"Snow..?" Jamie trailed off, his face scrunching in confusion as the white flecks drifted down from his ceiling. "I didn't think Santa could do that."

"What?!" Jack yelped indignantly, floating closer to the boy. "North didn't do that, I did!" he protested, waving his arms as if it would get himself noticed. Jamie reached out for a snowflake, his hand going right through Jack's torso as he did.

A loud crash from the street brought both their attention to the window. Jamie hopped off of his bed and looked outside, screeching with delight at whatever he saw. He struggled to get his coat and boots on, giving up when they wouldn't cooperate, before running out of the room. Jack followed.

"Santa! The tooth fairy! You're real!" Jamie cheered as he threw himself at the fat old man. Jack had an irrational urge to shoot an icicle at him.

"Where's Bunnymund?" he asked. North frowned.

"Losing Easter... well, it took a toll on him." Tooth explained softly. She reached into the crashed sleigh and presented him with a very tiny, very un-intimidating bunny.

"Who're you talking to?" Jamie asked curiously. Jack looked at Tooth eagerly.

"Tell him it's me!" He encouraged.

"No one." Bunny interrupted, hopping off Tooth's hand over to the child. "She was just thinkin' out loud."

Only Tooth noticed Jack shoot into the sky. He flew high, higher than he ever had. He wanted to get away. Letting out a shout of anger, he shot a barrage of ice onto the roof of someone's house. A window broke, but he didn't care. He pulled at his hair and screamed. Everything hurt. The pain had been there for three centuries, ever since the moon had decided that he of all people had to suffer through this. It had damped to a constant dull throbbing over the years, the pain of not being believed in. But now, when he'd been so close, so close to having someone know he was real, he'd let himself hope. And thanks to Bunnymund, that had just made the pain all the more unbearable when it came crashing back down. His feet touched the flat roof of the department store, and he had to prop himself up with his staff.

"I really did try to tell you." Jack didn't move as Pitch sighed behind him. Tears streaked from his eyes, freezing by the time they reached his cheeks.

"How do you do it?" he finally asked, his voice shaking. "How do you cope when no one believes in you?" Another pang of pain ripped through him and his legs gave out. A solid pair of arms caught him before he could hit the ground, and he found himself being cradled against Pitch's chest, the boogieman holding him upright.

"If I'm a Guardian, why does nobody see me?!" he demanded with a sob. "North, Tooth, Bunny, they all-"

"If you don't have a holiday or a fairytale, you're just invisible. Those buffoons had everything handed to them on a silver platter. My offer stills stands Jack." Pitch informed, his long fingers combing through Jack's hair. The ice spirit pulled back to look at Pitch for a few moments, before his eyes hardened. He grabbed his staff and stared at it, his fist clenching around the now-mended break. Looking back at Pitch, he nodded.

"What about Jamie? As long as he believes, they're untouchable."

Pitch smirked slowly. "There's more than one way to put out a light Jackie."

Jack snorted and shook his head. "Don't ever call me Jackie again." He said. There was a soft sound behind them, and Jack spun around, gripping his staff defensively. The shimmering black night mare trotted forward, and he chewed his lip nervously but relaxed his posture. The horse snorted at him.

"Yeah, brrrt to you too." he rolled his eyes. (Brrt – what Brittany seems to think a horse says) He had to take a step back as it came closer, instinct taking over. Pitch chuckled and ran a hand over the mare's neck. "Shut up, I spent the last week thinking that thing was gonna eat me."

Pitch smirked. "Well she's not. Come here." He grabbed Jack by the hand and pulled him closer, holding his arm out. The mare snuffed and pushed her nose against his fingers. Jack shivered a little as a bit of the black sand ran over his palm. "Don't be scared." Pitch encouraged. "It just makes them more excitable."

Jack grinned as he started stroking the large nightmare's nose, the sand shifting very slightly beneath his fingers. "She's actually very nice. I don't think Sandy ever made anything like this."

Pitch smiled as he slung himself onto the horse's back. "Coming?" he asked, offering a hand to Jack who just shook his head.

"I prefer flying."

"Where is he?" Tooth asked, fluttering nervously as her toes barely skimmed the ground. "He just flew off, Pitch is out there, what do we do?"

"Jack has chosen his path." North said quietly. "Right now we need to focus on finding Pitch. If we act fast enough, we'll have the element of surprise."

"You know, talking loudly about sneaking up on someone usually isn't that effective."

"Oh Jack, you're okay!" Tooth squealed, launching herself at the white haired boy. Jack allowed the hug, trying not to grimace.

"I know where Pitch is." He said when Tooth finally released him. "We need to get Jamie out of here before they find him."

Bunny eyed him suspiciously, but the foursome followed him anyway. He led them to the alleyway, watching over his shoulder just in case.

"Fascinating, how you can treat someone like dirt and still expect them to help you. It's almost ridiculous if you ask me." Tooth gasped, and North pulled his swords as Pitch's voice echoed around them. Only Bunny noticed as Jack backed away slowly, leaving them in the narrow, closed off road. Pitch seemed to pop up out of nowhere, his nightmares gathered behind him, seeping out of the shadows.

"You betrayed us!" Bunny snarled as he saw the two standing together. He began kicking at Jack's ankle angrily, the only part of him he could reach.

With a tap of his staff and a quick flash of light, the Easter bunny was frozen solid. Jack chuckled a little as he plucked him off the ground.

"I always thought he'd look better stuffed." he said casually.

"Jack, how could you?" North looked hurt as he stared at his newest recruit. Jack snorted derisively.

"Are you really going to ask me that? Let's see, no one wanted me in the first place, no matter how hard I tried I always fucked up, and the second something goes wrong, I get tossed aside. Excuse me if I'm not your biggest fan."

"Jack Frost, you are a monster!" Tooth shrieked. Standing just behind her, Jamie's eyes lit up in understanding for a moment. No one noticed as Tooth continued to yell, North having to hold her back. "My fairies, the teeth, your memories! How dare you side with him after all that?!"

Jack rolled his eyes and looked at Pitch. "Have they always been this stupid?"

"It seems to be getting worse with age." Pitch sighed with mock sadness.

"Wait, isn't Jack Frost a good guy?" Jamie's small voice piped up softly. Everyone turned to his confused, slightly scared face. "I-I mean anyone who makes it snow can't be that bad..."

Jack snorted. "Oh, now he can see me." With a roll of his eyes, he tossed the frozen rabbit over his shoulder and gripped his staff, eying the boy warily as his lip began to tremble. Tooth whimpered, and North glared at him heatedly. Jack raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder where the three were staring in horror.

Bunnymund had shattered on the ground, broken into a hundred pieces of ice.

"Huh. I killed the Easter bunny." Jack mused, unable to help his smirk as one of the nightmares began nudging at the chunks curiously. An enraged shout brought his attention back to the weakened Guardians, and he turned just in time to see Tooth launch herself at him. She grabbed ahold of his staff and yanked it from his hands, managing to fly just high enough that he couldn't reach her.

The one move seemed to start them all into total chaos. North shouted for Jamie to stay back as he rushed at Pitch, his swords glinting in the dim lights. Jack swung his foot at North's wrist, making him falter just long enough for Jack to grab his beard, swing onto his shoulder, and launch himself into the air. He grabbed his staff from Tooth's hands, kicking her in the stomach when she refused to let go. The fairy fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her, and Jack floated for a moment, wheeling in the air and looking for his target.

Jamie had slipped past them in the struggle, and was running barefoot down the street. Tooth got up in time to try and follow him, but she was stopped as one of the nightmares reared up in front of her, kicking furiously. Jack shouted to Pitch, who had made his own sword and was sparring against North, that the child was getting away, before streaking after him.

A simple flick of his wrist, and a patch of ice appeared just in front of Jamie, sending him sprawling. Jack grabbed him by the scruff of his night shirt, ignoring his yelp of fright as they flew into the air. He dropped him into the corner of the alley, freezing his feet to the pavement.

"Stay." With that he was back into the fray, a barrage of icicles flying at the two remaining Guardians. North was nearly against the wall, loosing energy fast as Pitch kept attacking. Tooth had perched herself on a broken streetlight, just out of the nightmares reach as she panted from exertion. The lack of belief was draining them, and they were nowhere near as powerful as they had been. Jack flew up to Tooth, flinging her back to the ground easily. The impact left her paralyzed just long enough for the nightmares to descend, trampling over her now-limp body. There was a slight shimmering before the fairy seemed to dissolve into thin air. Jack turned just in time to see the same thing happen to North. The two spirits turned then to Jamie, who cowered and whimpered in fear.

Pitch chuckled as the car hit the black ice, spinning out of control. Jack sat on the roof, hooting with joy as if he was on an amusement park ride. He stayed afloat when the vehicle went flying off the bridge, crashing into the frozen river. The front end broke through, sinking slowly into the cold water. Jack tilted his head curiously as the back door opened, two children scrambling out onto the ice. Their parents about to follow them, he summoned a gust of wind to slam the door closed, knocking out the father when it hit his head, who fell onto the mother, trapping them both in the back seat. He froze over the handle of the door just in case, and watched as the kids screamed, their parents sinking under.

"Don't let the children die." Pitch commented. Jack looked at him in confusion. "They'll fear us for years, as will any child they have. If we kill everyone, there will be no one left to believe."

"That's a good point." Jack shrugged. He landed on the thin ice easily, freezing over a thicker path for the two little boys to scramble across. When they were safely on the snowy bank of the river, Jack flew back to Pitch, coasting in the air beside the nightmares as they moved on, intent on creating their world of ice cold and pitch black.

~FIN~