This was the second night in a row, the young boy sighed as his sister was curled up against him. It had been barely a year since the defeat of Pitch and yet his sister was having strange dreams. What in the world could this mean? He knew that his sister was too young to really tell him what was going on and he wished he could simply call the Guardians, but it wasn't that simple to get a hold of them and it with it being late January Jamie knew that the only Guardian he was likely to see was Jack. He hadn't been around the last few days, but Jamie knew he could count on the youngest member of the Guardians to be there for him when he needed him. As if Jamie had been able to summon him, said Guardian pushed open the window and stepped into the room. Jamie couldn't stop the relieved smile that crossed his features.

"Jack!"

"Hey kiddo!" Jack said with a smile, then he blinked when he saw that Sophie was sleeping curled up next to him and said in a quieter tone.

"What's the deal? She have a bad dream or something?" Jamie shook his head, his smile fading.

"Not bad really... more like just strange... This is the second night in a row she'd come to me whining about it."

"Strange? What do you mean?"

"Well... best I can make out she's been dreaming about a kid with pink hair. Someone about my age, but a girl. She keeps saying that the girl is in danger from Pitch... but Jack... we defeated him a year ago." Jack frowned thoughtfully, remembering Pitch's final words the previous year.

"Yeah, I don't think he'd be making trouble this soon. I'll talk to Sandy and the others about this. How are you holding up?"

"Pretty well, though I have to wonder about Sophie's dreams... I mean, I know we beat Pitch but could there be more to it? She's never had dreams or nightmares like this before. I'm really worried Jack." Jack nodded.

"Don't worry too much kiddo. I'm sure the others will be able to help and if it is Pitch you can be sure that we'll stop him just like we did before.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Jamie just nodded and Jack hurried out of the room and zipped off to the North Pole as fast as the wind could get him there. When Jack arrived, he saw that North was shooing some elves from the globe of belief while yetis were mopping up what looked like a bunch of spilled paint. Jack tried not to laugh, the elves really could get into all sorts of mischief.

"North!"

"Jack! Is good to see you!" The jolly Guardian said, straightening, a smile on his face.

"What brings you here?"

"Summon the other Guardians, I think Pitch is on the move again." The smile faded from his fellow Guardian.

"So soon? Is strange that this be happening."

"I know, but I think the others need to hear this." Jack said, North could only nod when he saw the worried expression on the other's face and he pushed the lever on the globe's control station that sent out the lights that would summon the others.

"This better be good mate." Bunny said, he was the first to arrive and he was holding an egg, a paint brush in the other paw.

"Not me who want to talk." North said as Tooth was followed by Sandy into the workshop.

"Hi Jack!" Tooth all but squealed when she saw him. Jack smiled at her.

"Hey Tooth, Sandy." His gaze shifting to the golden Guardian who had a snowflake and a smiley face hovering over his head. Bunny turned to Jack then, waiting to see what he had to say.

"I think it's Pitch." Bunny's expression seemed to stay neutral while the rest of the others seemed to glance nervously amongst them.

"It seems Sophie has been having some strange dreams lately. Something about a young girl in trouble. Someone with pink hair."

"Pink hair? Really?" Bunny asked with disbelief and Jack went on to explain as best as he could of what Jamie had told him and how long the boy had said such dreams had occurred.

"Strange dreams? THIS is why you summoned us. Come off it mate, Pitch won't have the strength for that sort of thing for years yet." Bunny all but scoffed, but he did seem a little worried about the little tyke who had become his favorite "anklebiter" just last year. None of the others seemed to notice the light that was coming from MiM, but Sandy did. He waved his arms, tried blowing a whistle... even tried a train whistle to get the attention of the others who seemed intent on staring at Jack at the moment.

"Is not that we don't think girl is important Jack, but this doesn't seem so important."
"It just seems strange to me. I mean, she's only three years old! Come on, this cannot be Sandy's handy work. Right Sandy?" Jack turned to the other Guardian who was pointing stubbornly to the skylight and Jack turned, thinking that the other meant to show him something.

"Hey... maybe Manny has something for us." Jack said before any of the others could protest. The Guardians stepped back from the light that shone down onto the tiles before the globe that had four tiles symbolizing the first four Guardians and a "G" tile in the middle. The shadow that fell across the sudden light became Pitch.

"It is Pitch." Bunny said, his ears dropping. He'd been hoping this had been just some sort of joke that Jack was playing. How could Pitch have become a threat again and so quickly? The shadow shifted then to show a figure in black, a woman with a white question mark in the middle of the figure signaling that they were unknown.

"Who is that?" Jack asked.

"Not even Manny seems to know... how is this?" North asked, looking at the figure that seemed to come to life and float over to the figure of Pitch.

"Well, whoever they are, apparently they're helping Pitch." Bunny murmured. Sandy frowned as he watched. The two figures seemed to swirl about suddenly and disappear.

"What the heck was that about?" Jack asked, baffled by the play of shadows but the light from the moon faded a moment before intensifying and causing the Guardians to shield their eyes. A voice whispering to them.

You must go, my Guardians. They need your help. When the light finally faded again a portal of pure silvery white seemed to swirl above the "G.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who heard that." Jack said after a moment of silence.

"I heard it too." Tooth said, Bunny and North nodded their agreement. A stream of rapid symbols appeared over Sandy's head too fast for Jack to even hope of interpreting. He never really was very good at understanding the little Guardian and despite the time he'd spent with him, he still didn't fully understand him and he was going far too fast for Jack now.

"Sandy is right. We should gather supplies for trip. No telling where portal leads. We go soon as we can. Meet back here in hour. Be ready to travel." All the Guardians split off, except for Jack. He stayed to look at the portal a moment before deciding he needed to update Jamie since he had a feeling that wherever this portal went... he wouldn't be back in a long while. It was near midnight when Jack arrived at the Bennett house. He wondered if the boy would be up and was surprised to find that Jamie was still awake, Sophie was clinging to the boy now.

"Jack!" The word was whispered, but no less happy to see him as it had been before.

"Hey." Jack said just as quietly.

"So, did you find anything out?"

"Well, I have to go away for a while kiddo. I donno when I'll be back... but it seems that her dreams were right on the mark. Pitch is up to something and we're going to stop him." Jamie was quiet before he noticed that Jack seemed uneasy.

"What aren't you saying?"

"Well... we don't know where we'll be going. I promise that we'll come back. I won't ever leave you alone, but this could take a while so... I need you to be brave and remind everyone who needs it that we'll always be there for them, okay?" Jamie nodded. Jack smiled, feeling better that his first believer seemed to have no trouble with this.

"Great." He hoped that, whatever this was, wouldn't take long.

"Jack... be careful." Jamie said after a moment.

"Hey, don't sweat it kiddo. I'll be back before you know it!" Jack moved over and gave the boy a hug; Jamie looked like he could use one and the young boy clung to him just as his younger sister seemed to be clinging to his waist.

"I promise, I'll be back as soon as I can. We'll have a snow day when I get back, okay?" Jamie grinned, nodding and releasing him. Jack straightened and gave the boy one more reassuring smile before he headed back to the North Pole.

Tokyo, Japan - 3 days later -

A soft whimper came from a girl, her pink hair tied into pigtails; her eyes clenched as the miniature Nightmare danced happily over her head. Pitch couldn't stop the smile that crept over his face before he slipped back into the shadows and was off to the next house. The girl bolted up from the dream with a gasp and a yell.

"Serenaaaaa!" There was a loud thump in the hallway followed soon by a teenage girl with blonde hair in twin pigtails, her blue eyes met red ones.

"Rini! Are you okay?" Rini stared at the teen in pure terror and the teenager smiled reassuringly to her as she realized that the young girl must have just had a bad dream. Serena moved to the bed and sat down next to the girl, who would be her daughter in the far future. She took the girl in her arms.

"It's okay Rini. You're alright. I'm here." Rini buried her face against the girl, shaking as she tried hard not to cry. She was a superhero just like her mother... she shouldn't be frightened by a dream... but it had been so real...

In another part of town...

Ray sat before the fire, her eyes closed. She'd no idea what this was about or why she wasn't able to get some sleep. This was the second night in a row. She'd tried asking for a vision, but nothing had come to her and even now, tired as she was, nothing seemed to come to her. She was about to give up and go back to bed when she gasped as the world behind her eyes seemed to flash white. Five figures she'd never seen before stood between her and what looked to be two dark figures ahead. There was evil laughter, male and female mingling.

"We can't do this on our own! You have to help us! Believe!" A young teenager's voice rang out. Ray gasped, nearly falling over. The vision had been so real... so... she hadn't had anything like this since ... well, she couldn't remember exactly when but it hadn't been good news. Who were those five who had stood between her and the dark figures? She hadn't been able to really make out their shadows... but one looked like a teenage boy, another like a rather large man... a woman with fairy wings had hovered next to the large man... a shorter man between her and what looked like a six foot... rabbit?! She shook her head.

"What the heck was that about?" She'd never seen a more confusing vision before. There was no way there was such a thing as a six foot rabbit... Oh she was no stranger to things that weren't what could be termed as normal, she was Sailor Mars after all and she and her friends had faced beings who could only be called monsters or aliens. They'd won time and time again, so she wasn't so much shocked at the appearance of what seemed like maybe a group of to-be allies... but she still wasn't sure she believed that such a creature like the rabbit existed. There was only one person ... or cat rather... she could think would be able to answer her question. It would have to wait until morning.

The next day Ray sat in Serena's kitchen while Rini sat next to her in silence, which was very unusual for the child. Rini was a happy child and never sat still before, the fact that she was doing so now was... unusual to say the least.

"So, what's this about Ray?" Serena asked.

"Is Rini okay?" Ray glanced over at the young girl with concern.

"Yeah, she just had a nightmare last night."

"I ... had a question for Luna." The black cat in question leapt onto the coffee table and looked at Ray, a golden moon crescent on her forehead. She was no ordinary cat, she had been Serena's pet for all her life, but she had also given advice and guidance to the sailor scouts since the first threat to Earth had come in the form of Queen Beryl.

"What is it you want to know?" The feline asked.

"Well... I had a vision last night, I'm not sure what it means, but the strangest part about it was that there was a giant rabbit in it... I was wondering... is there anything that you've come across that might match that description?" Luna frowned thoughtfully.

"Not that I'm familiar with..."

"What about the Easter Bunny?" Rini asked suddenly.

"The Easter Bunny?" Ray blinked.

"Don't be silly Rini, the Easter Bunny isn't that big."

"And how would you know? Have you ever seen him? Huh?"

"No, but I... I just know alright!" Rini quieted down, much to the girls' surprise rather than continuing the argument as per usual.

"So... you had a bad dream huh?" Rini nodded at Ray's question.

"What was it about?"

"I... I was powerless against this man... he kept chasing me... nothing I tried against him worked... I transformed and... I called you guys but no one came... I... I don't know why, but he scared me..." Rini began, hesitatingly recalling her dream. Her eyes were dim with her remembered fear.

"What did he look like?"

"I... I donno. I couldn't clearly see him... but ... he had these piercing yellow eyes..." The girl shivered and Serena hugged the girl.

"It's okay. You know we're always here for you." Rini only nodded. The sailor scouts had never let her down, neither had her mother... even if she couldn't cook and was a klutz. Despite having to deal with her immaturity constantly... Serena still cared for her even though it wouldn't be until many, many years before Rini would be born to her and Darien.

"Have you told the others about this vision of yours?" Luna asked and Ray shook her head.

"I think you should. Your visions have never been wrong before." Serena said.

"Yeah... but this one... it's just too strange. I'm not saying I doubt it but... do you really think they'd believe we'd need the help of a huge rabbit?" Serena frowned, seeming serious for a change and Ray wondered if she was being so for Rini's benefit because this was out of character for the teen, well okay not that unusual since she was their leader... but definitely not normal.

"I don't see why they wouldn't." Ray nodded thoughtfully before Serena got up and went to the phone to call the others. Soon enough they were all gathered in Serena's room. Rini spent her time with her - unknowing - grandparents who had taken her to a nearby park for the day since it was a Saturday.

"So why are we here again?" Mina asked. She had blonde hair that was held back by a red bow and she was dressed in a blue skirt, and a white T-shirt; her eyes were blue like Serena's. Ray, who sat next to Serena, wore her usual red T-shirt and white shorts, she had brown eyes and straight black hair. Lita, who sat across from Serena was the tallest of them and was dressed in blue jeans and a white T-shirt, her eyes nearly as green as the jungle green hoodie she wore over her shirt and her hair, which was swept back in a high ponytail, was brown. Amy, who was the brains of the group, had blue hair that was almost dark enough to be black and she had eyes that were so dark blue they almost seemed black if the light hit them just right.

"I had a vision last night. I think it might be an answer as to why the children around here haven't been sleeping." This caught the attention of the other girls.

"What was it about?" Lita asked.

"Well..." Ray began a little hesitantly before she explained in as much detail as she could what she had seen.

"I came to Serena's earlier to ask Luna about the figure I saw... the rabbit." The others looked at the feline expectedly, she was reclining on the bed with a white cat who also had the same symbol on his forehead and between the two of them was a lavender feline with the same lunar symbol.

"I haven't heard of such a creature before. Artemis?" Luna glanced over at the white cat.

"Can't say I have either."

"Me either." Diana, the young kitten piped up and the group was at a loss.

"Rini thought it was the Easter Bunny, but we know there's no such thing." Ray said and the other girls nodded. Each seeming lost in their own thoughts, none of them doubted Ray, but what could such a vision mean?