So, I've been a bit detained with this story. I read the ninth book, I know how Michael Buckley ended things, and now I'm trying to contend with how different my version is going to be. I hope you guys will stick with me in this, I'm kind of excited to write it. Do you think I should add some of the ninth book in there, or go on with the plot I've already made? 0.0 I also didn't take into account that the house was destroyed in previous chapters (my bad!), so it isn't going to be.

All characters belong to Michael Buckley and Amulet Books.

Chapter 3: Sacrificing

Sabrina awoke gasping and clawing at her throat. Another haunted nightmare about her grandmother had slipped its way into her mind and the leftover terror had her in a haze with cold sweat making her clothes stick to her body. She gripped the dark green bed sheets tightly as she tried to reign in her fright.

A slight breeze outside seemed to play games with the sun; the light that shown through the baby-blue curtains shimmered and waved. With a look to her left at her little sister, sprawled and snoring loudly beside her, Sabrina slipped on her bedroom shoes promising herself that she would stay positive.

Today the family was going to go visit Bunny for more information. Today was the day that Sabrina would openly suggest that she take the place of Mirror. She knew the idea would be shot down from the very beginning but, if the Queen knew what her plan was, maybe there was a chance she would help her regardless.

With the aura of sleep still laying on her eyelids, and the paranoia one feels after a nightmare following close behind her, Sabrina moved from the bed and out of the small room. The house was quiet, as everyone was still sleeping, and she made it a point to be silent as well. The worst thing in the world had to be when Elvis, the family dog, didn't get his beauty sleep. She yawned, stretched and made her way to take a shower, scratching at her bed-hair.

Then she heard a sound. It was almost like a cry, but it felt so distant that she couldn't be sure it ever happened. She turned towards the noise slowly and narrowed her eyes. It had come from Puck's room.

She almost immediately ignored it (after all, the only thing that would get her into his room would be the end of the world, and even then she'd have to think long and hard about it), but the sound pierced something in her stomach and she couldn't continue to the bathroom. Maybe the sound didn't mean anything, maybe it did. Could she really ignore something that echoed pain?

Intrigue winning, Sabrina quickly made her decision; she opened the door and stepped inside.

The moment she walked in the massive space she noticed the wind. In the past the weather was always perfect in Puck's enchanted room and the heavy breeze that made her wrap her arms around herself was ominous. Something was up. Finding herself more curious than intimidated she continued through the room -watching her foot falls for any presents one of Puck's chimpanzees might have left. It was strange, but the grass was yellow, the trees seemed to be wilting, and the sky above was cloudy. Feeling more overwrought about what was going on, Sabrina dropped her sneaking and ran into the clearing where she knew Puck's trampoline was set up.

When she found him he was faced away from her, his back hunched over with wings hanging limply to the ground, and his legs clutched to his chest.

"Puck?" She called out to him keeping a distance. He didn't reply. There was no evidence that he even heard her.

"Puck," she said again stepping a bit closer to him, "What's going on? I thought I heard…" She put her hand on his shoulder and his head snapped up at her, startled. She couldn't help but pull back as she saw him. His eyes were rimmed with red and his face was pale. Slight tremors shocked through his body, and when she tentatively touched his hand it was ice cold.

"Oh my gosh," Sabrina murmured.

Puck turned away from her, obviously as rattled as she was, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking, Grimm?"

"You look… horrible," Sabrina couldn't help but say it. He looked a lot like before, when the Jaberwock had torn off his wings.

He gave her a strange look and a halfhearted smile. "Thanks for that. You have a funny way of complimenting people."

On caring instinct Sabrina pressed her hand up to his forehead, not surprised to find it warmer than it should have been. "Puck, you're sick," she said scanning him over.

"It's your face," he said involuntarily leaning into the warmth of her hand as she pressed it on his head, the chills of fever distorting his senses. "It makes me feel like puking."

"C'mon," she said grasping his chilled fingers and leading him to the door, "Mom will know what to do. Or Uncle Jake. Maybe even my dad can-"

Puck stifled a cry as he put pressure on his leg that cut her short. She gave him a questioning look as he pulled his hand from hers.

"I don't need any help," he muttered. "It's my job to help you, remember?"

"Does your leg still hurt?" Even her own aches and pains from the fall had already ebbed away, and Puck was an Everafter. He should've been a hundred percent by now.

Puck shrugged, "If it did I wouldn't know. I laugh at the face of pain." He coughed out a dry laugh and his jaw clenched as he put more pressure on his leg, wincing as he thoroughly disproved his point.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes Sabrina sat him down on the ground and she pused up his pants leg carefully revealing his leg. It was almost turgid, red and swollen with its veins shining in blue. Three dark red circles burned like a branding and around them a ring of black, and it pulsated in a painfully revolting way and definitely emanated magic. What was this?

She stared at the leg for a long time. It didn't seem real, or perhaps she just didn't want to believe it was real. She wanted to say he was playing a prank on her, but the thought that he might've been walking on his leg while it was that bad made her cringe.

She blinked in shock, "What happened to you?" When Puck didn't meet her eyes she continued to push, "Does this have anything to do with yesterday? What that man said?" Still he didn't respond to her question and, instead, gently pulled down his pants leg.

"I don't want anybody to know about this, okay?" He said quietly. "It's nothing."

Sabrina placed a hand on her hip, "This isn't 'nothing', Puck. I mean, I don't know what this is but I do know it's bad. You need help!"

Puck shook his head, "Don't be stupid. I can take care of myself." He paused and rubbed his neck. "Now help me up?"

Sabrina narrowed her eyes and started to pace around the room.

"Okay, so we'll talk to Bunny. I'm not crazy about her, but she's pretty powerful. She can tell us if anything's wrong, right?"

Puck rolled his eyes, "No. We don't need to talk to anyone, especially not that psychotic witch." He stood up on his own, leaning on the trampoline for support.

Sabrina tried to protest, "Puck-"

"I said no, Sabrina."

The sudden use of her first name seemed to startle them both. Puck shook his head slightly and quickly said, "Now get out of my room."

Sabrina bit her lip. Puck was sick; if Sebastian had been even remotely correct, then this was serious. She was going to talk to somebody. Puck wasn't going to get ill on her watch. "Are you sure you'll be okay? I mean, if you need anything…"

Puck raised an eyebrow. "Are you offering to be my personal servant?" He waved her away, "I don't need any help."

With a hesitant nod she slipped out of his room, leaning on the door once it was closed. That leg… it looked absolutely horrifying. It was painful to see, and she couldn't even imagine what it must've felt like. Puck may have been too stubborn for his own good, but she knew that he was in a lot of pain. She chewed on her lip, debating whether or not to go back in and demand that he tell someone. When Jake's bed-headed form appeared out of the room a few doors down she decided against it.

Jake yawned. His eyes were red and slightly puffy as if he'd been crying and the stubble on his chin was quickly growing into a beard, signs that Briar wasn't far from his mind. "What are you doin' up? It's six in the morning."

"Nightmare," Sabrina shrugged. The previous conversation she had with her Uncle was still fresh in her mind. He was hiding something from her, something important.

"About Granny Relda?"

Sabrina nodded slowly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, his blue eyes filled with sympathy.

For some reason that irritated her. Sympathy? She didn't need his pity, and she didn't need him to tell her what he'd been hiding. She could figure it out on her own. She almost glared at him. "Not really. Not with you, anyway."

She pushed past her stunned Uncle and went to the bathroom to start her day.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Jacob," the Queen exclaimed as she threw open the heavy door to her castle-like house. A wide smile, that seemed misplaced on her usually stoic face, was plastered across her red lips and her dark eyelashes almost seemed to bat. Apparently, all the time Jake and Ms. Bunny Lancaster spent together in the last few days had made her develop a crush on Sabrina's Uncle. "How good it is to see you!"

It wasn't often that Bunny showed emotion and, quite honestly, it was starting to freak Sabrina out. She and her sister cringed as Bunny planted a kiss on their Uncle's cheek.

Jake blushed, "I'm here about the mirror, Bunny," he said promptly stepping away from her. The queen's bright demeanor quickly dimmed as she straightened out her hair.

"Of course that's what your here for," she murmured. "And I see you've brought your family." She seemed to examine Sabrina and Daphne with disdain. "You know I don't like children. The last time I was with one it tried to kill me."

"I know," Jake replied dryly. "Can we come in?"

The Wicked Queen rolled her eyes, "I don't know, Jacob. Can you?" Without waiting for a reply she moved away from the door and into the dark shadows of her house; the dress she was wearing had a long train that gave the illusion of a snake retreating into its hole as her fluid motions swayed her clothes back and forth. With a heavy sigh Jake ushered the girls, Henry, and Puck inside the building and, with a wistful look outside, he followed and shut the door. Clearing his throat, Jake pulled Henry aside for a moment and a quiet conversation began between the two men.

Sabrina clutched at her sister's hand as they walked through the looming corridors after Bunny. The walls were lined with once beautiful things: shriveled roses in a broken vase, a changing picture of a beautiful young woman's transformation into a hideous old hag, a painting of a forest destroyed by fire… Sabrina shivered.

The Queen led them to a dark wooded door near the back of the house. It was large and menacing with dark metal snaking up into it and a draft pulling from the other side; Daphne gave a gasp and squeezed her hand tighter as Sabrina took a wary step away from the Queen. Wherever that door led, neither of them were jumping at the opportunity to go through it.

With a glance at the expression on their faces the Queen gave a cold smile, "I'm not going to eat you, children. The mirrors are made in my basement and that's where I'm taking you."

Puck gave an unconvinced laugh, "Lot's of crazy things happen in people's basements, lady." Bunny's eyes where amused as she noticed Puck for the first time.

"And what do we have here?" She looked him up and down and a well groomed eyebrow shot up. "Oh… isn't this an interesting turn of events. I think I might have something for you, little fairy."

Puck narrowed his eyes, "I don't take things from evil Queens. You know, stranger danger. Sorry."

"Perhaps later you'll rethink that," the Queen said with a curt laugh as she unlocked the door to the basement. Daphne shot Sabrina a questioning look but it was lost as Sabrina was looking at Puck in a similar fashion.

He had managed to pull off the façade of normal. She hadn't a clue how but he didn't appear sick, and the limp in his leg was barely noticeable even when you were looking for it. He looked perfectly fine. Yet the image of his deformed leg was burned into her memory and there was no denying that he was still in serious pain. She searched his eyes, for what exactly she didn't know, but he just gave her a quiet smile and then stuck out his tongue.

Jake and Henry, who had been discussing something quietly in the background until then, caught up with the group and they all followed Bunny down the winding staircase that led to her dank cellar.

"Have you noticed," Daphne whispered to her sister, "That mom, dad, and Uncle Jake have been acting kind of strange lately? Lots of quiet conversations?" Of course the older girl had noticed, and she knew for a fact they were hiding something important. Still, no matter how bitter she was towards her Uncle, she didn't want to make a big deal out of it, she had more problems than just feeling out of the loop.

Daphne continued, "I don't know why, but it's starting to freak me out. Whatever giblets they don't want us to hear must be pretty important if they're going through all that trouble to hide it." Sabrina shrugged. Daphne had a point, but right now figuring out what her parents were up to wasn't high on her "To Do" list. And yet, Daphne was a great investigator, no mater how young she was. If anyone could figure out the real deal, it would be her.

"I think," Sabrina whispered back, "That you should do a bit of digging." She gave her sister a smile and her hand a reassuring squeeze as the group came to the end of the winding staircase.

Bunny paused at the archway making them hesitate to step forward. She cleared her throat and sent a glare towards Sabrina and Daphne, "Don't break anything. As a matter of fact, don't touch anything. Don't even think about touching anything. It would be better if you didn't breathe on anything either."

Puck protested, "I'm the one you should be worried about! I am the Trickster King, after all. Master of-"

Bunny pinched his cheek. "Aren't you adorable? Like a sick puppy, you poor thing." She laughed, cackled really, and continued through the archway.

"Well," Henry snickered, "it looks like she's taken a shine to you." He raised an eyebrow at his brother, "You might have some competition Jacob." Puck blanched and Jake grimaced as they stared at Henry in horror. The older man just laughed, something Sabrina hadn't seen him do for far too long, and then motioned for them to follow her. Sabrina stepped through first.

The room was bright and gleaming with gilded mirrors and beautiful frames. Their centers shone with that slight tinge of magic; the stone floor was polished and the walls were covered with mirrors or shelves stacked with books and scented candles lined the room. It smelled like a flower garden in the spring; beautiful, but the beauty was almost overbearing.

There was a lot of magic in the room and it was slightly disorienting to Sabrina. She hadn't been around this much magic ever since the Hall of Wonders was raided and most of their items were stolen and her head went reeling when she bumped into a bookshelf full of spells. She shook her head as if to clear it; there were far more important things for her to worry about than her addiction.

The Queen crossed her arms and looked expectantly at Uncle Jake. "You'd better have a good reason for disrupting my day, Jacob. I haven't many left, you know."

"That's kind of why we're here Bunny," Jake said rubbing the back of his neck. "We aren't having the best luck finding a replacement."

"Not my problem," Bunny said with a flick of her hair. "Next?"

Henry narrowed his eyes, "Actually, it is your problem. Remember, you're as deep into this as the rest of us."

"And what if I am?" Bunny started to fiddle with the sleeves of her dress. "I haven't a problem with my fate. You are the ones who desperately deny the inevitable."

Daphne shook her head, "Hold up! Wait a minute! You guys are making no sense at all. What's inevitable –what does that even mean? What fate? What do you mean you don't have many days left?"

Bunny raised an eyebrow at the little girl, "You're breathing. I thought I specifically told you not to do that."

"Don't worry about it," Henry said to the little girl with a gentle hand on his daughter's back. "Just grown-up stuff." Daphne's fist tightened but, to Sabrina's surprise, she held her tongue.

"Is there any way," Jake continued on as if nothing had happened, "you can help us find a willing replacement? For your sake as much as ours?"

Bunny paused. "Are you that concerned about me?"

Henry sniffed, "Not really."

"Hank," Jake gently admonished him. Then to Bunny he said, "You're one of the most powerful witches here. It wouldn't be wise to lose you, nor your friendship."

"I have a sense of loyalty to the Grimms," Bunny said with a shake of her head. "That doesn't make us friends. Still, I can give you a viable option."

The Queen's eyes met Sabrina's and suddenly the girl could feel the weight of every one's gaze on her. "That girl," Bunny's manicured nail pointed sharply at her, "is the only person at this point and time who's not willing, but eager. I suggest you let her do it, too."

Henry narrowed his eyes, "Leave my daughter out of this. You know we'll do what it takes if it comes to that, so don't play games with us. I don't care who you are, you will not-!"

"Actually dad, I have been thinking about it," Sabrina caused her father to stop in his tirade. From where she was in the room she could see everyone, if not their reflection, and they all looked ready to protest. Before they could speak she continued, "It makes sense, right? I mean, we would get Granny back, defeat Mirror, and then maybe with Mirror's knowledge I can help you guys find a way to defeat Atticus. Plus, there isn't a chance of the new guardian going postal if you pick me to do it." Bunny flashed a chilling smile as she sat herself down in an ornate chair.

"Sabrina," Daphne's voice squeaked. "That… that's crazy! You can't be serious… right?

Sabrina nodded at her sister. "We need to get Granny back, and we need to defeat mirror."

"Yeah," Puck spoke up, "but there's no 'you' in 'we'. There is a 'me' though… you know, if you flip the 'w' upside down. If one of us is going to become the guardian it should definitely be me."

"No!" Bunny said, eyes wild as her hands slammed down on the desk. She took a shaky deep breath to compose herself. "Fairy, that is not wise for you –and don't pretend to have no idea what I'm talking about. Becoming the guardian could end you!"

Jake's eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at?"

"He knows what I speak of. He knows the clock is ticking," Bunny said. Sabrina shot a glance towards Puck. His eyes were wide, and he looked at the queen as if he were trying to figure out how much she knew, how much she would tell.

Puck's teeth gritted. "Fine. Then you'd better help us find someone."

Bunny shook her head, shoulders relaxing. "There is no one else, there is only you all. If you want to save your grandmother then you'd better choose between yourselves."

Henry narrowed his eyes. "You're hiding something, aren't you? There's something you're planning, something you don't want us to know. What are you up to, Witch?"

Bunny's eyes darkened. "Don't meddle into things that don't concern you."

Jake nodded, and turned his back on the Queen, looking at his family. "Let's go. This was a dumb idea, she's just trying to spin us around in circles. We can't trust a word she says, I should've realized that." He shot a disdainful look at Bunny. "Sorry to bother you. Enjoy your last days, Witch, and if I were you I'd start praying that your death is quick and painless."

"Don't be so quick to condemn me, Jacob," Bunny smiled. "I'm not dead yet." Her eyes snapped to Puck as they gleamed with the look a predator has for it's prey.

~Sisters Grimm~

"What if she's right, Uncle Jake?" Daphne asked. The conversation in the car was tense, and Sabrina was right in the middle of it. "What if there isn't anyone else who can do it?"

"And what did she mean by saying that she wasn't dead yet?" Sabrina added. "Is something going to happen to her?"

Henry bristled. "Yeah, if we don't stop Mirror in time…" he shook his head. "Puck, she said something to you, too. Is there something we should know?"

Puck scratched his head. "No, not really."

Jake frowned, "Then why have two people told you that the clock is ticking, and why have they both said that you'd know what they were talking about? If something's wrong then you can tell me, or Hank, or any of the adults."

Sabrina came to his defense, "Tell you? Why? So you can keep it a secret from us?"

"Let's not do this now, okay Sabrina?"

"Actually, I think it's high time we did this. You've been hiding things, Uncle Jake. We're in the middle of a war, that's not the best time to be keeping secrets from us. I don't care what it is, but I do know that I can't trust you."

Jake's sigh was weary. "Sabrina, you'll understand in time…"

"In time! Everyone keeps talking about time!" Daphne threw up her arms. "What does time have to do with anything?"

Jake and Henry looked at each other for a moment, a silent conversation passing between the two. Jake nodded and Henry answered Daphne. "Atticus and Mirror are getting more powerful as the days go by. When Mirror reaches his full potential… he'll be able to completely remove Granny Relda's spirit from her body. Then he and Atticus will be able to attack. And Atticus holds… a bit of a grudge against Bunny Lancaster. He'll kill her when he gets the chance."

Puck nodded. "Then we stop them before they get that far. So, how long until he's powerful enough?"

"Four days," Jake answered.

"Then someone seriously needs to become the guardian. You should let me do it!" Sabrina demanded.

"No, if anyone is going to do it, It'll be me."

Henry yelled, breaking up the argument, "You two are so eager to fall on your swords that you're forgetting the goal is to have none of us do it! We're supposed to be finding a guardian, not volunteering."

"But Dad," Daphne said, "if we don't find someone, we'll lose Granny Relda, the war, our lives, and maybe even the world. If we don't do it, who will?"

Henry's eyes turned dark, his foot pressing down hard on the gas.

Let me know what you think! Input and feedback are always MORE than welcome. ^.^

PEACE! iizninja! GOD BLESS!