The Origins: Nicholas St. North

It had been a couple years since the whole 'Pitch - Nightmare sand' thing, and everyone was very happy. And due to this peaceful and happy time, North decided the Guardians needed a party to celebrate the aftermath. Jack was pretty sure that it was because North was bored, and probably wanted to brag to Bunny again how Christmas was way better than Easter. But no matter the motivations behind the party, here they were, Jack and Oblivion, showing up to the North Pole.

"Hey Phil, want to let us in?" Jack asked, smiling knowingly, because not a moment later, Phil was muttering curses under his breath against the Spirit of Fun.

"It's okay, I'll keep Jack in line." Oblivion promised, eyes twinkling. The yeti huffed, but seemed to believe Oblivion, and opened the door to the North Pole. Every time Oblivion entered the North Pole, it never stopped taking their breath away. It was so beautiful, and it fit North's personality so well.

Jack laughed as he dragged Oblivion along, through the workshop, and then up the stairs to the main dining room. It was just as beautiful as the last time they had been there, admittedly, it was perhaps only a month ago. But this time, there was a huge sign boasting: "XMAS IS GREATER THAN EASTER! IS FACT!"

"Oh man, Bunny is going to have a conniption when he gets here." Jack laughed breathlessly, his eyes bluer than normal.

"I think it's going to be fine." Oblivion managed a partial straight face before giggling a little. Jack squeezed their hands tighter, before walking to go find North.

Walking through one doorway, led to another, and then another. But the last one opened up to reveal all their friends, and Bunny who was already pouting and shooting death glares at North.

"Ah! It is Jack and Oblivion! Welcome to party." North raised his hands in a spread manner, a wide smile. "Please take a seat."

The rest of their friends had left two seats next to each other for them, letting them sit together. Sandy and Bunny sat on the opposite side, while North and Tooth each had one head of the table.

"Hi Oblivion! How are you?" Tooth chittered happily, her wings going haywire, and of course, her tooth fairies were affected as well.

"I'm well Tooth. Thank you for asking, how are you?" No matter how small the gesture was, it felt good to be able to talk to someone, anyone like this. Tooth practically exploded at their question.

"Oh my gosh! Such a cutie!" Suddenly Tooth was hovering over the table, pinching at Oblivion's cheeks. Bunny was laughing like he expected this to happen, while Sandman and North were trying to pull her away.

"Calm down Tooth! We are having dinner. No pinching of the cheeks." North admonished, but his heart wasn't really in it, his own eyes sparkling with mirth. Sandman was pulling on Tooth until she sat down, ending him with a huff.

"Jack, you're lucky. They're soooo cute." That caused yet another uproar from the room, this time Jack and Oblivion had matching blushes, while the rest of the room was in tears of laughter, except for Tooth, who was genuinely put off that everyone else was laughing.

"Mate, let's just eat." Bunny snickered after the laughter had died down. Deciding to dig into his food, the pooka tried to lead by example. Except that Jack suddenly had his staff in hand, and froze Bunny's plate of food. "You're gonna regret that, Jackie." He threatened, but continued on his merry way, as if it never happened. That didn't bode well for the younger spirit at all.

The group of Guardians decided to continue eating, as if a threat wasn't just issued. There were a few light hearted jokes, as well as Sandy asking Oblivion what they had been up to recently. Oblivion was in fact learning to play the flute in between their duties as the spirit of Life and Death. The group didn't sound very surprised that they were learning a new instrument, so that probably meant that Jack had told the group.

"I have question, for our newest Guardian." North suddenly spoke up, aside from the laughter, he had been mostly silent all night. Oblivion stopped eating in favor of looking at North. "You, you are spirit of Life and Death, yes? So, that means, you were there when we were created. You helped make us Guardian. Manny could not have made us immortal, you would have had to." The Guardian of Christmas was suddenly serious. The mood around the table had changed drastically.

"I… yes. I suppose it was me. But it was more of Manny asking for you, for me to let your souls go to him, instead of me. And because I thought you could do good, I let him turn you into Guardians." Oblivion explained, their voice soft.

"Wait, so, you were there, when we died?" Tooth asked, she was suddenly somber. "All of us? And when we rose again?" She swallowed, pain clearly in her voice, but Oblivion mistook it for anger.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to die, I don't want anyone to die-" They started, but Jack grabbed their hands, to stop from rambling.

"We're not mad, Oblivion. Just… surprised." Jack tried to explain. "I found out about this back when I first saw Oblivion. When I realized I had been alive before, I started to believe that I used to be someone, therefor dying. And it made me understand." He turned to look at everyone else in the room. "And, when I looked back at my memories, I saw them." Jack was searching for words, not sure exactly how to explain it to his friends.

Tooth's expression softened, while Bunny looked to be lost for words.

"I guess it makes sense, but crickey, that must be horrible." Bunny murmured, still unsure of this whole ordeal. "Can I ask?" This got looks from around the table.

"It's not… fun." Oblivion looked down at their hands, silent.

***TSCD***

Tooth had retrieved North's teeth, and with the man's permission, all six Guardians put their hands on the little golden case. With an almost dizzying force, they were all hit with a sense of nostalgia as they were thrown into the memories of Nicholas St. North.

The first, was a memory that North could not recall. But it didn't take long to figure out why. A woman was laying on a bed, tears streaming down her face as doctors surrounded her, urging her to take deep breaths and push.

The woman was in pain, a kind of pain only mothers knew as she tried to force a child from within her out. It was his mother.

And standing over the whole thing, was the dark form of Oblivion, their hand on the woman's stomach, as a bright white light came from their palms, leaking into the air.

Quickly forced into a different time, North found himself and his younger self standing in deep snow, panting. Swords in hand as a young child stood behind him, crying. North could remember this time, it was the first time he killed someone.

The young girl had been stolen by some bandits, and North went after the girl, hoping to save her. He knew his own actions before they happened, but what he had never seen was Oblivion, who ran in, and touched the bandit just before he went for a strike. What North had thought was the man tripping at the time, was Oblivion.

"Shhh. Leave them alone." Was their whispered words before the man was killed.

It was a cold winter's day. The bandit North was lying on a fur bed, he was sick. And he wasn't getting any better. His comrades were all sitting around him, already in mourning. North wasn't really having any of this sadness and depression hanging around him, and had told each person that. They didn't listen though.

The spirit of wonder could recall it, sitting there, surrounded by his friends. A part of him was sad, seeing these faces he hadn't seen in centuries, and a wave of nostalgia came with it. He knew that he wasn't that person anymore, but somewhere, deep down, he mourned for the 'him' that laid there on the bed, struggling to breathe.

Petrov, the bandit's horse stood watch over the scene. It seemed like even the horse was holding his breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. No one spoke, they just watched.

Out of thin air, a slim figure appeared. Someone dressed in black, and someone that North certainly hadn't seen the first time around as he sat beside himself at the bedside.

North's sense of guilt welded up as Oblivion ran their hands over Petrov's mane, the horse whinnying softly at the touch, but didn't give any other indication of the spirit beside him. Was Oblivion really there? Their ebony hair was a little longer than it was presently, hanging in their eyes. No wings were to be seen as Oblivion easily walked through the people standing beside North's bedside, only to sit on the bed.

"You've led a great life." Oblivion hummed softly, smiling a little as they looked at the little trinkets beside his bed. They told the story of a man who loved exploration and bringing happiness to other people. "But, your time is done. You don't have to suffer through this sickness anymore." And as the last word fell from their lips, time slowed to a halt, the people around them frozen mid breath or blink.

Nicholas St. North watched in fascination as the old him slowly closed his eyes, head falling back, and a small orb of light came from his chest. It was a soft red, blazing brilliantly in the light of the tent. And just as Oblivion had reached out to grab it, an overwhelming sense of magic filled the room.

"Death, will you allow this man another life?" The voice could only belong to one being, and North knew it. Oblivion straightened up, surprise filling their eyes looking towards the sky.

"But… he is so sick. He may just want to rest." Oblivion murmured softly, their hand drifting over the wrinkles decorating North's face. At first, North was surprised, Oblivion hadn't wanted North to become a spirit? An angry fury started to take hold, before Oblivion continued to speak. "You can't know what North wants. But… I guess I don't either. And she helped so many people."

"He. North is a he." Manny corrected, and North couldn't help but laugh joyfully. Time to time since North had first seen the spirit, it was almost adorable that they couldn't tell what gender people were, it showed that the kid didn't have any sort of bias. And it was refreshing. "Will you let me make him a spirit?"

It was strange, almost foreign to think this whole time that Oblivion had played such a huge role in his life, all of their lives. He was sure that if he went even further back, looked closer to different aspects of his life, he would see Oblivion time and time again.

"Yes, just… just make sure that he is loved by children." Was Oblivion's wish, beforeshed the orb back into North's body, but this time, it was bigger.

Time resumed, and North's old friends noticed the stillness of the man. A few broken sobs erupted, and some left. After that, everything exploded into hyper speed for just a few seconds, a funeral and broken words, before North was left buried in the snow.

Quiety, as the moon rose over the hill, time slowed one more time, to a normal pace, and Oblivion stood there, over the grave, the sole mourner. Without a sound, moonlight fell on the mound of snow, only for it to move. Slowly, but surely, North uncovered himself, now a full fledged spirit.

"Welcome back, North." Oblivion breathed, smiling. "You are a spirit of wonder." But North never heard or saw the spirit.

With a loud clang, the golden container dropped to the ground. Five pairs of eyes in varying amounts of shock looked at Oblivion.