"Zzaaa! Ba-ba-ba-bum! Bum ba-bum! Zzaaa!"

If one was to fly all the way to the North Pole, travel to the very center, and enter Santa's workshop, they would see a jolly, long-bearded man tapping away with a hammer and pick at a huge block of ice. You would hear his joyous hum.

You would see him finish a delicate train, and watch it go flying into the air, in awe and wonder.

You would see a huge, furry Yeti slam the door open, effectively obliterating the ice sculpture.

North gasped in dismay. With a frown, he turned to the yeti. "How many times have I told you to knock?!?"

"Hmmbleh hubmlehah!"

"What? The globe?!"

He trumped down the stairs, whizzed through the winding passageways, and finally entered a large room with a large globe in the center. Strangely enough, this globe had hundreds of small lights around.

But as North entered the room, with the yeti on his heels looking frantic, a tremor shook the room. A cold wind blew. The lights flickered. And, most worrying, dark sand covered the globe.

And to the right, he saw the shadow of a man. Laughing.

And it all finished with a frightened, blood-curdling scream.

Our good old St. Nick raced over to a control panel. He gripped a large handle, and without further ado, twisted it and pushed down.

Soon enough, the sky was filled with northern lights.

And around the world, a Bunny, a Fairy, and a Sandman looked to the sky.

With a thump of the bunny's heels, a flutter of the Fairy's wings, and the whirl of an engine made of gold sand, the guardians gathered at the North Pole.

"Mate, I thought you said you saw Pitch."

"Well, I, er, not exactly . . ."

"Sandy?" The golden man gave a knowing smile.

"Yeah." Bunny let out a snort.

"Look, I know it is Pitch! I feel it! In my belly!"

"Oh, crikey. You mean to tell me you called me three days before Easter because of your belly? Mate, if I did this to you three days before Christmas—!"

"Ah, ah! Easter is not Christmas," North chuckled, tossing one of Bunny's half painted eggs into the air and catching it swiftly.

"Oh, bloody— Mate, I don't have time for this!" Bunny continued to rant about how hard he had to work and how dedicated he was, oblivious to Tooth's orders to her fairies, and Sandy's frantic waving—

Wait. Sandy?

He got impatient, grabbed a nearby elf, and shook it hard. It rang.

"Sandy?"

Sandy made an arrow pointing to the sky, then the golden sand transformed into the moon.

"Ah! Sandy, why didn't you say something?" The small man fumed, golden steam blowing out of his ears.

Still chuckling, North turned to the sky. "It's been a long time, old friend! What is big news?"

And the moon, in full glory cast a blue light off of the large protruding crystal of a lady.

She was a delicate thing, in all whites and blues, and in the moonlight, she outshone the stars in the sky.

Bunny swore. "It's the princess."

"From where?"

"Some kingdom in Norway, or Scandinavia. I don't remember."

"So, is she new guardian? And for what?"

But the scene changed. She was gasping. Running. There was an unmistakable glint of fear in her eyes.

She ran hard, skirts hitched at the knees, but an inky darkness behind swamped her, causing her to stumble. As she fell, she reached out a hand, perhaps either ready to crawl or calling out for help. A low, sinister cackle was heard, quickly followed by the same bloodcurdling scream North heard earlier.

The Boogie Man himself, back from oblivion, strode right after her, and with a wave of his hand, the sand —along with the princess— disappeared.

This time, both North and Bunny swore.

North turned to face Bunny, and patted his belly smugly, causing Bunny to roll his eyes.

Then he turned to face the moon again, with a more solemn expression.

"What must we do?"

The crystal's lights changed again. For a moment, it was blinding. Then, a single white light split into four lights —blue, green, red, and yellow—, each heading towards respective guardians.

Tooth tentatively reached out, her fingers barely brushing the green glowing light before it burst into a spectacular minute explosion of green and orange sparks. And in the center, an animation of light appeared.

It was a boy —a scrawny one— and oddly enough, chasing a dragon. The dragon had his helmet in his maw, and the boy appeared to be trying to get it back. The scene was replaced with the words 'Hiccup & Toothless'.

"Go."

Tooth frowned. Go? Go find them? Was the boy the new guardian?

She turned to see the others. They too, reached out, and a fiery red girl riding a horse, wielding a bow, a golden-haired maiden was reaching out with a paintbrush in her delicate hand, and a frosty-blue boy twirling a staff around all appeared to their respective guardians.

Merida, Rapunzel, and —

"Jack Frost?!?" Bunny all but squawked, gaping at the bluish light in front of North.

"Whoa," Tooth sighed. Bunny glared. She quickly backtracked.

"I mean, as long as he, um, helps protect the children, right?" She gave a sheepish smile.

"Jack Frost?!" Bunny reiterated disbelievingly. "He doesn't care about children! All he does i-is blow away papers, cause blizzards, and mess up my egg hunts!"

"Hmm . . ." North contemplated the boy, a hand stroking his beard. Rising to his full height, a pair of solemn-looking yetis flanking his sides, he turned to face the rest of the Guardians.

"This . . . means big problem. Princess being captured requires four new guardians? Manny must be worried."

Sandy frowned. What sort of plan could Pitch have with a princess?

Even though that was all he thought about through the journey to the hidden tower of Rapunzel, he still didn't have a clue.

~