I apologize for the length, but there was one part I really wanted to end this chapter on and things got kind of...angsty.

-North Pole-

It was merry and jolly. The elves were skidding about while yetis tended to their 'crunch time' work, Christmas just two short weeks away. The air smelt like cinnamon, pepermint, and woodshavings, songs and laughter ringing about in the overlook where the globe could be viewed, all of the guardians already there. It was a happy, joyful moment.

Bunnymund entered, and everyone turned, smiling and greeting him in their own ways. Tooth hugged him. Jack called him a kangaroo. Sandy made an image of a waving hand above his head. North laughed. Until they all saw the look on the Guardian of Hope's face, and immediatly froze. Bunnymund, who normally was the epitamy of confidence and collectedness, was currently running a paw through his ears, a look of nervoisness and worry on his face.

"Bunny, why long face?"North asked in broken english. Bunny looked up, brows knitted, as he said warily,

"Uh...somethin' happened, mate." North leaned forward, suddenly serious. Whatever it was, he knew it involved Black, who was currently not standing next to Bunny like she always was, no matter where you looked. Worry creased the old man's face, the little girl holding a very dear spot in his heart, and asked seriously,

"Vat happened, es bad?" Bunny looked around for a moment, trying to find words to explain the...situation. In the end, he gave North a worried look and said,

"Yeah, mate. It's bad-"

Black's p.o.v****

And then I walked in. No, that's wrong. I stormed in like a hurricain on the east coast, slamming open the doors with a frantic Bunny behind me, trying to calm me down as I walked with a purpose to North, Toothina and Jack falling out of shock and Sandy jumping, everyone starring wide-eyed at me for my intrusion and the 'slight change' to my appearence.

I walked right up to North, who sat in a small chair, and got face-to-face with him, seething with anger as my blood pumped hot in my veins, adrenaline the only reason I could walk at the moment. Breath coming in quiet seeths, North's face became wide-eyed, and not in wonder. After a shaky, shocked silence, he seemed to deflate a bit and nodded.

"Oh yes, es bad."

"YA THINK?!"I boomed, stepping back and holding out my arms, as if they all couldn't see already, "I'M PINK, NORTH, PINK!"

"Actually, es more flesh-colored..."I gave him a look, and he immediatly cut out his correction, nodding and saying, "But I get point."

"What happend to you, Black?"Jack asked, actual concern in his voice as I spun to face him. Unfortunatly, I spun way too quick, and my damaged body couldn't take that kind of speed at the moment. I swayed and stumbled back, Bunny quickly at my side, catching me and supporting my weight with a hand on my back and another holding my hand.

"Black!"Toothina exclaimed worriedly, but I shook my head, standing on my own and moving away from Bunny, fury building in me again. I rested my hands against the railing and looked at the globe, shaking from weakness and anger. I answered Jack's earlier question, needing to get it off my chest before I smashed something.

"Pitch attacked me in the Warren."I spat, the others gasping except for Bunny, him just tensing in anger. I remembered his crushed boomerang and more fury rose up in me. If I'd have sensed Pitch coming earlier, I could have stopped this..this horrible thing... "I don't know how he got out, but something was different about him. Something...stronger about his presence. As if he'd been charging himself or something.."

I took a breath, my lungs full of lead, and continued, "Whatever it was that let him escape was pretty damn powerful. He was able to catch me off-guard and, when I spun around, he stabbed me with something, right in the chest. The next thing I remember is this pain, and then...this." I looked down at my light-peach skin on my hand, the knuckles turning whiter as I gripped the railing harder. Humans turned a lot of different colors. Before, I was either light-grey or...well, light grey.

"But...why are you...um..."Jack tried to use the word softly, but there was no way around it.

"I know what he did, though not how he did it. I lived with him long enough to know he's the most clever person I've ever met, able to find a way out of anything, going to any lengths to put the odds in his court..." I turned and rested my back on the railing, facing the others, their eyes widening a bit still as they scanned my face. A small feeling of self-conciousness filled me and I lowered my head a bit.

"I was created to help Pitch control the nightmares before he went rouge, the ones that already existed. In order to do this, the shadows were part of me, giving me complete control over them that Pitch couldn't even dream of. Now, with whatever kind of new power he has, it's coupled with my control of the shadows...in short, he's now a superstorm, and without my shadows or control to face him, I'm human...vunerable...and our odds are now severely shifted."

I finished, teeth gritted hard.

"Black-"

"He made me weak. And I'll make him pay."I spat, but North continued, suddenly in front of me with his hands on my shoulders, making me look up at him. His face was, surprisingly, warm, cheeks red and eyes glittering, giving me the look that had cemented him as my father-figure. Whenever I had an issue, or was feeling down, and Bunny wasn't around, I went to him. This smile was one that was uniquely kind, it was the kind that made everything seem just a bit better, like everything could be fixed with a hug and a mug of coco.

"Black, dear child, all will be fine. What Pitch did we will find out, eventually. We will find way to defeat him and get odds back in our court. But, in meantime, you are very weak, not just because you are now fleshy-colored. Christmas is 2 week away, and Pitch wont do anything for day or so, so you rest, get strength, help decorate for party. Once back on feet and not wobble-wobble, we find way to get shadows back and keep Pitch from ruining Christmas, no?"North explained.

I gave him a deadpan look and said flatly,

"Pitch now has more power than ever seen before, and I'm completely vunerable and useless. And you want to decorate for a party."

"...Yes."

"Crazy Russian."I mummbled, moving away from him on wobbly legs.

"C'mon kid, rest."Bunny ordered, but I shook my head, defiant though I was now acutely aware of how utterly weak I was, surrounded by immortals while I was incredibly mortal. Painfully so.

"No, I can help. I'll just do..."I looked around, trying to find something I could do that would possibly not include strength or shadows...I drew a blank. Luckily, Toothina did not.

"She can help me bake cookies! Oh it'll just be wonderful! We can have bonding time!"She chirped happily, babytooth bobbing up and down excitedly. She gave me those wide, happy eyes, and knew that I couldn't possibly say no. I let out a silent sigh, and smiled, though something was dragging it down.

I would help, and sure, I could do this and help for the party. But this was more of a way to keep everyone's mind of what was happening: Pitch was back, and this time...this time I wasn't entirely sure that we could defeat him. We were in deep trouble, and no doubt that North would not be helping with the party planning, but in his office, trying to sort out a plan on how to stifle Pitch before he did anything...horrible.

But that wasn't it. I was...horribly embarrased. I was used to being one of the strongest Guardians, responsible in a large part for Pitch's downfall. Now...now they were almost...taking pity on me. And I hated it, hated me, but mostly hated Pitch.

"Hey, cheer up."I heard from above me as I walked with Tooth to the kitchen, looking up to see Jack floating with his back on his staff, smiling at me playfully, "You look pretty good for a human girl!" Leave it to Jack to actually coax a laugh out of me in a horrible time like this. Maybe it was because, out of everyone, I felt like he wasn't pitying me. We were both kids, both knew what it was like to be looked down upon for it.

And, at the moment, we were both semi-outcasts. I was suddenly very glad that I had Jack as a friend.

"Cool it, Frostbite."I teased back, reaching up and pushing him, causing him to tip over and fall on his face. I quickly shut the kitchen door behind me before he could get it, hearing him laughing on the other side.

"Okay! You're gonna love my sugar-free sugar cookies!"Toothina cheered. Oh, right...'Tooth' Fairy... I sighed and walked over, preparing to do something women had done for hundreds of years.

Unfortunatly, until recently, I'd been in a cave for the past nine hundred years. This wasn't gonna be pretty.

Bunnymund's p.o.v****

What was that supposed to mean?! 'You look pretty good for a human girl'?! If Frostbite thought he could just spout stuff like that to her he had another thing coming! Like my foot to his face! I could already feel my fur rising on my neck in irritation caused by that punk's comment... Or was it his comment? Was it how she had smiled at it, instead of doing what I expected her to do, and that was knock the kid back a few holidays? Why did they suddenly seem so buddy-buddy?

"Hmm."I heard North's pondering noise from next to me, and I looked over curiously, still a bit of irritation running around my head. He was looking at the door that Black and Tooth had gone through, then down to me from the corner of his eye with a suspicious look. Immediatly defensive, I perked up one ear and asked,

"Whata' ya lookin' at?" He just shook his head and let out a soft chuckle. Now, to most people that's a normal laugh for someone to have. Not for North. He was either smiling or booming with his infamous belly-laugh, shaking the windows and my eardrums. That meant that he was happy. A small little chuckle? That was off.

"What's wrong, North?"I inquired, something written behind the face of the old Guardian of Wonder, a trouble in his eyes that hadn't been there before. He took in a deep breath and let it out in a shoulder-shrugging sigh, crossing his massive arms in front of him.

"Black...something is wrong."He said with a heavily tired tone, laced with worry. I raised an eyebrow and pointed to the door.

"Uh, she's a human, mate. That might be what yer lookin' for."I corrected him, but he shook his head and scrunched up his nose in concentration and thought, trying to convey something.

"She yell at me. She never yell at me, at anyone but you. Something bothering her, deep down inside."North explained, and my gaze travelled back to the door, thinking of the fury that lit up her eyes, the worry and tension on her face as she tried to walk, tried to act like everything was okay, when Tooth had offered to bake cookies with her. Granted, it wasn't some big macho thing that she was used to, but what was wrong with cookies?

"I see yer point."I agreed, sensing something...off about her as well, chalking it down to nerves about Pitch returning mysteriously and taking her power. Anyone would be thrown for a loop. Hell, we would all be on high-alert now, the pricking in the back of our necks that the man we thought had been defeated was out there again. A worry twisted in my gut at the thought, wondering what he was planning...with this new power, things were more serious than ever. "But I don't blame the kid. Her brother's back and she has no power to fight back.

"If what she says is true, we've neva' been up against somethin' like this before." North nodded, leaning backwards.

"She never yell at me before, though, and even with no shadows she still scares me! I worried about our little guardian-in-training, something not quite right. Bunny, look after her?"North asked, and I scoffed, crossing my arms.

"Whada ya think I've been doin' all this time, North?"I asked. There was a silence, dragging out and making me look, finally, up at the jolly old date, who had a sly smile on his face, looking at me. In all honestly, it creeped me out, and I made a face to tell him such. He laughed, and this time it was his true belly-laugh that made a few passing elves fall down in shock, laughing until he had to whipe a tear from his eye, me wondering what was so bloody funny.

He placed a hand on my shoulder, still shaking me from his laughter, and got that 'too-close-for-comfort' thing down, leaning in until I had to pull my face back a bit to avoid an incredibly akward encounter while he gave me a knowing look.

"Bunny, I know more than most think. Especially concerning my little Black."He said cryptically, and winked, finally backing away and allowing me to breathe. "Don't mess up, I'll be vatching." Whatever the hell that meant, North didn't explain. He just turned and walked away, humming some Russian tune to himself, leaving me confused and flustered.

I shook my head and looked back at the door, thinking. Mainly about Black, and her situation. North, as cryptic and odd as he may be, had a point. Now that I thought about it, Black really didn't yell at anyone like that unless it was me, especially not at North of all people. The man was like a father to her, or at least a senile uncle, and I couldn't recall a time when she'd raised her voice at him other than to call the old nut upstairs when she made him cinnamon roles.

She was upset. But about what? Pitch. That much was obvious. Even now, North was probably talking with Manny on what to do about the increasingly dangerous situation, throwing this party only to get everyone's mind off of what we knew was going to be a big, big problem, at least until we knew what to do. Maybe about how she looked? But that was bloody ridiculous. Even though she wasn't her normal, monochramatic-self, she still had that light to her eyes, increased now by that brilliant blue color they held, like the sky right before sundown.

And sure her skin was different, but the pale, peachy color suited the little bugger, even made her now-solid black hair look as normal as always. No, she was still bloody beautiful, it had to be something el-

Wait a bleedin' second.

Bloody beautiful? Since when did I start referring to Black as beautiful? That was definitly new, and slightly concerning. First, for some reason that really got under my skin, the amount of time she spent around Jack seemed to raise every hair on my pelt. Second, beautiful? Maybe all of this stress was finally makin' me go nuts as North.

Now that was something to be afraid of.

Black's p.o.v****

This was beyond frustrating. It was infuriating and, worst of all, humiliating. For the second time, I fell, muscles finally giving out after two hours of baking and running around, trying to keep the elves out of the cookie dough. I panted, head slamming back more in frustration than weakness, Tooth letting out a worried 'oh!' before kneeling next to me.

Pitch would pay for this. He would pay dearly. This weakness was humiliating! I couldn't even bake freaking cookies, let alone actually fight! It had been a day since Pitch took what I held closest to me, and as hard as I tried to be resourceful and helpful, to try and prove that I was still just as strong as I used to be, the simplest task rendered my damaged and traumatized muscles into jello. Trying to hang ornaments on the massive tree. Hanging low streamers. Baking freaking cookies.

I'd ended up avoiding everyone, trying to work in solitude as much as possible not just so that I didn't mess anything up around them...but also because I didn't want them to see how weak I'd gotten, and have to feel their looks of pity. I hated them. Not them, but their pity. I loved them, wanted to protect them, even looked up to them, and now I was weak and little more than a nusaince. The frustration and fury built up in me, and I finally couldn't take it.

"I'm fine!"I said, a bit too loud, as I used a nonexistant strength to push myself up, walking away as Tooth called,

"Black, wait!" But I didn't. I felt like a spoiled brat, but I couldn't take her worried look. Couldn't take my own weakness. Instead, I stomped through the workshop, turning down a hall that I remembered running down not too long ago, after I first agreed to fight with the guardians.

I always seemed to be having an emotional crisis in this hallway.

"Oi, sheila!"An Australian accent called from behind me, but I ignored him. Bunny, out of all of them, I couldn't stand to see pitying me. Granted, I hadn't seen it yet, but I had a feeling it was coming. For some reason, I couldn't stand the thought of his pity, of his knowledge of my weakness no matter how apparent it really was to everyone.

Loud hops followed me as I moved faster, finally turning to my room and throwing the door open. I was about to go 'brooding teenager' on him, but my plan was ruined when the freaking Pooka caught my arm and spun me around, a certain anger in his movements.

"What's the big idea? You stormed out and worried Tooth sick ya little anklebiter!"He yelled, eyes confused and eyebrows furrowed. I regained myself from the spin, hating that it had taken that much out of me, and fixed him with my best glare.

"Just leave me alone, alright?"I said angrily, but his grip on my arm didn't lessen. In fact, it only got stronger as I tried to pull out of it, frustrated as his eyes clouded with confusion.

"What's wrong with you, Black? You've been avoidin' everyone since you baked cookies with Tooth yesterday, yer making everyone worry about ya-"

"Yeah well maybe you should all stop then!"I snapped loudly, catching Bunny off-guard long enough to yank my arm from his grasp, moving back and walking towards the bed situated on the far wall, right under a large window with the black curtains open, revealing a light snowfall outside courtesy of a bored Jack Frost.

"Whatdaya mean by that, huh?"Bunny's voice called after me, following as I leaned a hand on a bed post, doing my best not to shake from the strain. I grit my teeth, an embarrased and irritated heat rising in my chest as a part of me tried to think of a way to make him leave...but another part wanted him here. Wanted to have him near me and...and vent. Venting to Bunny was like trying to talk to a brick. A very tall, grumpy brick.

And yet that's exactly what happened. Maybe it was the stress of jumping at every shadow, the threat of Pitch looming darkly over my mind. Or the weakness of being...human. Or maybe I just wanted to talk to him. Maybe months of fixing a broken bond, slowly mending back a trust that had been shattered by time, had changed something...

Either way you chose it, I flipped.

"It means that all of you need to stop treating me like a kicked puppy!"I shouted, spinning to him and immediatly regretting it, my arm shaking violently, glad I had my cloak to hide most of it. Bunny looked like I'd just decked him in the nose, pulling his head back and eyebrows furrowing, caught off guard by my sudden outburst. I immediatly felt horrible, a feeling of guilt burrowing in my stomach. And yet I kept going, all of my frustrations bubbling over and onto Bunny.

"I get it! I'm human, I'm mortal now! If Pitch attacks, we don't stand a chance, and you'd all get hurt and I couldn't do a damn thing about it! I understand, so everyone stop acting like I'm some sick little baby in constant need of pity and care! I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself! I see those looks you all give me everytime I get tired, and you think they make me feel better? Well they don't!"I was screaming now, and was almost positive that everyone in the whole damn workshop could hear me.

Bunny's face was a mix of confusion and hurt, eyes narrowing and darting about my face, not able to get a word in as I spilled an emotional waterfall onto him, panting and blood pumping. I felt like an idiot. Yet I still didn't stop.

"I went from being able to take Pitch down to not being able to stand on my own damn legs for more than an hour! Pitch has my shadows, he's back, you're all in danger, and I can't do a damn thing about it because I'm weak! I-"

"Hold on now sheila!"Bunny cut me off, and I was about to protest, but he seemed to have heard enough. To be honest, I didn't think I could have yelled much longer without falling over. He stepped towards me with a serious and angry face, pointing at me as he said, "We don't think you're weak."

"But-"

"Don't interrupt!"He snapped, and I grit my teeth as he stepped even closer to me, voice not quite yelling, but still above his normal octive, "Weak is the last bloody thing we'd call ya! Bloody hell, kid, if that's what's been getting you upset you've worried us for nothing! We don't think yer weak, and we aren't tryin' ta treat ya like a puppy or whatever you called it! You wanna know the reason we've been worried, the reason we've been actin' like this?" He finally paused, and I frowned, quiet now.

After a second, I gave a barely-there nod. Bunny stepped even closer to me and took both of my arms in his paws, looking down at me with a softening look in his face. Bunny's face, to those who knew him and even those that didn't, his face was soft on only one occasion: children, mainly on Easter. Or, and only I had seen this, when he was laughing. For it to happen like this was odd, and in turn stirred an odd feeling in my gut.

"Because we care about ya, kid. You've been acting all screwy, and to be honest I'm afraid you'll start actin' like North."He said softly, and for the first time since Jack had been a smartass, I chuckled. "Ah, see that's betta."Bunny said quietly, and I took in a deep breath, recovering from my outburst.

"I'm sorry, Bunny..."

"Hey, I get it. I'm not a complete rock, ya know. There's a lot of stress right now, and that's why North is throwing this party soon: He wants us all to relax."

"That's ridiculous and you know it."I deadpanned, and after a second, Bunny nodded in agreement.

"I know. He's gone completely bonkers. I blame the bloody elves. But what else are we supposed to be doin'..."He trailed off, eyes looking down at me in deep thought. I turned my head to the side and gave him a curious look, wondering what was going on in the giant Pooka's mind at the moment.

"...Kangaroo?"I asked, finally snapping him out of it. He looked down at me mildly irritated, shaking himself from thought. Giving me a serious look, Bunnymund asked,

"You wanna be able to protect your friends? To stop feeling weak?" Curious and mildly concerned, I nodded, and the Pooka sighed, shaking his head tiredly. "Ah can't believe I'm sayin' this, but... Wake up early tomorrow.

"If I'm gonna train ya, we'll have to start early and work fast. Pitch wont let more than a day go by without striking, now that he has all this new power to play with, and we've got a lot of defense techniques to cover in a short amount of time an' if I remember correctly, ya don't exactly catch on fast." I froze, eyes wide and heart beat suddenly excited. I gave Bunny a skeptical look lined with anticipation at this offer.

"You sure? You remembered what happened last time..."I trailed off, and he scratched his head, moving his arms from mine.

"Ay...and I still wanna do this. Anythin' ta get ya out of this 'moody teenager' phase."He mused, and I lunged to give him a punch... Unfortunatly, I tried to use the only arm supporting me, and fell forward. "Woah!"Bunny exclaimed, catching me quickly as I shook, gritting my teeth as my muscles strained.

There was a pause, a silence as I breathed heavily and curiosity rose the longer the moment dragged on. I raised an eyebrow and looked up at Bunny, who was giving me a very...odd look. Almost as if he were embarrased at a thought...

"Uh..."He mummbled, and then said quietly, "Ye fergot yer nightlight back at the Warren, didn't ya?" And that's how I knew he was really nervous and embarrased. His accent got thicker, slurring a few words as he tried to mummble it. I thought, and immediatly cursed myself.

"Yeah. Guess the whole 'becoming mortal' thing clouded my mind."I said, though a strange heat was coming to my face as I recalled the last time I'd been in a dark room, ending up seeing out the comfort of a particular bunny...

Before I could protest, as if I had a choice, Bunny supported all my weight and gently placed me down into the bed, pulling the covers over me. A sudden yawn fourced its way from me, and my eyes were squeezed shut for a few second, when a weight pulled down the bed in front of me. Surprised, I opened my eyes, feeling a furry warmth in front of me, shifting uncomftorbly. Bunny turned his face from me, but by the sight of his ears folding themselves against his head, I could tell there was an embarrased blush somewhere under his fur.

"...Bunny?"I asked, not so much confused as I was surprised by his action, my mind immediatly flashing, once again, to about nine months ago, and felt my face heat up again. While this wouldn't have bothered me before, my skinshade barely fluctuating between slight shades of grey, I'd seen humans blush before, their cheeks turning red to betray their emotion, which was something I'd tried my whole life not to do.

"Listen, I don't wantcha kept up all night from yer little phobia, so it's this or ya don't get trained."He said in a serious tone that was supposed to cover his nervousness. I opened my mouth, but...something stopped me. Something stopped me from teasing him. Something stopped me from protesting.

But, above all, and the most perplexing and concerning thing, was that something stopped me from telling him that I'd gotten over my fear of the dark when we fought Pitch. I hadn't needed the nightlight since. And yet, right now, as my body struggled to heal itself slower than its immortal for would have, as I felt more vunerable now that ever, I felt like I needed Bunny. At least here, beside me, there was a warm, familiar warmth. One that wouldn't pity me.

He lay with his eyes closed, arms crossed behind his head, breathing softly. Leave it to Bunny to still look rough while he was sleeping, boomerangs still around his torso...boomerang, more like it, the second holster empty... And then an idea popped into my head. How to pay Bunny back for training me. But it would have to wait, because right now I was about to pass out, whether I liked it or not. I settled down, and somewhere between being barely awake and falling asleep, I wrapped an arm around Bunny's chest, a protective arm wrapping around me.

For the first time in awhile, I felt safe.

-Outside the Door-

"Awww."Toothina whispered, hands to her mouth as they all peered into the room, minus a certain Jack Frost, who had fallen asleep on the rafters above the workshop.

"It is adorable...but only for moment."North said, a seriousness to his tone that made Tooth and Sandy look at him sadly as the leader of the Guardians sighed at his friends within the room, knowing wisely that whatever was about to happen between Pitch and them was going to heavily impact the two. Especially now that Black was going to be trained and made stronger.

But he would give them this moment.

"Come, let us knock Jack down before he fall on Yeti."