I seem to be slipping back into my usual two weeks plus for updating. I'm blaming the weather - we're in the middle of a heatwave and it is ridiculously hot, so I don't really feel like doing a lot.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter and remember reviews are much appreciated ^_^

Silence.

Nothing could be heard over than the dull thumping of beating hearts and fluttering wings.

The majority of the inhabitants of the Globe Room were silenced with disbelief. The room was eerily cold and was still enveloped in darkness apart from the streak of silver light that illuminated the figure that had caused the silence. It couldn't be possible. It couldn't. Pitch Black couldn't possibly be standing there. He couldn't. He –

"You really do seem overly surprised by my sudden appearance," Pitch spoke, his voice condescending, a slight pout of disappointment on his lips. "I would have thought that the Man in the Moon would have informed you of my impending arrival."

"Pitch!" Bunnymund's roar of anger shattered the silence as he removed both of his boomerangs from their holsters, flinging one of them at the Bogeyman.

Pitch's yellow eyes lazily watched the approaching weapon and mere seconds before would hit him, he vanished in a cloud of black smoke, his laughter echoing throughout the room.

The five Guardians looked around for any sign of him, guarded, ready for when he made his presence known, though they were still in a state of disbelief. Pitch was no longer believed in or feared. He had been dragged into the abyss by the Nightmares, by his own fears. He couldn't be back. He couldn't. But he was. They didn't understand how it could be possible. His sudden appearance had taken them all by surprise. How could they have not been warned?

Pitch's voice tutted sadly, echoing all around the room, reverberating off of the walls. "Is that any way to treat a fellow Guardian?"

"You're no Guardian, mate," Bunny spat, catching the returning Boomerang. He looked around for any sign Pitch, but he had completely disappeared. The other four Guardians mimicked his movements.

"Alas, no. The mighty Man in the Moon has yet to bestow that honour upon me." Pitch sighed sadly.

"It is not possible," North spoke, "Man in Moon would have told us. You cannot be here, Pitch Black."

"It seems the ever illusive Man in the Moon has failed you for I am indeed back." The Bogeyman sighed once more. "I guess he wanted it to be a surprise. So, surprise."

"There is no way the Man in the Moon would make you a Guardian," Bunny sneered. The thought of the Nightmare King joining their ranks sickened him to his stomach. He would prefer the Groundhog any old day as long as Pitch never joined them.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked, a current of wind keeping him aloft as he hovered next to Tooth. His grip on his staff was tight as he held it across his chest.

"What makes you think I want something?"

"We – I won't let you take those memories, not again, Pitch," Tooth determinedly called out, her body darting around in a quick, tight circle, trying to find where he was hiding. The memory of what happened last time was still fresh in the Tooth Fairy's mind. She could still remember and feel the disappointment and loneliness of the millions of children who had awoken to find that neither she nor her mini fairies had visited which had resulted in them no longer believing in her. A chill fluttered down her spine, rippling through her feathers, at the recollection, of how her palace became lifeless, how she began to fall apart. She couldn't let that happen again. Not ever.

"Oh, Toothiana, I am ever so sorry for that," Pitch apologised, though none of the Guardians felt any sincerity in his voice. He sighed. "While I was trapped, I was able to do some thinking and realised that it hadn't been the best course of action, but I was angry." He let out a hollow laugh. "You know how we do crazy things when we're angry."

Bunny snorted. "Yeah right, mate."

Pitch appeared to ignore him as his voice continued to echo around the room. "And, Sandy – I do hope you don't mind me calling you that – of course I am terribly sorry for momentarily killing you. It is lucky indeed that those children were able to revive you with their beliefs."

Sandy narrowed his eyes in anger, streams of golden sand erupting from his ears, though since he was hidden in the darkness, his fury was not noticed by anyone.

"Your words do not fool us, Pitch Black," North said, his voice raised, uttering his first words since Pitch's sudden appearance.

"Fool you?! I'm not trying to fool you, only offer my deepest, sincere apologises for my previous misdemeanours."

Bunny snorted once more, still not convinced by the Nightmare King's response. "Try pullin' the other one, mate."

With the Easter Bunny and North engaging Pitch in conversation, Jack edged closer to Tooth, feeling the small gusts of wind that her wings emitted against his back. "I don't buy it," he muttered to her, turning around and feeling the small gusts hit his chest. "Something's not right."

Tooth nodded. "I agree." She turned and looked at him, barely able to make him out in the darkness despite their close proximity. "Maybe North or Sandy have figured something out. You should go and check."

Jack's eyes narrowed with confusion. "What about you?"

Tooth was somewhat taken aback by this, though she didn't know why. The tone of his voice, it was a mixture of concern and questioning. "I'll be fine," she told him, her voice low. "But you're using up your energy by staying up like this."

This time it was Jack's turn to be taken aback. He hadn't expected that to be her response. But, she was right; he was using up his energy by forcing the artificial wind to keep him up. How had she noticed? He shook that from his mind; that was for another time. For now, he had to focus on Pitch and what he was up to. With one last glance at Tooth, though he couldn't clearly see her features, he allowed to wind to carry him to the ground, close to North, ice spreading out across the floor as his feet touched the wooden surface. "North?" he whispered, taking careful steps towards the sound of the Russian's voice. "North?"

"Ah, Jack." The winter spirit was surprised at hearing North whisper. He had half expected to hear him bellow his name. "What is wrong?"

Jack raised his eyebrows at that. What was wrong? Seriously? "Pitch," he replied. "What's he doing here?"

North paused momentarily. "I do not know." It was one of the many things troubling him. Why was Pitch here? How did he escape? What was he planning? Why hadn't the Man in the Moon told them he had escaped?

Jack let out a sigh, trying to hide his disappointment. North always seemed to have the answers and this was the first time that he didn't. He knew it wasn't the Russian's fault, but he had just expected a more knowing response. "He must be planning something," he mumbled in response. "Why else would he be here?"

"I agree, but is Pitch. He will not give us correct answers."

The young Guardian nodded in response. "He's playing with us."

North nodded. "But why?"

Jack remained silent. Why was Pitch messing about with them like this? It wasn't his style from what he could tell. He was more of a man of action, getting on with what he had to do, but now he was engaging them in idle conversation. If he were Pitch, the only reason he would do something like this was if he was aiming to divert their attention away from something. His blue eyes rounded. "He's distracting us!"

North inhaled sharply. Of course. It made sense now. "But from what?"

The Guardian of Joy shook his head. "I don't know, but we have to stop him." He paused. "But how can we alert the others without Pitch realising that we know?"

"We cannot."

"What do we do then?"

"We must find where Pitch is lurking. Once we know, we can handle situation."

Jack nodded in agreement. But how were they supposed to accomplish that? The entire room was engulfed in darkness. Pitch could be hiding anywhere. None of them had the ability to make the room light again or to locate his position. He sighed as his hand gripped his staff more tightly. Wait… "North," he whispered, "I've got an idea."

"What is it?"

"If I can cover the room with ice, I might be able to sense him though it," Jack explained. "If I make it cold enough in here as well, then he might give away his position because he wouldn't be expecting it."

North thought it over. While he didn't completely understand the extent of Jack's abilities, it was the only plan they had and he had faith in Jack.

"The only problem is," Jack added hesitantly, "it's going to get cold in here. Very cold. And we can't warn the others." His thoughts drifted to Tooth who was still hovering above them. He just hoped that the cold wouldn't affect her too much.

"Do not worry," North told him and Jack jumped as he felt the Russian's large hand clasp his shoulder. He hadn't realised the two had been standing so close. "We Guardians are stronger then you think. Will not let simple thing like cold affect us."

Jack nodded. "But what about Tooth?" He hadn't meant to voice his concern for her, but the fact that she was in the air troubled him. What if the cold came into contact with her wings and froze them? The image of her tumbling in the air sent a tremor through his body. He resisted the sudden urge to shake his head. Why was he thinking about her again? Why was he more concerned about her wellbeing then the others?

"Do not worry about Tooth." North had felt Jack's body shake and understood his concern for the Tooth Fairy. "She will be fine."

Jack nodded, though not overly convinced by North's words. Nonetheless, he had to believe that Tooth wouldn't allow something like that to happen to her. She must have been in places of extreme cold before, he told himself. She'll know what to do. He swallowed and gripped his staff with both hands, holding it vertically in front of him, the base touching the floor. He closed his eyes, blocking out the voices of Bunnymund, Tooth and Pitch as he focused. Focused on lower the temperature of the room even more while sending out a light coating of ice across the ground, he took himself deep into his soul, stretching out the ice as far as he could. The deeper he delved, the further he was able to send the ice and he soon sensing North a foot in front of him.

He tilted his head to one side slightly, feeling the ice stretch across the floor, soon coming across Sandy who was standing close the Globe while Bunny was on the opposite side of the room, lightly hopping from foot to foot, trying to stay off of the ice for as long as possible. A small smile crossed Jack's lips. Had this been any other situation, he would have turned the Easter Rabbit into an icicle, but not wasn't the time for that and he deeply resisted the urge. There were more pressing matters at hand. He had to find Pitch.

He soon came to the conclusion that Pitch wasn't on the ground with them. The ice had reached the furthest corners of the room and he couldn't sense the Bogeyman. That only meant he was further up, in one of the galleries overlooking the room.

The ice cast a glistening sheen across the walls as it seeped upwards, covering every available surface, though he kept the ice away from the Globe. For some reason, it didn't seem right to cover it.

"Jack, have you found Pitch yet?" North's voice cut through his concentration.

A frown began to cross the winter spirit's face as the ice met in the centre of the ceiling. He hadn't been able to sense Pitch. It didn't make sense. He could still hear his slimy voice in the back of his mind which meant that he was still in the room, conversing with the others, but he had searched every inch of it. His eyes snapped open. "I know where Pitch is."

North's eyes widened with surprise. Of course he hadn't expected Jack to fail, but he was still surprised that he had actually been able to succeed. Jack really must be in tune with his abilities. "Where?"

"The Globe." Even though Jack hadn't covered the golden sphere with ice, since he hadn't detected the Bogeyman anywhere else in the room, the only logical, and last, place for him the hide was within the Globe.

"The Globe?" North turned his focus towards the centre of the room, but with all of the darkness, he couldn't tell whether or not Jack was right. But he had faith in Jack. "Do you have a plan?"

Jack nodded, even though the other Guardian couldn't see it. He had a plan.

#

Bunnymund ground his teeth, his boomerangs tight in his grasp. For the past who-knows-how-long he had been listening to Pitch prattle on about how he had turned over a new leaf, that being stuck with his nightmares had caused him to see the error of his ways, that he had done a lot of thinking and realised that he didn't want to be feared anymore, after all, he didn't want to be the bad guy anymore, he wanted to be liked. Whilst he had been consumed by his nightmares, he had realised how much he actually wanted to be liked rather than feared and that the best – no, the only way – to be believed in. And, in order for him to be believed in, he had to be good. This epiphany had resulted in him being able to escape his prison and seek them out – he admitted that he had lied about becoming a Guardian but hadn't been able to resist the temptation; he was, after all, just a spirit. Bunny had rolled his eyes more times than he could count during his presumptuous speech. Seriously, who did Pitch think he was fooling. None of them were buying his story. None of them.

He didn't get why they were still listening to him. But they were all separated by the darkness, unable to communicate with each other. Plus Pitch had disappeared, hidden himself within the confines of the blackness that covered them and they had no idea where he was.

He gritted his teeth once more. Oh Tooth would be on the brink of pulling out her feathers if she caught him grinding his teeth as much as he was and a smile crossed his face, despite himself. This smile, however, soon evaporated like a drop of rain on a hot day as the room became increasingly cold. What the hell, he thought. It was cold enough already. What was going on?

It was then that he felt it. Ice. He didn't know whether to laugh or frown. Bloody show pony. It appeared that Frosty had come up with a plan. But what? Plunging the room into perpetual winter? He shivered. He hated the cold. He was grateful that it appeared that the newest Guardian wasn't going to prank him, since none of the ice actually touched him. Makes a change, he thought with another shiver. He hoped that Sandy and Tooth were going to be alright with the sudden dip in temperature – he wasn't too worried about North since he knew the other Guardian could withstand the cold.

He turned his attention away from whatever Jack was, focusing, somewhat regretfully, on Pitch's slimy voice. He gritted his teeth together once more. He was still prattling on about his change of heart, repeating what he had already said countless times in an endless flow as neither Sandy nor Tooth had interrupted him. Sandy he understood for obvious reasons, but Tooth, why hadn't she put a stop to his madness? Surely she wasn't buying his idiotic words? How could she, any of them, believe the words coming out of his mouth? No, he told himself firmly, the reason she was talking was because she was listening. That's what she did. She would listen to what others had to say and then voice her opinion.

He shivered, the cold making his fur stand on end. Why does Frosty have to make it so cold? He let the shudder run through his body in an attempt to shake off the cold. What was Jack doing?

His ears twitched as he tuned them back towards the sound of Pitch's voice. Where is the bugger hiding?

"… I can't believe I never realised how enlightening helping children could be," Pitch was saying. "To be believed in instead of feared is fills me with so much pleasure and satisfaction. I can see now why you do these good deeds."

"You've said that already," Tooth pointed out. She had been listening to him repeat the same sentiments over and over and she was bored of it. She knew he was lying through his yellow, rotting teeth but she let him blather on just in case he let something slip, though she knew the chances of that were minuscule. This was Pitch and he always knew exactly what he was doing.

"Ah, of course I have," Pitch quickly replied, not to be thrown off by the sudden interruption. "But this new lease of life bestowed upon me, I can't help but feel excited."

Tooth frowned. He was stalling them, that much was obvious but she didn't know why and due to the darkness she was unable to communicate with any of the others or make out where Pitch was. She didn't know how long it had been since Jack had left her to find North and she had no idea whether or not he had found them, but she knew that regardless, the cold that had engulfed the room was down to him which meant that he had a plan. She had fluttered towards the centre of the room, feeling that it was warmer there, but all she could do was wait.

A bright blazing light of icy blue suddenly illuminated the room. Tooth gasped and turned her head away from the ferocity of the light, darting back. Black spots scattered across her vision and she quickly blinked them away. She looked around and let out another gasp, softer than the one before. The light had dispersed, taking the darkness along with it; the room had returned to its normal temperature. Below she could see her fellow Guardians and the way Jack was holding his staff out in front of him, told her that he was the one responsible for the light. Looking down at them, she realised that they were all looking in the direction of the Globe, following their gaze, she felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of Pitch Black standing on the top of the golden sphere, his yellow eyes gleaming and a frown on his face.

"Oh, it looks like you were finally able to find me," he sneered, the banter gone. "It took you long enough."

"We know you are up to something, Pitch," North said, his loud voice carrying across the room.

A look of mock horror crossed the Bogeyman's face. "Me?" he cried, aghast. "Whatever could you mean?"

"We know you're not here 'cos you've had a change of 'eart," Bunny replied, his eyes fixed on Pitch, his paws flexing in anticipation, ready to throw his boomerangs at a moment's notice.

Pitch looked flabbergasted. "Have you not been listening? I've turned over a new leaf. I'm a changed man."

Bunny snorted loudly while Sandy shook his head.

"How did you escape though?" Tooth asked, still hovering in the air in line with Pitch. "I've been listening and that's the one thing you haven't told us."

"Oh, that. I just realised that I had nothing to be afraid of anymore. I didn't want to bad anymore, since I knew that that was the reason no one believed in me and was what terrified me most, but as soon as I knew how to overcome that fear, by becoming good, I suddenly found that I was free."

Tooth looked down at the others. Pitch's explanation was plausible and made sense, but still, she felt like there was something wrong.

Pitch noticed her look. "What, still don't believe me?"

"No, we don't," Jack spoke up. "You need to prove that what you've said is true."

Pitch let out a scoff. "Haven't I already proven myself? I've apologised to Toothiana and Sandy. Do you think I would have been able to do that if I were still evil?"

"If you were lying, yes," Jack replied.

"Jack is right," North added. "Saying sorry is an easy thing to say, to mean though, that is different."

"You have a lot of sins to repent for, Pitch," Tooth told him. "It's not just me and Sandy that you've hurt."

Pitch folded his arms. "I know that." He sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

There was a silence amongst the Guardians. What was the best way for Pitch to prove himself, or, as they all believed, give himself away?

Sandy suddenly brightened up and pointed his finger upwards as a stream of images quickly materialised and flashed above his golden head. The Guardians exchanged confused looks, unable to understand what Sandy was trying to say. They could make out the image of Pitch, but the rest of it, the clouds, the lightning and a weird looking contraption that was attached to Pitch at one point, made no sense to them. It was times like this that they all wished Sandy could talk, or, at least, make what he was trying to say easier to decipher.

Bunnymund shook his head. "It's no good, mate," he said to the little Sandman. "We don't know what you're tryin' a say."

Sandy huffed, sand steaming out of his ears for a moment as the images disappeared. A frown settled on the Guardian of Dreams' face.

North beckoned the three Guardians to join him and Jack and once they were all together, in a hushed voice, he said, "We need a way to trick Pitch."

"But how? How are supposed to know whether or not he's lying?" Tooth asked, fluttering in-between Sandy and Jack.

"C'mon Tooth," Bunny moaned crossly, "we know he's lying. This is Pitch Black we're talking about. You know, the Bogeyman, the Nightmare King. Of course he's lying. Have you already forgotten what he did to you, to Sandy, to all of us a few months ago?"

The other male Guardians looked at Bunny in surprise. They had never heard him to talk to anyone other than Jack like that.

Tooth looked at him, aghast, her amethyst eyes sparkling with sadness. "Of course I haven't. I just meant how are we supposed to work out what he's planning? Pitch is clever. He'll probably see any plan or trick a mile off," she mumbled, casting her eyes to the ground.

"If Pitch really has turned over a new leaf, which I highly doubt," Jack began, "then maybe we should find out what he wants to be the spirit of, since it can't really be fear anymore."

"And how is that supposed to help us?" Bunny wondered, his arms folded against his chest, clearly not impressed by the proceedings.

From across the room, Pitch watched the five and rolled his eyes. He was ready for whatever it was they were planning.

Listening to the Guardians discuss what Pitch could want to be the spirit of, as well as how to ask him, an excited look crossed Sandy's face and the image of a light bulb appeared over his head. The other Guardians, however, were too engrossed in their conversation that they failed to notice Sandy's excitement over his idea, and, once again, there was no elf in the room for him to make use of. He frowned. Grabbing the Easter Bunny's leather belt, Sandy tugged on it harshly, making Bunnymund bend over.

"Oi, Sandy, what's the big idea?" Bunny cried, spluttering slightly from the sudden jolt while Jack sniggered into the back of his hand, clearly amused by the little Sandman's tactic.

Still frowning, though not as much as before, Sandy let go of Bunny and pointed at the light bulb above his head.

"Sandy, you have an idea!" North cheerfully said. "Why you not say so before?"

The Guardian of Dreams rolled his eyes in exasperation before showing them images of his new plan.

Once Sandy had finished showing them, North nodded, his hand stroking his thick beard. "Yes, I do believe it could work. Good thinking Sandy."

Sandy nodded, beaming happily.

"Right, so we'll distract Pitch while Sandy puts his plan into motion," Jack said, looking around at them.

They all nodded in agreement and turned back to the towering figure still standing on the top of the Globe. The skin of Pitch's face stretched as his thin lips broke into a smile, his crooked teeth visible, along with the gap where the tooth Tooth had punched out of him at Easter should have been.

"You have my attention," he said, looking down at them, as if they were prey. "What is it you want me to do?"

Jack took a step forward. "If you want to give up being the spirit of fear, then you need something to replace it. Tell us what that is."

If possible, the smile stretched even further. "I still want to be the spirit of fear, it's why I was created, it's who I am and you should know all too well that you can't change who you are." He paused, taking in the Guardians' appearances. "Well, not mentally anyway."

This struck something within all of the Guardians. Jack remembered what Tooth had said to him shortly after they had met: 'We were all somebody, Jack'. Of course their physical appearances must have changed when they became spirits, his had, but it had never occurred to him to ask. It was something private after all. But still… what had they looked like before they became spirits?

"I do not understand. If you want to stay as fear, then what is it you want?" North's voice boomed, breaking Jack out of his thoughts. The young Guardian's eyes rested on the elder. Had he always looked like that?

Pitch let out a hollow laugh. "You Guardians…" He shook his head. "I want the fear I cast to be more fun. Rather than use it to scare people by being the Bogeyman who hides in dark corners ready to jump out and scare, I want to be more like… more like… the Pump–"

A stream of golden sand shot from the middle of the group, striking Pitch in the centre of his forehead. The Nightmare King's eyes fluttered, the yellow irises turning to white as his eyes rolled, sleep claiming him. His body fell limp and toppled off of the Globe, landing in a heap on the floor with a dull thud.

Tooth winced as his body impacted against the wood. "Maybe we should have softened the blow," she stated half-heartedly, though she couldn't deny the satisfaction that flooded her body upon seeing the sight of the unconscious spirit.

Bunny shrugged his shoulders, through a delighted smile was on his face. He had been looking forward to a moment like this in so long. "He's a spirit. He'll be fine."

No one disagreed with him. Instead, they stood to one side, allowing Sandy through so he could continue with his plan. The small Guardian walked over to the sleeping spirit and placed a hand on Pitch's head, closing his eyes as he set to work.

"Interesting what he said," Bunny said, breaking the silence that had briefly formed, "about wanting to continue to spread fear despite 'turning over a new leaf'."

North shook his head. "Does not make sense. You cannot be the spirit of fear and be good. It does not work. The two do not go together."

"He's obviously lying then," Jack said, remembering how convincing and manipulative he could be.

"We'll have to wait and see," Tooth replied in a small voice, her eyes watching Sandy as he examined Pitch's dreams. Her eyes narrowed as she watched and a moment later, she flew over to him. "What is it Sandy?"

The Sandman raised his head and looked at her for a moment before slowly shaking his head. He looked back at Pitch and slowly raised his hand away from his forehead, summoning the Bogeyman's dreams as he did so.

By now, the others had joined them and all watched with curiosity as the golden grains of sand formed into the image of Pitch crouching over the bed of a sleeping child. The silhouette placed his hand of the child's head either putting something into the child or draining them of something, they couldn't tell, as the child began to squirm violently. Tooth let out a gasp while the others wore sickening expressions. The dream transformed as the outline of Pitch stood up, a scythe appearing in his hands. The forms of the five Guardians then appeared and Pitch slashed the air with his weapon, grains of sand cascading from it and hitting the sandy forms of his rivals who withered in pain before he swiped his scythe at them once more, their bodies collapsing like broken puppets. The sickening looks on the Guardians' faces increased. They knew Pitch had been lying, but they hadn't expected him to dream about their deaths, something, they realised, was naïve of them.

The image shook, the golden sand being replaced by black. Pitch's eyes shot open and the dream disappeared into thousands of gold and black grains of sand. The now conscious spirit's hand shot out, grabbing Sandy by his throat, his lips curled up in a snarl.

"Do you really think meagre little parlour tricks like that will work on me?"

"Sandy!"

"Let him go Pitch!"

Pitch smiled, allowing his grip to tighten around the small Guardian's throat, watching with pleasure as the Sandman's eyes widened with fear as he suddenly felt an overwhelming dark shadow cross through his body, wincing from the added pressure of Pitch's fingers, before the Nightmare King pushed him away and stood up in once fluid motion. "See, fear is fun." Before any of them had a chance to attack, he disappeared in a puff of black smoke, his laughter filling the air.

Bunny took out one of his boomerangs, holding onto it with a tight grip, his teeth bared, while North rushed over to Sandy, checking that he was alright. "You smarmy piece of –" he snarled. "Get back 'ere and face us!"

"Ooh," Pitch laughed. "Looks like you've got a rabid rabbit on your hands, so eager for a fight. But what about the rest of you? I can see you all cowering with fear at my unexpected awakening." His derisive tone echoed throughout the room.

The five Guardians looked around them once more, trying to find where he was hiding. He was playing a game of cat and mouse with them.

With another puff, he appeared directly in front of Tooth, startling her and she darted backwards away from him. Pitch grabbed her wrist, pulling her back towards him, grabbing her throat while using the hand that had grabbed hold of her wrist to caress her cheek. He could feel her tremble beneath his touch.

Jack felt his blood boil. He was seething. "Let her go Pitch," he snarled, pointing his staff at him.

Pitch ignored him as he stared into the Tooth Fairy's wide, fear-filled eyes. "Interesting," he murmured before pushing her away from him in the same manner as Sandy before disappearing once more.

Jack ran forward, catching her in his cold arms, ignoring the momentary pleasure that shot through his body – now wasn't the time for feelings like that. "Are you alright?" He couldn't see her face but he could feel her shaking in his grasp and knew that it wasn't from the cold.

She shook her head. She had no idea what Pitch had done, or was doing, but she felt somewhat strange, as if a dark presence had delved into her body, into her mind, searching for something.

"To be believed in and feared once more really is a wondrous feeling. I can see why you Guardians crave it so much. The power you have." Pitch appeared behind Bunnymund, grabbing hold of his ears, forcing him to bend back painfully. He let out a cry of pain and twisted awkwardly.

"So obvious…" Pitch's voice scoffed as he disappeared once more. Bunny collapsed to the ground, his boomerang falling from his grasp, groaning.

With another laugh, the Bogeyman appeared next to North who had still been checking on Sandy. With another Guardian so close, Pitch just touched North's shoulder for the briefest of moments, his yellow eyes gleaming with delight, before disappearing once more. North stood up abruptly, a coldness enveloping his body from the Bogeyman's touch. What was Pitch doing?

Jack gripped his staff tightly in his hand. He didn't like this, not one bit. He had no idea what he done to the other Guardians, but he knew from Tooth's shaking and the perplexed, empty expressions of the others, that it wasn't good. He needed to find out where Pitch was, but he couldn't leave Tooth, whom he was still holding on to, though her trembling had abated. "What do you want?"

"Ah, Jack Frost, I'd almost forgotten you were here. Still hanging out with these losers?"

Jack inwardly winced at the emphasis placed on the word 'forgotten'. I'm not alone anymore, he reminded himself. I'm not forgotten. People believe in me. His ears sharpened, continuing to search for when Pitch had hidden himself. "They're my friends."

Pitch scoffed. "Friends? Still living in a childish fantasy, it seems. But they'll hold you back, you know they will. You're more powerful then you know. I told you that last time we met, Jack. Join me and I'll allow you to unleash your true potential."

"Jack, don't listen to him," Tooth's voice whispered from in front him.

A small smile crossed the young Guardian's face. "Don't worry, Tooth. There's no way I'd ever join him," he told her, all of them, reassuringly. There was no shadow of a doubt about it. He would never join Pitch. Never.

Rather than point out how pathetic and tedious the Guardians were, Pitch let out a short, mocking laugh. "I have no use for you anyway, Jack. I already know what it is you fear and I now have more power than any of you. I have no need for children like you."

"What do you mean?" North asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

Pitch let out a snort. "And give away all of my secrets?" He made a tutting sound as he appeared a couple of feet in front of Tooth and Jack, startling the Guardians once more. A smile still stretched across his pointed face. His yellow eyes flickered around the room, resting on each of the Guardians in turn, though they rested on the two before him for a fraction longer, as he tossed a ball of black sand in his pale hand. "This is going to be fun." He threw the ball into the air where it exploded into millions of grains, disappearing into the air, taking Pitch with them.

Another silence filled the room. North helped Sandy and the Bunny to their feet before the trio walked over to Jack and Tooth. The winter spirit had relaxed his grip on her, though she still kept close to him, her heart beating furiously. The five of them stared at the spot in which Pitch had disappeared.

"What," Bunny breathed, "the hell was that?"