A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed for the last chapter! This story has got a lot more positive support than I ever would have imagined of my first story! 34 followers and 16 faves! Wow!

So this was incredibly fun to write. You'll understand when you get there!

Chapter 7: Mania

Pitch Black was smiling for what might be the first time in centuries. Granted, it was more of a twisted, sadistic snarl than an actual smile, but the corners of his mouth were still turned upwards. He finally had enough power, enough fear sustaining his existence, to leave the cage the Guardians thought he would never escape. Not since the Dark Ages had there been so much fear around the world.

And Pitch had the Spirit of Winter to thank for all of it.

It amused him greatly that a seasonal of all things was able to best the Guardians and cover the world in his own reign of terror. Seasonals were known for being aloof, uncaring creatures. For one to form such devastating storms, well he must have lost his sanity. Which made him Pitch's cup of tea.

Pitch was currently watching a group of humans, pitiful creatures that they were, board a helicopter bound for warmer weather. It was happening all around the world. The governments of every country in the world had pushed aside their petty arguments and were aiding those trapped under the mounds and mounds of snow and ice. From what Pitch understood, the storms had been rampaging for almost a year and many had perished in the harsh environment.

Those that hadn't were now living peacefully south of the equator. This last group, Pitch knew, was the last to be leaving the western parts of Europe. There were a few more humans scattered around the northern half of the world, those that lived far from civilization, but they would never be rescued.

Although, Pitch thought with a grimace, some of the immortals, those whose believers were in danger, were attempting to save the stragglers. The humans would awake in the morning to find extra food and warm clothing had been delivered sometime in the night. The Guardians were the main driving force behind these efforts, the Pooka able to hop in and out of homes with no very little effort.

Pitch sighed as the helicopter took off, its precious cargo safely stowed. Now he was going to have to find other food sources. Those few left were less fearful than he would like, mainly due to their unseen benefactors. If he was going to be getting a good helping of fear, he was going to need to find real civilization by going south.

But first, he needed to make a quick visit to a frozen pond in northeastern America.

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"Baby Tooth! Baby Tooth! Did you see?! Did you see what I just did?!" Jack came bounding into the clearing near his lake, one giant ball of energy, eyes wild and a too happy grin on his face.

The little blue fairy behind him flew to perch on the porch to her home, talking and waving her arms about excitedly. Jack had learned how to understand her after a month or so. He wondered if it had anything to do with the change in color or her new abilities with snow and ice. But he didn't really care, he was just so incredibly happy!

"I just covered Florida in snow!" Jack was waving his arms about, the winds following his unspoken command to keep things interesting with strong gusts here and there. The winter weather had become even more unpredictable, and somewhere down the road, Jack couldn't remember how to make his special snowflakes, the ones that made everyone happy.

But then, maybe no one needed them. The storms made him really happy, so very happy, so maybe the storms made the children happy too. Because it was always about the children!

Right?

There was that feeling again, like he was missing something. Something important. He was supposed to make the children happy. That was what the storms were for! But no, that wasn't right. The storms made him happy.

Jack's face fell into confusion, brows pinched together, trying to remember something he seemed to have forgotten. Something about the children.

Baby Tooth flying in his face distracted him, and his manic grin came back. They should go do something fun!

"Let's go somewhere and do something exciting, Baby Tooth!" Jack said, a little hop in his step as he made his way to the surface of the pond. "Maybe we could freeze a volcano! Or maybe the ocean! That would be fun!" Every step he took left spikes of ice in his wake, but he was far too focused on what fun he could be having to care.

Baby Tooth nodded her head excitedly, twittering away. Saying that they should make another storm, only this time over Russia. She liked making storms.

She only ever wanted to make storms! But Jack didn't want to anymore. He wanted to freeze something!

"All you ever want to do is make more storms!" he yelled at her, eyes blazing in uncontrollable anger. The wind was picking up rapidly, snow swirling around him and jagged shards of ice forming beneath his feat, growing out of control.

"Whenever I come up with something fun to do, you always ruin it! Why can't we do something I want to do for once!"

Jack's anger was gone just as suddenly as it had come, something he knew should scare him, but he really didn't care. Maybe that should scare him too. So confusing.

"Well alright then, where should we make a new storm? You said Russia? They just got a storm last week. How about Canada? They need another dose of snow!" Baby Tooth, very used to his sudden mood swings now, just nodded her head.

The wind was just starting to lift him off the ice, when a voice from the shadows met his ears.

"If you could just stay for awhile, I think I could make it worth your while," the voice said. When Jack turned, he saw a tall, grey-skinned man dressed in only a black robe step from the shadows. What Jack found interesting, was not the man himself, but the way the shadows seemed to cling to him. As if he was a part of them.

Jack tilted his head. "If you're here to ask me to stop the storms, you can leave now. They won't stop. I'm having too much fun for that!"

Jack grinned when the man chuckled. He thought Jack was funny! Oh, Jack liked him!

"Indeed. Well, I'm not here to stop you. Actually, I'm here to encourage you! You said you wanted to freeze a volcano, so why not? Who cares what the little fairy thinks? She is, after all, just a corrupted version of one of Toothiana's insects."

Something was wrong with that. He was supposed to listen to Baby Tooth. She was his friend. His confused thoughts halted when the fairy herself flew in his face, shaking her head and trying to drag him in the other direction.

What was it he was doing before?

"Well, then. I guess the flying rodent is more important than your guest."

Oh yes, the man with the cool shadows. He wanted Jack to freeze a volcano!

"I'm actually here to request your aid. As partners, I know we could rule the world in shadow and ice!" The man looked positively gleeful. And Jack liked gleeful. He could be friends with this man.

"Okay! What did you want me to do? I do ice and snow! Ice is my favorite though!" Jack said, but wait. "No. That isn't right. Snow is my favorite. No. It was my favorite. When did that change?"

The shadows shifted around the grey man and drew Jack's attention, his confusion forgotten.

"So you want me to freeze something? I can do that!"

The grey man smiled, a twisted thing that Jack knew he should be frightened of. Oh well.

"Yes. Freeze volcanoes and oceans. Whatever you desire. Such unnatural occurrences should bring even more fear to the world!"

Fear? People weren't supposed to be afraid of his snow and ice. Jack's face twisted into a mask of confusion as that feeling came back. Something about people fearing him wasn't right.

"Fear?" Jack asked. "I'm supposed to get people to fear me? But I bring fun and happiness."

He was developing a headache trying to figure out what that feeling was. Baby Tooth was next to his ear, telling him not to listen to the grey skinned man, someone she called Pitch Black. How did she know this man?

"Maybe your kind of fun and happiness," the man said gleefully. He had a spark in his eyes, an unnatural light that someone made of shadows shouldn't have. "Your fun brings the most delightful fear to the pathetic humans, especially the children. They are absolutely terrified of your snow!"

The man was laughing now, but Jack wasn't laughing with him. The children were afraid of him? That couldn't be right. His special snowflakes were supposed to make people happy.

But he couldn't make his special snowflakes anymore. So his snow made people scared. That feeling was back, raging against the barriers in his mind, trying to tell him something.

Jack raised a hand to his head, trying to relieve some of the pressure, as he curled in on himself. People were afraid of him. Children were afraid of him! No! He couldn't let that happen!

"No," Jack said. Flashes of snowball fights, sledding accidents flashed through his mind. He may never have been seen, but the children weren't afraid of him. They had loved his creations.

That was what he had wanted. When the storms had started. He didn't want kids to fear him.

"What do you mean 'no'?" The grey-skinned man was glaring at him. This man wanted Jack to make people even more afraid.

Jack turned to look at Baby Tooth. She had stopped speaking in his ear and was no fluttering next to him, smiling encouragingly and pride shining in her eyes. He must be doing something right then.

"No," Jack repeated. "I won't make people more afraid. That was not what I wanted. I just wanted people to know who I was."

Jack was staring down his guest, Pitch Black he guessed. Pitch looked like he was going to have an aneurism.

"Are you kidding me?" Pitch snarled. He actually snarled! Jack had to hold back a snicker at such a funny looking face! But he had an important conversation to pay attention to.

"People died during your storms! People are still dying! Most of the world's population is now south of the equator to keep away from you!"

"I killed people?" Jack asked quietly. He felt lost. This was not supposed to happen. How were people supposed to believe in him if they were dead?

Jack could feel tears in his eyes. This was all wrong. He had to fix this. But he couldn't get rid of snow, only make it.

He could stop the storms though. Leave. Go somewhere no one ever went and stay there until the Man in the Moon decided his time was finally up.

Jack looked up from the snow and ice at his feet to look at Pitch. Apparently, Jack had missed quite the lecture while he was debating with himself. The man before him was quite literally fuming, breathing heavily as though he had been screaming.

"I won't help you," Jack said evenly. He could feel as Baby Tooth landed on his shoulder in support. "The storms will end and the world will be allowed to go back to the way it was. Without me."

And with that Jack took off into the sky, the wind at his back and Baby Tooth on his shoulder. He knew the perfect place to hide from the world. Somewhere where ice and snow reigned all year and was so cold that people never ventured for more than a few days.

He was off to Antarctica.

Jack could feel the tears fall from his eyes, freezing in jagged tracks along his face. He would leave the world to right itself. No one wants a winter spirit anyway.

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Guest Reviews:

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