Pitch glared at the little child to whom he'd given a soul wrenching nightmare. While the potent fear coming off the child was indeed sustaining, it was not the lovely fear he'd grown to love from Larrin. Oh yes he remembered her name. He'd been watching the girl for much longer than she thought. Waiting for the opportunity to force the girl into his lair. And her little brother was the perfect leverage, that day in the woods. And now he missed the girl. Having to substitute her beautiful fear for this child and many others like him around the world.

Gathering the last bits of fear he could from the squirming kid, he left the sleepy town and ventured into the shadows. He had collected a lot of fear through the night. But there was one girls fear that he wanted. She was his...and he wanted her. But he still had yet to figure out just how to take his move in this growing game. He could sense that she was having a nightmare. How could she not after all he'd put her through? But this one felt different. Separated as they were by many miles, he knew she was starting to remember. He grinned. Perfect. That meant he could go ahead and take a chance on his original plan. He wasn't sure if she'd be able to remember her brother or not. But now that he knew she would, he could go ahead and track down the boy.

The boy still searched for his big sister. It would only be humane for Pitch to reunite them. At least for a moment before he captured Larrin again. He thought about how the boy had acted just after he'd taken Larrin. He'd run off to get his parents, and though they searched the woods for nearly a weak they couldn't find her. The towns people insisted she must have fell into the icy waters, as there was a fresh break in the pond when they went searching. But Joey and his precious parents still believed that somehow their precious Larrin was still alive.

They were right of course, but Pitch wasn't intending to reunite the happy family for long. Just long enough to get some of Larrin's bravery and spirit back. It would make that much more fun to completely break her again. And it would give him an upper hand in the impending battle with the guardians, who he was sure had grown very attached to her by now. How could they not? Even her, King of the Nightmares, had become very affectionate towards the girl. He hated to admit it, but he had a bit of a weakness for her. He would probably surrender all his nightmares for her. Mostly because with he he could simply feed off her fear and create more. But he longed to see fear filled blue eyes and a trembling lip again.

He emerged from the shadows in front of a little one story home. It was a small town somewhere snowy. A little boy sat outside the house, his face in his hands. His parents were fighting again, over Larrin...again. He wasn't sure how much more he'd be willing to take. He missed his sister so much.

Pitch stayed in the shadows, waiting. It wouldn't be too long now. Larrin was starting to remember. It wouldn't take too much for her to remember her home and parents as well as her little brother. The guardians would bring Larrin to her home, hoping that once she was back with them she would be safe. But the fools didn't know the half of the story behind him and Larrin. He would have the girl back, no matter how much the meddling guardians wanted to keep her safe.

THE NORTH POLE

Sandy looked at Larrin with the same concerned look North and Jack had given her. They were all wondering the same thing...would she be able to handle the memories Sandy uncovered? Before he could get at her past before Pitch, he would have to speed through her tormented two years. Something he really didn't want to see, but was even more sure that she didn't want to see. However, since her dream where she remembered her brother, Larrin had become resolute in finding out who she was before Pitch took her away.

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Tooth asked, putting a hand on Larrin's shoulder. They had tried explaining to her that she could just use her teeth to get her memories, but she didn't want to wait for the tooth fairies to find them. She wanted to know right now, even if it meant going over the horrors she'd witnessed over the last two years.

"Yes." Larrin said determinedly.

"As soon as my fairies get back he'll stop and you can use your teeth." She added before stepping away. Sandy took her place next to Larrin's bed. She smiled slightly at him, encouraging him to go ahead and send his sand into her head. He looked at North one more time before a small stream of sand reached from his forehead to hers. Her eyes closed as memories began to flash in her mind.

The first few made her shake with fear. All memories of Pitch and her prison. But Sandy tried his best to move past those quickly. It took far to long to find the end of them though, and Larrin was crying by the time Sandy reached that day when Pitch tricked her brother into falling into his lair. Soon enough though it wasn't Pitch she was seeing. She saw her little brother. Her mom...her dad. They were kind people with round cheeks and sparkling eyes. They had been visiting the town where Larrin was captured.

Sandy pressed further, seeing their family road trip all the way back to the little home where they lived. He saw how Larrin and Joey, her brother, got along and when she beat up the boys who were teasing him. He saw her walking across a tree branch like she had no fear. He saw her face the school bully without even flinching. She was fearless. She was a completely different girl than she was now.

And she could recollect all of it. Pretty soon Sandy didn't even need to press to help her see the memories. They flooded her mind like a dam had been released. All her dance recitals and the family Christmas parties. The painting she'd made for her parents when she was only eight. It was all amazing! What Sandy found nearly impossible to believe was that Larrin was fifteen when they went on that trip. That meant she was seventeen now, when she appeared to only be thirteen. It was probably an effect of the fear driven existence she'd been subjected to the last two years that had made her seems to young and innocent.

Sandy stepped back from the bed, letting Larrin remember on her own. She smiled to herself as she saw Joey and her dad making a model airplane, ending up completely covered in wood glue, the both of them. She recalled her parents telling her to never stop believing. That magic was real, that Santa would visit every Christmas, and the Easter Bunny every spring. Her parents were believers! They would probably be able to see the Guardians when they took her back to her home! At that though she opened her eyes again. All of them had inched closer, curious to see her reaction to having her memories retrieved. Jack was the first to step back, seeing the renewed fire in her eyes. She grinned wide.

"I remember it! Everything! My mom telling me about all of you and my dad building me a tree house and Joey!" She exclaimed, jumping up from her bed and giving a little twirl. Then she sought out Sandy and swept him into a big hug. "Oh thank you! I'm not afraid anymore! I remember!" She sighed in relief at the truth in her statement. She wasn't afraid anymore!

Halfway across the world, Pitch cringed noticeably, a sudden pain ripping through him. He stumbled back against a wall, clutching his chest. He felt suddenly empty...frail...scared! What was happening to him? Could it be...Larrin...she wasn't scared. She was happy. The girl he'd built his power off of was fearless again. He could feel it right down to his black heart. With a growl he disappeared into darkness to seek out a child to feed off of. He suddenly felt weak, and he couldn't stand for that when so much was at stake! He would make Larrin pay for making him so weak. Once he had her in his clutched again he would show her why she should fear him, and why she would do good not to forget it.

Larrin herself was feeling great. She felt strong and happy. She could remember with pristine clarity every event in her life, even the bad ones. But the bad ones seemed good compared to Pitch. Everything seemed so much better in comparison. And all she wanted now was to go home. Tooth brought her a pretty violet dress to change into, and bunny brought her some flowers for her hair. Meanwhile Jack leaned over the railing in the workroom, looking slightly sad.

"What is wrong Jack? Are you not happy for Larrin?" North asked stepping up to the winter spirit. Jack looked at the enthusiastic man and half-smiled.

"I am. Really I am. It's just...what if this is just what Pitch wants? What if us taking her back there would spring some sort of trap?" He wondered, closing his eyes for a moment. "I don't think I could handle it if he got his hands on her again. Seeing her now, so happy...if he reduced her into that shell of a girl again..." He didn't have to finish. North too was thinking about it.

"I have collaborated with Bunny and Tooth. We are all assembling teams of five to guard Larrin and her family. Five elves, five fairies, five eggs. They will keep Larrin safe."

"Come on North. Fifteen little creatures aren't gonna keep Pitch off this girl. He obviously feels for her, why else would he react that way when we took her?"

"Maybe not, but they can warn us."

"You said he took some elves and yetis when he appeared here a few days ago."

"Da."

"What do you think happened to them? He probably turned them into nightmares. No reason he couldn't do it to the patrols. I just...I don't think this is a very good idea. She'll be completely unprotected. Not to mention her family is probably in serious danger. The best way to protect her would to keep her here. Or the Warren, or the Tooth Palace! And I bet, from what she's told us of her parents, they would be thrilled to join her!" Jack threw up his hands, grumbling under his breath slightly.

"Jack I know dis is hard for you. But it is for best that she goes back to family." North put a heavy hand on Jack's shoulders. He nodded.

"Yeah." He looked down the hall where Larrin was dancing with Tooth, twirling in her new dress that was a dramatic change from the bland black one she was wearing. Maybe the truth was that he would miss her. She was so full of life, but at the same time he knew she was capable of withstanding great afflictions. She was brave and beautiful and spirited...she was just like him. He wanted her to stay because he wanted more time with her. He wanted to understand how this girl had awoken his frosty heart after three hundred years.

"Jack!" she smiled and ran up to him, hugging him and letting him spin her around. They both laughed when he stopped and realized they were mere inches away. She laughed awkwardly again and dis-attached herself from him. "You and Tooth will visit me right?" She asked shyly.

"Of course! Nothing could keep us away!" He insisted. North looked between the two knowingly. The boy he'd started considering a son was blushing ever so slightly. And the beautiful girl they'd saved was smiling so big and bright. He could read between the awkward body language and short meaningful words.

"You two ready to go yet?" Bunny asked separating the two. North gave the bunny a pointed look, but agreed that now was not the time. Now it was time to return Larrin back to her home.

"Do you think they'll still live in the same place? Or that they'll still want me? What if they had another baby or adopted someone to replace me!" she suddenly started having anxious thoughts, but one look from Jack told her she was being ridiculous.

"Come on. Do you wanna see Santa's sleigh?"