Took me a while but as you can see, I managed to finish and upload this chapter. Yay! Though I feel extremely guilty because I had time to finish this chapter, but I felt really lazy because of the Christmas/ New Year season and had so many other story ideas flooding my mind that I couldn't hold still long enough to properly type it out.

This is sort of a random ramble but I must say it: How can Texas have close to freezing temperatures and still not have snow or something?! True it may be the warm air coming off the coast and the lack of moisture, but still! What fun is the cold if the only thing to show for it is cold feet, freezing winds, and iced windows?

On that tangent note, anyone seen Frozen? Oh my gosh, what a wonderful movie! Very nice animation, catchy songs, and a wonderful story of true love between sisters! I just hope Frozen and The Crood go head-to-head for an 'Animated Feature' Award. While both are wonderful, my vote goes to The Croods because 1) better orchestrated story line 2) great attention to the little details like clothing and hands 3) very heartwarming story of a family leaving their comfort zone, especially the father and 4) really animated characters and environment. I mean come on, only DreamWorks could to include a walking whale rock, a brightly colored saber tooth cat, and a flaming ear of corn that pops into popcorn in one movie and have it make sense! Plus, Belt is just the cutest little sloth ever and I won't even start on Guy's appearance and personality. Ah I better scoot away from that before I start going crazy(er).

So anyway, school started back up which means I might be busy with school work and other activities, most likely band and winter guard. Hopefully I'll still have time to type and post chapters but if not, please don't hurt me when I do show myself again after long absences. I'm only human!

In conclusion, thanks for reading this far into the story and this Author's Note. I'm always happy to see a little notification in my email about a review/follower/favorite, it's just a wonderful feeling. Thanks again and please enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this, except for those extra characters. The rights to Rise of the Guardians belong to DreamWorks and the books belong to William Joyce. Eris also belongs to DreamWorks under Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. This fictional story is created purely for entertainment. Any relations between persons (living or deceased) and events is coincidental.

Hearing her father's voice behind her, Seraphina quickly swung herself up and grabbed onto her knees so she could see his face. Sandy, noticing her movements, quickly added some sand to push her back up so she didn't have to strain her neck to talk. Surprised, the girl turned her head to meet the man's small smile.

Realizing that none of the four were going to attack her, she gave Pitch a confused look and asked, "Papa, are these your friends?"

The question nearly sent the man into another series of laughter, but he managed to compose himself enough to answer, "Not really, but I do require their assistance with something so they're more like acquaintances at the moment." "Does that mean I have to apologize then?" she asked, spreading her arms out as Pitch walked closer to her.

As he wrapped his arms around her, he locked his eyes on Sandy and let out a small smirk as the small man relinquished his sand. When the last of the grains had moved away, Pitch set Seraphina down and kneeled downed in front of her. "What would be the polite thing to do, my dear?" The girl pouted but went ahead and turned around to face the still confused Guardians.

By now, the whole workshop had gone silent as they watched her straightened up and clasped her arms in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I'm sorry for attacking you without warning. It was mean of me of get involved in adult business and there is little excuse for my actions. Please accept my apology." She gave the group a small bow before running behind Pitch and wrapping her arms around his neck.

The yetis, except for the one that took Seraphina to find some clothes, went back to their work while the four looked at each other for a minute before turning back to the small child. Tooth lowered herself onto the floor and took a small step toward Seraphina with an outstretched hand. "It's okay, little one," she said, giving off a warm smile, "we didn't mean to make you mad at us." A few of her mini-fairies chirped something similar and one flew over to the girl's shoulder.

Gently, the small bird pushed the girl to Tooth while another one flew over to help. When the two were only a foot apart, Seraphina bit her lip nervously before taking Tooth's hand and staring into the woman's bright eyes. When she didn't see any malice in them toward her, the girl let out a small giggle saying, "You and your birdies have pretty feathers, Ms. Bird Lady."

"Why thank you, Seraphina," Tooth answered, waving away a few of her workers that started crowding around the child's face. Seraphina let out another giggle then turned her attention to Sandy, who had settled himself beside Tooth.

As the Guardian of Memories backed away, Sandy created a small hat above his head and grabbed the rim with his left hand. He tipped his head to her and then extended his right arm to her. She took and gave a small shake as the hat vanished to be replaced by a small flower in his other hand. When she accepted it, the sand flew into a ball in front of her arms and formed into a star before scattering.

Seraphina let out a small clap and asked, "Are you a shooting star, Mister? Cause you look like the ones I always see flying in space but you're shorter than I imagine." Before Sandy could answer, she continued. "How come you don't talk? Are you mute? Are all stars mute? How do you fly in space? Do all of you control sand like that? Do you think you can take me flying one day? How come-"

Slightly frustrated, Sandy covered her mouth with one of his hands and placed a finger on his other hand to his lips. Understanding what the man was getting her to do, Seraphina slowly nodded then pried his hand away. The man started off making a name tag on his chest and made sand fall from his hands. Before she could say anything, he made a mouth above his head with an 'x' marked on them. Below the mouth, a picture of a bed with a child sleeping formed. The sand child had a small image playing above their head's until the sand reformed. Finally, he conjured an image of a star moving around him and then had it 'crash' to the floor.

Thinking, the girl took in the information and guessed, "So your name is Sandy, you don't talk because you don't wake anybody, you bring dreams to kid, and you are a shooting star that fell to Earth?" The golden man nodded his head and made sand fireworks fire from his head.

The girl giggled again and then turned to North, getting on her tippy toes so she could try to see over his beard. "Why do you talk funny, mister?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. The old man let out a small laugh and kneeled down, placing the book under his arm for the moment, so she wasn't straining her neck to look up at him. "Where I come from, everyone talks like this. Many people talk different because they come from different regions. I come from a region where there's a ton of snow and spent lots of time with bandits."

Seraphina let out a small squeal before saying, "But you look too nice to be hanging out with bandits." North let out a deep chuckle and commented, "It's the truth, malen'kaya devochka. Back then, I was called Nicholas St. North and spent many years living as a bandit. Now though, I'm known to some as Santa Clause, but I don't mind if you call me North."

The girl nodded her head, but didn't waste another second in turning toward the last Guardian. She didn't say anything for a while, making Bunny nervous and causing him to take a small step back. "Is something wrong, little Sheila?" he asked.

"You kind of look like a Pooka, but not like my friend Peter. What's with that?" she asked, rubbing her chin with one hand. The Easter Bunny took a deep breath and answered, "I am a Pooka, but when I came here I altered my appearance a little. The name is E. Aster Bunnymund, by the way, though most folks just call me Bunny."

Feeling a little better in knowing the names of the four strangers, Seraphina went back to hiding behind Pitch. The man started stroking the girl's hair and said, "Now that the introductions are out of the way, why don't you go find something to do in the workshop, my dear."

"Okay, Papa," she said, skipping over to a familiar yeti, who turned to North for permission. When the old man nodded in answer, the creature led the girl toward an elevator and the two went out of sight.

Another wave of silence fell upon the small group, only to be broken by a series of chuckles from Pitch. "I can't believe it! I've spent all these years, coming up with great schemes, going through plan after plan, pinpointing on anything that would go wrong, just to find out that the 'Big Four' can be taken out by a small child greatly worried for her father. Oh my, what has this world come to?"

When the four realized what had happened, in one of their turfs none the less, they instantly lowered heads. They've always prided themselves on being ready for any attack, whether major or minor, and spent year honing in on their skills. To be taken out by a small child, who as it turns out is Pitch's little girl, in front of the man himself was quite embarrassing. Not to mention that they had failed at saving the four season spirits from a greater enemy.

The first to break out of their thoughts was Bunny, who asked North, "What does the book say about that spell Pitch says Mother Nature did?" Shaking his head, the large man answered, "It's a quite simple spell actually. Only thing that's needed is tons of power, which wouldn't be problem for her or Manny, if the man was involved." "Which he was," Pitch interrupted, rolling his eyes.

Casting a glare at the man, North continued, "Anyway, the only problem will be finding out where MN sent our young friends. They're mortal, probably amnesic, and more at mercy of other four if they're found. Lucky for us though, Seraphina was here when she was turned and maybe she could help lead us to others."

"How do you know that, North?" Tooth asked, fluttering around him. The old man smiled, placing a hand on his stomach and replied, "It's just a feeling in my belly is all." While the answer sent a small fit of giggles from him, the other three could only let out strained smiles with Pitch shaking his head in annoyance.

"If you four are quite done," Pitch interrupted, "I believe I'll be taking my leave now, as should the rest of you. Meeting up like this will attract unnecessary attention, especially if Bradwr possesses some control of the wind." When he made a motion to leave, Sandy immediately floated in front of him, confusion written on his face.

Quickly, Sandy flashed an image of a small girl running around his head. For a few seconds she appeared happy, but then she immediately stopped and started crying. In another second, he added a man to the picture and had the girl run toward him, her sadness now vanished. When the sand girl and man met, the man wrapped his arms around her before both vanished.

"Sandy is right, Pitch," Tooth said, flying over to the golden man. "Seraphina should probably stay with you for now." Pitch stared at the two for a second before letting out an amused chuckle. "Oh what a day this is becoming," he started, crossing his arms, "The Guardians are actually encouraging ME to take a child home with me."

"Trust us, Pitch," Bunny said, casting the man a deep glare, "We don't like this as much as you do, but it's probably for the sheila to stay with you. She doesn't remember much and once she finds out this isn't her home, she'll need something familiar to hold her down." Tooth nodded in agreement and Sandy reformed the image of the man and girl, this time having the man rubbing the girl's back in comfort.

Just as Pitch was about to say something, a loud crash boomed through the workshop, catching everyone's attention. Before anyone could say anything, another crash was heard, followed by a bunch of yelling from the yetis. "That doesn't sound pleasant," Tooth commented, watching North's face fall when another crash was heard.

A yeti appeared near the railing and spoke something quickly to North, whose eyes immediately widened. "What do you mean whole line is out of operation?! Was it Sera-" The yeti interrupted his boss's questioning with more grumbling, his answer serving to make North even more upset. "How did elves get hold of remote cars?! Bah! Never mind, I'm coming up!"

When the man took a few steps toward the nearest elevator, another series of crash went off, this time triggering a fire alarm. While North usually prided himself on being able to handle chaos with a cool head, the Christmas deadline and attacks had zapped his patience. With what sounded like a battle cry, North ran past the elevator and thundered up the stairs, cursing loudly.

"North!" Tooth shouted, flying after the man along with Bunny, "Remember to stay calm. Getting angry at them will just make things worse." Another crash, another battle cry. "Don't you go doing anything insane, North!" Bunny added.

Sandy watched the scene with amusement while Pith rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Honestly, how do all of my plans get ruined by you five?" The golden man cast the man a smile, shrugging his shoulders. His eyes lowered however when he caught sight of a small figure tugging on Pitch's leg.

Both men looked down, meeting Seraphina's wide smile as she wrapped her arms around her father's leg. "Papa, what's all the noise about?" she asked, tilting her head up. Despite himself, Pitch smiled and stroked her hair, answering, "Nothing you need to be concerned about."

The girl pouted for a second, but it instantly vanished as she remembered why she came back. Unhooking herself, she lifted her arms to show Pitch a small wooden object. "Look what the nice yetis let me have! And they even let me paint it!"

On closer inspection the object turned out to be a bird, wings folded against its wooden body with its head tilted to one side. Each little feather stood out against the wood and was positioned as if the bird was about to take off. While the wood itself was impressive, even to Pitch, its coloring disrupted the work.

Each wing was blobbed bright red, with thick lines of yellow and blue crisscrossing over it. The tail, positioned upward, was painted purple, orange, and green, with a row of pink circles lining along the bottom. The bird's top half of its body, mostly covered in bright green, sported several spots of black and brown. The bottom half was painted white, but the run off from the other colors mixed near the edge. The beak managed to be painted orange with little disaster, but the bird's head was stripped with dark blue, yellow, red, and brown.

Pitch carefully took the object from his daughter, noting the paint stains on her hands, and appeared to observe the gift with intensity. "Do you like it, Papa?" Seraphina asked, rocking back on her heels with her hands behind her back.

Sandy looked back and forth between the two, curious about what Pitch was going to say. After a few seconds, the tall man said, "I think it's just beautiful, my dear." The girl's smile widened as her father ruffled her hair in amusement. "Although, be sure to wait until the paint is dry before showing me next time."

Seraphina frowned for a second but went back to smiling a second later. "Okay, Papa. Can we go home now?" she asked, leaning against his waist. Above her, Pitch let a sad smile escape his face as he answered, "Yes, but I must warn you that there are some things we're going to need to discuss."

The Sandman twiddled his thumbs as he met the other's eyes, knowing that this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation for the other man. He quickly hid his uneasiness when Seraphina looked back at him. "Thanks for being nice, Mr. Sandy," she said, giving him a small wave. He smiled and created an image of an island with a ship above it, adding an open door.

"Really?! Oh, papa, can we please visit his house please?! I bet it's full of all sorts of jewels, and shiny things, and trinkets, and-" The girl was cut off by her father's hand again. "Maybe," he answered, taking his hand off. "Though it may be a while. Now come along, it's time we go home."

As he straightened himself up, Sandy formed a long string with two cups tied at the end, a figure standing on each side. Next, he conjured a group image of five people standing in a circle, lines connecting to a paper and pencil. "Yes, yes, Sandy," Pitch started, "I'll try to keep in touch. Though I highly doubt there's much we can do now with so little information."

"About what?" Seraphina asked, curious about what the two men were talking about. "Nothing you need to worry about at this moment, my dear. Send my regards to-" A loud commotion sounded from the workshop, with loud cries following immediately afterwards. "The other three."

With that, he picked up Seraphina and Sandy watched as the two turned to shadows and sunk down the floor. Making sure that they were gone, Sandy let out a sigh of relief and turned his stare to the window. Frowning, the old star shook his head at their predicament, silently wishing that his comrades could see what trouble they were in.

He instantly pushed that thought aside however and let his face be covered in a smile. It won't help to dwell on negative thoughts while a major threat was out there. The Guardians and Pitch will just have to do their best to face whatever was going to come their way.

"Oh tone down the dramatics, Eris," Avalon stated, waving away a few wisps of smoke. "This extra smoke and mirror appearance is just giving me a head ache." Eris cast a small smile to the girl and spun around, her form disappearing in a tunnel of smoke. The mist shrunk in front of the group before solidifying back into the Goddess.

She placed one hand on her hip and asked Avalon, "Better?" "Much, though you're usually not this compliant. If I wasn't so concerned for my-self, I might actually about you." A tense silence fell over the pair, but was immediately broken when they both let out a smirk.

"You always are so cheery to be around, but we can catch up later," Eris commented, turning to face the two men, purposely avoiding eye contact with Nina. "So, what do you need from this time?"

Thanatos was about to respond when Bradwr cut him off. "Just a place to hide out until we can re-evaluate our chances. I really don't want to be caught off guard next time." Despite herself, Eris started chuckling and dissipated her form, causing Nina to roll her eyes in annoyance. "You certainly don't live up to your reputation as a self-proclaimed powerful spirit," she muttered.

Without warning, red smoke swirled around Nina before solidifying into flaming snakes. As the serpents hissed at her, Nina flicked a few off her shoulders, setting them on fire using her own flames. "Looks like even you have suffered these past years. Usually your little tricks are more impressive than this." The snakes let out another hiss before puffing back into smoke, which twirled around to reform Eris.

"Only because it's been years since I've had someone to mess with. Give me a few hours and I'll quickly drive you mad." "Like it has ever taken you that long to plan out how to annoy me. I know that right this second you're already formulating various plans to get rid of me."

Knowing that the two would get out of hand if let out too long, Bradwr shoved Thanatos behind the two bickering women. Casting a glare at Bradwr, Thanatos pushed to two apart saying, "Ladies, ladies. As much fun as it is catching up, we do have some matters that need tending to. You," he pointed to Nina, "need to hold your tongue before I personally cut it off." The woman rolled her eyes at the man's threat, but complied. "And you," his voice softened as he cast a small smile at Eris, "are always an oasis for weary travelers after they spent months traveling through the barren desert of misunderstanding."

Avalon and Bradwr shook their heads at Thanatos' statement while Nina tried to suppress a groan of disgust. Eris widened her eyes for a second before letting out her own smile. "You always were a romantic at heart, albeit a very horrible one." She misted again and reformed near Avalon. "Though I do find the compliment mildly amusing and your request simple, I feel like there's a bit more I can get out of this deal."

"Come on now," Bradwr started, trying to calm himself. "What more can you ask than your old buddy, your favorite person to annoy, and the honor of helping us?" "Oh I don't know…" she rambled, misting a couple of feet away. "Maybe something new."

"If it involves trying to wrangle a banshee, a jaculi, your pet hydra, and a zaratan again, count me out," Thanatos stated. "Oh don't act like you didn't start having feelings for that woman," Avalon teased, letting out a rattling laugh. "She wasn't the problem," he answered, rubbing his arm, "It was those other creatures that drove me insane, especially that hydra."

"Well luckily for you," Eris said, suddenly appearing next to Thanatos, "I'm not really in the mood anymore to play such games, though I might ask for your help with that hydra later." "Then what do you want?"

The goddess smiled and shifted onto a piece of stone wall. She lifted one hand and formed a sphere, adding color until it resembled the Earth. "Just part of the planet to use as my own playground. Not much, maybe a continent or two." "That's all?" Avalon asked, her face showing a tint of worry. "You're not one to usually settle so quickly."

"While that is true," Eris started, dispensing her creation, "I'm not really in the mood for intense negotiations right now. Consider this your lucky day then that I'm giving you free reign of my home with only one… no, two requests." "What is the second request?" Nina asked, slightly worried about what the woman wanted.

"The first is your guarantee that I have some place to myself if you complete this world conquest thing," she stated, directing it to Bradwr. He nodded to show his agreement and then Eris turned to Thanatos. "The second is your assistance with my little hydra. He got away some years ago and I'm starting to worry that someone might have killed him." "Now why would someone try to kill that monster?" Thanatos asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. A hard elbow to the side snapped him out and he said to Eris. "Fine, I'll help you with that stupid menace. However, if any of those heads tries biting my arm off again, I won't hesitate to chop off a few of them to prove a point to the others."

"Fair enough, though if you cauterize any of them," she materialized in front of Thanatos, frowning when the man didn't show any signs of discomfort. "I won't hesitate to do the same to you. Am I clear?" "Crystal. Now would you mind floating away? Your smoky hair is starting to bug me."

Still bummed about not getting a reaction from the man, Eris floated to Bradwr, extending her hand to him. "Do we have a deal then?" Bradwr looked confused for a second, but he quickly brushed it away as he took her hand and shook it. When they both let go, he asked, "What ever happened to crossing your heart to swear your part of the deal?"

Eris waved her hand and moved to Avalon, who cast her friend another smile. "I retired that action centuries ago. It got to be too much of a hassle to keep up my promises with overly exhilarant adventurers. Well, except to a few handsome fellows." She trailed off at the end, perking Avalon's interest. The girl made a mental note to confront Eris about her words later and stated, "If we're done here, then I'm just going to explore for a while. Fair warning though, if those constellation pets of your mess with me again, I won't hesitate to throw them down a black hole."

"Then I'll give you four a few warnings of my own then. For one, this dimension is constantly changing and chaotic so I am not responsible for any problems you encounter with it. Two, I've been having a bit of trouble stitching up some portals, so unless you want to risk being transported to the middle of deep space, don't go near them. Three, if you feel the need to eradicate my pets, at least do so humanely. And finally,"

She cut off her sentence as she diffused into smoke, taking a few moments to wrap around the group before floating back up. A few wisps solidified around Nina to inflect small jabs along her arm, which she shooed away with her other arm. "Enjoy your stay here," Eris' voice called out from the smoke above them.

A second later, the smoke disappeared and the dust around the stone foundation settled to the ground. The group stayed still for a few moments, waiting to see if their host would return. When she didn't, Avalon broke away and repeated, "I'm heading out. Whatever you need from me, make sure it's important before you bug me."

As she walked off, Thanatos went the other way saying, "I better rest up before I go after that stupid hydra. Knowing that little demon, he'll be more than happy to nab my arm for a snack." Once the pair were out of sight, Nina turned to Bradwr. "Do we really have to put up with this she-devil?"

"Actually, Miss Hot Head, the three of us don't mind being in Eris' company. You are the only one that needs to watch what you say if you don't want to end up making a mistake." Nina was about to snap at him when he turned away from her, shrugging his shoulders as if whatever she was going to say wouldn't be important.

While Nina might have been used to her opposite's great indifference towards her, it never stopped her from getting frustrated at him. Unfortunately, the events of the day along with Eris' deliberate attempts to annoy her have taken a toll on her. She was not about to let Bradwr walk away without giving him a piece of her mind.

Without thinking, she grabbed him by the arm and spun him around to where the two were staring eye to eye. Tightening her grip on him, she hissed, "Look, Bradwr, I don't mind putting up with your 'leadership' for now, but I will not stand you belittling me. We may be opposites, but we are also equals. Therefore, I will not tolerate you treating me like an incompetent minion."

Nina was about to let out a smug of triumph when she felt something cold wrap around her hand. She didn't need to look down to see Bradwr's ice slowly cover her hand, trying to solidify against her flaming skin. Breaking off their staring contest to roll her eyes for a second, she made a thin line of flame wrap around his arm, allowing it to flare up before extinguishing it.

The former summer spirit let a smirk grace her lips when she noticed a minuscule flinch of pain in his eyes. "You've spent so long making up rules to further your own gain that you forgot others are capable of doing the same thing to you. I know it's in your name to not get along with others and disregard the standard rules, but I suggest you take a major attitude change if you don't want to get burned."

Satisfied at getting her point across, Nina let go of his arm and turned away from him, realizing instantly that she made a great mistake. She turned back around in time to dodge a blast of ice aimed at her head. Before he could launch another attack, she sent a small ball of fire at the man's chest. While he managed to avoid the direct hit, the flames did manage to grace his arm.

Another smirk flashed across Nina's face when she saw Bradwr bring a hand the injured skin. Her moment of victory was short lived however when he said, "As usual, getting your point across using fire. How wonderful that your name also matches your nature, don't you think?"

Not prepared for the where the conversation was going, Nina backed off and started walking from the side, keeping one eye on Bradwr in case he decided to let out another attack. His next one however didn't come physically. "And you repeat the same pattern. Blame, burn, then run. I wonder what it's like to just walk away from a wailing victim."

'Just ignore him,' Nina thought, only three feet away from the desert around them. 'He's just as guilty as you. He's only doing this because he doesn't have anything else to throw at you.'

"Do you remember that time we decided to 'redecorate' a forest near a certain settlement?" Trying to block him out, Nina focused on her footsteps, pushing back a wave of memories. 'Only two more feet.'

"If I recall correctly, you were doing quite well. That is, until that young man came around." 'Don't listen, don't listen. It's his fault as much as mine. Only one more foot to go.'

"Too bad you revealed yourself at the exact same moment he came by looking for you, but you were in your raging spirit mode. It's sad to know that the last image you have of him," Just one more step and Nina would have been able to avoid Bradwr's last statement. "Is bursting into flames caused by your own hands."

Without saying a word, Nina took off away from Bradwr muttered chuckles, no longer caring about her earlier victory.

And this is the end. Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter and I hope it was worth the wait. I probably messed up somewhere with spelling/grammar/clarity so if there are any issues, please tell me! I'm not perfect so any constructive criticism given will be taken seriously and will be used to better your reading experience.

Alright so… Basically this chapter was about everyone calming down and figuring out their next moves. The Guardians plus the Pitchiner family are agreeing to work together and the antagonists have agreed not to kill each other, yet. That's always a good sign in my opinion.

Any who, that's all I have for now. Comments/Questions/Concerns are greatly appreciated and thanks again for reading this. Until next time, "keep on reading."