Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 7

Jack sat in the Sleigh, feeling a bit bad for Bunny as he clung on for dear life. He personally loved the Sleigh, so did Harry, but it made sense that Bunny didn't like flying. Sadly it was the quickest way to get the whole group to the Tooth Palace. He'd felt Harry reach for him, felt his concern, but also his grief, and that worried him. Just what had happened? he'd felt his scorn over the idea of making Jack a Guardian when he had no Believers and had almost laughed. Harry really didn't like the Man in the Moon, he kind of felt sorry for him when his time came, he was in for one hell of a lecture.

The portal opened and then they were through and Jack looked up in horror even as the Sleigh dodged. The horses! They were everywhere in the sky. "They're taking the tooth fairies!" he called as he jumped up to attack a Nightmare that hadn't devoured a fairy yet, catching her easily before dropping back into the Sleigh. He gently cradled the small fairy against his chest, checking to make sure she wasn't hurt, and then he recognised her.

"Hey little Baby Tooth, you okay? Thought you were going to stay out of trouble," he teased, and she stared at him with wide eyes, obviously recognising him. She chittered at him and he grinned, pulling his cloak open enough for her to crawl into the small inner pocket where she'd be safe.

The sleigh descended through the Tooth Palace in pursuit of Pitch, a Nightmare, or Tooth, or anything, but it was empty until they spotted a Nightmare, flying around. "Here, take over!" North handed Jack the reigns and he stared in shock.

"Huh?" he took them as North pulled out his swords, standing at the head of the sleigh. Jack shook his head but cracked the reigns. "Hyah!"

North attacked the Nightmare, which broke apart into black sand in the sleigh, Tooth boxes rattling to the floor.

"They're stealing the teeth!" Bunny yelled as he picked one up, Sandy examining the black sand in confusion.

"Jack, look out!" North called and Jack yanked on the reigns, barely avoiding the elegant spiral.

He pulled back, lining them up as best he could with one of the larger platforms, thankful the Reindeer knew what they were doing so they actually landed without crashing, even if it was a little rough.

"Tooth! Are you alright?" North called to the panicking Tooth Fairy as she fluttered around, everyone getting out of the Sleigh.

"They- they took my fairies, and the teeth, all of them. Everything is gone. Everything..." she sank down, utterly heartbroken.

Jack opened his cloak and reached in, drawing out Baby Tooth who quickly flew to Tooth who looked up at her twittering.

"Ah! Oh thank goodness, one of you is alright." She drew her into a hug, and Jack smiled at the reunion.

"I have to say... this is very, very exciting. The Big Four, all in one place. I'm a little starstruck. Did you like my show on the globe, North? Gotcha all together, didn't I?" the sound of an unfamiliar voice had them all looking around, Jack bringing his staff up.

"Pitch! You have got 30 seconds to return my fairies—"

"Or what? You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" Pitch asked, appearing above them.

So, that was Pitch Black. He didn't look very scary and his Soul felt…tattered. Like something had attached to him and then later been ripped away, maybe that was why he was the way he was? He should have asked North for more of Pitch's history. He stayed quiet, not drawing attention to himself, wanting a better understanding of things before Pitch saw him.

"Why are you doing this?" North demanded, swords ready.

"Maybe, I want what you have. To be believed in! Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds!"

"Maybe that's where you belong!" Bunny yelled as Pitch vanished from their sight into the Shadows…but Jack could track him.

"Go suck an egg, rabbit," Pitch taunted from beneath the platform they were standing on.

"Rrh!" Bunny reached for him, nearly falling, but North grabbed him even as Pitch vanished again.

Jack spun around, staff levelled right at where he reappeared, shocking him.

"Hang on. Who is this? Since when are you all so chummy with strangers?"

Jack met yellow eyes without flinching, the Nightmare King didn't scare him. "Me? I'm no one."

"Oh good, a neutral party. Then I'm going to ignore you."

"Pitch! Shut up you shadow-sneaking ratbag! Come 'ere!" Bunny threw a boomerang but Pitch avoided it.

Tooth shocked Jack by grabbing one of Bunny's boomerangs and attacking Pitch's new location, shouting, but a Nightmare appeared and screeched at her, sending her back to the others.

"Whoa ho ho ho, hey! Easy girl, easy. Hehe. Look familiar, Sandman? Took me awhile to perfect this little trick: turning dreams into nightmares. Don't be nervous; it only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know."

"What fear? Of you?" Bunny laughed as Tooth returned his boomerang. "No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages!"

"Oh, the Dark Ages! Everyone frightened, miserable, such happy times for me - oh the power I wielded! But then the Man in the Moon chose you to replace my fear with your wonder and light. Lifting their hearts and giving them hope. 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! Well that's all about to change. Hehe. Oh look, it's happening already."

"What is?" Jack asked since there was no point keeping quiet anymore.

"Oh..." Tooth gasped, and everyone focused on her.

"Children are waking up and realizing the Tooth Fairy never came. It's such a little thing, but to a child-" he taunted.

Jack looked around as the elaborate spires became dull, some beginning to crumble. "What's going on?"

"They... They don't believe in me anymore."

"Didn't they tell you, boy? 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. Hehehehe. No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night. There will be nothing but fear, and darkness... and me. It's your turn not to be believed in!" Pitch was obviously getting a kick out of all of it.

Jack had known theoretically what happened to a Guardian with no Believers, but seeing it happening was very different. When Bunny attacked, Jack joined the Guardians in going after Pitch.

They landed in a lagoon and Jack was very glad for the extra heat protection being Death's Reaper gave him, otherwise he'd be really feeling the heat. "He's gone," Jack told them, and out of his range. Though Harry would be able to track him now that Jack had met Pitch.

"Okay, alright, I admit it. You were right about Pitch," Bunny muttered to North.

Jack ignored them, choosing to approach the dejected Tooth instead. "I'm sorry about the fairies," he offered as he knelt beside her, helping her gather up the three boxes that had been dropped there.

"You should've seen them. They put up such a fight," she whispered, and Baby Tooth put her hands up in a fighting pose, making him chuckle. For such a tiny being she had a very big personality.

"Why would Pitch take the teeth? For the memories?"

"You know about the memories?" she asked in surprise and he nodded.

"North told me years ago," he shrugged slightly.

"But why…" she studied him. "Jack…"

"I don't remember, just a few flashes. North told me, said I should come see you, but it doesn't matter."

"You don't want your memories back?" she asked as she flew to a mural, Jack walking across the water at her side.

"What would be the point? Everyone in them is long dead. I saw my family after, I didn't remember them, but I got to say goodbye. I know they loved me and I loved them, what else do I need?"

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

She was shocked, she'd never heard of a Spirit losing their memories before. Usually, the teeth were just to remind children of happier times. She would have thought Jack would be eager to have them back but…what he said made sense. If he'd gotten to say goodbye then getting his memories back could only bring pain.

Tooth suddenly gasped. "Oh no..." she watched several feathers fall to the ground in shock. "The children... We're too late." She jolted as a cold hand took hers cautiously, shocked by how truly pale he looked against her own skin. She looked up, meeting bright blue eyes, her fairies had been right about how brilliant they were. She felt the cold move up her arm and gasped, what was he doing? "J…Jack?"

"Tooth?" Bunny called but he sounded further away.

Everything was cold, so cold….

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster heard Tooth stutter on Jack's name and turned to see her staring at the boy who was holding her hand firmly. "Tooth?" he called but she didn't answer, swaying, looking pale. "Tooth!" he cried in alarm only to be held back by North.

"He will not harm her," North swore.

They watched as Jack actually glowed softly, the glow spreading over Tooth as well, and then she gasped again, her wings moving at full speed.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth blinked, staring at Jack, as everything rushed back, sight and sound and, oh! She felt at full power! "Jack!" she cried, catching him as he slumped. "Jack…what did you do?" she asked in concern, but then Bunny was there, helping him sit.

"I'm okay," Jack murmured, and North clapped a hand to his shoulder, letting him lean against him. He looked up at her and smiled slightly. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, but what did you do?"

He glanced at North who nodded, and then Jack looked back at her. "I gave you some of my magic," he told her, and she stared at him, they all did except North.

"You gave her some of ya magic?" Bunny sounded as shocked as she felt.

"Well, yeah. It won't fix the problem, but it buys us time."

"Us?" Bunny stared at him.

"Just because I'm not a Guardian doesn't mean I'm going to let Pitch win and kill you all. So how do we stop him?"

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Harry felt Jack reach for him, sharing what Pitch Black was doing. He felt him share his magic with the Tooth Fairy, helping her keep her strength. That was a risky thing to do but he didn't blame him, he trusted Jack to know his own strength. He had to trust him to deal with Pitch while he tried to get the magical world under control. The more disreputable papers had begun printing stories of strange creatures, they were looking at a full Statute breach soon if it couldn't be stopped.

The fact that the cause was eluding him was incredibly frustrating. He was the Master of Death! He could find anyone he wanted…which meant that it wasn't a living soul behind it. Mother Nature knew nothing either, so it wasn't one of hers causing the trouble. Surely Pitch Black would not being working on two such elaborate schemes at ones. The Man in the Moon was a protector, he would not be causing such mayhem, beside, he was still technically alive so Harry would know if he was causing it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

They all blinked in shock at the amount of teeth Jack had gathered, how? North chuckled, assuming magic was involved somehow.

"Wow! You guys collect teeth and leave gifts as fast as my fairies!" Tooth praised them and everyone looked confused, except Jack. "You guys have been leaving gifts, right?"

Sandman nodded happily, then shook his head no, North and Bunny looking pained.

"I have," Jack shrugged slightly, grinning at the looks

They ended up at a laundromat where the other three had to collect quarters. You'd have thought at least North would have realised they needed to leave gifts in exchange.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack stared in disbelief as one ball of dream sand knocked everyone out. He looked at the Sandman who offered a sheepish smile, shaking his head in return. "I wish I had…oh!" he dug out the small camera and took several pictures, Sandy laughing.

It didn't bother him that Jamie couldn't see him, he was used to it. Maybe if he'd been totally isolated for his whole existence it would be different, but he accepted that things were the way they were.

He darted away from the window as he sensed movement behind him, seeing one of the Nightmare horses there. It brayed and then took off, and Jack looked at Sandy.

"Trap?" he asked, and Sandy shrugged. "Spring it or not?" he twirled his staff in his hand idly. Obviously Pitch wanted the group split up, divide and conquer after all, but did he know who was in the room and/or awake?

Sandy seemed to think about it for a few seconds, glancing around at the others, before he climbed out the window.

"Spring the trap it is," Jack followed him. They chased the horse across town, more joining it. Jack grinned when Sandy touched one and it turned to golden sand. That was good to know but Sandy couldn't be everywhere at once. They split up, Jack blasting them with ice.

He landed on the roof, poking one he'd frozen with his staff curiously. He'd never gotten a really good look at the thongs before.

"Well," a voice said, and Jack spun, sending out a blast of ice but Pitch dodged it. "You know, for a neutral party, you spend an awful lot of time with those weirdoes. This isn't your fight, boy."

"My name is Jack and you made it my fight when you started targeting kids," he growled, staff glowing with restrained power.

"And what would an unknown Spirit care about kids?" Pitch demanded, and Jack just smirked. Pitch frowned and glanced to the side, finally spotting Sandy next to him, looking cross. Seeing Pitch jump away with a start and nervous laugh was fun, but Jack didn't believe it. "Now this is who I'm looking for." That answered who the trap was for.

Sandman broke out his sand whips and lashed out at Pitch. Pitch dodged the whips and brought out his giant scythe too.

Jack laughed at the sight of it. "Compensating much?" he taunted, getting a glare from Pitch.

Sandy shot him a smirk before catching the scythes handle and jerked Pitch into the air, then down into the street below. Pitch bounced off a car roof, setting off the car alarm, before hitting the pavement hard enough Jack thought he heard something break.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," he commented to Sandy as they left the roof to join Pitch on the street.

"Okay, easy! You can't blame me for trying, Sandy! You don't know what it's like to be weak, and hated! It was stupid of me, to mess with your dreams," Pitch back peddled but then suddenly smirked darkly. "So, I'll tell you what. You can have 'em back."

Nightmares surrounded them and Jack mentally sighed, wonderful. The things were very resilient for creatures made of sand and it was a pain hitting them with enough ice to stop them.

"You... take the ones on the left, I'll take the ones on the right?" he suggested and Sandy shrugged. The things weren't actually alive so his Reaper powers were no help against them.

The Nightmares brayed angrily and then there was a beat of silence. "Boo!" Pitch called and the Nightmares started to attack.

They fought for a bit and then Jack felt Sandy grab the back of his cloak, launching them into the air. He was then tossed away, giving them both space to fight…but also leaving their backs exposed so it might backfire. Seeing the Sleigh was a relief, the only way Jack could ensure all the horses were dealt with, was not safe to use in a populated area. Electrical wiring could only take so much cold before breaking and without electricity for heat the people would freeze to death if he cut loose.

He spotted two horses rushing him and simply dropped down, letting them collide. He landed on the edge of the Sleigh.

"You might wanna duck," Bunny warned, so Jack did, a boomerang passing through where his head had been, Bunny catching it easily. He grinned at Jack who grinned back, looking up to see that Sandy was all alone on his cloud, surrounded by a tornado of black sand that he kept whipping to no avail.

"We gotta help Sandy!" Jack yelled, and North nodded, steering the Sleigh upwards.

Jack's eyes widened as he saw Pitch pull the string of an invisible bow, aiming an arrow-head shaped out of black sand at Sandy. Without thought he vanished from the Sleigh, reappearing to slam into Pitch, sending his aim way off as he released the arrow, and the Spirit plummeting towards the ground, Jack holding tight to his arms, snarling in anger. He liked Sandy!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster watched in shock, he hadn't even seen Jack move! How?

"He's not letting go!" Tooth cried in alarm as the two neared the ground.

"Jack will be fine," North answered as Sandy joined them.

The horses were streaming after the two falling from the sky. Sandy summoned his whips again and the Sleigh moved closer to keep the horses from helping Pitch. Such a fall wouldn't kill him or any Spirit but it would likely put both of them out of the fight for months, perhaps years.

North urged the Sleigh faster and Aster leant forward, searching for any sign of Jack. the kid was okay, he wasn't sure if he was Guardian material or not, but he'd been pulling his weight and he had hurt himself to buy Tooth time. North was right, he wasn't like any other Winter Spirit that Aster knew about. For the help he'd given them, he didn't want to see the kid crippled for years. He wouldn't really want to see anyone injured like that, except Pitch.

"There!" he yelled, readying to jump, he was made for massive leaps but they were at the edge of his range. Still, if he could grab Frost and at least slow his momentum… Sandy sent out streamers of sand to try and grab the kid who still had a tight grip on the thrashing Pitch.

"NO!" Tooth screamed as they slammed into unforgiving concrete, dust and debris billowing up around the impact site.

TBC…

Not much Harry this chapter but he's just annoyed and frustrated while searching.