Hours later, Sage smiled in his human form as they flew the air in Santa's sleigh. Macy was laughing happily with Wildmutt and Blitzwolfer sticking their heads out like a bunch of dogs during a car ride involving the window seats down.
Katherine was riding with Kailash during the trip. The Giant Goose couldn't part herself flying without her friend/mother on top of her.
"AARROOOOOOOO! AR-AR-AROOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Wildmutt howled.
"ROCK ON, BROTHA!" Blitzwolfer yelled into the sky.
The Short-Haired Brunette couldn't help but find this amusing and just kept laughing.
North chuckled. "Everyone loves the sleigh. We are almost there, Sage," he shouted. Sage nodded while standing up.
"Lea, will you join me?" Sage asked, offering his hand.
Although unsure, Lea smiled lightly and grabbed his hand.
Sage pulled her close going to the edge of the sleigh. "Hang on tight."
"Okay...I trust you," Lea said, getting goosebumps on what Sage has in mind.
"Ever skydived before?" Sage asked.
Lea gulped on where this was heading. "No. Not unless you count Jack Frost's crazy flying," she honestly answered.
"Hey! I'm standing right here!" Jack replied, acting like he was offended but not really in a playful manner.
"Well, this will be like that and the wildest slide you ever rode," Sage said, nodding to Sandy who smiled and did a double thumbs up.
"Oh, boy," Lea muttered. "What slide? We're above high ground!"
Sage chuckled. "That's the fun," he said, grabbing Lea and leaping off of the sleigh.
Jack and Macy watched from the edge to see Sage and Lea go down while falling thousands of feet below them.
"I'm starting to like this Wolfblood boyfriend of yours. He's almost as fun as I am," Jack remarked, giving an amused smirk.
"That's Sage for ya. Always warms up to people and help others with a push," Macy proudly announced.
Diving down swiftly, Sage yelled and hollered in thrill as they quickly began to reach the ground.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Lea screamed while freefalling and thinking she's going to lose her life.
Once they were about thirty feet from the ground, a large orange sand ramp appeared, allowing them to slide down comfortably like a kid's curly slide until they reached the ground easy.
"Some fun, huh, Lea?" Sage asked standing up and stretching.
Lea took a moment to catch her breath in order to lower her heartbeat. "Okay...That was...so awesome!" she exclaimed, jumping in delight.
Sage chuckled. "You and Macy have something in common. Now come on. It's time for the reason we're here."
As Lea followed the Wolfblood, she noticed the neighborhood around her. It all seemed very familiar to her.
"Where are we, Sage?" Lea asked.
Sage shifted to wolf form and gently took Lea's wrist in his mouth. He carefully led her down a small block, in front of a quant house with a white picket fence.
Once seeing the house, Lea slowly began to realize where she was it.
"Sage...Is this really what I think it is?" the blonde teen questioned, not sure if she's seeing this place right in disbelief.
Sage simply nuzzled her hand before opening the gate with his nose and nudging her into the yard. He then went up the stairs to the front door.
"Don't you think it's a bit late for a reunion?" Lea questioned, looking at the door. "It's already past midnight. Besides, what if I accidentally wake up Aunt Trish? She'll question how I ended up from New York to Pennsylvania!"
Sage rolled his eyes and shifted to human form. "Lea, she'll be happy to see you. Now quit stalling," he said, before knocking on the door, shifting back to wolf form, and leaping over the fence to disappear down the block.
"Sage! Don't you dare leave me here!" Lea nearly shouted while whispering, really not appreciating her friend pulling such a trick. "This is so not funny!"
Just then, she heard the door open. Turning around, Lea saw a young boy with unkept brown hair and brown eyes. He had a round and youthful face. It also looked like he was in his pjs and a small gap on the top of his teeth.
It was Lea's little cousin; Jamie Bennett.
To say the least, the two of them were staring at each other, completely stunned.
"Lea?" he asked, speechless.
"Hey, cousin. It's been a long time," the blonde teen managed to say, nearly close to crying tears of joy.
In seconds, the two cousins moved forward to each other and hugged; both too thrilled to meeting face-to-face after five years. Lea heard a tiny sound of crying plus sniffling. She couldn't tell if it was Jamie or herself, but she knew that it was a sign of happiness, not sadness.
"I missed you so much," Jamie told his cousin, still not done hugging.
Lea chuckled before patting him on the back. "Same goes for you, Little Cousin,"
A few hours later, Sage smirked as Lea walked up the path looking very happy and calm.
"Think I'm going to get punched for leaving her at the front door?" Sage asked Macy quietly.
The Brunette and everyone else arrived on solid ground nearly an hour ago to look for him.
"If it was not you pulling such a stunt like that on me, then yes. But for Lea, I'd say it's something else," Macy whispered her answer.
Lea soon walked over to Sage and gave a caring a smile. "Thank you, Sage. Thank you for letting me get to see my cousins again and talk to them," she said, letting a few tears run down.
Sage smiled, shaking his head before pulling her into a brother-like hug. "You can thank me by keeping in contact with them. Okay? No lonelier person living in an overly populated island."
"I've always been in contact with them," Lea replied, ending her hug. "I already told you that we write each other letters. It's how I know what's going on. But I understand what you mean. I'll try to convince my parents to finally come back here. It's time we stop letting fear and sadness get in the way of our family in the present so we can make new happy memories that will last forever."
Sage smiled. "You know, if sadness does come around again, we're only a call away. Plus, you got the best Guardians around, and possibly an icy lover ready to stir some heat," Sage winked and chuckled at Lea.
"Oh, Sage. How many times do I have to break it to you and your family? I only see Immortal Ice Guys like Snow Miser and Jack Frost as friends," Lea held back a laugh. "And Snow Miser is more like an enthusiastic uncle. Nearly exciting as my grandfather."
Sage smirked. "I don't know. I thought I saw that blue face turn pink when you complimented him."
Lea rolled her eyes. "I was just being polite. And as I recall, you were the one who blamed Snow Miser in thinking he was responsible for kidnapping the Guardians when it was clearly not him. Someone had to keep his cool after that."
"She's got you there, Wolf Boy," Macy smirked. "You did leap in without getting the facts. Even I've never heard of these Miser Brothers. I don't know how you could have possibly missed North Wind as the obvious mastermind."
Sage blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guilty as charged. The reason I know about them is because of my mom. See, as a Wolfblood, you kind of have to know your friends and enemies. My mom…," Sage paused looking thoughtful, " She wanted me to be able to handle anything that life threw at me."
"Which included the Miser Brothers," Macy deduced.
"Although you were wrong about Snow Miser, you were right about going to him when things were hitting at a dead-end," Lea reasoned. "If we hadn't found Snow Miser, we wouldn't have figured out who was really helping Pitch."
Sage smiled. "It's just me following my instincts."
"Son, I think we should be heading home," Whampire said, walking over to Sage and Macy.
"I guess it is time to go," Macy agreed, before looking a Lea. "It was great to know you, Lea. Glad there's another New Yorker girl who can handle herself from a parallel universe."
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Lea bashfully said. "I usually rely on the people I care about who can help me out."
Blitzwolfer rested a hand on her shoulder. "You handle yourself more than you know and do well doing it. Just never forget it's okay to ask for help."
"Believe me, I know from first hand. Why do you think I spent the whole day looking for Katherine or Jack Frost for help?" Lea replied.
Alien X chuckled. "Well, we must be off. Our beloveds and families are growing concerned."
Lea giggled as Wildmutt and Blitzwolfer gave their goodbye doggie kisses all over her. "Okay! Okay! I'll miss you guys too!"
Blitzwolfer stopped but not Wildmutt. He whimpered as he hugged and licked Lea.
"All right. Give her some air, buddy," said Blitzwolfer.
Lea gave the orange alien a kiss on the head. "Goodbye, Wildmutt. I'll miss you. Keep on being a great watchdog."
Wildmutt gave Lea a salute.
"Catch you next time, Lea," Sage said going over to Alien X
"Wait! I still need to get back home to New York!" Lea quickly spoke up.
Jack smirked. "I'm sure North or I can get you home."
"And I need to head back the same way," Katherine added.
"Guess I'm covered, then," Lea smiled at that.
Sage smiled as he and his family waved. "See you later."
"Bye, everyone," Lea waved goodbye with Nightlight doing the same when he got out of her bag halfway.
"Hope we see each other again soon," Macy said. "Oh, and thanks again for the winter stealth outfit, Katherine."
"No problem. Have a safe trip back home," Katherine replied.
From a distance, Sage could study that Nightlight had a another small detail on him that were not there before. Instead of his painted black eyes, they were now deep mint green colored.
Whatever is going on with Lea's little guy, I have a feeling it's something big that ties to her, Sage deduced thoughtfully, knowing this will not be last he'll see of his new dimensional friends.
In a flash of light, Sage and the others found themselves in the Grant Mansion living room.
"Whampire! Sage! Macy!" Sasha yelled, coming in with Megan and Tommy, instantly getting bear hugged.
"Eh, hey, mom," Sage said.
"Where have you been?! And where did you get the new hero camo-look, Sis?" Tommy asked.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Saving a dimension from losing children beliefs and kicking evil Boogeyman butt," Macy shrugged with a smirk.
"Seriously?! And you went without me?!" Tommy asked.
Sage smirked. "Oh, you would have hated it, Tommy. Fighting Nightmare Guardians, meeting Frost Sprites, riding in Santa Claus' sleigh."
"WHAT!? No fair! Why do I always miss out on the fun adventures!?" Tommy whined.
Sage ruffled his hair. "Tell you what. How about a wolf run later?"
"Fine," Tommy grumbled, folding his arms and turning his head.
"Uh, oh... is that a grumpy face I see?" Blitzwolfer said playfully, as he and Wildmutt stalked towards him.
"Blitz, Wildmutt, no! I am not in a tickly mood!" Tommy exclaimed, taking a few steps back.
"Oh, but we are. And in a hunting type of mood," Blitzwolfer said, wagging his tail high in the air.
"Well, I'm not playing. Go hunt someone else," Tommy retorted.
"Looks like we'll have an easy catch then," Blitzwolfer replied as Wildmutt pounced.
"GAH!" Tommy yelped, quickly jumping out of the way. "Really?! Tickling is not your answer to everything! Stop it!"
Wildmutt continued pouncing after Tommy playfully.
"Watch out, little bro. He may start to believe it's your bath time," Sage chuckled.
"Ew, gross!" Tommy gagged at that while still avoiding Wildmutt.
"How about if you agree in playing with Blitzwolfer and Wildmutt, then we might consider bringing you along next time in meeting the Guardians of Childhood?" Macy offered.
"Or you can get bathed by Wildmutt?" Sage laughed as Blitzwolfer nearly caught Tommy.
"Okay! Okay, I'll play with you guys! Just no bathing!" Tommy answered, now moving in front of his older sibling from a distance.
Wildmutt barked happily before pouncing on Tommy and playfully tussling with him on the floor.
Sage smiled. "Hope, memories, wonder, fun, dreams and imagination. All the truest words of a child, all the most precious things for a child, and all the things that should be most protected."
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Wolf Boy," Macy grinned. "How do you think Lea is doing?"
"She has her pack back...her family. Nothing can be more important than that," Sage said, nuzzling Macy's head as he held her close.
"True," Macy nodded her head.
And so, our heroes have once again saved the day from the darkness of evil. Whenever things are bleak and all hope seems lost, always remember that the light of happiness will always find a way back in people's lives.
Back in the Guardians' dimension, it has now been nearly almost a week since the events of Pitch Black and North Wind. With the danger over, things were back to normal with happy children believing in their fellow Guardians once more.
Around a late morning, Lea was making her way to see her best bookworm friend. Now that Spring was coming, her home was becoming warmer today and seemed appropriate to wear something less heavy.
The blonde teen wore a white shirt that had a pink butterfly in the center, a purple hoody jacket slightly opened to see the butterfly, a light blue jeaned short skirt, white leggings accustomed with red tulips all over, and icy blue sneakers that had a snowflake on both sides of them. She also still carried her black backpack with her hockey stick attached, wooden companion Nightlight inside, and a few other essentials.
Soon, Lea arrived at the Golden Goose Bookstore to see her best friend at the counter reading another good book.
Instead of her usual magenta poncho and light purple skirt, Katherine wore something else. She had on a long-sleeved white cotton shirt accustomed with a sleeveless yellow knit sweater, a knee length suede a-line skirt, and dark brown Mary Jane heeled shoes.
Smiling, the blonde teen entered inside for the bell on the door to ring and get Katherine's attention.
"Hey, Kate. How are you?" Lea replied, tugging her backpack close to her.
"I'm doing well. I assume you're the same way, too. There's something you want to show me, isn't there?" Katherine grinned, seeing the eagerness in her friend's eyes.
"Yeah! I've been meaning to show you since my first adventure with the Guardians of Childhood…Along with a new attachment,"
The blonde teen went close enough to her friend and took off her jacket to wrap around her waist to show her crystal bracelet that had the little charms representing the Guardians. However, there was a new charm added next to blue hexagon snowflake: A pink pentagon with a white snow goose in the center.
Ever since she found out that Katherine was a Guardian, Lea believed that it seemed fair that she created another piece representing the Guardians that she met.
"North made plus gave it to me. I created the charms as a special touch to remember the Guardian friends I made," Lea explained.
Katherine gave a caring smile at the bracelet before Lea. She was very lucky to have such a friendship with the blonde teen. "They're lovely. Always appreciate your creative and resourceful style."
"Thanks," Lea grinned back. "So, if you were Mother Goose and wrote the books under the name M.G. Joyce this whole time, why didn't you say anything?"
"Well, I needed be sure to trust you and let you know a little bit about me before telling the whole truth," Katherine explained. "And if I told you from the beginning, we both would have been caught and taken by Pitch from his last scheme. Protecting children that still believe in us is part of my job, after all."
"I guess that makes sense," Lea softly replied, rubbing her neck. "But what about the magic snow globe next to the book involving the Grant Mansion?"
"All part of my plan. I was called to help some children halfway across the world and deal with a story that needed a happy ending at the same time that was going to take all day. I felt bad that you were going to be stuck in here all day, so I decided to give you a little fun trip,"
"By leaving the book involving the Grant Mansion opened for me and the snow globe next to it?" Lea guessed, trying to understand.
"Yes. The globes are similar to North's. It gives users the way of teleporting to any parts of the world in seconds. Only mine can go further into traveling into different dimensions besides teleporting from city to city here, even Continent to Continent. That, and they only work for those with a pure imagination. As I expected, you had just enough imagination to make it active," Katherine answered, already leaving the desk to get something from the back.
The blonde teen was amazed by all of this. Kate had actually set up her next adventure on purpose? And she knew that Lea would somehow make the magic snow globe work and get back home? Something told her that Katherine had been helping her find different adventures in times she didn't even realize.
"So, now that you're no longer in hiding and the Guardians finally know you, how does it feel?" Lea asked.
Katherine couldn't help but give a heartful chuckle while coming out with a hardback maroon-colored book with golden embellishments on each corner. There was a shiny mirror-like compartment in the center of the book, along with a keyhole on the right side. There was even the initials 'EA' embedded on the top, above the mirror.
"It feels nice. After all my years stayed as a secret, I'm so relieved that I got to see them personally. Along with North. It's been so long since I last saw him face-to-face,"
Lea nodded her head in agreement. She had heard Kate mention that the Guardian of Imagination had known North before becoming a Guardian herself. According to Kate, the Guardian of Wonder was like an older brother to her.
"Glad Sage gave you that little nudge to be with your family," Lea said, looking at the object Katherine was holding. "What's with the mirror-book?"
Katherine gave a playful smirk that was similar to Jack Frost's. "Just a special story I think you might like. In fact, we're going on a little vacation trip as a job well-done in saving the world and the Guardians."
Lea gasped. "For real!? We get to go on another dimensional world travel!? Together?! That sounds totally awesome! But wait! Don't the children here need you?"
"Of course. However, I already had taken the liberty to ask North and the other Guardians to cover for me. And, if there is a problem, they would contact me," Katherine assured. "Trust me. We both earn a little R&R. What do you say?"
Lea thought about it. Before leaving, she told her parents that she would be staying at a friend's place to hang out for a bit and they were fine with it. And she did need a break from such a thrilling adventure. It seemed to be a promising choice.
"Okay, Kate. I'm in," Lea answered happily.
"Excellent!" Katherine grabbed her a red blazer with a white collar and matching belt around the waist to put on while slipping on her dark copper-colored pork pie hat accustomed with a white ribbon, light blue squared jewel on the side and a white feather on top. "Let's get going, then."
Reaching into her jacket pocket, Katherine got out a golden key with the same emblem letters of the book on the handle part. She placed it on the keyhole and, with the sound of click while twisting it, unlocked it.
When that happened, the book opened itself and flipped so many pages to a point that it transformed into a floating round body length mirror in front of the girls.
Lea was stunned yet amazed by what Katherine just did. "Kate, you never cease to amaze me."
"Thank you," Katherine replied, chuckling as she grabbed her handbag before taking the lead. "Now let's hurry. The doorway won't last too long."
Nodding her head, the blonde teen followed her best friend through the mirror. Once doing that, the mirror disappeared, turned back into a book, and magically floated back into the shelves in the Fairytale Section.
For, as two certain Narrators from the chosen book once said, 'The End is just the beginning'.
Well, that's it for this tale. The next one will be Spell-tacular! Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed this story. There were a lot of references plus ideas I got from the Guardians of Childhood book series William Joyce made. Those include the location of Katherine's place, her goose, plus abilities in healing and the coffins. However, that last one was used only by one person. Not gonna spoil anything here. You just have to read the books. It's from book 4...plus mentioned in book 5 a little.
And, once again, special thanks to RD and Steelcode for collaborating with me on this. Never would have done it without their help. Now that Katherine is finally no longer in hiding with the Guardians, what other secrets will she share with them? Especially with Lea. Things are about to be different. And it will on the next crossover story that I think is pretty obvious for some of you readers. Even so, what kind of characters will they meet and places the girls will go?
You'll find out very soon. ;)