A/N: Hello and welcome! This is a Rise of the Guardians AU fanfiction! Besides movie characters, some book characters and OCs will be included.

In this AU, the Guardians have never met Jack and believe he is a danger to the children of the world from the rumors they've heard and the misconceptions they've adopted. So, after trying seemingly everything they could to convince him to stop, the Guardians seek to track him down and rid the world of the evil winter spirit forever. Does the Man in the Moon approve? Are they right to act in this way? If so, will they be able to succeed in erasing what they believe to be Mother Nature's mistake? Unbeknownst to them, however, Jack is just misunderstood and a creation of the Man in the Moon himself. When a new threat emerges, forcing the two unlikely parties to work together, will the Guardians overcome their preconceived notions of the winter spirit? Will Jack forgive them and accept his new title? Or will they all succumb to the darkest danger that the world has ever seen?

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Hunt Begins

When they were permitted by Mother Nature to finally remove Jack Frost from the world, the Guardians of Childhood didn't even hesitate to begin their search for the winter spirit. In fact, they were very grateful, albeit surprised, that Mother Nature had even considered allowing them to erase the mistake that she created about 300 years ago. Aside from Bunny's brief encounter with the spirit during the Blizzard of '68, none of the Guardians had ever actually met or clearly seen the cold-blooded imp himself. They were, however, very familiar with his work.

For the past 44 plus years, the icy miscreant of winter has murdered hundreds, no, thousands of children and adults with his wintry powers. Granted, it could be a different winter spirit committing these acts, but all of the rumors and reports pointed directly to Jack Frost. If he was feeling kind, frostbite was in order along with stray icicles ready to plummet down onto people when they least expected it combined with fractures caused by slipping on the thick ice coating the sidewalks. However, this was all nothing compared to what he specifically did to children.

Any child lost or unsheltered in a blizzard would most certainly be found later under blankets of hardened snow, frostbitten and deathly stiff. Sometimes, the cruel herald of winter was said to even lure children to this cold grave using some form of magic other than his own. The Guardians speculated that Pitch could be helping him, but the King of Nightmares hasn't surfaced in years and hopefully never will again.

Regardless of their theories, though, one of the cruelest acts that the Guardians have heard the frosty menace commit was when a group of children went ice skating on a lake last year in Burgess, Pennsylvania, USA. A ten-year-old boy named Jamie Bennett had fallen through a patch of thin ice, plunging into the numbingly-cold water below, and somehow, the area that he had fallen through immediately refroze, almost sealing the boy's fate forever. Luckily, as he desperately beat on the ice with his fists, the other children were able to grab a tree limb and break the ice with it before Jamie could drown.

He had been an exceptional case.

In years past, the Guardians have made many attempts to contact the winter spirit to somehow persuade him to stop these horrific deeds, but he's remained rather elusive as if he was avoiding them.

With this uncompromising danger to the children of the world becoming more constant, the Guardians of Childhood had to act. Before moving forward with their plan, they sought to contact the Man in the Moon and did so multiple times.

They never received an answer.

So, with no other choice, they tried the next best thing: Mother Nature. After all, she was the creator of all seasonal spirits, and since Jack was causing so much chaos, maybe she would be willing to straighten him out as opposed to their own plan. Initially, they felt bad about not being able to discuss this with Manny, but then again, the lives of children were at stake and each second counted. Besides, they could only assume that Manny would support the elimination of any threat to a child.

Once they had finally tracked down Mother Nature's ever-changing and moving empire, they promptly exited North's sleigh (some with more trouble than others) and approached it, awe-struck. Everything was so bright and beautiful. As they entered her hidden palace, which was surrounded by a densely forested perimeter, they noticed that the inside held a naturistic theme with leaves, flowers, water, fog, and so on. On the tall ceiling that resembled a canopy, a painted sunrise appeared to be moving as time passed, matching the sky itself. All around them, different types of nature spirits and sprites (seasonal ones being the most abundant), either glided through the air or gracefully walked with their own kind as they tended to their duties.

The bright nature of spring spirits filled the main room; summer spirits with their fiery aura worked with ambition; autumn spirits diligently prepared as they practiced painting leaves; the few winter spirits around isolated themselves as they perfected their snowflakes. Having never been in the presence of so many nature spirits, all of this was truly a rare sight for the Guardians.

After getting directions from a few nearby spirits (one of them being May Flowers, a spring spirit that Bunnymund knew well), the Guardians began making their way to consult with Mother Nature about Jack Frost. Before speaking with her, however, Bunny reminded them how temperamental she could be; she was, after all, an unpredictable force of nature. Having met her briefly before, the other Guardians remembered that she was so connected to nature that her surroundings would immediately reflect her own emotions no matter how drastic. So, his fellow Guardians promised to be very respectful in her presence lest they somehow angered her.

Once they approached her room, the group of legends was promptly welcomed in almost as if she knew they were coming. Now, Mother Nature and the Guardians conversed about what to do with Jack Frost.

"I'm afraid that as a last resort, Jack Frost must be killed, and it seems we're all out of options," Mother Nature concluded slightly upset and unfocused whilst the bottom portion of her long, obsidian-colored hair floated around freely as mist or fog would.

"I've tried talking to him, he just won't listen… He's caused too many problems; unlike most seasonal spirits, Frost has utterly disregarded his duties as a spirit under my domain, spreading winter however, whenever, and wherever he wants to."

Now that she mentioned it, Sandy remembered back in 1979 when it had briefly snowed in the Sahara Desert and now wondered if it was Jack's doings. Why would a winter spirit do that anyways? Perhaps he would never know. No matter the reason, though, the Sandman knew how delicate the balance of nature was, and if the winter spirit was willing to even attempt to bring disharmony to Mother Earth herself, another reason was added to the list of why he should be eradicated.

Mother Nature continued, "He fights with every other seasonal he sees, even ones from his own season! Not to mention, the number of lives that have been lost because of his erratic and destructive behavior." She promptly turned away from them and faced a window overlooking an eternal garden as it started to rain softly outside, her long hair seemingly flowing around her as some type of consolation.

After a moment of silence, Bunnymund spoke up in a humble tone, "What do you propose we do?"

The graceful woman, with her golden eyes looking out the window, sighed sadly before answering, "Capture him and do as you see fit. He is no longer one of us."

After a few parting words, the Guardians nodded and emptied out of the room, leaving Mother Nature behind. The seasonal spirits gathered in groups seemingly more happy-looking than usual while they chatted and gossiped. The Guardians noticed the spring, summer, and autumn spirits seemed to converse in their own groups while the other nature spirits present simply ignored them or slinked into the background to continue their work. Words like "Jack Frost" and "Guardians" and "vanquish" could be heard in all of their passing conversations as the Guardians exited the palace.

Yes, Nicholas St. North, Toothiana, Bunnymund E. Aster, and Sanderson Mansnoozie would be the ones to vanquish the demon. Then, and only then, will the children of the world finally be safe again.

But first, they needed to track down the icy devil. Mother Nature had shared Frost's general whereabouts with them, but after that, they would have to find him on their own. Once they reached North's sleigh, Sandy offered to track Jack using his Dreamsand. Of course, they've tried this method many times before to try and contact the frost spirit, but all attempts failed most likely due to how far his proximity was from Sandy and whether he was sleeping at the time (which all spirits occasionally do). Nevertheless, it will work this time since they will be close enough to track his exact location (and since North read in a book stating that winter spirits usually slept the most and were in their weakest stage in the spring and summer months of the Northern Hemisphere). So, once Jack falls asleep, and Sandy's Dreamsand comes into contact with him, Sandy will be able to trace Jack, and they will be ready for him with the strength of a thousand winter-spirit-slaying warriors.

Earlier, when they had asked Mother Nature why she couldn't help them capture Jack, she simply responded with, "It's not my place to do so." The meaning of that, they may never know. They did know, however, that they had a job to do and that was to protect the children of the world whether it be from the dark King of Nightmares or the cold-hearted and malicious Jack Frost.

Overhead, although they couldn't see, the moon seemed to dim as if something was wrong.

Meanwhile, in a taiga forest located somewhere in northern Québec, a teenager looking to be about 17 years old trudged alone through the deep snow with a small limp, a slightly forlorn yet composed expression on his face. While tall in stature, he was slim and lightweight. His silvery-white hair and pale complexion seemed to rival the snow itself while his eyes were the brightest of ice-blues. Strangely, scratches blemished some areas of his face, and it seemed as if he was recovering from a split lip and a now barely visible black eye. His outfit consisted of a slightly dirtied blue hoodie with frost patterns emanating from the collar area and sleeve cuffs, brown pants that became tattered towards the bottom below the knee, and no shoes whatsoever. In his hand was a wooden staff resembling a shepherd's crook.

But where were his sheep?

No. He had none, for nothing and no one could see him. Well, that was the case unless he encountered another spirit.

But every other spirit he's encountered has warranted him unwanted attention which generally resulted in some type of fight. Besides, everyone hated him. He could see it in their eyes and how they tried to ignore or cause a reaction within him. In conclusion, no other spirit has ever actually wanted to be friends with him; not even other winter spirits.

He was a loner.

An outcast.

A reject.

A mistake.

Even Mother Nature has probably disowned him by now, not that she owned him in the first place. It was the Moon who created him to start with anyways. It doesn't matter though.

He was invisible, alone, and lost in the world forever with only the North Wind to call a companion. Just then, with a lethargic wave of his staff, snowflakes began to descend from the sky, an unseen force blowing them around as they fell.

The teen then shifted his gaze up to the Moon which was just starting to appear in the late afternoon sky covered in snow clouds, and continued his depressing contemplation further, looking back down to his feet.

Heck, the Moon hasn't even talked to him since he rose from the icy waters of his lake.

And then there's the Guardians.

How dare they even exist.

Of course, he had never met the Guardians in person except for Bunny, but he despised them for one reason and one reason alone.

Why are they the only ones who can be seen?!

For the longest time, he had spent a good portion of his life trying to make kids love his work, hoping to become visible to them, but failed. It was soul-crushing whenever they passed through him like he was nothing. So, he did what any sane spirit would do and gave up. Occasionally, though, he would have fun with children during snowball fights or sledding, but it just wasn't the same without them being able to acknowledge him.

Besides, nobody really liked the "Season of Death." Or him for that matter.

The abrasive sideways glances and threats he'd always received when he bumped into another spirit reminded him of this fact. Suddenly, he exhaled rather sharply and flinched before pausing in the snow and cradling his ribs. He promptly recovered, pushing through the pain, and continued. Heck, one would think that the scars he's gained from those confrontations would dishearten him forever.

But he still dreamed, no, longed for someone like the spring spirit from earlier who didn't despise him to see him, to talk to him, to actually acknowledge him, to make all the pain, despair, and loneliness go away by believing in him.

Was that too much to ask?

Maybe he was just crazy.

Or maybe he deserved it.

Maybe he was a terrible person in a past life (if he even had a past life), and this was his punishment for all eternity.

He shrugged.

300 years of being almost completely alone and hated would make anyone crazy, he supposed. Sighing, he lifted his head to gaze at the sky, feeling the wind gently rush past him with fondness.

"Hey, Wind!" He called out. Suddenly, the wind roared awake as if it was responding to the boy.

"Take me home."

The teen jumped nimbly into the air and was immediately caught by the invisible force he called "Wind." The slender being was then carried off, now soaring high into the sky.

This was the cold, cruel and terrible wintry being that every spirit knew as Jack Frost.

A/N:

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to review and tell me what you think! All reviews are appreciated! I will update as soon as I can so until next time, bye!