Jack swooped, clutching his staff. Before defeating Pitch and finding a new family, the guardians, being alone felt like the worst fate he could suffer. But lately, being alone seemed infinity preferable to being around the guardians. Today, he had swept out of the pole in a blind panic after being chased around by Tooth's mini fairy's. They had chased him for two hours. Two hours! He closed his eyes for a second, wincing at the painful memory. Being chased by tiny fairy's sounds funny, but in reality...

His eyes popped open. Something didn't feel right. He glanced around. All he could hear was the normal city sounds. Cars honking, muted pop music, and underneath it all, a constant babble of voices melded together, creating an unfamiliar harmony to the winter spirit. He scanned his surroundings. Apart from the distant throng of earthbound humans, he seemed to be alone. What was wrong?

He shook his head. Stop being silly. Nothing is wrong. You just defeated Pitch less than a month ago, he thought. Shaking off those thoughts, he flew on, creating a light snowfall just for fun. Bored and wanting company, he returned to the pole.

"Jack, m'boy! How are you doing?" North boomed, beaming at Jack. Was it just him, or did North's grin border on maniac? Two can play at this game, North. Matching North's grin, he replied.

"I'm doing positively dandy! How about you?" As he said that, Tooth walked in, followed by a small crowd of baby fairies. Letting out a small cry of terror, Jack whooshed out the window.

Xxx

North's POV.

North was in the workshop, admiring one of his newest creations, a small model air plane, when Jack swooped in. He smiled, happy to see the winter spirit.

"Jack m'boy! How are you doing?" North asked. Jack smiled a weird, shark-like smile.

"I'm doing positively dandy! How about you?" Jack said. His lunatic smile faded, and was replaced by a look of terror. Only one person could make him look that scared.North thought, whirling around. Adrenaline was rushing through his system, and he was gearing up to make short work of Pitch.

"Tooth!" He smiled genially.

"Hey! I wonder what made Jack take off like that when he saw me?" Tooth asked, concerned.

"I do not know. He was acting odd when he got here." North said. Baby Tooth was babbling nonsense in Tooth's ear, however, and his words went unheeded.

"Baby Tooth says that the other fairies spent two hours chasing Jack around the pole, trying to inspect his teeth." Tooth laughed. North joined in, relieved. A few seconds later, Bunnymund turned up. Predictably, he looked grumpy.

"Where's Frostbite?" He asked in greeting.

Xxx

Jack's POV

When Jack saw the fairies, his first thought was to get away as far as possible. Now, he was riding the air somewhere along the north coast of the US. The area was unfamiliar to him, but he didn't mind. He surveyed the air. Nothing but fluffy white clouds and the occasional bird. That pretty picture was only ruined when he looked down.

Outside in the frigid winter air, about 20 children were led outside. They walked in a circle, once around a closed in yard, and went back inside.

Jack didn't know much of American culture, but he was fairly sure that was not normal. A nagging feeling reminded him that he needed to go meet with the guardians, but he decided that he would return to that place as soon as possible.

Several minutes later...

"So, erm, I have some bad news." North mumbled, exchanging looks with Sandy and Tooth. Silence in the room. Then-

"Why do I feel so out of the loop? Whats going on?" Bunnymund asked. Jack silently agreed, not that he would ever admit to it.

"Well, Sandy and Tooth report seeing unusual amounts of nightmare sand as they do their nightly rounds. We... I think that means that Pitch is trying to do something. We are not sure what." North stated. That was followed by several minutes of useless speculation. Jack was in another world.

What was going on with those kids on the North coast of the US? What is Pitch up to? Why is all of this happening so soon after defeating him, there's no way he could of regained his strength that fast. Could it be... nah. Or maybe... no, that's not his style. Or maybe, maybe he's planning to-

"What do you think, Frostbite?" Bunnymund asked, disrupting Jack's train of thought.

"Uh... I don't really know." Jack answered.

"It's not like you to hold back. I thought you'd be jumping at this chance." Bunnymund said, but his gaze was clearly asking something. Huh?

"Uh, sorry. I was thinking. What are you talking about?" Jack said, absentmindedly.

"We were going to find Pitch and get some answers out of him, of course! Not losing your nerve, are you Frostbite?" Bunnymund said.

"Course not, but I have some stuff to take care of first. Rain check?" Jack asked, but before anyone could answer him, he was already gone.

"Kid's scared. I can't say I blame him." Bunnymund said wisely. No, North thought. Being scared has nothing to do with it.