When Tooth and North arrived at Jamie's house, Bunny and Sandy were with the young boy. He had fallen asleep, but Sandy was running his short fingers through his soft brown hair and Bunny was pacing back and forth. Tooth entered first, followed less quietly by North.

"Where's Jack?" asked Tooth excitedly. She clutched the memory box in her hand even tighter. In just moments he would have his memory back. Her smile just wouldn't disappear, and she wasn't trying all that hard to make it do so. Sandy hopped off the bed and joined the semi-circle of guardians.

"Jack left," Bunny said. "He's with Pitch."

"With Pitch!?" North bellowed. The other guardians hurriedly shushed him, and gestured angrily toward the sleeping Jamie.

"Look, lets go before we wake up the kid, yeah?" said Bunny. Sandy shook his head, and Bunny nodded at him. "I don't think Pitch'll be back, mate. But you can stay if it makes ya feel better." Sandy smiled and resumed his position on Jamie's bed. The others filed out of the room via the window. Bunny thought briefly about the bad situation his friend would be in if Pitch did return and found Sandy alone, but dismissed it. Neither of them had any defense against the nightmare king's newest line of attack, so in the end he was just as safe alone as otherwise. He followed the others onto the roof of the Bennett home.

"Explain," North demanded as they boarded the sleigh. Bunny looked down.

"Pitch showed up," he said after a moment. "He threatened to attack the kids." Tooth gasped at his words, her face contorting in rage. Beside her, North released an angry breath. "Of course, we didn't let it happen," Bunny added quickly. "But we fought. And while we were fightin'… well, we were losin', I'll put it like that. And then Jack saved Sophie. He saved Sandy's life. I... I wasn't doin' so hot, either. And all he had to do was tell Pitch that he wanted to be a guardian of darkness or some such barmy crap. Pitch believed him, and then they both took off."

"He wasn't… it was a trick, though. Right?" Asked Tooth worriedly. Bunny hurried to reassure her.

"Course it was! Sandy 'n I played along, and now," he grinned for the first time since they had met up. "We got ourselves a double agent." His large furry chest swelled with pride. He deflated a little when he caught sight of Tooth's alarmed expression.

"Then I need to get this to him!" She chirped. Bunny was thrown by her sudden agitation. She rose to her feet, ready to launch off of the sleigh, but Bunny caught her arm.

"Wait, wait!" he said. "What is that? Ya sure he needs it? What if ya blow his cover?" Tooth raised the memory box closer to his face so he could see it.

"These are Jack's memories," she said excitedly. The concern was still clear on her face, though. "He's going to need them if he's going to be with Pitch."

"Why? He's already seen those."

"No," Tooth said with a joyful grin. "They're his memories as a Guardian." Bunny's eyes widened as that sunk in. After a moment, though, his face contorted again.

"I want to get those to him too, but is it worth risking his cover?"

"Bunny," said North, joining the conversation in earnest. "What do you think will happen if Pitch finds out Jack is working against him?" Bunny turned to face the big man.

"Well, they'd end up fightin' it out I guess. But that's no problem. Pitch ain't really a match for Jack."

"Maybe the old Jack," said Tooth somberly. "But you saw when I did what his control over his staff is without his memories. He can barley fly! With Jack the way he is now, who do you really think would win?"

Bunny's face dropped. "Oh," he huffed. He thought for a moment. "Well, its not a problem if Pitch doesn't find out, right?" he asked. "So it still might be better if ya stayed here."

Tooth thought about that. Technically, it perfectly sound logic. But she shook her head nontheless. "Maybe you want to take that risk," she said. "But I don't." She shook off his paw and leaped out the sleigh. She tucked her head down and put her arms to her sides, doing anything that might help her become even a little more aerodynamic. She would get there as soon as possible, sneak in and give Jack his memories, then slip back out. Easy.

OoO

Pitch tapped one of his long fingers against his prominent jaw. After he had led Jack to where he would be staying while he was here, he had retired to his own quarters. Jack's room was what he technically referred to as the dungeon, but since he had that bed he had used for the Bennett kid a few nights ago, he threw that in there and called it good. He hardly thought Jack was used to anything more homey anyway, what with usually bedding down in a tree near some lake.

He remembered Jack's efforts to make him believe he had switched sides a few hours ago and rolled his eyes. Not exactly an an Oscar worthy performance. But it was of no matter. Jack was exactly where he wanted him, and this time, he would keep him here. His plan had changed slightly from when he had first found out that the winter spirit had lost his powers, but the main base was the same.

In two days time, there would be a new moon. He had always liked the sight of the moon engulfed in darkness. Once a month, even the moon was overcome by shadow and there was no force on earth that could stop it. However, it was only recently that he had found out that the new moon could be a source of power for him.

Pitch discovered this only a few weeks ago, browsing through his extensive collection of books. He owned informational texts on everything from voodoo to alchemy. So many, in fact, that he had never read all of them. He collected them over the years, picking them up over centuries of peaked curiosity at the sight of a court musician or a T.V. magic show. He had even picked up one or two things from the library of Alexandria, if he remembered right.

In any case, one of the of the books he had been flipping through for leisure had held some interesting ideas. The over-complicated passage had eventually gotten around to the point that there existed a technique in necromancy that could harness the power of the shadows. Pitch had given a snort at that, having his own effortless control over the darkness of hiddden corners and crevices. The next sentence however, reclaimed his attention. When harnessed correctly in the hands of a master it had gone on to say, no shadow is out of the necromancers reach. Even the moon is once a month left to wallow in darkness.

Pitch had been nearly giddy with dark joy when he had used the same book to create his first night terror. His plans had had to change slightly when Jack lost his memories, then again when the guardians reclaimed his trust. But now the winter sprite was here, right where he needed him to be. The only thing left to do was somehow get one of the three guardians that could fly to him.

He also didn't necessarily need to execute his plan within the comfort of his own home, but luring the guardians into unwittingly helping him just seemed somehow more poetic.

As he was thinking, a Nightmare made its way toward him. It stomped and snorted loudly, then finally got its information across. Pitch blinked a few times; surely there was no way things could fall into place so perfectly. But as he melted into the shadows, he saw that it was true. The Tooth Fairy was here.

She was walking so as to not attract unnecessary attention and she was so quiet that for a moment, Pitch was actually surprised she had been spotted. But no matter. He watched her slip into Jack's quarters, then formed a glittering black sword from the terror sand.

oOo

"Jack! " Tooth whispered when she saw him. She didn't know what the odds were that she would find him in the first room she checked, but she thanked her lucky stars for it. The longer she would have had to search, the more rush she would have been caught by Pitch.

"Tooth?" asked Jack in surprise. "What are you doing here? I'm under cover! You're not safe here! What if Pitch saw you?"

"I don't think anyone saw me," said Tooth with a smile. "Besides, this is important. Sophie and Jamie are safe now, and we'll be able to fight our way out easy if you have these." With a grin, she tossed the cold little cylinder of memories to Jack. He caught it easily.

"These don't look like-" Jack began. Tooth cut him off.

"They're your memories as a guardian! " She said, practically bursting from excitement. "Manny gave them to me. You open it," she showed him the side that slid open, and yours is the-"

"One with the staff," Jack murmured. He touched the snowflake gently. It immediately melted into his fingertips. Suddenly, his whole body felt cold. He couldn't remember actually feeling cold for... Well he couldn't remember ever feeling cold. And especially not like this. He looked up at Tooth, but his attention was drawn to the figure behind her.

She sensed the presence and turned, already bringing her wings up for a fight, but it was too late. She sliced through two night mares, but couldn't be everywhere at once. Jack tried to move, tried to help her in any way, but he couldn't move. The creeping cold was burning now, and it covered almost every inch of his body. He couldn't even cry out. He watched, furious and helpless as Tooth inevitably let her guard slip for a fraction of a second. Darkness was eating at Jack's vision, and the last thing he saw was Tooth falling. Pitch, tall, dark and grinning, headed towards him. Jack sucked in one last, shuddering breath, then blacked out. His body did not fall. He was frozen perfectly in place until his memories were finished with him. Which really would all depend on Jack.

A/N: Hey guys! Here's a chapter for y'all... its very short, but a lot of plot is condensed into it. I hope you like it! The story is taking a turn for the main plot point I've been working up to. I agonized a lot about it, but I've decided this is how I want the plot to go. Thank you so much for the continued support and a big hello to all the new followers! You guys are the best, and i wish i could meet and befriend every one of you.

Love,

Mariah