Hi everyone! Sorry for being away for so long. Writer's block :(

But I'm back now! And with a bang ;)

Thanks to Hanna, Goldie and Obsie for their kind words of advie and to everyone else for your reviews. And special thanks to mlequithinh for pushing me to go that extra mile. We'll have that action we talked about next chapter.

I'll explain the magic thing again because not everyone seemed to get it:

Jack and Gaia have a connection with nature. They can make a dog bark because dogs can bark, but they can never make a dog talk because dogs just can't talk.

Gretchen has magic. She can make a dog talk if she wants to. That's why she can move trees when Gaia can't.

I just realized I've never added a disclaimer. I don't owe ROTG (if I did we would be watching part 2 right now) but Gretchen and the Grabbit ship are all mine. I am happy for anyone to use them (who am I kidding? I'm super honored that Obsie used it in her awesome story 'Is Online') as long I get credit for it ;)

Enjoy!


"Seraphina?!" yelled Pitch at the sight of his unconscious daughter lying on the ground.

He kneeled next to her, his hands caressing her burnt skin, covering the bloody wound at the back of her neck with a piece of his clothes. Pitch's yellow eyes narrowed. He was flaming with rage and these three Guardians were going to pay for what their friends did to his Sera.

The fearlings eyes shone a brighter shade of yellow as a sea of nightmares fiercely charged towards the Guardians once more, a reflexion of their masters anger.


"Gretchen..." Bunny looked at her, studying her. She was still smiling but she was obviously in pain, lots of pain "why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"

"Because I'm fine." she replied coldly.

"Crickey, Gretchen! You really don't have to be tough all the time, you know? It's OK if you're hurt." Aster insisted.

Gretchen got up from the floor with some difficulty and walked a few steps away from the boys turning around to glare at Bunny, a clear sign that she wanted him to follow her. The Guardians shared a glance before Aster sighted and walked towards her.

"You are not using a minor injury as an excuse to leave me behind!" she whispered loudly.

"It doesn't seem very minor from where I'm standing. You can barely move!" he whispered back.

The winter boy could hear them arguing but he wasn't really paying attention. He was still thinking about Tooth. And the wedding. It's not like he didn't want to marry her, he knew for sure that he wanted to be with Tooth for the rest of forever and throwing a party to celebrate their love was not a bad idea after all. He was angry because she expected him to guess what she wanted, even though spirits didn't get married. He was angry because knowing Tooth he should have guessed. She was obviously expecting him to propose all this time. And he better make it memorable. The thought brought a smile to his face before his attention returned to the other two lovers, who were obviously talking about him now.

"What about Frostbite?!" Jack heard Bunny asking.

"What about him?" asked Gretchen in return.

There was no way he was staying here while Tooth was out there fighting. His eyes searched his surroundings until he found it, his old wooden staff. It was lying just about a meter away from him, and he silently thanked Bunny for rescuing it from the flames as well. His hand automatically tried to reach his weapon, but as soon as the sore skin left the coldness of the soothing snow, the pain stung again. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Nevertheless, his fingers wrapped around the familiar wood which seemed to shine by his touch, and he clung to it like it was a comforting hug. And just then, the wind whispered in his ear.

"You have to stay behind to look after Snowflake anyway! He won't survive another attack and the others need me, I can't stay here!" snarled Aster.

"We can leave him with the yetis and you know it. You're just a freaking idiot! That's why I hate you!" she screamed.

She may have as well stabbed Bunny in the chest. He felt a surge of pain and anger rush through his body and he remembered why he hated this woman for centuries. She was impossible. He was an idiot to think that the last twenty hours would have changedthat.

"And you are bloody stubborn! I'm only trying to keep you safe because I..." Bunny yelled back before he was interrupted.

"Guys, there's no need to be melodramatic! No one is staying behind to look after me. I'm coming with you." interjected Jack, flying towards them. He carried his staff on his shoulder, his hand barely holding it in place. Even then, it was impossible to hide the pain he was in.

"Nice try, mate but you're not in a condition to go anywhere like that. And neither is she." replied Bunny.

"We're running out of time! We're all going to die anyway unless we do something soon. The wind just told me. I'm going and you can't stop me." said Jack defiantly.

"You won't survive thirty seconds out there!" retorted Bunny.

"Unless he doesn't have to be out there..." offered Gretchen, and both Guardians could almost see her brain working.

"You really are half pooka, aren't you?" said Bunny smiling in understanding.


"North!" cried Tooth desperate, a tsunami of nightmares charging at them "I swear I'm not doing it!"

"Bunny?" North yelled, wondering wether the other Guardian did something to enrage Pitch or wether his fear was causing this. He hoped for the former.

Sandy and Tooth went to hover next to North, forming a circle with their backs to each other. They were injured, they were tired, they were surrounded. But they had been doing this for centuries. The russian handed one of his swords over to the fairy, and he took his spare knife out from the pouch in his right boot as the Sand Man readied his golden sand whips.

Working as a well oiled machine, they diligently sliced a nightmare after another, helping each other, giving each other strength. There was no denying that even with the few believers they had in Burgess, they were still weak or that these nightmares were more powerful than they used to be before Pitch's encounter with the Gods of pain.

But the Guardians' determination never faltered. Tooth kicked and punched, using her newly acquired blade instead of her wings to pierce the black sand, so as to not break the circle of protection they had created, but also spinning around her friends every now and then, killing every fearling her sharp wings touched, keeping the waves of nightmares at bay. North was literally butchering one fearling after another, avoiding almost every attack with the speed of a much younger man. Sandy's whips grabbed the fearlings, banging them against each other, hitting several of them at a time, covering a very large area.

Soon enough most of the nightmares were defeated and they could see Pitch knealing down next to an unconscious Gaia. There was no sign of the others, but that was a good thing, maybe they were having ice cream at the workshop after all. They looked at each other, smiling. They were all panting, exhausted. They all had bloody hoof marks all over their bodies. But maybe it was over after all. Maybe they just had to defeat Pitch and take Mother Nature to the workshop to end this nightmare.

Or maybe not. Their little hopeful happiness was short lived, as Seraphina's eyes fluttered open, more terrifying than ever.