"I….I want to help….." Seraphina chided in, unsure if she was actually wanted.
Crystal turned her cool gaze on Seraphina, before walking over to her briskly and warming that gaze. "I know you want to help. But no."
Sera felt dread run over her body as she thought Crystal no longer believed she was a good person or her friend.
"I can't risk losing you to your father. Right now your emotions are all over the place, and your father will take advantage of that." Crystal explained, hoping it would put the girl at ease over the subject. "I want you to be safe. Let us take care of this." She turned from Seraphina and walked back towards the small group, leaving it at that.
"But I don't want you to be hurt either!" Sera complained, worry for Crystal over running her.
Crystal stopped and looked at Sera over her shoulder. Her chin was out determinedly and her shoulders were squared as she looked at Sera sternly. "That girl in the past you knew, she is no longer the girl I am now. I have become stronger, and this time I won't let those precious to me be hurt."
Sera flinched from the unintended strike upon her mistake she had done to Crystal. Crystal smiled at her, relieving her of the guilt that was trying to eat her insides once again.
Time passed as the Guardians let the Big Five do as they needed, but the anxiousness in the air could be cut by a knife with how much the Guardians were trying to get into the little group.
"Don't test me," Rapunzel grumbled as she held up her frying pan.
"Aw, such a wee little lamb," Merida replied back to her in sarcasm and pity, pushing the frying pan with her finger and knocking it into Rapunzel's head.
"Can't we just let what comes to them come?" Hiccup said squeamishly, trying to get out of this whole ordeal.
"Why not just defeat them like we did before?" Jack said with a smirk, taking this a little too lightly as he leaned back in his chair and played with his staff.
Crystal slapped her forehead in disbelief at the four before her. They hadn't changed at all from their previous personalities. Even after their battles they still reverted back to how they were.
"I'm not as weak as you think I am!" Rapunzel yelled at Merida.
Merida picked up Rapunzel's hair and pulled, tripping the girl and making her land on the ground with a thud. "Oh?"
Rapunzel glared at Merida as she held out the frying pan as if it were a fearsome sword that could cut by just aiming. Toothless jumped around the room, a little too anxious by being trapped in an enclosed room; his tail knocking into the two legs of Jack's chair and knocking him to the ground. Jack sat up with a pout and froze the ground beneath Toothless' feet, making him skid across the floor and run into Hiccup forcefully.
"Hey! What was that for?" Hiccup shouted, glaring at Jack.
Merida knocked Rapunzel over once again, this time knocking her into Jack, and making him stumble back and step on her hair, jerking Rapunzel's head back in pain.
"Hey!" She shouted, grabbing her hair from under his foot.
"Watch it blondie," Jack told her, his annoyance rising high.
"Aw, another wee little lamb," Merida said, poking fun at Hiccup as he struggled under Toothless who was glaring at the ice on the floor.
"Coming from a prissy princess," Hiccup growled, anger rising for those who keep poking fun at his cowardice.
"Hey!" Merida and Rapunzel yelled at the same time, angry at the comment.
"Well at least we aren't some good for nothing Guardian!" Merida snuffed as Jack laughed at her.
The Guardians stood outside the door to the room, wondering if this plan was really going to be as good as Crystal made it sound. They were doubting it even more as the fighting and bickering increased for each one of those four, leaving Crystal with a throbbing headache in the middle of it all. North opened the door, about to shout at the four of the teenagers to stop arguing like little children.
"ENOUGH!" Crystal shouted, slamming her hands down on the table, shushing the whole room along with North who stood there with his fist in the air and mouth wide open. "Stop acting as if you are four year olds!"
"Four year olds?" Jack chuckled, but clamped his mouth shut as Crystal turned a steely glare onto him, freezing his blood instantly.
"You all are acting as if you haven't changed at all! Has what you've been through not changed you at all?" Crystal shouted indignantly. "Rapunzel, yes you are no longer a weak girl holed up in a room, but you still don't know anything about the world. Merida, you saved your clan from an evil spirit and a bear, but you are still very selfish and prideful. Hiccup, you took down a king dragon for god's sake! How can you still be so cowardly?" She turned her glare on Jack as he began to laugh at the others. "And don't get me started on you! If my brother saw how you were acting right now, he wouldn't let you near me! You were acting fine until they came around! And then you reverted back to your childish self who doesn't give a care in the world what happens to others!" She looked at all of them again, placing her hands on her hips. "I am sick and tired of listening to your bickering, arguments, and fights! If you want to behave this way then fine! I will solve this alone. I didn't call you all here to act like this." She hissed at them, before turning on her heel and storming out of the room.
The Guardian's didn't say a word as they separated like parting waters for the angry teen that was now on a rampage.
"You did it now mates," Bunny said with shake of his head and a look of pure pity for the group.
"Aw crap," Jack said with a groan. He rubbed the back of his head as he let out a loud growl, realizing just how right she was. "We're idiots,"
"Maybe we did go a bit wee far." Merida said, holding up her fingers to show an inch between.
"She's right. We act like we used to before it all happened," Rapunzel admitted, dropping her head down low in shame.
"It's not entirely our faults though," Hiccup argued, still feeling cowardice hit his veins. Then he hung his head, realizing she spoke the truth. "But we should have changed."
"Not going well?" Sera asked, walking alongside Crystal quickly as she stormed by.
"Not as I had planned," Crystal sighed, reaching out and grabbing Sera's hand. She stopped in her tracks and breathed in deeply before letting it out. "I feel calmer when I'm around you."
"How?" Sera asked wide eyed, being the first time anyone has ever told her that.
Crystal looked up, thinking how to explain it to Sera. "It's like a fresh wind goes through me when I do this," She held up their joined hands, and smiled at Sera, showing how she had calmed down and went back to her normal attitude.
"Maybe you're just tired," Sera said, trying to help with her stress level.
"Probably, I haven't slept for awhile, and using that much power to bring them all here, I'm surprised I'm still standing," Crystal said, placing her hand to her forehead.
Sera tugged her along gently, for once taking lead and making Crystal follow what she wanted to do. "You need to rest,"
Crystal was plopped down on the rug in front of a fireplace, and blinked in confusion, before realizing Sera had someone gotten hot chocolate and placed the warm mug in her hands. The sweet scent calmed Crystal's mind down and began to lull it towards relaxation. She sipped at the liquid slowly, feeling the fire warm her skin, and the liquid to warm her inside, sending her into sleep gently.
"Seraphina, have you seen Crystal?" Jack asked, spotting the Nature spirit standing outside a doorway.
The other's had followed Jack, not really sure where they were supposed to go in the huge toy factory, and not wanting to get lost. All four of them peeked into the doorway and Sera placed a finger to her lips and pointed inside the room.
They crept in slowly, wondering what Sera was trying to point out to them. They understood as they saw Crystal lying on her side, curled slightly with her arms in front of her and her legs almost to her chest. Her hair was spread out behind her as she breathed in and out slowly and gently in even breaths. Her eyes were lightly closed and her mouth was slightly open, showing she was in a deep sleep as she lay there in front of the fire.
"She fell asleep," Rapunzel said, walking around Crystal in a circle to look at her in every angle to make sure. Her hair had wrapped around Crystal gently, making a sort of soft blanket over her.
"And she get's onto us for not acting our age," Hiccup sighed, thinking it was childish to fall asleep after getting angry.
Seraphina walked in and pinched Hiccup roughly, glaring at him with stern eyes. "You weren't acting your age," Sera hissed at him. "Plus she hasn't slept in awhile. You don't realize how much energy it took to bring all of you here, and she still hasn't slept yet."
"She must have been exhausted," Merida said, looking down at the spring spirit.
Jack walked over to Crystal and moved Rapunzel's hair off of her gently. "I think we should all take a break for now. We'll get back on track once we have all calmed down and get back to normal."
He started to reach out for her, before Rapunzel smacked his hand with her frying pan, making a dull bang from the contact and making him hiss in pain from metal upon skin.
"You'll wake her!" Rapunzel argued, pointing the pan at him again as he looked up at her in disbelief.
"She won't wake up," He promised them, put Rapunzel raised her pan again, and this time Sera raised her hand to smack Jack away with wind.
He slid a hand under Crystal's legs, making the two girl's stop in worry that they would accidentally hit her in the process. He continued and slid a hand under her shoulders, before leaning back on his heels and hoisting her up into his arms. She grumbled slightly at the sudden sharp movement from the ground to dangling in the air, but her furrowed brows relaxed as she buried her head into his neck and lightly grabbed his shirt in her hand.
The other's raised an eyebrow at Jack as he carried her over to a couch nearby, and sat her down in his lap, before he turned sideways and let her rest between his legs, with her head laying on his shoulder.
"What is goin' on 'ere?" Merida asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh my god...are you two going out?" Rapunzel asked with a fangirl smile on her face. She squealed quietly as Jack gave her a shy smirk.
"You serious?" Hiccup asked, plopping in a chair on the other side of the room.
"Jealous?" Jack asked, leaning his head to the side to look at Hiccup with a prideful smirk.
Hiccup opened his mouth, but clamped it shut as he crossed his arms and huffed, looking away from the couple in a pout.
"I knew it would happen!" Rapunzel said, bouncing in her seat as she looked at the two of them with wide eyes full of excitement. "well, I hoped it would. Cuz you know, you were a myth or spirit, whatever you wanna call it, and she was a human. I didn't know if it would work between you two. But you had this connection! It was like no one else could be a part of it! And you know I just knew you two would get passed that wall when you got to it and…"
"Oh for god's sake! Shut up alre'ty!" Merida groaned at her, tired of hearing the blonde ramble like she always did when she was excited.
Rapunzel clamped her mouth shut, realizing her own fault in getting louder and louder as she rambled. She smiled at them and mouthed a 'sorry' to Jack who shook his head and chuckled light.
"If you don't mind. I'm going to take a short nap myself." Jack said, leaning back farther and leaning his head on the armrest of the couch.
"How are you going to sleep like that?" Merida asked, raising an eyebrow. "It'll be uncomfortable with her laying on top of you."
"We always sleep like this," He smirked, pointing it towards Hiccup who pouted even more in his chair as he furrowed his brows.
Merida looked up confused as to why Jack was doing that, but realized that Hiccup was giving a defeated look towards Crystal and Jack. She waited till Jack was promptly asleep on the couch before scooting closer to Hiccup.
"You liked 'er didn't ya?" Merida asked, looking from him to Crystal.
"I knew I didn't have a chance," Hiccup sighed, crossing his arms on the back of the chair as he sat in it backwards, and leaning his chin on top of his arms. "I guess I just kinda hoped."
"You're not so bad," Merida said, trying to cheer him up from his sinking mood. "I mean, anyone who can tame and ride dragons is pretty awesome in my book."
Hiccup glanced up at her from the corner of his eye, before smiling and puffing up his chest. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty awesome!"
"There we go!" Merida said, patting him on the back, before retracting it quickly and pulling it behind her back in embarrassment.
She didn't know why she was getting she frazzled suddenly just by touching him. Maybe it was because the only guys she touched so friendly with were her father and her three little brothers. She didn't expect Hiccup to be so muscled on his back; he looked so scrawny, but he had muscles.
Merida looked up and blushed bright red as Rapuzel sat there with a big knowing smile on her face as she watched Merida and Hiccups little scene. She let out a small giggle, making Merida stand up out of her chair and walk briskly to the other side of the room from Hiccup.
"Don't get any fun thoughts in yer head," Merida told Rapunzel as she passed by.
Silence filled the room for awhile, sending the rest of the group into a light sleep in chairs over the room, surprising the Guardian's as they looked into the room.
"You think they can really do it?" Bunny asked in disbelief.
"Crystal says they can," Tooth said, but wariness was in her voice as she looked over the room.
Sandy showed a picture of a winner's cup and fireworks going off.
"You're right, we'll win this. We have to believe in her," North said with confidence, that was just barely standing up for the teenagers who weren't off to a good start so far.
"I believe she can," Sera said, appearing behind them suddenly.
"Where'd you come from?" Bunny asked, jumping away from her in surprise.
"I was in the room with them," Sera said with a nod of her head. "No one noticed me, so I just kept quiet."
"You really should speak up," Tooth said, placing her hand over her heart as if she had just had a heart attack. "Crystal brought you into our family, so don't feel afraid to speak up."
Sandy made a small picture of a normal family, then changed it to everyone of them smiling as if for a picture.
"Sandy's right! Family is close! Don't seclude yourself." North said with a loud laugh, before covering his mouth and shutting the door gently. "Don't want to wake them."
Sera let out a small laugh, surprising the Guardians, but giving them smiles none-the-less at the cheerful attitude Mother Nature could have.
Shadows danced along the rafters of the factory, watching Sera and the Guardians, along with the Big Five in the room as they slept. It was as if the shadows had eyes of it's own as it traveled around, creeping closer to them all to know what they were talking about, hoping to figure out it's plan.
"How are we supposed to learn anything if we watch them sleep?" Gothel complained, flinging her hands up into the air in disbelief.
"Patience," Pitch tried to argue with her.
The dark lair sent chills down anyone's spines as the creepy shadows danced across the walls, and an eerie fog had crept in to give a haunted feel to the small hideout they were in.
Soon everyone began to wake up as the naps and sleep disappeared. Crystal grumbled as she burrowed her face into Jack's chest, not wanting to wake up quite yet.
"Five more minutes Sera," Crystal complained, wrapping her arms around him as if he were a pillow.
"Not a shy one is she?" Merida asked, laughing at the affection.
Crystal furrowed her brows in confusion as to why she was hearing Merida's voice, before her eyes snapped wide open and she sat up quickly. She looked around and realized they were all watching her with wide smirks. She looked down and saw that Jack was smiling up at her innocently as he sat back on his elbows.
"Wha?" She asked, before narrowing her eyes and pinching his stomach. "I'm still mad!"
"We're sorry about all that!" Rapunzel said, putting her hands into a prayer position and batting her eyelashes. "Please forgive us?"
"Ya, we were acting worse than my wee lil' brothers," Merida said guiltily, giving a small smile.
"We should all change. It's not like life is going to change to fit what we want." Hiccup said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Crystal looked at all of them, and even at Jack who was still laying beneath her with an innocent smirk on his face. She sighed and smiled at them. "Alright, let's seriously get to talking on this."
"Toothless!" Hiccup called, realizing his dragon wasn't in the room with them.
Crashes and bangs were heard in the factory as thumps were resounding on the floor as if someone were running across the wood with jumps in between. Toothless crashed through the door and into Hiccup, giving him a gummy smile with his wide eyes as if he were a dog awaiting a treat from his owner.
"just like a dog," Merida said as she watched Hiccup and Toothless.
"He's friendly," Hiccup promised, letting the other's come towards Toothless finally, showing the dragon that they weren't going to harm him.
Toothless sniffed everyone of them before stopping on Crystal and licking her. He pushed her with his nose before flinging her into the air with his head and making her land on his back. She began laughing as he bounced around the room with her, acting as if she were a toy.
"What is he doing?" She laughed, hanging on for dear life so she wasn't thrown off.
"He usually only acts that way towards…." Hiccup stopped, remembering she were a spring spirits. "That makes sense! You smell like the grass they are addicted to! Like catnip for a cat."
Toothless finally calmed down and began to purr slightly as he burrowed his head under arm so she could pet him.
"Even my pet goes to you," Hiccup complained, watching Toothless cuddle up to her.
"Only because I smell like a drug to him." Crystal laughed, making Hiccup relax a little.
"You know, I've been thinkin'" Merida said, looking at Crystal and catching her attention. "I mean Bor'du, the bear, was my enemy."
"Mother Gothel is mine," Rapunzel pointed out.
"The dragon is obviously mine," Hiccup said pointing out the obvious.
"And Pitch is ours?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow, realizing where this was leading to. "So who's the guy?"
Silence filled the room as Toothless stopped purring and looked up at Crystal, wondering why she stopped petting him.
"You didn't recognize him?" Crystal asked, turning to Jack and giving him a fearful look, sending him into worry.
"No," Jack said with a shake of his head. "Have I met him?"
"Pitch is your enemy, the last one is mine." Crystal said, not wanting to go into all of it, if not even Jack could remember him.
"But who is he? I mean we all basically know each other's story as to why these people are our enemies." Hiccup said, looking at everyone.
"He's…."Crystal paused, feeling the shiver run down her spine as she recalled the memories of the man who put fear into her life.
"Who?" Rapunzel asked, hoping a little push will help her.
"My Uncle." Crystal confessed, looking up to see all of them give her a confused look.
"But he's alive," Jack said, just as confused.
"That's why I don't know how he's involved with this," Crystal agreed, shaking her head from the fear. "Pitch must have gone and used him. Pulling him to the dark with him."
"This doesn't sound good," Merida said with furrowed brows. "What exactly did he do?"
"Made my life a living hell," Crystal said simply, remembering all her uncle had put her through.