NO MORE FINALS! AHHHHH Which means more updates for all of you! Let us all thank the wonderful thing called Winter Break and celebrate Christmas in peace! I hope you enjoy this chapter; it introduces Pitch, who is extremely fun to write because I get to be violent haha. Poor Ellie, everything bad happens to her. Also, the song of the chapter is pretty dark and violent – much like Pitch. I like to think the song is from the perspective of fear. So you've been warned

Disclaimer: I do not own anything besides my own characters, everything else belongs to DreamWorks

Song of the Chapter: Climbing Up the Walls – Radiohead

Chapter Six: How to Watch the World Burn

Ellie had lain in her bed for an hour after her five minutes, staring at the wall, hoping it would give her the answers of how to move on. But the wall remained silent; the only sound in the room her heavy breathing. As the minutes ticked by, Ellie became restless. She was growing weary of the room and the feeling of going nowhere; stuck in her own misery. A bit of fresh air would be highly beneficial and her legs were becoming stiff. She needed to stretch. As she pulled herself off the bed, Ellie peered into the mirror hung on the opposite wall. She resembled something of a sad tiger; her red hair having found no peace in bed and her mascara running tracks down her face. She attempted to regain control of her appearance, but her curls were a lost cause, looking something similar to a birds nest. Finally she settled on pulling it up into a bun, before giving a quick wipe at the rogue makeup on her checks and under her eyes. She had little ambition to appear decent, so this would suffice.

She hoped to make it to the kitchen unnoticed. Her stomach was speaking in terrible gurgles, ranting at the abuse of not being fed since breakfast. If she could only slip in, grab some bread and cheese, maybe some ham for protein, that would be enough until dinner. Ellie walked cautiously down the hall, not wanting a confrontation with anyone. She considered herself lucky to be unmet the entire way to the kitchen and slipped in under the chaos of the many singing elves labouring over cookies. They were currently doing a rather spectacular cover of 'Don't Chat' by The Pussy Cat Dolls, dance moves included. Ellie bent low as she made her way over to the pantry, pulling out her desired bread and cheese. The fridge only a few feet away, Ellie managed to snatch her ham undetected, completing the meal much to her stomach's satisfaction.

As she exited the kitchen, Ellie began feeling calmer, knowing her stomach would soon be filled. She set off along the intricate hallways, making her way quickly to one of her favourite spots in the North Pole. She entered a room that had long ago been abandoned and had become her personal project to renew. It was a decent sized room, with a magnificent fireplace on the left wall. Old, royalty-like furniture had been pushed back against the walls, each piece collecting a significant amount dust from the lack of use. Beautiful French doors lined the far wall, exposing a stone balcony that looked over the North Pole. There was a feeling of long forgotten romance here; as if the room had been built with a dreamy, poetic vision in mind. She has asked Uncle Nick what the room had been used for and why it was abandoned. His answer had been a vague, "We made it as visiting room for guests. But we never have guests. Completely useless." and with that the room had become her sanctuary. No one ever interrupted her. She was completely free to clean away the dust and dirt, and think about wherever her mind roamed.

She sat down on a blanket she had stashed here a couple days ago and prepared herself a solo picnic. The cheese and bread tasted like edible gold to her deprived mouth. She wished she had brought something to drink though, for her throat was dry from her earlier weeping secession. As she chewed her food, she let her mind wander to the morning, before things had become so serious. She had enjoyed that part of the day at least. Jack had pleasantly surprised her. He kept her in good company, however enlarged his ego may be. And he seemed so concerned after the training session. Maybe a friend in a place full of Yetis and elves wouldn't be so bad.

Ellie swallowed the last of her food, feeling satisfied and remarkably better. She pondered for a minute whether to return to the others and be social, but her heart wasn't fully in it yet. Instead she made her way over to a corner where she had stashed some cleaning supplies, all in the name of renewing her precious room. Ellie grabbed a broom stuffed behind an old mop and began sweeping the floor rhythmically, enjoying the mind numbing activity. She had always done this as a child. Cleaning gave her purpose and a distraction when things got tough. As she continued to sweep, Ellie felt her mind rest easier and had almost swept half the room when a loud male cry resounded from the lower levels.

Ellie dropped her broom on the floor in surprise and booked it from the room with lightening speed. She hardly processed the chaos and cries in the hallway from elves and yetis as she made her way to the main Workshop area where she figured Santa would be. As she entered the globe room her senses blazed with fear as she halted before Santa, Bunnymund and Jack. Tooth was nowhere to be found. All three men wore equally fearful looks as they stared out of one main windows, looking south towards what Ellie could not see.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Ellie heaved out between breaths, panting from her sprint.

"Something is wrong at Tooth's palace," Santa grumbled, angry that anything was threatening one of the Guardians. "We must move. Everyone to the sleigh."

"I'm coming with you," Ellie said defiantly, moving in step with the others.

"Oh no," Bunnymund said as he held out a paw, stopping Ellie from progressing. "This doesn't concern you."

Ellie turned to Santa with pleading eyes. "But I can't just stay here. I should do something!"

The man in red considered her words for a moment. "Very well. I need someone to look after North Pole while I'm gone. You in charge." Without giving her a chance to protest, the big man turned on his heel and led the way out. Bunnymund followed, shaking his head and muttering something about how unreasonable mortals could be.

Jack stood back for a second, giving Ellie a sad smile. "He's right you know. You wouldn't be able to protect yourself out there. We need you here, safe."

Ellie stared at Jack as if he had betrayed her. "Aren't you the God of Mischief or something? Isn't this what you live for? Doing dangerous things? I can help! I just need you to get me on that sleigh."

Twirling his staff awkwardly in his hands, Jack considered her plea but the hesitation on his face was all too readable. "Look Ellie, there are something's you're just going to have to let others do without you. It's not safe, alright? Santa was charged with your protection. So let him protect you."

"But you can't all just leave me here," Ellie begged.

But Jack's decision was final. He ran a hand through his messy hair, seeming uneasy at the tone in Ellie's voice. "We'll be back as soon as we can," he mumbled, and with that he was gone.

Ellie stood in the Workshop alone and abandoned. What a familiar feeling. She was sorely tempted to throttle the next elf who ran past her singing anything and in her anger, found her feet carrying her towards the training arena. She sprinted down the long corridor and slammed the doors open so violently, they nearly ripped from their hinges. She scanned the room quickly, taking in the inventory until her eyes landed on the desired object. The bow and arrow had been moved to a table along one of the walls after she had dropped it on the floor earlier in the day. It hummed as soon as she made contact with it, but instead of shying away from it, Ellie embraced the connection and retreated back to the main workshop area.

The Workshop had calmed down significantly since Santa's departure, giving Ellie time to think. She was in charge and she would use that to her advantage. Trying to ignore the cold feeling in her heart at being left behind, Ellie started ordering the place, taking command without appearing weak. "Alright, I want everybody's attention!" she yelled above the sound of the workers. "Tooth's palace is under attack, which means the North Pole could be the next target." As soon as the words left her mouth, Ellie regretted them. Yetis cried out as elves began to run around in a frenzy. It took Ellie three loud whistles with her fingers to calm the crowd down. "Hey, listen up. We can't afford to lose control, alright? We need a plan!" Ellie wasn't sure if she was being completely rational by organizing all the inhabitants of the North Pole for battle. She hadn't even a clue if she was doing it properly. All her knowledge of battle strategy came from movies, but it was all she had. And she would be damned if the North Pole was attacked under her watch and they weren't prepared.

She spent the next ten minutes ordering yetis to gather weapons and spread them out. Each yeti was grouped into fours or fives and stationed at different entrances. The remaining yetis were positioned in the main room with Ellie, who had slung her bow over her shoulder, along with the quiver. She fingered the bottom of the weapon nervously as she watched the chaos slowly turn into organized battle strategy. The elves had been ordered to retreat down to the training arena, where they would be kept safe and away from battle if it came to that.

Ellie stood silent and still as did the yetis, either waiting for Santa to return or something to attack. A long hour passed and still nothing disturbed the quiet. Ellie was beginning to think she had acted rather irrationally, organizing the North Pole like a military when a shadow caught her eye. She turned around violently, reaching for her bow and knocking it with lightening speed.

"Oh, how cute. They leave a girl behind to defend the premises. The old man must be getting cheap," a raspy voice called out. But Ellie couldn't pin the source. The voice seemed to be moving at incredible distances; one moment coming from her right, the next at the back of the grand room. "And look, they even gave her a weapon!" the voice chided with a pure condescending tone. "How terribly frightening."

"Show yourself," Ellie yelled out feeling rather blind. The yetis around her looked equally frightened; all gripping their weapons tighter.

A tall, slim figure stepped out from the shadows of a nearby corner. His long face was washed out and sinister, his sharp teeth catching the light. He appeared rather bored though, as if Ellie was just an annoying bug to be squashed under his foot. The man leaned casually against the table, inspecting his nails like he had nothing better to occupy his time with. "You know, I would have thought they'd have left the Pole under better protection. I mean a little girl? They must be crazier than I thought," the man spat out, laughing as if it was the best joke he had heard in a long time. Ellie locked her arrow on the man, her fingers shaking slightly under the prospect of letting it loose into a someone's skull.

"You're Pitch," Ellie breathed, become more alarmed by the second at this realization.

The man performed a tiny bow."At your service," he grinned. Pitch began to move around the room with ease. He picked up toys and inspected them while he walked, hardly making eye contact with Ellie. "This place has been inaccessible to me for a long time. Completely out of my reach," he hissed as he crushed a small toy car in his hand. "And now I'm finally here," Pitch said gesturing to the grand room. "I've had to suffer for a very long time in the shadows, watching the children of the world be filled with joy and wonder. Always the Guardians, right by their side to protect them. Do you have any idea what it's like to watch helplessly as everything you stand for gets destroyed?"

"Destroyed? Thank god for that. You only harm and hurt the innocent. You should have been destroyed a long time ago," Ellie spat out with as much courage as she could muster, her eyes never leaving her target.

Pitch stopped where he was and turned his full attention on Ellie. "But what is a world without fear? Fear is raw and beautiful. It drives people insane and makes them do the unthinkable. It is truly the world's most powerful emotion. You would know about that, wouldn't you, Ellie Harland."

A wave of shock ran through her body at hearing her name. Sweat was beginning to collect on her forehead as she told her hands to steady. "How do you know my name?" Her words were weak and shaky.

Pitch began to walk toward Ellie. He dragged a long nail over the toys as he passed, leaving scratch marks behind like tokens of his presence. "How could I not? I can feel the fear burning inside of you. It's so strong and raw, and easily accessible," he said, disturbing Ellie with his calm headedness regarding such a terrible topic. "You fear being left alone. Everyone you ever loved or cared about has either abandoned or hurt you and now poor little Ellie doesn't know how to trust. Better to push them away then get too close and have them leave you, right?"

Ellie sucked in a weak breath, the words hitting to close to home. "Get out," she ordered so quietly it was almost a whisper.

Pitch held a long hand to his ear, mocking her. "I'm sorry, did you say something? It sounded a little like desperation. We're not feeling scared, are we?" He was taunting her, and Ellie was incredibly tempted to give in. Her emotions were running high with anxiety and she was beginning to panic. Where were Santa and everyone else? Surely they would return soon and help her deal with Pitch. "Oh don't worry about you're dear old, jolly man and his little Guardians. I've done enough to keep them busy for a while," he sneered as if reading her mind.

Ellie counted to ten in her head before responding. "I don't want any trouble. Just leave now."

Pitch grinned, enjoying the discomfort radiating of Ellie. "Your fear is truly delectable my dear. Why would I want to ruin tha-" but before he could finish, Ellie's finger slipped from exhaustion and panic, sending the arrow straight for him. The arrow would have landed squarely in his chest had he not vanished only seconds before. Ellie cried out in frustration, not sure if she was relieved for missing a man's heart or torn about not hitting him at all. "So this is how it's going to be. A little excitement then! Can't argue with that. Now it's my hand."

Before Ellie could gather what he was referring to, a tall dark stallion emerged from the shadows, advancing toward her. It seemed to move with an eerie grace, its gold eyes trained directly on her. An overwhelming sense of panic took over Ellie's body as the horse stomped its hooves, preparing to charge. Knocking another arrow, Ellie let it lose, but it only seemed to melt into the horse's coat, being absorbed. Thoroughly panicked, Ellie knocked another one, retreating as fast as her legs would carry her backwards, but the horse was on her fast. It turned sharply on the last second, giving Ellie a strong kick in the ribs. The force of the blow knocked her backwards so hard, her head smashed painfully with the ground.

"Nothing says fear like physical pain," Pitch said coolly from somewhere in the room, but his location was lost to Ellie as she scrambled to her knees, coughing violently. A sharp ache was throbbing in her ribcage and her movements felt laborious. The horse had reared on its spot, neighing dangerously as it charged Ellie again. This time it shoved Ellie from the side with its long nose, throwing her violently into a work table and knocking it over. She moaned in pain, finding any reason to force herself up not worthwhile. "This Ellie, this fear, it is what makes the world tick. It starts wars and brings power to those who conquer. Only by breaking down someone's spirit can you truly control and manipulate them." His voice sounded close and when Ellie focused her eyes, the dark figure was only meters away from her. "I do hope you've learned something from this Ellie. Maybe as you watch the world burn, you'll understand why."

Without another word, Pitch and his horse vanished into the shadows leaving Ellie alone and broken on the floor.

XXXXX

What a violent chapter! Poor Ellie, everything bad seems to happen to her. Any who, now that I finished finals (YAAAYYY) I hope to be writing more often. Once the stories finished, I'll probably go back and edit. I'm too lazy to do it now. But just remember, reviews make the updates come the fastest.

SO I propose a challenge! Everyone who has followed or favourited should write ONE review at least. That will bump the story into over 100 reviews! So accept the challenge! It's not too hard and would make one specific writer EXTREMELY happy!

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!

Peace out kiddies!