Hai! I is back with Chapter Five: The "Chosen One"! Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The Guardians of Childhood or Rise of the Guardians! I only own my own OC!
Chapter Five:
The "Chosen One"
Nicholas St. North sat in his beautiful, ice-sculpture-filled office. The yetis and elves worked diligently outside of his office- he could hear them yelling commands and the sounds of noisemaking toys. Although things were going smoothly in toy-making, he could tell something was wrong. He could feel it. In his belly!
Sighing, North stood up and went to the Globe. He had to check everything, to make sure his instincts were wrong and everything was in order. Sure enough, the axis was aligned to the season, the equator's temperatures were average, and the tectonic plates were fine. No problems with the Globe, at least.
But that made North even more anxious.
He stroked his white beard, his icy-blue eyes sweeping the workshop. He hadn't felt this way in a while- a decade ago. But if you're as old as North, that feels like a blink of an eye.
A horrible thought occurred: what if the problem was Pitch? What if he was scheming something as we speak? If North knew Pitch, he was probably doing everything he could to make himself more powerful.
Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.
Call the other Guardians.
North nearly tripped over one of his elves. It was the Man in the Moon! He thundered to the lever, twisted it, and pushed down.
The effects were immediate; aurora borealis encased the Globe and flowed out of the roof, all over the world.
After several agonizing minutes, the rest of the Guardians, E. Aster Bunnymund, Queen Toothiana, Sanderson Mansnoozie, and Jack Frost were all gathered at the Pole, all except Jack yelling at North about how busy they were, how they were being swamped with work, and how much they need to get done.
"I know, I know, but Manny wanted you here!" North's thickly-accented voice echoed over theirs. They were all silenced. Except Bunny.
"Mate, I don't have time for this!" Bunny argued.
"Manny wanted you here, and if that is what he wants, then he will have it," North said firmly. Sandy made a sand image of children, meaning he still had many children to give dreams to.
"Sandy, I know, but Manny wants us here!" North said, his patience thinning. Didn't they know that if the Man in the Moon wanted them there, it was important?
Suddenly, a moonbeam shone through a skylight right onto the bickering Guardians' faces. They squinted until they saw the moon, in which their eyes widened. It had been merely a decade since MiM needed them, something had to be seriously wrong if he needed them again so soon. Jack gaped, never having seen the moon do this before. He was at a complete loss for words, as well as the other Guardians. North was the one to speak up.
"Man in Moon! What is big news?" North said to the moon as if it were an old friend.
The moonbeam contracted and aimed itself onto a circular tile with the letter "G" on it. A bad feeling grew in the pit of North's stomach. A new Guardian? Now? Only ten years after they took care of Pitch? This had to be serious, if the children were in danger. The tile split open and out from under the tile arose a crystal connected to what looked like a meteorite. The Guardian Stone.
"MiM is choosing a new Guardian…." Tooth said breathlessly, her iridescent feathers bristling.
All the Guardians could do was gape while the light shining in the crystal started to straighten into a humanoid figure. Finally, after much suspense, it revealed a figure with straight hair and a dress whose waist ends at the middle of the ribcage and the skirt falling to her knees, a lantern in her left hand. There was a long pause, broken by the Winter Spirit, himself.
"Who is that?" Jack spoke up, stunned. North shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the figure.
"I dunno…." North breathed.
"Whoever she is, she's our next Guardian," Tooth said lightly.
"But, crikey, she's a complete stranger! How are we supposed to find her when we don't even know her bloody name?" Bunny shouted.
Just then, a voice rang out in all of their heads, as if answering his question.
Will-o'-the-Wisp.
All of their eyes widened and they looked bewildered, questioning if the one next to them heard it. Sure enough, they did, and Tooth spoke shrilly.
"Guys, do you think that's her name?"
"Who knows? It could mean anything," Jack responded.
"Calm down, everyone!" North bellowed over the chatter. "Sandy, Jack, will you look for this girl while you work?"
Sandy nodded and Jack replied with a simple: "Sure." Bunny hated the way Jack sounded so casual when the Man in the Moon spoke to them, and on top of that, they were getting a new Guardian. But he didn't say anything, and within a few moments, all the Guardians dispersed to find the girl called Will-o'-the-Wisp.
Nightlight sat next to a child's bedside, concerned. The Sandman was late. It worried Nightlight of what could be keeping him. After all, it was 9:15 PM, and Sandy usually started creating dreams at around 9:00 PM. He put his staff on his shoulder and waited, fear growing.
Stop it, he told himself, Your fear only makes Pitch stronger.
Just then, a golden strand of Dreamsand made its way through the window, and Nightlight sighed in relief and bliss. The dreams Sandman could make were usually peaceful to watch. And the way the children smiled in their sleep….
This child's dream consisted of playing with a small dog. The child laughed as the puppy crawled onto her, and the little girl shifted in her sleep. Nightlight leaned in, enjoying the child's soft grin.
That's when it happened.
The Dreamsand started turning black, corrupting the dream and the puppy turned into a giant, three-headed dog-monster. The dog began to grow, and Nightlight jolted up, grabbing his razor-sharp staff. What in the name of the moon was going on?
The Nightmare came to life and glared daggers at Nightlight. It was completely black but with piercing gold eyes. Snarling and slobbering, it charged at him, but Nightlight was quicker. He threw the staff forward straight into its chest and the Nightmare disappeared.
Nightlight panted. Something was terribly wrong, indeed. It had Pitch written all over it. He needed to tell MiM that instant. He flew out of the window and looked towards the moon.
Something flickered in his peripheral vision.
Nightlight stopped and looked down. There, walking alone and glowing, was Will-o'-the-Wisp. What was she doing? Nightlight would figure it out. He flew down and gently touched the ground. He hid behind a tree and watched Wisp. She was just… walking. Nightlight leaned in, careful not to let his light clash with hers. When she didn't notice, he darted to another tree. Then another. Then another.
This went on for several minutes. She would simply walk and Nightlight would follow. But when Nightlight wasn't careful of where he was stepping, he tripped.
Nightlight let out a grunt and his staff flew away from his grip, making even more noise. Wisp turned around and raised her eyebrows when she saw Nightlight, his cheeks flushed and looking up guiltily at her. But then, Wisp did the oddest thing.
She laughed.
"What's so funny?" Nightlight asked stubbornly.
"You keep following me," Wisp said, stifling the rest of her snickers.
Nightlight stood up and fetched his staff, not knowing how to respond. Wisp put her hands on her hip.
"Can't you just greet me like a friend instead of stalking me?" Wisp said jokingly. Nightlight's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Wisp cut across him.
"Hey, it's fine. I don't mind."
Nightlight cocked his head. "You don't?"
"Nah, it's fine. Besides, it's nice to have a little company," Wisp said thoughtfully.
"I suppose that's true," Nightlight agreed, nodding. There was a very pregnant pause. Nightlight blinked and cleared his throat.
"I-I have to go," Nightlight said shortly. Wisp's glow flickered.
"Where do you keep running off to?" Wisp asked curiously.
"I told you: I'll explain later," Nightlight said, straightening up. Wisp scowled.
With that, Nightlight soared into the sky, seeming to go straight up. Wisp sighed, putting her lantern in her left hand and going back to the clearing.
Before even Wisp knew it, she was asleep on the hard ground.
In his observatory/office, MiM just got done looking down the telescope. He was watching Nightlight and Wisp with great interest. Of course, he couldn't tell what they were saying, but he knew that they were friends. He liked watching them chat. MiM could tell that they trusted each other, even though they only met twice.
A thought that came to his head made him grin: what if they liked each other? No, they couldn't possibly think about that so soon, in which they didn't. But the thought of Nightlight finding love made MiM chuckle softly.
The doorknob twisting interrupted MiM's thoughts. Nightlight strode in, his trusty staff at his side.
"MiM! You were right about those Nightmares! They-they came to life! I promise, if I get my hands on Pitch, I'll- I'll-"
"Nightlight, Nightlight, slow down!" MiM chuckled. "It will be fine. I promise."
Nightlight rubbed his face. The shadows under his eyes seemed to become more visible. "You're right- I'm exhausted," he said honestly, letting the tiredness take over. He, almost instinctively, sat in the cushiony chair and it was all he could not to fall asleep.
MiM looked at the way his eyes were closed, but he was still conscious. He could tell because Nightlight still had a tight grip on his staff. Or did he always sleep that way? Although they were very close, some things remained a mystery between them.
MiM decided that they could talk later. Besides, Nightlight probably hasn't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks. MiM extinguished all the lights and let Nightlight sleep. His glow dimmed with sleep, but was never put out completely.
MiM shut the door and whispered, "Sleep tight, Nightlight."