Author's Note: Soo..I have no idea what happened, but apparently fanfiction spazzed out and replaced this chapter with Interlude 17. No idea why, since all my recent edits were to Ch. 67 after I posted it. I did browse back to earlier chapters as I was writing 67, buuut.. I dunno. Thankfully I do have most of the earlier chapters saved or else this could have been potentially gone forever. Hopefully this will be the last of reposting chapters. Unfortunately, all the original author's notes are gone. :(

Chapter Seventeen: Confrontation at the Palace

Lillian shifted uncomfortably as Pitch stared at her and Jack in what at first appeared to be disbelief. Then Pitch's eyes narrowed dangerously and she knew that Pitch was fairly annoyed.

"Well, well.. Jack Frost." Pitch sneered. "Fancy seeing you here."

Lillian glanced at Jack, who looked nervous. She knew that Pitch really meant to ask what Jack was doing there with the Guardians. She and Jack both knew that Pitch really hated the Guardians. She wasn't quite sure why since he never told her, but she could tell from certain comments over the years that Pitch did not like them.

"And who is this? A pint-sized Guardian in training, hmm?" Pitch said, looking at Lillian in what appeared to be mild curiosity, but she could see the anger flashing in his eyes.

She involuntarily stepped closer to Jack at that. She had never seen Pitch look so dangerous before.

Pitch turned his attention to the rest of the Guardians, who were all glaring at him menacingly. He smirked at them.

"And the Big Four! My, what an honor to have you all here. I'm all of a flutter! Did you enjoy my little display on the globe?" he smirked at Sandy in particular at that and was pleased to see that Sandy looked very upset.

"Pitch!" Tooth cried out as she darted towards him suddenly, brushing past Jack and Lillian.

Pitch darted into a shadow and his laugh echoed all around the palace ominously.

Lillian's eyes widened a little at how scary Pitch was being and she shivered at his creepy laughter, hugging Jack's arm close to her.

Jack glanced down at Lillian briefly in concern as he felt her hugging onto his arm. If Pitch ever got back to normal, the poor kid was going to be traumatized.

"You have got thirty seconds to return my fairies!" Tooth cried out as she reached the spot where Pitch had been.

"Or what? You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" he said with a touch of amusement that soon faded when he glanced at Jack and Lillian.

Tooth looked all around before spotting him near a column. She let out a cry and darted after him, but a few remaining Nightmares blocked her. She looked angry enough to tear them apart herself, but a boomerang zipped through the air and took the pair out in one swoop.

They burst apart into black sand that the breeze soon whipped away.

"Why are you doing this?" North's voice rang out. He sounded angry, but he was also genuinely curious as to why Pitch was acting like this.

"Maybe I want what you want," Pitch said as he stalked closer to them, "to be believed in."

Jack exchanged a look with Lillian. He certainly knew how that felt. But he thought for sure that Pitch had a few believers.

..Didn't he?

"Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds." Pitch continued.

While Pitch was putting on a good show of being smug, Jack could tell that Pitch meant what he was saying. He really did want kids to believe in him.

Lillian watched the scene unfold in confusion. Pitch was being so mean and scary, because he wanted believers? She was trying to make sense of this, but it was just making her head hurt.

Surely there were other ways of getting kids to believe in him.

Right?

"Maybe that's where you belong," Bunny said as he readied his boomerangs.

Lillian sucked in a breath at this. Bunny insulted Pitch! Her Pitch!

But was he really hers anymore? She'd been living with Pitch for years, but now she felt like she hardly knew him anymore. He didn't seem worried that she'd disappeared. No, he was upset that she and Jack were with the Guardians. She almost felt like a favorite toy in a tug-of-war. Pitch didn't want her unless someone else had her.

She bit her lip as Pitch rolled his eyes at this.

"Oh, go suck an egg, rabbit!"

The Guardians were all keeping an eye on Pitch as he walked, but only Sandy seemed to realize something.

His eyes widened as he realized that Pitch's ambling walk had taken him closer and closer to Lillian and Jack.

He reached out to tug on North's sleeve, but North was too preoccupied to notice.

Sandy made a golden exclamation point over his head as he noticed that Pitch had looked right at him, with an evil little smirk on his face.

Pitch knew he knew what Pitch was up to!

Frantically Sandy readied a ball of dreamsand, but he was too late.

"Pitch!" Bunny called out angrily in warning, but Pitch was now standing right before the Winter and Spring spirit.

The Guardians had been so focused on watching to see if he would attack and paying attention to what he was saying, they hadn't exactly noticed where he was walking TO.

Pitch glared at Jack with so much hatred that Jack flinched away from Pitch and looked away from his gaze.

"Such a disappointment," Pitch said quietly to Jack. "I expected better of you."

Jack hugged his staff close to his chest and closed his eyes as if Pitch had physically struck him.

Lillian looked torn for a moment and then marched right up to Pitch.

"Stop - " she started, but never got to finish as Pitch's hand flashed out and grabbed her arm.

"As for you," Pitch said in his 'you are in SO much trouble' voice. "I'll deal with you later."

"You shadow sneaking ratbag, get your hands off her!" Bunny roared as he flung his boomerangs at Pitch.

Pitch threw Lillian aside, who was unceremoniously caught by the hood of her cloak by a Nightmare.

Lillian flailed her arms around as she was held up by the hood of her cloak, which was in the Nightmare's mouth.

"J-Jack..!" Lillian cried out desperately to him.

She didn't want to go with Pitch. Not when he was acting so strangely and not when he was being so rough with her.

Pitch easily evaded the boomerangs as he smirked at the Guardians again.

"Like it? It took me quite awhile to figure out how to turn dreams into Nightmares. They.. smell fear.." Pitch trailed off as he got a strange expression on his face.

He glanced back at Lillian.

I don't want to go! Is Pitch going to hurt me?!

The frantic fear of the Child of Spring called out to him. It made him pause for a moment and he wondered just what the hell he was doing.

His Lillian was being held in the mouth of a Nightmare and he just threatened her and Jack Frost.

Sure, he wanted more believers.. but at what cost?

He started to look a little uncertain, but another Nightmare cantered over to him and neighed, looking at him in the eye for more instructions.

Pitch shook his head slightly as he stroked the Nightmare's mane. He turned away from Lillian, back to the Guardians.

She didn't matter for now. The child was disobedient and deserved to be a little frightened. Maybe this would teach her not to run off, the little brat.

Bunny readied more boomerangs and the Guardians were about to rush to Lillian's aid, but Pitch gestured at the Nightmare holding her and it took off suddenly into a shadow.

Lillian's cry of "JACK!" echoed as she disappeared with the Nightmare.

"NO!" the Guardians all cried out, except for Sandy, who made a golden flower and an exclamation point over his head.

Pitch looked very smug at this.

"Down one believer already?" he said. "Don't worry, there's more where that came from."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked as he clenched his fists that were still holding his staff close to himself.

Pitch paced as he began to explain, as he so often did, to Jack. If Pitch's words weren't so sinister, Jack could almost believe that they were back in the cave, discussing things as they so often did over tea.

"Imagine, children all over the world have put their teeth under their pillows, eager awaiting the arrival of the Tooth Fairy. All that little hope and joy at the thought of the Tooth Fairy choosing to visit them and leave them gifts!"

Jack glanced at Tooth, who suddenly gasped as she stared at her large mural on the wall, which was starting to disintegrate.

"But without her precious little fairies to do all the work for her.." Pitch trailed off as his golden eyes glowed with sinister glee, "children all over the world are waking up to realize that the Tooth Fairy never came. They're realizing.."

Tooth gasped as some of her feathers fell out and disappeared. She fell out of the air in shock and landed on her knees on the ground.

"..They.. they don't believe in me anymore.." she said in a tortured voice.

"No!" North cried out.

This couldn't be happening. It couldn't!

"They didn't tell you, did they? It's so much fun being a Guardian. Believers, amazing powers and making sure children are happy. But if those children should happen to stop believing in you.. Little by little, you disappear. Children all over the world are realizing that there is no Tooth Fairy," he said as he looked amused. "And when I have my way, soon there won't be any wonder, hope or little fairies coming in the night."

He leveled his gaze at all the Guardians.

"It's your turn not to be believed in!"

North puffed himself up in rage as he held his swords out threateningly.

"No! We are Guardians and we WILL beat fear! Jack is now one of us and we won't be defeated by likes of you!"

Pitch's sharp gaze suddenly flew to Jack.

Jack is now one of us.

"One of them?" Pitch said softly as he glared at Jack.

Jack gulped as he looked from Pitch back to the Guardians, then back to Pitch.

He didn't really want to join them, but he didn't want them to think he was condemning them to disappearing forever. Plus if he said anything against them, they might think he's on Pitch's side.

He wasn't, right?

Pitch was all evil now and acting strangely. Plus he kidnapped Lillian!

But a small part of him couldn't forget the Pitch that had sat with him all those times, drinking tea. The Pitch that encouraged him to spread Winter and play with Lillian. The Pitch that made them both costumes to play in.

He remembered all the holidays spent together, all the decorations they put up in Pitch's lair.

Jack didn't say anything as he gazed at Pitch, eyes full of conflict.

He didn't know what to do.

I just want Lillian back, he realized. With that realization, he hesitantly took a step forward towards Pitch.

"Give her back," he said his voice wavering a little. "You can't keep her locked away."

Pitch stepped back towards a shadow and as he disappeared, Jack's shoulders slumped at the answer he heard.

"Watch me."