"Yes, I see you have a new addition to your neutral party," Pitch remarks. His eyes look at me, hungrily. My body stiffens.

"What do you want?" Jack hollers.

"Isn't it obvious?" Pitch smirks.

"For the last time," Jack yells, "I'll never go to your side!"

"Wow," I mutter. "Sounds like Star Wars on steroids."

"Not you," Pitch grumbles. "Compared to each other, you're too weak. What I want-" his eyes flash at me again. "-is her."

I freeze. "Wh-what...what are you-?"

"Oh, you know perfectly well what I'm talking about, Carri," he interrupts. With a flick of his wrist, black sand emerges from the ground. Eerily but quickly, it floats across the floor, enveloping the Guardians and pushing them against a wall. The sand suddenly wraps around my waist and pulls me toward him. When I was inches away from him, the sand dissipates and he grabs my throat tightly and lifts me in the air. "Or have the others not told you how much power you're capable of?" Pitch sneers, his grip getting tighter.

My hands claw at my throat, but it's useless. My sight gets blurry. "Help," is all I could manage to say in a small voice.

"Let her go!" I hear Jack yell. Then I can't see.

Suddenly and miraculously, I hear a thud and feel Pitch's hand leave my neck. I crash on the ground, gasping and coughing, struggling to get air. Slowly, my vision clears. I see Jack panting heavily, running toward me.

"Syl!" he cries. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. And again, don't call me that," I mumble. "Where…?"

"He's gone for now," he tells me. "C'mon. We both have some explaining to do."

"So, let me get this straight," I conclude. The Guardians are all looking at me with anticipation. "You guys are the actual fairy tales kids believe in and are protecting them from that Pitch guy, who wants to use me for power and to get kids to believe in him instead of you, for reasons you haven't figured out yet?"

"Exactly," Bunny replies. "What, you didn't get that with the Sandman, Tooth Fairy, and Jack Frost introduction?"

I glare at him. "Obviously not, kangaroo."

Bunny flashes me a warning glare. "Do not call me 'kangaroo'."

"But you forgot something," Jack adds.

"The Man in the Moon chose you, Carri," Tooth restates. "That's why you are here."

"And speaking of power," Jack whispers in my ear, "how the heck did you shoot ice out of your hand without my staff? I can't do that."

I shrug. "I don't kn-wait, when was that?"

"You shot ice at Pitch, and then he left."

"With what? My hand?"

He nods.

"But I couldn't see! And I don't remember lifting my hand!"

"Well, you did."

I roll my eyes and try to blow the hair that's always in my face away (it just falls back into place). Of course. Guys always think they're right about everything.

"I can prove it," Jack blurts defensively. He takes my hand and holds it in front of me.

I try to pull away. "What're you-?"

"Just trust me."

"I just met you!"

"Please?"

I sigh. "Okay, okay. Fine."

He gives me a crooked smile. "Alright. Try to make a snowflake. Any shape, it doesn't matter."

I close my eyes and just think of the word, since I've never seen snow fall from the sky before. A cold feeling creeps up my fingers, and I felt a soft breeze coming from them.

"Whoa," I hear Jack whisper, causing curiosity to rise up inside me. Opening my eyes, I see a something slowly forming in my palm. When it finally finished, a simple snowflake is formed.

"So? It's nothing special," I tell him. I glance up at Jack; he's staring at it like it's the most interesting thing in the world then looks at me.

"I can't make one's that good. I mean, I can, but it took a really long time. I thought you said you've never done this before."

"I haven't!"

He seems impressed then shakes his head. "Can you toss it in the air or something?"

I start twirling the flake around my hand with a small grin on my face. "I feel like Elsa."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

I make the flake vanish and think. Then I throw my hand up; a flurry follows it. Positioning my hand like I'm gripping onto something, I focus. A snowball swirls up in my palm. "Hey, Bunny. Catch."

DOOF! The snowball explodes when it hits his face.