A/N: Wow, I really am getting pretty bad with my updates already. I have no excuse this time other then procrastination - once it takes hold there is no letting go.
Anyway, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favourited so far. I hope you continue to enjoy this story as things are going to be taking quite a turn now.
Darkness covered the town of Burgess, signalling the end of another day. The moon glimmered silently in the sky, casting its eerie, silvery light across the sleeping town. The stars above barely twinkling in the cold December night.
Deep below the surface of the earth, the towering figure of Pitch Black sat in a high-back black throne, staring at the dark, dull, lifeless Globe in front of him. A smug smile adorned his face as he strummed his long, bony fingers against the mane of one of his Nightmares, its head lowered as it neighed. The Bogeyman was clearly satisfied. More than satisfied in fact. His appearance at the North Pole had been more than a success. Not only had he succeeded in shocking those idiotic Guardians with his sudden appearance, the looks on their faces as he revealed that he had escaped the prison they forced him into had been priceless, but he had also been able to put the second part of his plan into motion. The fact that the next stage of his plan was underway caused a wave of glee to wash through him. Oh, he couldn't wait until everything was in full swing.
His smile widened as he continued to absentmindedly pat the sandy mane of the Nightmare. He had definitely accomplished more than what he had set out to do. He had also managed to throw them into a wave of doubt about the all-powerful Man in the Moon, due to the fact that that high and mighty being hadn't informed them of his return. It was something he had actually been surprised about considering that the Man in the Moon was usually quick on the uptake, but not this time and it deeply amused him that rather than deter his plan, it fuelled it. He let out a snort. The Man in the Moon was nothing but a silent watcher, doing nothing as the world crumbles around him. Those Guardians were pure idiots to still follow the orders of someone who did nothing to help them.
A hollow laugh escaped his lips, the sound echoing around the deserted, cavernous room, as it had done back at the North Pole. The Man in the Moon really was such a complete and utter idiot. Because of him, the Guardians had been unprepared, allowing to him to do what he had done and put in plans into motion a lot quicker than he had originally intended. Not that it mattered. It just meant that those five blundering fools had no idea what was awaiting them. He raised his hand, studying it as he remembered what he had felt when he had touched each of them. His yellow eyes gleamed. Oh, he really couldn't wait. The Guardians really had no idea what he was about to put them through.
He lowered his hand and ceased his administrations on the Nightmare's mane as he stood up. The Nightmare whinnied and shook its head from side to side.
Pitch's footsteps echoed as he slowly walked closer to the Globe, his eyes fixed on it. Yes, the Guardians really had no idea what he was about to do to them, but first he needed a guinea pig with which to test his plan and, his eyes narrowed slightly as they continued to gleam and a thin smile crossed his face. He had the perfect candidate in mind.
#
The North Pole was a bustle of activity. The yetis continued to work tirelessly on the toys while the elves ran in between their legs, creating mischief as they went, distracting the yetis. Everywhere was busy except in the Globe room, where everything had come to a standstill.
It had been several hours since Pitch's disappearance and North had sunk into an oversized armchair near one of the fires, his head in his hands. A few times a yeti or an elf had come in to check on him, the Guardian of Wonder had quickly sent them away, telling them to focus on getting the toys and gifts ready. Bunny stood leaning against the mantelpiece near his fellow Guardian, an uncertain look on his face while Jack stood alone on the opposite side of the room, trying to keep as far away from the fires as he could. Carefully, he watched the two Guardians, though his mind kept focusing on Tooth who had rushed back to her palace a couple of minutes after Pitch's departure, citing that she needed to check on her fairies. She had seemed so unsettled and lost that Jack had wanted to go after her but Sandy had stopped him, telling him that she needed some space but that he would check on her as he too left the Pole. North had allowed them to leave, in fact, Jack wondered if he had even noticed that they had actually left. Whatever Pitch had done to them had left them all in a disorientated state and Jack didn't know what to do.
"I do not understand," North spoke, shaking his head which he still held between his hands, his gaze cast at the wooden floor.
Bunny turned, his eyes focused on the lead Guardian. His nose twitched. "Pitch is back, mate," he replied and Jack noted that his voice sounded hollow. "What else is there to understand?"
"How can he be back? Why did Man in Moon not warn us?" North sounded just as empty as Bunny and Jack didn't like it. It just wasn't right.
Pushing himself away from the wall, the youngest Guardian spoke up, "What does it matter why? What's important is that we beat him again. We did it once, we can do it again." His voice came out eager, hoping to inspire the two into wanting to defeat Pitch once more. He was, however, disappointed with the reaction he received as neither North nor Bunny appeared to share his determination.
"How? Did you not notice Jack? He is a lot more powerful than before." Bunnymund shook his head, keeping his gaze diverted, folding his arms across his chest.
Jack frowned. This wasn't right. There was definitely something wrong. "Of course I noticed, but come on! What is the matter with you guys?" He looked at Bunny. "You're the Guardian of Hope but you're acting like you don't have any." He shook his head, taking a step forward, ice spreading out across the floor from his footstep. "We're Guardians. We put Pitch away once and we can do it again."
North lifted his head, his eyes fixed on the winter spirit. "It is not that simple, Jack," he said. "Pitch Black has returned for a reason and it cannot be good for not even Man in Moon was able to forewarn us."
Jack let out an exasperated groan. Had Pitch's return really affected them that much? But no, it couldn't have. They were fighters, warriors, something like this possibly couldn't have had this sort of impact on them. No, there had to be something else. His blue eyes blazed. When Pitch had touched them he must have done something to them, something to knock their confidence and faith, that's why he wasn't in the same slump as them – Pitch hadn't touched him. He needed a way to snap them out of it, but how? "What is the matter with you guys?!" he suddenly snapped, a sharp, cold gust of wind suddenly blowing across the room.
Both North and Bunny turned to Jack, surprised by his abrupt outburst. Bunny shivered. "Oi, what's with the cold wind, Frosty?"
"You guys, seriously, since Pitch left you guys haven't been right." Jack felt somewhat relieved to see that he had regained the pair's attention. "None of you have."
North looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? You guys are Guardians, warriors, protectors, yet you're acting as if Pitch has already won!"
"But what else can we do? He is obviously a lot more powerful than before," North replied. "You are still young, Jack Frost, you think it is easy, but it is not. If Man in Moon did not foresee Pitch's return then how are we supposed to fight someone so powerful?"
Jack stared, aghast. Was he hearing right? Why did it sound like they had already given in? He shook his head. "This isn't you. How can you give in so easily? Yeah, from the looks of it Pitch is stronger, but that doesn't mean we're helpless. We're still Guardians and we have to fight to protect everyone from him."
"Are you not listening, Frosty? We can't fight him. It's hopeless." Bunny pushed himself away from the fireplace.
"Hopeless? How can it be hopeless? You're the Guardian of Hope!" Jack was stunned, he really couldn't comprehend what he was seeing and hearing. He decided to try and different approach. "Pitch has done something to you guys – when he touched you. That's why you're acting like this," he implored, desperately hoping that his words would sink in. "Pitch lives off fear, so whatever he did has escalated the fear you have inside yourselves. You're afraid that because Pitch is back there isn't anything we can do, but there is. You just have to believe in yourselves again. We beat him once, we can do it again. You just need to snap out of it!" Jack took a breath. He felt like he hadn't talk so much in a very long time and his throat suddenly felt very dry. He swallowed heavily.
"But Man in Moon did not –" North began.
Jack let out a frustrated groan, slamming his staff against the floor with an ear-piercing crack. Frost rapidly spread from the impact across the wood. Both North and Bunny jumped at the sound, surprised by the young Guardian's sudden outburst.
"Jack," North began, his eyes round, not with wonder, but with shock.
The winter spirit shook his head. He had had enough. If they weren't going to listen, then he would try someone who would. Without uttering a single word to his fellow Guardians, his anger welling up so much that he had to bite his tongue, he strolled across the room towards the open window. Summoning the wind, he allowed it to lift him up and carry him out of the North Pole, leaving behind two disheartened and shocked Guardians.
#
As he soared across the sky, Jack held out his free hand, feeling the cooling north wind between his fingers. Usually it was a method he used to help calm and relax him, but it didn't work this time. He couldn't fathom what had happened. Had Pitch really been able to affect them that much? He knew that whatever was wrong was Pitch's doing. It was the only thing that made sense – everyone except for him had been touched by the Bogeyman and all of them were showing signs of being lost and sullen apart from him. His other hand gripped the staff tightly, his knuckles straining against the skin.
He had no idea where he was going. Tooth and Sandy were a lot more level-headed than North or Bunny, so he hoped that they would be easier to bring back to normal, but he didn't know where either of them were. Tooth, he assumed, was probably at the Tooth Palace but he wasn't sure and as for Sandy, well, he had no idea where the little Sandman would be. He also didn't know who he wanted to talk to. He thought it might be easier to get through to Sandy, but he really wanted to see Tooth and make sure that she was alright. He could still remember how she had trembled when he had caught her – along with the smoothness of her feathers and he found that he missed that feeling, but he pushed those thought to the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time for things like that.
He knew that the wind would be able to carry him to either of them, but he couldn't decide who to go to first. He thought it would be better to try and see them individually. Something told him that part of the reason why it had been difficult getting through to North and Bunny was because he was dealing with the two of them and that their fears were bouncing off of each other, making them harder to disperse. Maybe seeing either Tooth or Sandy alone would make it easier for him? He sighed, his fingers flexing against the current.
The sky around him was lightening, a golden-blue hue with tinges of soft pink spreading all around him signalling the arrival of day. His eyebrows knitted together. Wherever the wind was taking him was obviously day. Wait… a thought hit him. The continent of Asia… it would be day there… and that's where Tooth lived. He inwardly kicked himself. Mentally he had been hoping to come across Sandy but it appeared that the wind had picked up on his subconscious emotions and had decided to take him to Tooth instead.
He swallowed, hard. He had no idea what was going on with his emotions when it came to her lately. Increasingly he had found himself longing for her company, taking quick peaks at her when no one was watching, thinking about her more and more, fixating on the smoothness of her feathers beneath his fingertips. He shook his head fiercely. He was doing it again. No wonder the wind had taken him to her; it was probably fed up on him thinking about her constantly.
He swallowed once more upon seeing the mighty Tooth Palace emerge from between the pink and gold tinted clouds and mentally cursed the wind from having brought him there. But, of course, he wanted to see her regardless of what else was going on – another thing he found himself increasingly doing. Maybe he should ask North or Sandy what it all meant once this thing with Pitch was over. There was no point asking the Easter Kangaroo and to talk to Tooth about it, well, that was just plain embarrassing. At least North and Sandy would listen and, hopefully, offer advice and tell him what it all meant.
A smile crossed his face as he etched closer to the palace, the sounds of countless of flapping wings and squeaks of voices resonating from within. Despite their eccentricities and fainting whenever he was around, Jack couldn't help but have a soft spot for Tooth's fairies. They were friendly, sweet and helpful just like Tooth. Jack shook his head. Of course they're like Tooth. They're a part of her, he reminded himself before he could get carried away again with thoughts of the Tooth Fairy.
As he approached the palace, a mini fairy appeared in front of him. Probably on its way to collect a tooth, Jack thought. However, as soon as the little fairy saw the winter spirit, it gave a startled squeak, its eyes widening as it hovered, unmoving, in the air before it shook its head and darted back towards the palace, a dreamy smile now on its face. Jack let out a sigh, though he couldn't stop the small smile from forming. It looked like his presence wasn't going to go unnoticed by them then.
Landing on one of the large balconies that adorned the outside of the palace, the bustle inside increased and moments later, there was a deafening sound of beating wings and squeaks as a swarm of blue-green suddenly emerged, engulfing Jack as the mini fairies tried to get close to him. Jack staggered back a couple of paces from the sheer ferocity but let out a laugh. He couldn't help it. The fairies were just having some fun and since he was the Guardian of Fun, how could he devoid them of it?
The fairies were careful as they snuggled close to Jack, making sure not to prick him with their needle-like beaks, though they weren't always successful and would quickly squeak out apologies, forgetting that he couldn't understand them (or hear them for that matter over all the noise). They did, however, push each other out of the way in order to get close to young Guardian, trying hard not to let his coldness affect them.
"What is going on out here?!"
Despite all of the noise, Tooth's voice carried clearly across it all and Jack gulped as he realised he had distracted the fairies – again.
While Jack had clearly heard her, it appeared that her fairies hadn't, or they were choosing to ignore her in their desperation to see him, which meant that he was going to be in trouble. He swallowed again and tried to gently push the fairies off of him, but his attempts were futile as it made them even more excited. Yep, he was defiantly going to be in trouble.
Tooth stared at the bizarre scene before her, a frown on her face. She knew that Jack was in the middle of the mass of fairies and while she knew how excited they got whenever he visited, she had never seen them act like this before. It was partly the reason why she didn't want Jack to visit all the time; the fairies had a job to do but every time he came around, they would automatically forget and act like school children experiencing their first crush. This thought made Tooth blush slightly despite herself, since she knew they were only acting out her unspoken emotions towards him, though she hoped that she, herself, would never act like that towards him since she found their antics quite annoying sometimes – like now.
"Girls!" She clapped her petite hands together, sharply and loudly in an attempt to alert them to her presence, as her feathers ruffled. She was not impressed. Her voice, however, was once more lost amongst the sea of beating wings and squeaking.
"Uh, fairies," Jack began, attempting to help Tooth, hoping that if the fairies weren't listening to her, then they might listen to him, "I think you need to go back to work now."
The mini fairies continued in the attempts to be close to the winter spirit, pushing each other out of the way with adamant squeaks. Some were shivering from the cold but refused to move while others flew close to his face, hoping to see his clear blue eyes or sparkling white teeth.
Jack involuntarily winced from the close contact and knowing that they were becoming a burden to each other, he tried to remind them of their job once more, only this time he used a different tactic. The air grew increasingly colder and all of the fairies began to shiver. "Hey, you've got a job to do remember," he reminded them. "Those teeth aren't going to collect themselves and I don't think Tooth is going to be too happy."
In unison, all of the fairies gasped and flocked away from him, turning to see the disapproving form of Tooth, as the cold air automatically disappeared. Instantly the squeaking started up as they apologised to the Tooth Fairy, but she shook her head sadly and all of the fairies deflated knowing they had upset her.
"You're going to have to work twice as hard now," she said, her voice emotionless. She wasn't angry with them since she knew that they couldn't help but themselves, but she was disappointed. They had an important job and it seemed that they had just forgotten about it the second Jack had arrived. They were supposed to know better. Actually, that was a lie. She was angry, just not at them. She was angry at herself because she knew that it was because of her that her fairies acted as they did, but she had so little control of her feelings when it came down to the winter spirit standing before her.
Knowing that she was not only upset but right, the miniature fairies quickly departed, some out into the world while others retreated back into the palace to their respective jobs. Tooth let out a heavy sigh as she watched them leave.
Jack shuffled his feet nervously against the gold patterned floor, a light covering of ice spreading across it absentmindedly. He could tell that she wasn't happy. It was obvious and it was all because of him. "Tooth," he began, not looking up at her, "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," she replied with another sigh, only this time it was softer than before. Her feathers smoothed themselves out.
Jack looked at her, surprised. He had distracted her fairies – again. How could she not blame him?
"You can't help how they act when you're around," she continued, clasping her hands together. "They should know better." She gave him a small smile, one, he noted, that didn't meet her eyes making him wonder if she was still affected by whatever Pitch had done, reminding him of why he was there in the first place. She flew closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, something that was becoming an increasing habit for her. "What are you doing here?"
"I, uh, came to see you," he replied, still overcoming the fact that she wasn't angry at him.
She tilted her head to one side. "Why?"
"I, uh…" Seriously, why was he stammering? He swallowed, feeling her eyes on him. "I, uh, just wanted to make sure you were alright." What was the matter with him? It was just Tooth, Tooth with her amethyst eyes watching him, her petite gentle hand on his shoulder, her close proximity. He closed his eyes tightly for the briefest of moments. Snap out of it, Jack, he chastised himself.
Tooth, however, appeared oblivious to his inner turmoil. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Her voice snapped him back to reality. "That stuff with Pitch. You were a bit out of it after he touched you. I wanted to make sure you were alright."
Her eyes widened and she took an intake of breath. He had come to make sure she was alright. He had been worried about her?
Jack noticed her expression and hastily added, "Bunny and North were acting really weird, like they had given up and they wouldn't listen when I said about fighting Pitch, so I thought I'd come a check that you and Sandy were alright as well." The words came out quick and fast, a torrent of unstoppable vocabulary.
"Oh." She felt herself deflated slightly. He had only come out of duty. Her head suddenly felt woozy, her vision swaying and she closed her eyes in an attempt to keep it at bay. Of course that was the only reason for him to come and see her, nothing more.
Jack realised his mistake, that his words had made it seem that he hadn't been worried about her. "I didn't mean it like that," he quickly said. "It's just right after Pitch touched you and I had hold of you, you were shaking and you then left so quickly that I wanted to make sure you were alright." He inwardly groaned. Now it seemed like he was being overprotective. He tried again. "What I mean is…"
Tooth opened her eyes, glad that her wooziness had abated, and shook her head. "It's alright," she said softly, knowing what he meant, that he had come out of concern as a fellow Guardian. "I understand."
Jack paused, his mouth open as he gaped at her. He quickly shut his mouth and swallowed. "Are you alright?" He hoped so seeing as she didn't seem as down and depressed as North and Bunny. Maybe he was right in thinking that whatever it was that Pitch had done had been amplified because the two of them had been together.
She nodded, her fingers grasping his shoulder. "I'm fine." It was another lie. Ever since Pitch had touched her, she hadn't felt right, but Jack didn't need to worry about that.
Jack nodded dumbly, his mind distracted by her warm fingers which sent a strange yet oddly satisfying tingling feeling throughout his body. "I, uh, I should go then." Again with the stumbling. "I'd, uh, better check on Sandy, yeah." He didn't want to leave but his mind didn't appear to be focusing properly and his mouth was speaking without any direction.
"Oh." Tooth was crestfallen at this. She had hoped that Jack would stay a bit longer, but then that would be selfish of her. She still had her job to do and of course he needed to check on Sandy. She couldn't ask him to stay longer.
Jack noticed the disappointed look on her face. He knew he had to check on Sandy, but he didn't want to leave the Tooth Fairy before him. She still looked lost and maybe, just maybe, he could actually find out what it was that Pitch had done to them. He didn't feel like trying to decipher Sandy's symbols but he could clearly understand Tooth's words most of the time. He would be killing two birds with one stone – metaphorically of course – since he could find out what Pitch had done whilst also keeping an eye on Tooth. He cleared his throat. "Maybe I could stick around for a little bit longer," he suggested. "You know, help out a little bit seeing as I distracted your fairies."
Tooth's fingers clenched his shoulder once more as a small smile crossed her face. "Okay," she said. She removed her hand from his shoulder, instantly missing the cooling sensation and fluttered away from him, heading back inside the palace.
Jack paused for a moment and placed his hand against the shoulder she had grasped. He too missed the warmth of her hand there. He shook his head, ridding himself of those thoughts and followed her inside, a small smile forming as he realised that he was able to spend a little bit longer in her company.
#
The Bennett household was quiet. The vast majority of the house was engulfed in darkness as the two children slept soundly in their rooms.
In the dimly-lit front room, Mrs Bennett sat watching the television, the volume low so as not to disturb her sleeping children. A warm cup of cocoa was between her hands and a blanket thrown over her shoulders. Her gaze was fixed on the television while one ear listened out for any sounds from her children, particularly Sophie was continued to have bad dreams. She was oblivious to the dark shadow that crept over her shoulder for the tiniest of moments, though she felt a sudden coldness within the room and wrapped the blanket around her tighter, blaming the December weather.
The black shadow withdrew from the woman and slid like a snake across the carpet towards the stairs of the house. It quickly slid up them and emerged in the dark hallway, entering the first room it came to, sliding under the closed door. Once in the room, the shadow paused and brought itself together in the centre of the carpet before jerking upwards and forming a towering black figure.
Yellow eyes glowed in the darkness as the figure approached the bed where a young boy with an unruly tuft of brown hair was sleeping. With a wave of his hand across the boy's head, golden sand emerged, forming into a group of children having a snowball fight. The figure rolled his eyes and let out a snort. With another flick of his hand, the golden figures turned to black before disappearing, draining away like water, leaving the figure of the boy all alone. The dream-boy began to cry while his human counterpart began to squirm and sob in his sleep. The figure smiled as he forced his way into the nightmare he was creating for the youngster, creating a smaller version of his own being. The child gasped upon seeing the figure in his dream and tried to run away but the figure grabbed hold of him with one hand, holding him tightly in his grip.
Jamie began to squirm uncontrollably, thrashing about in his bed as whimpers were torn from his throat.
The figure smiled. Oh how he loved to see this sort of reaction when he tormented others. It gave him so much pleasure.
The towering person in the dream continued to hold the struggling Jamie as a long knife appeared in his free hand. With one swift, precise movement, the knife was shoved deep into Jamie's stomach, making him arch forward.
The towering form's smile widened.
Jamie's eyes shot open as a loud, strangled gasp escaped his lips.
The figure grabbed hold of Jamie's throat, the child's eyes rolling, forcing him into the pillow and with a puff, the boy vanished, the blankets falling limply onto the bed.
Pitch Black smiled widely. He turned his head towards the door, knowing that in the other bedroom lay another sleeping child.