Anything italicized is someone's thought bubble or they're singing

"WHAT?!" North yelled in surprise and anger. "Endora Noir has returned!?"

"Yeah," Oracle said. "It's hard to believe myself."

"Is she like dad, mom?" Jack asked.

"Obviously, kid," Indigo said as she was sitting on a counter in the Globe Room.

"She is...and she's powerful," Oracle said.

"What powers?" Dottie asked with curiosity.

"I don't think you of all spirits want to know, Dorothy."

"Why is that?" Farah asked as she stood near Cupid.

If only she knew who he was. Oracle thought. "Because...it's the same powers as hers."

"Nature?" Dottie asked.

"Yes. But it's all darkened."

"Great...can we say Maleficent anybody!?" Farah yelled as she finally noticed someone missing. "Where's Pitch?"

"He needed a breather." Jack began. "He's still in the woods by Burgess."

XXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe it!" Pitch yelled frustrated as he walked through the woods. "Endora...my enemy!" His blackened heart didn't feel right. Endora was a pretty girl to him, but she wasn't right for him. Besides, she was a girl of demonic origin, not a spirit like he was. So it wouldn't have worked out nonetheless.

"Dang, I need a drink." He said before he heard a giggle in the distance, making him look over to see a girl sitting on the bench with her hands placed delicately on her lap like a princess. Her eyes were closed so he couldn't see the color they were, but she looked like she was a teacher of some kind. Her outfit and coat said a lot.

"What is she giggling at?" He asked himself out of confusion as he walked closer to her, but stayed hidden in the shadows of trees just in case she could see him. But who was he kidding...no adult could see him or even hear him.

"Someday/my prince will come/someday/we'll meet again/and away to his castle we'll go/to be happy forever/I know..." She sang with a voice of an angel as Pitch stood there with surprise on his face. Her voice sounded familiar to him. "...someday/when spring is here/we'll find/our love anew/and the birds will sing/and wedding bells will ring/someday/when my dreams/come true."

"Whoa..." Pitch began as he walked further from the shadows. He walked in front of her as she opened her eyes, revealing icy blue orbs, looking right through him. He looked at her face for a moment, before seeing the little scar above her right eyebrow. He remembered her now.

~FLASHBACK~

Pitch walked through the woods, alone and quickly, trying to get away from Endora. She was starting to get a little too clingy for his taste. So clingy to the point where he couldn't take her partnership anymore. So he ran away from her practically.

And as he walked into the park, he noticed a young girl of maybe 17, like Jack. She was on the ground, not moving, not breathing, not doing anything. Now at this time, he may have been a villain, but seeing people not caring for someone who had passed out ticked him off. He'd make sure they got nightmares for this.

He ran up to her slowly and checked her over. That's when he saw it, the bleeding wound above her right eyebrow. Someone must have decked her one and when they saw she wasn't moving or breathing, they panicked and ran.

"Stupid kids." He mumbled as the girl stirred and woke up. "Oh, crap."

"Who are you?" She asked groggily. She could see him. How Pitch didn't know. But she could see him.

"That's not important right now," Pitch said hushed. "You okay?" He struggled to say this, but since he had ran up to her, he had to at least ask.

"Yeah, I should be." She said with her eyes drooping a bit. She quickly realized this and sat up a little too fast, grabbing her wounded forehead. "Dang it...too fast." She said, making Pitch scuff with a laugh.

He could see she was in pain from the blow to the head, but something about her intrigued him. She could see him and she didn't scream when she did. She was an odd one to him.

"Look at this stuff/isn't it neat/wouldn't you think my collection's complete/wouldn't you think I'm the girl/the girl who has/everything..." She sang out loud, making Pitch perk up. Her voice was really pretty in his opinion. Then again, he rarely thought anything was pretty.

"Why are you singing?" He asked, making her look at him, blood drying up by her right eye.

"It helps me forget about the pain." She said with a grin.

"Oh..." Pitch stated as he stood up. He held out a hand to her and she looked puzzled. He was a virtual stranger to her and he could be planning something to hurt her even more. But, there was something in his eyes that made her think otherwise. So she took his outstretched hand and immediately felt something going up her arm and down her spine as he pulled her up to her feet.

She could tell that Pitch felt it too because he couldn't take his golden eyes off of her icy blue ones.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

Pitch stared in surprise as he backed up. Her eyes blinked a couple times before shaking her head like she was trying to forget something. She sighed however as it must not have worked.

"Where is he?" She asked, making Pitch stop and look at her confused. "It's been forever since he found me that day, hurt with a bleeding forehead. I know he felt something like I did."

"She remembers?" He asked himself as the light breeze blew her loose brown pigtails behind her head.

"I just wish I knew his name." She spoke again before standing up from the bench and dusting herself off.

"It's Pitch." He said, knowing full well she wouldn't hear him. But to his surprise, she perked up.

"Pitch?" She was confused how she heard that. No one was there in front of her before, but maybe they were well hidden. "That's an odd name to have."

"She...heard me?" He was surprised to see this. She looked like she was 25, an adult, who didn't seem to have any fears at all. So how could she hear him?

"You came back." She said with a smile as she turned to look at him. "You haven't changed a bit."

"You can see me now?"

"Of course. Why?"

"Because I've been here the whole time." He said, making her look at him confused.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You must be some spirit then."

"Yeah, guess you could say that." He was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with this interaction. She was a human, he immortal. It was destined to take a wrong turn.

"Your name is Pitch, right?"

"Yeah...yeah, it is." Pitch began. "Pitch Black, actually."

"I'm Athena...Athena Blythe." She smiled at him, which made him look away from her. "What's wrong?"

"You shouldn't know me." He said. "I'm not a nice person."

"News flash, honey...the world has all sorts of not nice people. I've learned to accept that."

"Why?"

"Because sometimes...people don't want to change," Athena answered. "But there are those rare occasions that you get the armor just right, and you can touch a life."

"You seem a little too wise for your age."

"Yeah." She giggled. "But that's why I became a music teacher. I felt like teens needed a little guidance."

Pitch grinned a genuine grin at that statement for some reason. It was like she was touching his blackened heart...and making a pure white. He was changing just because of her.

But unaware, in the darkness of the trees, was Endora staring at the scene with her completely black eyes glowing with green. "That same girl from all those years ago...should have killed her when I had the chance." She said with a smirk forming on her face. "Well...better late than never...right?" She giggled evilly before disappearing into a tornado of red smoke, with her laughter echoing through the air.

Happy 2018, everybody!