Private couldn`t sleep, it had been a whole week since skipper went solo, and still the leader had not returned. The littlest penguin left the safety of the headquarters and went for a quick walk around the zoo. There wasn't a soul about, except Leonard the koala but he wasn't very nice to talk with. Private bounced up a tree on the edge of the zoo and the park, it was usually the place to find skipper when the leader needed some alone time. Private closed his eyes and cherished the memory of the lullaby skipper sang him the night before leaving. It didn't help. Private thought about his nightmare, wondering if it was going to come true, then quickly dismissed the thought. Private then remembered how the guardians always looked to the moon when unsure of what to do next. Private ran to the edge of the branch he was perched on and began to hum a slow tune.

Come out moon, come out wishing star, come out come out, wherever you are.

I`m out here in the dark, all alone and wide awake,

Come and find me,

I`m empty and I `m cold, and my heart`s about to break,

Come and find me,

I need you to come here and find me,

Cause without you i`m totally lost,

I`ve hung a wish on every star; it hasn't done much good so far.

I can only dream of you, wherever you are.

I`ll hear you laugh, I'll see you smile,

I`ll be with you, just for a while.

But when the morning comes and the sun begins to rise; I will lose you.

Because it`s just a dream, when I open up my eyes I will lose you.

I used to believe in forever, but forever`s too good to be true.

I`ve hung a wish on every star; it hasn't done much good so far.

I don't know what else to do,

Except to try to dream of you,

And wonder if you`re dreaming to,

Wherever you are.

Wherever you are.

Private yawned at the end of the song, snuggled into a nook within the branches and fell fast asleep.

*Dream sequence begins*

Private was confused, his surroundings seemed so familiar yet he hadn't a clue where he was. It was pure white all around, snow filled the air and the little penguin could just make out a small wooden hut in the distance, "maybe someone in that hut can help me," he said to the world in general. Struggling against the bitter wind, private finally reached the hut and knocked gently on the door. There was a shout of "just coming!" in what sounded like a Russian accent. Private fell over backwards with shock as who should open the door, nobody but Nicholas St. North, the guardian of wonder himself. Private was nearly frozen, but he felt huge hands gently pick him up, and carry him inside. Having virtually grown up away from Antarctica, private was the most sensitive to the cold out of the four brothers.

"Hey north, you found a penguin," commented the guardian of fun, Jack Frost.

"Yes I did," north replied to the winter spirit, "he feels very cold, which is unusual for penguins," he explained.

"What should we do?" jack asked.

"First of all, let`s get him warmed up, then we call the others," north declared.

"Why do the others need to get involved with this?" jack enquired, almost naively.

"Because penguins are native to the south pole and surrounding areas, the most far north they go is the Galapagos, you never find one in the north pole," north explained, "you should know that being a winter sprite jack," he chided. Jack blushed bright purple.

North put private by the fire and flipped a switch near a huge globe, lighting it up. Private slowly opened his eyes and saw jack sitting nearby.

"Hey there little guy," jack whispered.

"Oh wow! I can't believe it, your jack frost! And i`m at the North Pole and…" private babbled.

"Hey slow down," the winter sprite soothed, "first of all, how can you talk?" he asked.

" The language of penguins is very similar to that of ducks Jack," north explained, "you`ve become quite fluent in duck, so that's how you can understand this little penguin," he clarified. Private nodded enthusiastically.

"Tell me little one, what`s your name?" north asked kindly.

"I`m private," replied private.

"Isn't that a military rank?" asked jack, not so long ago, he`d been the technical "private" of the guardians.

"Well, yes," private responded, "but it`s my name too, my brothers and I live in the central park zoo in new york city, we run a super secret, hush, hush commando operation," he explained.

"Sounds exciting," jack commented.

"I can`t feel my feet! I can`t feel my feet!" came a cry from outside.

"That sounds like bunny!" exclaimed private, excitedly.

"How do you know?" jack asked the little penguin curiously as North told some yetis to let the Pooka in.

"You`re all in a movie, my big brother Kowalski took me to see last week," private clarified.

"Ok," jack nodded, he`d overheard kids talking about the movie whilst giving them a snow day.

"All right north, what`s going on in here?" came a gruff Australian accent, private looked over and saw a huge rabbit walking in.

"Hi kangaroo," jack smirked.

"Watch it frostbite," bunny snapped and then he heard private giggling, "Crikey, how did he get here?" the Pooka questioned in shock, laying eyes on the penguin for the first time.

By now tooth and sandy had also arrived, North told the guardians the entire story.

"Poor little fella," bunny said sympathetically.

"Are you all alone?" tooth asked, scooping private up in a motherly fashion.

"Well no, I have my brothers back in new york," private explained.

Sandy made an incomplete mathematical equation in sand above his head.

"Sandy wants to know how many brothers you have," jack translated.

"Three, Skipper, Kowalski and Rico, all older than me," private told the guardians.

"What about your parents?" Jack asked.

"I didn't know my parents, I was a lost egg, skipper Kowalski and rico are also orphans and they rescued my egg back in Antarctica and raised me," private enlightened. The winter spirit looked at the floor, he knew what it was like to be adopted into a family, he`d lost everything when he saved his sister from drowning and after three hundred years, he was adopted into the "family" of the guardians.

"Oh you might be able to help me," private suddenly realized, "would you all mind terribly looking out for my eldest brother skipper?" he inquired.

"Why?" tooth asked curiously.

"Skipper went on a solo mission last week and hasn't returned, I really miss him and i`m really worried something bad might have happened to him, please keep your eyes open?" the little penguin begged.

"What does he look like?" north asked.

"He`s a tad taller than me, ice blue eyes, orange feet and beak, and a flat head," private described.

"Ok we`ll keep an eye out," tooth promised.

Private yawned, "sounds like someone needs to go to bed," jack suggested.

"Yeah, I think I'll just curl up here by the fire," private decided sleepily, "goodnight, it was very nice meeting you all," he smiled. Sandy sprinkled some golden dream sand and private fell asleep.

*Dream sequence Ends*

The next thing private knew was the feeling of someone poking him. His eyes opened he saw Kowalski and rico standing over him.

"Ugh, what time is it?" private asked.

"About 8o`clock," Kowalski replied, "which Is why we need to get you to back to HQ and give you some breakfast before opening time," he urged.

"Kowalski what happened to the North Pole, and the guardians?" the little penguin enquired, climbing down from the tree.

"You were dreaming private. Rico and I found you sound asleep in this tree, we`ve been worried sick," the tallest penguin explained.

"Yup," rico confirmed.

Private sighed and looked at the sky as he headed back to the penguin habitat, "I hope it wasn't a dream and you remember your promise," he whispered before belly sliding in order to catch up with his brothers.

Private didn't see it, but a small pattern of frost appeared on the tree trunk and ran along the ground…

A/N chapter five done, wow that was long.

really enjoyed writing the dream sequence, private was really adorable in that scene

i own nothing

P.O.M (C) dreamworks

rise of the guardians/ the guardians of childhood (c) dreamworks / William Joyce

wherever you are (c) disney