Small Revelations

Over at the Tooth Palace, Pitch laughed as he watched the fairies desperately try to fight and escape his Nightmares as the horses swallowed them whole. It was futile. It had taken years to perfect his black sand but he had enough to create a whole army of Nightmares.

He then heard the sound of a portal opening and looked up as North's sleigh flew through. "Well," Pitch said with a grin. "Now the fun really begins."

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Jack stared amazed as the sleigh entered a mountain range and he had a clear view of the Tooth Palace. He had heard the Tooth Fairy lived in a palace but he never thought it was so large and massive. A whole city could fit in it. However, his bewilderment was put on hold as a dozen horses made of black sand flew right over their heads.

Flecks of black sand dusted over them as the horses passed. Sandy looked horrified as his fingered it and showed it to Bunny.

"That looks like ya dream sand," Bunny muttered as his eyes widened. "But black? Why? It can't be black ,right?"

Sandy was unable to give an answer as more horses raced over them. Jack almost instinctively ducked back into the pocket but he caught a glimpse of what was contained in the horse's stomach. Fluttering tooth fairies, over a dozen of them and they all looked terrified.

"They're stealing the tooth fairies!" Jack exclaimed as he flew out of the pocket.

"No, wait!" North yelled as he tried to catch him but he was too slow.

Jack raced after one of the horses as he tried to call upon the wind. If he blew one of the horses into the sides of the mountain it might break the tooth fairies free. Suddenly, Jack felt something approach from behind. He ducked and missed being swallowed by a horse. Jack barely had time to collect himself before the horse reared and tried again.

Jack flew the fastest he could to stay ahead of the horse but it kept up. Then, to Jack's bad luck, three more horses joined in on the chase. Did they think he was one of the tooth fairies?!

"Oh, come on!" Jack exclaimed as he waved a hand and blew a blast of snow at them. It managed to knock out one horse but the other three remained. Jack cursed and headed straight for the Tooth Palace. He had to lose these things first before he could help.

Jack flew straight into the palace and weaved around the pillars but the horses kept up. Then, as Jack made a sharp turn, another horse appeared in front of him with it's mouth opened wide.

Jack yelped and braced himself to being swallowed up. Suddenly, a small hand grabbed his arm and he was tugged onto the ground. As Jack crashed, he glanced up just as the horse that had been in front of him collided into the three that had been chasing him. Jack panted as he looked back and saw his rescuer was one of the fairies.

However, unlike the others this fairy had a bright yellow feather on the top of her head similar to Tooth's. "Hey, thanks um…" Did the fairies even have names? "Baby Tooth?"

The fairy blinked at him but then smiled and gave an approving chirp. "Right," Jack said as he stood. "Let's get moving, we need to save the other fairies-"

Baby Tooth shook her head as she pointed to the sky. Jack grimaced as the sky only had a few black horses remaining and they were all vanishing away among the shadows into the mountains.

Jack's gripped tightened on his staff. "We're too late, aren't we?"

Baby Tooth's sad nod was all had to be said and Jack cursed. Here he was, trying to charge in like some big hero and all he could do was barely keep himself from getting caught. What did he expect? How was anyone his size suppose to help?

He felt a pat on his shoulder and raised his head as Baby Tooth offered a comforting chirp and pointed up.

"Right, okay," Jack muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "We should regroup with the others."

He and Baby Tooth flew to the top the palace and landed in the center. Jack scanned the skies and he spotted the sleigh landed on one of the towers. "There they are!" Jack pointed with his staff. "Let's catch up-"

"Now, what do we have here?"

Jack and Baby Tooth jumped as they whirled around and saw Pitch emerge from the shadows. Jack glared as he pointed his staff at the man but Pitch was unfazed as he raised an eyebrow.

"Jack Frost?" he asked as he leered down at him. "Is that actually you?"

"Yeah," Jack asked as he tried to arch his back like a cat in a feeble attempt to make himself look bigger. "What about it?"

Pitch blinked stunned but then laughter erupted from his throat. "Oh, this is hilarious! I knew you were a 'little' spirit, but I've seen toothpicks bigger than you."

Jack winced but he didn't lowered his guard as he stood protectively in front of Baby Tooth. "What do you want, Pitch?"

Pitch laughed. "I thought I made that rather clear with stealing the fairies and the teeth."

Teeth? Jack thought. He stole the kids' teeth too?

"But I seem to have missed one," Pitch commented as he lowered his hand at them. "And perhaps I'll just tuck you into my pocket, Jack."

Baby Tooth chirped in protest and looked ready to tackle Pitch straight on, but Jack beat her to it by swinging his staff and icing Pitch's fingers. The Boogeyman reared back with a shriek of pain. The ice quickly melted and he then snarled at Jack. "What you little pest!" He snapped his fingers and another horse appeared. "Perhaps you rather deal with one of my Nightmares."

Jack gulped and prepared himself as the horse looked ready to stomp Jack but it was quickly blocked by a green blur.

Tooth swung her swords and Pitch ducked as he climbed onto the back of his horse and they galloped to the top of a pillar. Before Jack could react, Sandy swiftly moved and he and Baby Tooth were scooped up into Sandy's hands who held them protectively.

"Jack!" North asked as he and Bunny appeared. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Jack replied.

Bunny growled. "Ya bloody yanker! Ya shouldn't have taken off like that on ya own!"

Jack lowered his gaze as Pitch laughed from where his stood. "Really, now the Guardians have gotten the aid of tiny Jack Frost?" He shook his head in mocking pity. "The Moon must be getting desperate."

"Give me back my fairies, Pitch!" Tooth demanded as she held up her sword. "Or I'll-"

"Do what?" Pitch laughed. "Leave a quarter under my pillow? Please." He sneered at them and then looked to Sandy. "Do you like the improvements I made to your precious dream sand?"

Sandy scowled as Pitch fingered some of the black sand from his horse. "It took some time but I figured out how to use to make the most delicious nightmares. Rather impressive, don't you think?"

Sandy gave no reply as North pointed at sword of him. "Why do you do this Pitch? What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?!" Pitch sneered. "To be believed in! But that's rather difficult with you Guardians spreading your hope and light but that ends." He pointed his finger at them. "By the time I'm through, no one will ever believe in the Sandman, Easter Bunny, Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy again." He laughed. "And I'll get to just sit and watch all of you fade away."

"Fade away?" Jack asked as he looked to the others confused. "What does he mean?"

"Oh, they didn't tell you, Jack?" Pitch asked. "Being a Guardian goes both ways. Enough belief and you're as strong as an ox but if no children believe, you just fade away like you never existed."

Suddenly, Tooth grimaced as feathers fell off of her shoulders.

"Oh, look," Pitch said delighted. "It's already started. Children are finding their teeth not taken and are believing the Tooth Fairy isn't real."

Tooth staggered slightly but North offered his arm for support while Bunny gave a glare and seemed ready to throw a boomerang. Jack moved up to Sandy's shoulders as he pointed his staff at Pitch.

Sure, he had never bothered with the Guardians before but that didn't mean they deserved to be treated this way, even if Pitch's desire to believe was, regrettably something Jack could relate to. "Pitch," Jack yelled, "hand over the fairies-"

"Or what," Pitch sneered as he looked to Jack. "You'll bite my ankles." He laughed as Jack's eyes hardened. "With you being so small, Jack, no wonder no one ever sees you."

"That's it!" Bunny cried as he sent his boomerang flying and started to charge towards Pitch. North handed Tooth to Sandy before joining in. Pitch ducked from the boomerang and galloped away on his Nightmare.

North tried to swing a sword at him only to miss. Bunny tossed a couple of his exploding eggs after Pitch creating a fog of mist and colour. However, Pitch zipped through them and into the shadows below disappearing.

North cursed as he and Bunny returned to where the others were. "So, this was Pitch's plan," North grumbled as he rubbed his eyes. "Take fairies and teeth."

"I get why he wants the fairies, so there wouldn't be anyone taking the teeth," Jack said as he hopped off of Sandy and landed on Bunny's shoulder to get a better view. "But why take the teeth?"

Tooth sigh as she managed to stand up to looked at Jack while Baby Tooth perched on her shoulder to comfort her. "It wasn't the teeth he was after, it was the memories."

Jack blinked as he sat with his legs crossed. "Memories?"

"We collect children's teeth because they contain the happiest memories of childhood and we keep them here for the days children and adults need to remember them."

"But they can't do that as long as they're in Pitch's hands," Bunny added as his ears went back. "He got us big time here."

Jack looked around the palace as he now saw all the empty slots which assumed held the boxes of teeth. "This place held that many teeth?"

Tooth nodded as she folded her arms over her teeth. "We had everyone's teeth here," she replied as she looked to Jack with her eyes softened. "Yours too."

Jack paused and looked back confused. "Mine? What do you mean mine?"

Tooth frowned and looked as if Jack had only noticed she had wings. "Well, your memories of when you were a child. Before you became Jack Frost."

Jack's eyes widened. "Before I was-Wait! No, I wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost!"

The Guardians looked to Jack baffled and exchanged concerned looks. "What do you mean?" North asked and pointed to each of them. "We were all someone before Guardian." He pointed to himself. "I was bandit king, Bunny was a Pooka arrior, Tooth was was Sister of Flight and Sandy...well, um...he was comet."

Sandy's eyes narrowed as he had a star appear over his head.

"No, wait, star that rode on comets, " North corrected. "Sorry, Sandy always get those confused for you."

Jack leapt to his feet as his jaw dropped. "But, no-I don't understand."

"Jack," Bunny asked as his ears went up. "How did ya become a spirit? Do ya not remember anythin'?"

Jack swallowed as his gripped his staff tightly. "My first memory was cold and darkness but then I saw the moon." He rubbed the back of his neck. Jack had never told anyone the details of his birth, course no one had bothered to ask. "The Moon lifted me out of the lake and told me my name was Jack Frost."

"Manny did?" Tooth asked, surprised.

"And this was before he shrank ya?" Bunny asked.

"A good century before," Jack mumbled. "And he never spoke a word to me for that whole time. I was getting close to be eaten by a Windigo so I asked the Moon for help, I had figured he owed me and he shrank me."

Sandy frowned as he formed a moon followed by a question mark.

"Agree, it is very strange," North muttered. "I did not know Manny could create spirits-"

"It doesn't sound like creatin' ta me," Bunny replied as looked to the others and then Jack. "It's ancient magic, I remember readin' about it durin' the Golden Age, but it takes a lot of energy and can only be done once every thousand years."

Jack tensed slightly but he kept his gaze on Bunny. "What kind of magic?"

"Ta revive someone who died and grant them a new life, course they're hardly mortal by that point," Bunny replied as he shook his head. "Most spirits that come back after dyin' are either cause of regret or there's that much belief ta back them up, but if Manny made ya, that's completely different."

"But are you certain it's Manny's magic?" Tooth asked. "Maybe Jack had enough believers-"

"It's the fact he doesn't remember who he was before that's the biggest clue," Bunny replied and looked to Jack. "Spirits don't come from nothin' Jack they were all someone first, but for a spirit ta not remember who they were that's rare and the fact that the Manny told ya name personally, there's no doubt about it."

Jack's body shook. "Are you saying that this whole time I had a life before this!" he pointed to himself. "I had a family! Memories! A life!"

Bunny grimaced as he looked to the others and nodded. "Yeah, ya probably did."

"B-But," Jack stammered. "No one told me!" He looked to Bunny. "You were the first other spirit I met and you never told me!"

"I didn't know ya couldn't remember," Bunny replied as he looked regretful. "I had figured ya where some new winter spirit that just sprang up."

Jack's shoulders slouched. This whole time, he had answers right here! And he didn't know it.

"Oh, Jack I'm so sorry," Tooth said as she gently lifted Jack into her hands like he was one of her fairies. "I would have given you your teeth if I've known."

The teeth! There was still a chance! "Pitch has the teeth!" Jack said as he looked ready to fly. "We have to get them back!"

"Da, we will!" North nodded in agreement but looked to Tooth as more feathers fell. "But first we need to get Tooth her strength back before we can even start looking for Pitch's hideout."

Jack looked to Tooth and bit his lower lip. He was dying to go and search for Pitch right now but Tooth needed help first. Besides, even if he did go off to find Pitch by himself there was no way Jack could take Pitch by himself, not at his current size. "So, what do we do?"

Bunny shut his eyes and folded his arms. "We need ta get those kids believin' again but hard ta do that with no fairies to take the teeth."

Suddenly, Sandy snapped his fingers as created an image. There was a child placing a tooth under a pillow and then an image of Bunny, North, Tooth, Sandy and Jack appeared to take it.

North laughed. "Da! Of course! We'll take the teeth!"

Tooth and Baby Tooth jumped in shock. "What? North!"

"Da! It's easy!" North said as he pointed to each of them. "We go collect teeth ourselves! As long as teeth are gone, it does not matter fairies aren't here!"

Bunny nodded as a sly grin appeared on his face. "Yeah, that could work!"

"What?! No!" Tooth protest as Sandy and Jack joined in on the grinning. "Do you realize how many teeth there are to collect?! How many countries-"

"Do you know how many eggs I get deliver in one night?" Bunny asked amused.

"Or how many gifts I deliver on Christmas Eve?" North added.

Sandy grinned as he created an image of him causing kids to fall asleep with a high number above his head.

"They do have a point!" Jack added as he laughed. "Come on! What do we have to lose?"

Tooth looked to Baby Tooth but the little fairy responded with an encouraging chirp.

"Okay!" she said as she clapped her hands. "If we're going to do this, we have to do it now! It's possible if we do enough now, it can grow me enough belief to buy us time to hunt down Pitch!"

The Guardians grinned at each other and then North smirked at Jack. "What you say Jack? You in?"

Jack couldn't hold back the sly smile on his face. "I'm in!"