Disclaimer: Can you guess what I'm going to say? You can! We'll I'll say it anyway. I don't Own Rise of the Guardians, it's characters, or it's story. Just my OC's I like to lock in closest and force into strange situations.


It had been a few moments of conversation before the Guardian's just plain stared at Lyra as she lifted her mason jar up for them to see. North had frowned deeply at the state that Aria was in, Tooth covered her mouth in surprise before resting a hand on her chest and shaking her head sadly, and Bunnymund just stood with his arms over his chest. Carol placed a comforting hand on her husband's arm before smiling sadly.

"Come now everyone. Aria's sealed her powers up, that means she's still here with us!" Lyra blinked at Mrs. Claus, never having met her before now, and frowned slightly as everyone looked at her as well.

"What do you mean? She's not exactly alive at the moment, you know." Tooth tried to sound as kind with the statement as she could. Lyra noticed Lance tense up beside her from the sentence.

"What I mean is that Aria was able to keep a piece of her in this world. If she hadn't done this then she would be gone completely, but she's a strong one." Carol walked over to look at the jar and smile at Mini Aria before smiling at Lyra. "Lyra and Aria are both standing right in front of us. Lyra might not be her host, and Aria might not be able to speak and spend time with us, but both are in front of me right now. They're both preparing for a fight just like the rest of us. It might not be the same as what we can do, but every little bit counts right?"

North laughed loudly before wrapping an arm around his wife. She looked so small in comparison with the large man. "Carol is right! We cannot assume Aria has left when she is right here in front of us! It is only matter of time before she is up and well!" Lyra smiled and nodded in agreement. Lance sighed softly before turning away from everyone and heading for the elevator.

"Aria herself isn't coming back. A piece of her, perhaps, but Aria isn't. I'd rather you just let me accept that fact instead of putting false hope in the room." He calmly stated to the others before disappearing down the lift. Lyra pulled the jar tighter to her as she watched Lance go; a feeling of guilt passing through her for some reason.

"Oh Lance…" She whispered softly. Her attention turned to see Jack watching after Cupid with a strange expression. He looked like he was worried about the Spirit of Love but his pride was too strong to allow him to fully express such a sentiment. She felt a strange pulse come from the jar in her hands causing her to look down at it in curiosity.

A strange image entered her mind as she looked at Mini Aria. She felt herself standing in a well polished room. The walls surrounding her were a wonderful red, the carpet a different shade but matching perfectly to the walls. Lance stood in front of her with a soft smile across his lips. He reached out and ruffled her hair before laughing. His lips moved but she never heard the words. She lifted herself up and hugged the man around the neck earning a hug back.

She snapped back to the workshop when she felt a cool hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Jack looking at her with a worried expression. She turned her attention to the jar again, mentally questioning Aria if she was showing her these things on purpose or not. She smiled to Jack to calm his worry.

"Don't mind me Jack. I was just thinking about Aria is all." He smiled sadly before squeezing her shoulder in comfort.

"Cupid will be okay, just give him sometime."

"Lyra dear, I have heard so many wonderful things about you!" Lyra was pulled from Jack's grasp as Carol took her free hand and pulled her close. Jack looked worried for a moment as Carol attempted to practically kidnap the girl. Sandy was floating behind her grinning and holding his thumbs up. Tooth and Bunny had started a conversation that Lyra couldn't quite hear and North had run off complaining about how he was busy with Christmas in a few short weeks.

"I'm worried your version of wonderful and my version of wonderful are two different things." Lyra cautiously said as she sent a pointed look at Jack. Jack mischievously grinned and shrugged at her before whistling and acting like he wasn't the one who had spoken about her. "How many bad things has he told you?" Lyra deadpanned to the woman standing in front of her causing Carol to laugh. Her laugh reminded Lyra of bells, but not in the sense of Sandy's chiming laugh. Her laugh only caused her to want to throw something at Jack's head more.

"Nothing bad my dear! I'm glad you can stand up to a boy like him. He needs some discipline in his life." Both women sent a pointed look at Jack again causing him to put his hands up in defense.

"I'm fun and you know it." He laughed causing Lyra to shake her head.

"Besides, all he's been telling me about is how beautiful he thinks you are." Carol smirk evilly as both Lyra and Jack started blushing. Jack started stuttering out gibberish trying to deny he had ever said that. Lyra gave him a blank stare after he claimed he never said it and he felt himself in an un-climbable hole that kept getting deeper. Eventually, he just shut up. "Anyway, I'm so excited to have you as part of the team! Tooth and I were just talking about how we needed more girls around here."

"Don't all the Baby Tooth Fairies count as females? If so then we're the one's out numbered." Jack pitched in but was ignored completely.

"That being said, I think we should get you into a different outfit." Carol started walking around Lyra with calculating eyes as she looked Lyra up and down. "Let's go get your measurements and I'll get straight to work." Carol nodded excitedly. Lyra shifted nervously.

"Why are we making me new clothes? I haven't even been wearing these for a day yet." Carol just smiled to the girl before grabbing her hand and pulling her along behind her.

"My clothes are different. I enchant my clothes to protect you. A lot like armor, and since you're a human you're so much more fragile than the others are. I tried to redo Jack's wardrobe a couple of months ago but he about had a heart attack." Lyra seemed to recall a moment of him freaking out when she forced him to wash his clothes. He was more of a girl about his clothes than she was.

"I'm not sure I can wear armor." Lyra nervously said. She didn't want to discourage the woman, after all she was being really nice to her, but she wasn't exactly the strongest strength wise and all she knew about armor was that it was super heavily. Carol laughed loudly before pushing her into her sewing room and shutting the door behind her.

"I promise you it'll be just like wearing normal clothes only with a lot of style." Carol winked and Lyra sighed not one to complain when someone gave her a gift.

Carol took her measurements and sat her down in a chair while she got to work on sewing. Lyra looked around the room noticing there were no yetis or elves wandering around. Carol started softly humming a Christmas tune as her sewing machine flew at a speed faster than any human machine would go.

"So tell me Lyra, what is your connection with Jack? I saw you two holding hands earlier." Carol kept her face blank but in her mind she was doing a jig of how easy her targets had come to her. This would make watching her new soap opera so much easier!

Lyra felt her face heat up and tapped her fingers on her knee nervously. She shrugged in response to Carol while trying her best to pay attention to other things besides the question that was floating in the air. "Jack is Jack. What more is there to know?"

"Oh come on Lyra, that's not fun. Do you like him? Is he a good friend? Maybe more?" Lyra smiled and shook her head.

"He's a trouble making, kitchen destroying, roof crashing idiot who does nothing but cause trouble to those he spends time around."

"Sounds like you care about him." Carol smiled remembering a time she herself would have answered with the same response. Lyra blushed deeply and shrugged.

"He's a good guy deep down." Lyra smiled as she looked at Mini Aria. "He's not happy I'm here." Carol stopped her sewing and looked at the girl curiously.

"I would have thought he'd be glad to have you here instead of worry about you like he's done the past few days."

"He's upset because I'm in this fight. I hadn't realized he had grown so protective. I should have expected it though. He barely spent a day with the kids I watch before I noticed him taking that older brother protective stance over them. He really loves people."

"It was really hard on him. I didn't know much about him before he became a Guardian, but from the way my husband talks he was lonely for a long time. I try to make him feel welcomed here, after all, he's the closest thing I'll have to a son." Carol had a loving look on her face as she got back to sewing. "He makes trouble out of habit. He's so used to fighting for the attention of someone that he doesn't fully know how to react to the it. He's not used to it. After all, he only started coming around about a year or so ago."

"I noticed that, but I think he's gotten better with it. At least around me. Only a week at my house and he fully made himself at home. He was also a lot more at ease around me than when he first arrived."

"Take care of him Lyra. He loves people, yes, but he never truly opens his heart to them. Even to us he still hides his feelings." Lyra looked over at Carol as she set something to the side and begun working with a new material.

"What makes you think he'll open up to me?" Lyra softly asked noticing that inside she actually hoped the winter spirit would let her be the one he trusted more than anyone else.

"Because, never in his whole time being near me have I ever seen him so smitten with someone as he is with you. You're special to him Lyra. It's only a matter of time until he himself realizes that as well." Lyra's heart sped up slightly and she felt a little giddy. It was almost like hearing from a friend in school that a recent crush was asking about her. Lyra didn't deny that she was attracted to the boy, but refused to think of it as anything more than a mere crush.

"I'll do my best ma'am." Lyra said lowly but Carol still heard it. Carol giggled softly before winking at her playfully.

"I'd make you a sexy outfit to make him fall all over you, but I think he enjoys your modesty more than your sexy side so we'll not give him too much of a shock. For now." Carol held back the evil outfit ideas she had in her mind and Lyra blushed in fear of what the woman would make her wear in the future.

Lyra could also see that even if she protested and ran the woman would most likely track her down and force her into it anyway. It was then that Lyra understood that the motherly, sweet Carol had a deep secret of evilness down in her core.


Lyra spun around in front of a large sized mirror admiring her new outfit from Mrs. Claus and enjoying how comfortable it was. She wore a pair of form fitting black stretch leggings, a jean skirt that fell down mid-thigh, a white form fitting long-sleeved shirt, and a baby blue sweater vest on top. She wore a pair of black boots that were both comfortable and sturdy that went up mid-shin level. Around her waste was a strong leather belt that had a large area on the side to hold a jar. Carol came back into the room from finding a jar that would be stronger than her human-made mason jar. Lyra turned from the mirror to look at the jar in the woman's hands. It was a little larger in size, but small enough to fit in the area Carol had designed for it to fit. It had a small opening at the top with a cork causing Lyra to frown at it.

"Carol how will she fit in the top?" Carol smiled before pulling the cork out of the top of it. The opening suddenly expanded in size big enough for Mini Aria to fit inside.

"Magic, my dear." Carol playfully winked before holding the jar out for Lyra. Lyra sat it on a nearby table, unscrewed her mason jar, and carefully dumped Mini Aria into her hands and gently placing her into her new home.

"I hope this will be a little bit more comfortable for you Mini Aria." Lyra smiled before putting the cork back into the top, it shrinking in size and sealing her safely inside. Lyra unzipped the area for the jar on her belt, placed it inside, and zipped it back up. The leather compartment completely covered the jar so that it just looked like a purse type belt and no one would ever see what it was that she was carrying. This would keep Aria's location secret longer in addition with the protective charm. Lyra turned once more to look in the mirror before adjusting her glasses and grinning at herself.

"I absolutely love it! It's like you understood my sense in fashion without me actually saying anything!" Carol clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Oh you just look wonderful! I'm surprised the other's haven't come looking for us yet. Oh come on, let's go show you off!" Carol grabbed her hands in excitement before pulling Lyra off to go find the others.

Lyra nearly tripped over a few elves as Carol tugged her along. Carol was surprisingly agile and able to dodge each elf perfectly. Finally they came across a room that appear to be a grand living room, at least three times the size of Lyra's living room, and all but North and Jack were currently inside.

"Wow Lyra you look amazing! Carol your sewing abilities are something to be envious of!" Tooth cooed happily as she flew around Lyra admiring her smart way of carrying Aria around.

"I put my own form of a charm on the belt for Lyra. If people bump into the jar while it's on her hip, for instance like this." Carol then bumped her hip against the place that the jar was located. Panic filled everyone's eyes before Lyra smiled big in understanding.

"It doesn't trigger the charm! You made it so the belt doesn't act as a direct link to Mini Aria!" Lyra said completely overjoyed. A loud sigh was heard as everyone sighed in relief at once.

"You do look lovely in that outfit." Lance was back inside and sitting on a nearby sofa. He winked at her and smiled seductively causing her to blush furiously.

"Oh where is Jack when you want to show off how cute a girl is!" Carol stomped her foot upset the boy wasn't in the room.

"Hey what's all the commotion about-" Jack walked in about that time and dropped the cookie he was munching on when he saw Lyra. He coughed and cleared his throat, nervously tugging at the neck of his hoodie and smiling sheepishly.

"You look…nice…." He said nervously. Bunny and Lance exchanged smirks with each other and Lyra smiled appreciatively.

"Why thank you Jack. I must say, you've told me I've looked hot and now I look nice, all in a matter of a few days? Way to make a girl feel good." She laughed as Jack jerked in surprise.

"I said you were hot because you were literally hot!"

"See what I mean? He's so sweet!" Lyra laughed as she pinched his cheeks playfully. He scowled and grabbed her hands.

"You're frustratingly annoying and adorable at the same time. How does one person accomplish such an amazing feat at one time?" He muttered lowly to her so the others wouldn't hear. She raised an eyebrow before smirking.

"Ask yourself and I'm sure you'll figure out the answer." He rolled his eyes before grinning at her.

"North said he needed to work on Christmas preparations so it looks like we're all on Aria host searching duty. We should probably split up and look for her new host while the others try to get information on Leon and Pitch." Jack said as he dropped Lyra's hands and turned his attention to everyone else. They all nodded in agreement.

"Well then Jack, you should be the one to take the lass around and search for a new host. The rest of us will search for them problem makers." Bunny winked at Lance causing the man to laugh at the devious planning. Carol couldn't help the devious grin from appearing.

Jack and Lyra were completely oblivious to the fact the others were trying to get them to spend time together. Alone.

"All right then! Lyra, how about we go pick a random place on the globe to go explore?" Jack grinned before heading out of the room. Lyra laughed and followed him.

"I always wanted to travel the world! Never expected to be doing it this way, that's for sure."


In a town somewhere a mother entered her son's room early in the morning to wake him for his last day of school before Christmas break. The sun was still down, but with her work schedule she had to get them up early to ensure she made it to work on time. She walked over and sat on the side of the bed before gently shaking the boy and softly telling him it was time to get up. He didn't move, and she started shaking him more. After calling out for him to wake up for a moment, she realized the boy wasn't responding.

In a panic, she flipped the blankets off him and started looking for a sign he was breathing and a pulse. He was alive, but his face was contorted in pain. She quickly lifted the child up into her arms, screaming out for her husband and running out of the room.

Outside the window, a dark figure with golden eyes chuckled darkly at the panicking of the woman.

"Oh, he won't be waking up anytime soon my friend. It's time for the endless nightmares to begin." He turned to a shadow sitting perched up on top of the roof and laughed. "Purely amazing, my friend. I don't understand why I wasn't smart enough to seek you out before now!" White teeth appeared as the shadow smiled a sinister smile.

"Comatose children unable to wake from their nightmares. It will not only empower you greatly, but will in turn bring power to me as well. Stressed out parents tend to fight and get angry at each other a lot when it involves the well being of their children." A soft chuckle came from the shadow.

Both men started laughing in unison as their evil plans slowly started coming into motion.

"Let's see how your Guardians handle this." Pitch spoke up to the half moon that was disappearing over the horizon as the sun began to rise into the sky.


Author's Note: So I was off today and I figured I would treat you guys to another chapter before I went back to work for another week. Don't fret, I shall try to upate really soon I swear! Don't forget to let me know what you guys are thinking so far! I love reading the reviews of who everyone think's the new host is. It amuses me how close everyone is, yet how super far away you all are at the same time. Then again, have we even met the new host yet? I just like seeing you guys guess. ^-^ (Though secretly I feel bad for not just telling you the answer. ;-; )