Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Rise of the Guardians or Artemis Fowl

Artemis wasn't quite sure what to expect when he arrived, but this was not it. He was released from the Nightmare once they were inside, his scepter still in his grasp as he stared around at the workshop of the famous toy maker. Pitch had vanished into the shadows, taking his Nightmares with him as he prepared his attack. "Good luck on your own, Father Time. I do hope you survive just a bit longer, so I can have my fun with you once we are done." Pitch whispered, laughing as Artemis frowned in response. Pitch truly thought he was more intimidating than he actually was, but the young genius saw no need to correct Pitch anymore.

Artemis stood up, glancing around and noticing a fireplace behind him. Warmth was entering the room from the fire, but his eyes were on the globe in the room in front of him, much larger than Pitch's globe had been. Instead of having gaps where oceans were, this one seemed to be colored in, with the lights shining brightly across the entire surface. "It appears that they monitor belief just like he does." Artemis commented, stopping for a moment when he saw a brief shimmer in the air in front of him. He frowned slightly, reaching up to his headgear and adjusting the settings to turn on the shield filter. As unlikely as it was, he felt as if this room wasn't as empty as it seemed to be. As soon as he activated the filter, dozens of LEP officers jumped into his field of vision, all of them with weapons pointed in his direction.

Artemis held his hands up, trying to show signs of surrender. Perhaps these fairies did not realize he was their ally. It was unlikely, but not impossible, considering the size of the underground world they lived in. "Artemis?" one of them asked, catching his attention. A familiar officer was flying towards him with a grin on her face. He nodded very slightly, knowing Pitch was still watching somewhere. Artemis could not give any hint of the People's presence in this room, or they would all fall. "You're being watched, aren't you?" Holly asked, her smile falling as she noticed his silent movements through the room.

"Look, we've got your back. It took a while to convince Kelp to help us, but this issue could potentially threaten all of us. I mean, magical beings that we have never heard of? We have to prevent war from breaking out here, if possible." Holly said, walking close to Artemis as he moved around the globe. He needed to get away from the shadows if he wanted to speak, but there were little options here. Lights created shadows, but without the light there was only more darkness for Pitch to hide in.

"They're breaking through! Take cover!" a voice yelled, before its owner flew into the room. Jack Frost was flying into the room, sending a blast of ice towards a Nightmare behind him as he prepared for battle.

"Take cover? Is that truly the best plan you have? Such a pitiful plan for the once great and mighty Jack Frost." Pitch said, his voice echoing throughout the room. Artemis sighed, realizing that his own cover was lost at this point. He was not going to fight these Guardians, regardless of what Pitch desired.

"Avoid the shadows, if possible. Also, I advise you to conceal your fear." Artemis told them, watching as a wave of darkness formed in front of them.

"Foolish boy! You dare try and help them, the enemy I've trained you to fight against? You will pay for this." Pitch yelled, sending it crashing down towards Artemis. Jack was there to stop it, freezing it in its tracks and creating a cloud of icy sand in the room.

"Thanks for the advice kid, but we already know how he fights." Jack said, twirling his staff around and preparing for another attack.

"Yes, I suppose you do after his previous attempt at this. We both know just how easy it was to stop him then." Artemis commented, hoping to get a reaction from the man who was so afraid of failing once more.

"Easy? They had only a single believer left, in the entire world! I could have destroyed them right then and there, if Jack Frost had not interfered!" Pitch roared, sending Nightmares from the shadows to attack.

Artemis had experience with these creatures, after all of his time training to battle against the Guardians. "If you wish to fight me, I suggest you find a new weapon. These creatures are no match for me and we are both aware of this fact." Artemis said calmly, reversing the flow of time on one of them and leaving it as nothing more than a pile of sand.

"Nice stick kid. Where'd you get it?" Jack asked, grinning as he froze another of the Nightmares that had attacked.

"So it is Jack Frost who you are afraid of, the one who is able to stop your plans from succeeding. " Artemis commented, ignoring the question.

Pitch finally showed himself, glaring at the young boy in front of him. "I am the boogeyman, I control fear! I am not afraid of anything!" Pitch yelled, stepping closer to Artemis with his eyes burning. Artemis simply smiled at the man in front of him, watching as the Nightmares seemed to grow more agitated as Pitch's fears were toyed with.

"Ah, yes. You control fear and darkness, sense its presence in anyone nearby and gain power from it. You hide in the shadows and send your Nightmares to fight for you, a cowardly act for one who claims to have no fear." Artemis said confidently, feeling Holly drag him to the ground as Pitch created a scythe of darkness and swung towards the young boy with it. Artemis grinned at her, winking as he vanished from sight, using the magic he borrowed from Pitch in the time tunnel to hide in the shadows of the room. He could travel anywhere within this darkness, see everyone from any angle. It was something he had to look into keeping for the future, but for now he was going to take care of Pitch.

"No…this is impossible!" Pitch yelled, attacking Jack out of anger as he realized Artemis was no where to be found.

"My name, Pitch Black, is Artemis Fowl II, and I am a criminal mastermind. I have stolen from beings that even you cannot comprehend the existence of and now, I have mastered the art of stealing magic. Observe as your own power, your own fear, is turned against you." Artemis said, his voice echoing throughout the room.

"Oh no, not again." Holly said with a groan, forgetting that she was supposed to be invisible. Pitch heard her voice, but he was beginning to fall into a panic over what had just happened. Father Time had stolen his magic and was clearly using it as if he had practiced with it for years. It had taken Pitch months to learn the trick of hiding in shadows, but Artemis did it in just seconds.

"Again? Just how many times has this kid stolen someone's magic?" Jack asked, knowing Holly was here but unable to see her anywhere. He still didn't understand how they turned invisible or why they would even want to do so, but he couldn't deny that it was possible.

"Enough of this! I will destroy you all!" Pitch declared, creating a large wave of darkness behind him in anger. It was large enough to crash down over the entire room and eliminate even the fairies that were unseen by him.

"I would not do that if I were you, Pitch Black. I am not the only one that can sense your fear." Artemis claimed, making Pitch notice the Nightmares that were preparing to charge at their master once more.

"No, I will not be destroyed by them a second time!" he declared, waving his hands and turning them all back into piles of sand on the ground.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. Now, we've just got one guy to deal with." Jack commented, grinning at Pitch as he sent a wave of ice towards the Nightmare King. Pitch was sent flying back, colliding with the wall behind him as he collapsed on the ground. Seeing that Pitch was incapacitated, Artemis emerged from the shadows, walking over behind Jack to observe the damage done to Pitch. "I don't think he'll be trying anything again anytime soon." Jack said with a grin, glancing back at Artemis who nodded in response.

"You are even more dangerous than I thought you'd be with magic, Mud Boy." Holly commented, shaking her head at the damage done to Pitch.

Artemis gave her a small smile, satisfied with the outcome of his actions. "Perhaps, though I must say it was well directed this time." he replied, while Jack simply listened in on their conversation.

"This time? Just what are you planning on doing with this magic of yours, Artemis?" Holly asked, looking slightly concerned with what he might have planned.

"Rest assured, the People are still safe from me, Captain. I have no intention of exploiting them with this power. After all, there are far too many dangers involved to use it properly. We do not want a repeat of the time paradox created by Opal Koboi." he responded, a grimace on his face as he thought back to his old enemy.

Holly patted his back gently, nodding with satisfaction. "Well, keep that in mind, Mud Boy. We'll be watching you even closer now." she said, getting ready to leave with the rest of the People.

"Just what did you do to make them hate you so much?" Jack asked, noticing how many of them eyed Artemis with suspicion.

"Who said I hated him? Let's just say I have mixed feelings about this Mud Boy here." Holly said with a grin, waving as she left with the others.

"It was good seeing you again, Captain. Take care and tell Foaly thank you for his assistance." Artemis said, watching her leave while Jack only stared in confusion. "As for why they dislike me, I do believe I have made up for that small misunderstanding by now. After all, if it weren't for me, they would be under the rule of Opal Koboi from her devious plan with the goblin rebellion years ago." Artemis commented.

"Uh, that doesn't really answer the question kid." Jack replied, watching Artemis sigh and shake his head.

"I was a bit of a…different person back then. I kidnapped Captain Short and held her for ransom in order to fund the search for my missing father." he said after a moment, realizing that Jack had been trusted with the secrets of the People.

"Wait, what? How on earth does a kid come up with the idea to kidnap anyone?" the winter spirit asked, though Artemis had said enough on the matter it seemed.

"It appears that this matter has been dealt with and it is time for me to leave." Artemis commented, standing up and getting ready to walk out.

"Hey, wait a second! We've got something special planned for you over here." Jack said, grabbing Artemis and pulling him towards a different room. Artemis pulled his arm away, glaring at Jack but following anyway. He disliked being in physical contact with others still, though he saw no harm in following the Guardian into the room where the others were waiting.

They appeared to be a bit warn down from the attack, but their spirits were still bright. "Jack, you found him!" North cheered, hugging Artemis as soon as he was visible in the room.

The young genius struggled against the large man, finally feeling relieved when he was released. He thought he was done with the onslaught when the colorful fairy near him flew over and forcer her hands into his mouth, while the young boy tried to back away from her. "Oh look, his teeth are almost as white as yours, Jack! Also, no fangs at all, unlike what you claimed to see." she said, glaring at Jack who rolled his eyes in response.

"It was a joke, Tooth! Come on, let the kid go already." Jack argued, watching her release Artemis and back away after a few moments. When Bunny moved to come closer to Artemis, the boy did not hesitate to freeze him in time for a moment, just to give himself a break from all of these people.

Jack noticed Bunny's frozen state and burst into laughter, taking the opportunity to cover Bunny in snow before he was returned to normal. "I guess you do know how to have some fun, kid! This is awesome!" Jack cheered, watching North sigh and shake his head as Bunny turned back into normal and noticed the snow on his head.

"Frost, I'm going to get you for this!" Bunny yelled, getting ready to chase after the winter spirit only to be stopped by North.

"Alright, everybody calm down. We are here for a very special reason, Bunny, so I think you better be on good behavior from now on." North suggested, watching Bunny glare in response.

"Really? You're telling me that? Whose the guy that is more likely to start trouble, North, me or Frostbite over there?" Bunny asked, while Artemis simply observed with a small smile on his face.

This group was surely amusing it seemed, able to recover quickly from disasters such as Pitch's attack. "Aww, you know me so well, Bunny." Jack said sweetly, grinning as Bunny glared in response. Sandy was in the background, silent as ever as he watched the chaos in front of him. He floated over to Artemis and smiled at the boy, bowing and creating a hat to remove as part of his greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sandman." Artemis said softly, catching the attention of the rest of the room.

"Ah yes, thank you Sandy! Today is a big day indeed!" North said, looking overly excited about something. Artemis glanced at the others, wondering just what was going on. "Father Time, you have been chosen!" North began, a wide smile on his face as Artemis simply observed in silence, already knowing what was going to happen. He had come to accept it long ago, knowing that his life had ended and he had a new job to fulfill in the world. In doing this job, he would be protecting generations of Fowls down the line as their family grew, along with children all over the world. Perhaps Captain Short would realize that he had a bit more than a small spark of decency if she knew what he was about to become. "You are now Guardian!" North cheered, standing up as elves poured into the room, playing triumphant music to celebrate the occasion.

Even more creatures joined them, dancing and surrounding everyone to welcome Artemis into their group. "Just let me know if you want them to stop." Jack whispered, leaning close to Artemis' ear. It was clear that the winter spirit didn't exactly like this celebration, but Artemis knew how to be patient and let it come to an end.

"Welcome, Father Time, Guardian of Knowledge and protector of children around the world." North said as soon as the music ended, smiling down at Artemis as the boy stood up and nodded in response.

Artemis knew what North would ask him to do next, the oath he would be asked to take. He began it himself, without even letting North begin the speech After all, there were a few alterations he wished to make, since he intended to do much more than this simple job as a Guardian. "I will vow to watch over the people of the world and under it, to guard them with my life and protect their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams. I vow to provide them with the knowledge necessary to survive in this world and to protect them against any danger they may face, be it magical or not."

North blinked in surprise, as did the other Guardians when they heard Artemis' oath. After a few moments, North laughed and began to smile at the boy, patting his shoulder and getting up from his chair. "You will fit in just fine, I think." he said with another laugh, watching Jack fly over and grin at him. Artemis gave them all a smile, realizing that perhaps it was time for him to make some new friends after all. These people were his allies and it was now his job to protect the people of the world, regardless of their race or age. He had made a promise and he now had to follow through on it. With a smile on his face, Artemis let himself become a part of this group in front of him, the first group outside of Butler and Holly that seemed to have accepted him as one of their own, regardless of his past. He smiled, feeling proud of his new identity given to him by the moon. He was Father Time, the Guardian of Knowledge, and he would always watch over the world and keep it safe from harm.

Now, the story has come to an end. Thank you to everyone who read through this and reviewed, all of you are amazing! Feel free to review and let me know what you think, I always love hearing your opinions!