A/N: Reviews, reviews, reviews ~ Oh, they make me so happy! Anyway, I don't own RotG, just this plot and my OCs. Read and enjoy!

"Don't be scared." Pitch murmured with a light chuckle, leading me forward through the pure blackness that had swallowed us.

I would've frowned at him, but the shadows around us were so thick that there was nothing to be seen behind or around us. The dark had even overwhelmed my new natural glow. The only reason I knew he was still there was because I could feel the material of his sleeve beneath my hands and pressed against my side, soft as a midnight breeze with tense muscle underneath. "I'm not."

We emerged from the darkness in a moment, but that moment seemed to feel like an eternity as I kept the awful fingers of the fear he carried with him from digging into my heart.

My first thought, on seeing the place he called home, was that the light was almost the exact same color as his eyes.The second was how lonely it was, not just in appearances but in feeling. The place could be pretty, really, were it not for how utterly forlorn it all was. There were no sounds, no shifts in the light, nothing. It was almost heartbreaking in its solitude.

"Ah," Pitch began, releasing my arm and striding forwards a ways, "I can see it in your eyes. You understand the desolation that dwells here."

"I don't exactly understand it as much as I feel it." I corrected, leaning against the side of the archway and letting my fingers trail along the grooves in its worn surface.

He nodded, yellow-gray eyes somber before his smile returned. "Well, don't just haunt the doorway, my dear. Nothing to be afraid of here."

I shrugged away from the wall, glaring at him, as the wind stirred around me, causing the strange birdcages above me to rattle and clash together. The discordant melody helped to ease the horrible, oppressing feeling in the air. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not scared?" I quipped, passing over the stairs with a quick leap to land inches in front of him.

"Oh, you don't have to tell me, Wisp." He chuckled, his rich voice lingering when he disappeared, reforming from a shadow on a wall to my right, some ten feet above my head. "I know you're not afraid. Honestly, I was just teasing. Have a bit of fun!"

I blinked at him, taken aback, the gusts around me dulling down to soft, gentle breezes that circulated the massive room. "I can have fun!"

"Of course you can!" he agreed, melting into the shadow and popping back into existence behind me. "That's why you'll do so much better with me." He whispered, brushing some of my hair from my shoulder, a tinge of amusement leaking into his tone.

I took a slight step to the side, turning to face him. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, stirring my hair where it floated close to him. "That's right, I promised to explain to you, didn't I?" I nodded, watching him as he strode forward into a darkened corner between two archways. I scanned the area until I spotted him several yards away and down by some strange metal sculpture. "Come along, Wisp." He called, waiting with his hands clasped behind his back.

I eyed the distance between where I stood and the small courtyard where he was with mild apprehension; I hadn't really gotten the chance to practice my floating. If I fell, it'd be a long time before I hit bottom. I bit the inside of my cheek, thinking. Would it even hurt me if I did fall? There were a lot more abyssal shadows down there, too; maybe I'd fall through to some other place… I'd have to test that theory later.

Pitch noticed my hesitation. Even from this distance I could tell he was grinning. "You're taking an awfully long time. Are you sure you aren't—?"

I cut him off before he could finish his question, using my wind to give me a boost across the gap. The wind sang in my ears as I flew, and I closed my eyes with a laugh, loving the sound. I twisted so I was falling head-first, my hair flowing out behind me. I opened my eyes when I thought I was close to the other side, returning to a standing position in time for my toes to touch the ground. His sonorous laugh seemed to echo from every shadow, his odd eyes focused on me with keen interest.

I raised an eyebrow at him, crossing my arms over my chest. "You were saying?"

"Come here and look at this." He said, taking me lightly by the elbow and guiding me forward towards the strange, globe-shaped structure. It really was like a globe, but it had tiny lights glimmering on its surface in certain places. "Tell me what you think it is." He released me in favor of slowly pacing around the sculpture.

"It's a globe." I said matter-of-factly, hopping on top of it, careful to avoid stepping on any of the lights. "Like the ones we had at school. What're all of the lights for? Is it some sort of …population count?"

He nodded, looking pleased as his dusk-colored eyes glinted at me between Europe and Africa. "It is indeed. Each light represents a child who believes."

I waited for an awkward moment for him to finish the sentence. "Believes in…what?"

"Us. Or, rather, the Guardians." He sneered at the name, resuming his circling at a more expedient pace.

I frowned, floating down from my perch on the globe. "Who're they?"

Pitch's face, normally cool and a tad sardonic, took on a vicious expression. "They're the ones with all the power, all the believers! They get to be seen! As long as children believe in them, I'll be trapped down here, weak, forgotten," he turned his burning gaze on mine, "alone."

"Why's that?" I asked, sitting in midair in the middle of the globe, like it was an enormous chair. "Can't the kids believe in both you and them?"

He shook his head furiously back and forth in frustration. "No, no, it doesn't work like that."

I pursed my lips in thought, resting my chin on my hands. "Why can't you all hang out together? That way you wouldn't be all alone."

He scoffed, leaning in the opening between Asia and North America, the tiny lights casting odd shadows across his face. "Let's just say they don't like me very much."

"Why? Did you all get in a fight?"

His serious expression disappeared, replaced with a smirk as he chuckled. "You could say that." The smirk disappeared as he stared at me, his eyes holding an almost unfathomable sadness. "It's been so long since someone's just spoken to me like this." He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, closing his eyes briefly. "No matter. Things will get better soon."

"You still haven't explained one thing to me." I waited for him to look me in the eyes. "Why are any of us here to begin with?"

His wicked grin returned as he held out a hand to help me from the globe. "I think that's enough lecturing for one day, don't you?" I took his offered hand, stepping free. "Now, I have some business to attend to. Why don't you go exploring? I'm sure you're dying to get out and test your new powers on the world."

I did. I really wanted to go flying, to feel the air on my face and in my hair, to have my weightless freedom and calm. But curiosity took momentary dominance. "What kind of business?"

"Don't worry, I'll let you in on everything soon." He took me by my shoulders, leading me towards the edge of a stone bridge. "Go have some fun. I'll join you as soon as I finish."

I scowled at him, wary. "Pitch—,"

"Ta-ta," he laughed, pushing me off of the bridge into the shadows that lie waiting for me.

The darkness engulfed me, closing off the way back. "Damn it, Pitch!" I cursed, my hair and skin flaring with light. I let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. Great. My first acquaintance in my new life, and he pushes me off of a bridge. Bastard. Well, I couldn't go back, so I might as well trudge forward. The shadows slid across my skin like mist as I walked, humming quietly to myself to break the unsettling quiet.

The dark spit me out, to my surprise, in front of my old house. The sun was rising, and the family inside was getting ready to start the day. I felt my heart lurch at the sight of Mom in the kitchen, getting their lunches ready. I darted out of the street, jumping up on top of the porch, and walked over to Emmy's open bedroom window. I eased my way in, careful not to bonk my head, and froze with one foot still outside. Emmy sat on her bed, clumsy fingers making knots instead of a braid, her tongue sticking a little ways out in her focus. I was happy to see that her bangs had been trimmed, so they weren't clinging to her eyelashes anymore.

"Emmy?" I whispered, so as not to alert the entire house. "Emmy! Emmy, it's me!" I climbed the rest of the way in, kneeling in front of her. I waved a hand in front of her face, my excitement making it shimmer.

Without looking at me, she got up from the bed, going over to her closet to get changed. Her eyes lacked their old warmth as she surveyed her clothing, looking completely disinterested. I got to my feet and followed her as she went to her dressing table, still in her pajamas, and started tugging a brush through her unruly locks, passing me in the process.

"I don't understand," I mumbled, staring at our reflections in the mirror. "Why won't you look at me? Can't you see me?" For the first time since waking up, I felt truly, absolutely frightened. I reached forwards, meaning to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, but my hands passed right through her.

She went back to her closet, randomly picking out a dark violet sundress for the day, and began shedding her pajamas while I had a brief mental breakdown, staring at my hands. I immediately began touching everything—the bed; her hairbrush; Aria the rabbit, who had had her arm reattached this time with zebra duct tape; I flipped through the pages of the storybook Emmy would always have me read through. My hands never passed through any of them.

Emmy frowned at the book when I'd stopped leafing through it, and I felt hope rise up in me; did she know I was here? No, she just went over to the window, closing it firmly. She left Aria on her bed as she left her room, very uncharacteristic of her.

"Emmy!" I called after her, clutching the abandoned stuffed rabbit by its ears. "Emmy, get back here!"

She continued on, starting down the stairs. With a frustrated yell I chucked the toy at her. My aim was poor, and my arm too strong, causing the bunny to land on the top stair. The soft thump it made got her attention, though. "What the…." She frowned, backtracking to retrieve the rabbit. She dusted it off, eyes filled with a wistful sadness, and started back towards her room.

"Yes, yes, yes!" I crowed, doing a quick float about the room. "Come on, Em."

She was by her bed, tucking the bunny in with a scowl. She still didn't look at me.

"No! Emmy, please! Come on, look at me! Look at me!" I yelled to her back as she left again. I let out a shriek of irritation, my anger causing me to flare with light, my hair whipping around me with wind.

Emmy whirled back around, eyes wide as she looked at me, barely catching the rabbit that I'd thrown at her again.

She was looking at me!

"Emmy?" I tried again, the wind dying down around me as she approached. "Emmy, can you see me?"

Instead of answering me, she rushed at me, throwing her arms around my waist. Her hot tears soaked through my shirt, and I automatically started rubbing her back, trying to comfort her. I let out a relieved laugh when I didn't pass through her again, and she started laughing, too.

"Myra!" she sobbed, voice thick due to her stuffed nose. The name sounded familiar, and I realized it must've been mine, back when I wasn't…whatever the hell I was now.

"Hi, kiddo. Long time, no see—literally, in my case." I chuckled, detaching her from me so I could get her a tissue. "You had me worried for a minute."

She scowled at me, wiping her nose. "But, what're you doing here? We saw you—saw you—," she cut off with a gasp, eyes enormous as her breathing became erratic.

"Hey, hey, calm down! Deep breaths, Emmy, deeeeep breaths." I soothed, patting her on the back.

She turned her large eyes on me. "Are you a ghost now?"

I laughed, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Nope. So far, the only thing I've passed through is you."

"What?"

I quickly changed the subject. "My hair glows now, isn't that cool?"

She nodded exuberantly, bouncing lightly on the bed. "It's so pretty, like the night sky! And it floats!"

I smirked at her, jumping up to fly over her head and hover by the window. "It's not the only thing that floats."

Her eyes were full of delight as my happiness at being seen caused my skin to shine. "You're amazing, Myra!"

Her smile, so warm, made my heart melt. I drifted back over to her, giving her a tight squeeze. "I missed you, Emmy."

"I missed you, too." She let out a tiny gasp as a thought occurred to her. "I should go get Jenna! Jenna!" she called through the open door, jumping up and down on the bed excitedly.

"What?!" Jenna snapped, coming through the door looking more irritable than ever, dark circles outlining her dull eyes. "What do you want?"

"Hey, remember what I said about snapping at her?" I reprimanded, forgetting that she couldn't hear me.

Emmy looked from me to Jenna. "Myra said not to snap at me."

Jenna looked like she'd been slapped, anger and hurt flaring in her eyes. "I thought I told you not to talk about her anymore!"

"I'm not talking about her! She's right here, Jenna!" Emmy said, grabbing my wrist and flapping my hand in Jenna's scowling face.

Jenna frowned, and I thought for a moment that she could see me. Then her expression of apprehension shifted to one of disgust, and she pushed Emmy back on the bed. "Don't be stupid! Myra's gone, and she's never coming back!" She whirled on her heel and marched from the room, shoulders stiff with fury as she slammed the door shut behind her.

Emmy turned to me, looking confused. "Why couldn't Jenna see you?"

Pitch's words filled my head: They're the ones with all the believers—they get to be seen!

"She doesn't believe in me." I said quietly, sitting cross-legged on the bed. My hair settled around my shoulders and down my back, suddenly heavy as a blanket, almost all of its light gone.

Emmy threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tight. "It's okay—I'll make her believe! That way, she can see you, too!" she said, looking at me with her small chin set in determination.

I chuckled, hugging her back. "If anyone can make her believe, it's you." I sat back, looking around the room. "What's today?"

She screwed up her face, thinking hard. "It's Saturday. Saturday….October twenty-first?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "It's this warm, and it's almost Halloween?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, the weather's been weird."

"Apparently." I chuckled, jumping up to float lazily close to the ceiling. A lot of the glow-in-the-dark star stickers were starting to peel away, I noticed.

Emmy fidgeted below me. "I was going to go play at Anne's house today…do you want to come?"

I dropped down to the floor in front of her with a soft whoosh, smiling at her. "There's some other stuff I need to do today. But I'll braid your hair for you, if you want." I offered before she could become too crestfallen. She nodded eagerly, and with her new haircut it only took a little bit before her hair was done, a white satin bow tied at the end. "There, all done."

"Myra?" she called when I started for the window. I turned back to her as she threw herself at me, squeezing my midsection so hard I thought she'd snap me in two. "Come back soon, okay?"

I hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. "Of course I will. Go play with your friends, 'kay?" I turned, reopening the window, and climbed out. "Be a good girl!" I laughed as I jumped up, letting the wind catch me. I turned, giving her a little wave to see her still watching me, a small smile on her face and the light back in her eyes.

It was a good deal colder out now than it was last night—a cold front must've come in while I was with Pitch. The wind was brisk on my face as I flew, taking in the kids playing at the park, the frost beginning to coat the store windows, the white-haired dude who wasn't watching where he was flying—

A/N: Please review!