The Man in the Moon was leading her somewhere, she didn't know where, but she had to follow, he told her it was important. And being the closest thing to a daughter to him, she followed. The Man in the Moon's beams led her straight to a large building sitting amidst sparkling snow. She had no problem with the cold, and stood there for a while, mesmerized by the scene. The snow sparkled like dew in the pale moonlight while the windows of the building were all aglow with a warm fiery light. She approached the building slowly, her curiosity beginning to take over as the moonlight urged her on. She pulled her dark blue hood over her blonde head and entered the door the moonlight indicated for her. She walked around the place for a bit, seeing that there were toys, elves, and Yetis all over the place.

She smiled, "Santa Claus' workshop, huh?" She entered a room with a globe and the moon peeking through a hole in the roof. "But, why lead me here?"

"Who are you?" She glanced around for the voice when a figure glided to the ground. He had white hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen, as blue as the morning sky. He was practically dressed in an outfit fit for a prince, all decked out in purples and golds. At least it wasn't one of those over-the-top suits that some princes liked to wear, otherwise she would have turned and ran out. He was taken back when she pulled back her hood. "Whoa, well you're cute. I could almost forgive you."

"What? I came here because the Man in the Moon told me to," she blurted.

"Oh, sorry. He did? Hang on a second, I need to get North. Hey North!" he shouted.

"What is it Jack?"

"Manny sent this girl to us, and she's really cute!" She shot him a glare. "What? You are!"

"Right, I don't see how that helps me find the answer I'm looking for!"

"Oh yeah? What was your question?"

"Should I stay here, or go live with dad?"

"Dad?"

"Yes, the Man in the Moon is the closest thing I have to family."

"So, what can you do?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"When I sing, my hair glows, I can shoot light, and I can heal whoever I touch."

"Shouldn't your hair be long, then?"

Jack chuckled as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Yeah, well, I've been able to talk to Lady Sun, and she told me how to keep my hair short without losing any of its powers. I mean, can you see me going around with loads and loads of hair?"

She laughed, "No, I don't think I could see that, though it would be funny. You'd be tripping all over yourself."

"Har har, very funny, I'm not as clumsy as that. So, who are you, and what can you do?"

"Well, I'm Rapunzel, and my hair shines too, but it's connected to moonlight rather than sunlight. I scare away all the nasties that'll come up."

"Ah, good! Manny said we needed your help!" Rapunzel yelped and jumped behind Jack as a big figured dressed in red walked in. "Oh, sorry, I forget I can be quiet sometimes."

"Yeah, no kidding. How much did you catch, North?"

"That whole last bit about her hair being connected to moonlight rather than sunlight and being able to chase the nasties away with it. Well we've got a nasty problem, Miss Rapunzel, have you ever heard of Pitch Black?"

"The Boogeyman?"

"The one and only," commented Jack.

"What? You, you want me to fight him?"

"More like scare him, I mean, if you can chase all the nasties, you could chase him."

"But, why did Dad not tell me? Unless . . . there was another reason."

"Well, Manny only mentioned that we needed your help to take care of Pitch."

"That's it?"

"Yes, were you looking for more?"

Rapunzel sighed as she glanced at the moon, "Yes, but, maybe he thinks I need to do this before my other questions are answered."

"What other questions?" asked North.

"I'd, I'd rather not talk about it right now, it's kind of personal."

"Alright, well, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy are on their way, and I'm sure they would like to meet you," stated North.

"Alright, I'll be out for a walk, I need to think some things through for a bit."

"OK, I'll come find you when they're here," offered Jack.

Rapunzel smiled, "Thanks." She walked out, and walked for a while, not paying any mind to where she was going, so deep in thought she was. She glanced up in alarm when she found herself at an old, gnarled tree. She had walked a long ways south of the workshop without realizing it. She glanced around, there weren't very many other landmarks, the tree seemed to be almost as lonely as she felt. She sighed as she pulled her hood over her head and sat down in the nook of the tree. She glanced up at the moon and sighed, "Well Manny, is that your answer? I should help them chase away the Boogeyman? I guess I could, but, you know what I really want. A home, a family, someone to love, no more loneliness." A noise to her left startled her, but she got up and went to investigate. She saw a man walking through the increasing fog, a look of fear on his face, and she quickly saw why. Little fearlings and bogies were crowding around him, pushing him into a lake. Rapunzel took off her hood, her hair shining enough that it chased the fearlings and bogies away, letting the man get through the fog easier.

"Well, well, well, that's quite a bit of power you have there," stated a cool voice. Rapunzel gasped as she turned and came face to face with a tall, dark man.

"Pitch Black!"

Pitch chuckled, "Well, it seems I'm quite well known. But, I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

"I-I'm Rapunzel."

"Ah, I think I do know you, only by name, of course, but never saw your face. Or your powers. It's almost like there's moonlight in your hair, how interesting." Pitch reached for her hair, but Rapunzel grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"More to the point, Rapunzel, what are you doing?"

"What?" Several of Pitch's bogies and fearlings swarmed her, pushing her into the roots of the tree and rolled a rock in front of it. "Help! Let me out! Help!"

Pitch clucked his tongue, "Really, I thought you would have made that a lot harder, but a great many thanks for making that easy. Now all that's left is to take care of that Jack."

"No! Leave him alone!"

"Oh, you like him? How sweet! Then maybe you wouldn't mind sharing a prison with him. You two, stand guard! Once we've gotten Jack out of the way, we'll be able to overcome the Guardians!" The fearlings, nightmares, and bogies cheered.

"No!" Rapunzel shouted as she tried to get out.

"Keep her quiet! I have some more planning to do to imprison Jack. Make sure they never find her." With that, Pitch walked off into the night.

"What's taking him so long? I've got eggs I need to get back to!" blurted Bunny as he paced the workshop.

"Give him a bit more time, she didn't tell us where she would be walking, and we wanted to give her some space," explained North.

"Can you believe it Sandy? We've got a guy who's got the power of the sun and a girl who's got the power of the moon! Defeating Pitch will be a snitch!" Sandy gave Tooth a smile and two thumbs up.

Katherine chuckled as she rubbed down Kailash, "Who knows, we might have a little romance too."

"Oh, what makes you say that?" asked Eugene as he entered with a book in his hand.

"Well, from what I've gathered from North, she's young and the first thing Jack noticed was how pretty she was."

North laughed, "Oh quite, his first words were, 'there's a girl here and she's cute'!" The others laughed.

"North! North!"

"Ah, speaking of. Jack, where is Rapunzel?"

"That's the thing, I can't find her!" Laughter startled them.

"And you never will, I've hidden her quite well."

"Pitch, you let her go right now, or . . ."

"Or what? You'll blast me with your shiny hair? Then you really will never get her back. How about this? An exchange, you for her."

"What?"

"No! We will find her, if we have to track her down ourselves!" exclaimed North. The group charged Pitch, taking out several nightmares and fearlings before realizing that he was gone.

"What were you doing? I could have accepted his deal!"

"You can't trust Pitch, Jack, he needs both of you gone if he expects to stand a chance against us and win," remarked Eugene. Moonlight flooded the room.

"Manny might know! Where is she old friend?" Four shadows appeared, the first was of a man, the second was a coffin, the third a candle, and finally a cross.

"We have to find those to find Rapunzel?" The shadow of a man's head appeared and nodded, followed by the word 'hurry'.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have to go!"

"Jack wait!" Eugene climbed on Kailash behind Katherine and the trio followed Jack out, the others not far behind. They flew south for a ways, when Katherine's book began to glow.

"Everyone, stop! There's a story being told that my book found interest in!"

"But Rapunzel!"

"What if it's someone who saw her?"

Jack clenched his teeth, "Alright, but make it quick!" Kailash landed first, followed by North's sleigh. Katherine and Eugene quickly entered the bar to get the story. Jack paced back and forth between the sleigh and the bar, unsure if he should go into the bar to see if the story was in fact about Rapunzel or if he should just head off and look for the signs himself. But Katherine and Eugene came out rather quick, excitement written all over their faces.

"It was about Rapunzel! He saw her in the foggy field just west of here by an old tree!"

"She saved him from some fearlings and bogies!" blurted Eugene. Jack didn't wait to hear any more and shot off west, looking for the tree. He soon found it, and understood instantly what the last three symbols actually meant. Two will-o-the-wykes, a nastier version of will-o-the-wisps, stood guard by the tree with a stone rolled in front of it. There was Rapunzel's prison. The wykes noticed Jack coming in, but didn't stand a chance as he blasted them with sunlight.

"Rapunzel, are you alright?" he called out as he pulled on the rock.

"Jack! You found me! Oh, thank heavens! Pitch said he was going to capture you, and . . . look out!" Jack turned over and shot some light from his hands, and just in time as Pitch's dark sand was shot at him.

Pitch laughed, "So, you've come! As I had hoped. Now I can trap the both of you, and keep you from interfering with my plans!"

"Not on your life, Pitch!" Jack threw light at Pitch, and Pitch threw shadows at Jack. The battle became very intense, light and dark swirling and thundering as if in a storm. Pitch created a large scythe-like weapon out of his dark sand and swung it at Jack's head. Jack snatched up a branch and blocked the blow, sending light in kind.

"Jack, look out!" screamed Rapunzel. Fearlings, nightmares, and bogies began to surround Jack, ready to swarm at the slightest sign from Pitch.

Pitch laughed, "This is the end for you, Jack."

"Not yet, Pitch! Hiya!" came a shout, and in swooped North's sleigh. Bunny hopped off and sent his boomerangs through a crowd of fearlings while Eugene's and North's swords slashed through bogies, and Sandy and Tooth went after the Nightmares. Katherine and Kailash landed near the tree and worked on freeing Rapunzel, leaving Pitch to Jack. Pitch roared and charged Jack, but Jack met the onslaught head on, the battle between them intensifying even more than before. Katherine and Kailash finally freed Rapunzel, and Rapunzel immediately threw off her hood. Pitch's minions shrieked as the light seemed to burn them, and made a hasty retreat.

"No! Get back here! We can take them!"

"It's over, Pitch, we've won," remarked Jack.

Pitch growled, "You may have won today, but I will be back, and I will find a way to destroy you!" He disappeared into the shadows, and when they didn't see his return, they began to celebrate.

"Oh Jack, you were wonderful!" grinned Rapunzel as she rushed into Jack's arms.

He nuzzled her neck, "I'm just glad you're alright." Rapunzel smiled, but gasped when he gave her a quick kiss.

"Jack! We just met!"

He chuckled as he pulled her close, "So? We've got a long time to get to know each other well, don't you think?"

"Well, we can start by you showing me around the workshop."

"Uh, how about we start with introducing you to the rest of the Guardians."

"I'd like that." Jack quickly made introductions before the group made their way back to the North Pole for a celebration, to welcome Rapunzel and for the defeat of Pitch.