Chapter 2

(Forgot to put up the Disclaimer last chapter)

DISCLAIMER: Cause I don't own the incredibly animated and plotted Rise of the Guardians. You know who they belong to, and it's not me.

Any other boring A/N shall be at the bottom. *grin*

P.S. From now on, this will be a slight AU-ish story. The first bit will be very/slightly similar. (Not sure about the rest) Therefore, if you see any time difference (or really anything different) from the movie, it's deliberate.

{Shows what Sandy is saying.}

When North had alerted the rest of the guardians of an emergency, E. Aster Bunnymund hadn't at first noticed anything amiss the routine of normal. He was within his burrow and everything was going right for once in his life. The googies looked healthy and none could deny that the paint in the river and in the individual cans practically sang of brilliance. This year, he planned to use pastel colours as a base for the googies, and for darker, more solid colours, to create images on the top. This would allow children to quickly spot the light colours in dark shadows, or to spot the dark hues in brighter areas. Bunny was wandering around the burrow going over his plans for Easter when one of the stone golems sauntered up to him, shaking the ground beneath it. Bunny felt its approach more than heard, and was irked that he was interrupted during his work. He turned towards the approaching nuisance and shot out a restrained, 'What.'

The golem's face was turned towards its happy expression, usually there when the day was going especially well, but suddenly—with a low grating sound—its face rotated to one that expressed apprehension and concern. Ignoring the sinking feeling inside his stomach, Bunny repeated himself, a bit more gently this time, but still with the same restraint and exasperation in it. Waddling to turn away from Bunny, the golem went back the way it came as if asking for Bunny to follow it. Knowing that the golems wouldn't ever bother him with anything insignificant, Bunny hopped forward.

Despite what North says, the golems weren't there as a decor, nor was it there for Bunny's personal enjoyment or company. They served as the knights to the castle or the dragons to their eggs. Fierce, watchful, and not to mention, highly temperamental. The worst thing anyone could do was anger these stones, and Bunny even sometimes thought that North's yetis couldn't match up to how protective his golems were.

Stepping out of his wandering thoughts, Bunny lifted his head to see more golems; all of them turned to look at the two with the same expression of worry that made Bunny bite his tongue to keep himself from urging his golem to walk faster. Finally, the golem stopped below an inclination of rocks that rose up sharply as if to meet with the ceiling of the burrow; except that there was nothing above the ridge. Where there should've been cover of rock, there was instead a large gaping mouth in the dome of the burrow that let Bunny see the sky. It was what people these days called 'magic' that prevented the humans to venture onto this pit and it was because of this opening that Bunny was allowed to see the Northern Lights illuminate the night sky.

Blimey, how long has it been since I've seen that? Bunny frowned, his whiskers shivering with disquiet. Without another delay, Bunny tapped his paw on the ground two times and disappeared into the hole. The last thing he saw was the slight downturn of the golem's lips and its grey pointed feet as it shifted on the ground, making the dirt itself bend with the weight.

"Bunny! Is great for you to join us!" North bellowed as soon as he saw Bunny's shivering form saunter into the room. Bunny was shaking off snow from his fur when he stood up and saw the man come towards him with a thousand-watt smile and equally threatening arms, open and inviting.

"Right mate." Bunny scowled as he hopped away from North. Going through North's hug was like eating salty chocolate- once was more than enough. "'M glad to see your attitude is as expressive as ever."

North in reply chuckled and moved quicker than it should've been possible for a man his size to grapple at the overgrown rabbit and give him what Bunny liked to call a much too enthusiastic hug. North merely laughed when Bunny told him that and put him down heavily before turning to the rest of the group.

"Bunny." Tooth smiled welcomingly as Sandy snored away beside her, "You've been taking care of your teeth I hope?" She held up her hands which twitched inconsistently as if wanting to dart out and check the state of his dentures.

Has he? Well, Bunny presumed that he had somewhat taken care of his itty bitty teeth. That is, just up until the month before Easter. After that, Bunny went through his Burrow in a hurrying haze; he didn't really have any leisure time to look after his teeth. With a well hidden grimace, the pooka grinned as much as he could without showing too much of his teeth and replied, "Wouldn't think otherwise." This made Tooth pause, her hands still hovering in the air with a suspicious narrow of her eyes, but as soon as it was there, it was gone and Tooth, satisfied, turned to North.

Thank MiM for Tooth and her misguided faith in him.

"So North," Tooth chirped after she turned and gave one of her fairies the responsibility of listing coordinates to the rest, "What did you call us here for?" She sat there, hovering in the air, arms bent towards her abdomen and knees up high, head tilted to one side like an eager little girl, curious to find out what gift her parents bought for her. That is, without the jumping, bouncing and squealing.

Bunny didn't get it. He didn't understand what there was to be so excited about. Wait, was it the bloody groundhog again? Oh no, if that little spirit messed with the guardians, Bunny swore that he wouldn't leave him unharmed this time. With a low pitched growl, Bunny set his attention to North.

North shortly looked off at the globe and frowned, looking back at the three with a pensive look—once more making Bunny cross his fingers and hope for anybody but the groundhog. "Is Pitch Black."

Bunny lied. He'd take the groundhog anytime about now.

"North, if this is a joke-"

"No joke Bunny! It is the truth!" North said, his arms raised up innocently and eyes wide open at Bunny's accusation.

Bunny skeptically nodded with an equally skeptical hum. His paws itched for something… something round, like one of his eggs. Regretfully, he was in a haste before and had forgotten them back in his Burrow. The rabbit settled for crossing his arms across his chest and gripping at his forearms while he stared at his friend with piercing green eyes, "And how did you end up with that preposterous idea?"

"My stomach told me so," patting his stomach with a dull thumping sound, North nodded back as if it was a secret little code between the two guardians.

"Oh- That's okay then." Bunny started nonchalantly before his whole expression dropped to a scowl. Even his ears looked like it was angry at something. Possibly a somebody. "Not! North, you can't just call everyone here just because of one of your organs within your digestive system!"

"I can't?" North mused aloud, "Why ever not?"

Bunny's whole posture turned into scowl, "Because… Because it's- It's just not done!" Bunny growled, bringing alive a long aged argument often held between him and North, second place to which holiday was better, Easter or Christmas? Bunny never won those little disagreements that occasionally tottered on the brink of violence, but neither did North. So that was okay. For now.

"I see…" North's eyes crinkled in deep thought as his fingers stroked the white mass of hair below his chin. The pooka wondered if North really saw it. His doubts were confirmed when North turned back to the rabbit with a smile in his eyes, "No, I don't see." Bunny groaned into his paws while a burst of mirth erupted from North in the form of one of Santa's jolly chuckles.

Awoken by North's reverberating laughter, Sandy blinked dreamily before taking a look at North and laughing silently along with his friend. A little question mark appeared above his head suggesting he had no idea what North was chortling about, but he kept up his silent glee. Tooth took one look at the Sandman before she conspicuously covered up a little grin by chewing on her bottom lip. That didn't stop the giggles though and Bunny looked up from his griping to find the three guardians snorting; trying and failing to keep their composure. (Well, Tooth was trying. Bunny didn't think North knew what composure meant. And Sandy? He was Sandy.)

"Aw-right. Laugh all you buggering want. But I still want ta know if what North said was a pile of rubbish or not."

That eased up the mirth in the room and Tooth looked nervously at North while Sandy cocked his head questioningly at Bunny. Taking pity for the guardian of dreams, Bunny quickly informed him of North's new notion and watched as Sandy's usual grin lost its shine before turning into a frown. Sandy turned to North before creating another question mark above his head. Different signs followed right afterwards, {Are you sure it was him, North?}

North looked at the globe once before nodding. He opened his mouth to say whatever he meant to say next, but a beam of light cut him off that made North squinted up at the open hole in the wall with pursed lips. Bunny turned around to seek the source and saw it. The moon which had momentarily blinded North, was as bright as ever.

Bunny basked in the warmth of love that came with the moon, and his fur stood on its end with the feeling of static charge running down his spine whenever faced with Moony's full-on operating aura.

Shaking off his frown, he looked back up at the moon with something close to a smile.

North finally having found his vision working again, turned his gaze to the silver-like orb in the sky and gestured welcomingly, "Ah! Moony! It has been a while old friend!"

The moon in turn, shimmered. Whether Moony was replying to North or if it was a coincidence, Bunny would never know.

"Will you tell us what you are here for?" North asked, stepping out of the way to let the moonlight rest against the circle emblem that was carved into the floor. At first, there was nothing, but then the light moved out of the way to create a shadow of a man. A man who was laughing with a sneer on his face along with a pointy high nose; with slicked back hair that stood at the end as pointy as thorns. A man who looked awfully familiar despite the shadow that didn't allow for any details.

"Pitch Black," Bunny spat out as Tooth gasped and Sandy looked up at the moon.

"So, it is as I feared," North mumbled, rubbing his belly. Bunny swore never to doubt that precious belly of his ever again.

The light and shadow within the circle circled each other before the shadow vanished into thin air as light formed where it was before. The circle of moonlight shone more so than before and the pooka found himself clenching his eyes shut before being allowed to open it again when it finally dimmed.

In place of the emblem, stood a large crystal with an intricately carved wooden base. Bunny blinked at the invention that clearly screamed North, before turning to said man for an explanation.

"He…" North started before clearing his throat and trying again. "Man in the Moon is choosing a new guardian." North spoke a bit breathlessly.

"Another one?" Bunny grunted with slight exasperation, "What. He doesn't think we're enough to beat Pitch?" He was rightly shush by Tooth. Her dark magenta eyes lighted up into a shade lighter than mauve against the light that practically streamed out from the crystalline rock, while Sandy's entire form seemed to pulse with gold. A moment, and then the moon aligned with the crystal's own glow and an image floated into the crystal. It wasn't the groundhog, Bunny noted with a thread of relief.

"This is…" North paused and squinted his eyes, leaning in closer to the surface and pursing his mouth. "This…"

"Oh, budge over North, won't you?" Bunny elbowed past the other guardian before assuming the same position as North—narrowed eyes and hunched spine. "This, my mate, is… This is obviously…" Bunny put his two paws onto the surface and tilted his head to the side along with squinted eyes as if that would help. After a moment of silence, Bunny dropped his position and stood straight once more with a huff. "I have no clue," he conceded. The rest of the guardians fell into a slightly deformed circle around the crystal and gazed at their supposedly new guardian.

The surface showed a pale boy with an equally pale look in his shockingly blue eyes. The boy's lips were up turned into a slight smirk at one side, but the other part of his mouth was dipped into a half frown, making it look as if he was pouting at someone who was making fun of him, but didn't really care. He was looking back at something only he could see in the crystal and between his fingers, he held an old stick. Perhaps staff was a better word. His shoulders were clad with a very much worn cloak that stopped just above his hips. Beneath that was a white shirt and leather pants which was held together at the ends with thick strings. His feet were bare and one foot was up in the air as if he was about to take a step. Despite all these, the most striking attribute of this boy was his snow-white hair which swirled towards his left and stood curled at the ends.

"Erm… Does anyone have an idea who this might be? Girls?" Tooth looked to her shoulder at the Baby Teeth who all shook their head after stealing a glance at the crystal.

"How can that be?" Bunny mumbled, stalking back and forth on the floor, pushing aside elves when it came to it. "I'm sure we know all of the spirits by now. I mean, we've been here for so long, we'd know if anyone new comes and goes! It's just… obvious." And it was. Whenever some new spirit came into being, their aura resonated in Bunny's chest where his own center of hope resided. And this was for the other three guardians. Each of them felt the coming and going of a spirit. It was useful for keeping tabs on the more malevolent beings and the lesser ones who might become allies with the guardians.

"Indeed," North hummed in agreement, going over the list of spirits which looked like a little boy with white hair. The list wasn't long compared to others and North ran out of names by the time the image in the crystal faded away.

It was when the guardians were feeling a sense of dread creep up on them that Sandy suddenly opened his mouth and raised a finger as if to bring a point into the light. The guardians came closer to inspect the symbols above the golden man's head, {I believe there was a new spirit that came into being around three centuries ago. It was the last wake of a new spirit that I have felt.}

"No, that can't be Sandy. I know for certain that the last waking was much less than three centuries ago," Tooth frowned looking at the remaining guardians who nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. And you know how I remember precisely when and where that last waking happened? It was the bloody arrogant groundhog in Pennsylvania that popped up out of nowhere and suddenly up and told me that spring was his territory. What does that mean? Spring is nobody's territory! And anyways-" Bunny broiled and bubbled with unsettled rage as he continued to chant about groundhogs, spring and blathering idiots. The rest of the guardians who had already heard Bunny's merciless rantings tuned their ears off from it and settled in to wait it out.

Eventually—and thankfully—Bunny's whining died out quite quickly and he settle in his own reminiscing to sulk. Not for long though, because he was pulled away from his own silent mulling by Sandy's strange comment.

{The groundhog has been around longer than three centuries. When he awoke last century, the only thing he had gained is popularity with the humans and the rest is old news.} Sandy shook his head with a grin that spoke of a secret only he knew and then continued. {When I say that three centuries ago was the last wake of a new spirit, I mean new spirit.}

Tooth bit her lips, "But that doesn't make sense. The groundhog is considered a new spirit by many."

{Perhaps.} Sandy shrugged, {But there are two types of spirits we consider new. Those who have already existed in the shadows, that have been found, and those who are newly borne, untainted by the world just yet and ready for the making. The groundhog has already existed for many centuries and have only been just found last century.}

"And yer saying that the spirit from three centuries ago, the one that apparently, only you felt, was the latter type? Like a joey?" Bunny spoke with his brows tilted in deep thought.

Sandy clapped, seemingly happy that one guardian understood, {Good! You're correct. And I'm not surprised that none of you felt it. It's a first for me to feel a new waking on Earth.}

"And?" North asked, hope filling his eyes to the brim, "Is this newborn spirit the one Moony says is new guardian?"

Sandy smiled and shamelessly shrugged. At the guardians' groans and (Bunny's) wailing of despair, Sandy held up a hand, {I do not know, because I did not see the newborn spirit when it came. I figured I'd see it soon enough through wishes and dreams, but I never did.}

"And ya never thought of telling us about this?" Bunny rubbed at his ears.

{I didn't see the point. I figured that you all have already felt its wake. Now I see that I was wrong. Oops?} Sandy smirked without a smirk, a smirkish smile that Bunny realized he wouldn't ever be able to pull off that innocently.

"Okay then. What do we do now? We're guessing that the spirit from the crystal is the same one from three centuries ago. All we know is that his hair is white, eyes are blue, is impossibly pale, wears old clothing, is barefoot, has a stick, and has the cutest smile." The last bit was cooed, but Tooth quickly shook off her daydream. "Considering those facts, I perhaps think we can maybe go around asking all the spirits we know if they've ever seen anyone like the description we have?"

"That's gunna take forever!" Bunny fretted. "And anyway, we still have the problem with Pitch. We have no clue what that evil bloke is up to and when he's going to move. And Easter! Pitch has the worst timing yet! It's only about a week ahead and he chooses to come now?" Tooth patted Bunny's head reassuringly as he groaned into his ears.

"We need a plan." North nodded at Bunny, "You won't be able to join the fun Bunny, Easter comes."

"Yer right about that mate. Easter's a-coming and it definitely aint waiting for me."

Tooth shook her head before taking her hand away from Bunny, "He's right. We're all busy. North is busy making new toys, Bunny's holiday is coming up, my girls need all the help they can get, and Sandy needs to spread dreams. We won't have time to look for the new spirit. For all we know, he could be on the other side of the world right now."

"Or he might be within our reach, and we don't even know it," North spoke in a grave voice. Personally, Bunny didn't know which one was worse.

{We're always busy, but we have enough time to find the new guardian.} Sandy gestured as his sand took shape in a stern manner. Only Sandy's sand could appear as stern. {Tooth can ask her fairies to ask other spirits if they'd seen the boy before, while coming and going, picking and dropping off teeth. I will do the same in the sense that I will send messages to those who I am familiar with, asking them if they had heard or seen the new spirit. North, I'm sure, has the most time and can send out his yetis. That he sends out his elves alongside is up to him.}

The rest of the guardians rolled the plan over in their heads and gave their consent and acceptance. Bunny looked at Sandy with confusion, "Then what will I do?"

Sandy smiled, {I don't know my friend. What will you do?}

Chewing the inside of his mouth, Bunny answered slowly, "I'll send some of my golems out with messages. Can't send em all since I don't trust Pitch to not do anything against me, but I'll send out some."

Sandy nodded his approval, as the rest of the guardians' eyes hardened into dedication and resolute choice. And then they were dismissed. Sandy flew out on a cloud shaped as a mini motor boat and Tooth twisted up into the air and borrowed one of North's snow globes to go back to Punjam Hy Loo along with her mini fairies. As for Bunny, he only had to tap the floor two times before he fell through a tunnel that lead back to his Burrow.

Before he left, Bunny saw the flash of an elf's golden bell and heard the whirring of air being circulated in and out of the room.

Hm, I actually wanted to write a LOT more, but felt horrible for not updating any sooner, so here we are. Sorry for the late update and the boring chapter. Hopefully you'll enjoy the next chapter :)

EmotionalDreamer101: I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed this story ^.^ Here's the next bit!

The Homunculi Twins: Thanks first reviewer :D I'm glad you enjoyed it!

WierdSquirrelGirl: Hmm, you'll have to find out ;)

AnonymouslyMe: I'm happy to hear that! I didn't know that 'refreshing' could be such a wonderful compliment.

Em: Yes, poor Jack's existence indeed... My heart aches for him ;n;

Random Ging: Haha, I will continue! Thanks for the comment :)

Guest 1, 2, 3: Thank you all so much! Here's the update for you guys, and I hope I didn't bore you guys out with it :/

rosiea184: I did upload chapter 2! But then when I went to check how it looked, there were all these strange symbols and codes. I had to delete it, sorry about that. Here's the chapter 2 you have gotten an email for, but never actually got. Thanks, I will indeed be continuing this story!

And I'm going to repeat that for all of those that aren't rosiea. Most of you probably got an email saying that I uploaded chapter two about... few hours ago? That was a false alarm. My document or Pages app probably didn't appreciate being partnered up with and that's why I had to delete and re-upload. Thanks again for being patient, and if you see a typo in the story or whatnot, please tell me. Do not rage. I am a human and I make mistakes. Thanks ^.^