Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, but here is chapter four! I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations. If I made any mistakes, please point them out to my sleep deprived self so I may fix them. After this, there will be one more chapter and then 'Dance of Death' will be complete! My first completed story! I won't bother you with my hype though, so please read, review, and enjoy!

Frigid violet eyes stared down into Pitch's eerie yellow orbs; unwavering, fierce, and enraged. Black blood oozed from beneath crimson spikes, embedded in the trembling body of the Boogieman. Golden sand whips crackled as they formed in the small hands of the Sandman. His three companions stood in shock at the drastic change their youngest member had gone through. Sandy didn't know how Pitch found out about Jack's alternate self or why the man would want to unleash such a thing, but looking down at the gray skinned body cowering beneath the winter spirit's gaze, hands raised in defense, and the pure fear radiating from the Nightmare King. Sandy could tell Pitch regretted his decision to remove the moonbeam necklace; the safety that kept the monster from its destruction. It was too late. The price would be paid in blood. The monster Sanderson Mansnoozie had defeated in 1968 was free once more and of the numerous emotions spilling from this negative being; unbridled fury was the most prominent. The presence of such a demon weighing down on his center. Pitch scrambled backwards, hefting himself onto unstable legs,

"Frost-" he began,

"Jackie's not here at the moment." the thing said, its voice strangely two-toned, a mix between its own and Jack's, "You should know this Pitch Black." it stepped closer and Pitch found he couldn't move, the air becoming heavier, constricting his lungs, cutting into his flesh "You are the one who wished to talk to me, no? The one who freed me in hopes of gaining help? To spread his fear?" a giggle that descended into madness, "I was hunted down and beaten. Bound and stabbed. Denied freedom and salvation. I don't do fear, Pitchy." a perfect white smile flashed from beneath thin lips, but Tooth refused to take a step closer, refused to believe that this was Jack Frost, the Guardian of Joy, "I do pain and misery, the very same that was gifted to me by this world and they shall receive back what they gave so willingly."

"Wha-what the hell are you!?" the Boogieman screeched before the demon in Jack's skin flicked his wrist and two blood spikes lodged themselves into Pitch's eyes. The tall man shrieked and stumbled, clawing at his useless eyes. A sudden burst of air sent Pitch flying backwards into the snow. His body plowing through to lay limply. Sandy could hear the gasps from his fellow Guardians behind him, sense their growing terror, their frightened curiosity, and the morbid confusion they emitted was all too apparent,

"Jack...?" North muttered and what a horrid mistake, Sandy thought, when slitted violet eyes snapped towards their direction. Bunny's ears pinned themselves to his head; Tooth's wings gave out, landing her petite feet on the ground; North shrunk into himself; and Sandy visibly stiffened. The thing began walking towards the cowering Guardians, its cheshire grin never faltering. The wind, forced into obedience, began to roar and swirl around the occupants of the icy tundra. Closer it came, closer it walked, until Jack's lithe body stopped only a few feet from the group, crouching to pick up the wooden crook that had been abandoned in the earlier scuffle. Crimson blood dripped off the exposed pale arms of the winter spirit when new spikes erupted in anticipation. The staff, once seemingly harmless, was covered in thick layers of frost, the end forming itself into an elongated point. Sanderson stepped forward, warm, amber eyes glaring into frigid violet, whips slithering in preparation, and determination coursing through his round body,

"It's been a while, Sanderson. Forty-five years? How could you be so mean?" this thing that wasn't Jack chuckled in its odd tone of voice. Violet eyes darting to the myths behind him, "Dreams, wonder, hope, and memories; the beloved Guardians of Childhood. Let me tell you a story, a tale not by Mother Goose, but a real story, just for you." the white haired body shifted to the side and began to pace, the iced over staff twirling between thin fingers,

"Once upon a time, there was a human boy. He was an older brother, prankster, and deeply loved until that one day in winter, the day filled with wonder as gifts are given and received."

"Christmas..." North whispered as his heart began to quicken its pace. He suddenly did not want to hear this story, this tale of desolation,

"The boy and his little sister were given ice skates from dear ol' Saint Nick, but the man in red wasn't there to save him when the ice cracked and down he went. He was surrounded by darkness and cold and the boy was so scared, but then the moon appeared and gently lifted the boy from his confinement into the light. Everything was going to be alright, he knew. This child was overjoyed at what he could do; form ice at his will, call the snow to his side, and ride the wind, but perhaps it was not so alright. No one could see this boy. No one could touch the boy. No one cared about the boy."

"I didn't..." North's muttering quieted when it stopped its pacing, turning to pierce it's violet gaze through the guardians who visibly flinched. All but the golden sandman.

"He fled into the night, scared and alone when the moon whispered a name into his ear. The name that would come to define who he was but not why. For three hundred years, this boy would suffer without the joys of this world. Without dreams, wonder, hope, or memories, there can be no joy. With no one to protect him, the boy had to defend himself. He had to learn to fight, to hide his tears, to scream into the night when no one would listen. No one wanted the child of snow and ice, so he retreated into himself where his rampant emotions of such dark origin created something; something who would do what he could not, someone to take away all the agony, the pain, the loneliness, the madness of a world that cast us into the darkest depths! A world that will be no more, its tormentors mangled and torn, its hunters humiliated and hunted!" the thing paused, sucking in a deep breath, "And the boy's name, the one whispered to him so long ago, before he could fall into madness, before he became what you see now, is Jack Frost."

… … …

12 Hours Earlier

… … …

"Jack Frost!" a deep voice bellowed through the workshop of Nicholas St. North. The spirit and recipient of the Australian anger came flying from a nearby hallway and ducked behind the bulky form of Phil, the yeti,who was conveniently in the right place to block the rampant Pooka from seeing the bringer of frost. With a quiet giggle, Jack pulled a metallic blue digital camera from his hoodie pocket and turned it on,

"Bunny! Why so loud? I am having after Christmas nap when you trollop through workshop like yeti child with too many candy canes." North's voice carried down the hall, announcing the man as he turned the corner and entered the room from the same hall Jack had sped from, when a shocked expression fell over Phil's face,

"I know he's here! You can't hide the little hellion forever, North!" the Easter Bunny came stomping from a hallway located on the opposite side of the rather large room, with fur puffed and radiating raw anger.

Until he saw North.

Then E. Aster Bunnymund was completely flabbergasted.

Jack managed a few quick snaps of the camera to immortalize the gaped mouth expressions of the two spirits before each one pointed and began to laugh at each other (and Jack was vaguely reminded of a pair of five year olds he had seen last week.)

Bunny's fur was streaked with red and green that swirled around his torso, legs, and arms like a candy cane. Bits of holly had been tied to the ruff around the Pooka's neck and the longer strand of fur on his chest while a wreath peppered with glittering lights sat crooked around his long ears.

North was in worse shape as he had yet to notice his beard was dyed in rows of pastel blue and pink; the hair that remained on the back of the larger spirit's head was dyed a light green. Tiny ornaments of decorated eggs and fluffy white rabbits hung in the lengthy strands of North's chin, their strings braided into the colored hair next to ribbons. Plastic Easter grass of different colors were strung about the man's outfit and stuffed into overalls; greatly enhanced by the layers of glitter littering the man's outfit, unseen by groggy blue eyes.

"You admit it! Christmas is better than Easter!" the Santa Claus cackled with joy,

"Look in the mirror, dill. You're decked out better than my eggs!"

"What? I do no such thing!" North proclaimed until Bunny plucked a bit of plastic pink grass from the large man's overalls with a smug smirk stretched across his furry face. This caused North's eyes to dilate with horror and look down at his horrific attire, "Rimskey Korsokov!" he exclaimed, "I am ruined!"

"Easter always was better then Christmas, mate."

"Nyet! Christmas will always triumph over Easter!" while the two holiday spirits began their argument, Jack took the chance to snap more pictures of the walking contradictions, the baffled yeti, and the elves who had split into two groups, each group standing behind either Bunny or North. It was a matter of seconds before the Easter Elf squeaked a war cry (or so Jack assumed) and a 'Battle of the Elves' erupted. The Spirit of Winter decided to make his escape, eagerly flying out a nearby window with an evil cackle. The airborne teen teen secured the camera in his hoodie pocket,

"Wind! To the Tooth Palace!" he was yanked higher into the atmosphere, the wind pulling him along faster now that it had a set course from its young charge. Within two hours, Jack was nearly vibrating with excitement as the grand towers belonging to Toothiana came into view. Several mini fairies had already begun flocking around him. Their precious cargo held in tiny hands as they chirped and trilled at him, accompanying him to their home. Baby Tooth, as if sensing that Jack was nearby, came zipping out to meet the winter spirit, happily greeting him by snuggling into his cheek. Soon, Jack landed and his herd of mini fairies dispersed to continue their duties, but Baby Tooth merely took a seat on his clothed shoulder and babbled on about her day,

'It's been slow, mother went on rounds. We found a opossum, a cute cute opossum! It was a pet, a fluffy pet. I want a pet. Animals are nice. I like animals. Mother won't let me have one. Why won't mother let me have one?!'

"I should have never taken you to that zoo...want to go to another one?"

'Yes yes, please yes!' the heterochromiac fairy began rapidly circling his snowy head. A set of dainty hands reached out to gently cup the fairy,

"Keep it together, Baby Tooth." Tooth said, "Take over for me and I'll let you go with Jack when he leaves." the little fairy saluted then darted away to the central tower to guide her sisters in their teeth collecting, "If she becomes anymore like you, I'll have to be on the lookout for pranks." the woman chuckled. Leading her companion to a nearby bench where he plopped down,

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's discreet as possible." Jack smirked and Tooth gave an amused eye roll,

"Speaking of pranks, what did you do to North and Bunny?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"A year and a half, Jack. I know by now that you're only this smug after a successful run." the transparent wings allowed Tooth to flutter down onto the bench where they twitched slightly before settling, "Bunny may have also come by earlier looking for. He was wearing his old coat. Care to explain, sweet tooth?"

"I knew it!" Jack laughingly exclaimed, "But it was one of my best, Tooth! I managed to make an Easter Claus and a Santa Bunny in one night! I'd like to see the April Fool top that!"

"The Fool wouldn't be able to get into the North Pole."

"Exactly." the teenager pulled the blue digital camera from his pocket, eagerly powering it up to allow his friend to see the precious images it hid inside, "I dare you to keep a straight face after seeing these." the first picture of Bunny and North staring at each other in bewilderment resulted in bulging eyes and puffed cheeks. The third picture had the Tooth Fairy emitting barely contained giggles from behind her hand covered mouth. The sixth picture was met with shrieking laughter and tears. In response to their queen's amusement, the miniature tooth fairies seemed to speed up their work, their chirping becoming louder making Jack and Tooth look up,

"I-I better go check on Baby Tooth," she giggled, "she can't keep up if they go too fast. Sorry I can't chat longer." the woman flew off, still chuckling. Jack flickered through the rest of the pictures, deleting any that were too blurry. He quickly switched it off when the familiar sounds of his favorite mini fairy approached, a hoodie, the same shade of blue as his, covering the majority of her small body,

"Ready to go, B.T.? We're heading to the Nature Sanctuary for a meeting today." Baby Tooth perked up at this, eagerly flying this way and that,

'With the creepy but really nice lady and the cute cute animals and the green everywhere!' the fairy paused a moment in mid air, fluttering in front of Jack's face with wide eyes, 'Everywhere...'

"We should probably go..." Tooth was right, Baby Tooth was becoming just like him.

"It was awesome! Bunny was a walking Christmas tree and North was so tired from delivering his presents that he didn't even notice! Phil gave me all the supplies I needed, even a camera. I am so printing the pictures out and adding them to my album." Jack bounced around the circular pavilion with the hyperactivity of a child given too much sugar. Mother Nature watched her adopted son carefully while smiling indulgently. The raven haired woman found Jack's pranks sadistically amusing; she could tolerate her seasonal spirits just fine, they were, essentially, a part of her, but when it came to other spirits...she was not as accommodating. There is a reason many immortals avoided her. Baby Tooth swiveled around Jack, following her friend's movement with ease,

'Bunny was mad, so mad. He fluffed up into poof mode! Bunny von Poof!'

"He was a bit fluffier than usual. I thought that was just the dye..."

"Many animals have a defense mechanism that will make them look bigger. Bunnymund, though on par with humans, is no exception."

"What about evil owl?" the winter spirit asked, settling down at the table to take a sip of water,

"Pardon?"

"Jamie found this video on the internet. It was in Japanese, but it was about this tiny owl and how it handled threats. When against a thirty five centimeter long owl, evil owl puffs up and does this thing with its wings. When against a seventy five centimeter owl, tiny owl goes all Dracula, hissing and glaring included." Jack sniggered before grabbing a leaf shaped cookie from the nearby tray,

"Ah, that was one of my more experimental creations."

"Were you trying to scare the humans again?" Baby Tooth rested on Jack's shoulder where she was given half a cookie to munch on,

"No, I have the lions, tigers, and bears for that."

"What about spiders and snakes?"

"A few forest nymphs angered me. I simply exploited their fears and threw it in their faces."

"Asian cobra?"

"Just trying to cut down the human populace."

"...Rabbits?"

"Making fun of Bunnymund, who knows he can't do anything about it. Except the arctic hares, those were a gift for you." Jack gave a light laugh while Baby Tooth trilled in awe,

"Thanks, mom. I love them."they shared a moment of comfortable silence. Jack then sat straighter when the sound of footfalls reached his ear and turned his snowy head towards their location. His seasonal siblings Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel appeared from an archway, their modern clothing seeming out of place in the archaic setting surrounding them,

"Jack!" Rapunzel ran forth and swept Jack into one of her signature bear hugs, complete with lack of oxygen,

"Hi, Punzie." the younger spirit coughed out once the brown haired girl had set him down,

"Good to see you still in one piece, shortie." Merida ruffled his white locks with a teasing grin. Jack glared and swatted her hand away,

"I'm taller than Punzie!" he yelled indignantly,

"But still shorter than me." the red head snickered,

"We could always have Punzie squeeze him in half." Hiccup, the tallest of the four, commented in dry humor,

"Good idea! Punzie, do it!" Merida commanded with fierce determination,

"Give me a hug, Jack!" the shorter woman promptly ran towards her seasonal brother with open arms,

"No no no!" a frantic race between Winter and Spring began. Mother Nature silently watched at first, a contemplative look adorning her face, before clapping her hands twice. Her four seasonal spirits quieted immediately,

"Take your seats. We have important details to discuss." her spirits nodded in unison, taking their respective seats at the table with Hiccup and Jack to the right of the woman then Merida and Rapunzel to the left, "Baby Tooth." the fairy fluttered over to her, "This is private, please return to your home." her tone left no room for argument,

"I'll see you later, Baby Tooth." Jack smiled when his small companion nuzzled his cheek, then flew away. Only after the tooth collector was out of sight did Mother Nature begin to speak,

"I've always done my best to tell the truth. Now that Jack has settled into his Guardianship, I believe it time to discuss our circumstances."

"My Lady, maybe we shouldn't-" a swift glare silenced Rapunzel's protest. Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat causing Hiccup to place a calming hand on the smaller spirit's shoulders,

"When Tsar Lunar contacted me about birthing a Spirit of Winter, I was hesitant to combine my magic with that of Lunar's magic." the woman began, steeling her eyes into that of indifference, "However, I was in dire need of a winter shepherd, one who wouldn't fade so quickly and so, I agreed. The bastard didn't tell me the conditions until after I had lent my power." her eyes shifted to Jack, who stilled his fidgeting upon meeting her gaze, "Jackson, when I informed you of the rules, I stated that we couldn't be within close range of each other least the environment suffer, the only exception is the Sanctuary, correct?"

"...Yes ma'am." he answered meekly, blue eyes flickering to his tensed sibling. He wanted to run. He wanted to escape this confession,

"There are no consequences to our surroundings, but Lunar forbade us from nearing you. We did so, of course, but the Man in the Moon wished for you to be solitary. He wanted to see how you reacted in your first years."

"Why...?" Jack's knuckles turned white from gripping his staff, trembling with quiet rage or justified fear, he did not know,

"We don't often make immortals from the deceased for reasons. They can be...troublesome. Many things can go wrong during the process. Lunar thought you to be a successful case until the realization of your missing memories came to light. After that, you were deemed a failed experiment."

"What!?" Jack stood abruptly, knocking his chair backwards, "But I'm here, I'm...I'm..." he looked down at the table,

"We still needed a winter spirit, Jack. Besides, the moon thought he could still use you-" Hiccup tried to calm the errant teenager,

"Use me!? For what?! As a weapon to defeat Pitch!? Is fighting other peoples battles the only thing I'm good for?!"

"You know that's not-" Rapunzel stood from her chair, hands raised,

"He didn't do a damn thing for three centuries because I disappointed him!?" Jack began backing up, a cornered animal facing its hunter, "If he wanted me to fade, he should have outright killed me!" a pale hand reached up to grip the moonbeam necklace under his hoodie,

"Jack, we-" Merida began,

"I should have stayed dead!" Jack turned and ran in desperation, ignoring the calls of his name, of his family to escape from everything. The wind picked him, shooting him past the trees and meadows that made up the Sanctuary. It took him straight to a large arch made of intertwining oak trees, "Antarctica!" he shouted just before he entered the shimmering veil that was a portal. Jack tumbled out mere feet above an icy tundra, lit by moonlight and stars. The winter spirit slammed his feet into the ice before screaming in raw fury, "WHY?!" he pointed his staff to the moon, "Am I not good enough for you!? Too fucked up for your tastes!?" tears began streaming down his angular face, marring his vision, "I hate you! I hate this!" he took a shuddering breath, hand still clenched around the silver necklace, "I hate him..." the staff was lowered, falling to his side. Crystal blue eyes gazed blankly at the delicate plains stretching before him, not bothering to suppress the blizzard his rampant emotions were causing.

He was tired of being betrayed.

He was tired of being used.

He was tired of being scared.

So he let righteous anger control everything.

For the first time, Jack wanted to take off the moonbeam necklace, the collar chaining him to such a decrepit being. He wanted his other self to destroy everything; be the monster that it was. To show that damn Man in the Moon he would not bow down, he would not be the puppet, and he would not be used. The moon shined down so disgustingly innocent, distracting Jack from everything but his own mind.

He did not see the shadows scurrying across the ice.

He did not see the black sand inching towards him.

The gray hand of Pitch Black came from nowhere; latching itself onto his face and eagerly feeding off the raw emotions radiating from the winter spirit's hazy mind. The snow haired boy jerked and pulled, scratching at the hand holding him captive, his staff knocked aside in a moment of screaming panic. The black sand forcing its way inside his head, intruding on his thoughts, shutting down his brain, and luring his fears to the forefront was too easy in such an emotional state. Before losing consciousness, Jack's was the moon, blaming him for everything gone so wrong.

The cold body of Jack Frost fell to the ground with a dull thud while Pitch Black stared down the unconscious teenager with a calculating look. His nightmare sand was inside the boy's head, picking apart memories to find his prize: Jack Frost's greatest fear. The Nightmare King had been stalking the Spirit of Winter, waiting for an opportunity, a chance to strike in a moment of weakness with no friends, no allies, and no help. He'd make the boy writhe and scream in agony, the Boogieman would see to that personally. Pitch was practically salivating at the thought of tasting the fear of an invincible Guardian. It would be delectable, a fine wine aged to perfection and peppered with the most exotic flavors. The gray man lifted a hand, his tainted sand coiling upwards out of the pale skinned body through the mouth, nostrils, and ears. The grains gathered in his palm, swirling in anticipation of revealing such delightful information to its master. Pitch dove in with a wicked cackle.

The liquid bodies swirled around him, their wispy voices echoing in the fogs of his memories,

"Leave this place!"

"You are not wanted!"

"Die!" they pulled him closer to the water, the chilling substance lapping at his feet,

"No! Let me go! Please!" awakening to a town entombed in snow, the quiet air lingering with a stillness of death, the crystalline forms writhing in agonizing fear. A winter child's torment brought to surface. He screamed; the winds shrieked, the sky darkened, and a bone chilling terror spread through the land.

... ... ...

All too late, the winter child learned a harsh lesson: everybody will hurt you. A flash of blue eyes, the steel blade burying itself deep into his shoulder, tearing his flesh, splitting bone, severing muscles with a sickening squelching sound,

"Jackie, you're scared." it soothed and called to him, "You're always so scared." only the mourning wind and the innocent blood splattered across a dead man and his axe answered.

... ... ...

"The humans can handle a bit of snow, Jack."

"I won't stop you from doing what you want."

"I'm a woman Jack, it comes with the intuition" he flew on the wind, begging it to go faster, always faster,

"I'll protect you..." that frighteningly twisted voice caused his eyes to cloud over, his sight fading, his body numbing, and he fell.

... ... ...

Furred fists struck him, threatening him, endangering him,

"We don't care!" he reached for his staff. Warm amber eyes against frigid violet. Golden whips struck and fought,

"Give me a dream, Mr. Sandman!" the cackling, the pain, covered in blood, "Everyone will hurt us. It is fact. Therefore I am the hunter; hurt before you hurt, kill before you are killed. These are the principles on which we have survived as Jack Frost." the sand around his neck, flinging him into the ground, "Are you afraid, Sanderson? Horrified? Perhaps disgusted by the blood on our hands? The bodies pierced by icicles. The screams of the dying. The frostbitten terror of knowing you're staring death right in the eye?" a giant golden fist slamming him into the cliff.

... ... ...

Death, always death; jumbling, confusing, spinning faster and faster. There was no way out. Never a way out. He couldn't move, couldn't breath, engulfing him entirely. Why wouldn't anyone see him? Hear him? Help him? There was blood everywhere, it covered his hands, hear the tormented screams of millions. He couldn't run. He couldn't escape. He screamed.

Pitch jolted back to reality with a loud gasp. Wide eyes peering between the sand in his palm and the unconscious winter spirit on the ground. Silence reigned in uncertainty as the Boogieman stood frozen in place. Then...he laughed. A cruel laugh, one of blackened heart and rotted teeth,

"You've been holding out on me, Jackie." black sand gathered under the thin body, lifting it into the air, "Do the guardians know? I highly doubt it. Such a shameful secret? They would certainly hate you." Pitch linked a finger onto the silver chain around Jack's neck, pulling until the gleaming crystal was free of the blue cloth, "Why, you're more of a monster than I am and I know just what to do with you." his eerie yellow eyes watched the boy's face for a moment before turning to the moon shining in the sky, "Isn't that right, old friend?"

Nicholas St. North stared curiously at his fellow Guardians,

"I did not send out lights." he grumbled, obviously annoyed by the fact his post Christmas nap had been interrupted twice. The audacity of some people,

"But North, we saw the lights! Even the elves know not to touch that switch." Tooth reasoned, fluttering to North's side and placing a hand on his arm,

"Was it Jack? It's probably the drongo trying to prank us again." Bunny gruffly commented, his fur still stained with faded patches of green and red,

"Jack wouldn't do that. He knows better." Tooth countered. Sandy remained quiet and contemplative. He sensed something...something dark, it unnerved him, to feel such a thing. He hadn't had this feeling since...Jack's disappearing consciousness. A large exclamation point appeared over the round man's head, a look of panic crossing his features. He had to find Jack. Where was Jack!? Sandy shot over to a nearby window, opening it with ease and peering out, hoping, praying to see Jack on the horizon. Surely he saw the lights...right? He ignored the arguing trio behind him as he floated from window to window, peering out at the snowy landscape, searching for a speck of dark blue. A yeti, Phil, came bursting through the door waving his arms wildly and screaming in Yetish as Sandy reached his sixth window,

"Phil! Can you not see we are arguing? Very important!" the yeti instead stumbled forth, grabbed North by the shoulders and shook him, still screaming in Yetish,

"Are getting any of this?" Bunny glanced at the large fairy beside him,

"Something about...a horse? And maybe-"

"Pitch is here?!" North shouted, "Why did you not say so?!" the Russian turned to his comrades "Pitch is outside with Jack!"

"What?!" Tooth shrieked as Bunny bolted out the door with Sandy at his heels. The pair did not bother with the large entry way, instead going to a balcony and jumping off, landing in the snow without a sound. Pitch Black waited patiently with a nightmare by his side, pawing at the snow, and Jack laying on a cloud of black sand before him,

"Kidnapping, Pitch? That's an all new low." the pooka growled, pulling his boomerangs from his bandolier. Sandy forming his whips beside him, waiting and watching,

"Don't look at me like that. I'm simply doing you a favor."

"You wanna do us a favor?! Drop the kid and leave!"

"Be patient, rabbit. Where are your friends?" one of Pitch's hands went to Jack's chest, fingering something shiny. Sandy recognized the moonbeam, the necklace given to Jack to protect him, to help him. How could Pitch know...? A creaking sound rumbled through the tense air, signaling the arrival of reinforcements and the last two guardians,

"Pitch! What have you done?!" North bellowed,

"Oh good, the big five is all together. Perhaps its time to start the show, don't you think, Sanderson?" golden orbs gazed into the angry amber eyes of the Sandman. The dream caster shook his head furiously, exclamation points and the word 'no' repeatedly appearing above his head in sparkling sand, "Oh, I believe I do." Pitch chuckled, grabbing the necklace in his fist, "It's abut time you Guardians know just how pathetic you really are."

"Sandy, mate, what's going on?" Bunny asked cautiously, his emerald eyes never leaving the scene playing in front of him. He didn't answer, instead, Sandy flew forward, his whips crackling in preparation to attack, to defend, whatever was necessary to stop Pitch from making such a mistake.

He didn't make it.

Pitch's manic smile widened, a crazed glint igniting in his eyes as he pulled. The chain snapped, its broken links falling to the snow below, the first tears of the bloodshed soon to happen. A violent wind swept out from around the Boogieman, a bone chilling terror spreading through the land. Everyone present; the Guardians, the yeti, Pitch could feel the change, the darkening air around them. It loomed in closer, caging them, making them bear witness to the monster soon to set upon them. Pitch stilled, gazing around, not a sound was made, not a breath taken, complete silence. It was broken by the gray skinned man's own scream of pain. The winter spirit lunging forth, perfectly white teeth sinking into the Nightmare King's bared throat and tearing. Pitch writhed and shoved the boy off him, flailing backwards. The thing in Jack's body was not deterred. It spit out the chunk of flesh then darted forward in the wake of the barrage of crimson spikes it had thrown. The Guardians stared in horror as a pale hand tore straight through Pitch Black's chest. The hand, now covered in slick, black blood, protruded from Pitch's back . In moments, Jack's hand was ripped out, causing the taller man to spit up his black blood from the hole in his esophagus. The crunching of snow from the weight of the body falling sounded clearly.

Frigid violet eyes stared down into Pitch's eerie yellow orbs; unwavering, fierce, and enraged.

:D

Yeah, I just stayed up til four in the morning to get this to you guys xD

Notes:

1) Opossums are so cute. Especially the baby ones. We found one abandoned in our washing machine (no, we don't know how the hell it got there). It's sibling was already deceased, and the little guy was so skinny and frail, but after two weeks of nursing him back to health. He was fat and round and happy. He thought I was his mama, it was adorable. He snuggled into my hand and I could pick him up and hold him and he'd climb on my shoulders and into my hair and I'm ranting. Alas, my little opossum was illegal. I had to hand him over to a rehab center where he was successfully re-introduced to nature. Now he's living the opossum life :)

2) I seriously want to do a one shot about the first time Jack calls Emily Jane (that's Mother Nature's real name, it was revealed in the most recent book) 'mom' and their relationship afterwards. If you guys want to read that one, just say so in a review and I'll start on it after DoD is done.

3) Mother Nature is a sadistic, bad ass, bitch in my mind. Seriously. The Asian Cobra is also supposed to be the deadliest animal with over 50,000 human deaths a year. There are also alot of one-shots out there about Jack and arctic bunnies. If you want an overdose of cuddlies, go find one.

4) GO LOOK UP EVIL OWL ON YOUTUBE! How that owl does it, I don't know, but it is hilarious.

5) PLEASE tell me your opinions on the part about the moon and Jack being a 'failed creation'. I really want some confirmation I did that part convincingly.