Weeks later, Jack was pacing in front of the hearth in North's luxurious and very warm sitting room. Around him, Bunny and North were lounging in the armchairs, Sandy was snoozing and Tooth was flittering back and forth, glancing between Jack and the others with a concerned expression.
"I know I said I wouldn't give up, but what am I supposed to do?" Jack sighed, "I mean...where should I even start looking...how do you actually find Mother Nature?"
"You don't," Bunny said, "You leave well enough alone and forget you ever saw anything."
"How can I do that?!" the young Guardian exclaimed.
"Easy," the Pooka replied, "Sit down, put your feet up and have a drink."
"Urgh!" Jack growled, continuing his pacing.
"You should forget about this, for your own good," North said.
"Why? Can't you just tell me how to find her?"
"Jack, you have to understand..." Tooth began.
"All I want to know is how to find her...is that too much to ask?"
"Yes," Bunny dead panned.
"Come on!" Jack shook his head, "We're supposed to look for the good in people!"
"There's no good left in Pitch; Mother Nature's said so herself. What does that tell you about someone if their own daughter believes that?" Bunny scoffed.
"...She really said that?"
"Yes, Jack, she did," Tooth nodded sadly.
"...Well...I still want to talk to her...maybe..."
"Maybe nothing, this is a bad idea...your worst yet," Bunny said.
"Please...I just wanna talk to her...please..." Jack begged, ignoring the Pooka's comment.
"Well...the first thing you should know is that you don't find her, she finds you..." Tooth sighed.
"Is she...is she really Pitch's daughter?" Jack couldn't help but ask.
"...Yes...she is..."
"Alright, that's enough o' that," Bunny exclaimed, waving his paws in the air, "D'you know what she'd do to us if she found out we...""
"Bunny has good point," North nodded, "She's not always...nice."
"What'd you mean?" Jack asked curiously.
"Jack, she's not like us," Tooth began, "She's not meant to protect or destroy, she's...neutral. She doesn't interfere at all."
"Then...what does she do?"
"Whatever she wants," Bunny scoffed, "She's like a spoilt princess."
"She keeps the balance in the seasons, but she has acted for her own reasons before," Tooth told Jack.
"Then...she'll listen to me?"
"Not likely," Bunny scoffed, "She knows he's a bad egg like everyone else."
"But she's his daughter!"
"No, she was his daughter, Pitch isn't the person he was before," North said, "That person is gone."
"He's got to be in there somewhere...right?" the boy asked and Sandy shrugged with a question mark appearing above his head.
"Oi! Don't encourage him," Bunny scowled at him.
"Please, please please, please, please, please..." Jack retested continuously.
"No, you've gone on about this long enough," the Pooka sighed, "Time to quit now."
"Argh," the young Guardian growled in frustration, "Fine, I'll just keep looking on my own," he exclaimed, storming across to the window.
"She won't speak to you," Bunny told him.
"That won't stop me."
"Jack, you have duties now," North said slowly.
"Yeah, and those duties not involve giving up on people," Jack spun back to face them again, "And neither do yours."
"Jack, mate, how many times...Pitch isn't 'people', you don't know half of what he's done..." Bunny ground out.,
"I do, MiM showed me," the boy replied, "And I get it, I really do, but you guys don't understand what it's like to be invisible to everyone."
"Jack, you have good heart, but..."
"But nothing, North, I'll find Mother Nature with or without you, I won't stop looking even if it takes forever."
"...Maybe...maybe we should..." Tooth began cautiously, "...Just to help Jack..."
"Oh, come on, Tooth, not you to..." Bunny sighed.
"I'm not saying we help Pitch, I'm saying we should help Jack because he's asking us to."
"Ah...mrgh...I..." the Pooka grumbled, dragging his aw down his face, "Guess we'll never hear the end of it either way..."
"Does this mean you'll..." Jack smiled.
"This could end badly," North frowned.
"Just so we're all clear; if we see Pitch, I'll be the first one to knock him down a peg..." Bunny said.
"Alright!" Jack grinned.
"Don't get your hopes too high, she might choose not to appear at all, it won't make much of a difference, whether we're with you or not...but at least we have a better idea of where to look," Tooth explained patiently.
"So, where to?" Jack asked quickly, seeming to ignore her cautious warning.
North sighed heavily before plastering on a smile, "First to rainforest," he announced.
The four reluctant Guardians were soon clambering into North's sleigh and they were at the Amazon rainforest within seconds via a snow globe. North steered the bulky vehicle slowly, flying them just above the famous, long, wide river.
"How do we find her then?" Jack frowned.
"She'll know we're here, if she wants to see us she'll come," Tooth answered.
"Why here?" the young Guardian asked.
"She spends most of her time here, it's her home...more or less," she answered.
"Too hot for me," Jack murmured, tugging at his thick hoodie. Generally he preferred the cold, not that he couldn't live in warm climates, but he chose not to. He had an inner fear that he'd melt like a snowman if he got too warm though he knew he wouldn't, at least he was fairly sure he wouldn't.
Suddenly, they all stopped to turn their heads when a quiet noise, almost like a the trees were sighing. They saw the vines pulling themselves back, wrapping around the trees, while the tress seemed to part, their thick trunks bending back to create a wide pathway.
"...Wow..." Jack blinked, "I take that means she wants to see us..."
North nodded as he steered the sleigh through the opening and deep into the rainforest. Above, the branches and leaves shielded them and almost completely obliterated the sky from view. They saw and heard animals jumping through the branches and the birds chirping and singing around them.
Once they were deep inside the forest they saw a woman watching them approach. She was standing with her arms behind her back and small birds fluttering around her much like Tooth's fairies. Her long green dress acted like camouflage but her black hair stood out like her dark eyes.
"Jack Frost," she gave a smile, "...Guardians...you know I am a neutral force, but you Sanderson, you I am pleased to see my friend."
"She's got a soft spot for you, mate," Bunny murmured to Sandy as he jumped out of the sleigh.
"I know why you've been looking for me," she turned to Jack, "And I am here to tell you to stop."
"What..."
"My father is past saving, young one, he is savage, through and through, you need to stop thinking that you can..."
"...He's your father, how can you say that?" Jack asked quickly.
"Why did you indulge the boy?" Mother Nature turned to the Guardians, "You know the truth."
"He wouldn't give up," North answered, "Thought it best if he heard it from you."
"I suppose you're right," she raised an eyebrow, "But will you heed my words?" she asked Jack, "Even if they're not what you want to hear."
"I'll listen...but I still think the Man in the Moon wants me to do something..."
"Ah, yes, our old, old friend," Mother Nature smiled, "You have to understand something in regard to him...he's been stranded on that rock for too long, he hasn't experienced all that my father has done. His view on this is...somewhat...distanced. I won't lie to you, child, the Nightmare King is not to be pitied and he can't be saved."
"If Manny didn't think there was some good in him, why did he show me how Pitch became what he is?" Jack frowned.
"So that you could understand your enemy," she answered without emotion.
"Enemy?" Jack repeated, "He's your father, doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"He hasn't been my father in centuries - my father died. He was once the greatest General in all of creation; The Lord High General of the Galaxies...now look at him," she scoffed, "I've often wondered how such a great man could fall so low, it's tragic in a way."
"...Because he cared about you," Jack said.
"Because he was weak," she corrected quickly, "He lead our Golden Armies to capture the darkness, he volunteered to guard it and he knew the consequences if he failed; this is all of his making. I was only a child when he lost himself to the shadows and every that day I begged for his return was another day wasted. But you should know; he will never be what he was. The General Kozmotis Pitchiner died and only Pitch Black the Nightmare King remains."
"Why does it have to be like that?"
"I don't know, child," she shook her head, "But it is what it is."
"Can't you try and..."
"I can't; he cares nothing for me, nor I him...he doesn't even remember me or my mother most of the time anyway."
"I think he does," Jack replied, "When I asked him about it, it was...strange...like he wanted to remember but he couldn't..."
"The Nightmares took it all from him," Mother Nature said sadly, "All that remains is his warlike mind, his morals are long gone."
"The Man in the Moon...he gave he this..." Jack spoke quietly, holding the chain of the locket in his hand, letting the gold pendant swing freely. "I think he does remember, I think he wants to remember..."
"You tenacity is to be applauded, but I'm afraid there's nothing to be done. He has done too much to ever be redeemed."
"Here here," Bunny grumbled.
"But...wasn't it the Nightmares doing all that?"
"He is much a part of them now as they are of him; the shadows and my father are one in the same."
"Why would the Man in the Moon..."
"The Nightmare King was born long before the Man in the Moon, in fact, it's because of my father's actions that he exists today...didn't your friends tell you that?"
"No, no they didn't," Jack scowled at them.
"In a strange way I suppose we should all be grateful that my father is what he is, after all, the Guardians would never have been created to protect children if there was nothing to protect them from, and I wouldn't be here if my father hadn't first defeated the darkness all those years ago...none of us would really."
"That's a...weird way of looking at it..." Jack frowned.
Mother Nature shrugged her shoulder elegantly and took slow steps, almost gliding over the ground, "He did do one thing though...fear did change people's lives all those years ago...It was different then, life was much more turbulent than it is now. None of you would have made a difference; your toys, your happy memories, the good dreams and laughter would have done little good in the face of war and famine and disease."
"...So...I was right...people do need fear," Jack started to smile.
"Not in the same way; times...and people have changed."
"But we still need fear...it still has a purpose?"
"Yes," she answered begrudgingly, "It is why he can never die, why he lives even after so many centuries of isolation."
"...And...what is that purpose?"
"That is not my place to say," she shook her head and crossed her arms, "Only the Nightmare King himself can decide that. The shadows by themselves have no minds to truly speak of - their cunning, their intelligence and their fears are my fathers, they are intertwined."
"But...which one's in control?"
"In control?" the woman furrowed her brow, "I think you're a little confused, Jack," she said. "Pitch controls the Nightmares.."
"Then why did they turn on him and drag him back into the caves when we beat him?"
"If you'll allow me to speak," she frowned, "He controls the Nightmares, but the Fearlings, the Nightmare Men and the Dream Pirates are different. Haven't you wondered why he used only the Nightmares in your battle?" she asked the Guardians, "Don't you remember the power of the Dream Pirates and the ruthlessness of the Nightmare Men?"
"Well...now you mention it..." Bunny muttered.
"I've never even heard of them," Jack said.
"They were born long ago, before time itself but it wasn't until the Golden Age that people were strong enough to challenge them. They were sealed away by my father in the prison planet which he vowed to guard, all of them - utterly ruthless and yet, not of his making," she told Jack.
"But...he controls them?"
"From what I've observed I believe they are locked within his mind, they've not seen the darkness of night for centuries...since the Dark Ages."
"Why?" Tooth asked when Sandy created a large, shimmering question mark.
"I don't know, you'd have to ask him, but I believe I have two possibilities."
"And they are..." Bunny questioned.
"The first, and the least likely, is, as Jack suggests, that there is good still within him and he himself did it to keep the world safe."
"Yeah...not likely, next possibility," the Pooka nodded.
"The only other is that they choose to remain there to whisper into his ear to control him and his Nightmares which are his own creation. That would explain why the Nightmares turned on him after your battle; because the Fearlings commanded them to. Even he is subject to his own fears and with so many dark shadows in his mind combined with his crushing defeat, he couldn't exert his authority."
"But he's scared of the same things I was," Jack frowned, "...Being invisible and being alone."
"Perhaps," she tilted her head, "But we all have our paths."
"Okay...wait," Jack began, "Lemme get this straight...way back when...Pitch actually saved the world, right?"
"Yes," Mother Nature nodded, "He and his army did."
"And he actually...helped people with fear...before the Guardians?"
"He did, before he was completely corrupted."
"So...something happened...and he didn't do anything good ever again."
"Very succinct, but in essence correct. There was a time when he was sealed away in the darkness for several centuries and released only by chance. I believe that is what triggered his...transformation."
"Solitary confinement can do that," Jack frowned.
"You fought against him and yet you persist in this...why?" Mother Nature frowned, "To what purpose?"
"I could've ended up like him, I know what it's like to be invisible and alone and I could've teamed up with him...I might've done if he hadn't..y'know...temporarily killed Sandy..."
"You and he have nothing in common," she replied hastily.
"Didn't you hear what I just said?"
"Many spirits are isolated and alone, it doesn't follow that they must commit atrocities."
"...I can tell you've never had that problem," Jack grumbled and for a moment she was silent.
"So, you still believe, even after all I've said, that my father is deserving of pity?" Mother Nature asked after a minute of thought.
"Well...another chance, at least..." Jack shrugged.
"And if it fails?" she raised an expressive eyebrow.
"Then...I'll...I'll never bother you again...ever."
"That I find hard to believe," she couldn't help but smile, "But we will see."
"You'll help me?"
"I will consider it, but first you must prove to me that the Nightmare King deserves this 'second chance' of yours."
"Not mine, the Man in the Moon's," Jack corrected her.
"As you wish," she shrugged.
"And anyway, all you gotta do is look at the guy, he couldn't even keep one Nightmare alive," he said, looking back at his fellow Guardians, "Right, guys?
"Is true," North admitted.
"That means he is weakened, not deserving."
"You should've seen him, he cares about that thing...I mean...he let Sandy help," Jack explained.
"It was strange," Tooth added, "He never accepts help."
"If he was just a cold hearted jerk he wouldn't care at all...right?" Jack turned back to Mother Nature with an optimistic expression.
"We shall see," she replied, "Now, come, let us find the Nightmare King."
"And then what?" Tooth asked.
"We observe," Mother Nature said, waving her hand.
Immediately, the trees around them seemed to flicker and fade away, the sounds of the animals became more and more quiet and the sky grew cloudy and shadowed. "I believe we shall witness the consequences of two dark forces colliding very shortly. Let us see if you are right, Jack Frost," she spoke enigmatically, and before anyone could question her comment, everything vanished.
The next thing the Guardians knew, they were standing in a forest, much different from the Amazon jungle they'd left, this forest was an inland, European region and, most notably, it was in darkness. It seemed as though it was the middle of the night and the moon was the brightest light around. There was a cold chill in the air that had nothing to do with Jack Frost who was stood with his friends, taking in their new surroundings. They were a short distance away from a large clearing where the trees had seemed to refuse to grow and they could see a tall, lean shadow.
It was Pitch Black standing there with Onyx the Nightmare horse, bathed in the moonlight as he stroked her muzzle affectionately. He didn't even stop to look up when an even greater shadow began to emerge before him.
This new shadow floated above the ground, it was completely black and seemed to be made of shadows that resembled dripping candle wax with wispy tails drifting off from its cloak-like body. It had no real form to boast and it's head was small and streamline with no facial features or hair.
"What is that thing?" Jack asked, unable to take his eyes from it.
"A wraith," Mother Nature answered, "A creature of death."
"Is it...is it...his?""
"No," she shook her head, "He is the King of Nightmares, not death."
"So...you show yourself at last," they heard Pitch say to the wraith, "Took you long enough," he scoffed.
"...Erm...what's going on?" Jack frowned.
"Observe," Mother Nature said.
"Why only one of you, am I too weak to warrant an army?" Pitch growled, "I know you have been observing me. I am a creature of darkness, did you really think you soldiers of death could pass me by unnoticed? That I, of all beings, wouldn't recognise you stalking the shadows of the earth?"
"It seems my master underestimated you," the Wraith replied, its voice low and had an eerie echoing quality.
"Yes, he did," Pitch snarled.
"That being said, I was ordered to seek you out purposefully, to make you an offer, to propose an alliance."
"An alliance for what?"
"For destruction...for death," it answered simply.
"The death of whom?"
"Of humanity, of the Guardians and of everything in between."
"And the purpose?" Pitch asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Glorious death."
"I am the Nightmare King, not the Reaper of Souls, I've not yet stooped so low."
"Not even for the destruction of your sworn enemies?"
"Why do you, or your master, care about the Guardians?" Pitch asked, suspiciously.
"They must be destroyed."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"They stand for all my master hates; that is enough."
"Then why did you not stand with me against them? Why should I join you now when you've done nothing for me?"
"With the Guardians gone both you and my master will benefit, if my master is destroyed you gain nothing, and if you refuse..." the Wraith trailed off with a menacing chuckle.
"If I refuse you and your ilk will tear me limb from limb, am I right?"
"More or less."
"If I am weak enough to warrant only a single one of you, then surely I can offer nothing that your master cannot already provide," Pitch hissed.
"He wants your power, the darkness you possess in the corners of your mind, he desires to command the Fearlings and the Nightmare Men."
"And the Dream Pirates?"
"He cares nothing for them or for the dreams that they steal."
"I'm sure they'll be insulted," the Nightmare King said sarcastically.
"Wraiths do not appreciate humour," the Wraith retorted instantly, "Will you serve my master willingly or not?"
"I serve no one!" Pitch yelled, his voice echoing in the clearing, "You will do well to remember that."
Jack and the others had been watching intently, wondering just what was going on when he saw shimmering shadows, gathering in wisps along the wind. Pitch's nightmare sand was trailing past them, heading towards the clearing and forming the Nightmares which were hiding behind the trees.
"Look," Jack jumped back a step, startled.
"What?" Bunny asked, looking ahead. He saw, along with the others, the glowing golden eyes of the Nightmares and heard their fearful snarls and whinnies.
"You refuse, then?" the Wraith asked Pitch unnecessarily.
"I refuse," Pitch nodded, "You'll have to send my deepest apologies to your master, but I have to decline," he said, "I work alone."
"Then you will be destroyed," the Wraith replied without emotion.
"We'll see," the Nightmare King grinned as he vanished into the shadows, his amber eyes being the last to go.
"Erm...shouldn't we do...something?" Jack voiced with a frown.
"Why?" Bunny scoffed, "This could be interesting."
The dozens of Nightmares leapt from their hiding places, in all directions they emerged from the trees and rounded on the Wraith, engulfing it in a spiralling tornado of black sand as they galloped around it at breakneck speed in their base form of nightmare sand.
"Maybe you missed the part where it said he'd be coming after us next," the young Guardian retorted as they watched.
"Well, once it's done with Pitch, then we'll get it," the Pooka said with a shrug.
"He said these...things have been 'observing' him," Jack frowned, "I haven't seen any of them before, wouldn't we know if they'd been 'stalking the shadows of the earth'?" he asked, making quotation marks with his fingers.
"If they've only been after Pitch it's possible we missed them," Tooth said, "But they haven't made any threat against...well...anyone, yet."
"Except for Pitch," North pointed out.
"Ah, who cares about that," Bunny dismissed and they turned back to the fight.
The Wraith was still trapped inside the vortex of nightmare sand which was cutting his cloak like appearance and shredding wisps from its form as it hissed and snarled and growled out, trying to break free. Pitch watched with Onyx, knowing that he didn't have the power to keep up this kind of attack for very long he needed a new plan. He could see the jagged claws beginning to break through the vortex and he could feel the drain on his power increasing. The Nightmares he'd spent weeks crafting, scouring the globe, gathering power for, were being torn apart in front of him and he could do nothing to stop it.
His eyes narrowed as the Wraith suddenly exploded in a mass of black smoke, obliterating the Nightmares completely, all that remained once again, was the one at his side. His long weeks of work had been defeated in a matter of seconds. Onyx whinnied and shifted on her hooves
"If these things want to destroy everything, isn't it our job to stop it?" Jack asked his friends.
"Jack is right," North relented.
"It does not threaten the balance, it is not my responsibility," Mother Nature told them.
"Not even to help your father?" Jack exclaimed.
"No," she shook her head.
Jack stared at her for a moment incredulously, he couldn't believe her attitude. Now that he remembered his family, he knew that he'd have done anything to help them even if they'd made as many mistakes as Pitch. "I've had enough of this," the young Guardian shook his head at her and jumped up into the air. It was no wonder that Pitch had forgotten all about her with that attitude. He'd hoped that she would've been more cooperative, but it looked as though he was back to square one again and it didn't do anything to lift his mood or his hopes.
"Jack, come back!" Tooth shouted after him.
Just as the young Guardian reached the clearing, the Wraith seemed to swallow Jack into the shadows of his body and he was thrown out, landing on the ground, skidding to a stop.
"Jack!" North cried, he and the other three Guardians preparing to help their fallen comrade.
"Wait," Mother Nature ordered them, "Wait," she repeated.
"What? You gotta be kidding!" Bunny scoffed, clutching his boomerangs, "Come on," he said quickly to the other Guardians.
As they tried to move forwards to the clearing, a barrier of shimmering green stopped them and they were forced backwards when they came into contact with it.
"What are you doing?" North demanded angrily.
"What Jack suggested I do; seeing if my father is deserving of a 'second chance'," Mother Nature answered simply.
"...Did you...plan this?" Bunny asked.
"I did."
"You're gonna get the kid killed!" the Pooka exclaimed but her stoicism never faltered.
"We'll see," and replied enigmatically, returning her attention to the fight ahead.
Pitch was violently attacking the Wraith with arrows made of nightmare sand but they had little effect. Jack had gotten back up and was firing intermediately at the Wraith whilst he was keeping track of Pitch's own attacks which seemed to have no regard for just where the young Guardian was flying. They were working individually, Mother Nature couldn't help but notice, alone, neither one stood a chance but perhaps together they would; Pitch was far too weakened to be at full power and Jack was a child who'd never fought or even seen a Wraith before. Of course, if she were to lower her magical barrier and allow the other four Guardians to fight, there wouldn't be much of a problem, but that would defeat the purpose.
"Get out of the way, Frost!" Pitch glared at the boy for a second.
"I'll take that as a 'thank you,' shall I?" Jack sighed, jumping up into the air to avoid an attack.
"I never asked for your help, I don't need it."
"Sure," the young Guardian yelled back, "Sure you didn't," he said. He was confused as to why the others weren't helping him at least, but he didn't have an opportunity to look back at them because the Wraith's attacks were so relentless.
"Let me through!" Bunny yelled, hitting the barrier with his boomerangs in his frustration.
"Not yet," Mother Nature replied without looking at him.
"Argh!" Jack yelled as he was thrown back again like a rag doll. His staff landed far from his reach and he started frantically between it and the Wraith. Before he could so anything, the Wraith seemed to rear up to a great height and then it descended on the boy, an arm of blackness reaching out to consume him. His closed his eyes and help up a hand in a vain attempt to protect himself, knowing he was done for.
When nothing happened, however, he was even more confused. "Huh?" he breathed, blinking his eyes open. Pitch's large, black scythe, made of crumbling nightmare sand, had saved Jack from the Wraith's attack.
"Erm...d'you all see that?" Bunny asked his fellow Guardians. He'd stopped trying to bombard the barrier and he was frozen in shock.
"Uh-huh," Tooth nodded slowly.
"...Pitch?" Jack stared up.
The Nightmare King was standing over the young Guardian, his face grimacing and his teeth gritting as he struggled against the brute force of the Wraith. His knuckles whitened as he clutched the scythe in his hands which was slowly crumbling away on the breeze.
"Move," Pitch ordered simply.
Jack unfroze and leapt up, running towards his fallen staff and turning back to the Wraith which was still locked in battle with Pitch. The two were struggling against each other to gain the upper hand.
"You are allied with the Guardians?" the Wraith chuckled, "With Jack Frost?"
"Not while there's breath in my body," Pitch hissed back.
"Then what is this?"
"A foolish boy," the Nightmare King answered and the Wraith suddenly won their locked battle. It swung out an attack at him and Pitch was forced to leap backwards to avoid it. The scythe vanished from his hands and reformed into Onyx who now looked rather tired and worn.
"...Now you can help," Mother Nature suddenly told North and the others, "Do as you will," she said.
Stunned and shocked for a fraction of a second, the four Guardians ran forwards and attacked the Wraith without question. Bunny threw his boomerangs, North brandished his sword while Tooth flew forwards and Sandy let loose his dream sand. The dream sand had the most effect since it generated bright light and the Wraith was pure darkness. It shirked back with an ear piercing cry, twisting in the air as the dream sand chased him.
"Jack!" Tooth exclaimed, flying over to him, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Jack answered, "What took you?"
"Long story," Bunny frowned.
"What are you doing here?!" Pitch glared at them.
"How about...saving your life!" the Jack rolled his eyes.
"Did I ask you to?!"
"You didn't have to!" the young Guardian replied.
Sandy's dream sand seemed to be enough to scare away one Wraith and all of its attempts at attacking were blocked by the bright lights. It moved through the shadows towards Pitch but it was stopped at every turn and it growled loudly in frustration.
"This is not the end...my master will destroy you all," it snarled, "Starting with you, Pitch Black."
"Not likely," Pitch hissed as it faded away completely, retreating to report to its master. He let of a sigh and shook his head before turning to Jack with a murderous look.
"What?" Jack asked, "What?" he repeated, holding up his hands in surrender and taking small steps backwards.
"Why did you interfere?!"
"Erm...because it was going to kill you..."
"Like you care."
"We could've let it," Bunny said, "Maybe we should've."
"That would've been preferable," Pitch muttered, stroking the muzzle of Onyx who's nightmare sand body was crumbling away in places. "Besides...you don't even know what's going on right under your noses do you? You've been spying on me haven't you? That's the only reason you interfered, because I know and you don't."
"...That's not...actually, you know what...whatever..." Jack sighed, "Believe what you want."
"What is going on, then?" Bunny raised his head, "If you're so smart why don't you tell us?"
"Why should I?"
"We just saved your life!" the Pooka threw up his hands.
"I didn't ask you to."
"Of, for the love of..." Bunny sighed.
"Hey...where's...Mother Nature gone?" Jack asked suddenly, looking around.
"She's...gone..." Tooth said, looking back int the trees where they'd been trapped.
"...Mother Nature?" Pitch furrowed his brow.
"She brought us here," Jack told him.
"Why?"
"...Erm...long story..." the young Guardian answered nervously.
"This is your doing again, isn't it, Frost?" the Nightmare King scowled.
"But she..."
"Why won't you leave me alone?!"
"It was her..."
"I've had enough of your interference!"
"She's your daughter!" Jack yelled at him, "...Whoops..." he muttered a second later.
"...What..." Pitch breathed while Onyx whinnied by his side and nudged his arm.
Jack took the old locket out from his pocket and held it out for the Nightmare King to take from him in silence. Pitch opened it and stared down at the young, beautiful face he saw there with an unreadable expression. He sighed and shook his head before snapping it shut and looking back up
"...You're a few dozen millennia too late," he said to Jack before disappearing into the shadows.
"Hey, wait!" Jack cried, but it was too late, Pitch was gone, "...Not again," the young Guardian muttered.
"Come on, kid," Bunny said heavily, "Time to go," he said, leading the way back to the sleigh that was partially concealed by the trees not far from where they'd been watching.
"Alright...but...what's going on that we don't know about? What did Pitch mean?" Jack asked.
"I don't know, but we're going to find out," Tooth answered as they clambered back into North's sleigh.
A.N. I can only apologise most profusely for the time between updates in this series but I completely lost my inspiration. I still think that there should be more stories that deal with Pitch and his background and it's kinda sad that there's not, so my inspiration got its ass in gear to write this out.
By the way, I read a lot that said that Mother Nature's name is Seraphina but when I recently looked up the Wiki page for some info it said that her name is actually Emily Jane. Personally I think Seraphina is a bit more appropriate since her father's name is Kozmotis so he's hardly likely to give his daughter a more ordinary sounding name, but hey, it's not my world, so what can I do?