"But none of them believe in you, do they? You see, you're invisible mate. It's like you don't even exist,"

"Bunny!"

"No," Jack shook his head, "You're wrong. Someone does believe in me,"

"Yeah, sure. What's their name?" Bunny scoffed.

"Her name, kangaroo, is Doll,"

"What did you call me? I'm not a kangaroo, mate,"

"And this whole time I thought you were. If you're not a kangaroo, what are you?"

"I'm a bunny. The Easter bunny. People believe in me,"

"Like I said, people believe in me, too."

Sandy and North looked at each other.

"Jack, you say you have believer," North shouldered Bunny aside, earning a "Watch it, mate!"

"Yeah, what's so strange about that?" Frost looked around the room, a bit offended at their disbelief.

"Hm. May be nothing, may be very bad. When Man in Moon choose you as guardian," he turned and started walking down a hall. Jack had to choose between staying with the angry kangaroo, or following.

"He show vision before. He tell us that Pitch Black return, and something else,"

"What does that have to do with Doll?" Jack asked a bit too intensely. He wasn't about to lose the one person who could see him so soon.

"As I was saying, he show vision of someone running, then being grabbed by hand and by sand. This tears the person apart,"

"So me and Sandy are going to fight over her? No offense to the little guy but-"
"Jack!" North rounded on him, "Is very serious! Girl could be in grave danger,"

"Pitch," Jack muttered under his breath, "What could he want with her? I have to go get her!"

"No, we are not finished talking. Bunny will get her,"

"She's my believer, I-"

"Already on it, mate!" Bunny called as he disappeared through the hole. A small pink flower was left in the middle of a rug.

Maybe she had imagined it all. The stick she had been using to trace designs in the snow snapped, leaving half of it in her hand and half of it buried in the cold powder. Dorothy sighed. It was true. She had finally gone crazy. Standing, she wiped the snow off of her thick leggings. How could she have even believed any of it happened in the first place? Everyone else was right. She was too old for these childish beliefs.

"You Dolly?" A voice with a heavy Australian accent asked behind her.

She turned around and saw a man-sized bunny.

"Um, yes?" Okay, seriously crazy now.

"I'm Bunny, and I'm here to take you to the North Pole."

"Oh my gosh you're all really here!" Dolly jumped up and down with excitement, "The Tooth Fairy!"

"Hi," Toothiana waved with an unsure grin.

"The Sandman!"

Sandy smiled.

"And you're really the Easter bunny!"

He rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips.

"Where's- Santa!"

"Ah, you must be Dolly," he smiled jollily.

"What am I, chopped liver?" The white-haired teen piped up from his seat on the globe's control panel.

"Jack!"

She ran over and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. After a second, Jack returned the hug.

"Yes, yes, very touching reunion," North laughed.

"Oh man, this is so cool! Uh, literally. Jack,"

He looked down, realizing that a layer of frost was starting to creep over where they touched.

"Sorry," he laughed, letting go and ruffling the hair on the back of his head.

"Hate to interrupt this lovely moment, but I think there's a problem," Bunny interrupted.

Everyone looked to Toothiana, who was listening to a panting fairy with a look of horror on her face.

"Oh no, oh no, no! He's attacking the palace!" She flew out of the window and was gone from sight in a heartbeat.

"What's going on?" Dolly looked around.

"Trouble at the Tooth Palace!"

Sandy, Bunny, Jack, and Dolly followed North to his sleigh.

"What is wrong with you guys? There is no way we're climbing into some rickety old-"

Jack paused as Dolly ran past him, screaming in delight.

"Sleigh?"

Three pairs of massive reindeer dragged the sleigh into sight. It was bright red, and far from what he had imagined. It looked as high-tech as anything he'd ever seen. Dolly had already climbed in and snapped on a pair of goggles that North handed her. Jack laughed. They made her look like a bug.

"Okay, one ride, but that's it," Jack hopped in, sitting next to Dolly.

"Everyone loves the sleigh,"

"Hey," Jack leaned close to her while Bunny and North argued about something, "Sorry I couldn't take you to Paris today. I was thrown in a sack, then tossed through a magic portal,"

"You know, I wouldn't believe that excuse coming from anyone but you," she flashed a dazzling grin at him.

Sandy sat above them, and Bunny was tossed in.

"Buckle up!" North called back to them.

"Woah-woah-woah! Where are the bloody seatbelts?"

"Hah, that was just expression. Are we ready? Good, let's go!"

The sleigh took off suddenly, knocking Dolly into Jack. He wrapped one arm around her, holding his staff in that hand to completely encircle her. With the other, he grabbed the side of the sleigh. Both of them marveled at the ice caves as they rushed by, shouting with joy as north guided the sleigh through a loop-de-loop. Finally, they launched off of a wooden ramp and were airborne.

Once their flight had straightened out, Jack let go. Dolly blushed, realizing that he had been holding her for quite a while.

"Watch this, Doll," Jack whispered to her before jumping onto the back of the sleigh, "Hey Bunny, check out this view- Aaahh!" Jack yelled as the wind swept him away.

"North! North!" The rabbit shouted, nervously looking over the edge.

"Aw, you do care," Jack was laying back on one of the runners.

"Oh, rack off, you bloody show pony!" Bunny sat back down.

Jack floated into the sleigh.

"Hold on everyone, I know a shortcut!" North pulled a snow globe out of his pocket.

Bunny looked like he regretted ever coming to the Pole.

North threw the globe ahead of the sleigh, where it warped and grew into a portal. Suddenly, they were flying above a beautiful range of mountains and cliffs. What looked like streams of shadows raced towards them.

"What?" Dolly sat up and pulled off her goggles.

She was knocked down to the floor of the sleigh as hundreds of little black horses raced by them.

"They're taking the tooth fairies!" Jack shouted, hopping out of the sleigh. He came back, holding something in his hands, "Hey little Baby Tooth, you okay?"

An affirmative chirp responded.

North guided the reindeer through a hole in one of the mountains, chasing after one of the horses.

"Here, take over," he handed the reins to Dolly.

"Wait, I don't know how-"

"Come on, we can do this together," Jack was right behind her, wrapping his hands over hers.

They snapped the reins, causing the reindeer to increase their pace. North slashed his sword through the midnight black horse, causing it to burst into sand.

"They're stealing the teeth!" Bunny shouted, lifting a golden container.

Some of the black sand had landed on Sandy's arm. What in the world was it made of?

"Jack, Dolly, down!"

The sleigh landed roughly on a wide pink platform.

"Is everyone okay?" Dolly looked around. They were all still in one piece.

A terrified gasp and the sound of wings beating above them prompted everyone to look up.

"Tooth! Are you alright?"

"Oh, they took my fairies, and the teeth- all of them!" She slowly lowered to a platform. North, Bunny, and Sandy surrounded her, "Everything is gone… everything,"

Baby Tooth peaked out from between Jack and Dolly. She darted up to where the others were gathered.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Tooth gasped, "One of you is alright."

"I have to say," a rich, deep voice sounded from everywhere and nowhere all at once, "This is very, very exciting. The big four, all in one place!" Now it sounded like the voice was coming from just above them.

"I'm a little starstruck." Pitch looked down upon them.

Dolly's jaw dropped. Who was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome? He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Did you like my show on the globe, North?" He held his hands behind his back, "Got you all together, didn't I?" He teased, walking around the smaller platform.

"Pitch!" Tooth shouted, flying after him, "You have got thirty seconds to return my fairies-" he was gone.

"Or what? You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" He reappeared farther away, arms raised in mock-terror.

"Why are you doing this?" North pointed his sword at the man, now named as Pitch.

"Maybe I want what you have," he pointed an accusatory finger at the Guardian, "To be believed in," his shadow stretched down to another platform and he appeared there, "Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds!"

Dolly couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Wait, hiding under beds? That sounded familiar.

"Maybe that's where you belong!" Bunny shot back at him.

Pitch scoffed, appearing underneath the platform.

"Go suck an egg, rabbit," he disappeared into the shadows before Bunny could grab him.

"Hang on- is that Jack Frost? And… Dolly?" Pitch chuckled, "Since when are you all so chummy?"

"We're not," Jack muttered, raising his staff and trying to keep Dolly behind him.

"Oh good, a neutral party," Pitch was leaning on a large lattice, resting his cheek on his hand, "Then I'm going to ignore you, but you must be used to that by now. But Dolly,"

He disappeared, and then he was right behind her.

"How did you get here? Don't tell me you came with them,"

She whipped around and stared up at him. His eyes were gorgeous; they looked like a solar eclipse, flashing silver and gold.

"Get away from her!" Jack charged at them.

Dolly started turning to look back at him, but Pitch placed a hand on her shoulder and they dropped into the shadows, popping back up even farther away.

"How are you, old friend?" Pitch smiled, but it faltered when no hint of recognition crossed her face, "Do you not remember me? Really?"

Tooth yelled, flying at them as fast as her wings could manage. A black horse reared up in front of Pitch and Dolly, forcing her back.

"Wo-o-oah! Hey, easy girl, easy," Pitch soothed the creature. It came to stand in front of Dolly, blocking her from view.

Pitch held out the black sand on his hand, "Look familiar, Sandman? It took me a while to perfect this little trick. Turning dreams into Nightmares," he stroked the mare's neck.

The Guardians backed away. This, this was more than they were prepared for.

"Don't be nervous. It only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know,"

"Hah! What fear? Fear of you? No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages!" Bunny grabbed his boomerang back from Tooth.

"Oh, the Dark Ages," Pitch sighed nostalgically, "Everyone frightened, miserable! Such happy times for me, all the power I wielded," his tone quickly turned to disgust, "But then the Man in the Moon chose you to replace my fear with your wonder and light. Lifting their hearts and giving them hope!" Something brushed Dolly's arm. She turned with a start. Another Nightmare was staring her in the face. It tossed its head.

"Do you want me to get on?" She whispered.

It whinnied.

"Meanwhile everyone wrote me off as just a bad dream. 'Oh there's nothing to be afraid of, there's no such thing as 'The Bogeyman'!'"

Oh. She remembered now. The gifts she left under her bed. The stories read to her in that soothing, raspy voice.

"Well that's all about to change. Oh look, it's happening already."

All around them, the Tooth Palace was crumbling. Turning into dust. The second Nightmare nudged her arm again. Dolly pulled herself onto its back uncertainly.

"What is?" Jack glanced around nervously.

"All around the world, children are waking up, and realizing that the Tooth Fairy never came. It's such a little thing, but to a child,"

"What's going on?" Jack asked again.

"They… they don't believe in me anymore," Tooth's voice trembled.

"Didn't they tell you, Jack? It's great being a Guardian, but there's a catch," his voice trailed off into a whisper, "If enough kids stop believing, everything your friends protect: wonder, hopes, and dreams, it all goes away. And little by little, so do they," he chuckled, "No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night. There will be nothing but fear and darkness, and me. It's your turn not to be believed in."

Bunny threw his boomerang, unable to take any more of Pitch's taunting. The Nightmare King climbed onto his steed and flew off, followed by Dolly on hers. The Guardians all followed, Bunny preparing to toss explosive eggs.

"Wait, you might hit the girl!" North shouted.

"Doll!" Jack raced ahead of everyone else.

"Jack!" She shouted, reaching back for him.

Then she disappeared through a crack in the wall, and there wasn't a thing they could do to get her back.