HI! I'm so sorry this took so long! I had a bit of a writers block again, but I'm back and up! Whoo!

I want to specifically thank Kaci12 for their wonderfully amazing review on the last chapter. It was the 100th review on this story and I nearly cried. Kaci has always been very supportive of my Stranger series, so thank you very much! Here are cookies! (::))(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)


INT. LAUNCHING SHED - A MOMENT LATER
North shoves open a set of double doors, followed closely by
Bunny, Sandy, and Jack. Several Yeti's rush by as they
prepare the hangar for launch.

NORTH (O.S.)
(to Yetis)
Boys, ship shape. As soon as
impossible.

The kids were all on the edge of their seats, anxious and excited.

JACK
North, North! I told you, I'm not
going with you guys!
There is no way I'm climbing into some rickety
old...

Suddenly: the SOUND of POUNDING HOOVES. BEASTLY SNORTING.
SANTA'S INCREDIBLE SLEIGH comes into view. It's a huge,
shiny, tricked out, jaw-dropping hot-rod of a sled.

"Whoa..." George breathed.

"I want one." Ryan added, his wife elbowing him with an exasperated smile.

JACK
...sleigh.

Jack is understandably gob-smacked, so much so that he almost
gets knocked over by one of the reindeer.

"Goodness, Jack. You never did pay attention." Lucy muttered with a small smile.

JACK
Whoa!

NORTH (cont'd)NORTH
(to reindeer)
Hey! Moi deti, moi deti. Quiet,
quiet.

The sleigh comes to a standstill as the Guardians prepare to
climb inside. Several Yetis are still running around making
last minute preparations.

JACK
Okay, one ride, but that's it.

"I want to ride!" Anne jumped up and down, giggling.

"Maybe, but it's really cold up there. You don't want to get sick." her older sister cautioned.

Jack jumps aboard. North smiles knowingly, and climbs
inside. Sandy hops up into the back seat.

NORTH
Everyone loves the sleigh.

North grabs the reigns, wrapping them around his arms. He
turns to see Bunnymund standing there, frozen and unnerved.

NORTH (CONT'D)
Bunny, what are you waiting for?

BUNNYMUND
I think my tunnels might be faster,
mate. And um, and safer.

"I can't say I'd be too eager to get into that thing either." James Overland grimaced.

"It's a lot of fun." Emma grinned at her uncle. He wasn't fond of heights.

NORTH
Ah, get in.
(hoists Bunnymund up)
Buckle up!

Bunny desperately looks around his seat.

BUNNYMUND
Whoa, whoa, whoa, where are the
bloody seatbelts?!

NORTH
(laughs)
That was just expression!

North turns to one of the Yetis .

NORTH
Are we ready?

The Yeti throws his hands up in a fit shaking his head no.

NORTH
Good! Let's go! Clear!
(cracks the reigns)
Hyah!

"Oh God." Lucy covered her eyes, unable to watch. James Bennett grinned as he watched his friend's excited face. What an adventure that looked like!

The sleigh is off. Elves and yetis scatter out of its path.
Sandy, Bunny, and Jack fly back into their seats. Bunny
clutches the edge of his, terrified. Jack can't help but
laugh.

NORTH
Out of the way!

The sleigh heads down a luge-like track. North and Jack are
enjoying the ride.

NORTH
Hyah!

BUNNYMUND
Ohhhhhh no!

North cracks the reigns, the sleigh plummets, an almost
vertical drop. Sandy holds his hands in the air like he is on a rollarcoaster. Jack loves this.
Bunnymund - not so much.

BUNNYMUND
(walla)
Slow down, slow down!

"Faster! Faster!" a few of the village children were shouting, bouncing in their seats.

North pulls a lever, kicking the sleigh into overdrive. He
looks back as the sleigh enters a corkscrew.

NORTH
I hope you like the loopty loops!

BUNNYMUND
(nauseous)
I hope you like carrots.

Poppy made a face at that. Gross.

NORTH
Here we go!

WIDE SHOT as the sleigh reaches the bottom of the ramp, and
shoots upwards, launching them into bright blue sky

JACK
WOOO-HOOOOOO!

EXT. SLEIGH - FLYING THROUGH THE SKY - CONTINUOUS
North, reins in hand, leans into the wind as the reindeer
climb higher.

NORTH
Klasno!

Jack, in his element, leaps up onto the rear of the sleigh to
watch the North Pole fade into the distance.

JACK
(laughs)
Whoa!

Bunnymund peaks off the side of the sleigh, then leans back,
and holds on for dear life.

JACK
Hey, Bunny-

Bunny turns to see Jack standing on the back edge of the
sleigh.

JACK
Check out this view-
EEEYAAAAGGHGHH!

Jack is SWEPT OFF the sleigh and disappears!

"Jack!" Lucy exclaimed worriedly.

Bunny gasps in
horror and looks over the side...only to see Jack lounging on
the sleigh's skid.

JACK
Awww...you do care.

Lucy relaxed again, a smile making it's way onto her face.

"Another trick." she murmured.

"He is his mother's son." James Overland laughed.

BUNNYMUND
Ah, rack off you bloody show pony!

Bunny glowers as Jack makes his way back into the sleigh.

NORTH
Hold on everyone, I know a
shortcut.

BUNNYMUND
Oh strewth, I knew we should have
taken the tunnels.

North holds a snow globe up to his face.

NORTH
I say, Tooth Palace.

An image of the Tooth Palace appears inside the snowglobe.
North throws the globe into the air and a giant vortex opens.

NORTH
Hyah!

EXT. SKY - NEAR TOOTH'S PALACE
The sleigh suddenly comes out of HYPERDRIVE at the outskirts
of the Tooth Palace. Streaks of black rapidly approaching.

NORTH
What!?

Any good mood in the room vanished into worry. What was happening? What were those things?

Suddenly our heroes find themselves in the midst of mayhem,
as hundreds of Nightmares and terrified Tooth Fairies jet
past. It's like a meteor storm. North yanks the reins, and
the sleigh veers sharply, dodging the oncoming Nightmares.

NORTH
What are they!?

Sandy and Bunny duck the onslaught.

BUNNYMUND
Whoa!

Jack now sees that the Nightmares are actually GULPING DOWN
the fleeing fairies and flying off with them. It's chaos.

JACK
They're taking the tooth fairies!

"Oh no!" Rose gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. She, Anne, and Thomas sat close together.

Jack looks up to see a lone fairy with a Nightmare snapping
at its heels

Jack leaps into the air and rescues it before
the Nightmare can snatch it away.
Jack lands back in the sleigh. He opens his hand to reveal
Baby Tooth, who's shaking with fear.

JACK
Hey little Baby Tooth, you okay?

"She hardly ever leaves Jack's side now." Emma chuckled.

As Baby Tooth nods, North steers the sleigh forward through
the storm toward the entrance of Tooth's Palace.

INT. TOOTH PALACE - A MOMENT LATER
A vast chamber supported by pillars containing millions of
tiny wooden deposit boxes from floor to ceiling. North spots
a Nightmare up ahead and hands Jack the reigns.

NORTH
Here, take over!

Emily groaned playfully.

"Jack's a terrible driver!" she exclaimed.

BUNNYMUND
Huh?

Jack, though surprised, quickly grabs the reigns and smiles
as he snaps them.

JACK
Hyah!

North readies his sword and SLICES the Nightmare in half -

NORTH
Yah!

SEVERAL TOOTH BOXES spill out of the split Nightmare and rain
down into the sleigh at the Guardians' feet. The Nightmare
disintegrates into black sand.

BUNNYMUND
They're stealing the teeth!

"Why?" Renee wondered in a soft tone.

Sandy looks at his hands and sees the Nightmare sand take
shape and drift away.

He and Bunny exchange a look.
The Guardians turn - they're headed straight for a pillar.

NORTH
Jack, look out!

Jack pulls the reins -

JACK
Aaaahhhh!

- the sleigh nearly misses the pillar and skids to a rough
stop on a platform. They see Tooth up above.

NORTH
Tooth! Are you alright?

Tooth is flying around, visibly frustrated. This is bad.

TOOTH
They, they took my fairies!
And the teeth! All of them!
Everything is gone! Everything.

The room was filled with anxiety. Why would Pitch steal the teeth?

Only then does it hit her. Tooth's wings drop in defeat.
She's completely lost amidst the devastation. The Guardians
rush to comfort her. Jack stays behind as Baby Tooth pops
out from the hood of his tunic and flies over toward Tooth.

TOOTH
Oh thank goodness! One of you is
alright!

PITCH (O.S.)
I have to say, this is very, very
exciting.

Pitch's voice echoes across the open chamber. They look up to
see Pitch, standing high above them with a satisfied smile.

PITCH
The Big Four, all in one place.
I'm a little star-struck.
(beat)
Did you like my show on the globe,
North? Got you all together,
didn't I?

"A trick." James Bennett spat.

"A cruel one at that." Emma agreed.

Tooth darts after Pitch, but he escapes into the shadows.

TOOTH
Pitch, you have got thirty seconds
to return my fairies!

PITCH (O.S.)
Or what?

Tooth follows the sound of Pitch's voice and finds him near
one of her tooth box columns.

PITCH
You'll stick a quarter under my
pillow?

NORTH
Why are you doing this?

PITCH
Maybe I want what you have. To be
believed in.

Jack takes this in. Pitch moves along the walls and shadows
of the chamber and emerges from behind a column.

PITCH
Maybe I'm tired of hiding under
beds.

BUNNYMUND
Maybe that's where you belong.

PITCH
Ah, go suck an egg, rabbit!

Bunny looks down past the edge of the platform to find Pitch
upside down, staring him in the face. Pitch disappears again.

PITCH (O.S.)
Hang on, is that...Jack Frost?
(laughs)
Since when are you all so chummy?

"He'd better not lay a finger on my son." Lucy hissed through her teeth. Emma winced. Her mother wasn't someone you wanted to anger.

JACK
We're not.

PITCH
Oh good.

Jack turns and sees Pitch standing in the middle of a column.

PITCH
A neutral party. Then I'm going to
ignore you. But, you must be used
to that by now.

Colonial Burgess went dead silent. Partially out of anger, but partially in remembrance as well.

Sometimes they had ignored the shepherd boy. He had made it difficult, but when times were hardest they became so wrapped up in their own worries they forgot everything around them. Then he pulled them out of it, made them see him and made them remember that they had to have fun too. And no that he was gone... Who would do that? Even if he was a spirit, in their time he didn't remember. Who would make them remember?

BUNNYMUND
Pitch! You shadow sneaking ratbag!

"Okay... Maybe he isn't so bad." James Bennett mumbled as the kangaroo leapt to his friend's defense.

Come here!

Bunny goes after Pitch, but he disappears and reemerges on an
opposite column. Tooth spots him, grabs one of Bunny's
boomerangs and flies at Pitch in a rage...

TOOTH
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Pitch looks at Tooth with a smile and before she can reach
him, a huge Nightmare darts out of hiding and rears up at
her. Tooth falls back.
Baby Tooth hides in Jack's tunic.

PITCH
(soothing)
Whoa! Hey, easy, girl. Easy.

Pitch draws a wisp of black sand from Onyx's mane, twirls it
in his palm, and turns toward Sandy.

PITCH
Look familiar, Sandman? Took me a
while to perfect this little trick.
Turning dreams into Nightmares.

Pitch notices the shocked Guardians.

PITCH
Don't be nervous, it only riles
them up more. They smell fear you
know.

BUNNYMUND
What fear? Of you!? No one's been
afraid of you since the Dark Ages!

Pitch's eyes flash with anger. But then he smiles.

PITCH
(nostalgic)
Oh, the Dark Ages.

EXT. VILLAGE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK
A parent and her two children, huddled around a campfire,
scream as a shadow, resembling Pitch, washes over them. It
makes its way up the side of a mountain to reveal Pitch,
smiling as he stares up at the moon.

PITCH (V.O.)
(nostalgic)
Everyone frightened. Miserable.
Such happy times for me.
Oh, the
power I wielded!

EXT. VILLAGE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK - CONTINUOUS

PITCH (V.O.)
But then the Man in the Moon chose
you to replace my fear with your
wonder and light!

"And a good thing too. People can do terrible things when they're afraid." Emma mumbled.

North's sleigh flies in front of the moon. Tooth and her
fairies flit by while SANDY's Dreamsand dances across the sky
and Bunny leaps across rooftops.

PITCH (V.O.)
Lifting their hearts!
And giving them hope!

Pitch, thinner and weaker than he is now, slips back into the
shadows after children run through him while playing in the
streets, laughing as they go.

PITCH (V.O.)
Meanwhile, everyone wrote me off as
just a bad dream! "Oh, there's
nothing to be afraid of! There's
no such thing as the Boogeyman!"

BACK TO THE TOOTH PALACE
Pitch leans toward the Guardians, showing nothing but contempt.

PITCH (CONT'D)
Well that's all about to change.

"I can't really say I blame him... From the looks of it he's been on his own longer than Jack was... I wouldn't wish that on anyone. If Jack had a mean bone in his body he could have turned out like... Well, that. I mean, he doesn't and he didn't but still." James Bennett pointed out.

A SOUND behind Pitch: one of the COLUMNS of the Palace begins
to crack and crumble, as if decaying. Tooth is stunned...

PITCH
Oh look, it's happening already.

JACK
What is?

Tooth's eyes widen in shock.

VIGNETTES OF CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD

PITCH (V.O.)
Children are waking up and
realizing the Tooth Fairy never
came.

Lifting pillows and finding their BABY TEETH still there.

PITCH (V.O.)
I mean such a little thing, but to
a child...

PULL OUT from the last VIGNETTE, all the way out of TOOTH'S
WIDE-OPEN EYE, and BACK TO SCENE. Jack, mystified, moves
closer to Tooth as the palace continues to crumble.

JACK
What's going on?

TOOTH
They, they don't believe in me
anymore.

PITCH
Didn't they tell you, Jack? It's
great being a Guardian- but
there's a catch.
If enough kids
stop believing, everything your
friends protect - wonder, hopes and
dreams - it all goes away. And
little by little, so do they.

"And they tried to make him join them? Goodness, he'd have faded away!" Emily shrieked.

"Calm down, they didn't realize it and they'd have saved him before that happened." Emma soothed.

Jack's realizes now the magnitude of Pitch's plan.

PITCH
No Christmas, or Easter, or little
fairies that come in the night.
There will be fear
and darkness and me! It's your
turn not to be believed in!

Bunny throws his boomerangs at Pitch, who quickly ducks out
of the way as they fly around the chamber columns. Pitch
then jumps onto the back of Onyx down into the depths of the
Palace. The Guardians dive after him, followed by Jack.
Bunny grabs a set of egg bombs and launches them at Pitch,
exploding seconds before Pitch hits the ground.

"This is bad, huh?" Poppy asked. Everyone nodded.

Very, very bad.