began left him with a racing heart, turning stomach, and trembling hands.

Time made no sense. In the moment, the days seemed to drag, but when a week had passed, it somehow felt like the blink of an eye. North had recently remarked to Jack that time was abstract and strange, and it felt even more so lately.

Even now, it seemed to take forever to cross the ocean, but the shore still came into view sooner than Jack had anticipated.

From there it didn't take long to find the mountain, and on the mountain the ruins, covered in a light layer of snow. Jack landed there, walking between two pillars.

He was an expected and welcome guest, which meant that with that single step he was suddenly deep inside the mountain, in the main hallway that would lead to the meeting room.

Jack hadn't been here since Christmas Eve. The tree, makeshift ornaments, and stockings had been put away, though some of the lights still remained, draped over bookshelves.

"... I'm hoping that will be enough to convince her to give us the extra time," Calliope was saying, settled in her chair on the far side of the large, round table in the center of the room.

"I mean, I would really lean into the idea that making it a big show will piss off Apollo," Erato said, not yet seated in her chair, two spots away.

The four other chairs usually pulled out for use by the other Guardians were absent, that part of the table left vacant of chairs at all in favor of a dry-erase board that had been wheeled in. Clio was standing there, wiping the board clean.

Polyhymnia was pouring multiple cups of tea, humming softly to herself.

Melpomene and Thalia were speaking in hushed tones in their usual seats. Terpsichore and Euterpe, in their seats, were the first to spot Jack, and waved him over.

"Coffee?" Euterpe asked as Jack settled into the chair to her left.

"Sure," Jack said. If there was anything to be said about meetings with the Muses, they certainly didn't skimp on the refreshments. Euterpe poured a mug and slid it across the table to where he sat. "Thank you."

"De nada," she said.

"I'm here! I'm here," Urania said, out of breath, the last Muse to enter the room. She headed for her seat between Terpsichore and Thalia, pulling the chair back a small distance as to not be so close to the crowd.

"Good," Calliope said, rising to her feet to meet with Clio by the white board. The other Muses settled into their seats, silenced their conversations, and eyed the two eldest Muses expectantly. "Let's get started."