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I don't own Rise of the Guardians or The Guardians of Childhood. They belong to William Joyce and Dream works.

Thank you to all the writers who's work inspired this story!

(Present)

All four of the older guardians were astonished. Their minds were full of questions, so many in fact they felt itchy from keeping quiet. But quiet they remained as Jack described his conversation with the witch of the iron forest.

"Now that I saw her in the light, I felt pretty stupid for being afraid. She was medium height, like I observed before, and she had wrinkles, but I could now see that was mostly due to age. Her teeth were most certainly not iron or sharp, and though her hair looked a bit unruly and like straw, I'd seen worse. But what most put me at ease, were her eyes. I'd heard the phrase; the eyes are windows to the soul. Baba Yaga's eyes were open, kind, calming, and full of love and compassion she wanted to share. I felt I could trust her, so when she asked why I was there I told her the truth.

'I know you and the piper have been taking children. You lead them into the woods with music, and then lead them to a portal that once there through, they are never seen again. I came here to… To get them back, or at least find out where they went.'

She nodded at me. "You're a kind, bright boy." Her words caused me to blush, despite myself. "It is true that we spirit the children away. But the legends about us are incorrect. We don't take children as a punishment! Our music can only be heard by kids, or kids at heart, whose life is in danger or are in an unsafe situation. It's our job to bring them to a safe place where they can grow up and gain an education, protected from the harshness they suffered in their lives."

Baba Yaga's explanation shocked me. 'You mean, all those kids! They were all…!' She became very sad and confirmed my worries with a simple "yes."''

The guardians shared Jack's feelings. All of them had, at more times than they'd like, noticed children they worked to protect being harmed, abused, and worse. Their work brought the kids small spans of reprieve, where they could forget the hardships of their young lives. But in the long run the guardians had no power to save those children.

"We remained silent for a while until I could gather the strength to continue. 'What happens after they go through the portal?' I asked.

Baba Yaga returned her eyes to me, at my question, and looked a little happier. "They find themselves in a safe haven. Connected to the mortal world but separated from it. There we help them recover, giving them lots of love and we let them know how important each of them are. We also help them find and perfect each of their individual talents. They are given an education and the individual attention they need. Then when they are old enough to live on their own, they are returned to the mortal world."

'They go back? Why? You said this place was safe, and protected. Why would anyone want to leave?'

"Because, this place is meant to be a rest stop or temporary home. Human children need to grow up and live in the mortal realm, help it to grow and evolve each in their own way. By taking in the children who need our help, we make sure that the cruelty of the past doesn't pass on to the next generation and happen again."

'But it is happening, otherwise you wouldn't need to keep doing this!'

Baba Yaga bowed her head, and I saw tears fall onto the table. "Alas, there are too many kids who need help, and not enough spirits who can and will take care of them. When we started out there were many legends and spirits alike that did this job, but fear twisted our stories and soon after, fear caused people to forcibly forget them. Without belief many spirits could no longer do their work, for just like all others of the spirit world we can't be seen or heard by nonbelievers, now it is just the piper and me. And we have only survived because our music gave us an advantage. This has made us slightly stronger than the other spirits, so even if we aren't believed in by the child, any small spark of belief in anything will be enough. The piper and I go out as often as possible and to as many areas as we can. However for every one child we bring to safety three or four more are out of our reach, whether because we are too late and there is no belief left, or because they are simply too jaded for the song's magic to take hold. This means there are three or four more adults with a darkness in their hearts, and are bound to live unhappy lives. And that is the best case scenario. We have seen many we couldn't help become much worse than sad souls." Baba Yaga sighed heavily, and seemed to have a huge weight on her shoulders.

Which in all honesty she did. I wanted to comfort her but I had no idea what to say. In the end I placed my hand over hers. Despite the wrinkles her hand was soft, and the warmth of her skin against my cold hand felt so comforting I never wanted to let go."

Sandy felt tears began to start, but didn't brush them away. It was all so sad! Spirits whose legends or stories get twisted and forgotten, a group of spirits committed to helping the abuse children, those same spirits now unable to do their job, the kids who suffered because of it. It all seems like a horrible whirlpool; speeding up the further you go 'till your unable to escape and got sucked down. Then to top it off, to learn that at four (in spirit years) Jack had been so hurt that he'd heard a song meant for the unwanted, abused, or endangered to follow it to safety. What the boy had to have felt like to react this way was beyond Sandy's comprehension. And it hurt to know Jack had gone through that.

"My next question came in an instant and I just blurted out, 'What about the families and friends of the kids who leave? Don't they notice them missing?'

"Some look, but sadly most could care less. And in the end the children are forgotten. When the kids grow up and return to the mortal world they can choose where ever they want to go. Some return to their old towns but, the magic protection has a lasting effect and they are not recognized unless the child wants to be." Baba Yaga explained.

Another group came to mind, I didn't know much about you guys yet but I'd have to be completely oblivious to not see you or your helpers at work." Jack smiled at the guardians but they all seemed lost in their own thoughts, so Jack continued his story. "I asked: "What about the guardians? Do they know about this place?""

The big four were snapped out of their sad musings by this.

""Yes and no." Was her answer. "Every Christmas Nicholas St. North delivers his gifts, and every Easter E. Aster Bunnymund hides his eggs. Sanderson Moonsnooze brings sweet dreams every night, and when one of our charges loses a tooth, Toothina's fairies come for it. But the magic that protects the kids prevents them from remembering exactly where they go after they leave."

"Does this place have a name?"

"It's been called many things. Toy Land, Boy and Girl Land, once even Utopia. But it has no true name."

"Why not?" I asked confused.

"We haven't found the right one yet."

I sat there, my hand still atop hers, pondering all she told me. The place she described sounded perfect. A place for everyone, where even someone like me could belong. The fact that I'd heard the music told me that I was able to go there, but that also brought to mind that I didn't. "Why was I not as affected by your music as the kids?"

"You are a spirit and that naturally gave you some resilience, but it was probably also because of your 'do-my-own-thing' personality."

"What?" I asked shocked, how would she know about that?

"Don't be so surprised. The last four years you built quite a reputation for yourself. Plus Tiffany and Adam told us a lot about you after they saw you that night."

Now she had completely confused me. "Who are Tiffany and Adam?"

"They are the two young adults you saw at the portal the night you heard my song."

"Oh, now I remember. But they must have me confused with someone else. I'd never seen them before that night."

"Baba Yaga just stared at me, like she was pondering if she should say something. In the end she must've decided against it. Instead she said: "Well regardless, that would be the reason our music didn't affect you like it did the other children."

"Can I still go there?"

Instead of answering me, she stood and walked towards her shelves of bottles. Taking down a small vial, she uncorked it and wafted the sent to her nose with her hand. She nodded once, confirming it was the one she wanted and then turned back to me. "If you're ready, we can go right now." She said.

"How, the portal is-"

"Right here." She shook the bottle causing its contents to swish inside. I stared skeptically at her. "I can open a portal, but it will only stay open for a short time. I want to be sure you're ready, and if you aren't that's okay too. It is completely your choice."

"Steeling myself I said: "I want to go." She walked to the fire and let one drop of pink liquid fall into the flames, from the bottle. The pink liquid evaporated into green smoke when it met the heat. The smoke was swirly, thin, and nearly see-through. Floating around Baba Yaga's head it then drifted out the nearest window. We followed it outside, where it had thickened and seemed to double in volume. Then the moon's light hit it and the smoke glowed. It spiraled until it became a familiar portal. When I saw it my previous fears came back. What if this was all an elaborate trick? What if what was beyond that green light was worse than what I'd already had to live with? For the first time since I'd met wind she nudged me towards a destination instead of letting me decide on my own. Her nudge caused me to take a few steps toward the portal, and when I did the moon's light glowed a soft comforting shade. I looked up at the moon, the face on the orb smiled down at me. Though I still had hundreds of questions that he would not answer for me, I trusted the moon. Taking Baba Yaga's hand we walked through together.