Hi guys, me again. You liking my re-make? I know you're all eager to see what Bea is going to do after I switch a few things up but I gotta say, I'm thinking about- when my other story, the Boogeyman Tries To Understand Fanfiction, is over- taking a three month break to get my affairs in order.

HEY HEY, don't leave yet! I promise that I'll give you a few more chapters before I cut off for a bit, but after that I'm dead until January. I'm still gonna review other people's stories and read and respond to posts, but no updating until I'm sure what I'm going to do with this and all my other stories.


As Jack plummeted past the many towers and windows of North's workshop, all he could think was

Rats. Rats rats rats rats ratsratsratsratsratsratsratsrats RAAAAAAAAAAAAAATS!

He'd just been pulled off a tower roof by someone whom he'd only met once before and had now taken to calling him Blake. That in itself was pretty strange, but she'd also sort of adopted him as her brother. Or that's what he thought, anyway. She wasn't speaking.

The ground was coming up fast, he noticed. It was covered in at least a foot of snow, yeah, but beneath that fluffy snow was hard-packed ice and even though he was an immortal, he still could get highly injured if he slammed into the ground at about sixty miles an hour. He glanced at Autumn and, horrified, he saw that her eyes were closed. "Pull up, pull up!" he called, yanking her arm and trying to get her alert. She didn't move an inch. The ice was coming up fast.

Autumn kept her eyes closed and Jack held onto her hand grimly, thinking, I'm about to die from free-falling off a roof with a girl that doesn't even know my real name and keeps calling me her brother. How can life get any worse?

Suddenly he felt like his legs were being pulled out from under him and he gasped at Autumn preformed a feat which he, himself had never even attempted. She pulled op literally a split second before they hit the ground. Jack felt the very tips of his toes brush the ice as he and Autumn began to rise swiftly, bypassing all the windows they'd previously seen on their way down.

"Are you nuts?!" Jack yelled, trying to shake Autumn's eyes open. It was one thing to be flying and not be in charge of where or how fast they went. It was another thing all together to be flying with a pilot who had her eyes closed!

Autumn opened her eyes, which were wide with excitement and laughed. "If you think that was nuts, you haven't seen anything yet, brother!" Her voice was strangely quiet, yet he was still able to hear her every word over the wind.

"I'm not your brother!" Jack yelled, but Autumn just closed her eyes again and ignored him as they rose even higher.

They rose past the workshop and up to the roof's height where Jack looked back and saw Bunnymund and North, standing there with their jaws dropped. He tried to wave to them and tell them it was alright, but that would involve letting go of Autumn. Something he didn't intend to do until they were back on the ground.

Suddenly Autumn opened her eyes again and said, "Splay!"

Jack, who had never heard the term before, frowned and yelled, "What?"

Autumn rolled her eyes and said, "Splay your arms!"

Jack continued to frown at her and she rolled her eyes again. "Spread them, like a bird. It'll give you more lift! You're too wind-resistant, brother."

"I'm not your brother," Jack yelled, but Autumn paid him no attention and spread her arms wide, like an eagle and Jack was forced to move to the left as they rose.

"Flatten out!" Autumn said, showing Jack what to do by lifting her legs and feet up so that instead of rising she were flying straight, like a torpedo. Jack followed suit and together they flew across the sky, moving so fast that they began to leave vapor trails in their wake.

The farther south they went, and Jack was sure they were going south because he could feel the air getting warmer, the less clouds there were. After a while, Jack dared to ask a question. "Where are we going?" he yelled over the wind.

"Quit shouting, brother. I can hear you, you know." Autumn replied. "And anyway, you'll see in a minute."

"I'm not your-" Jack began, then he realized she wasn't going to give it up and just muttered, "Never mind."

"Wise choice." Autumn said. "All you need to know it, We'll be stopping off here for a few minutes, then I'm taking you home."

This made Jack more confused than ever. Home? Did she mean Burgess, or somewhere else?

XXXXXXXXXX

When Tooth and Sandy had gotten back, they were surprised to see the little cloud of hummingbird girls that Tooth had left to guard Autumn waiting for them on the balcony.

"Girls, why aren't you-" Tooth started to say as she and Sandy floated through the big open space and into Cloud Castle, but she was interrupted by a burst of chirping and squeaking.

"Slow down, slow down," Tooth said, waving her hands to get their attention. "Now, start from the beginning. You," she said, pointing to a fairy in the middle. "First, where's Baby Tooth?"

The tiny fairy let out a loud series of squeaks and chirps that made Tooth's eyes widen. "She WHAT?!"

Another series of chirps. "Oh my," Tooth said, putting her hand on her heart. "Oh. . . oh dear."

Sandy made several question marks but Tooth just ignored them, staring down at her feet with a mixture of anguish and fear. She staggered back onto a small dream-sand couch that Sandy had made and said shakily, "When?"

A small squeak.

Tooth looked up and said, "Is she awake yet?"

Another squeak.

"Oh. Sandy, could you please go up to Autumn's room and bring me Baby Tooth? She's laying on Autumn's dream-sand pillow."

Sandy raised several question marks at this but Tooth gave him a look that made him just drop them and head upstairs. When he opened the door to Autumn's room and went inside, all he could do was stare in disbelief. She wasn't there!

He peeked behind the door, under her bed, and even in the tiny closet which had nothing in it, but he found no trace of her. Then he remembered why he was there in the first place and peeked beneath the blankets where the pillow he'd made for Autumn was. Little Baby Tooth lay beneath the blankets, curled into a tiny ball with even tinier golden teeth dancing around her head.

Sandy cooed silently, nearly leaving her and going downstairs to tell Tooth that she was asleep, but then he remembered the look on Tooth's face and silently, he picked up the sleeping hummingbird girl and the pillow and carried her down the stairs.

He met Tooth at the base of the stairs where she took the tiny sleeping Baby Tooth and blew on her gently. That seemed to wake her up because she blinked, sat up slowly and yawned, stretching her little arms and wings. Then, when she saw her mother staring at her with disapproval written all over her face, she let out a squeak and instantly laid back down, curling into a ball and sucking her tiny thumb.

"Now now," Tooth said sternly, wagging a finger at her tiny fairy daughter. "You know that's not going to work on me, Baby Tooth. Wake up. I have some questions for you!"

Sandy just stood there, watching Tooth reprimand her daughter and then Baby Tooth let out a series of squeaks that sounded a lot like the ones her sister had made before Tooth had asked him to go upstairs.

"Really?" Tooth said, losing all her parental power and just listening curiously.

Sandy just stood there, waiting for the squeaking to end. When it did, Tooth turned to Sandy and said, "She says that Autumn left."

Sandy just raised an eyebrow and made a tiny golden Baby Tooth, then made a short line of golden text appear.

Tooth smiled. "Yeah, but that wasn't all. She said that Autumn didn't force her onto the pillow. She just laid her on there and before Baby Tooth knew what hit her, she was out."

Sandy grinned at Baby Tooth apologetically and Baby Tooth made several squeaks, then a chirp. Sandy smiled, although he had no clue what she was saying, and nodded.

Tooth smiled at her baby girl and then at Sandy. "She says that Autumn told her that, if we got back before her, to apologize to us for her and say that she would be back."

The little fairy that Tooth had previously quizzed on Baby Tooth's whereabouts suddenly burst out with a loud chorus of squeaking, followed by the rest of the fairies. Tooth, Sandy and Baby Tooth all turned around to see a strange shape flying out from behind a cloud. Tooth squinted and the shape became cleared. It was a boy, no, it was two boys. One had a hood over their face and the other was-"

"Jack!" Tooth squealed, handing the pillow to Sandy and flying over to the balcony where the hooded figure and Jack were landing gracefully.

Sandy allowed a few seconds for Baby Tooth to jump up and fly off the pillow, then he collapsed it and flew over to join the group.

Baby Tooth, as soon as she heard Jack's name, jumped up and flew immediately past her mother and straight into Jack's white hair, nuzzling against his right ear and chirping like crazy.

The hooded figure stepped back and allowed the Guardians some breathing room, then swept off his hood. Sandy, who already guessed that it was Autumn from the cloak, moved forward to shake her hand.

Autumn bowed before taking his outstretched golden hand and said, "Autumn. Pleased to meet you, Sanderson McSnoozles."

Sandy was slightly taken aback that she knew his real name, but he shook her hand none the less and turned back to Jack, who was breathing heavily.

"Jack, what in the world are you doing? Where's your staff? Why aren't you-" Tooth was asking a tirade of questions, all of which Jack was trying to answer while the tiny fairy Baby Tooth was chirping happily in his ear and flying around his head, behind his hair.

"This crazy girl- quit it Baby Tooth! That tickles! -grabbed me and pulled me off the tallest tower- hey! Cut it out! -grabbed me and pulled me off North's tallest tower and then we flew here. I left my staff- Ouch! Baby Tooth!" he said crossly, trying to bat the little happy fairy away from his ear which she was tickling with her feathers.

"Baby Tooth, come here!" Tooth said, motioning for the little fairy. Baby Tooth, who was currently burrowing in Jack's thick head of white hair, let out a squeak and resolutely burrowed farther.

Jack just smiled, rolling his eyes and said, "Oh, let her. She's just happy to see me."

Tooth clucked her tongue disapprovingly and said, "Fine." Then she turned to the rest of her fairy girls and said, "Girls, don't disgrace the uniform."

The other little fairies, who had nearly fainted when they'd seen Jack, were now hovering in a huge cloud like a swarm of bees around the edge of the group. They seemed to stick closer to Autumn, rather than their mother, for reasons Tooth didn't know. Speaking of Autumn. . .

"You, young lady, should be in bed!" Tooth said crossly, pointing a finger at Autumn, who just shrugged.

"My apologies, your majesty." Autumn said, bowing to Tooth. "I believe I should've waited until you and Sanderson had returned, but I was too excited to see my brother! It's been so long since I've seen Blake- I mean, Jack. Sorry." she said, grinning apologetically at Jack, who just looked at her with a baffled expression on his face.

Tooth, who was rather flattered by Autumn calling her majesty, just coughed and said, "Oh, it's alright. Don't mention it."

Jack, however, sighed and said, "For the last time, I am not your brother! I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not related to you!"

Autumn just looked at Jack with an amused expression on her face. "Oh, and here I thought you had remembered. Well, I guess they're going to have to explain it, because I'm too hungry. Got any food, Sanderson?"

Sandy, who had been watching the exchange with intense fascination, snapped back to reality and nodded, beckoning for her to follow him.

Tooth turned back to Jack and said, "Jack, I think you should sit down."

Jack just nodded, watching Autumn and Sandman head off towards the stairs.

Tooth waved her hand in front of Jack's face and said, "Jack? Hey! Jack?"

Jack blinked a few times and then looked at Tooth, who was hovering about a foot off the ground with her hands on her hips. "Huh? Oh, sorry Tooth."

Tooth grabbed him by the blue sweatshirt and hauled him over to the couch, earning much protesting from Jack and several squeaks of discomfort from Baby Tooth. "Tooth! Hang on!" Jack said, trying to right himself as Tooth's magic lifted him up a few inches.

Tooth paid no attention as she pulled him over to the couch. Jack just sighed and let himself get pulled along.

"Sit," Tooth ordered. He sat. "Jack, we've found some things out about Autumn." she said, letting go of Jack's sweatshirt.

Jack nodded, rubbing his head and earning him an angry squeak from Baby Tooth. "Ouch. Sorry Baby Tooth," he apologized. Baby Tooth nuzzled his hand in reply and then he looked back at her mother. "Yeah? Did you find any mention of a Blake? 'Cause I think she's under the impression that I'm him. I dunno. Maybe I look like him or-"

"Jack," Tooth said gently, cutting him off. "She's not crazy. Blake is a name she gave you a long long time ago. She knew you, before you turned into a Guardian. You just didn't know her, because she was already a spirit."

Jack's eyes widened. "What? You mean...she knew me when I was human?" Jack was about to ask another question, then he frowned. "But I never saw her. I remember never seeing another Guardian or spirit."

Tooth nodded. She's been thinking about this as well and, after thinking it over both in Pitch's lair and in the memories, she'd come to the conclusion that Jack's memories had been slightly altered by someone, or something, so that he never remembered talking about Pitch to his little sister, or hearing about him on that day on the ice. Why Pitch remembered was a mystery to her and why he'd acted the way he had towards Jack had been an even bigger mystery.

"Well, Jack, you couldn't see her because you didn't know she was there. You didn't see her and you didn't believe in her, so you don't remember her." she hesitated, wondering how much she should say. She'd already resolved not to tell Jack about Pitch, but she had to explain about Autumn in some way that made sense!

Jack nodded, thinking this over. "But, why does she keep calling me Blake? And more importantly, why does she keep calling me brother?"

Tooth smiled, remembering Autumn and Jack cuddled up together beneath that tree, then she remembered Pitch looming over them and quickly dismissed the memory. "Ahem." she said, clearing her throat. "Well, Blake is the name she gave you before she knew your real name and. . . I guess it must've stuck or something. I'm sure she'll come out of it in a day or two. As for you being her brother. . ." Tooth trailed off, wondering how she should put this.

Jack waited patiently, knowing somewhere in his heart that she wasn't really his sister. Right? His sister had brown hair, true, just like Autumn, but his sister also had pale skin, just like him! This girl, Autumn, she couldn't be. Could she?

"Well, in a sense-"

"We are all brothers and sisters." A voice interrupted. Both Jack and Tooth turned around to see Sandy and Autumn standing not ten feet away. Sandy's face was covered in what looked like red jam, and Autumn was happily chomping down on a sandwich that oozed red jelly.

"Mm. You got good taste, Sanderson." she said between mouthfuls as she and Sandy walked over the Tooth and Jack. Sandy just smiled, licking some jam off of the corner of his mouth.

"Sandy, Autumn," Jack said, standing up hastily and moving over so that Autumn could have his seat. Sandy just waved his hand and another section of the couch appeared, elongating it in the middle by two seats. He and Autumn sat down, and then Jack sat down quickly.

"Um, so, what's all this about me being your brother?" Jack said again, wishing that someone would explain it to him. "I'm sorry, but you don't look a bit like me."

Autumn just laughed, spewing crumbs all over Sandy. Sandy huffed in irritation and the crumbs disappeared, absorbed by this golden outfit. "We don't look alike? That's the best excuse you can come up with?" she asked, still laughing.

Jack frowned and turned away, huffing like an angry teenager- which he was.

"Children," Tooth said sternly, flying up and over Jack and coming to rest in front of him. "Jack, she isn't your sister by blood, or at least, I don't think. . ." she said, glancing over Jack's shoulder at Autumn. She shook her head. "There, you see?" Tooth said, laying a hand on Jack's cheek. "She's not related to you by blood, but. . . for some of the younger spirits, when they meet another younger spirit they kind of latch onto them, like a brother or sister."

"It's more than that!" Autumn interjected. "Jack was the first person I'd ever met as a spirit. The second was-"

Tooth panicked and hurriedly flew over to her, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm sure Jack doesn't need to know the details, dear," she said quickly, mentally adding, and Pitch will flay me alive if I tell Jack about him and his sister.

Jack turned around, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Tooth. "What? Who was the second? Why are you covering her-"

"It's nothing you really need to hear, Jack." Tooth said, a picture of innocence.

Jack had used that same face himself plenty of times, mostly when Bunny was accusing him of starting the Blizzard of '68 on purpose, so he knew that look well. "Fine," he said, making a note to ask Autumn about it later.

Autumn, who still had Tooth's hand over her mouth, pulled away and asked quizzically, "Why does your hand smell like wintergreen toothpaste?"

Tooth looked down at her hand and grinned sheepishly. "I'm the Tooth fairy, dear. The rest of me smells exactly like wintergreen toothpaste."

Autumn nodded, then, for some reason, shot Sandy a funny look. Sandy flashed a few symbols, too fast for Jack or even Tooth to see or understand.

Autumn smiled, then nodded. "Ah. I get it. I'm not supposed to tell him then?"

Sandy shook his head quickly and pointed back to Tooth and Jack like, they're still there, you know.

Autumn turned back to Jack and said, "Listen Jack, Sandy has just informed me that I'm only allowed to divulge certain information, owing to a previous arrangement that Tooth and Sandy made. I still can't believe he-" she suddenly cut herself off by clapping her hand over her mouth and looking apologetically at Sandy. "Oops. Sorry Sanderson."

Sandy looked at her sternly and two clouds of dream-sand blew out of his ears, much like a train's exhaust.

Autumn laughed, clapping her hands. "Ha! That's good, Sanderson."

Jack raised his hand hesitantly and said, "Um, sorry, but can I just get a straight answer about ll of this, please?"

Autumn laughed again and said, "OK little brother. Here it is. . ."

Jack leaned forward eagerly, much like Pitch had when Jack had said his real name during his story to Bea. Tooth had the bizarre urge to laugh, then she dismissed it.

"Every spirit, Guardian or no, was re-born because of one person: Tsar Lunar."

All three listeners frowned. "Who's that?" Jack asked, confused.

Sandy made a tiny golden crescent moon above his head and Tooth nodded. "Sandy's right. That was the Man in the Moon's real name, a long long time ago. But, how do you know it?" she asked, looking at Autumn curiously.

"Every spirit, Guardian or no," Autumn repeated. "Has a small pocket of memory concerning their creator. Personally, I like to think of him as our father. The father of all of us, in fact."

Jack frowned. "Wait, you mean all spirits. . . we're all brothers and sisters?"

Autumn nodded.

"And the moon is our father?"

She nodded again.

Jack groaned. "Oh great! So now I really am related to Bunny?!" he asked, turning to stare at Tooth.

Tooth shrugged. "Theoretically."

Autumn pursed her lips. "There's nothing theoretical about it! Jack is my brother, and yours too." she paused and looked around carefully. Jack wondered what she was looking for. Finally, when she looked back at them, she said quietly, "But that's not the primary reason he's my brother more than you two."

Jack was about to ask another question when they were all scared out of their wits by another voice, one that came for the balcony. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't tell him without us?"

Tooth, Jack and Sandy all jumped up, turning to face the invaders of the Cloud Castle. Sandy drew his whips, Tooth put up her fists, and Jack nearly drew his staff, then he remembered that it was still at the North Pole.

"Who's there?" he said, advancing on the voice, which was coming from the shadows where the light of inside didn't touch the balcony.

Autumn jumped between Jack and the voice, casting a worried glance back at Sandy. "Jack, hold it! Sandy, I'm sorry! I didn't realize they'd be coming so soon," she cast the last word at the shadows in annoyance. "You should've warned us!"

"And you should've waited," The voice replied.

Autumn rolled her eyes. "Oh, come out already Endymion!"

The voice laughed, but it didn't sound too happy. "Fine. Here we are." And out of the shadows stepped two teenagers.

One, a lanky boy with bright red hair and a sulky expression, walked past them and over to Sandy and Tooth. He was wearing blue jeans and a blank Green T shirt, green Nike's, and as he passed he shot Jack a poisonous look.

Jack flinched in spite of himself, then he gave the boy the evil eye and turned to the girl, who actually smiled at him. Jack smiled back uncertainly, then he glanced at Autumn, raising his eyebrows. "Friends of yours?" he asked, jerking his head at Endymion.

Autumn laughed and clapped him on the back, snaking her arm around his shoulders. "Not even close. Jackson Frost, I'd like you to meet Summer," she pointed to the girl.

Summer smiled, displaying her very white teeth, and Jack nodded uncertainly at her, taking in her huge green eyes and very bright blonde hair. She looked like a kind person and Jack thought he would like her. She was also wearing a pair of blue jeans, but she wore a strange green top that looked like a blouse woven from grass. It was pretty, if a little strange.

She also had a few intricate green tattoos of leafs and flowers running the length of her arms, twisting around the skin that Jack could see like vines and he saw that two of them had been tattooed onto her forehead and disappeared into her hair behind her ears. They twisted and met in the middle, forming a kind of crown. Jack had never seen real tattoos before and he wanted to get a closer look, but Autumn's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"And Endymion Spring."

Jack raised his eyebrows again, distracted by the cool tattoos for a moment. "Endymion? What kind of a name is that?" he said, laughing. Autumn winced, putting pressure on his shoulder to stop him from going any farther.

Endymion turned around and regarded Jack coldly. "It's my name. Deal with it, Frost."

Jack was about to make a sharp retort when Autumn squeezed his shoulder again and whispered in his ear, "You don't want to make him angry. Trust me." Then she released him and turned to Tooth and Sandy, who were tapping their feet against the floor, waiting for someone to remember the Guardians in the room. "Sorry about this, really I am. We weren't supposed to be here this long." she said, grinning sheepishly at Sandy.

Sandy dismissed it with a wave of his hand and turned to Endymion, sticking out his other hand.

"Ah," Endymion said, brightening up a bit and taking Sandy's hand. "Finally! It's a pleasure to meet you, Sanderson McSnoozles. My name is Endymion Spring."

Sandy shook, wondering why everyone was using his real name all of a sudden.

Endymion released his hand and turned to Tooth. "Ah, and the majestic Toothiana. Endymion Spring, at your service Milady." he topped it off with a theatrical bow and then kissed Tooth's hand gently.

Tooth was all of a flutter. That was two people who had called her majesty in the last day!

Summer stepped forward and took Sandy's hand. "Hello Sanderson. This place is very beautiful."

Sandy nodded in agreement and made some symbols that Jack couldn't identify. Summer, however, apparently could because she nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, yes it must be difficult."

Sandy nodded again and Summer transferred her hand to Toothiana. "Hello majesty. It's an honor to meet you."

Tooth blushed and took the offered hand, muttering thank you.

Jack watched all this with a mix of amusement on his face. "OK," he finally said after the introductions were done. "Will someone please explain what the heck is going on? Firstly, who are they?" he said, pointing at Summer and Endymion.

Endymion visibly bristled and Summer shrank back slightly. Autumn pursed her lips again and said "Jack, be kind!" she almost sounded like a real older sister. "These are your other brother and sister."

Tooth and Sandy froze, staring from Jack to Autumn to the new arrivals in fascination.

Jack just stared at Autumn, slack-jawed. "Uhhhh. . ." he said, looking from Autumn to the other two. Summer looked visibly cheery, but Endymion just looked angry.

Autumn threw up her hands in distress and said loudly, "Oh to hell with it! Jack, Endymion is the spirit of spring and Summer is the spirit of summer. I'm the spirit of fall, and you're the spirit of winter. Get it now?"

Jack just stared at her.

Autumn let out a defeated sigh and flopped down on Sandy's couch. "You lot tell him! I'm completely worn out!" she ordered Tooth, Sandy, Summer and Endymion.

Tooth and Sandy looked from Autumn to Jack, wondering what the heck they were supposed to explain.

Summer seemed to take charge of the situation because she walked over to Jack and took his arm, gently pulling him over to the couch where Tooth and Sandy were sitting. "Sit." she said. Her voice had a musical top layer, but beneath that there was a layer of mesmerizing power that made him wonder just who his supposed siblings were.

Jack sat. Endymion looked about ready to walk off but Summer turned sharply towards him and said, "Endymion, sit down. You're a part of this family too!"

Endymion opened his mouth to argue, but Summer raised her hand and pinched her fingers together, like she was going to snap them. Endymion paled and practically ran over to the couch, tripping several times and, before he sat down, Sandy had to widen it again.

When everything was all settled, Summer looked back at Jack and started to speak in her slow, melodious voice.

"Autumn has told you much, but there is also much more to know."

Autumn huffed and Summer shot her a warning look, which she ignored.

Summer let out an irritated breath and began again. "You, Jack Frost, are the last Seasonal Spirit. Endymion here was the first, then me, then Autumn, and now you. Since Endymion was re-born, each time another one of us came, the previous one would have to find them and keep watch over them, waiting until Tsar Lunar chose his moment to take you and have you re-born into the life and body of a spirit." She paused, noticing the confused look on Jack's face. "Tsar Lunar is what you call the man in the moon. It was his original name, back in the Golden Age."

Tooth and Sandy glanced at each other, wondering how the heck these kids knew so much.

"Anyway, when a new one of us is re-born, the elder has to find them. Endymion found me after I was re-born, I found Autumn, and then Autumn found you. But, I'm sad to say, after you died, we lost track of you. We looked all over the globe, but we couldn't find you anywhere. now we suspect Tsar Lunar had something to do with it, but we aren't sure. Anyway, that is beside the point. We spent years tracking you, looking for you, and when we finally did find you, you'd just become a Guardian."

Endymion snorted. "Poor choice if you ask me," he muttered. Summer turned to him and raised her hand threateningly.

"I will do it, I swear!" she said fiercely, showing him her pinched fingers again.

Endymion paled again and turned away, but Jack could see with satisfaction that he was shaking.

"Now," she said tersely, looking around at the others. "Hopefully I can finish this time and not get interrupted again." The rest of them nodded. They were all thinking the same thought: If Endymion was that scared of it, they did not want to find out first hand what a snap of her fingers could do.

"Good. Well, we couldn't ask you to abandon your duty as a Guardian, so we decided to wait until the threat had been vanquished. Nice job on that, by the way, Sanderson," she said, turning to Sandy and bowing her head.

Sandy smiled and waved her praise off like it was nothing,

Tooth rolled her eyes and Jack heard a tiny squeak above his head.

"Oh, Baby Tooth, I forgot you were there!" Jack said, reaching up to pull the little fairy down from his head. "I'm so sorry."

Baby Tooth squeaked happily and nuzzled his hand.

"What is that?" Summer asked, leaning in for a closer look. Endymion raised his head as well, looking at the little fairy with interest.

"That's Baby Tooth." Jack replied, letting Baby Tooth land on his hand and showing her to Summer and Endymion. "Say hello, Baby Tooth."

Baby Tooth looked up and peered at Summer, then she jumped up and zoomed around Summer's head once like a tiny rainbow bee.

Summer laughed and said, "Oh, how cute!" Baby Tooth chirped happily and nuzzled against Summer's outstretched hand, then she suddenly caught sight of her mother and let out a high squeak, zooming back to Jack and burying herself in his hair once more.

"I've never seen a bird like that," Summer said, peering at the top of Jack's head where Baby Tooth was hiding from her mother. "In this world or any of the others. What is she?"

Tooth smiled and put her hand on Summer's arm. "She's my daughter. She's also a fairy, not a bird."

Summer looked at Tooth with her mouth open. "Uh, oh, I-" she stuttered, staring from Tooth to Baby Tooth. "I'm sorry, your majesty. I didn't mean to call her a bird."

Tooth smiled and patted her hand. "Oh no, it's quite alright." Summer smiled bleakly and Tooth said gently, "Go on with your story."

Summer nodded and turned back to Jack. "Well, after Pitch Black was defeated and he'd slunk back to the dark tunnels form whence he came, we started trying to figure out how to get you here with us. We knew you were a very good Guardian, so we didn't want to take away from that, but we also could feel, as soon at the threat of Pitch was demolished, that an other, even greater one was about to rise." Summer glanced over at Tooth and Sandy, who were hanging on to her every word. "This one, however, is not for the Guardians to fight. This is our battle, Jack, and we need all four seasons at our side. We're not sure who it is yet, but we know that something bad is coming."

After a long pause Jack, who'd been listening and thinking the entire time, finally looked up at Summer and said, "But why didn't you just tell me instead of abducting me?" he said loudly, glaring at Autumn who had her eyes closed.

This seemed like news to Summer because she turned around and frowned at Autumn. "You abducted him?"

Autumn, who still had her eyes closed, shrugged and said, "I pulled him off a roof. Aster and Nicholas were already there! What was I supposed to do?!"

Summer sighed and said with forced calm, "You were supposed to explain before you took him! That was our plan! If all else failed, tell the Guardians that we needed him and that he would be back!"

Autumn groaned and said, "I did explain!"

Jack laughed. "Yeah, sure you did. 'No time for that. We have to get you out of here! The others are going to be furious that I haven't found you yet, but they'll get over it.'" he mimicked, much to and amusement of Tooth and Sandy.

Summer glared at Autumn. "Did you really just pull him off the roof?" she asked.

Autumn finally opened her eyes and said exasperatedly, "I was ambushed! We had to go!"

"Yeah, by the Easter Bunny and Santa." Jack joked, earning a glowering look from Autumn.

"Children!" Tooth said loudly, stopping any further argument. "Listen," she said slowly and calmly after everyone was paying attention. "First thing we should do is inform North that Jack is safe."

Autumn snapped her fingers and said, "On it." The others watched her in interest, wondering how she was going to send a message all the way to the North Pole. Autumn cupped her hands to her mouth, whispered for about a minute, then removed them, saying, "And hurry." Jack and the other Guardians watched in amazement a a small bubble appeared, roughly the size of Tooth's head, but it wasn't an ordinary bubble. That much was evident, because the bubble moved faster that a normal bubble should have. It also seemed denser than the average bubble because when it flew away, it bounced off several pieces of furniture.

"It'll pop when it gets to the North Pole." Autumn replied, leaning back on her couch.

Everyone was still looking, astonished at her except for the other two seasons, when she said loudly, "Well? Shouldn't you be telling us the second thing we need to do?" she asked Tooth pointedly.

Tooth nodded, re-collecting herself and looking back at Summer. "Oh, right. Second, we need to, um," she paused, glancing at Sandy. "Sandy, a little help?" she whispered.

Sandy nodded and made three symbols: A golden circle with a slash through it, small tent, and a picture of all the Guardians.

Tooth nodded, figuring that was a pretty decent plan. "Secondly, we need to know more about this danger. Who, or what is it?"

Summer shook her head. "Sorry Milady. We can't tell you that. This is a battle of the season, not the Guardians."

Tooth was about to object, but Jack put his hand on her shoulder. "What else?" he asked.

"We need to find a safe place for you." Tooth replied, glancing at Sandy. "If you four are in danger,"

"We can't stay here." Summer finished. "Don't worry. We have a place."

Tooth nodded and Sandy made the picture of the guardians appear again. "And last, we need to have the three of you meet with the others. North and Bunny."

Summer and Endymion both started to protest. "Oh no. I'm not going to the North Pole again." Endymion said stoutly. "Once was plenty!"

Everyone glanced at Endymion and he shrank slightly in his seat. "When did you go to the North Pole?" Summer asked curiously.

Endymion coughed and said, "Well, I was there to, ah," he trailed off, looking abashed at them. "Oh come on," he said, smiling for the first time since they'd met him. "Don't you guys think that every little kid in the world wants to take a peek inside Santa's workshop?"

Jack laughed. "Don't worry man, I've been there. I tried to sneak in to that place before I became a Guardian for years! But I never got past the Yetis." Jack said regretfully.

Endymion nodded, smiling at the young Guardian for the first time since they'd met.

Tooth cleared her throat. "Ahem. Sorry to interrupt, but if you don't want to meet at the North Pole-"

"You guys can come to our place!" Summer said excitedly. "Oh Jack, you're going to love it!"

Jack frowned. "Wait, what?"

Summer's excitement faded slightly and she asked, "You are coming, aren't you?"

"It doesn't matter if he does or not," Autumn cut in. "We need him. He has to come."

Jack was about to object, but Tooth got there first. "Autumn, Jack isn't just a seasonal spirit! He's a Guardian as well, and he has responsibilities!"

"But we need him more! The fate of the world is at risk!" she said, pointing at Jack.

Sandy rolled his eyes in a way that clearly meant one thing: Again?

Jack had had enough! "Hold it!" he shouted, wishing he had his staff to bang, like he had in North's workshop the first time someone had yanked him out of his happy life and given him a destiny.

Everyone looked at him and he stood, pacing across the floor, trying to work everything out in his head.

"Jack," Autumn began, but Sandy put a hand on her arm and she went quiet.

Jack paced back and forth, back and forth, thinking about everything he'd witnessed and heard in the last few hours.

Should he go with them, or should he stay with the Guardians?

Finally he turned to Autumn and said, "You don't know who it is, or you won't tell me in front of them?" he pointed to Tooth and Sandy and Autumn nodded.

"Yes. This isn't a Guardian affair. We can handle it on our own, but we need you! If you don't come with us, the rest of the world is-"

"Yeah yeah," Jack said, waving his hand at her. "I know. The world will end. But how can you know that, if you don't even know who-"

"We know," Endymion interrupted. All eyes turned on him and Endymion stared pointedly at the floor. "Why shouldn't we tell them?" he said, raising his head to look up at Autumn. "They'll figure out eventually."

Autumn sighed exasperatedly and said, "Oh alright! Fine! But we're going back to our place first and they're all coming!" she glared at Endymion. "And, since you are so eager to spill our secrets, you can explain it all! I had enough of explaining when I had to to Jack!"

"Hey!" Jack said indignantly. He thought he'd done a good job of understanding Autumn's crazy story so far.

"Children!" Tooth said a third time, making everyone, even Sandy, freeze.

Tooth took a deep breath again and said gently, "Alright then. Sandy, can you fly over to the Pole and tell Bunny and North that we need them?" Sandy nodded and, with a swirl of golden sand, shot off through the balcony and towards the North Pole, happy to get some time alone to digest all this information.

Jack turned to Summer and curiously asked, "So where is this place?"

Summer smiled. "You'll see." Then she turned to Tooth and said, "Milady, if it's alright with you, we'd like to take Jack to our place first. You can stay here to meet the other Guardians and then you can all come to our place."

Tooth nodded, wondering where their mysterious place was. "Yes, of course, but how will we know where to go?"

Autumn pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Tooth. "Here."

Tooth took the and studied it closely. "It's a leaf," she said, glancing at Autumn.

It was indeed a leaf. It was tiny, orangey-gold, and it had very intricate designs that swirled around the leaf and made it look completely real.

"Yes, it is a leaf. but it's also a calling card. Just rub the leaf and say my name, and it'll find me." Autumn said, standing up. "Now, we should go. If Sanderson is as fast as I think he is, the others will be coming in less than ten minutes. Jack, are you ready?"

Jack sighed. This was so much like when he'd been chosen for being a guardian that he didn't even want to think about it.

"I'm ready." he said. The other Seasons stood up and Jack followed suit. They didn't hold hands or anything, but Autumn put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Little brother, prepare to be amazed."

Jack snorted. He doubted anything these guys could dream up was even close to what the North Pole was.

As usual, he didn't know jack.