I stumbled through the air all the way to Burgess, and the second I saw the park, I crash landed onto my knees. I stayed there and just cried. I let out all the anger and frustration, screamed at my new found memories, at all the new things I had discovered. I had a brother, an insane, nightmare king of a brother. And yet, he had been a better family than the new one I thought I had found.

Maybe I could just stay by myself. I mean, who needs a family, or believers? I didn't… I think.

I needed to find a place to clear my head, to find a way out of this mess. But not now. Now I was crying out all of these emotions, emotions I shouldn't have felt for the Guardians. So what if Tooth had been like my big sister, or North my father? So what if I was starting to think of Jack as… well, more?

"I knew this would happen." A voice said from the shadows. "I wanted to show you, the Guardians do not care for anyone but themselves." I looked up at my brother, who was gazing down at me, his eyes full of pity. He rested a hand on my shoulder. "But I won't do that. You would always be by my side; that is what family is for." He held out his hand for me. I looked at his face. Maybe he was right; maybe my place was with him. It made sense, if the Guardians hated me, who else would I turn to other than the man that hated them? I began to reach for his hand. This was the right choice. It had to be, there wasn't any other… my hand was almost in his when a small voice rang out from behind me.

"Trix?" I sprang to my feet and whirled around. It was Jamie, dressed up in his coat and boots, looking ready to have a snowball fight or build a snowman. "What are you doing with Pitch?" he asked, running towards me and grabbing my outstretched hand, as if he could drag me away from Pitch. I looked down and then sank to my knees beside him.

"Jamie," I whispered, my voice was hoarse, so I cleared my throat and tried again. "Jamie. Pitch is my brother, and I'm going to go and live with him." The little boy looked into my tear filled red eyes.

"What about Jack?" He whimpered "And the others? How could you just leave them like that?"

Well, I thought bitterly,it's not like they'll care. But I swallowed my anger and looked at him sadly.

"Turns out they weren't the right people for me, sweetie. But don't worry, they won't miss me. And neither should you," He looked at me, obviously confused, so I continued. "Forget about me, Jamie. Forget about me and move on. I'm not a good Guardian for you, that's what the Easter Bunny and Santa are for. Just...continue on with your life." I quirked a sly smile at him. "Try hanging out with that Jackie girl. The one with the red hair? I think she likes you." His face scrunched up in disgust.

"Jackie? But she's a girl." I laughed and pulled him into a hug.

"I'll miss you, kiddo." Then I slipped out of his arms and walked to my brother's side. We began to walk away, to my new home, but Jamie spoke again.

"I won't forget you, Trix." He stepped forwards, confident and strong. "No matter how much I should, because you're my friend. And I know that no matter what Pitch want's from you, you'll be back." Pitch grabbed my arm and began leading me to the forest. But at its edge I looked back over my shoulder and smiled at him.

"Goodbye, Jamie."

The deeper we went into the forest, the darker it became. And the more I could notice his nightmares lurking through the shadows. As we passed, they came towards us, and stared. But I wasn't uncomfortable; I knew they wouldn't hurt me. Because as much as they belonged to Pitch, they belonged to me too.

We finally reached the hole that was the entrance of his, our, hideout. I was about to slip down into the shadows, when Pitch grabbed my arm. "Are you sure about this?" I looked at him. I can't lie, I was confused. Didn't he want me to stay with him?

"I'm positive, there's nothing out there for me anymore." I smiled and he let go of my arm.

"Well then, let's go."

After the incident with Trix and the toys, our main focus was saving all the toys we could and making up for those lost. But after five days straight of dusting ash off of toys, North literally forbid me from working anymore.

"You are still weak, andyou have little believers," he had said. "You cannot stay up for days like other Guardians. Go, play with Jamie, start a snowstorm. You are Guardian of Fun, no? Well, have fun!" He didn't need to tell me twice. I flew to Burgess as fast as I could, looking forward to fun with Jamie and his friends. But when I arrived, I was surprised by what I saw.

Instead of playing in the snow, Jamie and his sister were sitting on their frosted lawn. Sophie was making a pile of snow in front of her, waiting for it to be the right height, then smashing it with her gloved fist. Jamie was sitting on the porch steps with his head in his hands, doing nothing. I landed on the sidewalk and called out; "Hey! Aren't you supposed to be having fun?" Sophie immediately perked up at my voice.

"Mister Fwast!" she cried, and clung to my pant leg giggling. Jamie did nothing more than look up and reveal teary bloodshot eyes. I picked Sophie up and cradled her on my hip.

"What's up, kiddo?" I said, making my way towards him. Finally, he lost it.

"What did you do to Trix, Jack?" he cried. I looked at him confused.

"Trix-" But he didn't give me a chance to continue.

"I saw her last week! She was in the snow, crying. When I talked to her, she told me her place wasn't with you and the others, and that I should forget about you! Then she- she left, with him!" I looked down at him with concern. Him?

"Who's him?"

"Pitch!"

Shock.

Pitch? I get mad and say a couple of hurtful things, and she goes running off to Pitch? I knew she was trouble!

"Why would she go to Pitch?" I wondered aloud. Jamie looked forwards and thought.

"She, she said that… that he was her brother."

Brother? Was that why she ran to him? I put Sophie down next to her brother and hovered in the air.

"Gotta go, Jamie. See you later."

I had to tell the others about this.

I looked in the mirror. My hair was less vibrant, and had turned black up until my ears, like someone growing out permanent hair dye. My once rainbow eyes were now bright yellow, like Pitch's. My skin was deathly pale, and I was wearing new clothes, having replaced my old dress with one my brother had given me. This one had a white silk blouse, almost as white as my own skin, and a black corset and skirt. My feet were covered now by black leather shoes tied up with thick laces, much warmer than my bare feet.

Pitch had told me this would happen, the hair and eyes, from being exposed to his nightmares. Soon, I would be completely like him, including his ability over sand. I could change it from dream sand to nightmare sand after concentrating in complete silence. Pitch says soon I will be able to do it within seconds.

I fingered a lock of bright green hair; I wished the change would happen faster. My old hair reminded me of my old life, of old mistakes. While glaring at the hair, I didn't notice my brother come up behind me.

"You could cut it, you know." He said. He came to a stop beside me and gently pulled my hair back. "It would help the transformation go much faster." He was right. At this length, I would look just fine. Not that I cared much anymore. My brother wouldn't judge me, and the nightmares saw only my soul. He pulled out a drawer from the counter I had been leaning on, and took out some scissors. I opened my hand and he placed it inside, folding my hands over the handle. He turned to walk out.

"Pitch, wait," I said. He turned and I tackled him in a hug. "Thank you," I whispered. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around me. Then, much to my surprise, he picked me up off the ground and swung me in a circle. I shrieked and pounded on his back. Laughing, he set me on my feet and kissed my head.

"Don't take too long, ok? I want to show you something." I nodded, a crazy smile plastered on my face. And then he left me alone. I picked up the scissors and held them up to my face. It wouldn't be hard, or painful, so why was I hesitating? No, there wasn't time for this. I had to forget my old life, so I could start again in this one. In one fluid movement, I laced the scissors through my hair and cut. A loud snip followed, and a weight I hadn't known was there disappeared. The one half I had cut was much lighter now; it's hair choppy and uneven. But I liked it. Quickly, I cut off the other half and swung my head from side to side. It was strange, having my hair tickle only the nape of my neck and not sway across my back. But I liked that too. I quickly tucked the scissors back into their original place and went to meet Pitch in the main area.

"What did you want to show me?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled.

"You look great. I didn't really want to show you something, so much as teach you. I want you to learn how to properly defend yourself. After the incident with well… you know, them. You don't know who is going to attack you." I nodded. I understood, almost all of the spirits, including the Leprechaun and Hallowed Eve, were loyal to the guardians. After hearing what happened with Christmas, they would probably be seeking for revenge.

He led me to the hole and we both flew upwards through the shadows. Since I had started the change, I'd been more in touch with the shadows, being able to sink into them or use them to get from place to place.

When we arrived at the surface, I was surprised by the brightness. I guess five days of straight darkness could impair a girl's eyesight, but that didn't stop me from blinking away the tears from my burning eyes.

"Now," Pitch said, completely unaffected by the harsh light. "I first want to teach you basic hand on hand combat." He took a step behind me and wrapped his arm around my neck. Not so I couldn't breathe, just so I knew it was there. "If someone has a hold of you from behind like this, you're first going to want to get their arm off your neck. Don't, you'll only weaken yourself. You must hit a weak spot, and the only one available is their stomach. So, you elbow them right above their hip." He took my arm and gently guided my arm through the motion. "Their arm will immediately go towards their stomach, leaving you free to go." To show this, he took his arm away and smiled. "Do you understand?" I nodded, it was quite simple. We went through the exercise three more times, before we moved on.

By the end of our session, he had taught me how to escape a chicken wing hold, how to dislocate an arm or collar bone, and how to dodge an arrow. Afterwards, I was panting, but I liked how the exercises challenged me, made me think and move.

I rushed to the Pole, crashing through the window and almost crushing a yeti's toy. He started to yell at me in their crazy mumbo jumbo. North had tried to teach me Yetish, but I had been too fidgety, and unable to stay in one place for so long. The only things I caught from his cries were "Frost, toy, careful, burn." Feeling as if my safety was being threatened, I left. I quickly found the room where the others were sorting toys. Well, all of them but Tooth. She sat in the corner, staring at Trix's teeth. We all knew why, she didn't know whether or not to open them, to see the memories, maybe find out what was up with Pitch. Well I knew, and I had a feeling she wouldn't like it.

"Jack!" North cried "Why you back so soon? I told you to go play, but you have only been gone for two hours!" Everyone was looking at me, startled by my entrance. Even Tooth looked up from her inner turmoil.

"You guys," I panted, "are not going to believe this."

Today we were practicing knife throwing.

He had used nightmare sand to form targets on the trees, which he would have me throw knives at over and over until they stuck. After I hit them all, the targets began to move. First slowly, then faster, until they were almost a blur.

By this time, I was barely keeping up.

I concentrated, it's all about timing, said to myself. I breathed in, and out. And threw the knife.

The knife flew past the target and into the forest. Behind me I could hear Pitch burst into laughter. I turned and glared at him. "Just… just go get the knife, ok, Alice?" he had started to call me Alice, my mortal name, but I didn't mind. He was my brother; whatever he called me was fine.

I stomped into the forest, leaving his laughter behind me.

I took me a while to find the knife; I had thrown it so hard. And once I did, I was far enough away that Pitch's laughed couldn't be heard.

Grumbling, I picked up the knife. "Stupid… of course I couldn't hit the target, it was moving at the speed of frickin light!" I flung the knife into a tree thirty feet away from me. It hit right in the middle and sank all the way to the handle. I leaped up and flew the distance to the tree; it was farther than I thought. I looked at the knife; getting it out would be hard, but I'd have to, it was my favorite. I wrapped my hands around the handle and pulled at hard as I could. It didn't even budge. I tried and tried, until I felt a cold breeze on the back of my neck.

It wasn't that I didn't like the breeze; it was what came with the breeze I wasn't too fond of.

Leaving the knife behind, I ran through the forest towards the spot where Pitch was waiting. I could hear him drop from the sky and begin pursuit through the dense forest floor. Please, I thought, please, please, please! I could almost see the clearing now, I was almost safe.

Then something, someone, large and cold tackled me from behind. We tumbled through the forest floor, me trying to get free and him trying to keep me still, until we finally came to a stop.

He was lying on top of me, panting. I could see the confusion in his clear blue eyes. His snow white hair was ruffled and his staff was lying next to me. His hands were on my arms, keeping them still on either side of my head. I turned my head from side to side, it looked as if I was struggling to get free, but I really just couldn't let him see my face. For some reason, I didn't want him to see what I'd become. Finally though, I gave up. He looked at me, I knew he didn't recognize me, I hoped he never would.

But of course, I saw something in his gaze click, and he looked at me in astonishment.

"Trix?"

Ohhhhh, cliffhanger! :0

So turns out i was able to update before the weekend! Aren't you proud of me? :3

So... to be honest, i haven't even started the next chapter, and im not sure how i will... So just be patient!

Shout out to 8annie81, only new updater, REALLY GUYS.

So yeah, feel free to threaten my safety for not updating through reviews and PM's, see you soon... maybe?

~iammesmile