Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers! Welcome to my Whumptober 2023 collection for Rise of the Guardians! I decided to pick a few prompts from the Whumptober list on Tumblr and write them in a short series for Rise of the Guardians. They'll pretty much focus on the father/son relationship between Jack and North, but the others will eventually make appearances as well. I hope you all enjoy it! The first one is Solitary Confinement!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to Rise of the Guardians.

No One There

No. 3-Solitary Confinement

Jack slowly opened his eyes, and immediately, he could feel that something was wrong. He didn't feel the warm bed under him. Instead, he felt…ice under him, and he blinked his eyes open and rubbed them to get rid of the sleep in his eyes. He became even more confused when he saw the night sky looking down on him. There was no ceiling above him, and he quickly sat up and looked around only to see that…he was back at his lake in Burgess in the dark of the night. How could that be? He was just sleeping in his bed at the Pole and just saying good night to North. How did he get all the way to Burgess?

He slowly stood up on his feet taking in his surroundings and holding his staff in his hands tightly ready for any attack that might come his way. Was it another one of Pitch's plots? He couldn't tell, but all he knew was that he didn't have a good feeling as he looked around for any signs of the other Guardians or even the children in Burgess.

"He-Hello?" he called out to the surrounding forest. "Guys? North? Tooth? Bunny? Sandy? Anyone?"

There was no answer. It was complete silence, and nervousness creeped in as he scanned the lake and the forest around him for any signs of life. However, no matter which direction he looked in, all he could see were trees and snow. He listened very intently for Bunny's feet thumping in the snow, North's Russian-accented voice, Tooth's wings fluttering, or Sandy's sand floating around, but there was complete silence. He couldn't even hear any animals. There was no sign of his fellow Guardians anywhere, and Jack couldn't help but feel concern.

"Guys!" Jack shouted again. "Guys! Where are you?!"

No answer came again.

The Guardian of Fun's nervousness began to increase as he breathed heavily looking around. Were they hurt…or worse? Did they abandon him and cast him out? Or…was it simply a cruel joke? That had to be it. They were probably just pulling a prank on him. There was no way they would abandon him for real. Then again…he didn't know for sure.

"Guys, if this is a joke," Jack said glaring slightly, "it's not funny. Okay? You got me. Just…help me find you! Please! Guys!" His breathing became even more shallow. This couldn't be happening. He thought that part of his life was over. He was a Guardian… He had a new family now. Kids could see him now. After 300 years, he wasn't supposed to be alone anymore, but for some reason, he was back to his solitary confinement. "No…no…" he hugged himself as tears came to his eyes, and he dropped to his knees feeling the crippling loneliness sink in already, "I…I can't be alone again. I can't be…Manny, please, no…" He looked up at the sky…and there was no sign of the moon anywhere. His heart dropped to his stomach. He really was alone again… His family was gone. Sandy…Bunny…Tooth…and North were gone… He bowed his head and closed his eyes. "North…please…help me…Please, Dad…I need you…help me…don't leave me alone…"

"Jack…Jack…Jack, wake up…"

"Jack, wake up."

Jack's eyes snapped open as he gasped and sat upright breathing heavily.

"Jack, are you alright?" the voice asked again.

Jack was jolted out of his thoughts by this very familiar voice and looked up only to see…

"N-North?" he asked quietly in shock as he tried to catch his breath staring at his adoptive father in shock and confusion. He also noticed that North himself was looking at him with concern. "W-What…?"

"It's alright, my boy," North said gently gripping his shoulder. "You were just having a bad dream."

Jack furrowed his eyebrows together in even more confusion, and then he looked around and saw that he was back in his room…in the Pole and in his pajamas. That was when he remembered saying good night to North and falling asleep. It was a dream. No, it was a nightmare. He wasn't forced into solitary confinement again. He was back home at the Pole…with North…his adoptive father, and as he looked at North again, tears welled up in his eyes. The Guardian of Fun wasted no time in practically scrambling into the Guardian of Wonder's arms hugging him tightly as he sobbed…both in relief and in fear.

North immediately returned the gesture wrapping his arms around Jack's small frame. "Oh…my boy," he said as he maneuvered himself so that he was sitting on the edge of Jack's bed with the boy in his arms. "Shh…it's alright…it's alright. I'm here, I'm here. Shh…"

Jack continued to sob as he buried his face in North's shoulder and hugged him tighter. "N-North…I…I…" he tried to say.

"Shh…just let it all out, son," North quickly said rocking his body back and forth to soothe Jack. "Let it all out first, and then we can talk."

It took a few minutes, but Jack finally began to calm down. However, he refused to let go of North as he was afraid the Guardian of Wonder would disappear just like in his nightmare. "I-I'm sorry," he finally said quietly as he pulled away to look up at North.

"No need to apologize," North replied as he wiped away the tears on Jack's face. "Was it bad?"

Jack nodded. "I…I woke up at the lake in Burgess," he began, "and I was completely alone. I couldn't find you or the others anywhere. It…It felt so real. I…I couldn't even see Manny. I…I thought I was going to be alone again." He couldn't help but blush. "I-I know it was just a nightmare, but—"

"No, no," North interjected, "don't do that. You may be a Guardian, but you're also a boy. It's normal to be scared from a nightmare. I mean, look at me. I'm an old man, and I still get scared of nightmares. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Jack couldn't help but smile a little. He knew he wasn't the only one, who dealt with nightmares. He knew North, Tooth, Bunny, and even Sandy had them too…in addition to the thousands of children in the world and other immortals, so he knew he shouldn't feel embarrassed about crying over a nightmare.

"But the only way to beat them is by reminding ourselves that they are not real…and turning to our families for help," North said after a moment.

Jack's smile widened as he looked up at North again.

"You'll never be alone again, Jack," North said with a gentle smile. "Never again. I promise you, my boy, you are stuck with me…and the others…forever. We are family, and we stick together…especially you and me."

"Well, who am I to doubt the word of my dad?" Jack said with a raised eyebrow.

North chuckled. "That's my boy," he said before pulling Jack into another hug. "I love you, son."

Jack immediately returned the gesture and closed his eyes embracing the warmth of North's hug. "I love you, too, Dad," he said.

"You think you can go back to sleep now?" North asked after they pulled away.

Jack bit his bottom lip. North's presence helped calm him down, but the thought of being alone… "Can you just stay with me for a few minutes?" he asked.

North smiled. "Of course," he said.

With that said, North and Jack settled into the winter spirit's bed. Jack gladly welcomed back the slumber as he rested his head on his adoptive father's chest…right above his heartbeat.

Author's Note: Annnnnnnd that's a wrap on the first Whumptober prompt! I hope you all enjoyed it! The next one is: Water Inhalation! See you all there! Don't forget to read and review. Thanks, guys!