If you haven't read Ch. 46: Sprites in Need, go back and read that first! Super fast update happening (like the next day). :)

Author's Note: Ok, so I lied. I couldn't resist updating. And I officially like August again. Thanks CrossoverJunkie for your August ideas. They helped me realize that he isn't so one-dimensional as to be completely shallow ALL the time. And I'm really glad you don't think my OCs are self-inserts or anything. I have to admit, I really do like playing with all of their emotions though. Also, don't kill me! SUPER CLIFFHANGER ALERT but I AM absolutely updating this weekend. Without a doubt. I'm also curious on what everyone feels Neva's fate should be, since I'm on the fence about it myself. :) You'll understand when you read the fic.

Now.. on to it!

Chapter Fourty-Seven: No Time Left

August tried to ignore his pounding heart as he took in the sight of Pitch Black stepping out of the shadows to glare at him. Stalling a bit, August cleared his throat as he stared at Pitch a little wide-eyed.

Wasn't Pitch supposed to be.. darker? He definitely heard that Pitch Black was supposed to be more frightening too. While Pitch was definitely glaring at him in what was supposed to be a very frightening manner, he looked.. almost normal.

In fact, if Pitch Black wasn't so well known amongst all the spirits, August would've sworn this was just some guy who liked dressing in all black.

Then August's look of fright changed into a frown.

What was Pitch Black doing at the home of a Guardian?!

While these thoughts swirled around August's mind Pitch was busy laying down the law.

"Jack is sick with a cold and there is absolutely no way he is leaving his bed, let alone the North Pole at this time! Not only that, but it seems that most everywhere is too warm for him anyway, so it would be dangerous of him to leave the Pole," Pitch said in a dark tone of finality, while inadvertently sounding like a mother hen.

August just stared at Pitch in silence.

He.. couldn't be serious.

No.

Way.

August's frown deepened as he considered his options. He didn't even want to be here in the first place!

It would be so easy to return back to Jasper and declare in a (mostly) forlorn tone that he had tried to get Jack Frost to come with, but it was no use!

What did it matter if a couple Winter Sprites disappeared anyway? So what if they were missing for centuries? The little snowflakes were annoying anyway.. always causing problems with his Summer Sprites.

August's mind started to wander, but at the thought of his Summer Sprites, he paused. What if the situation were reversed and it was his sprites that were in danger of vanishing?

He shifted a bit as an uncomfortable feeling came over him. It wasn't one he got very often, since he rarely did anything to feel guilty about. He knew he would be very distressed at the thought of his sprites disappearing.

Then he thought of Marin, one of his Summer Sprites he had spotted in California. He thought she had gone missing, since she had failed to report in about her duties in so long. He had gone to his own home, which was like Jasper's in the fact that it was magically Summer there constantly, and was where he lived with his Summer Spirits and Sprites. He hadn't seen her there, nor anywhere he looked. Not until that day in California..

He hadn't seen her since then either. In a flash of intuition, he wondered if the Winter Sprites would know about Marin, and the other Summer Sprites that had gone missing recently.

With his resolve hardened, he shot Pitch a piercing look.

Pitch, used to everyone (except Jack, Lillian and the Guardians) cowering in fear of him was taken aback.

"Well, the delicate little snowflake's going to have to get his butt out of bed," August said sharply to Pitch, "since two of his Winter Sprites have turned up at Jasper's forest. They won't make it without their Seasonal to save them."

Bunny exchanged a startled look with North at that.


Back at Jasper's, Jasper was trying desperately to keep the two Winter Sprites as cool as he could. He had made certain that none of his Fall Sprites were in the room with him, since he had to try and make it as cool as possible. The air in the room, and especially around the two Sprites had turned very cold, as cold as the last day of Fall right before Winter.

He watched helplessly as Neve cradled Neva in his arms as they sat on a small table, and wished that he could do something more for them. They didn't deserve to fade away.. Not now. Not when they were so close to being reunited with their Seasonal.

Neve held Neva and whispered to her in a voice that sounded like tinkling icicles, for her to hold on. He tried to ignore the tears prickling his eyes and the feeling that he had failed her. Before they were captured together, they had been about as close as any of the other Winter Sprites were to each other. But after they had been captured, they grew closer and began to depend on one another.

As he watched Neva become more transparent by the minute, he couldn't help but feel he was losing one of his closest friends. He had seen so many of them fade over the years.. If she faded too, he didn't think he could stand it.

He tried to remind her that their Seasonal was coming, that she would be fine, but his voice broke and he couldn't go on.

Neva opened her eyes at this and looked up at him sadly. She gently reached out and brushed a tear away from his cheek. She whispered to Neve to tell their Seasonal that she tried her best.. And that Neve shouldn't blame himself.

Neve gave a sharp intake of breath as Neva started to fade even more.. Now she was barely visible at all.


Jack sat up in bed, his room literally buried in a ton of snow as he toyed around with his staff. Bunny had threatened to take it away, but Jack had "accidentally" caused a bunch of snow to somehow fall on Bunny, and Bunny had taken the opportunity to stalk off. He had been trying fruitlessly to tell Jack to cool it with the winter powers (no pun intended) since Jack didn't want his cold to flare back up again, but Jack couldn't help it!

Being cooped up in bed with pretty much nothing to do except stare at the ceiling was boring. He had thought about sneaking out to visit Lillian, but someone had decided that a few yetis should conveniently lounge outside his door to make sure that he behaved himself and stayed in bed.

He figured it was either an overly paranoid and motherly Phil, or an overly paranoid and motherly Pitch.

Or North.

Or Tooth.

He sighed, thinking he definitely had one too many paternal figures in his life and decided that Pitch was definitely all the paternal he needed at the moment. He stared at the ceiling in utter boredom as his mind drifted to Pitch.

It was strange how once upon a time he had considered Pitch dangerous, even an enemy. Now he considered Pitch his father figure, with Lillian more like a little sister than anything.

He grinned a little at himself, feeling childish in his boredom and relished in the feeling that without even meaning to, he had gathered himself a family.

His grin widened when he considered that the Guardians had somehow crept into their little family as well. That terrible Easter seemed so far away now, and he was practically bouncing in excitement at the thought of continuing working on his snowball shooter with Phil and North.

In fact, he was so excited that he almost missed the sound of far-off voices. He cocked his head in confusion and glanced over at the door as his name came up. Loudly.

That voice sounded vaguely familiar too.

He quietly crept out of bed and then laughed a little at himself as the snow was practically half way to the top of his bed now, and made it a little difficult to walk around his room in. Whoops!

He trudged over to his door as quietly as he could and pressed his ear to it. He couldn't hear very well from there and frowned in consternation. Then he looked around his room and spotted the window.

With an impish grin, he trudged back to the bed and grabbed up his staff. With a little effort he trudged over to the window and thanks to the snow, he didn't even have any trouble reaching up to try and push it open.

To his delight, it opened very easily. Apparently everyone was so worried about Jack sneaking out through the door to his room that they didn't even consider Jack sneaking out his window.

Perfect.

He called out softly to the Wind, and in no time at all he had been whisked out the window. He flew around the outside of the Workshop and made his way around to the window that he knew was usually left unlocked. He suspected that Phil had left it for him (since even though Phil spent years tossing him out, he suspected that Phil secretly liked the visits), but it didn't really matter.

Jack eased the window open and had Wind deposit him gently up into the rafters of the globe room, which to his satisfaction was where all the action was taking place.

Hmm, now this was interesting. Bunny and North were off to one side, and Pitch was yelling at..

Jack blinked.

August?

Then his name came up again and he leaned forward a little to listen.

"Jack HAS to go!" August bellowed at Pitch. "Do you want them to DIE?!"

Pitch had his arms crossed, looking stern and unmovable. Jack knew that look well. It was Pitch's Adult Mode look, when he meant Business. Even Lillian's puppy dog eyes wouldn't get him to cave when he had that look.

"And I said that Jack would NOT be going!" Pitch hissed back. "Obviously you've been out in the sun too long if you think for ONE MINUTE - "

August didn't let Pitch continue.

"It's HIS SPRITES!" August all but shrieked, his cheeks red with fury.

August had tried reasoning with Pitch, at first thinking mostly of how helping the Winter Sprites could help him out with his own missing Seasonals, but then Pitch had started arguing and that point of view had shifted suddenly to how wrong it was of Pitch to not even care that a part of Winter was about to fade away forever. Because August knew more than anything that a Seasonal's Sprites and Spirits were just as much apart of their season as the main Seasonal itself.

Pitch got in August's face, his scythe starting to form in his anger.

"Do you think I care?!" Pitch practically shrieked back, his voice cracking. "If it involves risking Jack's health - "

"For a COLD?!" August bellowed. "Are you INSANE?! I always heard you were a heartless bastard, and this just proves..!"

Jack frowned at that. Sure, Pitch was being his usual overprotective self, but that didn't mean he was heartless.

"Pitch isn't heartless!" Jack spoke up indignantly, accidentally giving himself away. He flew down with the help of the Wind and glared at August. "Don't call him that!"

August and Pitch both turned to Jack as one. Pitch's look darkened as he realized Jack had somehow managed to sneak out of his room, while August's shone with a kind of savage triumph as he realized he would win.

They both began to speak at once, their messages becoming jumbled.

" - know you're supposed to be in bed - "

" - Sprites in trouble - "

" - going anywhere - "

" - Jasper's place - "

Bunny's ears twitched in irritation for the millionth time since the incredibly loud argument had started and finally he had had enough. His ears were sensitive and he had a pounding headache and it was time to end this.

"ENOUGH!" he roared loud enough that Lillian stirred in bed and looked at her door curiously. "You two have been arguin' long enough! August, just tell Jack yer message and get it done with! Jack only has the sniffles at this point anyway," he said with a pointed look at Pitch.

Sure, he didn't want Jack's cold to relapse either, but if lives were on the line...

August shot Pitch a rather smug look and then looked back at Jack. Jack Frost was one of August's least favorite spirits and usually he detested any conversations at all with the little prankster, but even Jack was still a fellow Seasonal and at some point all the Seasonals had to stick together. There were just certain things other spirits might not understand that only a Seasonal could.

As he started to speak, he wondered if Jack would understand. He had never met any of his own Sprites after all. But deep down August knew that Jack wouldn't mess around if there were lives on the line.

"Two of your Winter Sprites turned up at Jasper's," August said quickly, as if fearing Pitch might try to stop him from delivering this message. "They're pretty bad off and we were afraid to try and take them here. They looked like they were about ready to fade away."

Jack started at August, his face a whirl of confusion.

Sprites? Fading?

"..I.. have sprites..?" Jack finally said sounding as confused as he looked.

"They've been missing since before you became a spirit," August explained. "They've been gone so long that everyone assumed they'd all faded away."

At Jack's continuing confusion, he explained further.

"Sprites, as you must know, are made out of pure magic. When their lives end, they don't die.. They just fade away into nothing. Two of your sprites have come from who-knows-where, but they're fading. Fast." he emphasized urgently. "You have to come to Jasper's now."

He made to reach out for Jack, forgetting for a moment that traveling via fire might not be the best for a Winter Spirit.

Jack however, remembered and moved out of August's reach. He studied August's face for a moment, as if trying to detect a trick or hint of a lie, but all he saw was raw honesty in the Summer Spirit's face.

"Alright," Jack said. "I'll go."

Pitch didn't look happy about that.

"You are not - " he started, but then the pitter patter of little running footsteps could be heard and Lillian came barging in, out of breath.

"I wanna go too!" she declared.

Pitch rolled his eyes at this, while August looked agitated.

They simply didn't have the time for this.

And meanwhile, back at Jasper's, the tiny sound of a Winter Sprite's pleading could be heard.

Neva, it said, the tone tinged in desperation, hold on.


Author's Note: Yes, I know. I'm evil. And I absolutely for SURE PROMISE I will update this weekend sometime. If I wasn't so back into plot now I wouldn't have left it on a cliffhanger like that. I would've just saved what I had and continued it later, but since I DO plan on updating soon, I figured that would be a good stopping point for now.

I hope you guys like it! And hopefully all my faithful reviewers haven't given up on me. As always, I am open to suggestions and things.