After getting Jamie's friends to believe
Jack stood facing pitch, the kids and the three weakened guardians behind him.
"You think a few children can help you? Against this!"
A literal storm of nightmares and black sand surrounded them. Everyone stared nervously, though the guardians tried to look ready, at the numbers stacked against them. But Jack was focused on pitch. He scanned the bogeyman, taking in every detail. Waiting for his moment.
Out of the corner of his eye Jack saw North take a fighting stance, only to stumble when his weakened body could no longer support him. The others weren't much better. Tooth looked like she could barely stand, let alone fly, and bunny… Well let's just say a rabbit you could fit in the crook of your arm, wasn't very intimidating.
Jack looked at the kids, "there just bad dreams Jamie. Don't worry! I'll protect you." With that he shot into the air, firing a stream of ice at pitch. But, as before, it didn't even come close. Jack could hear pitch's cruel laughter.
"We've been through this, your power is no match for me." Pitch said mockingly.
The ice was pushed away, but Jack was no longer there. "Surprise!" Having used the light of his attack as a way to hide his movements, Jack was now directly behind pitch and landed a punch. When his shock wore off the nightmare King retaliated. The two scuffled in the sky, each landing physical blows on the other till pitch kicked the boy in the stomach and sent him back to the ground with a wave of sand. Jack landed hard and groaned as the kids and guardians gathered around him.
"Is that all you got?" Pitch taunted. " You may protect them, but who will protect you?"
Jack was startled by the next words he heard.
"I will!"
Turning his head the winter spirit watched as all six of the kids, in turn, faced the bogeyman.
"I will!"
"I will." "I will."
"And me!"
"I...I'll try."
Pitch sneered. "Still think there's no such thing as the bogeyman?" His storm rushed at the small group.
Jack used his staff to pull himself into a standing position.
"I do believe in you." Jamie said. Jack clutched a fist to his chest. "I'm just not afraid of you!"
As Jamie held up a hand, like a crossing guard, toward the oncoming attack Jack took a deep breath. "ICECROSE!" He shouted.
The sudden and unexpected word made everyone, nightmares included, stop and stare at the winter spirit.
"What was that?" Bunny asked. A second later he got his answer.
"Roooooaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr!"
A huge blue and white blur shock from the sky, then a blast of extreme cold hit the nightmares, that were only a few feet from the group, freezing them into ice-sculptures. Those were then smashed to dust under for large strong paws! Standing before the Shocked guardians and kids, facing pitch and his army, was an ice Dragon. His forelegs firmly planted, body straight and regal, neck and head held high, wings spread wide and teeth bared in a menacing growl! The Dragon released another roar that shook the land, air, and sky.
"An… An ice… Ice Dr… DRAGON!" Pitch stammered, eyes wide and fear clear on his face.
With the kids in tow North, tooth, and bunny began to back away but Jack rushed forward. "Icecrose!" The slim boy wrapped his arms around, or as far around as he could reach, the dragon's neck. "I was worried, but you are here. You really here!"
The Dragon's fierce expression softened as he curled his head down two returned the embrace. "Of course Jack. You're my friend, I'll always be there for you!"
"Jack." North said "you know a ice Dragon?"
Said spirit turned to his allies stunned faces." Yep! Everyone meet Icecrose!"
"But… But how!" Pitch's stutter was getting worse as the weight of his situation started to sink in. Jack let go of Icecrose's neck and unclenched his fist, revealing a scale as beautiful as ever with a leather strap threaded through it.
The nightmare King scrambled to look for the scale he'd pick pocketed from the boy in Antarctica, it was gone. "How did you-"
"Simple pick-pocketing trick." Jack mocked, using pitch's own words. "You didn't think I'd leave you with something so precious to me, did you?" Jack placed the cord around his neck returning the precious pendant to its rightful place. The familiar weight giving him a remembered comfort.
"So!" Icecrose snarled at the fearful pitch. "You're the infamous pitch black."
Pitch's answer was the turned face and run. "Get them!" He shouted to his minions. "Do your jobs!" The nightmares continued their charge as there master tried to put as much distance as he could between him and the beast said to have unimaginable power and strength, a creature who could create an ice age without breaking a sweat, a creature that was pissed at him! Summoning Onyx, his personal nightmare steed, he went into a full on gallop.
The Dragon's presence strengthened the already determined kids, "let's get them!" Cupcake's shout was taken up by the others and the battle was on.
Pitches mount, if it had been mortoll instead of sand, would have been frothing at the mouth with how hard pitch was pushing Onyx. But still it made no difference, even when he'd started galloping above the town, to eliminate any need to make turns, the Dragon's speed easily out matched him.
Jack, riding on Icecrose's back, looked below and smiled. Pitch was directly under them and his Army was being destroyed behind him. The slightest touch, even just a brush of contact, made between any black sand- nightmares included- and a kid transformed black and gold. As the gold sand flourished the three guardians regained their strength. Jack was no battle tactician but even he could tell that the nightmares would not survive. That left pitch.
Icecrose swept his tail and shattered the nightmare right from under the bogeyman. The nightmare King tumbled to the ground then scrambled to his feet running full Sprint. The two friends trailed him until he made a wrong turn and found himself at a dead end. Icecrose landed and Jack shouted from atop his back, "give it up pitch! There's no place to hide."
Pitch, panting and terrified, switch tactics from flight to fight. He created a synth and swung it with all he had at the Dragon. But it simply bounced harmlessly off the Dragon scales.
Icecrose swatted pitch and the bogeyman went flying into a brick wall. His scythe vanished and he slid to the ground, where he lay still. Jack watched and waited, expecting pitch to come to and try to fight or run again, but the bogeyman remained motionless. "The careful Jack." Icecrose cautioned as the boy floated to the ground and, staff held out in attack position, made his way to the fallen man.
When he was no more than an arms length away pitch struck. Grabbing Jack staff he whipped it causing the winter spirit to lose his balance and fall, hitting his head. The pain made him lose his grip and pitch ripped the relic away.
"Don't move Dragon!" Pitch held the staff high, posed to break it in the blink of an eye. "Unless you want Jack to feel the pain of his relic being broken twice in one day, I suggest you leave."
Pitch had won, these fools didn't realize that their friends were there greatest weakness. He'd used a tooth fairy to hurt Jack Frost and now he was using Jack Frost to defeat an ice Dragon. Nothing could stop him now! Pitch stood, gloating over his win, when the staff was yanked from his grip. He stared shocked at his empty hand then at the staff, and more importantly the person holding it.
Sandy floated down and helped Jack up, giving him his staff at the same time. And with a flick of the wrist sent pitch into the air then back down with a satisfying thud.
"Sandy!" Jack hugged the little man, who patted him on the back.
Pitch, clutching his pounding head, use the distraction of sandman's return to flee. He uesed black sand to make a staircase then ran towards his lair. He was just crossing the frozen pond when he hit something and fell to the ice. He was then pinned by a large blue-white paw. Looking up pitch saw the big four and Jack Frost climb off the Dragon's back.
"Leaving the party so soon?" North asked.
"He didn't even say goodbye." Tooth tossed something that spun beside his head. A shiny new coin caught pitch's eye.
"A quarter?" When he turned to look back he received a punch to the jaw. Something landed on his tongue and he spit it out to see one of his teeth land beside the coin.
"And that's for my fairies!"
Pitches vision filled with miniature tooth fairies as they scowled at him. Obviously believe was now strong enough for them to escape, he growled: "get out of my face or I'll stuff a pillow with you."
The Dragon pushed, ever so slightly, harder down on him. The fairies moved as the Dragon brought its sharp toothed mall towards pitch. "NEVER!" He said his face inches from pitch's own. "Try to hurt Jack or his friends ever again. Or you'll have to deal with me!"
Pitch gulped as the Dragon removed his paw. That's when a speck of black, behind them, made him smile. "You can't get rid of me." He challenged, getting to his feet." Not forever. There will always be fear!"
"So vhat!" North waved pitch's words away like he was swatting a fly. "As long as one child believes ve vill be zere to fight fear."
"Oh, really? Then what are they doing here?" The nightmares made themselves known. Their nostrils were flaring as they took in the scent of fear.
"Ha, they cannot be my nightmares, I am not afraid." The others all nodded agreement to North statement.
"Looks like it's your fear they smell!" Jack said.
Pitch looked terrified for one second before the black horses surrounded him and dragged him away.
