Disclaimer:
I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its assorted characters. They belong exclusively to Dreamworks and Paramount.

Summary:
Following another adventure, the Guardians and their newest member ensure the return of the world's first good luck charm. Rated PG for general Holiday sappiness.

The world was a wondrous, mysterious place. Far more so than many people realized. Hidden sometimes in plain sight were a great many secrets, including places of wonder that not many adults believed in anymore. The North Pole was real enough, of course, though few knew it also held an actual, real Santa's Workshop. Just like no one would ever stumble across the domain of the Tooth Fairy and her multitude of little faeries and their vast collection of teeth. The Easter Bunny's burrow, the Sand Man's dream palace, even the shadowy cavern of the Boogeyman were all such places. In plain sight but hidden from the view of those they were meant to protect.

This was another such domain. Obstensibly located in the quaint little island of Ireland, in a little travelled meadow far off the beaten track, where grass was green and thicker than wool, and flowers in a multitude of delightful colors blossomed forth year round, regardless of the weather. Here and there the occasional stone had been set, marked with celtic runes that were signs of good luck and fortune. Some of them arranged in patterns that didn't seem quite consistent with mother nature's design. In particular, a pair spaced just so apart between a pair of leafy trees.

A far off observer might have seen the rainbow glistening in the morning light, but not been able to draw their eyes to the end, which manifested right in the grove between the two stone markers. Here, at the end of the rainbow, the light was more solid, more tangible, and thus made for an excellent bridge from which a certain green-clad mischief maker could travel the world.

A bridge... or in a pinch, a slide.

Laughing uproariously, Jack Frost slid down the rainbow and easily took the landing, rolling to his feet with practiced grace. Bunnymund easily did the same, hopping to his feet with a natural agility inherent in his longer-limbed form. Tooth cheated, she fluttered down beside them on her radiant wings. Though she did have the good grace to grin sheepishly about it afterwards.

And then they ALL had to dive out of the way as good ol' North came barreling down the multicolored slide, landing so hard he made the grove shake. He was good natured about his rough landing, of course, and quickly pulled to his feet by Jack and Bunny. Just in time for a diminutive man to come sliding down the rainbow, bounce right off of North's head, and come tumbling down onto his feet in front of the other Guardians with a flourish.

About the same height as the Sand Man, this newcomer in their midst was a well-dressed gentleman whom looked to be in his middle years, supported by the great flaming red beard that sprouted from his cheeks and chin. His skin was a reddish tint that suggested a great deal of activity or a great deal of sunlight, and both were likely the case. He had expressive eyes the color of shamrocks, and a bulbous nose. Beneath it, a wide grin stretched out his cheeks, showing rows of teeth that were perfectly straight and white as snow.

His suit was impeccable despite all the wear and tear they'd endured the evening. In fact, if Jack wasn't mistaken, it looked even better than it had an hour ago, when they'd been battling Pitch and his nightmarish minions. Evidently reclaiming the pot had helped restore some of the little guy's power, and thus, his appearance with it.

"Well now, that wasn't so bad, was it now?" he asked, setting off immediately.

"Still think my tunnels are faster," Bunnymund grumbled, falling into step behind the little leprechaun.

"Is could be better maybe," North replied, dusting off his sleeves. "But everybody loves the sleigh. Can't go wrong with the classics."

Bunny's ear twitched, but he declined to comment. Sandy nudged his side playfully.

"Oh don't be like that," Clovis said, swinging the pot in his hand and carrying it easily despite its vast size. "Fastest way around the world, my rainbows. And easily the most colorful."

"Well he's got the much right," Jack added, resting his staff over his shoulder as he strolled along, enjoying the feel of the grass under his bare feet.

Sandy made a remark, the sand above his head coalescing into a pair of stick figures walking side-by-side, hand-in-hand. Jack agreed, musing he must have meant it was good they'd all come together today.

Clovis forged ahead, carrying the pot of gold that had been the source of all of today's woes. That was how they'd met the Leprechaun, or at least come into contact with him for an extended period of time. When Pitch Black had taken it upon himself to steal the pot and the source of power it held, and the Man in the Moon had rallied the Guardians to aid Clovis in reclaiming it before the Bogeyman could rise in power once again. That had led to one heck of an interesting fight.

And to think, they'd finally gotten it back with a bet, of all things.

"Bunny?!"

"I'm out!" the long-eared warrior said, catching his boomerangs on the return trip and lashing out with a hop and a roundhouse that decapitated another shadowy warrior of Pitch. Another rose up behind him, but Tooth was there, plowing through it and dispersing it back into shadows. The stuff of nightmares fell to pieces on the ground, struggling to hold their form together as Pitch's power continued to rise and wane.

Jack threw down cover ice, blasting a blanket of it on some approaching shadows as North continued to hack and slash at them, chanting his war cries and overall still in good spirits, despite having depleted his reserves and was running purely on adrenaline at this point. Jack was likewise starting to run low on power, with winter over it wasn't at its peak, and belief in him was only just beginning to fuel his magic. Sandy, likewise, was running out of sand, though he valiantly continued to whip any shadows that came near him or his fellow Guardians.

Clovis didn't seem to be having much luck either. Most of his magic seemed to focus on artful dodging and weaving, having the luck to avoid being hit as opposed to taking a hit, or dishing it out. Still, he was making the most of what he had left, the few coins in his pockets were flying through the air with uncanny accuracy, bouncing off of any old odd surface to richocet right back where he wanted them to go. Usually to pierce a shadow's intangible head or else otherwise knock their attacks askew, giving his allies a chance to find an opening.

"Enough of this!" declared Pitch, slapping a hand down on the pot of gold at the far end of the room.

An ancient cauldron of black metal, it was almost as big as the Bogeyman himself, cast of dark metal and full almost to the very brim itself with coins of gold. They glittered with magical power as a wave of energy washed over the room, knocking the Guardians off their feet and sending them crashing to the ground. Another wave of energy lashed out, and Clovis was yanked off of his feet, dragged across the ground by an invisible force until he was beneath Pitch's looming form, the shadowy creature towering over him.

"Give me the remaining coins, and I let you leave here with your life, little green man..." hissed Pitch.

A glowing, crooked staff suddenly materialized next to his head, as Jack visibly struggled not to unleash its power then and there.

"Don't do it!" he barked.

"Don't make me laugh," Pitch said. "You wouldn't dare with your friend in the line of fire... I'll simply move out of the way... he... might not be so... lucky..." he taunted.

Jack's grip trembled, knowing full well the shadowy figure spoke the truth. He had a knack for doing that, though he also had a knack for twisting it into lies and vice-versa just as easily.

Their heated stand-off was interrupted by a small voice.

"Tell you what," Clovis said, running his last coin along his fingers. "I'll make you a wager. One flip. You call it, either heads, or maybe it'll be tails... you guess right, and I'll not only give you all the remaining gold... but I'll even help you use it against the Guardians."

"NO!" boomed North.

"You can't mean that!" exclaimed the Tooth Fairy.

"Do we have a deal, Pitch?" glared the diminutive Leprechaun.

A second on his side would definitely even things for Pitch, who even with the power of Luck was starting to feel it running low fighting off five Guardians all at once. He couldn't take the offer fast enough. "Oh we do, little man..."

"Good, call it quick!" Clovis said, tucking his thumb under the coin and tossing it up high. "You want heads?!"

Caught off guard by the sudden display, Pitch fell back fearfully, eyes following the arc of the coin. "Uh, tails!" he quickly exclaimed, even as the coin tumbled down, to land right in Clovis' hand. Grinning, he held it up triumphantly: heads.

Enraged, Pitch threw himself back, intent to grab the pot and use its power once again, but to his astonishment, it had vanished. Looking around, he saw Bunnymund tapping the ground with his foot, the pot of gold being raised up beside him. While the Leprechaun had kept Pitch distracted, the good ol' rabbit had used his tunnels to sneak the pot away from him and back to their side. Clovis eagerly lay a hand on the rim of blackened metal, feeling the power of Luck flow once again more fully into his frame.

The other Guardians fell into place beside him, and Pitch realized he was outnumbered and outgunned. Again.

"This isn't over!" he howled, as the shadows rose up to consume him. "This! Isn't! OVER!"

After that, it had been easy as cake to get the pot of gold back, and Pitch had been sent running back to the dark hole he called home to curse and rail and promise them all another time for revenge. Honestly, at this point it was becoming old hat, and even Jack was getting a little bored with it.

His thoughts returned to the present as they entered a forest grove, trees tightly interlaced here, branches and trunks so close they almost touched one another, keeping out the light. Despite the growing darkness, it felt homely, even comfortable. A single ray of sunlight descended from the roof, blazing down like a column of light onto a single spot at the far end of the grove. Four great rocks were here, covered in moss. Moss that, coincidently or by design, resembled the petals of a four leaf clover. The center had an indent, no doubt the resting place of the black pot, which Clovis was even now returning to where it belonged.

"Really, I can't thank you all enough," Clovis said, as he settled the pot back into place. The light reflected off the multitude of golden coins with a brilliant shine. Far brighter than gold, and infinitely more precious. Even without a link to the magic the way Clovis had, all of the other Guardians could feel it. The sense of wonder and merriment returning to the world. Good luck and more importantly, belief in it flooding back into the children.

"Just doing our job," Bunnymund said, crossing his arms. "We all have to do our part."

"I guess that includes you now too, Guardian," said Jack with a grin, hopping up onto one of the shamrock stones and peering down from his new height.

Clovis blushed, his red skin flushing an even deeper crimson hue. "Guess it does."

"What, no official ceremony?" asked North, looking put out.

Tooth patted his shoulder. "We all know that's just a formality, North. Maybe we can try again later."

The gentle giant gave a great sigh, but then shrugged it off with a laugh. "Well is no problem, I suppose I should be getting back to work anyway. I have schedule to keep."

"You have a schedule?!" Bunny was immediately up in his face, or rather, up to his chest, puffing indignantly. "North, I've got perishables to work with and Easter is just around the corner. Don't talk to me about schedules! I should've been out of here the minute we got that old cracked kettle..."

"Pot!" Clovis interrupted crossly, falling easily into the same bickering as the others. "It's a pot o' gold, you mangy little rabbit!"

"Who're you callin' little, bub?!"

Jack chuckled good naturedly as he watched them bicker and argue, knowing well enough it was harmless fun. And a little healthy competition between the Guardians made things more interesting, after all. Like the time they'd pitched in to help out Tooth and her collecting.

Clovis lingered behind, given it was his home, and Jack made his way over to him as the other Guardians headed back towards the field, using their individual means to transport back to their respective homes. There's was not a job you could take breaks on, especially holidays, and they all had a lot of work to do. With winter over and spring on the rise, Jack's work was a little less intensive, though he still managed to pitch in here and there.

Right now, by making sure Clovis was going to be alright, and their new Guardian of Luck didn't suffer a second theft of his pot.

"Think Pitch'll try again?" he asked, tilting his staff at the magical relic in question.

Shaking his head, the bearded leprechaun said, "nah, I'll take better care of it this time... momentary lapse on my part I'm not likely to repeat in the future."

"Well, if you do... we're always here to answer the call."

"Well likewise if you're in a tight spot and need a bit o' the Irish Luck..."

"We'll call you," Jack assured him with a grin. "Better you than Pitch having that sort of power."

"Bah, even if he'd succeeded, he wouldn't really have won... temporary victory, at best. That's all that luck really is," the diminutive Guardian said with a cheerful grin.

"Then why go to such effort to protect it?" asked Jack, somewhat puzzled.

"Well, two things really," Clovis explained. "One, because the luck isn't mine... it's everyone's. That's why there's a finite supply of it. I can't keep it all to myself, and neither could Pitch, not forever. I like to think of myself as a humble purveyor of the stuff instead. That's why I always keep just a few pieces on me, instead of the whole thing. Oh, and this one. My truly lucky coin."

He produced said coin with a flourish. The very one he'd won back the pot with in their bet. Now that Jack saw it more closely, he noticed a slight bronze tint to the metal, and realized it didn't quite shine the same as all the others. It was different somehow.

"How's that coin any luckier than the rest?" he asked.

"See for yourself," he replied, flicking the coin to the spirit of frostbite, who caught it easily in his hand.

Jack eyed the coin, seeing the smiling face on its side, which looked not coincidently a lot like a winking Clovis. But curiously, when he turned it over, the other side had the exact same image. Both sides were heads.

"Trick coin," Jack identified, tossing it back. So that was how the wily li'l Leprechaun had won their wager. He'd cheated.

The bearded man gave a grin as he expertly flicked it up into the air, holding open his jacket to catch it in the inner pocket. "Got it in one."

"... or... " a wry grin spread across the Winter spirits face as realization dawned on him. "Is that the other thing?"

"Oh Jack, don't you know?" Clovis said with a grin. "Luck's all well and good to have on your side, but at the end of the day, sometimes you have to make your own."

With tip of his hat and a wink, the leprechaun vanished in a swirl of green light, poofing out of existence. Jack could only ruefully shake his head. Their new ally was definitely a handful, but then again, most of his colleagues had said the same about him more than once.

Which meant things were only going to get more interesting any time the two of them got a chance to team-up again.

"Sounds like fun," he remarked aloud, allowing the wind to pick him up and draw him into the sky, and onwards to another adventure.

Authors Notes:
Please review if enjoyed.

Not too much backstory to this one, just a bit of good ol' fashioned Saint Patricks Day fun. Originally considered the full story with the theft of the pot and the first meeting of Clovis the Leprechaun, aka the new Guardian of Luck, but ultimately decided I couldn't commit to such. Ah well, sometimes its better just to dream.