(Edit: -12/10/12- I've sorted out a few mistakes I noticed in this chapter. Please let me know if there are some I might have missed. Thank you.)

A/N: So... since everyone was apparently 'busy' last weekend, I managed to drag my mother along to the cinema to watch; 'Rise of the Guardians' and I gotta say... BEST MOVIE EVER! Ah, I remember when I saw a few of the first advertisements for it all those months ago, I was a little sceptical but I just knew this movie would be awesome- and it friggin' was! Whoo!

I always believed in Jack Frost when I was little, and damn this film me sad in so many places for him. I just wanna hug him dammit! And then the memories- oh gawd his memories, ;-; DAMN IT JACK, WHY DON'T YOU JUST THROW A SNOWBALL WITH A STONE IN IT AT MY FACE WHILE YOUR AT IT, HUH?! I'm so sorry Jack... ;3; And hell, somehow I ended up feeling sorry for Pitch in the end. He just wanted to be seen and believed in again dammit! Ah, so many feels~! It's killing me... Anyway, now I find myself writing fanficiton for this epic movie and silently wishing for the RotG books. ;-; I need 'em.

Anyway, reviews are very much appreciated- and enjoy~!

Info: This takes place, oh, roughly a month before the storyline of the film takes place.

Translations- (Forgive me if they are wrong.):

müde - tired

mein Freund - my friend

Es tut mir leid, tut mir so leid - I'm sorry, I'm so sorry


Chapter 1

Pitch knew he had to be quick. It wasn't safe to be here within the Easter Bunny's Warren- then again, it was never even a good idea to even be in one of the Guardian's domains.

Pitch would honestly never attempt to do something as reckless as this but he had something to do and he wouldn't let some stupid rabbit and his little walking eggs get in his way of it.

Luckily for him when he had taken look inside the Warren from one of his shadows, it appeared that the Pooka was nowhere insight oddly enough, but much to the Bogeyman's luck. Although he never believed in such a thing, even after that rather unfortunate encounter with Lady Luck herself. A rather fickle woman she was.

Looking up at the old willow tree before him, Pitch took another look around him, just in case. Luckily for him, the tree was in a secluded part of the warren, covered in shadows and surrounded by tall grass and twisted trees that hid it from view to be forgotten.

Pitch pulled out a small glass vial, which was filled up with a red liquid. Pitch eyed the vial unhappily. It had taken him a while to acquire this… disgusting substance.

And to think at the beginning he had no idea that this vial of an measly amount of this liquid would take him nearly three months to find. Inwardly he was glad he looked into it beforehand which managed speeded things up much to his chagrin.

"How troublesome…" He muttered.

He pulled off the glass cork keeping the liquid safe inside and held out his left hand. He grimaced as he poured the red liquid onto his outstretched palm.

"Honestly… couldn't you have a more… less sticky way of awakening you? So typical of you though…" he dropped the empty vial to the ground and allowed it to be sucked up into his shadows.

Glancing at his hand, and noticing that the red liquid was starting to drip down the sides, he then without a moments hesitance he pressed his red covered hand against the bark of the willow tree, letting the sticky red substance drip down it in small ruby rivers.

Suddenly, a sickening squelching noise erupted from under Pitch's hand, and the Bogeyman smiled to himself as he felt a sucking motion come from under his hand.

"Ah, there we go."

He grinned triumphantly to himself as he pulled his hand away, satisfied as the red liquid was suddenly beginning to be absorbed into the tree.

"Shan't be long now, shall it my dear, and I do hope you don't mind the sudden wake up call, I know how you like your sleep." said Pitch as the bark of the willow tree turned a darker shade of brown and started to make odd groaning and cracking noises.

But abruptly, the cracking noises stopped and for a short millisecond Pitch had thought it hadn't worked, until a giant crack appeared in the middle of the tree as if it had suddenly been struck by lightning.

"There we go." Pitch smirked to himself as he took a step forward and slightly peered into the very large and very dark hole that was now in the tree.

"Hello?" he called, his voice echoing inside the tree. It was rather dark inside, and even with the dim light prodigingout from behind him into the dark abyss in front of him, the Nightmare King still couldn't see anything.

Pitch took a step back and tried again. "Hello, are you in there? Are you still sleeping my dear?" he called out again.

This time though, a growl answered him, and it didn't sound all too happy. "Who dares to awaken me before the day of mischief?" the voice grounded out, sounding positively livid.

Pitch stood unfazed by the obvious anger that arose from the spirit within the tree. "It's me, Pitch, Pitch Black." He said simply.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence.

"…what do you want Pitch?" asked the voice again, this time sounding less angry and more tired. "It's too early for this… what's it been… a month?"

"Roughly four."

The voice groaned. "This better be good Bogeyman…"

"Why did you choose to stay locked up in the Easter Rodents Warren anyway?" asked Pitch offhandedly. He looked around, grimacing at the sight of the colourful little eggs marching along a few metres away from them. "I never took you for one who enjoyed so much light, and… so many colours."

"Shut up…" the voice groaned again. Shuffling noises could be heard coming from inside the crack in the tree. "This place is… not my favourite of domains to stay holed up in for a long period of time. But it's not like I'm fully conscious whilst… I stay here you know, so it's easy to… ignore everything around me."

Pitch turned back to the willow tree, staring at it contemplating."I'll never understand why you don't stay in your own holiday world." A hollow laugh and a cough responded to this.

"Ah, you never will… haaah…"

"Hm," Pitch tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You really are quite weak, at the moment aren't you?"

"No shit Sherlock…"

"Language."

A yawn escaped the tree. "Müde…" the voice whined childishly.

"Oh I know your dreadfully tired my dear," Pitch soothed in false sympathy. He placed a hand on his chest. "And on my word I promise to leave you alone after this, but I must ask you one small question."

Only silence answered him, so Pitch took this as a good sign to continue. He knew he had to be quick and to the point with this particular spirit, as this one was not very patient once woken up from their nap. He knew this best, since he and this spirit had been, 'companions' for the past century or so.

"Listen closely my dear, for I'm sure you'll be rather, interested in what I have devised over the last century or so," began Pitch, inwardly groaning at the way he sounded like some travelling salesmen. He shook his head.

"I've finally found a way to get rid of the Guardians once and for all, and children all across the world will once more fear what goes bump in the night, the noises coming from within their closets and what lurks under their beds. They will finally believe in me once again, and the Guardians won't be there to save them."

Pitch's fists clenched in anger at the thought of them, those pesky Guardians the Man in the Moon had so long ago created and gathered so that there would be hope and light in the world. Sometimes it sickened him.

"…and how does this have… anything… to do with I?"

Pitch shook his head out of his reverie, luckily catching what had been said. Pitch smiled to himself. This was good, very good if the spirit had even bothered to ask something- that meant he had his friends attention and interest probably peeked.

"Why, isn't it obvious my dear?" asked Pitch in a faux tone of pity. "You and I are very alike you know, we've both been abandoned, we've both been forgotten by the world, both left alone to fend for ourselves, alone in the dark…" A sharp intake of air could be heard being taken from inside the willow tree.

"Yes, that may be so…" the other spirit began. "…but they know of you. You're a legend… I am nothing but a mere spirit that the Man in the Moon decided to… toy with…"

"Then why don't you take out your revenge then!" exclaimed Pitch. "You can finally show them- prove to them that you're not nothing- finally show them that there really is a spirit of-!"

"No Pitch…" the voice interrupted him. "It will never work… they can't… they can't…" the voice started to quiver slightly. "They can't even see me, only youonly you…" Pitch sighed, shaking his head. He gently placed a hand near the opening of the crack.

"I know, I know, shh," he simpered. "I know the pain you're going through my dear, but you see- this is why I have asked you to join me. I know you're just as tired and fed up with them as much as I am. Come on, what do you say?" he stepped away from the tree, and held out a hand. "Join me, and we'll show this world what true fear really is."

No noise came from inside the willow tree, only silence came from the spirit condemned within it and that was enough to make Pitch wonder for a while if the young spirit had only been playing with him this whole time.

But then, after a few minutes of contemplative silence, the voice laughed.

"Nice try Pitch… I may be tired as hell but… I won't fall for your tricks…" Pitch narrowed his eyes angrily at the crack in the tree as the voice continued to laugh, slowly turning into a maniacal chuckle. "I thought you knew… after all these years after all… that that is my game. I'm the one who tricks… but never treats…"

The Nightmare King rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I know." He practically spat out.

He knew this was getting him nowhere; it was clearly obvious that his friend wouldn't help him, no matter how much he tried to persuade the mischievous spirit, even in their current state of weakness.

This was a waste of time.

Pitch accidently let out a growl of frustration, and the laughter suddenly stopped.

"Fine," he spat out, trying to control his anger. "I cannot force you to join me in my quest for revenge my dear," Pitch snapped his fingers. Slowly, dark swirls of sand started to circle him as he backed away into the shadows of and surrounding the willow tree.

"Even though you have denied me this time, the offer still stands my dear, but it is all up to you if you wish to help me or not…" and with that, the Bogeyman vanished into the shadows.

A small, but weak laugh echoed along a passing breeze.

"Sorry Pitch, but this isn't my fight, it never has and never will be…" the crack in the willow tree slowly began closing up. "This is your goal, this is your fight… I have no place in it, and I will not be your pawn mein Freund…"

Just as the crack finally closed up, the spirit concealed within the tree whispered one last thing, even though knowing no one could hear.

"Es tut mir leid, tut mir so leid…"