Chapter 9 – Striking Up a Plan

"Thanks Dusty," Snow said, hesitantly taking the black electric blue snowflake designed boots from my outstretched hands. With a sigh, Snow then sat down to slip them on her bare feet.

Watching her shuffle across the floor with them on immediately made me a little nervous, because I knew that she was practically like her parents, Uncle Jack and Auntie Casey, when it came to being barefoot, they loved it and so did she. Seeing Snow slip on the rain boots made me think back to the time where Mom introduced me to sandals instead of boots like my brother and sister wore. Although they were pretty securely tied around my ankles, I often lost my footing with them when I was first learning how to walk. The ivy grass buckles had often snagged on my pant leggings and made me trip. It was soon after that that Mom had given me my first pair of purple boots.

"Those boots aren't mine, Snow. They're Maddy's," I said, watching as Maddy smiled down at Snow.

With a nod, Maddy simply said, "I thought that those just might fit your style."

"Thanks," Snow said, again, as she turned to the rest of us with a determined face. "Ok, so what happened?"

Aurora rested one of her paws at her side as she brought the other one up to Snow's shoulder. "Well, in a nutshell, Slushy, you overheated."

"And, then you fainted," Blaze finished, earning himself a glare on behalf of Snow before she brought a hand up to her face with a groan.

"And, now we've lost time!"

"No, we haven't Snow," my sister said gently, waiting until Snow looked up at her curiously yet expectedly.

"Because we think we know why children's belief in the Guardians is fading away," my brother said as Snow and I beamed hopefully.

"You mean, you've figured it out?" I asked excitedly. Like everyone else, my mindset was on saving our parents, but if were to stand any chance against Angel Moon, we needed know why and how she did what she does.

Jamie held a hand up to his chin as he thought, "Well, Angel Moon is the Mistress of Deception, right?"

Snow, Aurora and I each nodded our heads in turn of agreement as Aurora said, "Yeah, that's what the Guardians told us."

"So, if the kids have started to lose faith and not believe anymore then that can mean only one thing," Jamie concluded, turning to his wife.

"Angel Moon is using her powers over deception to make the kids doubt the Guardians," Maddy then concluded simply.

Taking it all in, I tilted my head towards Snow as she asked, "Then how is it that you two still believe? I mean, shouldn't you be doubtful as well?"

"We are two of the only few kids who have ever met most of you guys in person," Jamie said, also looking up at my brother and sister. "And, Maddy and I, we have managed to keep our belief even into adulthood." Turning to Snow, he proudly said, "After all, I was your father's, Jack's, first believer."

Maddy nodded, too, with a smile as she replied, "As I was your mother's, Casey's, first believer."

Proudly rapping an arm around Maddy's shoulders, Jamie said, "Nothing in this world could ever get us to stop believing, not even the Mistress of Deception herself, not after everything your parents and the rest of the Guardians did for us."

I smiled up at them happily, sensing the truth behind their words, but my eyes turned over to my brother as he said, "Okay, but what about the rest of your friends? You know, the ones who helped all our parents beat Pitch over fourteen years ago? What happened with them?"

"I know, without a doubt, that Cupcake and Monty still believe," Jamie replied. "But Pippa's belief was wavering even before Angel attacked us."

"She's already attacked you?!" Blaze asked determinedly, undeniably upset, as he fiercely clutched his staff in his hands so tighter that the room immediately began to feel hotter than before. Aurora and I immediately felt it so fast that we instinctively brought Snow within the full blast of the fan to keep her cool. Blaze, seeing what was happening, unclenched his hold on his staff as he rested it gently against the arm of the Bennett's armchair.

Jamie continued, "As for the twins, Claude and Caleb, Claude has stopped believing completely and Caleb's isn't falling too far behind Claude's."

"Is there a chance that Caleb still believes?" my sister asked with concern.

Jamie just shrugged as he said, "I honestly don't know."

"Mica still believes," Maddy said, taking up the list. "However, Sarah stopped believing as soon as we entered our sophomore year of high school."

Snow nodded as she said, "Okay, so only a part of the group who stood up to the Fear King can still be relied on."

"Hey, wait a minute, Sophie still believes," Jamie said protectively, thinking on his little sister. "And, I'm also pretty sure that Bunny still comes to visit her from time to time."

Aurora's paw dropped from Snow's arm when she heard that. "He does? Without me," she murmured, her eyes flashing with hurt as tears poured down from her green irises. Instantly, Snow's and my hands went around our friends to comfort her.

"Hey," Jamie said gently, sensing her sadness as well, "I could call her, that way you could meet her."

Aurora only nodded her head as she continued to cry, her bunny ears sadly drooping over Snow's and my head.

"Come on, Aurora," my sister said gently as we led her into the kitchen while Jamie made the call.

A little while later, a knock evidently reached our ears as I heard Jamie say, "Sophie, you came."

"Of course I did, Jamie. I wouldn't miss a second of all this without you. Hello Maddy, how has my brother been treating you these days? Oh, and please don't tell me that this can't be little itty-bitty Snow, can it?"

Itty-bitty? Meeting Aurora's eyes with a hidden giggle, we shared a chuckle in quiet laughter. Snow may have little for her age, but we both knew that she hated to be treated like a baby or as a tiny doll. Sure, she may have only a few less inches as tall as Auntie Casey, but that didn't mean that she didn't have twice as much spunk as her parents put together. No, Snow was somebody who could prove that the biggest surprises could come from the littlest packages.

Chuckling, I heard Jamie say, "Sophie, why don't we put Snow down? She needs to breathe."

"Walking into the kitchen, we all turned to hear Sophie say, "Jamie, you don't need to talk to me like I'm five. It's just I haven't seen her in so long, you know?"

Walking over to us, Snow pointed us out to Sophie as she said, "Sophie, I'd like to introduce you to my friends. This is Dusty, daughter of Sandy and Windsong. Over there are her siblings and Song's twins, Solar Flare and Cloud Whisper. Standing over there, that's Blaze Summer, he's my … cousin," Snow said as she paused to rest a hand on Aurora's chair. "And this Aurora, Bunny and Narain's daughter."

Looking up at her, Aurora said, "So, you're Sophie. My Dad has told me a lot about you."

Sophie only smiled as she replied, "And, you're Aurora. Oh, Bunny wasn't exaggerating when he told me about his little girl."

After a little time together, Aurora and Sophie found that they had a lot in common, namely on account of Uncle Bunny.

"Alright Jamie, tell me what's going on here. I can tell that you're not telling me something very important I should know."

"I think that we can fill you in on that part," Blaze began, coming to stand next to her chair.

So, as we filled her in on everything that we know, she said, "Well then, I'll certainly do everything I can to help. This is just too important to not do anything about it." Turning to Jamie, she said, "Jamie, what are you doing just standing there? Go on and call up your friends about this."

"I was just about to do that, Soph. Just give a second, alright? I got to go look up their numbers," Jamie said, rushing off into the hall.

"Meanwhile, I'll call up Mica and see if she can do anything to help us as well," Maddy said, rising to her feet.

"Here, Maddy, let me come with you," Snow said, hurrying after her.

Meanwhile, Jamie came back in with a pocket directory, filled with his friend's numbers.

"Ok, I'll start with Cupcake's since she's right here at the top. Let's just hope she's home," Jamie said, picking up the main phone.

"Wait, shouldn't we start with Monty?" Blaze said over by the window. "Just call it a hunch."

"Oh, alright. I'll give it a try," Jamie said as he dialed the number. Listening for a moment, he spoke up, "Yeah, is Monty there … You're where? The park? What are you doing there? Looking for your journal, huh? No, don't worry about that, I'll keep it confidential. Yeah, just between you and me," he said casually, looking back at our faces. Already Blaze and my brother were stifling laughs, obviously thinking it was a diary of some sorts. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. They didn't know, and neither did I. "Hey, listen, we've got some pretty interesting visitors here that you might want to meet. And, it's very important that you listen to what I'm fixing to tell you very closely. There's a new threat on the loose against the Guardians … No, I don't think it's the Boogeyman … He's gone, remember, Monty … Well, I know you said you thought it was just a dream, but trust me, this is the real thing and we need you to come right away … What do you mean you can't tear yourself away? … Alright, well get here as soon as you can … You never know what's going to happen if we don't stick together … What do I mean? I'll tell you as soon as you get over here … It concerns the Guardians … Yes, there is a new threat out there called Angel Moon, and she calls herself the Mistress of Deception … Who else is coming? Well, Cupcake and Mica, Maddy's friend … Oh, you'll be right over? … Great, well … What about everyone else? … You know Claude doesn't believe anymore, and I'm not sure if Caleb would come without Claude … Alright, call me when you're on your way," Jamie finally finished as he hung up the phone.

"Well, whatever I said must have convinced him, Monty's coming," Jamie said, turning to us.

"Now, what about Cupcake?" my brother asked.

"Who even names their child, Cupcake?" I heard Blaze say.

"Blaze, now's not the time," my brother said, walking over to stand next to Jamie.

"Solar is right you know, if Cupcake heard you say that … Well, let's just say she would hit you over the head with a snowball if she had one," Jamie said as he dialed another number.

"Just don't let her catch you calling her anything other than Cupcake," Jamie said, listening for an answer. "Oh … What? No, not you Cupcake, I was talking to some friends that I thought that you might like to meet. Yeah, they're over here, now … Remember the Guardians? These are their kids I'm talking to … No, no joke … You see, there's a new threat out … Yeah, and they want to help … Is it Pitch? No, it's someone new … Her name is Angel Moon … What? You've heard about her … Monty just called you? And, you're on your way? … Well, great … In fact, that's what I was calling you about … Yeah, we'll all meet here at my house and decide on the best strategy course … Alright, see you when you get here."

"Was that Cupcake?" I heard Maddy ask as she came back into the room with Snow tagging along behind her.

"Yeah, she's on her way," Jamie said, sitting down on his couch.

Rrrrr-inggggg, the phone vibrated as Jamie looked from Maddy to us and then back to the phone.

"Don't worry, Jamie, I'll get it," Maddy said, walking up to reach the phone. Holding it to her ear, she said, "Hello. Oh, Monty, didn't Jamie just call you?"

Our ears all perked up when we heard her say, "Claude and Caleb, are you sure? They're at the park? Now? Well, sure I can be there in a second, but aren't you already on your way?" She paused as she looked down into Jamie's face. "You went to go pick up some papers, and then the next time you looked up, you saw them out by Burgess Pond. Ok, got ya, and you want one of us to meet you there? Alright, well, we'll see you in a bit, then."

"Was that Monty? He's coming, isn't he?" Jamie said, standing to his feet.

"Yeah, he had a little bit of car trouble, and then he forgot his keys accidently by his bench, and then he went back to pick up some secret papers, he said, all while calling Cupcake about what you told him," Maddy said with a laugh.

"Yeah, he said that he had called her. Well, I better hurry if I'm going to go pick him up," Jamie said, starting to straddle on his boots.

"No, Jamie, I can handle this one," Maddy said with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it won't be that long, and there's a chance that we might catch up to Claude and Caleb while we're there."

"We?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if the girls wanted to come along," Maddy said turning to me, Aurora, Snow, and my sister as we stood over by the fan.

"How about it, Snow? The car's air-conditioned and has good UV protection."

Watching the rest of us smile, Snow then said determinedly, "Sure, let's go."

Here's the next chapter. Hopefully, the next chapter will be easier, this one took some planning along with writergirl142 to determine the next course of action. Next up, we'll see some of the original believers from the movie "Rise of the Guardians."

Please review if you have any suggestions about what you would like to see where we go next with the conflicts with Angel Moon.