Chapter 10

"Slender Man!" Pitch called irritably, turning a slow circle in the abandoned woods of Wyoming. "I believe I owe you some form of an apology." He heard a slight rustle and he turned, approaching the area. "Everything went to crap and now you're bound in this virtually nonexistent place. Normally I wouldn't care," he said, brushing past a branch. "But we bringers of fear need to remain in at least some form of friendship I suppose…" he stopped dead, seeing Slender Man impaled on the branch. "My god!" he said, rushing over and cutting the branch away with his scythe. "How on earth did this happen?! Was it the Winchesters?"

Slender Man pulled the wood out of his middle, his arms trembling. His hand shot up, grasping Pitch's head, his words forming in the Boogeyman's mind. "It gridded against his mind that I also kidnapped children!"

"What?" Pitch said.

"And he hated that the Saint drove out snakes, and was praised, while he was cheated for driving away the rats!"

"The Pied Piper," Pitch said.

"His answer was yes Pitch Black. He hates them for protecting what he exploited! He's finding a way to kill them now."

"Kill them?" Pitch turned, his eyes wide as he though back to what he had said to the Piper the day he called for his help. "No…" he breathed, running off frantically.

***"I'll be back!" Jack called as he flew out of the bunker, running along the tree tops. He grabbed a branch and swung down, snow falling around him. He sunk his bare toes into the frozen ground, enjoying the cool feeling. He was walking calmly through the forest, when two shrill notes of music played and his head twitched. Jack shook his head and blinked, turning a quick circle. "Hello?" he heard another note, and then another, and then a melody began to play. It was an upbeat folk dance song and Jack suddenly felt his feet going along with the movements. He was totally out of control. His hands clapped as he spun around and around, his feet leaving groves in the snow. He felt himself leap into the air, dancing across the countryside. He attempted to fight it but there was no stopping the music. He stumbled and leapt over vast amounts of land, rolling over a hillside. Without warning the music cut off and Jack felt his feet slid across smooth ice, slowly coming to a stop. Breathing hard, he spread his arms to steady himself, still not entirely in control. He glanced upwards at the sound of soft footsteps, seeing the Pied Piper casually walking over, and leaning on a tree. "Piper," Jack said, squinting. "You know you could have just come to talk to me if you wanted a meeting. Thanks for the tip about Pitch's attack by the way." He motioned to himself. "Mind undoing the spell now?"

The Piper stared at him dully; beginning to play a haunting tune. Like Slender Man, the Piper's words appeared in Jack's mind. "I never said no to Pitch. I gave you all that tip so that I would fade into obscurity, losing your suspicion. It gave me time to think, now I can give Pitch the results he wanted."

Jack tried moving again, but his legs wouldn't budge. He started gritting his teeth, stressing them. Tooth, whose mind always had some part of it thinking about Jack's cuspids, felt the grinding in her head. Last time he had done this there had been an emergency, so she dropped everything, and took to the sky. Jack glanced upwards, seeing Tooth hiding behind a tree top, and turned to face the Piper. "As long as you play that I and anybody else you play for will fall under the spell right?" The Piper frowned, confirming the question. Tooth got the message, and flew away, heading towards the bunker. "Ok," Jack breathed. "So what are you going to do to me huh? Have me dance to death?"

The Piper smirked smugly. "I was thinking hopscotch."

Jack blinked, and then looked around at where he was. It was the very lake he had drowned in three centuries ago, only, unlike last year, the ice was thin. He looked back up frantically. "Wait," he breathed, looking around again. "Wait hold on Piper. You can't actually do this!"

"You Guardians can all kill each other, but the moment enough children believe in you, you return. But this way, sending you back from where you came, will undoubtedly produce a different result Jack Frost."

***Tooth flew into the bunker, shouting. "Jack's in trouble, we need your help right now!" Dean and Sam sat up from where they had been lounging on the couch.

"What's happened? Crowley?" Sam asked, but Tooth shook her head.

"No, it's the Pied Piper. He has Jack under his spell, what's worse is that he has him at the lake!"

"The lake?" Sam asked and Tooth explained hurriedly.

"The lake he drowned in after he saved his sister! The reason he was turned into a Guardian!"

Dean grabbed his gun. "Let's take him out."

"You will never get there in time!" Tooth cried. "The moment he see's you he will put you under control, you could end up killing each other and not come back the way we do!"

"Not come back?" Dean said with a slight laugh. "You don't know us very well. And what's the point of coming here if we can't help."

"You can help," Tooth said. "You know more about supernatural people than I do, you're second place to the Moon. How to we stop the Piper?"

"Earplugs," Sam said instantly, and Dean looked at him. "You read the story to me as a kid," Sam explained. "Three children couldn't follow the Piper, because one was deft, the other lame, and last blind, so they were spared."

"Thank you," Tooth breathed, and flew out.

"***Piper please don't do this," Jack begged, almost crying as the ice cracked under him, the Piper making his feet add more and more pressure. "Pitch called it off, it's done!"

The Piper halted for a moment, twirling this flute once and playing again. "I know…"

"What?!" Jack gasped.

"I don't care Jack Frost. I am doing this out of my own interest. You play with those kids every day, you don't ask for anything in return except some meaningless recognition. I starved to death thanks to those selfish adults! They don't deserve to have those kids!"

"Neither do you!" Jack yelled at him. "They were kids! And you took advantage of them! You kidnapped them!" his eyes blazed. "You used to be an honest man but now you're just a vengeful, self serving maniac who is drowning in his own self pity!" The Piper's eyes flared and the heel of Jack's foot slammed on the ice, making it groan and creek. Jack waved his arms to keep his balance, his eyes fearful, but no longer pleading.

"Jack!" Tooth called, flying down, her feet tied together. He looked up at her with a smile, and then disappeared under the water as the ice broke. "Jack!" she screamed, flying down. The Piper let out a shrill whistle, but was side tackled by a blindfolded Easter Bunny. Tooth struggled to pull the soaking Jack out of the water, hauling him up onto the ice. Her feathers were wet and her teeth chattering as she checked him over. Bunny could smell and hear the Piper, he couldn't use his boomerangs very well because of his sight impairment, but his feet and fists were holding quite well against the Piper. The Pier slid backwards after taking a kangaroo like kick to the stomach. North ran out of the woods, puffing slightly and looking at the scene. Seeing Jack, his eyes widened and mouth opening.

Bunny turned his head slightly. "How is he?" he asked.

Tooth was staring at Jack, watching in horror as the white of his hair slowly turned brown, a light pigment coming to his cheeks. There was no pulse, no breathing, and no movement. "Bunny!" she called desperately. "Something's wrong! He's not waking up! He's changing…Bunny…I think he's…"

"Don't say it!" Bunny yelled, and the grunted as the Piper ripped off his blindfold, playing a high note before putting the instrument to Bunny's neck, pulling back.

Feeling his airway getting cut off, Bunnymund struggled and reeled, trying to remove him. "I'm going to crush it," the Piper's voice hissed in his mind. "I'm going to crush your pipe, with my pipe. Do you find that funny Aster?" his lip curled into a thin smile.

Suddenly the Piper heard a vicious roar. Looking up, he saw North charging him, looking positively berserk. He pulled away from Bunny, playing his flute frantically. Too late he realized that North had earplugs in and the giant of a man plowed into him. North drove the Piper back, ramming his fist into his ribs before straightening and slamming him into a tree. He began to punch his face over and over, his knuckles cracking into the bones of the Piper's jaw and cheeks. Fury built up inside North, his punches increasing in both rate and speed. "North!" Tooth called, but the man didn't hear her. "North stop!" North yelled loudly with rage, his closed hand smashing his head the same way that a hammer cracks a watermelon. A sickening, splatting noise was now emitting from the Piper as his face was pulverized by North's fist and the back of his head was repeatedly into the tree. "Stop it!" Tooth screamed and Bunny rushed over.

The Piper's head was now sagging as North hit, his fingers going limp and beginning to twitch. "Ease off mate!" Bunny called, grabbing his fist. The enraged Guardian pulled away from his paw. Bunny shoved his shoulder hard, making the man stumble. "North!" he roared.

North staggered back, blinking. "What is it? What did I…?" he took out the earplugs, turning to look. The Piper, his face a bloody mess, was staring dully ahead of him. His body slowly fell foreword, his crushed face hitting the snow. North looked down at his wet hands, which began shaking.

Pitch staggered onto the scene, coming to a stop. He stared at Jack, his breath catching. "No," he breathed as the others turned to look at him. He lifted his head. "Oh my god I am so sorry. I had no idea he was going to…" He said, swallowing. "What have done?" he blinked, looking at the Piper's form. "What have you done?" he asked.

"I…" North stammered.

"He's dead!" Pitch breathed.

"Piper will return," North said.

"No he won't!" Pitch yelled. "Neither of them are, can't you see that! Piper found the one, the only way to kill a Guardian for good. And Piper isn't a Guardian! He won't come back even if people do believe in him! What's worse he's only a Myth! And Myths don't come back through simple belief! It's over!"

"Hold on a sec," Bunny said, walking over. "You said you were sorry. How is this your fault? I thought he was on our side!"

Pitch's mouth opened and closed, searching for the right words. "I…paid him to find a way to put you out of commission. The only scrap of money I had to my name was the quarter you gave me, but it was enough. I had no idea he was looking for a way to kill you, much less even take up my offer!" he shook his head. "I'm sorry…" Tooth looked back down at where Jack was resting in her lap, Bunny looked as if he was about to kill Pitch, Pitch looked like he was about to kill himself, and North, North just looked terrified as to what had just happened.

***Bunny and Tooth slowly carried Jack's limp body to the bunker. Upon opening the doors, both Sam and Dean knew something was wrong. They tried everything, referenced every book on a matter of this nature. Cas even tried to resurrect him, nothing worked. Dean found Sam with Jack wrapped up in a blanket, cradled in his arm, just like the way he had always carried him around. The body wasn't rotting, or smelling, or anything. It was just there, cold, and unchanging. Dean and Kevin continued to research while Sam kept a constant eye on the body, both eyes constantly filled with tears. Jack's death had hit Sam hard, this boy, this little frost elf had been his little brother, or the closest thing he had to it aside from Adam, and now he was gone.

North sat alone in a darkened office, hands on his face, unable to bring himself to confront his elves, his yetis, or even the Moon. Tooth attempted to go back to work, her fairies needing her direction. But the instructions were given in a strained voice, a constantly interrupted by quiet sobs. Dreams were mediocre for the children of the world that night, as Sandy could barely bring a happy thought to share with them; and Bunny sat in his valley, tossing his boomerang and catching it over and over in an endless daze.

Pitch stared up at the Moon, his eyes wide and wondering, wondering how this was somehow worse than loosing. This wasn't like Sandman. Pitch had always known there was a way to bring him back. This was different. He swallowed, shaking his head. "Why? Why is it that the only time my great plan works was when I had called the whole thing off?" his lips tightened, and then he slowly walked back into his cavern, suddenly feeling very alone, and sick to his stomach.

***Up on a hillside, Crowley looked over a small town, checking his pocket watch. "It's about time plan B finished up," he rolled his neck. "Now I can get the others out of the way, and that will be the end of that disaster waiting to happen." He grinned, pouring of bit of ill obtained blood from a vile into his hand. "This is Crowley King of hell. Gather the legion I assigned for the Guardian case. We finally have ourselves a war, and I looks like it's gonna be a slaughter." He flicked the blood away, whipped his hands clean on a handkerchief, and snapped out

End of Part 1