I'm such a liar! I totally said I would update more because of the break, WORNG! Haha I've been spending my time watching The Walking Dead. Oh well. I think I made up for it with this beast of a chapter! Almost 4000 words! Enjoy and Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my own characters, everything else belongs to DreamsWorks

Song of the Chapter: Lights (Bassnectar Remix) – Ellie Goulding

Chapter Eight: Falling

"There are no seat belts," Ellie felt the need to point out as she stood in front of the sleigh a day later.

"Funny, that's the same thing Bunnymund said the last time," Jack answered, coming up behind her and leaning casually on his staff. "But no seat belts are half the fun."

"Well, it's not that fun when you're falling out of the sky a thousand feet in the air," Ellie challenged him back while crossing her arms over her chest. She did so slowly, so as to avoid causing any pain to her ribs. Her hands were lightly wrapped with bandages, a soothing salve applied underneath. This was to provide relief to the sharp throbbing pain of the glass cuts. She had spent the entire day sleeping, occasionally being woken up by elves with medicine or a yeti ready to re-bandage her hands. She was feeling remarkably better, the medicine far more potent and quick healing than anything she had ever used before. She suspected magic to be involved. Before climbing into the sleigh, Ellie strung her bow and quiver on her back. It may have seemed ridiculous to bring a weapon tooth hunting, but she didn't feel safe going unprepared if anything happened.

Jack looked at Ellie out of the corner of his eye and gave her a quick smirk. She was becoming accustomed to these looks. It fitted his mischievous nature quite well. "Like I said, half the fun."

"Then you have a very skewed definition of fun." Ellie didn't give Jack a chance to say anything more when she climbed into the sleigh. She sat herself down gingerly to the left side, giving herself the edge to hold onto. They were going out tooth hunting. She trained her eyes forward, the rest of the Guardians following her lead by getting into the sleigh also. Neither her nor Bunnymund looked ridiculously impressed to be riding in the dare devil sleigh. Santa was as crazy a driver as a typical teenager, relying on instinct rather than safety. Tooth was buzzing with joy at the thought of collecting teeth as she took her place behind Jack and next to Sandy, Santa taking the reins at the head. He gave everyone a wicked grin as Bunnymund took his place at the far back and kicked the sleigh into motion. The reindeer charged forward, pulling the sleigh through the intricate maze of ice and out into the open sky.

Ellie clutched the side for dear life, holding back a scream as she felt Jack's gaze on her. Of course he was looking to see how she was handling this. Any sign of fear or doubt and he would never let her forget it. So instead she bit down on her tongue and gripped the side of the sleigh so tightly, she could feel the recovering cuts on her hands begin to open again. Jack seemed to notice her anxiety and leaned across her. He pulled her hands off the sleigh, his cold touch reassuring to her and gave her a quick shake of his head. "It's safe. Trust me." Ellie took in a slow breath, not breaking the connection with Jack and letting his presence comfort her.

Santa seemed to be enjoying himself rather too much, his laughter echoing over the roaring wind. "Here we go!" he yelled as he pulled out a snow globe and whispered a destination into it. Throwing the globe far in front of them, it burst apart into a swirling portal. The sleigh rode fast and hard into its mouth, Ellie bracing herself for what she didn't know. But the sleigh past through like flowing water, no hitches to be accounted for and what was once the vast Arctic had now become the crowded city landscape of New York.

Ellie was taken aback by the sheer size of the city. Everywhere she looked, blocks stretched for miles. Despite the late hour, people mingled on the streets enjoying the warming night air. Sounds of traffic and people calling out reached their ears even from their high altitude. Jack caught the look of amazement on Ellie's face. "Never been to New York, huh?"

Ellie who had either become more comfortable in the sleigh or forgotten her fear of flying was leaning far more over the edge to get a better view. "Never really could afford vacations unless we drove," she answered absentmindedly, her attention on the city below. "It's incredible!"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Ellie nearly snapped her neck how quickly she turned to face Jack, her look one of pure astonishment. "You guess? Are you even seeing what I'm seeing?"

Jack pursed his lips together. "When you can get around the world as easily as I can, I guess the novelty wears off."

"What a shame," Ellie said, missing the look of torment that quickly passed across Jack's face.

They continued on for a couple more minutes until finding a suitable block in Brooklyn. The sleigh slowly made its way to the ground before dropping the last foot, earning Santa a disapproving look form Bunnymund. The jolly man simply shrugged his shoulders before grinning to himself. "Well, we here now. Go collect teeth!" Everyone stayed rooted to their spot except Tooth, who was already pulling open a window from an apartment three stories high, Sandy right behind her. The others climbed out a little shaky from the sleigh ride.

"How exactly are we supposed to do this?" Bunnymund asked while staring after Tooth who was now on to her second window, her collected tooth sitting in a brown bag in her left hand.

"Good point," Jack added. "Do we just break in and steal their teeth? What if someone catches us? I don't really feel like getting a criminal record now, I've been 300 years strong without one. I'd say that's a record, huh?" No one seemed impressed at his joke. "Never mind then," he brushed off deflated.

"Breaking and entering is precisely what we do! Now go! There are teeth to collect!" Santa ordered as he made his way to a nearby building. Bunnymund twitched his foot uncertainly before muttering a "here goes nothing," and taking off. Jack turned to face Ellie before twirling his staff once. "Good luck," he said as he took off into the sky.

Ellie stood there alone on the street. She rocked awkwardly on her feet for a second before convincing herself to bite the bullet and break in to someone's home. She made her way across to an ally before Tooth came zooming to her side, nearly scaring the sense out of her. "I almost forgot!" she said in a high and excited voice. "This bag is for collecting and this bag has coins to leave behind! Happy gathering!" Ellie quickly took the two bags from Tooth before the fairy whizzed off again. One was empty, the other heavy from coins.

"Alright then," Ellie said trying to convince herself, "I am going to be the best damn collector ever." That was a straight up lie. Ellie spent the next hour climbing ladders in back allies. Every window she came up to was a gamble; it was either a lovely sleeping child's room or some poor sucker's bathroom, to which Ellie had now seen three naked butts. She had managed to creep her way into eleven bedrooms, confiscating thirteen teeth in total. She had only tripped twice. She was just bagging her fourteenth tooth when a knocking sound came from her left. Ellie froze in panic at the thought of being caught by some protective parent who had come to check up on their child. She had nearly dropped her bag in fright when the sound of a deep chuckle came from the window.

"Relax, it's me," Jack stepped into the room, tapping the window on his way and leaving a frosty design behind. "Just checking up on ya, seeing how we've gone all over Brooklyn and half of Manhattan and you've moved only three buildings down."

Ellie tried to regain her composure. She repositioned her bow indignantly, refusing to meet Jack's taunt. "Well, I've been having a blast scouting the local buildings. Apartment 2B belongs to a lovely old man who showers with his bathroom window open. 4A has a dog. A German Sheppard to be specific. A very aggressive German Sheppard to get into details. I tried petting him but he didn't like that. But apartment 6F has twins in it who both lost teeth today! Yeah, lucky me! I got two teeth for the price of one breaking and entering!"

"Not having such luck are we?" Ellie moved around the bed with a sleeping girl in it and stuck one foot out the window. She had to squeeze past Jack who had moved into the room because it was so small, the bed only a foot or two from the window. She could feel his cold breath on her neck as she pushed past him.

"We can't all fly," she said before exiting. She missed the look Jack gave her as she made her way down to the street. It was one of ego mixed with embarrassment. Normal people didn't fly. As if to prove her point, Jack leapt out of the window, closing it behind him gently, and whizzed past her to the ground. He landed softly and leaned against his staff as Ellie finally plopped to the ground. "Show off," she muttered under her breath as she began making her way to the next building across the alley. The windows were a little higher than the last, but Ellie wouldn't let her inability to fly slow her down.

Jack followed in her footsteps, gauging the same problem she was thinking. "Safety ladders further down the building. What are you ever going to do?" Ellie ignored the wicked grin he was giving her.

Shaking off her bow and quiver, Ellie strapped the two bags to her belt and grabbed onto the ledge of the window just above her head. Her hands felt sore and began to burn, her rips screaming against her actions, but Ellie was a victim of pride. She heaved ungracefully as she pulled herself up, wincing in pain. She had just managed to dangle securely in the edge when the problem of opening the window arose. She tried awkwardly to pull it open, the form a sleeping boy visible inside, but in her attempt, she lost her gripping and fell.

The ground would have made a sore companion but Ellie never met it. Instead a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, catching her before she landed. A rough sound escaped her mouth as her ribs ached but she was grateful for the catch, although she would never admit it. "Whoa there tiger, you're going to hurt yourself. More than you already are," Jack said as he steadied Ellie.

"Thank you, but I'm perfectly alright. I had everything under control." She wiped nervously at her forehead, hoping Jack wouldn't notice the sheen of sweat from her laborious task. She was pushing her body, and they both knew it.

"Maybe next time, you'll ask for help, okay?" Jack's concern was clear on his face. His eerily blue eyes too clear in the moonlight that reached the dark corners of the ally.

Ellie, who was momentarily distracted by those very blue eyes, missed the fact Jack still had his hands on her waste. For a moment there were no words, only a look of deep concern meeting one of surprise and embarrassment. "Yeah, maybe," she breathed out, breaking the moment before it became too intense.

Jack, who had long ago realized where his hands were but refused to let go, finally released Ellie. "I'll give you a boost. Teamwork right?"

Ellie nodded, biting her lip and refusing to meet his eyes. Now in agreement for their partnership, Jack walked over to the window and leaned down on one knee, his staff on the ground beside him. He folded his hands together on his knee, palms up and motioned for Ellie to step up. She mouthed a quick thanks before stepping into his palms, his quick motion up nearly catching her by surprise. She caught the edge, this time not labouring quite so heavily and easily slid the window open. Jack gave her one last boost, sending her over the edge and into the room.

She creeped her way over to the bed, slipping out one of Tooth's coins and switching it with the tooth under the sleeping boy's pillow. The transaction was swift and quick; Ellie feeling relieved and a bit relaxed at knowing Jack had her back. She picked her way back to the window, stepping over the toys littering the floor and peering down below. The drop would be a long one.

"Relax, I'll catch you," Jack said anticipating her dilemma.

"You'll drop me," Ellie challenged.

Jack held his arms out in a gesture of peace. "If I had wanted to drop you, I would have let you fall the first time."

Ellie humped, realizing how little her options were and the truth in Jack's words. But being near him made her so uncomfortable. His eyes seemed able to read every thought that crossed her mind, his arms always willing to protect her. It was something she wasn't used to. She had always been the one to protect herself. Maybe it was time to let others help too. So bracing herself, Ellie jumped out of the window and fell into Jack's arms below.

Jack caught her with ease and lowered her feet to the ground. The entire time the two held eye contact, their faces full of surprise at how well they fit together. Releasing her quickly, Jack cleared his throat and moved to grab his staff, Ellie's eyes never leaving his back. She could still feel his signature touch of cold on her back where he had caught her, and for once she didn't mind.

"We should find the others," Jack said once his staff was secure in his hand. Ellie nodded picking up her bow and quiver off the ground and stringing it over her shoulder. Her two bags secured tightly to her belt.

"Agreed." Silently, the two walked out of the ally, both trying to ignore to awkwardness of the situation and failing miserably. As if the other guardians had known they were being beckoned, they slowly regrouped, each comparing their bags of teeth to one other. Apparently while Ellie had been collecting her mere fourteen teeth, the others had made a competition for who could collect the most.

Both Ellie and Jack had been able to escape their tension with the presence of the others and soon enough, with all their bags a little fuller of teeth, they were heading to another city. Tooth buzzed the entire time, feeling joyous at the prospect of regaining faith of the children in the world. Her happiness was contagious and soon everyone was giddy with their tasks, putting their full effort into it. They managed to hit two more major cities before traveling to a place Jack knew all too well.

The sleepy town were his precious pond lay frozen stood quietly against the darkness of night. Before the sleigh had even touched down, the Guardians were bounding out; each determined to better the other in tooth count. Ellie smiled to herself as she watched Jack spring out of the sleigh, flying high into the night air. He was gone in a second, scouting the streets for homes where a tooth needed collecting.

Ellie had managed to collect five more teeth before finding herself at the back of a house where a sleeping boy had lost his tooth earlier that day. A long lattice structure climbed up the side of the house right beneath the boy's window. It would make a perfect latter for Ellie to reach her destination. Huffing as she climbed the lattice, Ellie found to her dismay the window already open.

"Oh, Ellie! It appears this room is very popular," Tooth said sitting beside the boy's sleeping form, Jack standing at the end of the bed.

"Looks like a party," Ellie said hanging half out the window. Jack moved over to her and grabbing an arm, pulled her in all the way. "Thanks."

Jack nodded in return. But before anyone could say anything else, a loud thump rang out as a big man in red appeared in the room, a large bunny following behind. "Oh look, we have party, no?" Santa laughed at the sight of all of them. "All we need is Sandy." Right on cue, the golden, silent man flew gracefully from the night. "Now we good to go!" he roared in laughter at the coincidence. This earned him a loud "shush," from everyone. As if remembering the boy fast asleep, Santa mumbled a quick apology. But it was too late.

Before anyone could make an escape, the boy had already pushed off his covers and was shining a flashlight in their faces. His face struck Jack as familiar, a boy called Jamie if he remembered correctly. The boy he had given a crazy, icy ride on the toboggan a couple weeks ago.

"Whoa," Jamie let out, shining the light on their faces individually. "Santa, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and well I don't know who you are," he said referring to Ellie, "but whoa." The look on the boys face was one of absolute wonder.

"He can see us," Jack breathed out.

"Well, most of us," Bunnymund said quietly. Jamie's light kept going from each of their faces, all except Jack's. Jack's eyes furrowed in momentary grief, but Ellie grabbed his hand to comfort him.

"Don't do this to yourself Jack," she spoke quietly, feeling his anguish rise. But before she could say anything else, he was out the window and gone into the night. Ellie was fast on his heels though. She was out of the window and on the ground in seconds, running after him in what direction, she didn't know. She could hear Tooth call out behind her, but that was of little importance.

For the next twenty minutes, Ellie searched the streets looking for Jack, but he was nowhere to be found. "Ellie!" she heard Tooth call her name, catching up with her. "Ellie, I know Jack's upset. He's sensitive about this topic but there's nothing we can do. We just have to let him work it out."

"Work it out? Did you see the look on his face? He was devastated!" Ellie cried out, frustrated that Jack was hiding from them. "Where the hell did he go?"

Tooth zipped up to her side and placed a small hand on her shoulder. "I know it's not fair, but Jack needs time to work this out for himself. Now the others have gone back to get more teeth, we should join them. Jack will come when he's read-" but Tooth was caught off by the sound of hooves. "What is that?"

Ellie was already drawing her bow. "It's Pitch. He's here," Ellie whispered in a panic. "We need to find the others!" Tooth's feathers ruffled in defense mode, alert at the possible threat.

"They could be anywhere in the town," she breathed, zipping up and down frantically.

"Quite so," a raspy voice called out from the shadows. Ellie sucked in a sharp breath, that voice bringing dark memories. Pitch stepped out from behind a corner, six black horses following his stead. Each stopped the ground dangerously, their nostrils flaring at the thought of a new target. "Which is really the beauty of it all. Hard to defend yourself when it's six against two." The ghostly man walked towards their direction, a wicked smile lacing his face.

"Haven't you done enough?" Tooth cried out, her face mixed with rage and pain.

Ellie trained her arrow on Pitch's heart, this time not afraid to let it fly and hit its target. He would pay for all that he had done. "Oh Ellie, don't you look marvelous. You recovered quite well by the looks of it. Did you like the present I left for dear old Santa? After you passed out, I had my beloved horses trash the place. I think it gave it more of a rustic look, don't you? Not so orderly. A bit of chaos always livens a place up."

"What do you want Pitch?" Ellie spat out venomously.

"Not you actually. You're just in my way. And I have this one philosophy: if you have something useless, throw it away." Before Ellie could process his words, Pitch had vanished leaving his horses behind who charged without a moment spared.

"Get back!" Ellie yelled to Tooth who was low and ready to lunge on the nearing threat. But Tooth ignored her words and zoomed forward, thrashing at the beasts so quickly, it became a blur or black and green. Ellie cried out as a horse neared her. In all her anger and hatred at Pitch, for all the destruction he had caused, Ellie let the emotion boil up and release with the arrow targeted for the horse's chest.

But she knew like last time, the arrow would do no damage; only sink into to the horse's skin, causing no harm and offering her no protection. But something different happened. In her anger, she had missed a swelling of green energy forming at the tip of her arrow. It pulsed with her heart beat and flew on the tip of the arrow towards the horse. Upon hitting it, the green swirl disappeared for a moment in the beast's chest before exploding out in a wave of green energy, destroying the horse in the process.

Ellie fell back in shock, not understanding what had happened, but was quickly forced to retake her stance as another charged her. Beyond tired and confused, full of the same rage, Ellie let another arrow fly, the same green energy bursting to life at its tip and destroying the second horse. Ellie took down another one with the same process, her bow humming fiercely in her hands. Tooth had taken down the other three and had witnessed Ellie and her strange new gift when a loud yell filled the air from above them.

In their fight, the two had missed Jack, Santa, Bunnymund and Sandy take to the sky in the sleigh, fighting off a whole new wave of danger. Before Ellie could say anything, Tooth took off, leaving her alone on the ground to helplessly watch a battle she could do nothing about. The battle raged on in extreme intensity, with Sandy taking the lead. But soon he was overpowered by Pitch's immense darkness. Ellie had little understanding of what was going on but screamed as Pitch covered Sandy entirely, his golden light going out. She heard Jack let a retched cry out as he charged Pitch, emitting a great surge of power that shattered Pitch's dark matter.

In her confusion, Ellie felt tears pour down from her face. She had no idea what was going on, only that something terrible had happened. As soon as the danger had come, it had gone, taking something precious with it.

XXXX

Poor Sandy.

Let's get to 70 reviews with this chapter, shall we? It would make my day!

Review! Review! Review!

Tootles!