Hey again, everyone! So here's the next installment. I hope you all enjoy it! I took some advice and made the chapter slightly longer than the others but I was so eager to get something posted for you guys that it isn't longer by a whole lot. Sorry. I can assure you, though, that next time I post, the chapter will be much longer. I don't want to disappoint anyone, after all!


The air surrounding the Guardians was tense as they soared through the open sky. Nobody said a word as their eyes roamed over the sky and anything tall enough to enter their line of vision, such as mountains or skyscrapers. They flew for nearly forty minutes before Bunny finally broke the silence with a growl of frustration.

"This is useless! We'll never find the bloody ankle biter at this rate! Tha' blasted wind a his will keep 'im hidden!" he shouted, a furry paw running itself over his large ears in a blatant sign of distress.

"How are we supposed to talk to the wind? It won't listen to us; not when it thinks we hurt Jack," Tooth whispered quietly. There was silence and stillness for another minute. Then Sandy tapped Tooth's shoulder and quickly made signs for her.

"We need to appeal to the wind? Tell it that we didn't mean to hurt Jack?" Sandy nodded once in satisfaction. "Will that work? Will it really believe us? I mean, surely it knows about the promise we made to Sweet Tooth. The window was closed and locked," she murmured. Bunny's ears perked at that statement. He had buried that tidbit of information in the rush and need to get to Jack.

"About tha'. Why was the window locked, North? Ya still want 'im, don't ya?" Bunny asked. North gave a yell of indignation.

"Of course I still want boy! He is family, no?" There were nods all around. "Good. I do not know why window was closed. Was not me. Was not elves or yetis. All love boy too much. Is good for games and stress relieving."

"If it wasn't the elves or yetis and it wasn't you, then who was it? Sandy and I haven't been there since our last meeting and it's obvious it wasn't Bunny," Tooth stated in confusion. There was no one else who could've shunned Jack like that.

"What...What if it was Pitch? We all know how much he hates Jack. What if this is a plot ta get back at 'im?" Bunny asked in a horrified whisper.

There was utter silence as the other froze. Then Tooth broke out into a flurry of motion.

"No! No it can't be! It's too early for him to be back. He can't be strong enough. No. No no no no no. It is not Pitch!" she denied vehemently. Before anyone could say anything else, the sleigh was knocked violently to the side. Tooth gave a startled scream, Sandy fell from his seat, and Bunny and North let out curses.

"What tha bloody hell was tha'?" Bunny shouted, hands grasping for boomerangs.

"Is nightmares! Is Pitch attacking! We must find Jack!" North shouted and snapped the reigns harshly, prompting his reindeer to faster. They made it about another four feet before three more nightmares slammed into the side of the sleigh. Bunny hopped up and ignored the fact that if he fell out of the sleigh he would become pooka paste and started aiming at the incoming nightmares as Tooth and Sandy both left the sled to attack.

"Do not worry, Jack. We are coming," North murmured under his breath. And then all hell broke loose.

Jack's POV

Jack landed somewhere in Antarctica almost an hour later, sobs still ripping themselves from his throat. He curled himself into a ball, knees tucked up into chin, arms wrapped around his legs desperately. The wind gently curled around him, giving him the best hug it could manage.

"Why don't they want me anymore? What did I do? Why does this always happen to me?" Jack begged the wind for answers. He just wanted a family, somebody to love him. Why was that too much to ask? Didn't he deserve it after saving his sister and being alone for 300 years?

The wind felt a stab of sorrow for it's boy. He was finally so happy and with other spirits and now here he was, alone and broken in a frozen tundra. Then it felt a boiling rage directed towards the Guardians. How dare they lead his boy on for so long and crush him so completely! They had no right!

"What am I doing wrong?" Jack whimpered quietly, snapping the wind from it's anger. Before the wind could give him a reassuring brush of breeze, another voice spoke.

"Everything. You're just a useless child who does nothing but spread misery and death. It was only sensible that they discard you, just like everyone else." The voice was dark and slimy, making shivers run down Jack's spine. Then Jack jolted up into a sitting position but before he could say anything, the shadows around him lashed towards him and sucked him into their black depths, Pitch's laugh the last thing Jack heard before he was swallowed whole.