Hi! I know that I said that I was done with this story, but I recently found this chapter on an old flash-drive and decided to upload it anyway. Sorry for any confusion about my most recent chapter updates. I accidentally uploaded a chapter from later in the story.

**Jamie's mom's name is Diane in this story. She has *conveniently* been taught by Jamie to believe in and see the Guardians of Childhood, despite being an adult.

Chapter 18: Stand and Fight (Jamie's POV)

It's never a great idea to give a kid a sword. Like, an ACTUAL sword. But all those rules kind of go out the window when you're best friends with the Guardians of Childhood, and one of their strongest believers. Not to mention, by some miracle, my mother the only adult believer in hundreds of years, is somehow okay with a yeti teaching me swordplay and fencing at the North Pole?

"A week with one of the most deadly enemies you have ever faced. A WEEK!?" My mom, Diane Bennett, was nearly shouting in shock as Phil pressed me backwards into the Globe Room as we sparred. I had been surprised originally (aka two days ago) when the Guardians literally showed up at my front door talking with me. Some magical things happened involving memories and dreamsand and somehow it ended with my mom being able to see the Guardians.

They were all worried Hell would come after me and Sophie for our connection to them, with Jack especially. Phil had offered to teach me, and then North suggested we might be safer at the Pole, and we went with the Guardians back to his workshop.

I don't know how, and still continue to not know, how a giant yeti like Phil can fight so agilely and well! Oh, and gently, did I mention gently? Phil and I continued to spar even as North and my mom kind of added us to their conversation.

"Jamie, would you mind to help Sandy locate Jack when he gets back from southeast Asia. Every village, town and city between Bangkok and Beihai seem to have quite a few unwanted fire spirits. And Phil," North was talking quite fast now, and I could tell this was going to become a long list of things to do for everyone.

"Check the armory. I am not sure it is fully stocked from the storage room and we need to be ready at anytime. Bunny is coming here soon, and he and I will check the workshop's hidden tunnels to make sure they are still usable. Diane, your engineering skill, will you be able to help us track Hell? Maybe with the Globe?

I really believed then that North had just issued the LONGEST war orders in the history of humankind. Then I registered it all, er, or maybe my brain just caught up and I dropped my fencing sword with a clatter. "Locate Jack? Sandy? Checking armories? Evacuation tunnels?" My voice rose into a confused panic. Phil and I looked at each other then back at North and my mom.

"Jamie, you know my old job designing software for GPS satellites?" Mom asked me. My mouth dropped open.

"No. When was this?" I gasped in shock. My mother had a secret life before I was born? Why had I never heard of this? I thought she had always worked as a nurse at Burgess's main hospital!

"Well, now you do. "

I really thought my mother could not surprise me anymore, when she added, "Actually, that's when I met your father. North asked me if I could help upgrade the tracking system in the Globe's command center. I said that I probably could."

I just managed to nod. That was when, out one of the windows, I saw…two auroras? The only reason there were two Aurora Borealis' is because North's aurora from the workshop is green with a little red, Tooth's is purple, Bunny's is green and a little yellow and Jack's aurora is blue, but I have never seen Sandy's. I'm not even sure he has one.

The two I saw colliding in mid-air were purple, and green and yellow. "GUYS! It's Bunny and Tooth's auroras! They need help!" I yelled, catching everyone's attention. I picked up my brand new sword, using it to point out the window.

North swung into motion, in full-battle mode. "Phil! To the armory. Forget the supply check, get the workshop ready for war. Diane, Jamie, find Sophie and make sure she will be safe to stay in my office. Then we all meet in armory in seven minutes!" North shouted command after command after command, and it left me a bit awestruck. I knew my mom would go the opposite way I did until one of us found my sister so I ran down a randomly chosen hallway.

Mom found Sophie playing with Ron the elf and his many friends in the packing peanut section of the packaging department on the fourth floor, and when I saw them from the seventh floor, I changed course and headed for the armory.

The Armory was on the second floor, and already crowded. All I could do was wait until Phil or North helped me. North did, a minute later when he showed up with my mom. The day before (and I'd only been at this, what, three days at most?) I had finally gotten the hang of the armor. My mom had been learning things too. North held up a small block of ice first to me, then my mom and we each too one. "Jamie Bennett. Full armor." I told the piece of ice, and then with a smile, I added, "Invisible armor."

In a few moments, with a flurry of icy magic and wonder, I felt no different, but when Phil picked up a small chunk of ice and threw it forcefully at me, it bounced off of an invisible barrier a few centimeters away from my face. He did the same with my mom and the ice was deflected the same way. The magic ice North had invented had transformed into effective, feather-light armor.

The sleigh was all ready by the time (with only 15 seconds left from the 7 minutes!) mom, North and I go down to it. North grabbed hold of the reins. "It's never been two before. Never; the multiple auroras are only precautionary, but never more than one at a time!" North informed us as mom and I held onto something solid so we wouldn't fall out.

"We're going to have to decide who to go to first." My mom said thoughtfully, glancing at her watch.

"I'll go to the Warren. I can use a snowglobe, and come on, it can't be that bad. The place has only been half destroyed two or three times!" I volunteered.

"No, no, no. You may know a few-"

"You are only thirteen—"

"I know all that! But Sandy probably saw the two auroras and went to the Warren or Tooth Palace, and he might need some help. We can't afford to lose time with all three of us going to one location at a time." I countered them both and crossed my arms, waiting for the final verdict.

In the end, North went to the Tooth Palace and I went to Bunny's Warren with my mom. But as soon as we got there, I kind of wished I'd gone to the Tooth palace.