"J-jack! Look out!"

I spun around. A wave of black sand was headed straight for me. It invaded my vision. Closer. Closer. The Nightmares, they were merely a diversion. This was all a trap. I couldn't move. But what did it matter? I'd be too late anyway. A blurred figure stepped in front of me, and was bombarded with a head-on attack of sand. The figure fell to the ground.

"ARYE!"

The sand receded, and I could once again see Pitch. I shot him a murderous glare, to which he smirked in return. If looks could kill, well, Pitch would've long since exploded into a pile of sand and be blown away by the wind. He grinned at Arye's collapsed body on the ground, and tipped an imaginary hat, before disappearing in a huge cloud of sand. "Till later," his mocking voice spoke in my ear.

Each of the Nightmares flew off, following Pitch. I knelt beside Arye's collapsed body. It wasn't moving. Her wings were sprawled limply across the pathway. My heart pounded in my head, 'She can't be dead…' Her body was dusted with sand. Her eyes were closed, and a golden pendant hung loosely out of her ragged clothing. I reached for it…

My fingers halted a few centimeters from the pendant, as if stopped by a force field. I wonder what's so special about the pendant? It seemed simple enough: an oval locket made of gold. I wonder what it contains, even if it's none of my business. Arye groaned. Her face scrunched up in pain, before slowly relaxing.

I sighed in relief. She was only unconscious. But I knew she'd need medical attention. I'm not sure what effect Pitch's dark magic would have on her. I know she's not an ordinary human. Could she, perhaps, be a spirit, like me? I wonder what kind of spirit she was. I wonder if she was believed in. Could she have owned a globe of lights that represented those who believed in her, like North and Pitch? Or could she have been like me, alone? I wonder how she ended up with Pitch. Was she captured? But more importantly, I wonder why she was captured. The girl lying by my side held many secrets, I could tell.

As I pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ears, I wonder if I'd ever figure it all out.

I slowly lifted her into my arms, careful not to provoke any possible injuries, and carried her to one of the safest places I know. As I flew high up in the air, I hoped that I would still be welcome there.

I knew Jack was carrying me. To where, I don't know. I narrowly opened one eye. Jack was soaring through the cool mountain air. My hair fluttered about my face messily, while Jack's hardly shifted. I continued to remain still. He probably believed I was still unconscious. And I would've been, if not for the pendant.

Although, I do wonder why Jack is doing all of this for me. I mean, we only met like, an hour or two ago. I find his kindness a bit suspicious. I mean, he's a Guardian. I'm not sure what's going to happen to me when we get to…wherever we're headed to. Pitch didn't tell me how they treat their "guests", only that they could not be trusted. He may be right about the latter.

The scenery blurred before me. I faintly wondered, 'Am I not heavy?' Jack seemed to be able to carry me with ease. I mean, I'm not exactly the lightest person on earth because of my large, furry wings. I felt bad, sure, since I was conscious all along. But I still kept this pretense, wondering what Pitch would do to me if Jack hadn't taken me with him.

Still, I was rather tired because of the many events today. Seeing as the blurry scenery wasn't going to change for a while, I closed my eyes, letting darkness wash over me.

The room I was in was a pure white. Which is why Pitch stood out like a sore thumb. He chuckled at me, "Well played, Arye. Very well played. Enjoy this while you can. It may not last. I will come back for you. Be prepared."

The room grew one shade darker.

"Arye, you awake?"

I groggily rubbed my eyes and looked around. Jack and I were in a cave. Outside, the ground was paved with snow and snowflakes calmly drifted down from the cloudy sky. I shivered, not used to the cold. Jack shifted away slightly, "I'll just make things colder for ya. But now that we have the chance, we can do the intros. I'm kinda curious why you could control shadows, and have wings. And why you were locked up in Pitch's lair."

I sighed. It was about time, anyway. "I'm Arye Hallows… I'm the spirit of Halloween. So yeah… I can control a bit of shadows and stuff, I guess, though not as much as Pitch. My wings sorta came when I became a spirit. And well… I hate to say this, but I was actually tricked into joining Pitch's side. But whatever the reason, he was really determined to get me by his side, for some reason. Then he experimented on me, though I'm not sure why. That's how I got all these bruises."

Jack remained silent, looking to the ground. He got up, and was about to hug me, I think. But he hesitated, and his outstretched arm moved to ruffle my hair. He blushed slightly, looking away. "It's okay now. You have me here. I won't let you get hurt, kay?" he grinned, tilting his head a bit to the right.

I smiled back.

Jack went on to tell me about his own past. He was the spirit of winter, and the Guardian of fun. '…Guardian…' I tried not to grimace, even if he did technically save my life. He told me about the Guardians.

North, aka Santa Claus, spoke with a Russian accent and wielded two swords. He was jolly and the Guardian of wonder. Toothiana, aka Tooth, a fairy covered in hummingbird feathers, collecting teeth and guarding memories. Sandman, aka Sandy, appears to be made of golden sand and guards dreams. He doesn't speak for fear of waking people up. Lastly, E. Aster Bunnymund, or Bunny. Basically, he's an extremely oversized bunny that wields boomerangs, speaks with an Australian accent and guards hope.

"…and then I found you in Pitch's lair. We're now at the North Pole. I think this'll be the best place to get you er, medical help, or see if you need it. You know, cause you got hit by the black sand. You know the rest," he finished, looking rather proud of himself.

I giggled slightly at his expression. Not able to help myself, I stretched a hand out and gently poked his cheek. He spun around, blinking in surprise. I tried to muffle my amusement, but later gave up and started drowning in fits of laughter. Jack grinned devilishly, "So you find this funny, hm? Well, payback time."

He pounced on me, jabbing my sides swiftly. And unfortunately, I am extremely ticklish.

It was a while before our massive tickle-to-the-death ended. Both of us were panting heavily and lying on the ground, but grinning like a bunch of idiots. I swear, I've never had so much fun in all of my ever gloomy and tragic lifetime. Jack stood up and dusted his clothes, before helping me up. "Heh, well we better get going," he said, before heading out the cave.

"Woah." The scenery was beautiful at the North Pole. The ground was covered with pure, white snow. Snowflakes dotted the calm blue sky. The wind picked up around me, forming a blizzard around me. Jack chuckled, "I take it that you like the snow?"

I grinned, sticking my tongue out to catch a falling snowflake. I never did such things in my previous life. I heard people talk about it though. I looked up into the distance. A huge house-ish building stood grandly in my view. It looked like a cross between a mansion, and a pretty damn big factory. Jack laughed, probably from the look of wonder on my face.

"C'mon, let's go."

He grabbed my hand, running towards the house. I was pulled along, blushing madly. I felt weird…but not in a bad way… I hope.

'Well it's normal to be embarrassed right?' I justified, 'I mean he's a guy and I uh just met him and uh… I mean it's not like I've ever… Oh God, this is so awkward. What am I even thinking?!'

Jack slowed his pace, and we halted at the door of the mansion. His cheerful expression faded. I looked to him, worried. "I'm not sure if I'm still welcome but… Well it's worth a shot, I guess," he answered my unasked question.

Jack took a deep breath, releasing my hand, and knocked on the door.

The door immediately swung open. As we stepped in, four surprised faces turned to stare at us. I mentally matched their names to their appearances. North, Bunnymund, Sandman, Tooth. All of them were present. All of the Guardians were here. "Ya traitor. What're ya doing 'ere?" Bunnymund spat out, glaring at us, "Brought ye girlfriend, eh? So that's what ye were doin' when we needed ya."

I glared back, "Firstly, I'm not his girlfriend. Second, Pitch tricked him. It wasn't his fault. Shouldn't it be Pitch you're mad at? And back to the girlfriend thing. Jack found me in Pitch's lair, locked in a cage. He probably saved me from more sadistic experiments Pitch secretly likes to do. Jack didn't do anything wrong, and he didn't betray you, okay?"

Tooth sighed, and flew over, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm sorry, Jack."

Slowly, each Guardian advanced nervously, apologizing to Jack. Sandman didn't speak though. He just formed some sand above his head that I think was an apology. Bunnymund muttered something to himself. Silence filled the room, and I imagined tumbleweed awkwardly rolling across the floor. "Anyways," a deep voice broke the silence, "How's about you introduce yerself?"

Jack started, "She's-"

"Sidhe (Shee-yeh). I'm the spirit of Halloween," I interrupted.

Jack looked at me incredulously. I stepped on his foot, muttering, "Later."

"I brought her here cause she got hit by Pitch's sand. I'm surprised she's still alive, though. I'm not sure if she's hurt internally or anything. So that's why we're here," Jack continued, probably getting the message.

"I see," North's Russian accent was obvious in his speech, "Well we better show Sidhe a room she can sleep in for now. She must be tired. We can ask her questions tomorrow."

He turned to me, looking for signs of approval.

I nodded, and let North direct me to a pleasant-looking oak door several stories up. Jack and the other Guardians remained in the main lobby. He gave me a warm smile and opened the door for me, before walking off. I wonder why he accepted me so quickly, though. I shrugged, pushing the though out of my mind. The Guardians did seem friendly. I closed the door and turned to inspect the room.

At that moment, Pitch appeared before me.