Chapter 3

Jack did his best to calm Jamie while Ember was slowly pushing herself into a more appropriate sitting position. With each movement though, she hissed as her battered body fought for her to lay back down. She calmly watched Jack tell Jamie that even if Pitch was back, he'd protect the boy. To Ember it was a truly a heart-wrenching sight as she knew that in no time, the winter spirit would be on his knees… broken and a pet to the summer spirit.

"Is the other spirit okay?" Jamie finally asked looking in Ember's direction though he couldn't see her. He squinted and looked constipated at the very effort of trying to believe in the injured girl.

"Tell him I'm fine," Ember said holding one arm in the other. She tried not to scowl at the pain running rampant in her shoulder; Pitch had been kind enough to dislocate it. She reminded herself briefly to lit Pitch's hair on fire for that.

"Jamie, you should go home," Jack was saying. "I'll go to the other Guardians. We'll nip this in the butt."

"Just dreams right?" Jamie laughed to some internal joke.

"Exactly," Jack grinned. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Promise?" Jamie suddenly sounded like his ten-year old self again.

"Promise," Jack nodded affirmatively. While hesitant, the teen eventually wandered back towards his house and left Ember and Jack alone. Jack had his back turned to Ember as he watched his first believer walk out of sight. It took every ounce of Ember's self control to not set the winter spirit on fire right then and there. She found herself unconsciously increasing the temperature as flames started to come alive on her skin again.

That's when Jack turned around, and Ember feigned a small smile even as her skin seemed alive. She hissed for dramatic effect and tried to stand. Her knees buckled under her weight, and Jack rushed forward and snatched her mid fall. Both spirits froze from the strange feeling in their skin. For once in her life, Ember felt chilly, and Jack was sweating more profusely.

"Could you turn down the heat there, Firefly?" Jack finally asked trying not to let the summer spirit fall to the ground. With the extra heat radiating out, it was hard for Jack to hold onto her.

"Oh yes," Ember said with a small frown. "I apologize. I'm use to living in hot weather, so I never notice when I'm making things uncomfortable for others." Then she paused and asked, "Did you just call me Firefly?"

"Not my fault you're glowing like a bug," Jack pointed out with a smile.

"I'm not a bug," Ember growled trying to keep her persona up which was becoming increasingly hard with the guardian of fun already driving her up a wall. Trying to get the ball rolling, Ember groaned again shutting her eyes in pain. She glanced at Jack through half lids to see him staring at her with worry.

"We need to get you to North," he said reaching down while keeping a hand on the summer spirit and picked up his staff. "He'll make this better."

"With what? Cookies and milk?" Ember scoffed then scolded herself internally. She forgot how hard it was to be cheerful and endearing. "I'm sorry, it just hurts." She batted her eyes at Jack, but he just nodded. She tried not to laugh at the irony of the situation; most male spirits noticed her easily due to her attire, and here was a spirit very close to her age, and he was oblivious.

"Can you, um, fly?" Jack asked unsure of the powers of the other spirit. He had never run into the past 300 years nor any spirit like her.

"It won't be comfortable," she sighed, "but yes I can. I'll ride the warm air while you get stuck with the cold." Her feet lifted slowly off the ground before Jack grabbing her hand followed.

"Hey I like the cold," Jack smiled trying to make the other spirit feel better. As they rose on the current of the wind, Ember almost fell from the sky until Jack tightened his grip on her hand and basically dragged her with him on his air currents. The cold caused Ember to shiver.

"Guess I'm hurt worse than I want to believe," she joked staring up at the winter spirit. Internally, she cursed Pitch for inflicting more injuries than necessary. They had agreed enough to make her look beat, but not enough to hinder her… yet here she was relying on the very thing she wanted to throw into a volcano. Still, she might as well play up the injured angle- make her seem weaker in general.

"Don't worry I've got you," he said. It went unsaid that this wasn't comfortable for either of the spirits- her heat and his cold were canceling each other out, but they could feel it between them. The change in temperature, and it went unsaid that they both disliked it.

"Thank you Jack Frost," she said looking up at him through her lashes. Again, it took all her self control to not allow her flames to launch from her skin onto his body. She knew the agony it would cause, but she really wasn't in the mood to stop herself from going splat if he let go.

He smiled brightly, but they didn't speak another word until the Pole came into sight. Knowing her next move, Ember groaned then allowed her head to lull back. She heard Jack saying her name, but she ignored it and played possum. She knew idiots always had a tendency to speak more freely when they thought the enemy was unconscious.

"North!" Jack cried the moment he landed. He let Ember down more gently, and she stay very still.

"AH Jack!" North bellowed. "Good to see you again!" Ember could feel the giant tromping over to them, and she tried to remain still even though a good eye roll seemed appropriate. "What is this Jack?"

"Ember, a summer spirit," she heard him explain. "She was attacked by Pitch." She felt a breath on her cheek, and she groaned in pain gripping her dislocated shoulder.

"This is not good," North said. Ember felt herself being picked up by something resembling a rug. "We need to call the other guardians."

Ember was stuck watching the two Guardians head toward the globe with lights while she was taken to some infirmary. She let it happen; after all, she had all the time in the world. A plan like Pitch and hers had to be enacted upon slowly.

Jack followed North in awe only glancing back once at the summer spirit, and he was glad she was going to get medical attention of some sort… be it from a rug or not. He couldn't help but smile even if the situation wasn't perfect for it; at least, he was cold again. The warmth was leaving him, and he was starting to feel normal again.

"What happened?" North asked once they were at the globe, and he had activated the lights.

"I came across her injured… like that," the winter spirit explained now with a frown. "I couldn't leave her like that and figured she'd be safe here."

"Did she say Pitch?" the Russian claus asked, and Jack nodded.

"He's up to something…" Jack started when North interrupted.

"I know!" he bellowed. "I feel it… in my…"

"Belly, I know," Jack finished smirking as he did.

Next to him, a hole opened up, and Bunny came jumping out. "Mate why'd you call me here?" he asked before he noticed the white haired spirit. "Oi, there is still snow in the Warrn'!" His ears laid flat against his head as he glared at the mischievous trouble maker.

"It looks good there," Jack shrugged, his staff laying half hazard across his shoulders. "Adds some fluff," he continued poking the easter rabbit in his arm to emphasize his 'fluff' statement. Bunny only glared.

"Bunny, Jack," North said, his tone warning, and the two guardians backed off. That was when Sandy made his entrance with Tooth not far behind.

"Hi Jack!" Toothiana said excited to see those pearly whites again. She fluttered around the winter spirit trying to see an opening where she could get her fingers into his mouth.

Sandy simply nodded his head in greeting before a large ? appeared above his head. They obviously wanted to know what was going on. North looked to Jack on this one as he had more experience with the fire spirit in the other room.

"Pitch is back," he said with a sigh.

"Are you sure?" Bunny asked suddenly less concerned with what Jack did earlier and more with what was going on now. "Did ya see him?"

"No," Jack admitted. "But the evidence is lying in the other room looking like she was torn to shreds."

Sandy cocked his head to the side before hundreds of images flashed across his head. Jack simply nodded, "Yeah something like that…" In truth, he had no idea what the little guy had just said.

"She?" Toothiana asked. "We have a girl here?"

"Spirit of summer," Jack clarified. "Very summery…" He shook his hand at the memory of the heat running into his arm. "I had to carry her here."

"Oooo I like meeting new people," Tooth said excitedly. "Are her teeth as nice as yours? Are they pearly white? Ooo I wonder if I have her past life teeth somewhere…"

"If it was Pitch," Bunny said, disbelief in his voice, "why attack her?"

. . . . . .

Ember slammed her head back against the pillow in boredom. Most of her injuries had been cleaned and wrapped plus her arm was now back in its proper socket. Still, she was bored. Ember was anything but use to sitting still for long. However, even she had to admit this plan was ingenious. It would have taken Pitch weeks to break back into the Pole, and here she was walked right through the front door by a Guardian himself.

She could barely hide her smirk as she reached over and grabbed her bow. Running her finger along the curve, she scratched the black sand from her bow. Slowly it sprinkled onto her covers, and eventually, it formed a small Nightmare.

"You know what to do love," she whispered pressing her face against the dark creature. It gave her an assured whiny before running through a wall and disappearing. "I hope you're ready Guardians," she smiled before leaning back.

Chapter 4 Preview: The Guardians discuss possibilities on how to deal with Pitch… and Bunny doesn't trust Ember and her tales she spins to the other Guardians.

OOC: R&R. There will be more of the Guardians next chapter. Ember is going to take a back seat for some of it.