Jack planted his feet in front of the rickety bed, gazing through the shambles into the hole beneath it. Jamie was right behind him, slightly out of breath from running after the amber-eyed child. He scrunched his nose as he too peered into the dark hole.

"You don't think…" Jamie started, his voice fading as he turned to see Jack's anxious expression. "Jack… who was that kid?"

Jack let out a low grunt, his eyes not quite meeting anything as he shifted his gaze upwards, away from the bed. Jamie couldn't help but admire how strong Jack was. He was clearly analyzing every possible scenario, most likely each one leading back to some strange outcome involving Pitch Black.

It had been just over two years since the fiasco with the Nightmare King, and the Guardians had assumed they would be safe for quite some time. It would take Pitch centuries to regain the power he once had, not to mention the gall. Since that time the Guardians, particularly Jack Frost, would often visit Jamie, as was the case today.

"Jack, should we tell the Guardians?" Jamie eagerly asked the white-haired boy beside him. Jack still didn't answer, his eyes clouding and his arms hanging limply beside him. "That kid was like a mini-Pitch Black, what do you think is going on?" Jamie's hands were balled up beside his waist and his chestnut eyes darted across Jack's face searching for any source of life. "All you did was hit him with a snowball, I don't understand why he cried like that… especially if he IS Pit-"

"Jamie.." Jack started, his eyes finally meeting the younger boy's. Jamie became silent as he patiently waited for Jack to clarify the situation. Jack's eyes drifted away, unsure. "I just, I just don't know, Jamie." His hand clenched around his wooden staff. "I'm gonna tell the Guardians." Jamie nodded subtly, his loose hair falling and lightly sticking to his face in spots where snow had melted. "You go back and play with your friends, try not to worry about this." Jack's eyes locked onto Jamie's for one last moment before he was gone, the winds carrying him in the direction of the Tooth Palace.

Jamie wanted to say something, but he had nothing to say. In truth, this was just too odd. What appeared to be a younger Pitch Black had just disappeared into the very place they had banished the original Nightmare Kind a mere two years ago. Jamie was worried, but he was equally confused. He followed the Mischief Spirit's journey with his eyes momentarily before turning on his heel to head back to the snowball fight that was still going on just outside the wooded area.

There was a shifting sound behind him, and when he turned around both the bed frame and the hole were gone. Jamie shook his head in disbelief. Too weird… he thought. This is just too weird. He crunched his way through the snow back to his friends. "Try not to worry…" He mumbled before letting out an anxious chuckle. "Jack's gotta be kidding me…"

Pitch felt tormented. He felt betrayed, lonely, and scared. He had come back into his hole to escape these very feelings, but it seemed there wasn't going to be any form of escape for him. Pitch was surrounded by a golden hue, with the only light entering his domain emanating from the globe towering above him. He had taken refuge next to it, feeling a form of security from the light. He had originally thought he hated the light, but the idea of hearing the voices in the darkness scared him more than the light ever had. It was a safe thing for him now, comforting. He enjoyed gazing at the tiny flickering lights around it. The tall man's voice lingered in his head as he remembered his words, Those are all the children who don't believe in you. What did it mean? Pitch didn't even know any children, other than that brown haired boy and blue-sweater boy he had just seen. It didn't seem like they didn't believe in him.

Pitch let out a sigh. Should he look for a way out? His fingers and toes were getting colder by the minute. He had on a long black coat, but it was currently only keeping him so warm. He slowly rose to his feet, taking one last longing glance at the globe above him. Around him the cages hung by the hundreds, the area he was in was expansive. It was as if a small kingdom could have lived down beneath the soil years ago. Pillars rose large and thick from floor to ceiling, with portions of the den leading away into dark hallways. Pitch shuffled his feet towards a mountainous entrance, terrified he'd meet those voices again. As he lifted his foot again it scraped against something. It was long and wooden, and appeared to be a staff. It resembled the one he noticed the white-haired boy holding, but this one was darker and more curved at the top. He took it into his hands, feeling the weight behind it.

As Pitch was testing out his new toy he heard a cackling bubble up inside his head. First it was quite, but it quickly grew. It was the same voice as before, the tall man who terrified Pitch to no end. He glanced around anxiously, expecting to see him but couldn't place where the laugh was coming from. Eager to get away, he quickly hastened his pace through the entrance and into a long, dark corridor. As the darkness swallowed him up the voice faded and the only noise that was left was the light tapping of his small feet padding along the cold hard floor.

"I'm telling you, it was Pitch Black, why don't you believe me?" Jack exclaimed once again to Tooth. His arms were splayed wide at his sides, his eyebrows were practically at his hairline.

"Look, Jack," Tooth said calmly and slowly. She momentarily stopped buzzing about so that she could talk rationally to Jack. "I believe that you believe you saw Pitch, but he's long gone." Tooth was very motherly to Jack. She made sure not to sound like she was demeaning towards him, but at the same time what he was saying was ridiculous. He would often come to her telling her crazy experiences that him and Jamie would have, but Tooth also remembered what great over-active imaginations they both had. They couldn't help it, Jamie was ten and Jack was practically an immortal teenager. "It would take centuries for him to regain his strength, and there'd be no reason for him to attack now. Christmas has already passed. North is at full strength, he couldn't take us."

"Yeah but he wasn't at max power, or whatever," Jack continued. Tooth had turned to resume helping her little fairies to organize the teeth, Jack hot on her trail. "It was like a little kid that looked Exactly like Pitch. This is an emergency, why can't you take me seriously!" The little fairies all stopped work to look at Jack, shock and fear evident in their eyes. Baby Tooth, who had grown close to Jack even buzzed over to look him in the eye, her eyes wide in disbelief and worry.

"Now Jack," Tooth turned, a hint of anger in her voice. It was rare, Tooth was perhaps the nicest Guardian, that's why Jack had come to her. "You need to stop this. Pitch is gone. You're imagination is getting the better of you. Please, we have work to do." Jack felt helpless. He let his head hang low and his arms drooped. He nodded and slowly turned back towards the entrance of the Tooth Palace. "I mean it in the best way, Jack." Tooth called after him. "We really have nothing to worry about."

Tooth watched as Jack glided away, biting her lip. She hoped she wasn't too harsh with him, she really did enjoy his company. He just couldn't go around spreading false rumors or expecting the Guardians to drop everything for something that would've been impossible. At least, she hoped it was impossible…

Tooth sighed, shaking her head. No, there's no way that Pitch can be back already. She quickly found more teeth that needed to be organized and busied herself with that, pushing Pitch and Jack's saddened expression to the back of her mind.