Pitch stood calmly with his hands clasped behind his back from the entrance to his cave as he watched the sun set. As the darkness slowly descended upon the surrounding landscape, the moon made its appearance. Pitch smiled bitterly and was about to return to his underground abode when a familiar voice made him stop short.

"Something wrong, old boogeyman?"

Pitch grimaced and looked over to see that the Man in the Moon had materialized a few feet away. "Manny. What a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?"

"You, actually. You're worrying me." Manny walked closer, scrutinizing Pitch.

Pitch gasped and put a hand over his heart in mock surprise. "The Great and Powerful Man in the Moon is worried about me?" He then snroted. "Save it for the Guardians. I don't need anyone's worry."

Acting as though Pitch hadn't said anything, Manny nodded and said to himself. "Yes, something is definitely wrong with you lately." he considered the topic before jumping and grinning excitedly. "I know! You need someone to keep you company!"

Pitch groaned. "Oh, darkness, no. The last time you tried to set me up with someone-"

"Not a girlfriend, you moron," Manny rolled his eyes. "Though I suppose a female figure wouldn't go unnoticed around you...a daughter maybe?"

Pitch's eyes went wide. "Wha-? A- a daughter? Are you insane?"

Manny again ignored him and continued with his own thoughts. "Yes, a daughter, that'll be perfect. There's a girl who'd make an excellent spirit. In fact," Manny paused and looked into the distance towards a small seeming figure running towards them through the trees, "here she comes now."

Pitch mumbled something into his hands as he rubbed his eyes that sounded suspiciously like "good-for-nothing meddler," but Manny wisely decided to ignore that as well.

Manny turned to Pitch one last time. "By the way, her name's gonna be Ember, and she's fourteen. I'll take care of her memories, don't worry. And good luck!" Manny giggled. "You'll need it with her temper."

(Several hours later)

The first thing Ember realized was that she didn't recognize the desolate cavern she lay in, and that she could only remember her own first name and that she was fourteen years old. She sat up slowly and groaned as a dull ache settled familiarly throughout her skull.

"Are you alright, Ember?" A man's voice called out to her. Ember jerked her head in his direction as she jolted to her feet unsteadily.

"Wh-Who are you? And how do you know what my name is?" Ember asked shakily. She started to sway, and she would've fallen over if the man hadn't traveled through the shadows in time to catch her before her knees buckled.

"Perhaps we'd better go over to the couch before you get hurt again, my dear." He sighed and helped her across the room to the black sofa where Ember sat gingerly.

After gathering her wits about her, Ember demanded, "Tell me who you are and how you know my name before I-"

"Easy, now," Pitch smiled gently and put a comforting arm around the confused looking girl beside him. "I am Pitch Black, and I know your name because I am your father. I won't be surprised or upset if you continue to not recognize me for some time; that was one nasty fall you took. Now, back to my original question: are you alright?" Here Pitch's face took on the expression of the concerned parent he was. Ember was quiet for a moment.

Then, she tossed her hair over her shoulder, looked him in the eye, and declared, "My head hurts, and I'm hungry. Can we order pizza, Dad?" Pitch laughed. "If that's what you want, then I'll get it for you." He stood up and headed to the table on the other side of the room where their house -erm, cave- phone was.

"Thanks! And, Dad?"

"Yes, darling?"

"I really hope you didn't like this couch..."

"What do you mean?" Pitch whirled around to see his daughter perched on top of a pile of ashes with bright orange flames sparking from her fingertips.

Ember grinned unabashedly. "Oops?"

Pitch shook his head and chuckled. "It's quite alright, I've been meaning to get a new one for some time now anyways."