Author's Note: Thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following! Enjoy!

Chapter 7:

March tries not to fidget nervously as North paces around the Globe room, waiting for the last of the Guardians to arrive. Tooth hovers above them, for once uninterested in giving Baby Tooth orders. Even Jack and Sandy, the ones who had initiated the meeting, seem uneasy, if not downright frightened. They wouldn't say what it was about, just that they all needed to get together immediately.

To be honest, March was shocked when Tooth had shown up and demanded that she be there as well. She wasn't yet a Guardian, so it made no sense. But she felt oddly flattered anyway, and agreed. Though looking at Jack's face now, she wasn't so sure she made the right decision.

She jumps when the door slams open and a freezing breeze moves through the room, threatening the fire in the fireplace. And then her heart begins to race when Bunny moves through the doorway before closing it, mumbling under his breath about the cold.

"Really, is it too much to have this conversation somewhere warmer?" Bunny hops over to the fireplace to take advantage of the heat and then glances up at them, his eyes catching a snag on March's. Her lips twitch into a smile without her permission, and his begin to do the same before North clears his throat.

"I'm afraid this isn't a laughing matter, Bunny. We have a serious problem." That wipes the smiles off of both their faces, and Jack steps forward.

"Nightmares are raging right now, and Sandy can't even weave his sand anymore to make a dent in them. I caught up with him to see what was wrong and we saw something. Something bad."

Jack gestures to Sandy, who frowns and creates a figure of the centaur that interrupted their night, its expression as malicious as it had been in person. The others frown and move closer to get a better look at it.

"Is that a night mare?" Tooth asks softly.

"It's something much worse. It seems more powerful and more evil than the night mares ever were. But we're pretty certain that Pitch is involved with the nightmares. His lair was completely deserted, but the hole is still there. We think he's escaped and is ramping up for another showdown." Jack says, his face even paler than usual.

"This is terrible." North mutters and shakes his head. March winces at the understatement and continues to watch the sand figure move in the air. The word she would use is terrifying. Jack and Sandy had really seen that kind of creature up close? She winces again and takes a step back, averting her eyes to the floor instead. "If Pitch is back, he's not only going to be threatening the children."

"He's going to want revenge against us too." Bunny says, echoing all of their thoughts.

"But you guys beat him last time, right? So he's a little stronger, Jack's ice will still work… right?" March asks, but everyone just looks away from her. A chill goes down her spine as she realizes that this is bigger than anyone had considered, and that this time the odds may not be so great. She wraps her arms around her middle, holding in a sound of panic. What are we going to do? We. She blinks in confusion, wondering when she had decided to help. This is exactly why I didn't want to get involved. It's too dangerous.

But looking around the room, she knew she couldn't just abandon them no matter how much of a dead weight she would be on the battlefield. There had to be something she could do.

"We beat him last time. Barely." Jack says. "This time it's different."

"We'll come up with a way. But right now we need to figure out what we're up against. Tooth and Sandy, I want both of you to keep an eye on the children at night. Tooth, make sure your fairies are watching out for any more of these things." North says, and they nod in response and Baby Tooth takes off for the palace to spread the order. "Jack and Bunny, you two watch out for anything as well. Pitch may stick to the shadows, so don't let your guard down. Make sure nothing is going on during the day. March…" She jumps in surprise and frowns, not expecting North to rely on her too. "I know this is a lot to ask and you haven't said yes yet…" The silence lingers because she can't contradict him. Not now. "But we still need you. Will you also help watch the children?"

"Day and night." She responds immediately. This was something she could do. Bunny looks over at her and despite his grim expression she can see the pride in his eyes. It makes her blush slightly, and she nods. "I can't promise to fight, but I'll do whatever I can."

"That's all I will ask of you right now." North mumbles. Right now. She nods again and a round of sighs fill the room. "I warn all of you, be careful. This is something we've never seen before, and I don't want to risk losing anyone to Pitch again." Sandy wrings his hands together, and March wonders how he can seem calm after being trapped into what they had assumed was a terror-filled grave. It makes her shiver, a claustrophobic sensation overcoming her senses and making her breathing heavy.

"March? Are you okay?" Tooth's small hand touches her shoulder lightly, and she closes her eyes for a moment, wishing for the discomfort to go away.

"Yeah." She mutters, and can faintly hear the others whispering something across the room. When she finally opens her eyes again, Bunny is in her field of vision, staring at her in concern. "I'm fine just… a little…"

"We're all frightened." North says in a comforting tone, but it doesn't really make her feel better. "But this is what we do. It'll be alright." It was wishful thinking, but she appreciated the optimism.

"I know." March says firmly, and the others just frown and glance at each other. She doesn't even try to figure out what they're thinking, she just gently removes Tooth's hand from her shoulder and tries to smile. "We should probably get out there."

"I agree. The sooner we figure out what we're dealing with, the better." Jack says, twirling his staff before looking at North. "I'd like to start in my hometown. Jamie has been twitchy lately, and now I'm positive Pitch is to blame. I want to check on him."

"I'll get my fairies on every continent." Tooth says before leaving through the open skylight. Sandy motions something to North and takes off too, so it's just him March and Bunny staring at each other uneasily.

March glances away from their leader to Bunny, whose gaze is still too intense for her liking. It made her feel as if he was trying to figure something out about her, and she didn't want him doing so. Shaking off the stripped feeling, she looks back at North and shrugs.

"I guess I can follow my normal route." I'll just make the kids my priority. It was different, but nothing she couldn't handle.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Bunny asks, but she knows he is asking whether or not she's going to have another meltdown.

"No, I'll be okay. Thanks." He nods in response, and thumps his foot on the ground to open a tunnel. As usual, March looks at it warily, and glares at Bunny when she sees him staring at her again. "What?"

"Nothin'. I'll keep in touch." He says to North, and then disappears. March mutters something under her breath, and North can't help but chuckle.

"Would you like a globe to get you back? I can send Phil with you."

"Uh, sure." March says, and smiles slightly at him. "Thanks."

"No problem. And I meant what I said. I won't force you to fight. But I'm glad you're willing to help us at this point."

"Of course. I don't want Pitch to do any more damage than he's already done. I may not be a Guardian, but I don't wish this kind of fearful existence on any of the children." North nods in agreement, and moves out of the room to find her yeti escort.

March turns to look up through the skylight. The stars are still twinkling, dawn still a ways off. A part of her wants to wait until daylight to begin her watch, but she forces herself to follow Phil into the swirling vortex, knowing that the small step would most likely lead to a very long and tense night.

xxRISExx

Jamie tries to keep his fingers from digging into the couch as the characters on screen make their way through a supposedly haunted forest. The music changes to a low discordant wining and the beat mimics a frantic heartbeat. He knows something is around the corner, and he doesn't want to watch it pop out and frighten him. But he has to keep a brave face.

Convincing the others to come back to his house for a movie night wasn't easy. Jamie had had to plead his case many times, and reassure them that nothing had happened since then even more. It was the truth, and thankfully his friends had taken it as such. Still, it wasn't until they all got together after school one day to confront their fears. Though no one wanted to risk another strange occurrence like the last time, none of them wanted to admit that they were too scared either. In the end it was their pride that made them all go back.

After a few hours of nothing but regular creaks and groans of an old house, and no shadows moving across the walls except for those caused by the headlights of cars outside, they settled into their normal routine of junk food and jokes. It was as if that previous night of terror had never happened, and they were at complete ease.

Except for Jamie.

He was beginning to regret asking them all over just to make himself feel better, and right now he was wishing Claude hadn't turned off the lights at the beginning of the movie. But then again, they would have been able to see his current expression, which wasn't particularly appeasing at the moment.

Jamie takes a quiet breath and forces his tightened fists open, placing them on his lap only to have them clasp together. It's just a movie. Don't be scared. There's nothing alive here. It was just a bad dream.

He glances down at the others, and his eyes narrow as he sees all of their shoulders hunched and their tense muscles as well. It occurs to him that everyone else was trying to play brave too, and he opens his mouth to speak up when a werewolf pops out from behind a tree and the characters scream.

All of them react in a similar way, junk food flying and their voices filling the air.

"Shit!"

"Turn it off!"

Jamie isn't sure who makes the demand, but he fumbles on the couch in search of the remote, and one of the boys on the floor trips over their blanket to get to the light switch.

"Jamie!"

Another round of screams break out as a figure moves through the open living room window, their silhouette dark against the light from the television. Jamie doesn't even think before he acts. He just grips the remote control and flings it at the intruder, reaching for a drinking glass on the coffee table next.

"Ack!" The figure reaches up and knocks the remote away. "Jamie, stop! It's me!" But the glass is already in the air, and Jack curses before lifting his staff and freezing the object, making it fall to the ground with a solid thump.

"Jack?" Jamie squeaks out, finally registering his friend's voice. He drops the now empty chip bowl and blushes before wincing as light fills the room. Claude stares at Jack from the light switch and then visibly sighs in relief.

"It's just Jack." Caleb and Monty sit back down on the floor and frown at the spilled food while Jamie glares at the uninvited guest.

"What are you doing here?"

"I…" Jack glances around the room, his gaze landing on the paused movie where a werewolf is chasing two people in the woods. It is clear what effect the movie has had on them all. Their faces are flushed and their eyes are wide with fear. Jack feels as if someone had kicked him in the gut, and he frowns at all of them. "What are you watching?"

"Why are you here, Jack?" Jamie repeats himself, causing the other boy to glare at him.

"I came because I was worried about you."

"Why?" Jamie's brow furrows and he glances at the other boys who are watching with equal confusion. "What-"

"Maybe we should talk about it alone." If Jack was right, Jamie hadn't told the others what was happening to him, and he didn't want to be the one to out his fear. Jamie stares at him for a moment before nodding.

"Fine. Let's go outside." I'm not sure that's a good idea.

"How about your room?" There was no way he could risk one of the creatures catching up with them outside. Jamie gives him another weird look but mumbles something to his friends before leading the way up the stairs.

Jack smiles at them, trying to keep his anger and tension under control. But when Jamie closes his bedroom door, he crosses his arms over his chest and looks at him with disappointment.

"So, what? Are you here to nag about us watching horror movies? We're almost adults, you know."

"No. I'm here to tell you something, and I hope you'll take it like the adult you almost are and listen to me." Jack grits his teeth and tries to keep on track. This was necessary to keep them safe. The least he could do is to consider their feelings about something that could very well hurt them. He sighs and looks Jamie right in the eye. "Pitch is back." At first there's no reaction, and then Jamie's mouth twitches into a disbelieving smile.

"No, he's not. You're messing with me." That makes Jack wince, and he wishes he were.

"I'm telling the truth. Sandy and I saw something that looked like his night mares just a few hours ago. We lost track of it but Pitch's lair is deserted, and we're pretty certain it's him who is causing all of the fear in teenagers. It makes sense now, looking at what you guys are all watching." He gestures downstairs to the living room where he can hear the movie starting up again. "All of this new attraction to horror has obviously made your fear grow, and Pitch has somehow gotten stronger because of it. We don't know what he wants yet, but it must have something to do with the teenagers as well as the children. We're keeping an eye out for anything else but I thought you should know. I was worried about you, especially since even your sister has noticed that you've been… off lately." During the entire explanation Jamie just stares at him, and then Jack sees his mouth thin out, and his cheeks turn pink before the flush moves down his neck, his eyes going wide.

"No." His head shakes jerkily, and he stumbles to the side before practically collapsing on his bed. "No, he can't be back." He digs his fingers into his hair and takes a deep breath, swaying side to side. "He can't." His voice breaks and Jack then gets a true glimpse of what Pitch has been doing to his friend. He frowns at the sight of Jamie so distraught, and carefully steps forward to reach out toward him. Jamie flinches when his cold hand touches his shoulder, but just continues to sway.

"I'm sorry Jamie. I thought you should know though, that you're not going crazy. Pitch is more powerful than we expected now, and we're going to stop him."

"How?" His tone is so desperate, and when he glances up, his eyes are watery. "I haven't slept in more than a month. I'm hearing and seeing things. And even though I know it's just my imagination, I didn't imagine that night when something was in my room. Something was giving me this feeling…" He swallows roughly and shakes his head. "Was that one of the creatures you were talking about?"

"Most likely. It was like a centaur, but evil and strong. We don't know much more about it, but it has been interfering with Sandy's dreams."

"I didn't see it in my head, but it was definitely evil. It took pleasure in torturing me with that nightmare." Jamie mutters, and Jack kneels down to his level, his own eyes misting over because of Jamie's pain.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I wish I could help you. All I can do right now is try to figure out where Pitch is hiding, and stop him. But I promise that we'll figure this out." Jamie nods, fully believing him. It didn't seem easy, and he just wanted all of the fear to end, but he trusted Jack like no one else. And he needed to believe that everything would get back to normal. "Have your friends been affected?"

"I don't know. We haven't really talked about that night when we all got scared. I think we're all afraid of looking like wimps." He lets out a small laugh and smiles at Jack. "Seems kind of silly now, doesn't it?"

"Nah. I get it." Jack returns the smile and pats Jamie's shoulder softly. "Do me a favor, will you? Talk to them. It may help all of you. And don't watch any more horror movies. If we're right, Pitch is getting stronger because of all of you 'almost adults' watching stuff you shouldn't."

"Deal." Jamie nods and puts an arm awkwardly around Jack's shoulders. "Thanks for telling me, even though now I'm positive I won't get any sleep tonight."

"Well… try." That was all Jack could say, but he stands up and sighs. "Pitch can't hide forever. Sooner or later he's going to want to get to us and end this."

It wasn't particularly what either of them wanted to face, but it was the truth. And even though Jack felt an unfamiliar chill at the thought of fighting an even more powerful Boogeyman, it was going to happen soon.

xxRISExx

Author's Note: I know, not too much happened in this chapter. But I want to save all of the action for the next one. Review please!