Sorry for the late update, and thanks to everyone who's followed/favourited/reviewed :)

Pitch smiled to himself as he slid through the shadows, reaching towards the slumbering figure. The boy had long since stopped believing; what more could be expected from a twenty-four year old. But the girl: her faith was still strong, her light still glowed brightly on his globe. Even better, the guardians knew her. They liked her. And little girls were always better for fear.

Jack returned to find the town of Burgess in uproar. He had only been gone a week, having had to spread several blizzards across the Northern hemisphere, but in that time something had changed. Children weren't running and playing anymore, but staying inside. When they did venture out, there was always at least one adult with them, or a tight knit group of at least six, with everyone glancing around warily.

It didn't take him long to find out what had happened. Sophie Bennet was the only child who had been there that night and still believed. He flew over to her house, hoping she could explain, and instead found policemen, a sobbing mother and a closed off Jamie.

Jamie looked different to the last time Jack had seen him, which was now... nearly two years ago? Already? Jack had checked up on him even after the boy (man?) had stopped believing, but then Jamie went to college in Florida, and that had effectively put an end to that. He hadn't come home in a winter month since.

There was no sign of Sophie anywhere in the house, and Jack's heart sank as he wondered why Jamie had come home in the middle of the semester and why Mrs Bennet was crying. Looking around for some sort of explanation, he noticed that morning's newspaper lying on the counter. It was the local newspaper, nothing national, and the headline read

Still no sign of missing teenager

Above a large photo of a happily grinning Sophie. Jack leaned forward to read the rest.

Police are baffled by the disappearance of sixteen year old honour student Sophie Bennet, last seen at 10pm Saturday night. Sophie disappeared from her room, leaving a window locked from the inside and no signs of a struggle. Anyone with information is encouraged to-

And so it continued. Jack realised he was breathing heavily. Today was Thursday. That meant that Sophie had been missing for five days.

He pulled out one of the snow globes North had given him for emergencies, and shot through, appearing in the globe room of the North Pole. He quickly flew to the luminescent orb, desperately scanning it for Sophie's light.

The lights were more than just pinpricks of gold: each light represented a child, and focusing on a light could tell you about that child. Their age, how happy they were, their name, and the strength of their belief. Jack shuddered in relief when he found Sophie's light, but that relief turned to fear as he realised where it was. He leapt to one side and pulled the emergency Aurora lever. Within two minutes, everyone was there.

"What is going on?" roared North, running into the globe room. He stopped when he saw the fear in the winter spirit's eyes. Bunny appeared out a hole, looking around to try and find the emergency, and Sandy whizzed through the window in a UFO. There was a muffled thud as Tooth flew into the other window. One of the yetis let her in and helped her to her feet.

"What's going on, Frostbite?" asked Bunny. "Why'd you pull the signal?" Jack took a deep breath.

"Pitch kidnapped Sophie."

The Nightmare King smiled in anticipation; the girl was beginning to stir, and soon all her worst fears would come true. He didn't have many believers, but the disappearance of this one would strike fear into the hearts of both adults and guardians, not to mention the fear she herself felt when she realised where she was. His smile twisted into a sinister leer as she slowly blinked awake.

"Hello," he hissed in his most menacing voice. She stared at him blankly for a second before raising an eyebrow.

"Who the hell are you?" she slurred, sleep still fogging her mind. He leaned in closer.

"My name is Pitch Black. I'm sure you remember me." She blinked, recognition dawning in her eyes and her senses came to.

"The bogeyman?"

"Yes, and now that I-"

"Were you watching me sleep?" There was a pause as they stared at each other.

"Yes."

"WHAT THE HELL?" Pitch stumbled back in surprise as she leapt to her feet. She stalked forward, glaring down at him. "Where am I?"

"My lair." Pitch tried to make it sound threatening, but it came out as more of a startled yelp. He scrambled to his feet, only to falter at the look the girl was giving him.

"CREEP! Did you KIDNAP me?" The Nightmare King drew himself to full height, looking smug.

"Yes, I did. And now you-" A hand slapped him across the face, catching him by surprise. Sophie grabbed the front of his robes and yanked him so their faces were level.

"Take me home," she growled. A cage of nightmare sand appeared around her, separating the two of them.

"No," smirked Pitch, glad to once again have the upper hand. She eyed the walls of her cell furiously.

"Take me home!"

"No!" The blonde haired teenager stamped her foot and screamed. Pitch recoiled, covering his ears in pain. This wasn't like the scream of a normal child, as they ran from big dogs or bullies. These were the screams of someone who knew what they wanted and were determined to get it. She ran out of breath, but before he had a chance to react she gulped another lungful of air and continued to scream. With a final roar of frustration, Pitch fled the room.

Bunny was pacing furiously, steam practically coming out his ears.

"If he hurts one hair on Sophie's head!" the Pooka suddenly roared, making them all flinch in surprise.

"Bunny, it's all right," Tooth soothed, "we'll get her out of there, and then you can hurt him as much as you want." Bunny didn't look comforted.

"He's had her for five days. Five days. Why didn't we notice she was missing? Why didn't we know?"

"How could we know? Jamie doesn't remember us, and no one else would think of calling us." There was a hint of bitterness in the winter spirit's voice at the mention of Jamie. Jack had taken it hard when he lost his first believer.

"I am ready!" boomed North as he walked in, wielding his deadly twin swords. "Let us go, yes? Go save Sophie and pummel Pitch into dust!"

"Now that's more like it!" Bunny grinned vindictively. He didn't even complain about having to take the sleigh.

They shot out the mountain and into the clear, starry night. North looked around at his passengers.

"Is everyone ready to see Pitch?" they nodded, those who had weapons clutching them tighter. North pulled out a snow globe.

"I say... Burgess," he whispered, and they shot through the portal.

When Pitch returned to the room it was with considerably more caution than before. The girl was lying on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. She didn't seem at all bothered by her current situation; in fact, she seemed merely... bored. The Nightmare King glared down at her.

"I'm hungry," she stated before he could open his mouth.

"I don't care!" he spat.

"You should. If I die while I'm here, the guardians are going to kick your butt even harder than they will now."

"The guardians aren't coming, girl. The only company you have is me... and your worst fear." The nightmare materialized within the cage and began to stalk towards the child. She sat up and eyed it calmly. It bore down upon her, but as it was about to make contact she raised a finger. It paused as she leaned forwards, looking it square in its burning orange eyes.

"Touch me and die," she growled. It nickered nervously, then took a step away. Sophie raised an eyebrow, and it turned tail and fled. Pitch watched in horrified disbelief.

"I'm hungry," she repeated. "Get me something to eat. A salad, or maybe some pasta. I'm a vegetarian, though, so it'll have to be Neapolitan, not Bolognese or Carbonara." Pitch didn't move. "Well? Hop to it, Boogerman, my dinner isn't going to cook itself."

"The entrance to Pitch's lair is in these woods, about ten minutes away," Jack explained, floating above them with Tooth and Sandy hurried on foot. They could always have taken the sleigh there, or sent Jack, Tooth and Sandy ahead, but they wanted the element of surprise on their side, and they wanted to be at full power. There was nothing subtle about the sleigh and nothing powerful about being separated.

Horrible images crowded Bunny's head. Sophie, alone in a cell, chained to the wall. Screaming in fear as Pitch sent nightmare after nightmare after her. Crying for her parents, for her brother, for the guardians. What if she stops believing? Sophie was getting older now. If Pitch could scare her enough, Bunny might lose his favourite believer. He hurried faster.

"I'm bored! There's nothing to do! Let me go home or entertain me!"

Pitch buried his head in his hands as the whining voice echoed through his chambers. It had been three days since he had kidnapped Sophie, and he thought he was going crazy. It wasn't even worth it. The fear from her parents and brother was good, but the guardians didn't even realise that anything was wrong. He had to keep her until they realised, but the girl herself didn't seem to be afraid of anything. All she did was complain and insult him.

"SHUT UP!" he roared, storming into the room with her cage. There was now a sofa in there, along with a bed, a mirror and a footstool. There was also a toilet, a wash basin and a luxury bath tub in another room he had added in.

She was lounging on the sofa, feet up and an ugly frown on her pretty features. Her upper lip curled in distaste at the sight of him, trembling in fury, on the other side of the bars.

"Do you get internet in here? Because I need to check my emails?" Pitch gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to kill himself.

"No. I do not get internet here. I am the king of fear, I do not have wireless." She rolled her eyes, and went back to examining her nails.

"Typical. I don't suppose you have a TV?"

"No."

"God, Boogerman. You're so boring. I'm bored." Her voice was rising and fear crept into Pitch's heart as he realised she was going to start whining again. Or worse, screaming.

"I have books!" he said desperately. "You can read! I'll go fetch them!" She sighed.

"I suppose that'll do. Fetch me a snack while you're at it. No meat." He nodded and scurried off, grateful that she had shut up and hating himself for what he had been reduced to.

The guardians stared at the hole in the ground. The bed that had originally covered it was gone, and scratch marks showed where the Nightmare King had been dragged down. Jack looked at the others.

"Are you ready?" They all nodded. "Well, here goes." He jumped down first, followed by Bunny, Tooth, Sandy and North.

He landed lightly on his feet, quickly darting to the side for Bunny. Tooth and Sandy floated a bit above them as they peered around the chamber, wary of attack.

"Look out!" shouted North. Tooth and Sandy darted away, but Bunny was caught by surprise and suddenly found himself crushed under the weight of a three hundred pound Russian. Jack burst out laughing as North helped Bunny back to his feet, muttering "so sorry, old friend." Tooth giggled too, and Sandy grinned. North chuckled, but Bunny just looked disgruntled.

"You're here!" The voice made them whip around, weapons ready, all laughs forgotten. Pitch stood before them. A relieved smile broke across his face and, to their surprise, he fell to his knees. "Oh, thank god! You're here!"

"Where's Sophie?" growled Bunny suspiciously.

"She's through there. I'll get rid of the cage. Just take her, please, just get her away from me!" He was crawling towards them, gasping with delight and gratitude. The guardians eyed each other.

"Take us to her," ordered North. Pitch flinched, but scrambled to his feet and beckoned them to follow. They kept their weapons raised, ready for a trap, as the Nightmare King led them deeper into his lair.

"She's in here," he told them, gesturing to a door. He sighed when he saw their expressions, and nervously pushed the door open.

The guardians were confused. What could possibly have happened to get Pitch into this state? Was he scared of what they would do to him for having kidnapped her? If so, he shouldn't have kidnapped her in the first place. Bunny pushed Pitch into the room, and quickly hopped in after. The sight before him made the Pooka freeze.

"Bunny!" grinned Sophie. She was reclining on an armchair, a tattered old copy of 'Dracula' in her hands. Next to her sat a plate of sliced apple and a tall glass of ice water. "I knew you'd come!"

The guardians could only stare in shock as Pitch desperately disintegrated the cage before turning on his heels and fleeing. The blonde teenager bounced over, wrapping Bunny in a big hug. Bunny grinned.

"What did you do to him?" asked the Pooka. Sophie laughed.

"I just acted like a stereotypical teenager; I whined, I complained, I was snarky and cynical. It was actually kinda fun."

As they walked to the exit they passed Pitch, whose face was buried in his hands.

"They used to be so meek," he was muttering, rocking back and forth, "they used to be so mild. Little girls were polite, they were gentle, children didn't speak unless spoken to-"

"Bye, Boogerman!" laughed Sophie, and Pitch flinched. Bunny smirked.

"Come on, ankle biter. Let's get you home.

I really wanted to do this one, but I don't think I did it justice.