A/N : Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites as usual! :D

If anyone's interested, I made an illustration for "Snow Balls and Fun Times", it's in the RotG-folder of my Deviantart-gallery. My name there is "DolphyDolphiana" and the picture is titled "Nightly Trip".

Here's the last chapter of this arc.


Sam Hain was flying over a field in Texas, making the pumpkins on the ground grow bigger with a simple flick of his fingers. The more impressive they would be for his holiday the better. Halloween was only a few days away and he was busy preparing everything to make it the scariest and most fantastic day of the whole year. His concentration was fully drawn to the task at hand so he noticed too late that a portal opened in the sky and a big sleigh which was pulled by several reindeers came out of it. Shortly before the vehicle landed a big heavy figure jumped down and grabbed him in the process, forcefully dragging him to the ground below. The Halloween spirit was slammed against the earthy surface and groaned as he grabbed his hurting head.

"Who the hell are you that you dare to-"

His words were cut short as he recognized the person who towered above him. No matter how much the children of the world adored Santa Clause, if you got on his bad side he was beyond intimidating. Especially now as he glared at the pumpkin-head with a look that showed he wasn't in any sort of jolly mood at all.

"Nicholas, what gives me the pleasure of your visit?" he asked a little anxiously.

"I know what you did to Jack." the Cossack stated matter-of-factly, his voice deeper than usual.

"I see." the cloaked spirit remarked and stood up while brushing the dirt off his clothes.

"The little brat had a good cry on your shoulder, didn't he? Now if you excuse me, I still have a lot of preparations to do for my holiday."

He turned his back at the Christmas spirit but was instantly stopped by a furry wall as six reindeer came to a halt right in front of him. Angry snorts and glares of the animals which were clearly aimed at him were a more than clear indication that they weren't in any better mood than their master. Still, the Spirit of Halloween was too proud to allow himself to be intimidated just yet.

"What a circus. I really don't have time for this, Nicholas, I don't bother you during your work either. And all this for a worthless troublemaker who can't stand up for himself? Quite pathetic, don't you think?"

Before he could say anything else a beefy fist was slammed into his face and sent him flying backwards until he made unpleasant contact with the harsh ground once more. Had his head consisted of a normal pumpkin he would have been busy collecting the pieces. Putting a pumpkin jigsaw back together without a head would have been quite a challenge. Luckily for him his head was still intact even though the world spun around him far too much for his liking. The first thing he noticed as he came back to his senses were two silver twin swords pointing at his throat. He gulped as furious blue eyes glared daggers at him.

"Jack has more guts than you and Harvest combined. He refused to tell us anything, only did so because we insisted on hearing the truth. He even told us to leave you alone because he wanted to deal with you on his own. Aren't you and your autumn friend ashamed of attacking a younger spirit two against one? That is what I call pathetic. And now listen carefully because I will only say this once. Jack is a guardian now and a better one than any of us could ever have hoped for. He is under our protection and if you dare to ever lay a finger on him again I swear you won't live to tell tale! Am I clear?!"

During the speech the swords were pressed against his quivering adam's apple, not enough to draw blood but enough to make him feel how sharp the blades were. The light shining from the spirit's pumpkin head had dimmed obviously, there was no doubt he had understood that the big Russian meant business. Noone except Pitch Black had ever dared to mess with Nicholas and everyone knew how that had ended.

Halloween was too near to risk being beaten to pumpkin pulp, that just wasn't worth it. Sam swallowed his dignity and nodded nervously.

"Good." North grunted and lowered his weapons.

Still, a question was burning on the black and orange spirit's tongue.

"Why do you care so much about Frost all of a sudden? If I'm not mistaken you barely acknowledged his existence up to this year."

"Because we have to amend the wrong we did. Jack is family now and family protects each other." the Russian man explained in a firm and determined voice, though it didn't sound as threatening as it had done earlier.

"So he became a guardian and everything is sunshine and rainbows?" Sam remarked cynically but regretted his words the moment he was faced with another very irritated glare.

"No. But that's none of your business. What you should know is that unlike you and probably the majority of spirits and humans Jack is quite forgiving. He doesn't forget bad events or how people treated him but he tries to make the best of it. You shouldn't hold grudges against others either. Now get back to work, that's more important."

With those words the Guardian of Wonder climbed back into his red sleigh and dashed off into the sky, leaving a very bewildered Spirit of Halloween behind. Sam still couldn't stand Jack Frost but for his own well-being he decided to just steer clear of him and ignore him, like everyone else had done for so long. Never had he expected that the guardians would be so protective over their newest teammember. Dealing with the winter brat alone was a whole different league than dealing with the original Big Four. He knew he had no chance against the group of them so all he could do was hoping that the icy annoyance would leave him alone as well and not cause any further provocations.

Shaking off the unpleasant thoughts the pumpkin-headed immortal rose into the air and went back to tend to his duties. After all he had a holiday to prepare.


Flann MacHarvest was busy dyeing the last remains of green leaves to shades of red, orange and gold. After finishing this task in North America he traveled over the Atlantic ocean to continue the lenghty work in Europe. As usual he headed for Ireland, his home, to start there first. At fast speed he flew over the woods, gliding his fingers over all trees which reacted to his powers by instantly changing the colours of their foliage.

When he was almost done with the last forest of the country an oddly shaped hard object hit him full force and caused him to tumble downwards. Just as he gained control over himself a few feet above the ground another, or the same because he really couldn't tell, thing smacked the air out of him and made him crush against the nearest tree.

The autumn spirit muttered curses under his breath and rubbed his sore neck, looking around for the douchebag who dared to attack him. All he could see was a tall shape that rushed from tree to tree, fast as lightning.

"Whoever ye are, come out so I can beat teh livin' daylights outta ye!"

"I'd like ta see ya try."

Flann almost jumped out of his skin as he heard the challenging words only inches away from his ear. He stumbled forwards into a standing position, turned around and saw the owner of the voice leaning against the tree he had just collided with. Furry paws brushed over the previously used boomerang before it was put back in place on the creature's back.

"Aster. Ye sure have an ill-mannered way of sayin' 'hello'.What's teh matter, don't ye see I'm busy?" the red-haired man remarked, not even trying to mask his aversion to the encounter.

Green eyes shot him a scornful look as the tall rabbit stood at full height and crossed his arms.

"I don't give a damn if ya're busy, there's something you and me have ta resolve."

"Oh, is that so? Well, I don't think I gotta listen ta whatever ye've got ta say, so if ye don't mind, I'll tend ta my duties, not everyone of us can allow themselves ta just waste time by disturbin' others."

Before the Irishman had even attempted to fly off a blurry shade of grey had rushed past him and was now towering in front of him. A big paw grabbed him by the collar and lifted him a few inches above the forest soil. The glare he was faced with threatened to burn a whole into his head as he held onto the fur of his captor who didn't seem to care if he was choking him or not.

"You are a pile of scum of the highest level so don't ya dare ta get cheeky on me, ya hear me?!" Bunnymund snarled and continued to stare daggers at the spirit struggling in his grasp.

"What teh hell's teh matter!?"

"The matter is that ya messed with the wrong people. Did ya really think none of us would come back for ya after what ya did to Jack?"

"Oh , that's what this fuss is all about? Just because we teached teh frost brat a lil' lesson after he caused nothin' but trouble again? If he wanted ta show backbone he wouldn't have ran ta his oh-so-high-and-mighty friends. Speakin' of which, ye seem ta be teh only one 'round here, apparently ye're teh only one who takes this all too serious, eh?"

That guy really didn't know when to quit and shut up for his own well-being. Bunny had to activate every tiny bit of self-control to not ram him into the ground. But then again the red-head's behaviour screamed for more drastic measures so instead of letting him dangle in thin air he shoved him against the tree he was already acquainted with. A protesting yell as well as curses no minor should ever hear erupted from the autumn spirit.

"Ya're saying so much wombat shit that I dunno where ta start correcting ya first, but I'll do my best ta talk clearly and slowly so even a dimwit like you will understand." the pooka emphasized the last words and tightened his grip on the other immortal's throat even more, who finally restrained himself from blurting out another inappropriate comment and struggled for breath instead.

"Severely injuring Jack in a battle of two against one and breaking his staff when he's already down isn't what I would call a 'lil' lesson'. And that for what? Just because he did a child a favour and gave him an early snow day? The snow had melted after less than two days so don't act like he messed up your whole season, ya gumby! He knew he could get in trouble for granting his first believer that wish and still did it. Why? Because he always thinks about others first and wanted ta make the kid happy. It was pure coincidence that we were there when Jack stumbled into North's workshop, otherwise we would have never found out what happened ta him. We had to pull every bit of information outta the kid so don't assume he ran ta us for help. On the contrary, he did everything he could ta convince us ta stay outta this. Ya can be sure everyone of us guardians would like to beat the crap outta ya, so be glad ya have ta deal with me 'cause Tooth's collection of ancient dentistry equipment or Sandy's whips wouldn't let you get outta this so easily."

The pooka waited for a moment and enjoyed the blatant look of horror on the autumn spirit's face. Only hardly could he suppress a wicked smile as he saw the effects his words had.

"But it would have been an uneven fight if the four of us attacked ya together, now wouldn't it? If ya insist I can call the others, though."

Flann had paled considerably during the Easter Bunny's lecture. May it be from the lack of air or the dark and threatening sound of his voice. All he managed to do was shaking his head slightly at the last sentence.

"Anything ya wanna say or can I go on?" Bunnymund asked with fake courtesy.

Once again the brown-eyed spirit just shook his dizzier and dizzier getting head and hoped he wouldn't pass out on his opponent. That would be quite a bummer for his dignity.

"Fine. So if ya haven't done so already, then listen carefully now, 'cause I ain't saying this twice. If I find out that ya dared ta hurt Jack again, and trust me I will find out, then even the Man in the Moon won't be able ta revive ya because there won't be anything left of ya. I hope that was clear enough."

With that the Australian rabbit let go of the other immortal who dropped to the ground ungracefully and took several large breaths before he glared up at his rival, the original spite coming back to his expression.

"So ye expect me ta just tolerate it when the nuisance interferes with my work? I heard from others that ye weren't exactly happy either when he caused a blizzard on Easter Sunday in, what was it, '68? How's that any different? Just because the brat is a guardian now doesn't give him the right ta do whatever he wants. He's as useless as he's always been."

Suddenly his head was hit by a boomerang and for several moments he saw nothing but stars. Even if he had seen it coming he wouldn't have had anywhere to escape since his back was still pressed against the tree behind him. The wooden weapon returned to its owner who leisurely put it back where it belonged as if nothing ever happened.

"Ya just dunno when ta quit, do ya? Jack never messed up your work ta get on your nerves, he's only got a bad habit of doing things without thinking about the consequences. He's the youngest spirit of us all and had no one ta teach him, so if ya're more mature than him then act like it and don't beat him up whenever he does something wrong in your eyes. Because as I see it ya're acting more like a spoiled little brat then he could ever do. Of course I wasn't excited about that blizzard back then but ya know what, I did the same mistake like you did. I didn't beat him up but I blamed him and yelled at him and treated him like a useless troublemaker until he was chosen as a guardian. Even then I refused ta admit that he was different from what I had been convinced of, but ya know what, I was wrong and he proved that he's far better than what most spirits seem to think of him. And trust me, Jack isn't abusing his title as guardian at all, no matter how much ya apparently expect that from him. Which makes me wonder, would you take advantage of that title?"

MacHarvest was dumbfounded at the question, he couldn't bring himself to deny it categorically without giving away that he was lying.

"That's what I thought." Bunny remarked and eyed the other spirit as he was standing up and brushing the dirt off his coat.

"Well, me thinks everythin' has been said. Tell Frost that there won't be anymore trouble if he just stays outta my way. I don't feel teh need ta see him for a loong time anyway, ta be honest."

The Guardian of Hope knew that this was as much of a promise as he could get from the unrepentant autumn spirit and stomped his foot onto the forest soil.

"Alright, but this here was only a harmless little warning of what will happen ta ya in case ya'll attack him again. Trust me, ya'll regret it, I'll make sure of that. So don't forget it."

With that the pooka jumped into the hole which had appeared in the ground and vanished a moment later.

Flann watched the spot where the large rabbit had left to make sure he was really gone. He would have never admitted it but the Easter Bunny could be outright terrifying when he was in a bad mood. And what had just happened didn't qualify as bad mood anymore, no, that was pure wild rage. Why did he appreciate the brat all of a sudden, he could still remember the furry creature complaining about just how annoying the winter spirit was several decades ago. He couldn't imagine that Frost was so different from what he thought of him. He still couldn't stand the guy but whatever, he had other things to worry about.

With an annoyed groan he realized that he was behind his schedule and took off into the air to resume dyeing the rest of the leaves in Europe to colours appropriate for his season.


"You did WHAT!?" Jack shrieked.

Tooth tried in vain to calm the teen down by putting reassuring hands on his shoulders and attempting to push him back against the pillow. Just another afternoon of sleep and he had gotten almost all of his usual energy back, which made it even harder to keep him in bed instead of running or flying through the workshop.

"I went to see Sam Hain and Bunny went to Flann MacHarvest. Let's just say we had a little talk with them and they won't harass you anymore." North explained totally pleased with himself.

Bunny nodded with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he recalled scaring the living daylights out of the autumn spirit.

Jack however wasn't happy about the course of events at all.

"Great, you know, if you wanted to get rid of me you could have just brought them here and locked me in a room with them. As soon as I'm out of here I'll be unprotected game for them, did you really think threatening those guys would improve the situation?"

Even though he did his best to not show it, he was...nah, not scared but...seriously troubled. For him the two spirits were unpredictable and he was quite sure that they would be even more aggravated after the guardians' meddling. Probably he was about to find out how far immortality could go...

"Mate, take it easy or ya'll get a heart attack and trust me, ya don't want mouth-ta-mouth insufflation."

Jack wrinkled his nose in disgust but still refused to accept what they had done. With a deep sigh he continued, this time sounding quiet and defeated.

"Why couldn't you just let the matter rest? I told you to stay out of this."

"We couldn't just act like nothing happened." North replied.

"I know we acted against your will but what we did was the right thing to do, even if you don't agree with it. Hain and MacHarvest got our point and will leave you alone. All they demanded in return was that you stay out of their way as well."

"It wasn't like I stalked them to get my ass beaten, ya know." the teen muttered under his breath and crossed his arms.

"Jack! Watch your mouth."

"Sorry, Tooth." he apologized half-heartedly.

"I know, mate. But just ta be one the safe side in the future, don't cause blizzards, snow days or whatever out of your season anymore. Sure ya don't do it ta piss people off, but there will always be spirits who see it as provocation."

Jack's expression softened as he stared into the void behind them, his body slowly losing most of its tension. Concerned looks were sent in his direction but he was too caught in his own mind to notice. Only when Sandy floated into his line of vision and formed a question mark over his head did he snap out of his thoughts.

"Sorry guys. I know you just wanted to help. But...it seems like I mess up at whatever I do. I just wanted to give Jamie a good time and now all this drama happened." he explained feebly.

"I don't do this on purpose, really..."

"No one here thinks you do, Jack." North assured him and sat down on the chair next to the bed to be more at eye level with the young man.

"Spirits' duties can be very difficult and contradicting with those of others at times, but we learn from our mistakes and can only strive to get better. That being said, concerning this particular situation you have nothing to be sorry for. The happiness of a child was your aim, you didn't endanger anyone by doing so and it's not your fault that Hain and Harvest overreacted."

The big Russian glanced at the silver plate on the nightstand and offered it to the winter teen.

"Now stop blaming yourself and have a cookie instead." he winked.

Bunny rolled his eyes while trying hard not to chuckle, Tooth worried over the amounts of sugar those perfectly white teeth had to deal with and Sandy made the thumbs-up gesture with his tiny golden hands. Jack let out an amused laugh and grabbed a chocolate-chip cookie. No way he could deny candy.

After he had finished his snack everyone bid their farewells because they had to get back to work. Eggs had to be painted, teeth collected, dreams spread and toys produced.

"Guys, wait!"

Just when they had almost left the room Jack suddenly called out and they stopped in their tracks.

"Thanks...for caring and for...well, for everything." he said sheepishly.

"You're welcome, Jack." North replied for the rest of the group.

"Now rest some more and tomorrow you'll be allowed to leave bed again. I still got to show you prototypes for new toys."

"Sounds great." Jack smiled.

As soon as the door was closed he leaned back against the fluffy pillow and stared at the ceiling. Being stuck in this room had been the dullest time ever, that's why he was beyond relieved to be able to roam the world again. But even though he had been bored out of his mind he also enjoyed feeling safe and cared for.

He didn't wake up every hour to check if someone was there who might attack him, like he often did when he was sleeping on trees. Centuries of solitary life and being harassed by one or the other spirit had turned him paranoid.

But here at the workshop he didn't have to watch out for people who meant harm to him.

All his life he had considered the pond in Burgess his home, and while he still felt a deep connection to that place he now finally knew what a real home felt like.

A strange part of his brain was glad this all had happened. He didn't regret the snow-day because Jamie, Sophie and the rest of the children were worth the consequences. Being beaten up wasn't anything he longed to experience again but it showed him how much the guardians cared for him. While his pride and stubborness often stood in the way he still enjoyed the feeling of others being there for him. Of realizing what it was like to have a family who was ready to protect him from whatever was threatening him. It was still awkward at times but he would get used to it. After all, he had always managed to adapt to all kinds of circumstances life threw at him. And this circumstance, one full of affection, love, loyalty and trust, was one he would not mind getting used to.


A/N : I hope you're happy with how this turned out. Sorry if you expected more punishment for Sam and Flann, but I just couldn't imagine the guardians to be more violent. After all they're guardians and not serial killers from some horror movie...okay, now I got the mental image of North crazily wielding a chainsaw. *remembers that he actually uses a chainsaw in the beginning of the movie* Yeah, this doesn't make it any better. XD