I'm pretty happy with everything up until the meeting. But it should work well enough.

Here's hoping this works out.

Remember to enjoy!

I felt myself just floating there.

No sense of where I was, what I was doing.

Just darkness. That's the first thing I remember.

It was cold.

It was dark.

And I was scared.

"Calm, child. You are safe."

I open my eyes, and they immediately sting. I ignore the fact that I am underwater, in favour of looking for the source of the voice.

No one.

I look up and gasp softly at the bright light of the moon.

It chased the darkness away.

I wasn't scared anymore.

I feel myself floating up.

Up through the the ice and into the air.

My lungs are attacked with oxygen. My breathing quickens in an attempt to keep up with it.

As I land on the ice, my breathing slows down and I look at my hands.

Strange.

I knew about the moon, the ice and my hands, but I couldn't remember how I knew.

Not knowing what to do, I turn to explore when I almost trip over a stick.

I kneel down and inspect it. It was long. Longer than myself. And it had a crook at the end. It seemed familiar in my hands.

"Jack Frost." This voice was different. Unlike the voice before, this voice was like the tinkle of a bell in my ear. As I looked above, it seemed to come from the moon.

I stand and the end of the stick lands of the ice. Swirling patterns of frost and ice come out onto the surface of the lake.

I walk curiously walk up to the nearby trees, gently tapping them with the crook of the stick. The same flowerlike patterns form.

The next few minutes blurred.

I ran on to the ice, the stick trailing me on the ice. I laugh excitedly as I twirl around, the ice following close behind. I almost trip in the excitement but continue to spin.

I could have sworn someone chuckled at my happiness, but I was having too much fun to look.

All of a sudden, my feet left the ground. I spun around and around until I was looking over the growing frost.

The beautiful sight lasted but a moment, as the Wind lost its hold and I fell onto the thick branch of a large tree. I chuckle and a glint of light catches my eye. I sit up and spot a small village not too far.

I fly over, wobbling as I try to work with the wind. I managed to get to the village before falling flat on my face. I quickly get up and start to walk along, greeting everyone.

"Hello. Hello! Good evening, ma'am. Ma'am."

I saw a little kid running after a dog and knelt down, to ask if he could tell me where I was.

"Oh! Ah-ah excuse me, can you tell me where I am-"

And he went straight through me.

I stand, breathing heavily, as if the oxygen had been pulled away again.

A crowd of people come towards me.

"Hello?" I asked, confused.

They too, phased through me.

My heart ached, and I clutched it.

I turned away and ran back into the woods, sobbing.

I was alone.

I was lost.

I was scared.

"You poor thing."

My sobs turn to sharp hiccups as I hear the voice gain. The same one that had told me I was safe.

I look around, daring to hope that someone could see me.

"W-Who's there?"

My gaze locked onto the glowing amber in the shadows. A tall man stepped out.

He wore black poncho that fell past his feet, looking like it melded into the shadows. His black hair was long, reaching his lower back. I was pretty sure that if he didn't tie it by his neck, it would be even longer. The thing that stood out most, however, was his shining gold eyes.

I didn't let my guard down, though. I lift the stick in my shaking grasp and whisper. "Who are you?"

My answer came in the form of a silky baritone. "My name is Pitch Black. What about you, child?"

My knuckled grow even whiter as I replied. "J-Jack Frost."

The man - Pitch - took another step forward, and I reflexively step back.

He stares, as if seeing me clearly for the first time. "My! But you're just a child!"

My grasp gets even tighter. He seems to notice my fear and frowns. He puts his hands out, in a sign of peace. "You don't need to be scared. I won't hurt you."

There's something about the way he spoke. Something that made me lower my weapon. Like this man knew what I should fear and what I shouldn't.

"You must have quiet a few questions, am I right?"

My heart ached as if the villagers are passing through me all over again. "Why does nobody see me?" I inquire.

"Come." He told me simply, holding out his hand. I gingerly take it and immediately notice how pale my skin is compared to his. I look up as we begin to walk into the shadows. His face was calm.

I knew I could trust him.

I wasn't scared anymore.

I sit up, gasping for air as I awake.

"Jack!" I look down from my tree and see Bunny, waiting there unhappily.

I leap down gracefully. "Hey, Bunny."

Instead of giving me some snarky response, he looked worried. "Mate, that's the fifth time since ya became a Guardian last week. Are ya alright?"

I knew what Bunny was talking about. I had been falling asleep and wouldn't wake up for hours. Most of the time, the Guardians sent Bunny to get me. Especially on meeting days.

"I'm fine. The battle against Pitch just took a lot out of me."

My throat grows dry when I so causally utter his name.

I didn't let my guard down, though. I lift the stick in my shaking grasp and whisper. "Who are you?"

My answer came in the form of a silky baritone. "My name is Pitch Black.

He had changed.

He wasn't the courageous man I knew before.

How much had happened in 200 years?

I direct my attention back to the matter at hand.

"C'mon." I tell the Pooka. "We don't wanna be late."

He rolls his eyes, but made a tunnel silently, letting me fly through first before following.

We get to the Pole in no time.

Tooth, Sandy and North were all there.

"I found him!" Bunny drawled from behind me. "Again."

I pull my hood up, feeling my cheeks frost over lightly.

"So what's wrong? Why the meeting?" I ask, taking a seat next to Sandy.

North immediately points to the globe. There are not as many lights as normal.

At first, I thought that they had stopped believing again, but then I realise, we had only fixed this problem last week.

I look to North in confusion.

He goes to the control panel and clicks a button. Almost instantly, the globe darkens, especially in areas like Syria and Afghanistan.

"The dark area represents Fear." North explained. He clicked another button and all the dark areas turned a bright red. "The red represents areas that have experienced death recently."

Tooth, Sandy and Bunny seemed to understand, but I was still lost.

"I don't get it." I say.

"It means, Fear is causing the mortals to die." Tooth tells me. She points at the red which is growing larger slowly. "If this keeps up, all of the humans will die and so will we."

Sandy made a silhouette of Pitch, angrily.

Bunny quickly agreed. "This is definitely Pitch."

I fell anger surge up inside of me.

I know the truth.

Pitch would never do this.

Not of his own free will, at least.

"What do we do?" Tooth asks, fluttering around worriedly.

"This is Pitch's work. It is Fear's fault. We must fin-"

"No."

Everyone stares at me in confusion.

"It's not Pitch we need to confront." I look up from underneath my hood. "We have to find Reaper."