Author's Note: I'm sorry for making you guys wait so long for an update. Naturally I had to get sick myself, bleh! And now I'm busy this weekend, but I had to give you guys something, so here's another interlude for you. It features August, and I was meaning to show you August's Summer Paradise, but he just wanted to go surfing, so..
Anyway! Reviews!
Crossover Junkie thought an angry Pitch should confront an angry Mother Nature, with poor Jasper caught in the middle wondering what the heck is going on. Sooo tempted! So we'll see. :P She also thought that Pitch should force Jack and Lillian to do self defense lessons and I agree. They definitely need them.
PudinFeliz really likes the story so far and is hoping that we can see more of the Seasonals later on. I like them too, so of course! If it works out maybe they can be more friendly with certain other spirits. In any case, they might all have to work together to tackle certain problems..
aviator1198 thinks Lillian should find out that Jack initially caused the blizzard that killed her. Even though it IS true that Jack technically killed her, that's.. I dunno. It feels harsh. It would make for some good angst later, so we'll see. I'm not entirely sure how to bring that up though. It's not like everyone sits around talking about '68. Maybe they could talk about when they were made spirits and it just comes out? Hrm.. Well. It'll be saved for later at any rate. There's too much going on at the moment.
Anariel Phoenix Blade wanted me to update and was curious if Pitch would force Mother Nature to accept him as her father and Jack and Lillian as her new siblings? I'm not sure if they'll get to that warm, fuzzy stage. I won't tell you what I think will happen, as chapters tend to run away from me sometimes. So we'll have to wait and see!
I also took pity on you guys for waiting so long, so I gave you a little Jack and Lillian too! Enjoy!
Interlude 3: Summer's Ire & Trapped
While certain Fall spirits were being harassed by Pitch Black, August Bay had happily decided to return his most favorite place: California. Sure, it wasn't quite summer yet, but it was close! And that was good enough for him.
He didn't even spare any thoughts to what his friend Jasper might be up to, or why Mother Nature had detained the annoying Winter Spirit and the pesky baby Spring Spirit. As far as he was concerned, all he had to worry about was the waves he was going to catch.
In a flash of fire that would have done a phoenix proud, August appeared on a beach in sunny California, only to pause as he and his fellow sprites looked around. Normally around this time of year the beaches were pretty sparse, as even if it was California, the weather wasn't quite hot enough for swimming. This mattered little to August, as he just wanted to catch some waves. There were usually a couple surfers out and about, wearing their wetsuits, but he usually paid them little mind.
But as August stared at the extremely crowded beach, he had to admit - Mother Nature was right.. There was definitely something going on with the seasons. Not only was the beach as crowded as if it was already the height of Summer, the weather was hot. It also wasn't his doing, as he never went out of season. That was one thing most of the spirits respected.. with the exception of Jack Frost.
August frowned as he stared at the crowd. California usually had a dry heat, but he could practically see the moisture in the air. It was very muggy out as well. He also noted with disgust that there were too many people and their toys out in the water for him to really do anything.. Great. Just great.
"Look around and see if you can spot anything," he snapped at Lucian, who was looking around with his eyes a little wide. "If you do, just come back to me and report. Now go!"
The Summer spirits and sprites all scattered at the harsh command. Usually August was more easy going, but this hot weather had put him on edge. He didn't take kindly to anyone making him look bad and with all this heat coming in out of season, everyone would point their finger at him.
As he stood there watching the crowd a moment more, he spotted something flitting about in the air, moving around the beach goers.
He caught sight of the almost orangish blond hair and blinked. He knew that hair! Wasn't that Marin, one of his spirits that had gone missing? What was she doing?!
He started to call out to her, but there was a tell-tale flash, and she was gone.
When his other sprites returned to report that they had seen several of the so-called "missing" other Summer Sprites, August let out a growl of frustration.
What the hell was going on?!
Farther away from California, in another part of the world, there was a flurry of petals and leaves as a trio of Spirits suddenly appeared in a damp cave.
Lillian shivered as she, Jack and Mother Nature appeared in the cave. There was a loud roaring and she could see a wall of water blocking the cave entrance. Light was coming in through the entrance, so it must be day time wherever they were.
Mother Nature looked almost smugly at Jack and Lillian.
"Now let's see if he comes here for you! If he searches for you as he never did for me. Even if he did want to find you, I doubt that he would be able to."
Lillian glanced at her bracelet and almost sighed in relief. As soon as Mother Nature was gone, she could just use her powers to get her and Jack out of -
Almost as if sensing Lillian's thoughts, Mother Nature's hand flashed out and before Lillian could let out a "Hey!" of protest, her bracelet was snatched away.
Mother Nature quickly tucked the bracelet into a pocket.
"You may have it back if you are rescued," she smiled a little coldly at Lillian.
Mother Nature regarded Jack.
"I'll see to the start of winter for you," she finally said. "You may resume your duties once things have.. settled. But I want it made clear - I am Pitch's child. Not either of you!"
Before Jack or Lillian could say anything, Mother Nature vanished in a swirl of petals and leaves. Lillian shivered as she looked around. The cave was cool and damp, which wasn't exactly ideal for Spring Spirits.
She looked over at Jack, who was starting to look a little flushed. It wasn't the proper temperature for Winter Spirits either and Jack was still recovering from his cold.
She walked over to Jack and huggled onto him, only to draw away almost immediately due to his cold nature.
"What are we going to do?" she asked Jack loudly, to be heard over the roaring sound, which she assumed came from the wall of water blocking the mouth of the cave.
"Can you make your Flower of Doom appear?" Jack shouted back to her.
Lillian concentrated hard, but no flowers appeared except for the ones that always seemed to magically appear at her feet. None of them grew to epic proportions though and she shook her head sadly.
"No, I need my bracelet for it!" she answered sadly. "Even if I could, I don't think I could control where we'd end up!"
Jack sighed and sat down where he'd been standing. Lillian sat down next to him, crossing her arms to try and keep warm.
"Do you think Pitch will find us?" Lillian asked, after a long pause.
Jack, who normally was the one who tried to keep happy for everyone's sake, just shrugged. He let out a loud "ACHOO!" before he answered, looking flushed.
"..I don't know," he said. "How can he?"
Author's Note: Yeah, I know. I give you guys a little something and then end it on yet another cliffhanger. I would hate me too, if I were you. Sorry! But to make up for it, I do plan on updating by either Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. I really was planning on showing you more of August, but somehow he wrangled away from me and went and found a little more plot in California. We will eventually see where he lives. I also have to figure out how they got their homes in the first place, since Lillian doesn't have one. Did they make them themeselves, or were they given to them by Mother Nature? Hm! If it's the first one, then why didn't Jack make himself one? Why did he sleep in a tree for 300 years? We'll find out.. eventually.
As always, if you have any more plot ideas or suggestions, I'm listening! If you want something awesome to happen in the next chapter, you should let me know soon. I will tell you that it'll be.. intense. And it'll have the Guardians in it for sure, since they're feeling a little neglected. I'm curious who's going to figure out that all three are missing first!
