Once arriving back in the room where Sage's family and friends were still at, whom were playing plus getting along with Kailash very quickly, Katherine began catching them up to speed on everything she knew about Pitch's defeat and began explaining what she brought.
"Before I became a Guardian, I met North and looked up to him as a brother," Katherine explained, looking at the compass caringly while rubbing her right thumb on it. "He kept encouraging me in not giving up the beautiful wonder in my life, especially during the hard times as an orphan. As a gift to remember him, North gave me this that always points north. A way to find him, if we ever meet again."
"North as in the person or North as in the general direction?" Whampire asked.
"North as in him personally," Katherine answered. "It can point us to where he is. If we find North, we should be able to find where the other Guardians are located."
"Along with our baddie that's causing trouble," Macy added, folding her arms.
"Exactly. But we need to be careful," Katherine warned. "During Pitch's banishment, he has found new techniques with his black sand. As you all already saw, Pitch can do more than just creating mare horses. Even make them appear like actual beings we know. Whatever we're facing involving the Boogie Man, we must not let ourselves be deceived by what's out there."
Lea nodded her head in agreement, knowing she almost got tricked by a Nightmare that looked like her favorite Guardian. "If we end up getting separated, we should do something to make sure we are who we say we are."
"We should make a password. A phrase that only we'd understand," Sage suggested, as he looked out the window at the rising moon. "As the moon rises, so shall we... That's what we'll ask."
"'As the moon rises, so shall we'. Works for me," Lea grinned at how the password sounded.
"I like it. MiM would certainly approve," Katherine replied, nodding her head.
"I'll definitely remember it," Macy said.
Sage nodded, looking to his father and uncles who nodded their approval. "Good. Now do we go for North?"
"Indeed, we shall. Whampire, Alien X, since you both can fly, stay by Kailash's side during the trip. The rest of us will ride on her and take off," Katherine replied, already making her way to her feathered-friend.
"Wait! Isn't one of us under-dressed? Especially in the middle of Winter?" Lea pointed out, referring to a certain Brunette's attire.
"Huh, good point. We'll have to fix that," Katherine snapped her fingers for an old-fashioned quill with ink and a blank journal appeared in her hands, quickly sketching. "Alien X, I will need your assistance, please."
Alien X nodded, stepping over to Katherine.
Sage stepped forward a little. "Take a handful of my fur, as well. It should help."
Alien X smiled, as he ran a hand over Sage fur before grabbing a loose handful.
"Ah, yes. Your fur would make a permanent component to what I have in mind, as well. Thank you, Sage," Katherine politely responded, almost done sketching.
"Uh, what exactly are you creating?" Macy asked with uncertainty.
"Something to help you stay warm and match your heroine style," Katherine answered, already putting her quill down and showed her sketch to Alien X. "There. What do you think?"
Alien X's eyes twinkled as he raised his hand to the image. "Adding Sage's fur will make this a perfect suit for her," he said, as his hand glowed for a moment before the image leapt from the page.
Sage and Blitz's tails wagged at the sight of the warm clothing.
"No way!" Macy exclaimed, seriously impressed.
In front of her was a white Winter stealth suit plus hood, equipped with matching katana blade and twin sais on the belt. It was completely white with blue stripes on the sleeves and along the sides, a mask to cover her mouth plus nose like an actual ninja, white snow gloves, and white snow boots.
"Thought you would be entitled to your ninja reputation in these conditions. It's also made from Sage's fur so it's extra strong and warm inside," Katherine explained.
"Oh, I absolutely love it! Thanks, you guys!" Macy replied to Katherine, Sage, and Alien X, while grabbing the outfit to quickly put it on.
Lea couldn't help but grin at this. "You are really full of surprises, aren't you, Kate?"
"Only when you least expect it," Katherine said, chuckling heartily.
Sage still remained skeptical about the Guardian of Imagination, but nodded that she did decent work. Macy looked warm and comfortable in her new winter gear.
"Ready to go?" Whampire asked.
"Now we are. Let's go," Katherine replied, already hoping on top of Kailash, whom also had a giant saddle to ride her.
Lea and Macy, now in warm attire, followed the Guardian of Imagination's lead by climbing up the Himalayan Snow Goose and riding behind Katherine.
"Come on, boys! We got Guardians to save, Nightmares to kick butt," Macy remarked, hitting her fist to her palmed hand in determination.
Blitzwolfer and Wildmutt needed no further prodding to get on. But Sage was hesitant. His legs stiff as he stood beside the giant bird.
"Sage, are you okay?" Katherine asked with concern, seeing the Wolf Blood not climbing aboard. "If you're still skeptical about Kailash, I can assure you that she's not going to bite or anything like that."
"Yeah, Wolf Boy. What's the hold up? We don't have a lot of time here," Macy remarked, itching to battle some Nightmares.
Sage growled a little, pacing back and forth before jumping up in front of Macy and laying over her lap. His head pressed close to her side.
Katherine looked back to check the Wolf Blood, worrying about his behavior. "Are you going to be all right during the whole trip?" she questioned.
Sage nodded, quietly staying hidden on Macy's lap.
"Okay. If you feel sick or anything while flying, please let me know," Katherine informed, moving back forward and holding on to the straps. "You all might want to hold on tight for this part."
Not wasting a second, those aboard with the Guardian of Imagination did just that. Both to each other and on Kailash.
"Let's fly!" Katherine exclaimed.
And with that Kailash honked and flipped her wings to shoot up with the roof opening big enough for them to get out.
"Woohoo! Yeah!" Lea laughed, enjoying the ride.
Sage and the others watched as the land grew smaller and smaller till a patchwork looking quilt dashed underneath them.
"This is beyond amazing," Macy admitted, checking out the late-night view.
"You should try flying with Jack Frost," Lea replied, feeling the breeze that reminded her of the Winter Spirit. "His rides were as magical yet wild as this one."
Just the reminder made Lea sad. She wondered if she'll ever have that kind of fun with Jack Frost ever again.
"...I hope he and the other Guardians are okay," Lea softly said, looking down.
"Don't worry, Lea. We'll get them back and restore children's beliefs again in no time," Katherine assured, using her compass to point her way to the Guardian of Wonder.
Moments later, they arrived at Iceland...Which, honestly, should be Greenland. Katherine got Kailash to land safely near a forest before getting off with the others doing the same.
"According to the compass, North should be close somewhere around here," Katherine stated.
Sage sniffed around, his fur sweeping back and forth in the wind. "You got anything for us to track with?" Sage hollered over the wind.
"Unfortunately, no!" Katherine screamed through the wind blowing very hard, looking at her tracking object. "My compass is suddenly acting out of control, by the time we arrived here! See for yourselves!"
Macy and Lea, whom were dealing with the hard winds too, looked at Katherine's compass to see it go around like crazy.
"It must be negative dark magic that's causing this to mask off the positive magic of the Guardians here!" Lea theorized, her curls moving through the blowing harsh winds.
"Which means our baddie and the Guardians must be close!" Macy agreed, looking around the night for anything suspicious.
Sage raised his head, sniffing the air as the wind whipped around. Abruptly, he caught something.
AAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOO!
"My Wolf's got something!" Macy hollered.
"What is it, Sage?" Katherine asked, putting the compass away in her jacket pocket.
"It's faint, but... smells like gingerbread!" Sage yelled.
"Gingerbread!?" Lea and Katherine exclaimed together.
"That could only mean one thing. North is here! The Guardian of Wonder!" Lea replied in realization.
"Sage, can you, Wildmutt, and or Blitzwolfer get a scent and follow it?" Kathrine asked.
Sage nodded. "Yeah, but you gals are going to need to hop or grab on. We'll need to move fast and the goose is a bit too obvious."
"Agreed. Kailash, go with Alien X from above while we track the trail by foot," Katherine replied, petting her feathered friend.
Honking in sadness, Kailash nodded her head in cooperation.
"So, who do I ride with?" Lea asked.
"Over here," Sage called where Macy was climbing on.
Understanding, Lea went behind Macy while climbing on Sage. "Come on, Kate! We got to move before we lose the trail!"
"One moment! I need to handle a certain feathered friend, first," the Guardian of Imagination hollered to the blonde teen before facing the Giant Goose again. "Don't worry, Kailash. I'll be okay. Just stay close to Alien X. He'll keep you safe," Katherine assured, giving her goose a quick nuzzle before going to the pack. "I'm guessing I ride with Sage, too? Or do I ride with someone else?"
From behind, Alien X and Kailash both flew back into the clouds.
Katherine smirked. "Riding with Sage it is," she hurried and climbed on him, sitting behind Lea.
"Okay, Wolf Boy. Let's get this run going already!" Macy hollered.
Sage stood, shook his fur a little, and then took off like a bullet across the rough landscape with his uncles and father keeping up with him. His stride never faltering as he moved over rocks, moss, and grass.
"Whoa! And I thought Kailash or Jack Frost was fast!" Lea exclaimed, holding on tight.
"Heh, I like to see the Guardian of Fun try to race my boyfriend!" Macy remarked, smirking at that thought.
Suddenly, Sage slammed on the breaks, sliding to a stop and hiding behind a rocky outcropping with his family doing the same. Hunching over, Sage gave a growl and stood rigid, hiding the girls behind the rocks.
"Yeep! Sage, what was-?!" Lea was about to yell, only to have her mouth covered by Katherine and Macy.
"Shhh! If Sage is growling, that means there must be a Nightmare or something bad close by!" Macy whispered, slowly lowering her hand from Lea's mouth with Kate doing the same.
"Is that it?" Katherine asked the Wolfblood in a low tone from being heard.
Sage nodded, his ears going back with fangs bared. The Alpha crouched low.
Tell them to hang on, Sage said stiffly to Macy through their link.
"Girls, you might want to grab on to Sage tight," Macy whispered to Lea and Katherine.
Not hesitating, the blonde teen and Guardian of Imagination did just that.
Sage growled as the hooved feet came near them. Eyes becoming hard as a shadow drew up from behind the rocks. Each second felt like an hour until finally, the sight of a nightmare horse came through. Snarling, Sage lunged. Sinking his fangs into the sandy that obliterated the horse into millions of particles.
"A Nightmare Horse. One of Pitch's original creations," Katherine studied, hopping off Sage to look at what's left of the Nightmare closer.
"Something tells me that this was just a scout and the real trouble is only beginning," Macy theorized, getting a bad feeling.
Lea gulped, knowing what the Brunette said might be true.
Sage sniffed the air before moving forward again. "I don't smell any others, but...something smells off."
"What do you mean by that?" Lea asked, not liking the sound of the Wolfblood's statement.
"It's...it's hard to explain. A scent is just off," Sage said in an annoyed voice.
He couldn't understand what it was about the scent that was bothering him...it just was.
"Well, what does it smell like?" Katherine wondered, petting the Wolfblood to calm down from getting upset.
"I...I don't know. Scents change with moods. Like when someone's upset, their scent can be sour. But this is different. Almost like a whole new scent," Sage said, anxiously.
Blitzwolfer nodded, as he stepped up. "Sage is right. This is an odd scent, and the wind isn't helping."
"Wind?" Katherine getting a somewhat familiar vibe about all of this, but couldn't quite place it.
Lea gasped. "I think I know who's causing the wind! Jack Frost!"
"But I thought he has control of snow and making frost," Macy pointed out.
"He also controls the wind. Jack must be getting tortured that's making him lose control of his powers or something like that," the blonde teen theorized, now becoming more worried about him. "Which could explain why you guys are having a hard time picking up a scent."
"What do you think, Katherine?" Macy asked the Guardian of Imagination.
Katherine continued thinking deeply, still trying to remember where else she had seen/heard this wild wind before.
"Katherine?" Macy questioned again, tapping on the auburn-hair girl's shoulder that made her jump.
"Huh?! Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought about the wind," Katherine admitted, rubbing her arm in embarrassment. "What was the question?"
"Lea thinks that this could be Jack Frost's doing while being tormented by Pitch or whoever is helping him," Macy repeated.
"Jack Frost? It might be..." Katherine answered, although unsure if that's it.
Sage growled. "Well, we can't do anything here. We'll move forward, but stay close."
"Good call. We need to be prepared for what's coming up," Macy agreed.
"Let's hope we'll find the Guardians in time," Lea said, holding on tight.
Sage nodded, moving forward slowly again.
As the pack team continued their journey, someone was watching on top of the trees. It waited for the right moment to strike.
"Just a little more..." it spoke a deep male Russian accent, chuckling deeply to himself.
"Anybody getting the creepy feeling of being watched?" Macy questioned.
"Like some horror movie? Yes," Lea answered, starting to freak out a little by rubbing her arms.
Sage growled, his fur on end.
Just then, the creepy figure dropped down to attack with double blades in front of the pack. Lea jumped and yelped in startlement from that, only to see who that big figure was.
"Is that...North?!" Lea exclaimed in surprise, climbing down from Sage to get a better look.
It did look like the Guardian of Wonder. He had his white beard and red Russian clothes that include a red jacket with black fur and black Russian hat plus twin blades on both hands wielded.
"That is far enough, children," the being that was North replied, cackling evilly while lunging at them.
"Nope. Something worse," Katherine replied, getting her dagger while defending the Teen Believer.
"I got this!" Macy spoke up, getting off Sage and blocked this Bad North's sword attack with her katana and pushed him back with a kick.
When doing that, his disguise slowly disappeared to reveal his Nightmare-self with blue-colored sand eyes.
"Oh, ho, ho. You are on Naughty List now, child," the Evil Santa sneered, running back in with Macy doing the same.
Macy and Bad North were locked in combat, both defending and attacking pretty well.
"Since when is Santa Claus Russian and an expert swordsman?!" Macy exclaimed, flipping back from getting cut into pieces.
"Technically, before becoming a Guardian, he used to be a daredevil swordsman, ruffian, and notorious outlaw," Katherine explained. "His prowess with weaponry of all kinds was infamous and he sought riches and treasure at all costs."
"Seriously?!" Lea looked at her friend in disbelief, her mouth gaped a little. "North use to be an outlawed thief?!"
"Oh, yeah, that was interesting tale to remember," Katherine grinned at the memory.
"Can we worry about the history lesson later and try giving me a little help here, please?!" Macy hollered, now doing a tuck and roll to avoid another attack.
Sage snarled, rushing towards the large man, only to dodge to the side as he swung at. Swinging around, Sage snatched the back of the man's coat in his fangs but only to be flipped over his shoulder landing hard on the ground. Growling, Sage jumped back, abruptly noticing Lea coming up behind him with her hockey stick. A glint in the Krampus-like Santa's eyes shook Sage to his core.
"LEA, NO!" Sage snarled, rushing as Northmare swung around to attack Lea, only to end up slashing Sage's rear left flank as he shoved Lea out of the way.
"SAGE!" Macy screamed in horror.
Katherine gasped in shock, covering her mouth.
Lea tumbled down in the snow, looking up to see her Wolf Friend hurt. "No..." she muttered.
Sage growled, as he struggled to his feet. Whampire, Wildmutt, and Blitzwolfer came by his side. Sage sneered before laughing.
"That all you got, fat man?" Sage barked in a taunting voice.
"I am just getting warmed up, mutt," Northmare remarked, slamming both his swords down on the ground to create three Nightmare Yetis.
Macy stared in bewilderment. "Let me guess...Evil Abominable Snowmen?" she asked Katherine.
"Yep," Katherine answered, spinning her dagger. "You want to team-up on taking those henchmen down?"
"As if I can say no battling evil sand creeps," Macy remarked with a smirk, grabbing her shurikens with her other hand. "Let's do this."
The two girls lunged forward, both jumping at the trees to get a boost in knocking one Nightmare Yeti down together.
Sage snarled, rushing the Evil Santa with his canine uncles beside him. All three snarling and snatching him in their teeth while his father used his claws.
Meanwhile, Macy and Katherine were making a great team. Macy used her shurikens to hit the Nightmare Yetis from behind with Katherine doing a spinning back kick in front of them. And, while distracted enough, both girls finished them off with their sharp dagger and katana weapons that made them tore apart until they were nothing but a pile of black sand.
"And that is how it's done!" Macy remarked, giving Katherine a high-five. "Not bad for a book-wormed Guardian."
"Thanks. I'm happy that I got to work with the best Ninja heroine from her own dimension in fighting Nightmares," Katherine complimented.
From a distance, Lea just stayed on the snow and watched in sadness. She was trying to help and all she did was make matters worse. It's like Lea was totally useless.
Sage snarled. "Guys, get back! Macy, Katherine!"
His uncles and father jumped out of the way.
Macy and Katherine, both nodding at each other, hurried from getting caught in Sage's special move.
"ZETSU TENRO BATTOGA!" Sage snarled, summersaulting as the wind carried him at an accelerated rate.
The Shapeshifter Wolf smashed into Northmare and the remaining Yetimares, his move slicing through and sent them into billions of particles. Landing heavily on his paws, the Wolfblood panted heavily.
"Everyone okay?" Sage asked breathing hard.
"We're fine, Wolf Boy," Macy assured, helping Lea up.
"Yeah..." Lea muttered, looking down in disappointment.
Sage looked over at Lea with worry. "Lea, you okay?" Sage asked stepping over nuzzling her ignoring his own pain.
"Um, of course, Sage. Just still traumatized about facing Northmare," Lea lied, rubbing her arms in distress. "M-maybe I should hang back with Alien X and Kailash. You six seem to have everything handled and don't need my help."
Sage smiled. "Lea, if you're thinking that your holding us back, drop that thought from your head."
"Sage is right. You're an important part of the team and best friend of all of us," Katherine reasoned to Lea, giving a caring smile. "I was there on Easter. I saw how you tried to keep the children of your home city from losing hope during that one holiday when Pitch ruined it. It was something a true Guardian would have done,"
Lea remembered that day very well. She convinced the kids that the reason the Easter Bunny didn't show up was because he was sick. Even told the children that he would make it up to them by showing up the next day. Along with secretly trying to help by making more than a dozen eggs. Let's just say it nearly ended with her accidentally cracking them during a run and almost embarrassing herself.
Frowning, Lea shook her head. "I'm no Guardian, Kate. This is not my fight. If anything, I would make a terrible Guardian. Bunny, Jack, and everyone else I've met are the real heroes. Not me. The only things I'm good at are skating hockey, and super clumsy awkwardness."
"You're also resourceful and creative," Katherine reminded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be doubtful by comparing yourself to others. I know you have what it takes to rescue the Guardians."
"Lea, you have a caring heart and you know it would take a lot more than this to stop you from helping your friends," Sage added, his uncles and father nodding.
"I...I just don't know," Lea said, still doubting herself.
"Guardian or not, we need to keep going. This storm is growing heavy and more violent than before," Macy pointed out.
Sage nudged Lea. "Lea, remember when you came to my world and I got the snow globe back?"
"How could I forget? You went out there nearly risking your neck in battling Pitch when it should have been me to clean my own mess," Lea huffed, folding her arms.
Sage smiled. "And Alien X stopped you from coming and helping. Why?" he asked, wagging his tail.
"Because I'm totally useless and only make matters worse. Exactly why I shouldn't be here in the first place!" Lea argued, having enough of this and just ran off into the forest.
"Lea, wait! We need to stick together!" Katherine shouted, going after her. "Pitch's minions are still out there!"
Macy glared at the Wolfblood. "Who side are you on, Sage?!"
Sage sighed. "Hers. Just give us a minute," he said, running after her.
Little did anyone knew, someone was watching and grinned evilly at this site before swiftly leaving.