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(I'm fed up of saying I don't own rotg, so any disclaimers are in my first few chapters.)

Raven whined softly, making Jack smile.

"Do you still remember where the entrance is?" He asked the horse. Raven Wing gave a small nod and began to walk slowly through the forest, giving the spirit some time to get used to riding.

Jack gripped Raven's mane tightly at first, but began to relax as the ride went on, surveying his surroundings more. He looked down at the horse and smiled again, still amazed at what he had done.

Only a few hours ago, Jack had been fighting this horse. He had found it searching for him among the trees, and attacked it in fear of being discovered. During the attack, somehow, the spirit had managed to weave his ice magic into the nightmare, overriding the black sand, and now it was loyal to him. Shortly after this, Jack named the horse Raven Wing, or Raven for short, because the colour of the sand resembled a raven's wing.

Now, they were on their way through the forest ridden with nightmares to try and find the guardians, like the moon said.

Speaking of nightmares…Jack thought, narrowing his eyes. Through the trees, he could see two of them, snorting angrily, eyes blazing. Jack tapped Raven's neck in warning, and the horse stopped, standing silently.

Jack closed his eyes and focused on changing his ice sword into a bow. He felt the handle in his hand change into a thinner one and he opened his eyes again, relieved to find a bow in his hand. The nightmares pricked their ears, freezing. Quickly, Jack made an arrow in his free hand and aimed at the bigger horse.

I can do this…I need to do this…

He released and the arrow hit its target. With a screech, the horse disintegrated into black dust; the other nightmare spotted the spirit and charged towards him. Jack created another arrow and did the same again, hitting it a few metres in front of them.

"It worked…" he muttered, watching the nightmare fall. "It actually worked…" he slid off Raven and poked the remains of the horse with his toe. Nothing happened. Raven's footsteps sounded behind him; a moment later he felt the stallion's head rest on top of his. He laughed quietly, stroking his neck.

"Let's go." The spirit said, and Raven lowered himself again so he could climb on his back. Jack slipped the bow around one of his shoulders and drew his hood up, tucking in his white hair.

—

It was growing steadily dark by the time Raven Wing had lead Jack to the rotting bed, which had the entrance to the 'hideout' hidden underneath. Jack stared at it from the thick dense of trees they had hidden themselves in, stroking Raven as he did so. His bow lay beside him along with a large amount of arrows, in case he had to fight his way inside. But there was no need. The cloak he wore absorbed all the sounds he made, and made him blend perfectly into the shadows.

He stopped stroking his horse for a second to tuck his hair back into his hood; Raven whined and head-butted the spirit from where he lay demandingly. Jack smiled and resumed the stroking again fondly, still staring the bed.

"I've got to go down there, you know." He whispered. Raven whined and edged closer to him, pressing his body against his. Jack smiled.

"I know…but there is someone down there, waiting for me. Do you understand?" Raven lay his head on the spirit's leg affectionately. Jack scratched behind the horse's ear.

"I think it will be better though if I go in the day, though." He frowned as he watched a nightmare weave through the trees. "Hopefully then there won't be as many nightmares. They seem to be more active at night." He sighed. "Not like it'll make a difference when I'm down there." Jack shuddered, remembering the only other time he went down there. Raven buried his head closer into him and Jack stroked him back, waiting for night to pass.

—

Why were they disappearing? They were loyal…they wouldn't leave him…then they must be…but it was impossible…

A dark figure paced among the shadows, his amber eyes cutting into the blackness. Beside him, a horse with red, blazing eyes was bowing its head in respect.

"How many?!" The dark figure snapped, slinking further into the shadows. The horse whined softly, pawing the ground with a hoof. The figure hissed in response, stepping out of the shadows and walking towards a giant globe in the middle of the room. On each continent and island, lights were shining, though not many.

"I can't seem to stop everyone from believing…" Pitch Black muttered, glaring at the lights that flickered bravely. "But they are nowhere near enough."

He turned away from the globe and faced his nightmare, who was still standing with its head bent.

"You say that they are going missing around Burgess?!" He asked sharply. The horse nodded once, backing away slightly.

A few nightmares going missing are nothing compared to the rest of my army…but still…

The nightmare king paced back into the shadows, dismissing the stallion next to him with the flick of his hand.

I better check the other places where I imprisoned them, just to see…

Pitch glared at the globe again, eyes flashing.

Almost all of them.

There was still one guardian hidden from him.

One guardian that he was meant to kill over seventy years ago.

One guardian that, if not dead, could threaten his whole existence.

Jack Frost.

The other guardians refused to say where he was, and Pitch hadn't found him.

And that annoyed him greatly.

But, there has been no sign of him for over seventy years…he must be dead.

But a nagging feeling told him that he was wrong. So that was why he was going to his other retreats, to see if anything was happening.

Nothing will make me loose power again…not when I've had it for this long.

—

As the sun inched over the trees, Jack sat up, rubbing his eyes. Most of the injures that had gathered over the past couple of days were healed and pain-free, and all the frost was gone, leaving small scars at the most.

Raven Wing lay next to him, blue eyes alert, scanning the clearing. He must've been watching all night.

"Thanks, Raven." Jack rubbed the horse's neck and moved into a crouched position. "Anything?" Raven shook his head. Jack smiled as the stallion watched him with wide eyes. The spirit sighed and grabbed his bow.

"You know I've got to go." Jack whispered; Raven whined softly and began to get up. The spirit pushed him down. "No. You have to stay here." He looked into the horse's eyes. "Please. I need to guard here, in case the nightmares swarm. I'm going to need a quick escape."

And I don't want you getting hurt as quickly as I've met you.

Jack stood up silently, making sure his hair was covered by his hood, and began to creep out of the trees they were in, picking his way among the leaves and sticks. He didn't look back until he reached the bed; he changed his bow into the two ice-daggers. Only then, just as he was about to jump in, he looked back and saw two large, blue eyes staring back at him. He smiled reassuringly and lifted a hand to wave. The spirit turned back to the bed and slipped underneath, and then he was falling into blackness.

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