A/N

I have returned! :) Thank you so much for all of your continued support! And I'll let you get reading cause that's what you're here for.

Enjoy~

The Tooth Palace

They couldn't find him. Jack was gone. Missing, as he had been for decades…or even longer. Bunny knew it had been hopeless, but yet he had dared to hope, as he had every winter and every Easter since the blizzard of 68'. He knew it was pointless, but that's what he did. He hoped. Knowing the inevitable doesn't mean you can't believe something better could happen. But it had been disappointing, of course. They did not find Jack.

It was still early in the spring season, and there were still a few places that had received late snowfalls. They searched every town and every nook and cranny, but had come up with nothing. No leads, no signs, not a single hint that Jack had even been in the area.

Now, back at the Pole, they were all resting from their none stop searching. Bunny was still jumpy, his mind racing with confused and frustrated thoughts. How were they supposed to find the kid? Manny obviously believed they needed his help, but how could he help if he couldn't be found?

Bunny's mind kept flashing images of that awful day. Why couldn't he have held on? Why couldn't have he been strong enough? Why couldn't he have been fast enough? Just…why? And what's happened to the kid since? He was banged up pretty bad that day…was the kid even still alive? No! Of course he was alive! Manny wouldn't have chosen a new Guardian who was dead! But then again, he chose a Guardian that had been missing for years!

Bunny squeezed the side of his head, wishing for all the world he had the answers to it all. Wishing someone had the answers! He felt a beefy hand grab his shoulder, and looked up.

North smiled down at him, sadness and worry evident in his normally jolly eyes.

"We'll find him." North said, patting his belly.

Bunny huffed out a short laugh. That damned belly of his, as ridiculous as it sounds, had never been wrong.

North smiled brighter seeing his friend lighten up a bit. But then he grew serious. "Now come! One of Tooth's fairies came by moments ago, and Tooth left in a hurry. She said to meet her at the palace."

Bunny nodded, a sense of dread growing in his stomach. "Alright, I'll meet you and Sandy there." But as Bunny began to raise his paw to open a tunnel, North grabbed him in a one arm embrace, hauling him off his feet.

"Oh no!" North exclaimed, walking to the lift with Bunny in arm. "Sleigh is already being prepared, and Sandy is waiting for the both of us."

For the first time, Bunny noticed that North was already suited up, with his sabers strapped to his side. Even more dread began to settle in as Bunny's mind registered what North had just said. Once inside the lift, he starting squirming, trying to escape North's hold on him, but the man was too strong.

"Uh-ugh North! Let me go!" Bunny was feeling panicky and small. He hated flying! Bunnies weren't meant to fly!

"Nope." North stated simply. Bunny wanted to wipe the smirk of his face.

All too soon, the lift came to a stop and there, Bunny could see the sleigh, with Sandy already seated patiently and yetis calming the reindeer and tinkering with gadgets.

Bunny's heart was pounding. "I think my tunnels might be faster mate…and safer." He said, making one last effort to escape.

North laughed loudly. "Nonsense! Everyone loves the sleigh." With his other arm, North reached around to grab the scruff of Bunny's neck. Ugh! He hated it when North did that! It made him feel tiny, and made him freeze up in the middle of whatever he was doing. Placing him in the back of the sleigh, North said. "Now buckle up!"

Bunny felt around frantically, scanning the bench, and coming up with nothing. "Where are the bloody seat-belts?!"

North laughed once more. "That was just expression! Are we ready?" He asked a yeti, tinkering with something on the side of the sleigh. Bunny's heart dropped as the yeti shook his head, and tried to work faster as North ignored him completely and said: "Good! Let's go!" and urged the reindeer on.

Bunny began to grip the sides of the sleigh so hard that he left claw marks! He looked over at Sandy, who was only smiling in joy with his arms raised above his head. North was going way too fast! There's no way they would make it out of the tunnel alive, and every bump and jolt seemed to confirm that fear!

Oh no…they were going upside down!

"I hope you like the loop-de-loops!" North laughed.

Bunny felt his lunch rising. "I hope you like carrots."

North only laughed louder and snapped on the reigns eagerly, speeding them up! They were propelling so fast through the ice chute; Bunny could practically feel his insides getting pushed to the back of him by the force of physics anger as they defied it!

"Blast off!" North exclaimed, forcing Bunny to suffer one last loop-de-loop before settling to flying like a sane person.

Bunny didn't realize he had been screaming and whimpering in panic until he looked over at Sandy, who was smirking and rolling around in silent laughter.

"Ah, rack off ya bloody show pony!"

He could hear North laugh as well as he pulled out one of his snow globes and whispered to it their destination. Bunny gripped the sleigh harder as the portal appeared in front of them and they entered it; the swirling sensation almost making him loose his lunch for real.

He shook his head, trying to calm his overloaded senses. But then…something felt off.

"What the…?"

Bunny looked up just in time to know he needed to duck. There were…horses? Black horses running on the wind and chasing…

"They're taking the tooth fairies!" He noticed.

Sandy unfurled an umbrella, protecting himself from the dark creatures as they charged all around them. Bunny took out one of his boomerangs and fired it off at one of the mares. It hit and…it disintegrated? He saw some of the stuff land on Sandy's arm, and grew concerned at his friends worried expression.

"Get down!" North shouted as they nearly crashed into one of the many ledges that made up the interior of the Tooth Palace.

After a rough landing, the three quickly climbed out and spotted Tooth, fluttering about nervously.

"Tooth!" North called out as they made their way towards her. "Are you alright?"

She continued to fly around, as if searching for something. "They took my fairies...and-and the teeth." Bunny's heart ached at the sound of her broken voice. "Everything is gone…everything…" The others stood around her as she sank to her knees, unsure of how to offer comfort.

"I have to say…this is very, very exciting. The Big Four, all in one place. I'm a little star struck." That voice. That long hated voice echoed around the palace, mocking them all with sarcastic awe. "Did you like my show on the globe, North? Got you all together, didn't I?"

North grunted in frustration, gripping his swords tighter.

Bunny ground his teeth together in anger and disbelief. Pitch really was back. There was no denying it now.

"Pitch!" Tooth raged, flying up to where the man was standing. "You have got thirty seconds to return my fairies-"

"Or what?" His voiced echoed from behind Tooth as he appeared on another platform. "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" He mocked, shaking his hands in 'fear.'

"Why are you doing this?" North asked, appearing very genuinely curious.

"Maybe, I want what you have. To be believed in! Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds!" He snarled at them, baring his teeth like a wild animal.

"Maybe that's where you belong!" Bunny snapped back.

Pitch appeared on the underside of the spire the Guardians are standing on. Bunny would forever deny that he jumped at his sudden appearance.

"Tah! Go suck an egg, rabbit." Pitch said.

Bunny growled and reached down in attempt to punch the dark spirit, but much to his frustration, he had already disappeared into the shadows.

"Hang on! I almost forgot!" Pitch's voice rang out from the shadows all around them, making it impossible to tell where he was.

Bunny righted himself as Pitch went on; "Aster! I have someone I know you've been dying to see."

Then, on a ledge far above them, Pitch revealed himself…but he wasn't alone.

"Jack…" Bunny's whole world seem to stop. There he was. Jack, just as he remembered…only different. He no longer wore the cloak and vest he had last seen him in, but a blue hoodie instead. And-and his eyes. Bunny never forgot his striking blue eyes as they had stared at him panicked, terrified and-and…accusing for so long in his memory and dreams. But, they were not looking at him with any of those emotions now. In fact, they were devoid of any emotion as he looked on neutrally and stood tensed in his stance.

What is going on?

"Like seeing a ghost, isn't it Aster?" Pitch said, chuckling darkly and appearing several feet in front of him on the same spire.

Bunny looked at Pitches satisfied face and…and he saw it. That dark amusement that danced in his yellow eyes for an event that had occurred long ago.

He had been at the other end of that shadow.

"Pitch!" Bunny growled, rage like he had never known bursting forth within his chest. "Shut up you shadow-sneaking ratbag! Come 'ere!" Bunny charged at full speed towards him, but Pitch merely took a few steps back and was swallowed by the shadows.

Bunny felt something snatch at his holster, and he turned to see Tooth grabbing one of his boomerangs and charging at Pitch where he had reappeared next to Jack. Pitch only stood there calmly as she got closer, and just before she could reach him, one of those dark horses they had battled through on their way here emerged from the shadows, blocking her attack.

Tooth, shocked and a bit fearful, sank back down to join her fellow Guardians.

"Whoa ho ho ho, hey! Easy girl, easy." Pitch fondly stroked the creature's snout, calming it. Pitch laughed. "Look familiar, Sandman?" He said, holding out his hand which sprinkled…black sand onto Sandy's shoulder.

Oh no. Bunny thought. He understood now why Sandy had been so uneasy when he first came into contact with the black sand. The creature was made from corrupted dream sand.

"Took me awhile to perfect this little trick." Pitch went on, lovingly petting his creation. "Turning dreams into nightmares." He looked down at all of them, and smirked. "Don't be nervous; it only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know."

"What fear? Of you?" Bunny laughed and grabbed his boomerang from Tooth's out stretched hand. "No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages!" For a moment, Pitch smiled at him and deliberately glanced over at Jack, who continued to stand quietly with a carefully maintained unemotional face.

Bunny felt his heart sink.

"Oh, the Dark Ages!" Pitch went on, his tone blissful, as if their little moment hadn't happened. "Everyone frightened, miserable, such happy times for me - oh the power I wielded!" His eyes reflected memories and times long ago passed. Then with venom, he continued. "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!" Pitch seemed to take a deep breath, trying to calm the rage shaking his being. "Well that's all about to change."

Suddenly, all around them, the palace began to shake. Its brilliant colors began to turn gray, and pieces of its impressive foundation started to crumble away."

Pitch laughed in joy. "Oh look, it's happening already."

And for the first time, Jack's carefully neutral face furrowed in confusion. Pitch did not miss the change, and he turned to the boy, as if preparing for a lecture.

"Children are waking up, my dear Jack, and realizing the Tooth Fairy never came." He chuckled darkly as Jack looked around at the crumbling palace. "It's such a little thing, but to a child...?"

Bunny turned his attention to Tooth for a moment. A few of her feathers fell away, and she sank to the floor, her eyes staring without seeing. Bunny could see so much pain in her small frame.

"They... They don't believe in me anymore." She said, her voice small and devastated.

"Little known fact Jack!" Pitch exclaimed, continuing with his lecture and moving closer to the long missing spirit. "It's great being a Guardian! But there's a catch." Pitch held up one of his finger's, and directed Jack's attention to the Guardians. "If enough kids stop believing, everything they protect - wonder, hopes, and dreams - it all goes away. And little by little, so do they." He laughed, shifting his attention to the Guardians once more. "No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night. There will be nothing but fear, and darkness…" Pitch looked back at Jack, and placed one of his long arms around the boy. "And cold. It's your turn not to be believed in!"

Bunny had had enough! He drew one of his boomerangs and chucked it at Pitch, trusting his precise aim to hit the Boogeyman and not the winter spirit. But Pitch's reflexes were sharp and he managed to duck the assault, and even escape the projectiles range as it circled back around. He managed to dodge Bunny's attack, but not Tooth as she blocked the path he'd planned to take for an escape.

Mounting his Nightmare, he turned, but Sandy was there to meet him. Jack had shrunk back, getting out of the range of the fight Bunny was hoping would take place. However, Pitch managed to shrink into Tooth's shadow and appear on the same level as Bunny and North. The Cossack charged quickly, chasing Pitch over the ledge with Tooth and Sandy following in their wake. Bunny was about to do the same, when he realized…Jack!

With one great leap, he was up on the platform Pitch had occupied moments ago.

Bunny didn't see the kid immediately, so he began to walk around the spire.

"Woah!" Bunny exclaimed, leaping back as ice froze and slicked the ground beneath his feet. Jack was in front of him, crouched and prepared for a fight.

Bunny was shocked. Hadn't Pitch captured the boy? Wouldn't he be relieved that he was free? Why was he attacking?!"

Another ice blast had Bunny jumping back. He landed with a huff. Was Jack siding with Pitch? This entire time Bunny had thought the boy was being forced to stand by the Boogeyman's side, but here he was, attacking him, and Pitch wasn't even around!

Bunny growled, dodging yet another blast of ice. Fine! If all his heart ache, searching, and torturing dreams had been for nothing but a hopeless cause that chose to fight alongside darkness, then he, as a Guardian, had to stop him.

As another ice blast shot at him, Bunny jumped high into the air and came back down, landing directly in front of the kid. He reached out and grabbed the end of Jack's staff, assuming he couldn't fight without it, he pulled hard in an attempt to wrench it from the kid's hand. As he did…Jack yelped in pain and the staff remained firmly in hand. Bunny furrowed his brow in confusion, and looked down at the kid's hand.

His mouth dropped open and his stomach twisted at the sight. Jack's hand was barbed wired to the staff, dried and fresh blood matting the pale skin just as it was decades ago…

Bunny looked up at the kid and his eyes…were no longer unemotional. Within them he saw pain. Pain from his current predicament and pain from a past that was a mystery to Bunny. He saw terror, just as he had before, but it was different. He could see despair and…familiarity. Jack had come to terms with his situation and hopelessness shone bright in his blue orbs.

Bunny felt something within him crack. Decades ago, he had seen terror and confusion in those same blue eyes…but he had also seen hope.

Now he saw nothing but contentment to replace that.

Bunny's grip on the staff faltered. All the pain and wisdom that shined in eyes that looked far to young was…overwhelming! It stole his breath, and he felt himself panting.

"Jack…" He tried, but tensed as the kid reached into his hoodie pocket.

But Bunny never would've expected what he pulled out.

Gently and very lovingly, Jack pulled out a mini tooth fairy. He held her out to Bunny, who accepted the small thing who seemed to be barely conscious.

"Not everything's gone." Jack said.

Bunny scrambled for a reply, but words would not form coherently inside his mind. And before he had the chance to meet the kids eyes, a shadow reached out from the wall and wrapped around Jack's waist, stealing him away before Bunny could blink.

A/N

I'm so mean to you guys! Here's another cliffy! ;D

Guest Review Response Time!

To the Guest who said: "Great story right here if I do say so myself. Take your time. I love all three chapters." Thank you, thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it :)

sparklehannah: I'm really glad you like that little twist. Jack has been with him for a long time, so it makes sense to me that he would know a little because he is very intelligent. And maybe this chapter hinted a little about his place in Pitch's plans. And thank you! =^v^= I'm so happy you're enjoying, and I hope I can continue to do good!

Thank you for reading again! I really love writing this story, and I'm so happy others are enjoying it! Once again, I'll be more than willing to answer any questions, and feedback is always appreciated :) But regardless, thank you for all of your support and I'll see you soon!