Silence fell over the room. Elsa scanned the two legendary figures in front of her. Jack's eyes were wide and unfocused. North met Elsa's eyes. She smiled sympathetically at him. The name "Pitch" meant nothing to her, but she could tell by Jack's out-of-character reaction that it wasn't good. She fidgeted nervously. Was Pitch really so bad that he could stun an almost un-surprise-able personality.

Overcome with the desire to comfort her friend and mentor, and bring him out of shock, Elsa reached out and took Jack's hand in hers, squeezing it gently. Jack blinked twice and looked down and their joined palms, then at Elsa who gave him a sympathetic smile before releasing his hand.

'Pitch is back?' Jack asked North.

North nodded gravely. 'I'm afraid so.'

'But…? How…? When…?' Jack stammered.

'What happened?' Elsa asked, giving Jack time to process.

'The nightmares returned,' North began. 'They came out of nowhere, attacking the pole. But it wasn't just them. Merlin, the Mermaid of Zennor. They were with them. And they destroyed everything.'

'But why would they do that?' Elsa asked. 'The Zennor Mermaid and Merlin, they're good people aren't they?'

'The Mermaid of Zennor is a seductress,' Jack explained. 'She seduced Mathew Trewella to come away with her and he was never seen again on land. But Merlin was a hero. It doesn't make sense. Why would he join forces with Pitch?'

'No-one knows. I've tried to contact the other Guardians but the Tooth Palace remains impenetrable and the Warren is still un-responsive. I'm at a loss Jack. I don't know what to do.' The Great Russian figure sank to the ground in defeat. Elsa moved behind the stranger and placed her hands on his shoulders comfortingly.

'What about Sandy?' Jack asked. 'Can you contact him?'

'Sandy,' the Russian murmured. 'No, I can't reach him either.'

'It will be alright,' Elsa reassured. Jack and North looked at her. 'This "Pitch" you talk about, he's not really that bad, is he?'

'Yes, he is,' North explained. 'Pitch Black, or as he is commonly known: the Boogeyman, tried to engulf the world in blackness and fear last year. No-one believes in him, you see. They're not afraid. And that's because of us. Jack and myself, along with the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and the Sandman, have been chosen as Guardians by the Man in the Moon to watch over children and protect them.'

'It is because of us,' Jack took over. 'That Pitch is not believed in. There was a period where everyone feared him. That period is known as the Dark Ages. What Pitch hoped to accomplish with his little endeavour last year is to plunge the world back into the darkness, eliminating all the light that is shone from us Guardians so everyone fears and believes in the Boogeyman.'

'How did you stop him?' Elsa asked, enraptured in the story that occurred in a world beyond hers, yet had the potential to doom the entire universe.

'There was this one kid, Jamie,' Jack explained. A fond, caring look crossed his face as he thought of Jamie. He must've been someone special, Elsa thought.

'He never stopped believing, even when every child in the entire world gave up. Even his friends thought he was mad. But he knew. Because he'd seen us.'

'That one child,' North continued. 'Is the reason we're here today.'

'What happened to Pitch?'

'He'd found a way to turn the Sandman's dreams into Nightmares. Literal horses made of corrupted dream sand,' North explained. 'His Nightmares live off fear. They detect it. We had him cornered. He was afraid and this fear eventually became his downfall.'

'We haven't seen him since,' Jack contributed. 'We assumed the Nightmares ended him.'

Elsa was stunned. This man. This "Pitch" really was that bad.

'Well then, we have to find a way to stop him,' she declared.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,' Jack objected, rounding on Elsa. He stood directly in front of her and rose into the air to make himself seem more threatening. 'What do mean "we"?'

'I mean I'm going to help you,' Elsa fought back. 'I'm going to help you and you can't stop me.'

'This is not your fight,' Jack reasoned. 'I can't let you put yourself in danger for us.' I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt, Jack thought.

'I don't care about danger,' Elsa countered. She wanted to help. Let me help you, she thought determinedly. 'I want to help you.'

'No,' Jack said firmly.

'Yes,' Elsa replied sharply.

'No,' Jack insisted. He moved closer to Elsa, threateningly. Elsa, her hands on her hips, didn't so much as flinch. He stared into his eyes, looking for signs of weakness, something that she could use to get her way.

'Jack. Maybe we could let the young lass tag along,' North interjected. Elsa and Jack turned simultaneously to stare at him. North slinked away inside when he caught Jack's icy glare. 'Never mind,' he muttered. 'What's that Phil?' North called to no-one. 'You need help? I'll be right there.' He dashed off.

'I'm coming,' Elsa stated, walked away from Jack as if their argument was done.

'No you're not. Come on,' he flew towards her and grabbed her arm. 'I'll take you back to Arendelle.'

'No way!' Elsa exclaimed outraged. She turned on him, yanking her arm out of his grip. 'Wasn't it you who was pushing for me to come? To get away from my "stuck up life", as you call it.'

'I never called it "stuck up",' Jack replied, frustrated. 'And anyway, wasn't it you who was all like "I can't leave. What about Anna? She'll worry so much she'll die".'

Elsa stopped. Anna, she thought. Anna. Arendelle. A wave of worry washed over her. A sense of déjà vu. Something was wrong, she sensed. Arendelle, and Anna was in trouble.

'We have to go,' Elsa whispered. 'Jack,' she grabbed at his jacket, clenching it tight in her fists, pulling him down. 'We have to go back to Arendelle. Anna is in trouble.'

Jack regarded her in confusion. Elsa was crazy, wasn't she? He stared into her eyes. Truth shone behind them, but there was also something that was inhuman. Like she was possessed.

'What do you mean?' he asked. 'What's wrong?'

'I don't know. Arendelle is in trouble and we have to go now!' she exclaimed.

He could see the panic in her eyes. The urgency to help her, to protect her, overwhelmed him. He'd do anything for her. Jack knew she was unlike any girl he'd met before. But he could never tell her that, he knew. She would hate him.

'Okay,' Jack agreed. Elsa was overcome with relief. For a moment it seemed that he would refuse her. That he thought she was crazy. That's right Elsa, she thought. Make yourself look crazy in front of him.

'North we're returning to Arendelle,' Jack called as Elsa scrambled onto his back, accidentally yanking his hair as she did so. 'I'll be back soon.'

'Okay,' North's voice replied.

Jack took out another snow globe from his pocket.

'How many of those do you have?' Elsa asked.

'Enough,' Jack replied. He threw the globe and it exploded into a fountain of light, the castle of Arendelle at the heart.

Elsa's heart pounded with fear. What would she find? Arendelle looked peaceful through this window, but on the other side? She clenched her palms around his neck.

Jack felt her heart pounding against his back, squirming slightly when she accidentally strangled him. She released he grip slightly, but the urgency remained. Jack started forward into the portal.

Elsa closed her eyes in fright as the light engulfed them, closing immediately leaving no sign they'd ever existed.