Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 5

Aster hurled his boomerangs at the Spirit who ducked nimbly out of the way, red clothing making him easy to track even in the very low light. He didn't know who it was, but the kids lying still on the ground around him made it pretty obvious he was the behind the lights going out. He glanced up at the sky as Sandy blocked the Spirits retreat, he did not like the look of those clouds and a glance at North showed he was worried too.

The Spirit was fast and flexible, dodging and using the kids as human shields, knowing they wouldn't dare risk hitting them. Whatever he'd done, the kids were out cold, hopefully still ali…yeah, he saw a small chest move with breath as he leapt closer. The Spirit grinned and lifted his flute to his lips, something Aster knew was not a good idea to allow and then he yelped, staggering back as a blast of ice hit the instrument.

"You!" he yelped, anger and fear clear in his tone as he stared up at something or someone.

The fight paused and the Guardians looked up as well. Above them in the hair hovered a teenager, obviously a Spirit. His hair glowed white in the darkness, his skin far too pale as well, a shepherds crook in one hand, his feet bare. His clothing was casual, a blue hooded sweatshirt and tight brown pants…they looked old, from another time. The temperature was dropping, the storm breaking over them and snow beginning to fall. A winter Spirit? The teen dropped down, landing between them and the Spirit with the flute.

"I warned you," the newcomer stated flatly and the other back away, clutching his flute.

"This doesn't concern you!"

"Really?" he spun his staff absently beginning to walk towards the flute user who back away, more scared of him than the Guardians?

"It's not winter yet, Frost."

"Maybe not, but Burgess is under my protection Piper, or where you avoiding my lake without knowing why?" Frost drew his staff across the ground, frost patterns spreading under it.

His lake? His protection? Then where was he when Pitch showed up? If the storm was him too then he was plenty powerful enough to have been a help back then.

"The kids!" Tooth yelled and the one who apparently was called Frost glanced back at her, giving them a look at ice blue eyes.

"Most of them are already gone," he answered, voice tight with anger.

"Gone where?" Aster growled and Frost looked at him, surprised.

"You don't know who he is?" the kid asked, and they all shook their heads. "Ever heard of the Pied Piper of Hamelin?"

"An old story," North told him, and Frost waved a hand at the other Spirit.

"His flute and music hypnotises kids for the night. Those he doesn't keep for himself; he sells to the Fey, mostly the Unseelie Court. I'm sure you can figure out what happens to them."

"And the ones he keeps?" Tooth asked.

From the look on Frost's face they really didn't want to know.

"Bring them back!" North demanded and the Piper shrugged, smirking slightly.

"Can't." He then yelped and scrambled back as a blast of ice barely missed him. "Oh come on Frost! It's just a few kids!"

"To get their attention it's more than a few," Frost snarled which was interesting.

Since when did Winter Spirits care about kids? He glanced at Aster who nodded in confirmation, there were way too few kids on the ground for all of the lights that had gone out. He saw Frost studying the remaining kids and realised he was looking for someone. If he was a local spirit then he likely was known to the town which would mean he could have Believers among the kids. Most Spirits were protective of those who believed in them, the darker Spirits may trick and torment them, but would protect them from any other Spirit. Was Frost like that? Or was he different? He'd tangled with the Piper before but apparently not here so what had caused that fight?

Frost gripped his staff and Aster readied his boomerangs, meeting blue eyes, catching the slight movement, giving a tiny return nod. Whoever the kid was, he could work with him to save the remaining kids. Frost moved and Aster leapt, hurling the weapons as the Piper went to dodge more ice, clipping him in the shoulder and causing him to drop the flute. Then Frost was on him, swinging his staff, and it collided with the Piper, hard. He grunted and stubbled back before choking in horror.

"No!" He cried out and then froze, literally.

"Is he?" Tooth asked warily and Frost lowered his staff.

"You can thaw him out later if you want," the kid answered, which meant the Piper was alive. Would he have killed him if they weren't there? From the remaining anger in his stance, probably. Frost moved towards the kids and they all tensed but he knelt down and began carefully checking them. "We need to get them home, that storm's going to last a few hours."

"What about the others?" North asked, moving to begin gathering up the unconscious or sleeping children to use the Sleigh to return them home.

"They aren't here anymore," was the answer and then Frost swore.

"What is it?" Tooth moved closer and Sandy flashed up some signs, also worried.

"They're gone," Frost answered, standing up, something….devastated about the way he stood.

"Who?" Tooth asked gently, cautiously moving closer, and Frost looked up at her.

He took in a shaky breath. "My First Believer and his little sister."

"Maybe they didn't come here," Aster offered as he picked up Monty. It made things worse, to pick up a kid and recognise them, this was part of why they had kept their distance over the centuries.

"No, I gave them both a token and hers activated. He…he aged out a few months ago but he still wears the physical part of it. I tracked them both here."

"We can get them back though, right?" Tooth looked between them all. "Oh! You know who we are but, if you don't mind?"

"Jack Frost," he answered. "The kids…" he sighed and ran a hand through white hair. "Maybe. The one's he was going to sell at least but the ones he was keeping? I never found his home and I don't know of anyone who has. I don't know if they'll wake up when they're there, if they do maybe they can attract notice but depending on where his home is…"

"It could get them in more trouble," Aster finished, and Frost nodded.

"First we return these children. They will wake?"

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"They should wake up with no memory of any of this once the sun rises, that's what happened last time," Jack told the Guardians.

Good thing he'd come as Jack Frost and not the Snow King, he had the feeling they'd be a lot less likely to listen to him as the King. Not that it'd last, the Fey knew who he was, they'd out him in a second. His relationship with the Unseelie Court was not exactly a good one. They thought they should be allies since he was Winter, he had other ideas because of what they did to people.

"We need to move, the faster we can get to the kids, the more likely they are to still be free and fully human."

That got a gasp of horror from the Tooth Fairy. Jack carefully lifted Pippa and carried her to the Sleigh with the others. The Sleigh! So there was a small part of him that was as giddy as a little kid at getting to see it. He settled Pippa in with the others and then moved away.

"Come, we deliver kids and then go," Santa told him.

"You got a way in?" the Easter Bunny asked him.

Jack bit his lip. "Maybe…if it's still there. Entrances tend to move, and I haven't had to go in for a few decades." If it wasn't he'd need to call for help.

"Good, come." Santa waved him on, and Jack hesitated but leapt up onto the board on the side. Santa cracked the reigns and the Sleigh took off into the air. Okay, it was very cool and if he wasn't terrified for Jamie and Sophie he'd be enjoying the trip. They dropped the unconscious children off, the Sandman using his sand to deliver multiple kids at once. "Where to?"

"Ireland," Jack answered and then watched as Santa threw a snow globe, a portal of some kind appearing. Seconds later, they were in Ireland. He directed Santa as best he could and then dropped from the Sleigh, looking for the markers, waving them down when he found the right spot, relieved it was still in use.

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Pitch smirked when he felt the Guardians and…who was that? Oh well, they were gone without even trying to find his home. The sun would rise soon so he settled in patiently to wait, wondering what the boy would see when he woke if he no longer believed.

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Jamie woke up cold which just felt odd…not the familiar cold but a scary kind of cold. He rubbed at his eyes before opening them. He looked around in confusion, where was he? He tried to move but there was something…bars? Why couldn't he see…no he could see them, a cage? What the hell? He winced, body aching from the cold, sitting up more to try and look around. Everything looked weird, hazy. Had he been kidnapped? Last thing he remembered…he'd been at home…in bed.

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Pitch watched curiously as the boy woke up. He saw him realise he was in a cage and fight the urge to panic, enjoying his fear. It was…sweet. He saw him look around, shaking his head, blinking…so could he see his surroundings or not? "Welcome to your new home," he called but the boy didn't react. Definitely didn't believe then. Oh well, plan B then.

There were a few methods he could use, technically he didn't even need to make the boy believe again before acting, but where was the fun in that? His fear would be all the more delicious if he knew what was happening.

He moved under the cage which was swinging slightly from the boy moving. Beneath the cage a design had been drawn on the floor in a language no one on the planet knew, except the Sandman…perhaps the blasted Pooka. He lit the candles around it and stepped back, watching the symbols written in blood begin to move, swirling, merging together and then rising into the air, heading for the cage. He smirked as the boy screamed, the blood moving over his body and he could definitely see that. It sank into him and left him gasping, eyes wide.

"Hello boy, remember me?"

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Jamie screamed as red fluid moved into the cage, trying to get away and then it was on him and it felt like something burning in him, in his head, too hot… he needed cool, he needed….Jack! No…he'd forgotten Jack but now he remembered, Jack wasn't a myth or imaginary friend, he loved him. He slumped in the cage, gasping for air, the room around him coming into focus like one of those weird paintings. Stairs and halls everywhere, even where they couldn't be…which meant magic…Spirits.

"Hello boy, remember me?"

Jamie felt his breathing hitch, he knew that voice. He looked down and there he was, Pitch Black. "Where am I?"

"Your new home," Pitch smirked at him.

Yeah, that was not comforting at all. He could feel the leather cord Jack had given him around his neck, but the Snowflake was gone which meant Jack didn't know he was in trouble and wouldn't be able to track him. Which meant he was in serious trouble. If he'd forgotten Jack…then he wouldn't have a light on the globe anymore so no Guardians to the rescue either. "What do you want?"

"Revenge, what else? And you will be the instrument of that revenge. Poor Guardians having to face the one child in the whole world who believed in them…and kill him. If you take some of them with you that will be even better."

"You're insane," Jamie spat.

"Oh no, didn't they tell you?" he chuckled, and it wasn't comforting at all.

"Tell me what?" he asked, fighting down his fear. Pitch liked fear so he had to not be afraid…yeah right. He shifted around in the cage so that he was kneeling to look down rather than hurt his neck.

"I destroyed the Golden Age; I plundered planets, extinguished stars and stole every dream I came across." Okay so it was a villain gloat/monologue but the longer he talked the better, right? "The dreams of children are especially pleasant. My battles with the Guardians in the past weakened me, I admit it. the Fearlings and Nightmare Men are long gone or else our little scuffle would have ended very differently."

Jamie watched him stalk around the large cavern, seeing a rusty dark globe near the centre covered in lights. Like the Guardian's? He was really, really not liking where this was going. He tried to remember anything he had heard about Pitch from the Guardians and…Jack…the day they met…the way Jack had examined him…Pitch did something to the kids whose dreams he took sometimes… he felt sick. He couldn't do that anymore, could he? And he wasn't a kid anymore, right?

"Ah…so you do know something. I suppose they think that without the Fearlings to infect someone that I cannot do so in another way? Your fear will be very lovely while you feel your body and mind change to serve me."

"Never," Jamie shook his head.

"Never is a very long time, perhaps some softening up first," Pitch laughed and lifted his hand, a tidal wave of black sand rose up, surrounding his cage.

Jamie yanked his shirt up, covering his nose and mouth to keep from breathing it in as it swamped the cage, drowning him. It covered his face and he felt so tired…no…he had… "Jack.." Everything went black.

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Pitch watched the boy sleep as the sand receded, so much had been very unnecessary but had spiked his fear nicely. Within minutes he was twitching, eyes moving behind closed lids, locked in his worst nightmares.

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'Jack…'

Jack shook it off, the paths played tricks on the mind. Jamie didn't remember him anymore; he wouldn't be calling for him.

"How much further?" Bunny asked and Jack shrugged, his staff and the Sandman providing their only reliable light, trusting fairy lights was crazy.

"No way to tell, the paths change at will."

"And you're sure we're on the right one?" he demanded.

"As sure as I can be. I'm not exactly welcome where we're headed," he admitted. He spun his staff and slammed it into a rather nasty sprite, freezing it solid. "If this comes out in the same place, we'll be in the Markets. Don't touch anything, don't speak to anyone, don't even make eye contact. This is Unseelie territory and they don't like other Spirits. Being Guardians won't help you here," he warned seriously.

"Where to from the Markets?" North asked, and Jack saw him fingering his swords.

"They'll be in the Markets," Jack admitted. "They'll be for sale."

That got noises of outrage from all of them.

"Then how do we get them back?" Bunny demanded.

"We buy them," he told him, and they prayed no one else had bid before they got there. It usually took a day or two to arrange a sale, but time flowed oddly in the realms and it could have already been a month.

"With what?" Tooth asked nervously.

Jack tapped his staff on the ground and the wind spiralled around him. 'Cailleach, Margaí Fey, Unseelie, cistí is gá," he told the wind and it sped away. He then looked at the Tooth Fairy. "With the funds on their way."

He held his hand up and they came to as stop. He walked forward and touched the wall, feeling around for the trigger. He grinned as he found it and the wall vanished. "Let's go." He stepped through and immediately stood tall, squaring his shoulders. He felt them follow him and began walking. "Remember what I said," he whispered. He walked tall, arrogantly, staff tapping the stones as he did.

They were Spirits so the average Fey and others at the Markets would assume they were part of his Court. They may not like each other, but the Markets were as close to neutral territory as there was, anyone could come and go as they pleased so long as the obeyed the rules. He sent the occasional shopping group just to ensure they remained visible so that if an excursion like this was necessary then it wouldn't draw too much attention. The Unseelie Court knew him, the average Merchant and being in the Markets would only see him as a member of the Winter Court.

He glanced down and smiled at the little ice goblin who pressed against his leg, accepting the offered bag and then sighed as he spotted Cailleach herself nearby. She fell into step and he offered his arm. "Milady."

"So polite," she smiled and kissed his cheek. "And such interesting companions."

"The Piper stole the children of Burgess," he murmured, and she stiffened in outrage.

"I see… then let us shop well." She knew better than anyone else in his Court what the Fey would do to those children. She was neither Fey or Spirit but closer to an ancient deity and she had once spent time in the Unseelie Court. He knew there were things that had happened that he didn't know about, but she hated the Unseelie and would do what had to be done to get the kids back.

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Pitch emerged from a shadow and looked up at the cage where the boy slumped, still locked in nightmares. It had been a day, perhaps the dear boy would like to wake for a while?

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Jamie gasped, clinging to the bars, trying to breath. Was…was he awake? He looked around, recognising Pitch's…lair?

"Did you have a nice nap?" Pitch asked.

"Go to hell," he spat, trying to keep his hands from shaking.

"Ah, you want more? Of course! Pleasant dreams."

Another wave hit him, and Jamie struggled for a second before being dragged back under. "Take me….Snow…" he went limp in sleep without finishing.

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Jack paused, for a second he would have sworn someone was calling on him but there was nothing. He took a deep breath and then stepped into the living commodities sector. He had work to do. He just hoped none of the kids had been sold yet and that Jamie and Sophie were with them, not wherever the Piper lived.

TBC…

'FeyMarkets,Unseelie,fundsneeded' – translated to Irish by Word