All rights to Rise of the Guardians belongs to DreamWorks Animation. The OC's and new plot however belong to me!
Sorry I haven't updated! I have had the story done, but my battery wouldn't charge for me!
"North!" Crystal yelled excitedly as she bounced over to said Guardian. He turned towards the Spring guardian as a smile flitted onto his face. "What are you making?"
North smiled as he showed her the tiny wings made of ice. They flapped in his hand smooth and effectively as if someone was controlling them. She stared in wonder as the wings floated up and flew around her easily. Her smile grew as her excitement marveled at the wings and how they were magically able to move; she became even more excited as the wings stopped in her opened palms and she could see every detail of the feathers creating the wings. They looked soft to the touch, as if they were real tiny feathers.
"Watch this," North said as he gently picked up the wings from her hands and clamped his other hand over it.
He pushed slightly, making Crystal worry that he was crushing them and trying to break the fragile wings. He opened his hands and showed the small pile of shaved ice sitting where the wings had been. Crystal frowned as she stared at the crushed wings, and felt sad that he destroyed them. She looked at North and stared in confusion as a smile lit up his face and he held his hand up to his mouth. He blew the ice towards Crystal, making her cover her eyes for protection.
The ice surrounded her as it circled around her body, before lightly falling over her body. Her back began to glow faintly bluish as she felt a tingling in between her shoulder blades. Two enormous white wings exploded from her back, an exact replica of the tiny ice wings North had made and crushed. Crystal's mouth dropped as she stared at the wings, but soon a smile replaced it and brightened the room up. Her eyes shined in excitement as she jumped around the room and spinning. She ran out the door with a wide smile as she wanted to Sandy, who was visiting them. Instead she ran into a chest outside the door, she grabbed onto the one she ran into and looked up expecting Bunny standing there, but as she looked up she saw Jack looking down at her with surprised eyes before a smirk appeared on his lips.
She backed up quickly as she was still mad at what he said to her days ago. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but instead she turned and ran passed him calling out for Sandy. She stopped as she heard a tinkling a couple floors down and she leaned over the railing seeing Sandy there, along with Bunny and Tooth. Crystal waved her arm back and forth excitedly as she hoisted herself up onto the railing.
"Ah! Wait lass!" Bunny yelled quickly.
"Crystal, wait! I don't know if they'd work!" North told her quickly as he tried to stop her.
Crystal turned around quickly frowning at North. She crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to stand on the railing precariously at the edge. Jack stepped forward holding his hand out making Crystal jump away and land farther down on the railing. She stood up and her foot slipped off the edge as she was more preoccupied with making sure Jack was away from her. She felt the wind rush around her as she fell towards the ground with a shock. She turned her body so she was free falling; the wind caught her wings, pulling her up just before she hit the floor. The wings flapped as they flew her around the shop happily. She stopped just in front of Bunny whose ears had dropped down floppily by his head from the mini heart attack she had given him.
"Don't ever do that again!" Bunny said in a huff. He relaxed as he watched Crystal smile at him happily.
Sandy was laughing next to him as he bounced over to Crystal and flew around her examining her wings joyously. He put an exclamation mark over his head showing his excitement, then put a made a miniature picture of Crystal and her wings over his head in sand showing her what she looked like.
"He's saying you look like an angel." Tooth told her as Crystal had looked at him confused.
"Thank you!" She told Sandy with a smile. She looked up at North as she flew back up to him, she floated over to him before wrapping her arms around his neck in a thanks.
North smiled as he patted her back in appreciation then ruffling her hair as she let him go and stood on the ground in front of him. He snapped his fingers as the wings disappeared and went back into his hand as the ice statue. She stared in wonder at the ice statue, wondering how he did it, but didn't ask it allowed, because she had done so before and he just laughed and said it was magic. She walked with North towards the stairs waiting to go down as a hole appeared in front of her and Bunny jumped out suddenly, making her scream in surprise and grabbed Jack's hand before hiding behind him.
Bunny looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow as he squared in on their hands. She looked down at what he was looking at and didn't realize that she had grabbed onto him.
"Sorry!" She said as she let him go quickly. She looked down at her hand in confusion as to why she did that. It felt natural to do that, but now it felt weird to her as she was still couldn't remember him.
He looked at her with hurt in his eyes as he plastered a smile on his face. She looked down guiltily, but couldn't help but look back up into his blue eyes that seemed to pierce straight down into her soul. She could feel the connection between them, but was too scared to try and regain it for the fear of it somehow hurting her. She tore attention away from his as Sandy waved his hands above his head vying for her attention.
"What is it Sandy?" She asked finally tearing her gaze away from him.
He began to jingle lightly as he created an arrow pointing up towards the sky. They looked up and saw the moon moving towards the opening in the tower.
"Manny wants to tell us something!" North pointed out as he quickly walked towards the stairway.
The others followed after him as Crystal soon began to follow in wonder. She looked back and saw Jack standing there still watching the moon in confusion, anger, and sadness, and she couldn't help but wonder why he looked that way. Never would Jack admit that he blames the Man in the Moon for taking Crystal away from him and then turning her into an immortal when she could have had a life of her own. She walked up to him and held her hand out to him.
"You coming?" She asked softly.
Jack lifted his hand as he stretched it out to grab hers automatically before pulling it back, remembering how she saw him now. She smiled wider as she reached the rest of the way and grabbed his hand, expecting it to like ice and freeze her, but instead it felt nothing more than someone who was standing outside in the cold.
Her mind told her to let him go, that something wasn't right about this, but deep inside her heart and her body it told her that this was normal, that she needed to have him near her. She dragged him down the stairs and towards the giant globe in the middle of the shop as Man in the Moon stopped and shined his light towards the Guardian's sign on the floor. The light grew brighter and brighter, blinding everyone and making them cover their faces.
"It's been a long time since I've come down like this!"
Everyone put their hands down as the light diminished and a man with bluish silver hair, and midnight blue eyes stood there looking at them with a smile. They stared at him in wonder and confusion as he gave them a smile and opened his arms.
"What no greeting?" He asked sarcastically.
Crystal's face broke into a wide smile as she let go of Jack and jumped towards the man. "Moony!"
He caught her with a laugh as everyone connected to dots. Crystal calling him 'Moony', the nickname she gave Man in the Moon.
"No way," Bunny said unbelieving. He rubbed his eyes and blinked as he stared at the man picking Crystal up and holding her in the air.
"Manny! You had a human form?" North asked with a large laugh.
"Of course!" He said setting her down.
"Why haven't you come down before?" Tooth asked curious. "Why now?"
"It takes a lot of energy on my part to come down in this form." He told her before his face darkened.
Crystal looked up in worry as she felt the mood darken and flinched as Moony glanced at her with the dark look. She backed up, hid behind Jack with her hands gripping his sweater and her head pressed against his back, and she ignored her head that told her she shouldn't be near him. She could feel Jack tense underneath her hands as he spread his legs out ready for anything coming towards them.
"I came because I had to make sure Crystal was protected." He told them.
North almost fell over in exasperation at the simple answer, but recovered as Sandy stepped forward and made a question mark appear over his head.
"We have a new problem arising. Someone is after Crystal specifically because of her power." Moony explained. "He could pose a problem for us if he was successful in getting her."
Crystal flinched at her name, but came out from behind Jack curious to what he was explaining. She hung onto Jack's arm as she pressed herself against him, making him tense and flush slightly at how close she was.
"Who is it?" North asked quickly.
Moony looked at Crystal and how close she was to Jack as he let out a small smile. "Someone Crystal used to know."
"What?" She asked as she finally snapped back to reality. She listened to her head finally and let go of Jack as she saw Moony was still staring at her hanging onto him. "What do you mean it's someone I know?"
"I cannot tell you anymore." He told her shaking his head. "But we need to make sure you are safe." He looked at the Guardian's with a face that said that this was serious. "Your new mission along with the children is to keep Crystal safe from this man."
He started to flicker as he could no longer keep the form he was in.
"Wait! How are we supposed to know about him? How to defeat him?" Bunny asked irritated.
"It all lies in her memories." He said before disappearing completely.
They stared at Crystal in surprise as she stared transfixed on the spot Moony just was. "My memories?" She whispered confused.
She spun towards the others quickly as she looked helplessly and pleadingly towards them. "What does he mean my memories?" She shouted at them. "I can't remember anything!"
Tooth fluttered over like a worried mother as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and looked at her gently. "Don't worry, we'll find your memories with the teeth."
Crystal looked at Tooth expectantly as her face brightened. "That's right!"
"Let's go get the teeth!" North said smirking as he did a little jump.
North ran towards the sleigh as Sandy hopped right in with Tooth, ready to head towards their destination. Crystal stared with awe at the sleigh as North hauled Bunny up into it, making him nervous and look around helplessly. Jack held out his hand with a smile towards Crystal as she took it and let him haul her up into the sleigh before it took off quickly. She laughed happily as it took off and slid through the passageways made of ice and breathed out a sigh of relief as they poured out into the open air.
Jack watched her with longing as she sat on the top of the sleigh letting the wind blow her hair behind her and the sun to hit her. He was happy when she grabbed his hand and hung onto him when she was scared like she used to, but when she let go because she finally realized what she was doing he couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his chest.
His attention side tracked as North threw the snow globe, creating the portal to Tooth Palace. He landed the sleigh gently, but Crystal jumped off before he could as she landed gently and ran to Tooth.
"Did you find it?" She asked excitedly.
Tooth looked around confused as she began talking in hushed whispers to her tooth helpers. She flitted around the palace as Crystal watched in excitement then in confusion and worry.
"Tooth!" Bunny called out. "Ey! Tooth!"
She kept on flitting around as she ignored them shouting for her. North reached up and stopped Tooth, making her look at them.
"What's going on?" Bunny asked.
"They're not here!" Tooth said erratically. "We don't have them! They're not here!"
"What's not here?" Jack asked stepping forward. "The teeth?"
"HER teeth!" Tooth said as if it was simple to tell. "It shows that we never had her teeth!" She looked around frantically as if she can see the problem if she looks. "That doesn't make sense! We grab every child's teeth!"
"Tooth calm down." North said soothingly as he patted her back and made her sit down on the ground. "It's probably just some mistake."
"It's not a mistake," She breathed. "We have never had any teeth from Crystal."
"How is that possible?" North asked.
"The only option I see is that her parents kept them." Bunny reasoned.
Sandy thought then pointed up as a picture of two adults flitted above him and showed them taking the teeth themselves and placing money there.
Jack thought as he watched the pictures Sandy showed. "No, that's not possible. She lived with her aunt and uncle." It was if a light bulb clicked on inside his head as he said that. "Her Aunt and Uncle! They probably threw the teeth away! They never wanted her to believe in us!"
"Why would someone do that to a child?" Tooth asked in horror.
"They were mean people." Jack said.
Crystal had slid down to the ground once Tooth said they couldn't find her teeth, all hope inside her disappeared, letting the fear of someone coming after her in its wake. She listened as Jack explained a part of her life that she still couldn't remember. She gasped as Jack mentioned her aunt and uncle throwing the teeth away, as pain shot into her head.
"Crystal?" Bunny asked hearing her. "Oi! Crystal!"
The others turned their attention to her as she doubled over on the floor, laying her head on the ground as her hands gripped her head. Her teeth clenched as her eyes were squeezed shut, showing she was in pain.
"No!" A voice in her head screamed.
Crystal's eyes flew open as a light enveloped her vision and she was taken to another place. A little girl with short blonde hair and light blue eyes sat on her bed as she yelled at her aunt and uncle to come back. She realized with a shock that the little girl was her from the past.
"Please don't take my tooth!" She cried out. "The tooth fairy needs that to come visit me!"
"The tooth fairy isn't real!" Her aunt screamed at her. "Are you so stupid you believe in that stuff? This tooth is nothing special and belongs in the trash!"
They walked out her door as they slammed it shut before she could reach them. The little girl cried as she slammed her hands against the door wanting the tooth, but she knew even if she dug through the trash now, they would have taken it with them to throw it somewhere else.
"Jack!" She cried once she heard the car start up and leave. She rubbed her eyes as she tried to dry her tears. "Jack," She said quieter.
"Hey! You called?" A voice said cheerfully behind her, then turned concerned as the person saw her. "What happened?"
Crystal turned as her eyes widened in surprise because standing there was the same silver white hair, and electric blue eyes that she had been avoiding for a week now. He came through her window and quickly walked over to her as he looked down at the little girl in worry. He crouched down as he wrapped his arms around her, letting him fall on his butt as she turned around and hugged him closely.
"It's okay," He told her as he rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly. "I'm here. I'll always be here."
"Crystal," A voice called out faintly.
"Crystal."
"Crystal!" The voice got louder.
The light surrounded her vision again and the scene grew further and further away. They last thing she saw was an old man with a long gray beard and a balding head, change into a young man with brown hair, and knowing, depthless gray eyes. He waved his hand with a smile as he mouth a name towards her. She blinked her eyes as she saw Jack crouching in front of her as he gripped her shoulders in worry.
"Crystal!" He shouted in worry.
She blinked her eyes again as her mind let the fog go and she stared at him in guilt. She gripped his arm as she leaned her head against it.
"I'm sorry." She said guiltily towards him. "I'm so sorry."
"What happened?" Jack asked sitting on his heels as he let her shoulders go. His arms draped casually across his knees, but the look on his faces showed he was worried about what had just happened.
Tears built up in her eyes as she pierced her lips together to keep them from falling out. She felt guilty having hated him and being so mad at him, when he had to be the one hurting this whole time. She couldn't help but feel sadness as she realized he had been there since she was a kid, and acted casual enough about coming into her room he must have done it often, yet she forgot all about him and her past, leaving him with the only memories.
Jack was pushed back on to his butt as Crystal pushed forward and wrapped her arms around his back, gripping the back of his jacket as she buried her face into his chest and her body shook. They all stared in shock at the spectacle before them, all of them knowing Crystal hated being near Jack, yet here she was hanging onto him. He was the first to recover as he set his staff down and wrapped his arms around her body as he rubbed his hands up and down her back.
"It's okay," He said. "I'm here."
Crystal jilted from the familiar line and let out a small laugh into his jacket. "You'll always be here." She could feel him freeze with his hands and his body tense as his eyes widened and looked at her. "That's what you always told me."
He grabbed her waist and pulled her back to look into her eyes with hope as she smiled at him gently. "You have your memories back?"
Tooth looked at her hopeful and relieved as she hoped it was true and it wouldn't be her fault if she never got her memories back. Her hope and relief came crashing down as Crystal shook her head.
"I just remembered a tiny part." She told them sadly.
Her hands had slid to his sides as she gripped the jacket once his look turned from happiness to sadness and emptiness. His hands dropped as he ran a hand through his hair and sigh.
"I'm sorry," Crystal said letting him go and looking down in her lap.
He looked up and realized it wasn't much easier for her. He smiled at her warmly as he reached his hand out and pulled her into his shoulder. "There's nothing you need to be sorry for. It's not your fault."
She shook her head as she wrapped her arms under his own and gripped his shoulders. "I'm sorry I was so mean. I avoided you and I was so mean to you, though you were always there for me."
Jack let out a small chuckle as he hugged her. "All that matters now is that you're okay."
"He's right lass," Bunny said crouching down and placing his hand on her head as he ruffled her hair.
She pouted as she turned her head towards him and stuck out her tongue while she fixed her hair. "Must you do that every time?"
North laughed as he did the same, but left it much worse than Bunny had. Crystal did the same thing making North laugh more.
"He's just jealous cuz he's not the closest one to you." North laughed.
Crystal quirked an eyebrow at him as she thought about it; it's true she was always hanging on Bunny, and she was always near him, but she thought that was because they were both a part of spring.
"I just don't see why she needs to be so close to frostbite here." Bunny argued as he glared behind her and crossed his arms.
Wait…behind her….she didn't even realize that she had turned around and sat back against him. It was so natural to her that she did it automatically. She jumped up embarrassed as she turned and looked at Jack with a red face.
"I'm so sorry!" She said covering her face as it grew many shades brighter.
He stifled a laugh as he looked at her warmly. He let it out finally as she began to fumbled around for words for excuses and began to twiddle her fingers around and her feet shuffled. He stood up as he pretended to wipe a tear from his eye from the laughter making her blush more.
"It's alright." He said. "Honestly that was so normal for you I didn't even realized you had done it."
Her jaw dropped as he laughed more, along with the others as they joined in. Sandy walked up and grabbed her hand making her change from a pout to a smile as she laughed a bit with them, letting the contagious mood spread.
"What I want to know." Tooth said once she recovered, and caught everyone's attention. "Is how did you get that memory back?"
Crystal looked at her, and finally thought about it. She went back to the memory and the explanation that brought it on.
"Maybe it was us talking about her past." North offered.
Sandy showed a key going into a lock, giving his idea of what could have happened.
"Maybe her panicking brought on the memory?" Bunny contributed.
Jack watched her as she thought and brightened when he saw her face open up in realization.
"The man!" She said hitting her fist on her palm. "It was the man at the end."
"The man?" Tooth asked as she flitted closer.
"Oh! What did he say at the end?" Crystal said thinking hard. "Was it a clue? No."
They stood around her waiting for something to go on and help with this problem.
"A line? No." She kept on going. "It was a….a…."
Sweat beaded on her head as her mind furiously thought about what the man had mouth, letting her concentrate on what she was reading from them. He smiled at her and waved his hand as he began to talk and said…
"A name!" She shouted remembering what he said. She faced them all as a smile lit up her face. "It was a name! He was telling me his name! He said 'I am Father Time'."
"Father Time?" North shouted.
Sandy put up a picture of a clock spinning really fast showing his surprise by her statement.
"There's no way Time would do that!" Bunny complained. "The only time that mate was ever seen or helped anyone was when there are meetings!"
"It was him!" Crystal groaned at Bunny.
"Bunny is right, Time doesn't help people. He just decides when their time is over." North tried to explain to her regretfully.
"But it was him! He told me himself!" Crystal shouted as she crossed her arms.
"Maybe it could have been him." Jack said siding with her.
Sandy shook his head as it showed the clock being blocked behind a wall.
"Sandy's right mate. Time is solitary. He's always by himself." Bunny said staring hard at her.
"Of course!" Tooth exclaimed snapping everyone out of their argument. "He's the only other one that would have been able to!"
"But why would he help her?" North said reasoning.
"I don't know, but he see's everyone's past, and can give them their memories from then if needed." Tooth explained.
"Even if that's true," Bunny said. "And he did help her…how are we suppose to find him?"
"I don't know!" Crystal said throwing her hands up. "I really don't know! But if I have to find him on my own I will!"
She storms off towards the stairs as she prepares to leave. Jack stares at all of them waiting for them to go after her, but as none of them moved he groaned and followed after her.
"Crystal! Hold up!" Jack begged. He grabbed her hand making her stop and face him. "Moony said we had to protect you, and if you go off on your own, we can't do that."
"I want my memories back!" Crystal said grabbing his other hand and stepping closer. "I'm sick of not being able to remember anything! I saw that one memory and saw how close me and you were!" She clenched her jaw, feeling the sadness and emptiness wash over her. "I want that back Jack." She stepped closer as she laid her forehead on his. "It may take awhile for me to get back to normal, but I want to be how we were."
Jack felt the urge to pull her close and never let her go as her breathe washed over him. Her words pierced into him as he felt the same need, and knew what she meant. Instead he smiled and nodded his head.
"Well then, let's find Father Time." He told her, making her smile. "You guys in?"
He looked down at the others and watched as slowly each of them agreed to join.