The Tooth Fairy flew forward and pulled Val back towards the other Guardians. There seemed to be a motherly need to protect and Val could feel it as well. As frightened as she was, she did have firsthand experience with the creatures, however little information she knew of them. Their darkness rose along the walls as they climbed the stairs. The masses moved like mounds of ants and she shuddered at the image. There were thousands of them at least and her mind began to race for ways of escape. She looked on either side of her and could see the Guardians arming themselves. Looking down at herself, Val noted her lack of weaponry. Refusing to be as defenseless as she had been in her first encounter, she scanned her more immediate surroundings and found a short staff. It would do nicely enough. She would help as much as she could no matter what, even if she hadn't a clue what to do. She went to grab it with her right hand, only to remember it had vanished. Thankfully, her case hadn't worsened since she last saw. The short staff began to change color as she unintentionally coated it with her magic. She didn't care to notice as it could only help her battle. Instead, she focused on the closest of the creatures. They had made their way to the level in which the globe stood and begun to engulf it, running around it like it was a small and trivial obstacle. Val wished she could at least see their faces, or perhaps it was best that she didn't. But nothing could compare to the haunting laughter that ensued. She was shaking noticeably, though she hoped no one would see. They came nearer and nearer, before stopping only a few feet before them. They seemed to stare at the Guardians, hungering for them, literally. Val gulped loudly and tightened her grip on the staff. With her nerves getting the best of her, she cried out and wildly took a swing at an area of the black mass. There was a sharp hissing shriek as a clump retreated and even areas who remained untouched began to recoil. The other Guardians stared at her with an equal amount of confusion, but took her lead to begin their attack. There was little need for their assault as the creatures quickly began to draw back, returning quickly from whence they came. Val could hear a loud huff and she turned to look at North, who was sliding his twin swords back into their sheaths.

"You see? This is why we need you! You are Guardian!" he stated, gesturing out to the now vanished creatures. Val shook her head and threw the staff to the ground, feeling as if she feared holding it. She had no idea what had happened when she swung but it only seemed to prove her worth to them.

"What are you talking about? Those things would have been scared of just about anything! I mean look at me! What's so terrifying about me?" she retorted. It sounded too much like he was making an excuse to make her stay. She still didn't want to be part of anything with regards to the Guardians. She had work to do; work that kept her alive. North sighed heavily.

"Tooth, you talk to her! You're both females! You can talk to her better, yes?" The Tooth Fairy flew forward without a second thought.

"Val, I'm not sure you understand just how dire this situation is." Tooth tilted her head to one side and her tone warmed again. Her words ran quickly and Val struggled to keep up. "Those things were scared of you."

"They've captured me before! They aren't scared of me," Val interrupted, trying to prove her words false.

"They are. It's your magic. Or at least, it would look that way. Please Val. We need you." Her expression was somber and sad. She seemed to be begging. Judging from the colors that decorated her, Val would have guessed the Tooth Fairy to be a more of a flamboyant character. She must have truly been in a grim mood to be talking to her in such a somber matter. She began to fiddle with her fingers as she often did under situations of great stress but placed her hand back at her side too quickly when she remembered. Tooth noticed and took hold of her right arm. She gasped at the sight and Val was only too glad that her back faced the other Guardians. She looked up at Tooth with scared eyes, begging for her not to say a word. Tooth's gaze never broke as she slowly placed Val's arm down in front of her dress.

"I can't stay. It's just not possible." She turned around and said her goodbyes before stepping onto the railing and opening her wings. She didn't make it very far before her body collapsed. An immediate fatigue had come upon her and she slowly fell down towards the lower floor.

Jack was the first to react as he dove down after her. He caught her in his arms and they landed lightly on a workbench of one of the yetis. Her lids opened slightly and she seemed more upset than she was relieved.

"This is all your fault."

"What?" Jack exclaimed, feeling the need to drop her to the floor. "My fault? If I hadn't come to catch you you'd be a pile of Angel mush about now!" He wanted to press further but held his tongue when he saw her hand lying on her stomach; or the lack of. Val pursed her lips and looked away, irritated that she had needed his help.

"That isn't what I'm talking about," she muttered, pushing her hand under the folds of her skirt and slumping back into his arms. She really was exhausted and she didn't have the energy to fight with him at the moment. She had been distracted for too long and even before having been kidnapped, Val was feeling the difficulty of keeping up with her work. People were simply too keen on making promises they had no intentions of keeping. When they arrived back at the level she had fallen from, Jack gently helped her stand and she pulled away, insisting on carrying her own weight. She was, in any case, strong enough for that. At least for the moment.

She would have to reveal everything at this point. She could think of no other option seeing as she couldn't even leave this place. It was either explaining, or walking from the North Pole. The others watched her patiently, observing that she was about to speak. Her entire faced scrunched together as she upset herself in thinking about how fragile she must have appeared. Taking a deep breath, she began to explain her situation as best she could in the shortest amount of time possible.

"I've been disappearing," she said bluntly, finding the statement to be both true and possibly telling. At least she wouldn't have to think of what to say when they started with their questions.

"Disappearing how?" North asked seriously. Val noticed the small golden question mark that appeared over the Sandman's head and was slightly amused.

"Well, as you may have noticed, my powers are gone now that less and less people believe in me, though I'm not really sure what I am. But I've also been starting to actually disappear." She lifted her hand from behind her skirt and allowed the others to stare in confusion and fear. She could hear a sharp inhalation at the sight and many of them seemed to turn from confusion to worry. The only one who didn't seem perplexed was Toothiana, who only had deep concern on her face. When Val felt as if she had had enough of acting as a circus attraction, she hid her missing hand and continued to explain. "It doesn't look like it happens to anyone else. I don't know why. I don't even know how to fix it. But I think I understand why it starts." She turned to face Jack in particular before she went on." This seems to only happen when I get mad. Like, really mad. Sometimes I get so mad, I hate people. Specifically you Jack." At the sound of the accusation, Jack flinched back, offended.

"That's not exactly a hard thing to do Sheila," Bunnymund chuckled, holding his paws up and checking his short claws as he spoke. Jack threw a glare in his direction.

"What I'm saying is, I think every time I feel hatred I start to disappear a little more. Like, the Man in the Moon doesn't need me if I hate others."

"Wait a second, why me?" Jack interrupted, shaking both his head and hand as he approached Val. She turned away from him as soon as he stepped ahead. "What do you hate me for?" he continued, "It's not like I've done anything bad to you. In fact, all I've done is be nice to you and you've been nothing but hostile Angel. What have I done to deserve your complete and utter hatred?"

"You distract me!" Val turned to face him as she yelled and didn't expect that he would be so close by. As she whirled around, her blonde hair brushed his face and she found herself an inch from touching his nose with hers. She immediately recoiled and flushed. "You distract me," she repeated, "from my work. And the fewer people believe in me, the more of my power I lose. I don't know what to do, so I guess I get angry." When Jack appeared like he was about to offer a retort, Toothiana flew between the two of them, pushing him back and looking at him with a warning of patience in her eyes.

"Alright," she started, turning to face Val, "Now that we understand a little more about each other, do you think you could tell us about those things?" She didn't have to explain what she was talking about for the whole room to understand her meaning.

"I've seen those creatures before," Val said, a serious atmosphere falling around her. "They attacked me a while back. I don't know what they are or what they do exactly but I know they're powerful enough to abduct and overpower a person."

"Well with those numbers, they could overpower all of us," Bunnymund commented. "They only real question is: how do we beat them?" He had pulled out his boomerang again and was tossing it up and down. The Sandman jumped forward and the golden sand on his head moved about and created symbols furiously.

"What is it Sandy?" North asked and Val chuckled as the way he spoke reminded her of the way owners addressed their pets. Sandy continued to attempt to communicate before deciding a single arrow that pointed directly at her. Val cocked her head. "Yes! Yes, yes yes! You! They are scared of you! Ah, I forget thing. What is your center?" No one but herself seemed shocked at his seemingly random outburst.

"My center?" she asked, glancing down at her torso.

"Yes, yes your center! Man in Moon chose you! So you must have something very special inside," North continued, walking towards her and emphasizing his words by pointing her chest.

"What do you mean my center?"

"What makes you a Guardian? What makes you so important that the Man in the Moon chose you? Or even brought you here?" Jack interpreted.

"I don't really know," Val muttered, thinking about what she had done since her rebirth. "I suppose I was brought here to help people discover love in their lives? I mean, that is what I do. I make people feel love. That's what my magic does. Induce love. So I guess..."

"Yes! Your center is love! Good!" North cried out with a great sense of satisfaction in his voice. He picked Val up by under her arms and she swung like a ragdoll as he hugged her. She didn't have the energy to fight him in the slightest.

"Woah woah woah wait!" Bunnymund said, barging into North's celebrations. "We've got Cupid for that. His center is love." Val gave him her own sarcastic remark from North's arms.

"Well if I'm here, than Cupid must not be doing a very good job now is he?" She did have a point. Two Protectors with the same center? It was unheard of but under the circumstances, it was difficult to argue.

"Cupid has been missing for a long time…" Toothiana thought aloud, "I wonder what happened to him." She turned her head to face one of the smaller fairies and they shrugged collectively.

"No matter, we has Val now! You are Guardian now, yes?" North declared, putting the small girl down. She looked at her feet and fidgeted with the folds of her skirt, debating the option. It wasn't as if she could do much else for herself at this point. She could barely leave the building without collapsing. And it was difficult to tell if she would even have enough magic to continue her work even if she did make it back to civilization. Val would just have to accept their help and hope that it would be worth her time. It's not as if she had much more to lose.

"Yea, I guess I'll be a Guardian," she grinned, her fatigue beginning to show in her expression. "It's not like I can get around by myself anyways right? If you need me, I'll help out. At least, until I collapse."

Author's Note: So I've been trying to be more consistent with my chapter posting so here it is! I know not much happens in this chapter but it did have to happen. Hope you enjoyed a bit of the ValxJack stuff. That will most likely continue... Anyways, tell me what you think! I love hearing from you all! Thanks for reading!

-Sydney