"So... This is the Tooth Palace?" Cherry asked.
"Indeed it is," Tooth nodded. "We're normally very happy here."
"I guess not for long though." Cherry smirked snarkily.
They soon heard loud screeches which made Cherry's eyes widen as they glowed like a rainbow.
"Monsters from the Nightmare Realm," Cherry warned the others. "I can feel them coming right now."
"You mean those black unicorns made of black sand coming this way?" Casper asked as he pointed ahead.
They soon saw black unicorns made of black sand escaping The Tooth Palace with teeth and Tooth's fairy helpers.
"They're taking the tooth fairies!" Jack informed.
"Cherry, you're a dream-bender, can you do something?!" Patch asked.
"Uh... Okay! Um... Uh... I-I'll think of something..." Cherry said, trying to stay mentally strong, though she seemed to be a little bit scared.
Jack soon jumped up to attack a Nightmare that hadn't devoured a fairy yet, then cradled the fairy to him as he fell back into the sleigh. "Hey, little Baby Tooth, you okay?" he then asked the poor fairy.
The tiny fairy then nodded at him, feeling relieved and happy. The sleigh soon descended through the Tooth Palace in pursuit of Pitch, a Nightmare, or Tooth, or anything else, but it's empty until they spotted another Nightmare.
"Here, take over!" North told Jack and Atticus before he pulled out his swords as he stood at the head of the sleigh. "Hyah!"
"Cherry, you can help North," Wendy suggested to her older cousin. "You do this all the time for Princess Luna."
Cherry soon gulped and jumped out, glaring as she went to slash a sword she made with her powers to attack the nightmare creatures before one soon engulfed her in darkness and she suddenly disappeared away from her friends.
"Where'd she go?" Patch asked.
"I don't know." Mo said.
"I hope she's okay." Wendy said.
As North began to fight off one of the nightmare creatures, the sand it was made of scattered as the teeth it stole fell in the sleigh.
"This is both kinda gross and really scary." Atticus grimaced at the scattered teeth.
"They're stealing the teeth!" Bunny gasped.
Sandy was shown to be confused by the sand that the Nightmares were made out of.
"Jack, look out!" North warned the younger entity.
Jack soon landed the sleigh roughly, where the Tooth Fairy was panicking.
"Tooth! Are you alright?" North asked her in concern.
"They... They took my fairies, and the teeth, all of them," Tooth frowned as she looked very unhappy. "Everything is gone. Everything..."
The tiny Tooth Fairy soon reappeared and flew out at her.
"Ah! Oh, thank goodness, one of you is alright." Tooth said softly.
"I have to say... This is very, very exciting," Pitch smirked as he soon made his entrance. "The Big Four, all in one place. I'm a little starstruck. Not to mention a little band of misfit adventurers who have no business of being here. Did you like my show on the globe, North? Gotcha all together, didn't I?"
"Pitch! You have 30 seconds to return my fairies and Cherry-" Tooth started as she flew up to him before losing him.
"Or what?" Pitch's voice asked before he was soon shown on another roof. "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" he then added with a smirk.
"Hey, cut that out!" Wendy glared.
"And I suppose you'll help stop me?" Pitch mocked her.
"I defeated Desmond Spellman, I'm not afraid of you!" Wendy retorted firmly.
"Says the girl who's afraid of going to sleep sometimes after a date with her precious ghost boyfriend." Pitch smirked coldly.
Wendy looked wide-eyed before looking down and sad from that.
"Why are you doing this?" North demanded firmly.
"Maybe, I want what you have: To be believed in!" Pitch scoffed coldly. "Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds!"
"Maybe that's where you belong!" Bunny retorted.
"Bah! Go suck an egg, rabbit." Pitch smirked from the underside of the spire staircase that the others were standing on.
Bunny roared as he was then about to hit Pitch for that.
"Not to mention you're partly responsible for the defeat of my favorite pet?" Pitch then mocked Patch. "You probably have no idea what I'm talking about though~"
"Hmm... Let me guess; you mean The Halloween Hound?" Patch guessed.
"Ooh, correct." Pitch smirked.
"Pitch, if you so much have hurt my best friend in any way so help me I'll-" Atticus glared.
"Oh, don't worry. She's safe." Pitch smirked.
"Where is she?" Atticus glared.
"She'll be with you eventually," Pitch smirked. "She just needs to clear her mind a little bit right now~"
"Bring her back!" Atticus snapped, shaking his fists.
"Well, I suppose I could check on her for you~" Pitch chuckled darkly.
"Why did you even take her?" Mo glared.
"Why do you think?" Pitch chuckled darkly.
"Let me guess; it's because she's a dream-bender?" Patch guessed.
"Correct again," Pitch smirked darkly. "You are rather smart for a mutt."
Patch growled as he jumped up in the air suddenly. Pitch soon trapped Patch in the air with dark magic.
"Let him go!" Atticus glared.
"That temper won't bring your friend back any sooner," Pitch smirked. "Especially since I have to wonder why you're even friends with her when she's such a spineless coward when she acts all tough and scary on the outside~"
"Because she's my best friend!" Atticus glared. "We've been best friends ever since we were kids."
"Oh, how touching." Pitch teased.
"You are nothing but an evil, evil spirit which is understandable being with who you are." Patch said to Pitch.
"Pitch! Shut up you shadow-sneaking ratbag!" Bunny glared as he tried to attack the evil entity. "Come 'ere!"
Pitch smirked as he easily dodged the attack.
Tooth soon grabbed one of Bunny's boomerangs and attacked at Pitch's new location, shouting, but a Nightmare appeared and it screeched at her.
"Whoa, ho, ho, ho, hey! Easy girl, easy. Heheh..." Pitch smirked darkly. "Look familiar, Sandman? Took me a while to perfect this little trick: turning dreams into nightmares. Don't be nervous; it only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know." he then advised the others.
"What fear? Of you?" Bunny laughed fearlessly. "No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages!"
"Plus Cherry can protect people from bad dreams with her powers!" Wendy glared.
"Oh, the Dark Ages! Everyone frightened, miserable, such happy times for me; oh, the power I wielded!" Pitch mocked them. "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." he then pointed out to show them something that was going on.
Tooth's palace seemed to start crumbling and where Jack and the group were confused.
"What's going on?" Jack asked.
"Why is Tooth's tooth palace crumbling?" Casper added.
"Pitch, is this your doing?!" Wendy glared.
"Th-They don't believe in me anymore." Tooth said out of fear.
"What do you mean, Tooth?" Doc Croc asked.
"Pitch, what's going on?" Mo asked. "Why does Tooth think someone doesn't believe in her anymore?! And why's her tooth palace crumbling?"
"That's why we collect the teeth, guys," Tooth explained softly. "They hold the most important memories of childhood," she then led the group and Jack over to a wall as she explained herself to them. "My fairies and I watch over them. And when someone needs to remember what's important, we help them. We had everyone's here. Yours too."
"I... My memories?" Jack asked softly.
"From when you were young," Tooth told Jack. "Before you became Jack Frost."
"But, I-I wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost." Jack replied.
"Well, of course, you were," Tooth nodded. "We were all someone before we were chosen."
"What?" Jack and the group gasped in disbelief.
Cherry soon groaned as she was suddenly brought out from a black shroud that dumped her out in the middle of the ground and she looked a bit dizzy and suddenly flinched, shivering as she looked around in fear.
"There she is back although might be a little scared," Pitch smirked. "Now before I go you should know it's great to be a Guardian, but there's a catch if enough kids stop believing in them then everything they've sworn to protect all their wonders, hopes, and dreams, it all goes away. And little by little so do they."
"So that's why you stole the teeth," Atticus glared at Pitch. "So the kids wouldn't believe in Tooth anymore so she would know what it's like not to be believed in."
"Correct and soon I'll the same to the others as well." Pitch glared back.
"You can't do that!" Atticus glared.
"Yes, Atticus, fight me," Pitch smirked tauntingly. "Even if you were born into a world of darkness yourself~"
"I didn't need to," Atticus crossed his arms. "I'm happy having friends and being good, no matter what my so-called destiny was supposed to be."
"You shall see, they will come for thee~" Pitch taunted. "Your destiny will catch up and you can't fight it... You of all people should know that after visiting Ever After High School."
"You've done your research." Mo glared.
"Oh, I know all about each and every one of you." Pitch smirked.
"That is impressive, but you still won't win." Patch told him.
Bunny soon took out another boomerang and threw it at Pitch who dodged it before it came around the roof and was about to come at him before Pitch took off on the nightmare unicorn.
"...We'll get him back later," Atticus glared before looking over at his best friend. "Cherry, are you okay?"
Cherry shivered and looked up and over.
"Hey..." Atticus smiled. "Remember us?"
Cherry then suddenly got up and hid in the sleigh, shivering like a coward.
"Hey, it's okay!" Atticus told her. "Whatever Pitch Black did to you, we can fix it."
"T-T-T-Thank you..." Cherry replied, though she sounded scared to death. "J-J-Just... H-H-Horrible nightmares..."
"Don't worry, everything will be alright." Atticus assured her.
"Yeah." Mo nodded.
"No matter what just remember we'll always be by your side." Patch smiled to Cherry.
"And together we can face anything." Wendy added.
"No matter what." Casper added.
"Yeah." Yoyo and Doc Croc nodded.
Cherry began to hyperventilate from the company.
"What's wrong with her?" Mo asked.
"Cherry's a little claustrophobic, but she was never this scared of her own shadow before." Atticus remarked.
"...Something tells me that Pitch hurt her somehow." Patch narrowed his eyes.
"Knowing Pitch that sounds like something he would do." North said.
"But why did he hurt only Cherry?" Wendy asked. "Out of all of us, he chose to hurt Cherry."
"It must have something to do with how she's a dream-bender." Mo said.
"What do you think, Jack?" Patch asked.
Jack seemed to have his mind over how he had memories before becoming Jack Frost.
"Jack?" Patch frowned in concern.
"The night at the pond, I just... Why, I assumed... Are you saying I had a life?" Jack asked, still stunned over what was going on right now. "Before that... With a, with a home? A-And a family?"
"You really don't remember?" Tooth asked.
"All these years the answers were right here," Jack replied. "If I find my memories, then I'll know why I'm here. Ya have to show me!" he then begged.
"I-I can't, Jack," Tooth frowned softly. "Pitch has them."
"Then we have to get them back!" Atticus suggested in determination.
Tooth gasped as she noticed something and her feathers began to molt away, almost like she was dying. "Oh, no... The children... We're too late." she then panicked.
"No, no such thing as too late." North said.
"Too bad we can't just collect the teeth and leave the kids gifts, showing them that Tooth had visited them thus having them believe in her again." Wendy suggested.
"That's brilliant!" Atticus beamed. "Right Cherry?"
"O-O-Okay..." Cherry replied as she shivered and trembled. "I-I-I just hope we don't r-r-run into anything s-s-scary on the way."
Atticus frowned a bit. "...What happened to you with Pitch Black anyway?" he then asked.
"I-I-I don't th-th-think I c-c-can tell any of you..." Cherry shook her head.
"Goodness! She sounds worse than Shaggy and Scooby." Mo frowned.
"Whatever Pitch showed her must be so bad it terrified her." Patch said.
"Cherry..." Wendy frowned.
"The poor dear..." Doc Croc added.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's start getting some kids to believe in Tooth." Yoyo said.
"All right," Atticus replied as he magicked up a blanket and wrapped her up in it as she looked very timid. "Surely the power of belief will be strong enough to spread to other kids since we've always believed in the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus."
"But isn't it already too late?" Cherry asked, sounding very much unlike her usual self.
"No! No! No such thing as too late!" North replied before he hummed and stopped to think until he suddenly had an idea. "Wait, wait, wait wait wait wait wait! We! Will collect the teeth!"
"What?" The others blinked.
"We get teeth, children keep believing in you." North told her.
"We're talking seven continents, millions of kids!" Tooth reminded as that sounded too extreme.
"Oh, please, do you know how many presents I deliver every year?" North asked her.
"And how many eggs I hide?" Bunny added.
"And Jack if you help us, we promise to get you your memories back." North told him.
"And we'll do what we can do to help out too," Patch added. "Especially with how I used to help out Santa Paws."
"That's a big, fat promise." Mo nodded.
Jack looked all around the room before nodding firmly as he looked confident then. "I'm in." he soon told them.
There was laughter from North heard as they began to run and jump from roof-to-roof.
"Come on! Come on! Quickly! Quickly!" North called out of excitement.
"Wahoo!" Atticus cheered.
"Come on, Rabbit. Try and keep ahead!" Jack told Bunny.
"This is making me siiick!" Cherry cried out. "Put me down! Let me down!"
"It's okay, Cherry, it's okay," Atticus said as his friend became very unhappy. "She doesn't look too happy."
"Is Cherry ever actually happy?" Patch deadpanned.
"I've known her the longest," Atticus reminded softly. "I can tell if she's truly upset or not."
"I just wanna go home right now," Cherry sulked. "Everything is hopeless and scary."
"Okay, whatever Pitch showed you has be more miserable than usual." Mo said.
"Come on, Cherry. We can do this." Wendy smiled.
"Yeah." Casper added as he also smiled.
"We can collect every tooth to get every child to believe in Tooth." Yoyo added.
"And besides, with friends by your side, you can face anything." Doc Croc said.
"How do I know if you'll even stay?" Cherry asked.
"Have I ever lied to you before?" Atticus replied.
"Sometimes you lie when you forgot my birthday!" Cherry cried. "You always think of yourself and how strong and smart and magical you are!"
"Come now..." Mo frowned softly as Cherry shivered and looked very sad and scared.
"You're all just going to leave me behind and you should," Cherry sniffled. "I'm just dead weight."
"Cherry, none of us think of you as dead weight." Wendy told her.
"And we promise that we will never leave you." Casper said.
"That's right," Atticus nodded. "We'll always be together even if we're apart."
"We'll always be together." Patch smiled.
Cherry shivered and whimpered a bit.
"Aw, Cherry, we're all friends, you know that," Atticus said. "Come on. Let's help the Tooth Fairy."
"Where do we go, Tooth?" Mo soon asked as Cherry looked around, looking quite a fright.
"Four bicuspids over there!" Tooth pointed out for them. "An incisor two blocks east! Is that a molar? They're everywhere!" she then suddenly groaned as she ran right into a sign. "Ugh!"
"Ooh!" The group groaned and winced as that looked painful.
"You okay?" Jack asked her.
"I'm fine!" Tooth replied softly. "Sorry, it's been a really long time since I've been out in the field."
"How long is a long time?" Casper asked.
"440 years, give or take?" Tooth replied before giggling and taking off again.
Jack simply looked over to Baby Tooth after seeing Tooth fly off to where a tooth was and where Baby Tooth simply shrugged sheepishly.
"Alright, let's split up and start collecting each tooth from each child here." Wendy said.
"But let's split up in groups of two." Atticus said.
"I'm not sure if this will work..." Cherry said. "We'll get in an accident and it'll be terrible for all of us."
"Don't say that." Wendy frowned at her cousin.
"All right, let's split up then," Mo decided. "Atticus, since you know Cherry better than the rest of us, maybe you should go with her."
"And leave Wendy with that heartbreaker?!" Cherry asked. "When was the last time you even talked to Kat Harvey, Casper?!"
"Don't worry, we'll go with them." Yoyo told her.
"That is correct," Doc Croc said. "But you should know that he does love Wendy."
"It's true." Casper told Cherry.
"We're all going to leave each other someday... Whether through death or heartbreak..." Cherry said as she suddenly fell flat on the ground in agonizing depression. "I'm worthless."
"Come on, no more time-wasting!" Jack urged.
"Now you're talking, Jack." Yoyo nodded.
They soon took off and went to help out the Tooth Fairy while they still had time.
Everyone split up in their own way, though Atticus kept an eye on Cherry as she was more negative than usual.
"Okay, Cherry, tell me what happened when you were taken," Atticus said. "We can work and talk if you want."
"You're just gonna make fun of me!" Cherry cried. "You always complain about me behind my back!"
"Cherry, that's not true and I won't make fun of you." Atticus told her.
"How can I know you're telling the truth?" Cherry asked.
"Cherry, it's me Atticus. I'm just as bad of a liar as Applejack," Atticus reminded her. "I'd never lie to you and no matter what happens, no matter how far we are, we will always be together. Now please tell me what happened when you were taken."
Cherry shivered and soon gulped as she thought back. "At first... I saw nothing but darkness... Me and the darkness... Darkness and me..."
Atticus nodded as he paid close attention.
"Then... Something strange began to happen..." Cherry said as she thought back to what had happened back then.
Cherry was engulfed by the darkness before her eyes opened as she was in some sort of black void. Someone cloaked appeared to be there and picking up three purple orbs.
"...Hey!" Cherry soon called out with a glare. "Who are you and where am I? Why's everything dark here?"
"Hello, Cherry." Sombra grinned as he turned around in his human form towards her as he collected the three purple orbs.
"S-Sombra? What are you doing here?" Cherry asked him.
"Oh, I am here to show you your worst fear." Sombra smirked.
"My worst fear?" Cherry asked.
"Oh, yes." Sombra smirked darkly.
"Oh... You're gonna haunt my nightmares?" Cherry rolled her eyes. "Let's face it, Sombra, we've faced each other so many times that nothing you can do will scare me anymore."
"Even when he has those?" Jackie smirked as she came from beside Sombra, gesturing to the purple orbs.
"Jackie Frost?" Cherry smirked back. "Somehow I was sure I was gonna see you again. Though I don't see Northwind anywhere."
"Please, you expect me to bring my idiot brother around with me everywhere?" Jackie retorted as she soon froze Cherry on the spot.
Cherry blinked as her feet were frozen down and she soon groaned and struggled, unable to move around. "What are those?" she then scoffed. "You gonna juggle me into submission?"
"I guess she doesn't know what Fear Drops are~" Jackie smirked to Sombra. "Especially since they concern The Nightmare King~"
"Did you say The Nightmare King?" Cherry asked with wide eyes.
"That's right and these Fear Drops will gives you a boost in your fear," Jackie smirked. "King Sombra, please give her a demonstration."
"No... NO!" Cherry cried out, unable to move. "KIMBA!"
"Kimba can't help you here, my dear~..." Sombra grinned as he dropped the Fear Drops on top of Cherry as they shimmered, sparkled, and glowed, splashing onto her.
"What will these tell us?" Jackie then asked.
"Her biggest and greatest fears," Sombra replied. "Let's see here... Abandonment... Losing her friends... And isolation," he then listed as each of the Fear Drops absorbed Cherry, making her filled with fear and despair, unable to feel or think anything else. "What a lonely and tormented soul you actually are, Cherry, though you act like you never care. You're just like Raven from the Teen Titans."
"I bet your friends will abandon you in the very end." Jackie smirked.
"You are useless. Why would Drell ever pick you out of any other mortal to be one of his students?" Sombra added.
Cherry normally would've ignored these criticisms as her friends taught her otherwise, but she found herself unable to.
"Why are they even friends with you?" Jackie smirked. "You're just a coward and need everyone to help you."
"N-No..." Cherry grunted out, shaking her head. "Y-You're wrong..."
"Are we?" Sombra and Jackie mocked as they surrounded her.
"If you're so brave, try and fight us," Sombra challenged. "What do you know about fighting?"
"I was trained by those in Mortal Kombat," Cherry replied, though not very strongly. "I've even met a couple of Street Fighters."
"Then fight us." Jackie smirked.
"If you dare." Sombra added.
"A-Alright." Cherry said not very strongly.
"Then come on." Jackie smirked as she looked ready to fight with her shape-shifting power.
Cherry soon put up her fists, trying to glare bravely. Jackie soon turned into a polar bear and roared right in Cherry's face. Cherry let out a frightened gasp and yelp and she suddenly ran away.
Sombra soon teleported himself, coming right in front of Cherry as she ran right into him and was knocked down on the floor. "Boo~" he then taunted.
Cherry suddenly screamed and jumped up onto her feet and ran away again, not having any bravery to stand up to him.
"It worked. Her bravery is gone." Sombra smirked.
"Great." Jackie smirked back.
"The Nightmare King will be pleased and Pitch is doing a perfect job." Sombra smirked back.
Cherry sat on her knees, looking defeated.
"You're pathetic!" Jackie smirked. "I bet you just talk a big game around others just to cover up and hide your own insecurity."
"Even Fluttershy is braver and more assertive than you are," Sombra added. "That's pretty sad, even for you."
"P-Please stop it." Cherry trembled.
"Aw, why? Are you gonna make us?" Jackie smirked.
"Are you going to make Kimba attack us?" Sombra smirked.
"KIMBA!" Cherry soon cried out, but unfortunately, he did not come. "K-Kimba...?"
Sombra and Jackie laughed, mocking her for her weaknesses.
"No! Stop! You will be defeated!" Cherry cried out. "SOMEBODY, HEEEELP!"
"I don't know what happened to Kimba, but I was told he'd be somewhere where I couldn't find him," Cherry said softly and wearily as her flashback ended. "Without Kimba... I have nothing: bravery, thick skin, comebacks... I'm just worthless right now."
"No, you are not, Cherry," Atticus replied. "Listen to me. You are not worthless and what you were told might have been a hint to where Kimba is right now."
"Yeah, b-but how can you think I'm not worthless?" Cherry frowned.
"Because you are my best friend and besides you've always had the bravery inside you the same with your comebacks and thick skin," Atticus smiled. "And I promise you no matter what you are always going to be the same Cherry that's brave. And if Kimba were here I'm sure he would tell you the same thing."
Cherry blinked at him, wiping her eyes.
"You might be scared and sad now, but I know you just have to let yourself be brave and... Mostly happy," Atticus replied, hesitating slightly as Cherry almost never smiled and was happy in the same way a normal person would be. "It's going to be okay. Tell yourself that."
"It... It will be okay..." Cherry soon repeated weakly.
"Again!" Atticus urged.
"It will be okay..." Cherry repeated, trying to stay strong.
"Again!" Atticus urged.
"It will be okay!" Cherry repeated strongly.
"That's right." Atticus smiled.
"Oh... But what if it doesn't work?" Cherry asked with a small groan.
"We tried and we used the power and magic of friendship." Atticus replied.
"Friendship is magic..." Cherry said with a deep sigh before groaning and crossing her arms in a bit of annoyance. "How cheesy."
"You almost sound like your old self," Atticus nodded. "Let's collect those teeth."
"Fine," Cherry sighed softly. "I just hope I don't screw this up somehow."
"I doubt you'll screw it up." Atticus smiled.
"If you say so." Cherry shrugged.
"Now come on, let's start collecting teeth." Atticus said.