Baby Tooth suddenly began to chirp. She fluttered out of Winter's hands, and over to the fallen queen.
"Oh, thank goodness." Tooth exclaimed. "One of you is alright."
Jack smiled a little, and wrapped an arm around Winter.
"Jack, who would do this?" Winter asked, looking to Jack with a worried expression.
"I don't know." He told her.
"Well, I must say, this is very very exciting." A dark voice, with an English accent called out throughout the Tooth Palace. "The Big Four; all in one place." Winter gasped, as a tall black figure appeared on top of the tier that the guardians were on.
"I'm a little star struck. Did you like my show on the globe North?" He asked with a sick grin. "Got you all together."
"Pitch!" Tooth shouted angrily, zipping up to the top tier, but suddenly he was gone. "You've got thirty seconds to return my fairies."
"Or what." Pitch's voice came from the next tower. "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow." He held up his hands in 'fear'.
"Why are you doing this?" North asked, raising a sword.
"Maybe I want what you have." Pitch spat angrily. "To be believed in."
Jack and Winter shared a look. "No one believes in him either." Winter whispered awe, that they weren't the only ones.
"Maybe that's a good thing." Jack told her, keeping an eye on Pitch.
"Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds." Pitch continued, as he used a shadow to make his way to the lower level of the tower.
"Maybe, thats where you belong." Bunny told the malevolent spirit.
"Ughh." Pitch sighed, obviously annoyed; as his voice was suddenly underneath the guardians. "Go suck an egg, rabbit."
Bunny looked under the tier, and made a grab at the shadow, but missed; as it disappeared.
"Hang on."
Winter and Jack froze, as Pitch's voice was suddenly behind them. Jack pushed Winter behind him, and raised his staff; trying to find the source.
"Is that Jack Frost...and Winter Snow." Pitch laughed. "I haven't seen you two, since the 1700's."
"Since when are you two all chummy with them."
"We're not." Jack growled, looking for the boogeyman to show himself.
"Oh good, a neutral party."
Winter whirled around, and saw Pitch materialize behind them. Behind the golden bars, into what appeared to be the central hub of the palace. His hand was on his face, in a disappointed gaze.
"Then I'm going to ignore you." He laughed, walking away with a grin. "But you must be used to that by now."
Tears pricked at Winters eyes, as Bunny raced down the supports of the tower, the other guardians close on his heels.
Tooth quickly grabbed Bunny's boomerang out of his holster, and launched herself at Pitch; who appeared on the tier the guardians had just left.
Suddenly, black sand began swirled into a Night Mare. The wild beast hooved furiously at the Tooth fairy; stalling her in her tracks.
"Wooooah!" Pitch called with an amused laugh. "Woah, easy girl, easy."
He took some of the black sand, and held it out. "Look familiar Sandman?" He asked with a grin. "Took me a while to perfect this little trick. Turning dreams into nightmares."
The guardians stood there, frozen in shock as Tooth fluttered back down; Bunny's boomerang still held firmly in her grasp.
"Don't be nervous." Pitch grinned, patting the black horse. "It only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know."
"What fear...of you!?" Bunny laughed, as Tooth silently handed him the boomerang back. "No one's been afraid of you since the dark ages."
"Oooh, the Dark Ages." Pitch said sweetly, reminiscing. "Everyone afraid, miserable. Such happy times, for me. Oh the power I wielded."
"But then the Man in the Moon chose you, to replace my fear with you wonder and light." He spat. "Lifting their hearts, and giving them hope."
"Meanwhile, everyone just wrote me off as a bad dream." He seethed. "Oh there's nothing to be afraid of; there's no such things as the boogeyman!"
"Well, thats all about to change." Pitch said, as the Tooth palace began to crumple around them. "Oh look, it's already happening."
"What is?" Jack asked, confused.
"Children are waking up, and realizing that the Tooth fairy never came." Pitch chuckled gleefully. "Such a little thing; but to a child..."
"Jack, what's going on?" Winter asked, worry and fear written all over her face.
"They-they don't believe in me anymore." Tooth muttered, anguished.
Jack and Winter looked at her confused. They weren't believed in, but nothing like this had ever happened to them.
"Didn't they tell you." Pitch smiled. "It's GREAT being a guardian; but there's a catch."
"If enough kids stop believing, everything they protect: wonder, hope, and dreams; it all goes away." Pitch chuckled to himself. "And little by little... so do they."
Winter gasped, and wrapped her arms around Jack, as tears pricked at her eyes. How could Pitch be so heartless? They had been forgotten too, but they had never done anything this extreme!
"No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night." Pitch continued. "There will be nothing, but fear and darkness... and me. It's your turn, not to be believed in."
Bunny had suddenly had enough, and threw his boomerang at the spirit of fear with all his might.
Pitch ducked, and jumped onto the Night Mare, diving off the tower, and to the shadows that rested in the edges of the caves.
The guardians all jumped, or flew after him, hot on his tail.
"Come on!" Winter shouted, dragging Jack with her, as they dove off the platform; just in time to see Pitch disappear into the shadows.