...HELLO!

So I saw this movie yesterday...needless to say, I couldn't sit still! I loved it! The animation, the characters, the story...sigh. I CAN'T GET OVER HOW AMAZING IT IS.

The only way I know how to express my adoration is to write a fanfiction, so here it is.

I spent all morning creating the story (stuff like plot, characters, etc) and then the rest of the day was spent writing this first chapter. Yeaaaahhhh and I have real homework to do on top of this. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT.

Just in case you guys are unfamiliar, Sophie is an actual character from the movie, so her name isn't of my creation, but my take on her IS mine, so she's basically an OC in all but name. I hope you like her!

Before you begin...this is not a romance story. I really dislike some of the stories I've already seen in this fandom that have Jack and an OC hooking up/having a connection in chapter one. I haven't decided if there will be romance (i enjoy romance as much as the next fangirl) but if there is, it will be GRADUAL, and not sappy or cliche. And while Jack is indeed a sexy Guardian, I'm not positive that he's going to be the love interest, so please...keep that in mind as the story goes on.

If you like it, have any questions or concerns and/or want more...

PLEASE REVIEW!

~ Skyline ~

a Rise of the Guardians fanfic

by Sapphire-Raindrop

Chapter 1: Back Again

"Aunt Sophie, Aunt Sophie, look what Santa brought me!"

Seventeen-year-old Sophie looked up from her book, and saw Jaime's first daughter – her name was Leah, and she had Jaime's bright brown eyes – brandishing a shiny flute in her direction. It was painted like a candy cane, and was dipped in white sparkles. Sophie set down her book and scooted off the couch to sit next to her niece. It was dark outside, and Christmas was coming to an end.

"It's so pretty! Can you play for me?" Sophie asked, and Leah nodded bravely, climbing into Sophie's lap and putting the instrument to her lips.

A piercing note filled the room, and Sophie cringed at the shrillness of it. She could almost see Santa Claus's beaming grin as he fashioned this particular flute, not caring how loud or annoying it was as long as its music was heard. Sophie sent a suspicious look at the fireplace, but decided to let it rest when Leah wiggled around so she was facing her aunt.

"Did I do good?" Leah asked, her little hands clutching at Sophie's knees. Sophie smiled eagerly, giving the three-year-old a tight hug.

"I loved it. How about you go show your Daddy? He's in the kitchen with Grandpa and Grandma," Sophie suggested, gently running her hands through the girl's tangled brown hair. Leah nodded, and staggered to her feet, still holding her flute tightly. The girl was about to run into the kitchen, but something made her stop.

Sophie frowned, peering around the child in order to see what was captivating her attention. But Leah was already running over to the Christmas tree, and so Sophie's view was blocked. Leah came back with something cupped in her hands.

"Aunt Sophie, look what I found under the Christmas tree!"

It was a glass ball about the size of an orange, with flecks of white floating around inside. It had various colors floating around – red, yellow, green, violet and blue were the dominant ones. Leah stared at it for a moment, and then plopped it unceremoniously into Sophie's hands. The blonde teenager stared at it, only barely noticing that Leah had departed, more interested in showing off her new toy than staring at a comparatively boring glass ball.

Sophie leaned back against the sofa, her long blonde hair falling over one shoulder – it was layered so that some chunks brushed against her jaw-line and others trailed down her shoulders and back. Sophie thought it looked cool, edgy even. But her mother called it "a goth punk sort of hairstyle", and had threatened to chop it off many a time. Sophie had managed to avoid that fate for as long as she could remember, and so she wasn't too worried.

"Why do I feel like I've seen you before?" Sophie breathed, and ran her fingers against the glossy surface of the snow-globe orb. The white flecks swirled slightly in response, and that shocked her so much that she nearly dropped it. But fortunately, she managed to keep her grip, and settled for staring at it in wonder. Something about it was terribly familiar, and brought back flashes of bright sunlight and vivid colors, as well as the feeling of thick fur against her hands.

A chocked feeling was filling her chest, threatening to burst free, and suddenly Sophie found that she couldn't sit still. She had to get some air…that would clear her head. Without further ado, Sophie got to her feet, marching over to the coat rack to get her thick winter parka. She slipped the orb into the shallow pocket, and pulled the garment on. She heard a series of shrill flute sounds, and giggled to herself as she made her way to the kitchen, poking her head inside.

Okay, maybe Santa was onto something there. It was pretty funny, seeing the forced smiles on the faces of the adults.

Sophie's mother looked over and smiled warmly. "Honey, where are you off to so late?"

"I'm just going to go for a quick walk, is that okay? I won't go far, just around the block," Sophie explained, looking to her father for confirmation. He shrugged, and looked to his wife, who also gave a small shrug.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jaime asked, his eyes a little too willing as he got to his feet. His wife Sarah smiled knowingly, and reached over to touch her husband on the forearm, her short red hair glinting in the lamplight. Jaime turned to look at her, his larger hand casually fitting over hers.

Sophie smirked. "Oh no, I wouldn't want you to miss out on Leah's performance! Stay, I'll be back in a little bit."

Jaime sat back, defeated, and Leah took that as a sign to begin playing once more. Sophie laughed softly, and took her leave. The lights on the tree were glowing softly in the dimness of the living room of her childhood, and Sophie let her fingers trace the pine nettles.

The outside air was nippy, bits of snow whirling on the breeze, and Sophie huffed to herself, burying her face in her thick scarf. Her hair was picked up by the wind and pushed in the same direction she was walking, succesfully obscuring her dark green eyes. The full moon was large and glorious above her, silvery light shining over the entire neighborhood.

"Thanks, Jack," she muttered, pushing her hair behind her ears and trudging down the porch steps. The orb was warm to the touch in her pocket. Sophie waited until she was a few houses down before pulling it out. The moment the glass ball hit the icy air, the inside of it flashed blue, creating a beautiful snowflake that slowly spun.

"Woah," she gasped, and stopped in order to admire it better. Sophie put it back into her pocket, and she peeked inside. The color had faded, and it was the same as it had been when she had first held it – clear, with a few snowflakes and pulsing colors.

Okay, that was weird, she mused.

"Help me out, Jack, what is this?" Sophie said, pulling it out again and holding it out in front of her. There was no answer, no appearing of a white-haired boy, but Sophie hadn't been expecting such an event.

She had grown up with Jaime's stories of how he helped Santa, Jack Frost, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman to defeat Pitch – the spirit of fear, or something like that. Those figures had made up a crucial part of her childhood, and as she grew up, she got into the habit of referring to them or talking to them, even if they never actually showed up. They were real; Sophie knew that. But the children needed them more than Sophie did, and so she wasn't offended if they didn't make themselves known.

The orb glittered, and Sophie sighed, holding it close to her as she looked up. Across the street, there was a park where she and her brother had played when they were young. She always liked to go there when she needed to think, and so she returned her gaze to the orb, stepping down from the sidewalk and beginning to walk across the street.

HONK!

Her head whipped to the side, and immediately she froze. Yellow lights were filling up her world, and she could barely breathe. Why hadn't she looked across the street? The orb was heavy in her hands, and out of the corner of her eye she saw that it was glowing green.

Green?

Time seemed to slow – the car was almost on top of her – and she looked down, oddly calm. There were little rabbits hopping around in the glass ball, and the green color was blurred – was she crying?

"Bunny…" Sophie whispered without thinking, and suddenly the orb flashed green, blinding her–

Falling into nothing – a brief moment of agony – heaviness on her chest – the orb falling out of her fingers – crippling panic – silver light was pulsing in her eyes her ears her skin – falling falling falling – finally, cool blissful darkness.

Sophie opened her eyes. Her chest was heaving as if she had just run a great distance, and she coughed roughly, struggling to gulp in as much air as possible. The area above her head was earthy, and when she focused she saw that there were delicate roots dangling down from the top of the tunnel. Wait, tunnel?

Her hands were tangled in something stringy and cool, and a quick tilt of her head let her know that it was just plain old grass, albeit a bit longer than she was used to. The grasses smelled fresh and clean, a soothing scent, but Sophie wasn't about to let herself relax. She sat up, and frowned at the soreness she felt in her bones.

Sophie's parka was missing – in fact, most of her clothing was. She had left the house in a long sleeved shirt, parka, jeans and winter boots. Now, she was clad in a flowing silver dress that reached her knees and sported short sleeves and a modestly scooping neckline. Instead of pants, she wore a pair of silver shorts that were made of the same material as yoga pants. Sophie touched the skirt, and found that the material was very light and soft; it was like touching a feather. She was tempted to panic – who in the world had undressed her? – but she shook her head, and got to her feet. Modesty was the least of her worries.

Sophie's bare feet were completely encased by the grass, and she took a careful step forward. Her body still ached, but it was less so than before. The movement was clearing her brain, and she was beginning to remember details of what had happened. There had been a car about to hit her, and she had been holding the strange glowing orb…

But she had dropped the orb, and then she had been falling...

She looked down, and saw the glass ball lying innocently in the grass. It was glittering with all the colors, now, but green was the dominant light. She bent down, and picked it up. It was a solid weight in her grasp, and she held it close to her side.

Sophie began to walk, and put a hand on the wall of the tunnel to assure herself that it was real. It was firm and solid under her fingers, and she pushed off against it, making her way through the passageway. There was sunlight coming from the very end of the tunnel, and so she made her way toward it. In the back of her mind, she mused that since it was daytime, it had to be New Year's Day.

As Sophie went, she began to feel the strangest feeling of déjà vu, and had to stop a few times to assure herself that she didn't remember anything about this place. Nothing was familiar, and yet…it was, in a way.

If she tried, she could almost remember walking along the same path, only everything seemed much bigger and brighter in the memory. Was she just imagining that she had been there before, or was she actually drawing on memory?

Suddenly, a small pattering noise met her ears, and she immediately flattened against a wall, terrified. The sound was echoed in the tunnel, and seemed to be coming from every direction.

But then, Sophie felt something against her foot, and obviously she didn't know what it was and so she shrieked. She looked down, and what she saw made her deflate, her jaw dropping in astonishment.

It was a little egg, cute as a button – if it was even possible for eggs to be cute – with two spindly legs sprouting from the bottom. It was bumping against her, obviously trying to be aggressive and failing miserably. Sophie felt a smile twitching at her lips, and she hesitantly knelt down and picked it up.

"Hey there…do you know where I am?" Sophie asked, petting the side of the egg as gently as she could. The legs ceased their kicking, and soon it sat complacently in her hands. There was no answer, but then again, had she really expected one from an egg?

Sophie resumed her walking, continuing to stroke the egg as she went. The sunlight was close, and it was too bright for Sophie to see the outside. The tunnel was so green and dim in comparison, and the brightness made the blonde teenager squint. When she reached the block of light, she took a deep breath, and then stepped out into the sunshine.

It took her a moment or two to adjust.

Sophie was standing in an enclave that was greener than any green she had ever seen. Exotic and common flowers grew side by side in untamed bunches in the meadow, and a large arch led to another section, through which she could see gently flowing streams and waterfalls. The sun was shining brightly, and when the teenager looked up she could see that mossy trees surrounded the area. Several stone eggs, carved with care, rested next to the overgrown arch, and the sight of those made the information finally click in Sophie's mind.

"Am I…am I where I think I am?" Sophie asked out loud, and nearly screamed again when a drawling Australian accent sounded behind her.

"Is that you again, Ankle-biter?"

Sophie whirled around, and her eyes bugged and her jaw dropped for the second time in a very short span of time. But there really was no other way to greet the sight of a very tall, very dangerous looking bunny that was somehow standing on two legs as well as holding a boomerang. Oh yeah, and it could talk.

What had he called her? Ankle-biter? And he said that she was there again? But she had never been there before, how–

Wait a second…that explained it! The déjà vu, the memories of flowers and the fur of a large bunny...Sophie had been there before! But she must have been very young; how old was she when Jaime met Santa and all the rest? He had been nine years old, right? That would put Sophie at around two years of age when she wandered into the Easter Bunny world, if her math was right.

Swallowing her shock and her confusion, Sophie held out the little egg in one hand, and the glittering orb in the other. She was tempted to give in to her fear and break down crying, but with a great effort she pushed it back, and said the snarkiest thing that came to mind.

"Did you miss me?"