Chapter 10: Pitch's Pawn

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC.

Nat falters once but regains her balance as she attempts to make it to North's workshop. The fierce winds aren't relenting, though, and even with all of her abilities, she is suddenly unsure she has a chance. A shiver goes from the pit of her stomach to all over her body, bringing with it the harsh blackness. But she has to keep believing. It's getting harder. She can feel the faith seeping out of her. Most of the children have stopped believing. No, she can't believe that. North's glowing palace of wonder is in sight. Just one hundred more yards. Nat squints her eyes and pushes forward, using her last bit of strength to keep going. She manages to burst through the door and then some before she collapses in a crumpled heap.

North bursts out of his office, swords drawn, ready to attack the intruder when he sees well, it can't be. "Nat!" he yells, holstering his swords and running towards her. Kneeling next to her, North gently rolls her over and into his lap. "Nat! Mother Nature! Naturetta!" He is slightly hysterical now, calling her any and everything he can think of to get her attention.

At the last name, Nat's eyelids slowly flutter open. "North. . .?" she questions weakly.

"Yes, yes, I am here. I am right here." It is only then that North notices the sheer blackness of the girl. Her whole left side is black. She is being consumed. Nat puts on a small smile before a spasm of pain racks her body. North clutches her tighter to his chest, unsure of what to do. He had never seen anything like this before. "Nat, I'm sorry. I don't know what to do," he tells her quietly, wishing there was something he could do to help her.

Nat blindly looks around before lifting her hand up and putting it on North's cheek. A tear forms in the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry, too. It's my fault all of this is happening. If I hadn't distracted Sandy then he wouldn't be dead. And then he could have defeated Pitch. Tooth would have her mini-fairies back. Easter wouldn't have been ruined. Jack wouldn't have left us. We all wouldn't be losing our powers and the children would still be believing. I wish the Man in the Moon hadn't made me a Guardian because all I've done is mess things up as of late."

"Naturetta," North began using her birth name because this was going to be a personal moment. "You are most important member of team, no? You may not have been first Guardian or have a holiday," North was cut off by Nat's glare. "Okay Earth Day isn't technically a holiday but if you wish it to be, eh, why not? We all love you. And we've all made mistakes. But this was not your mistake. This was Pitch's revenge. You cannot blame yourself for the actions of others. Yes, there might have been something you could have done differently to change course of reality but that time is over now. Now is the present and in this time you will quit blaming yourself for other people's actions. And you will also have to learn to love yourself. Honestly, everyone else loves you, Nat. Tooth, Bunny, myself. I know Sandy did. Even Jack did. I wouldn't be surprised if he still does, wherever he is right now."

"Jack. . ." Nat whispered, wondering what had happened to her quite literal polar opposite. Suddenly, Nat felt a sharp pain in her chest. She lurched up and out of North's lap before rolling onto the floor. She curled up in the fetal position and began to shiver, aching all over as the blackness consumed her further.

North looked on in fear. "Nat!" he screamed helplessly, unsure of what to do other than stare in shock.

Watching in horror, North watched as Nat's whole body began to turn black. Every inch of her body became pitch black. Her golden hair dulled, losing its shiny luster. All the colors he adored on her nimble frame evaporated. All that was left was a dark haired girl with pale skin lying on his floor in pure black clothing. Slowly, she sat up and turned to face North who gasped. Her eyes were pure black orbs. Then what was left of Nat smiled. But it was not her smile. It was the smile one might see when they were enjoying watching puppies boil alive or someone being chopped into tiny pieces using a butter knife. Then she spoke. It was Nat's voice but it sounded mechanical, lacking the spirit's usual optimism. "You fool. You honestly thought you could defeat the Nightmare King? Been spiking your eggnog recently? Tsk, tsk, North. Maybe you should put yourself on the Naughty list. Then again, once I'm done with you, there won't be anything left to check the list, once or twice." Nat then flipped back, pulled her bow out, strung an arrow, drew back, and fired.

North pulled out his two swords and slashed the arrow into nothingness. He knew this wasn't really Nat and that he couldn't take her words to heart. Pitch's arrow had finally made its mark. It had finally reached her heart.

Nat chuckled and then smirked. "For a fat man, you're pretty light on your feet. Maybe you'll actually be a challenge in battle." With a wave of her hand, the bow and arrows were replaced by two swords. Then without warning, she lunged.

North sidestepped quickly so all Nat managed to do was shred his coat. Quickly, North shrugged it off and threw it at Nat to stall her. The jacket collided with Nat and was so large and heavy it knocked her to the ground. Screaming in frustration, she began to hack her way out of the coat. When she was finally free of the red prison, Nat leaped to her feet. But then she took in her surroundings and realized she was trapped.

North had a sword at the back of her neck and another pointed directly at her heart. "Naturetta. I know this isn't you. You're under Pitch's spell. You've got to snap out of it. I don't want to hurt you."

Something seemed to spark in Nat's eyes. "Oh, North. . ." she began slowly. North's heart skipped a beat. Was she back? "You don't want to hurt me? That's so sweet! The only problem is I want to hurt you." Faster than the speed of light, Nat ducked away from the swords, swept North's legs out from under him, leaped on top of his chest and pressed the tip of the blade against his chest. "I will make it quick, I promise. You will only feel a second, maybe two, of pain and then it will all be over. Wouldn't that be nice? After all, you're what, a thousand years old? You're kinda due in, aren't ya, fat man? And really, I'm being quite generous. I could make it slow. Chop you up into itty bitty pieces. Feed you to your own reindeer. Save your head as a trophy for the Nightmare King. Oh yes, I think I'd be doing you a favor ending you with a simple stab to the heart. Not the most glamorous way to go out in my opinion, but they can't all be winners. So, fatman, any last words?"

Smirking slightly, North replies, "Only five. You might want to duck."

"What?" Nat asked, confused when suddenly a giant ball of fur tackles her to the ground, scattering her two swords across the room. It's Bunny, pinning her arms to the ground.

"Crikey, Nat," Bunny says as he forces her into submission. Upon getting a better look at her, he blanches. Turning to North, he demands, "North? Explanation, now!"

"Is very simple, Bunny," North said, rising from the ground, acting as though he wasn't just about to be killed. "Pitch poisoned her heart. She is no longer Naturetta. She is Pitch's pawn."

"Is there any way to undo this?" Tooth asked, hovering over her used-to-be friend who was still squirming in an attempt to break free from Bunny's grip.

"Our best bet is to defeat Pitch. We get rid of him, we might just revert Nat back to her original self." North suggests after a moment of silence.

"We've already lost Sandy. We are not going to lose Nat, too." Bunny said, determined to save her.

"Wow. No wonder rabbits aren't considered the smartest animal in the world. You aren't going to get your golden girl back. She's gone! Her heart is frozen. It contains nothing but darkness. There's nothing you can do." Nat laughed a little then, having finally spoken up.

"You shut your mouth!" Bunny yelled, ready to do something drastic.

Tooth stopped him before he could do something he would regret. "Bunny! No! She may not be acting like Nat but she is Nat. If you hurt her, you decrease our chance of ever getting our Nat back."

Scoffing, Nat says, "Better listen to birdbrain over there. Letting a girl push you around, Bunny? Is there a wedding I don't know about? Better do what she says before that leash she's got you on gets any tighter."

"Why don't we just let her run off to the puppet master, Pitch? Let her tell him we are not going to give up until he kills us all!" Bunny erupted angrily.

"Hmm, well that can be arranged if you let me go. But it appears the only place you'll be running off to is wherever Tooth tells you to go. All though, you also seem to have a problem with running your mouth." Nat said in a calm voice. She knew she was striking Bunny right where it hurt. Out of the three Guardians surrounding her, he had the worst temper. If she got him mad enough, she could escape. But it would take some work with Tooth trying to be all sensible. Maybe Nat was striking at the wrong person.

"Sheila, you're in no position to be threatening us. If we wanted to, it would be so easy to dispose of you." Bunny threatened, having calmed down a little at the thought.

Nat laughed loudly at this. "Oh, but that's where you're wrong, rabbit. You would never get rid of me because no matter what I say or do, I am still in your precious Nat's body. And you three love her too much to ever let her go or do something to hurt her. So you might as well get comfy because I have a feeling you're going to be in this position for a pretty long time." Nat smiled sweetly before adding, "But you mustn't mind too terribly because the position does bring you awfully close to the body of the girl you love and care for. Are you picturing all the things you'd like to do with this body, rabbit," Nat was cut off then by a relatively small fist colliding with her jaw. It was Tooth. Tooth had just punched Nat in the face. Nat stared, not believing. She placed a hand against her cheek in shock.

"Tooth!" North called.

Tooth shook out her hand before saying, "Well, she was just being so incredibly rude and I was getting rather tired of hearing it. I'll apologize to Nat when she comes back."

Nat massaged her jaw slowly and then smirked. "Wow, Toothy. Didn't know you had it in you. Wonder what you're gonna do when you see Jack. You can tell me if you like. I can keep a pretty good secret."

Tooth had had enough. She shoved past Bunny and tackled Nat to the ground. Big mistake. Tooth was strong, but she wasn't Bunny strong. And out of the two girls, Nat had always been the muscular one. As soon as she was free from Bunny, Nat kicks up, sending Tooth flying. Then she flips up and is running towards the window. She jumps out just as the Guardians catch up to her and she flies off, in search of Pitch.

"What did I just do?" Tooth moaned as Bunny patted her back soothingly.

North looks from where Nat just disappeared to the Moon. He raises his eyebrows and thinks 'Why? Why do this to her? Why do this to us? Why do this to the children? We were so close, so very close.'