Chapter 9

Okay, now we will find out what that ball of light was ;) pretty sure a lot of you have caught on already! Happy reading~

Silence fell over the underground cave. All that could be heard was the pitter patter of water trickling down to the stone ground. The only source of light was the muted shimmer of the moon and a small glowing orb. With all the excitement, the orb had been overlooked, luckily. The orb pulsated a soft blue. The aura surrounding it was calm and light, giving off a peaceful energy. The stone surrounding the orb grew warm and welcoming. As the cave began to change to match the energy that was being given, the orb began to grow. As it grew, it also began to take shape. The rough, confused shape began to take form….the form of a human. As features began to appear, the light grew brighter. The light continued to pulse, growing ever brighter, as it seemed to be working to bring whatever this thing was to life. The light would not rest until its task was complete.

-
Bunnymund was pacing the workshop anxiously. It was difficult for him to just sit around while something may be going on right under their noses. Even though he hated to admit it, Bunny truly was worried about the Frost Spirit. It was unlike Jack to go missing for so long without informing someone on where he would be. Well, after they all had become a team. The sinking feeling in his gut ached. "I dunno 'ow much longa I can take this, mate. Are you sure the only thing to do is to wait for Manny to tell us?"

Tooth nodded in agreement. She had been fluttering around the room non-stop. "I don't think I can wait another moment! I think we should go to Burgess and find out if he's still there even!" North rose up from his chair and shook his head. "Vwe might be sitting ducks if vwe don't know vwhat vwe're up against!" With a small jingle, the Sandman finally made an appearance. He drifted over to his fellow Guardians. Many different symbols started shooting about above his head. Images of the moon, question marks, exclamation marks, children, dream creatures. It was all very confusing for everyone around him. He couldn't really keep his thoughts together either. He too was worried about the missing Guardian, for he hadn't seen him flying around while Sandy was making his rounds to the children. "Yes, Sandy. Vwe all feel the same vway." North shook his head and then turned his gaze to the soft glow of the moon. "Man in Moon….you know something is vwrong. Show us!" The rest of the Guardians looked up to Manny, pleading for him to tell them just what was happening.

As they looked helplessly into the sky, they noticed an odd phenomenon. There was a dark cloud traveling through the sky. At first, they thought it was an oddly shaped rain cloud of sort, but it was moving with great speed. The thin shape shot through the sky and was headed straight towards the moon. North raised a brow. "Very odd…." Then, the sick feeling in his gut only grew. He turned and bolted from the room. Bunny, Sandy and Tooth all glanced at one another and shrugged.

A few moments later, North returned with a telescope. He extended it to the fullest length and put the glass up to his eye. He focused in on the black cloud. To his shock, it was no cloud. It was….a mass. A mass made up of shadows, dark creatures, and horrific beings. "I think our vworries 'ave just been confirmed. Pitch has returned!"

Bunnymund crossed his paws over his chest. "He should be a piece of cake to take down again, mate! After all, with Jack-" North interrupted Bunny's encouraging speech. "I'm afraid….vwe vwon't 'ave him on our side this time…." As he was following the trail of dark creatures with his telescope, North discovered leading the pack was Pitch and flying beside him was….Jack. Tooth's jaw dropped and she shook her head wildly. "There's just no way! He would never do this!" She zipped over to North and snatched the telescope from his hands. She peered through the glass and just couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Night had fallen and Jamie was growing more and more anxious by the minute. He hadn't seen or heard from Jack. He just needed to know if Pitch was back, for real. This could all be a joke or maybe the black sand was just dirt from the ground outside? He was hoping that it was all just a….bad dream.

Jamie shook his head and sighed. He wandered over to his window and leaned against the wall. He needed some sort of comfort and the only one he could turn to in this situation was the Man in the Moon. The moon's light was softly glowing, breaking through the darkness. The stars seemed to smile as they twinkled around it. Jamie felt very much at ease and tried to clear his mind of all the disturbing things that were running through it. He closed his eyes and sighed.

After realizing that he wasn't going to be able to do much, the light from the moon dimmed. Jamie opened his eyes to see why the moon wasn't shining as brightly. There weren't any clouds in the sky to begin with. As he gazed up at the sky, he noticed a dark streak spinning around the moon. This couldn't be clouds….maybe birds? But then Jamie's jaw dropped. The darkness continued to go around the moon, engulfing the peaceful light. He didn't need confirmation from the Guardians now...for he knew that Pitch was back. And whatever, whoever, was aiding him was extremely powerful and would be difficult to stop. Little did he know, it was his best friend.

The Guardians could do nothing but stare in disbelief. The moon had been fully engulfed by dark sand and ice. Jack Frost had betrayed them, but why? Why would he do such a thing? After all they had done to make him feel welcome and accepted. Like one of them. Bunnymund was grumbling to himself. He was greatly disappointed in his poor judgement. But why such a sudden turn around?

Tooth was beyond upset, her baby tooth fairies surrounding her, trying to give her any comfort they could offer. She could not believe her eyes. "You know Jack wouldn't do a thing like that! You all know that!" She could see the look in Bunny's eyes and knew what he was thinking. "Oh yeah? Then why is he up there, helping Pitch?!" Bunny raised his voice in frustration. It wasn't aimed at Toothiana, but he just couldn't hold it back any longer.

"Everyone, clam. There 'as to be an explanation! Sure Frost has his moments, but he vwould never betray us, or children!" North spoke quickly, to calm the flare growing in the room. Sandy was at his side, nodding his head in agreement. But before they could continue the discussion any further, a bolt of ice came hurling down from the sky and struck right at Bunny's feet. They all reacted quickly, jumping back and getting into defense poses.

Following the bolt of ice, a second one, larger than the first, crashed through the floor and dove into the level below. Smoke rose up and fluttered around the room. Along with the smoke, black sand grains swirled around. "'Dis can't be good…" North said as he backed away from the hole in the floor. The others did the same, uncertain of what had crashed into the workshop, if anything.

After the smoke calmed, a figure started to emerge from the damage. It started to float up through the hole in the floor. The Guardians watched and waited to see just who it was, but the figure was clad in black sand. When the figure was far enough into the air, the sand started to dissolve. Little by little, they started to see hints of who their foe was. A patch of blue….on the lower half, a patch of brown. At the top, silver hair started to poke through. It was just the person they all feared it would be, Jack! "Why you dirty little-" Bunny had already started to lose his temper, but then trailed off as they got the entire view of Jack. His skin was a lot paler than usual and his eyes….the blank pools of white sent chills down Bunny's spine. Tooth was more devastated that his once bright eyes were now just dark with blank. She could see many open wounds and tear stained cheeks. His staff also had an odd glow to it. Black sand swirling slowly around it.

"Jack! Jack, it's us! What happened to you?" Toothiana tried to make sense of what she was seeing, but nothing was adding up. Then suddenly a psychotic laugh boomed throughout the workshop. It was one that none of them wanted to hear ever again. "What's happened, you ask? Just take a look at him. I would say he's had better days." Pitch laughed once again and began to appear right behind Jack, who was floating just a few feet off of the floor. A thin, boney arm formed around Jack's neck. The Guardians watched as the Nightmare King pulled Jack close, one arm around his neck and the other hand lightly touching his silver hair. Though Pitch was doing this, Jack remained emotionless. They all thought he would react and try to escape his grip, but he just stayed, his expression blank.

"Oh Guardians, what are you going to do now? I've got your star fighter and the Man in the Moon is….preoccupied at the moment." North took his focus off of Jack. The moon was still completely engulfed. Everything on the inside of the ice barrier was shifting. "Just vwhat 'ave you done!" North demanded, his fiery eyes now set on Pitch. "I'm finishing what I started during the Golden Age! The Man in the Moon will be completely wiped out, leaving the shadows, nightmares, and the Nightmare King himself to roam freely!" The Guardians all glanced around at one another. They knew what they had to do, but how would they do it? With Jack on his side and Manny fighting a battle of his own….this seemed hopeless.

Until next time!~