Red gave way to green and Trick's once twig like hands turned back into his regular discolored fleshy ones. He gave the boy one more wide unhinged smile before releasing him.His sister on the other hand kept the axe at North's belly while she stared at the New Jack. Reaching over he rested a large hand on her bone thin shoulder. "Treat, we'll have time to play with new Jack later." A tug and Treat was standing back two steps axe resting on her shoulder. " Get on with your trial Guardians." It was as if nothing had happened.


Only it did. In his state of confusion and left over fear Jack stumbled back a step or two when Trick had let him go. New jack Frost. What did they mean by new Jack, he was the only Jack. Looking around the fact that the rest of the Guardians wouldn't meet his eyes drove something sharp into the pit of his stomach. ' they're hiding something.'

North glared at Trick. He was about to say something, when Tooth’s hand touched his shoulder. She was looking up at him with a pleading admiration. North relented, sighing and rubbing his forehead. “We are here to talk about Pitch. This is a serious matter. We cannot afford to waste it with childish pursuits.” Tooth smacked his arm and he sighed again. “The trial will commence. We will give the testimony of Pitch’s crimes and then he will tell his side.”

North looked at Sandy, raising a hand to invite him back over. Sandy shook his head and placed a hand on Pitch’s shoulder. He would not stand with Guardians on this.

Moving as one the Twins took their place to the right of pitch. Neither seemed to be focusing on the trial at hand though Treat's eyes would sometime move to meet the golden ones of the Nightmare king. In a subtle move she would shift the axe that rested on her shoulder.Trick's eyes on the other had would always make it back the new Jack. Why had Manny gone against the isolation sentence he had put in place for the new Jack? Why was he a guardian. Of course like all thoughts the twins had these too fluttered through his brain getting lost.

This was getting out of hand. Why was Sandy standing over there with Pitch. The crazed gumby had overrun his friend with his nightmares.Sure he got that the two had been around since the beginning but that didn't excuse what he had done. Capturing all of Tooth's little fairies and what about his googies. Those eggs had been for the children and because of pitch he had missed an Easter. This was gong to be a long bloody summit.




This wasn't the first time she was meeting Jamie's parents. Hell they had helped them move into their apartment. But as close as they lived she didn't see them often. So she had dressed in a pair dark skinny jeans and a nice forest green long sleeve top and her favorite black jean vest.Had she known the frozen white death was going to be coating the ground she would have opted out of the black leather pumps. No instead she nearly broke her neck twice trying to make it up the stairs with Jamie laughing from the front door.

Speaking of her winter loving boyfriend she smiled over as he finished telling his family the story of how he and Dylan, his roommate from fist year, had gotten locked in the library. Reaching under the table she rested a hand on his knee leaning in to bump his shoulder with hers. In return he slung an arm around her shoulder leaning in to kiss her forehead. Across from them Erica threw James a knowing look as she all but cooed at the cuteness of her son and his girlfriend.

North lowered his hand. He wouldn’t lie, he was somewhat hurt by Sandy’s refusal, but he understood it on some level. “For those who have not heard the story it is now to be told.” Tooth flew away from North, instead opting to fly behind him as to not disturb his story.

Sandy’s grip on Pitch’s shoulder tightened for a moment, then released. Pitch was shocked that he was still over by him. He knew that this had to be a big deal. The Guardians not standing together on something? Never happened.

“Pitch appeared here at my workshop, in the form of black sand three days before Easter. I called meeting of the guardians. They arrived and Manny announced that there would be a new Guardian. Jack Frost.”

Tooth stared at North. He was normally direct and to the point, but he seemed to be rushing the story.


Sophie smiled at the pair. As much as it pained her to admit, Jamie did seem happiest when Joyce was around. And maybe that was enough. Maybe if she could just remember that, she wouldn’t resent Joyce so much.

The words kept replaying over in his mind but Jack still couldn't make sense of them.The twins were clearly insane so he really shouldn't take anything they say to heart.The twins.Another thing the guardians had never told him, warned him, about. There was probably more. ' New Jack' Trick's voice voice echoed in his head.

"Jack Frost"At the sound of his name being said in a thick Russian accent the winter spirit blinked blue eyes and focused on the trail at hand. Looking around at the other guardians he was shocked to find Sandy standing over by Pitch instead of with them. The nightmare king had made him vanished, children stopped believing in him. Why would his friend stand near a monster?

Turning his eyes back up at the jolly man who as anything but jolly Jack opened his mouth to verbalize his original disinterest in join them. The ghost feeling of rough bark digging into his face shut his mouth.



" So Sophie how is school coming along?" Jamie's smile widened at Joyce's question. Not so much the question it's self jut Joyce taking an interest in his sister. They were his two favorite girls.

"Jack originally refused Manny's offer to be a Guardian," North continued. The thought made him almost laugh, that Jack thought he could deny Manny. That he ever actually wanted to. Jack was family now. Jack was everything that the Guardians stood for. He placed a hand on Jack's shoulder and continued.

"I took Jack aside and spoke with him. While we were speaking Tooth's palace was attacked by Pitch. We were too late. They captured all but one of Tooth's fairies, that Jack saved. Pitch had taken all of them, along with the teeth."

Tooth closed her eyes, trying to block the memory of her fairies, the teeth, her palace, and the belief in her all being stolen away. She wrapped her hands around herself, rejecting the sad feeling. This trial could not be ruled by emotions.


Sophie blinked at Joyce before realizing that she had asked her a question. "Oh," she started, as the realization hit her. "It's been a good semester so far. My art classes have been keeping me busy. What about you, Joyce?"

Raising a hand to make sure that Baby tooth was still tucked safely in the hood of his hoodie. A single cold finger rubbed against the little fairy's head.They all seemed to be letting North do all the talking. In fact ever since the twins and pitch had entered North was the only one to say a word. Except for himself of course.

" Yeah the coward attacked when no one was around." He mumbled a little louder then necessary. His eyes darted towards the Twins but neither seemed to be paying attention to him or North. Glaring at the tall dark figure Jack pushed all of his confusion into that glare.

Sandy and North's hands tightened on Pitch and Jack's shoulders, respectively, but both for very different reasons, comfort and restraint. "We decided to collect the teeth ourselves. A child woke while we were in the room. Sandy attempted to knock him out with the sand. It knocked out Bunnymund, Tooth, and myself. Jack and Sandy caught sight of a nightmare and followed it to fight Jack. A scoreline fell out of my pocket and the boy's younger sister got sold of it and ended up at Warren. Tooth, Bunny and I woke up and went to help with the fight against Pitch. Sandy disappeared."

He knew that they had to be honest. You couldn't lie at a trial and Sophie making it to his Warren had played a big part. In around about way if they hadn't spent that time with her they may not have interacted as well with the children with out her. Tooth showing her bloody teeth had been proof enough that they didn't know the firs thing about interacting with the children they protected. Still for North to openly admit that that he made a mistake that let a child get a hand on one of his scorelines.

Blue eyes softened at the mention of Jamie and Sophie. Even if it as in such a round about way.His fight against the nightmares with Sandy had really been his first guardian like act.He had bonded with the Guardian of dream in the fight he felt. Then to watch him vanish in a wave of black sand. " It was after the fight that Pitch..Pitch used his nightmare sand and consumed Sandy. He made him vanish." His eyes bore in to the yellow ones of Pitch.


Picking a slice of pepperoni off of the slice of pizza in front of her Joyce gave the high school girl a smile. She knew that out of all of Jamie's family Sophie had to like her. The only other person that Jamie talked about as much as his sister was Jack. " Classes have been good. My Molecular Genetics is really hard but it's worth it and I'm so loving it. How has the art coming along?"

Pitch looked at the Frost-boy, the ice blue glaring into him. It would be useless to argue, not to mention out of turn. He had to deal with it. Jack was going to treat him like this. He had tried to be kind to the boy, in his own way. Tried to offer him the deal of ruling alongside him. But that was ridiculous. Pitch knew that now. Pitch could see that now. It was ridiculous in the way that he could still remember it all, but it felt like he was seeing it through someone else’s eyes.

Sandy heard Jack’s words. The poor boy. And here he was standing by who Jack saw as the enemy. Jack knew nothing of the past between the pair. The Dream Brothers.

North took a step forward, releasing Jack’s shoulder. With his arm now in front of Jack, he was sure the winter-child was not that visible around him. “We all went to the Warren to prepare for Easter. When we were ready, Jack went to return the little girl to her home. While he was gone, Pitch’s nightmares attacked. They destroyed the eggs.”


“Really good! Ms. Dornan says that a couple other of my classmates and I might get to do a gallery later in the semester.” Sophie floundered for a moment, not sure what to ask next. She definitely probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with a discussion on molecular genetics, so what could she say next? Why couldn’t she talk normally with this girl? She was Jamie’s girlfriend. Obviously, she was easygoing enough. “H-h-how’s the apartment?”

North was rushing through the story. There was so much more to Sophie's time in the Warren then just preparing for Easter.That was the time he found his first believer. She reminded the Guardians of their whole purpose. Maybe it wasn't important to the trial but he knew it was important to Sophie...and to him and bunny. Plus North was shielding him like he was some kid.Rolling his eyes he let him self mumble his thoughts. " Sophie did more then just hang around the Warren. She got the kangaroo to smile and everything."

(( Sorry so short. I have to leave now.))

North coughed, in an attempt to bring the focus away from what Jack had just said. Hopefully it was quiet enough that the twins hadn’t heard. Bringing the attention to two very easily breakable humans was the last thing that North wanted to happen in this trial. Especially since the Guardians all kept close contact with the Bennett children. The twins learning of the Bennetts would be horrible, and, although Manny was convinced differently, possibly fatal. North did not have the blind faith in the twins that Manny did.

“Jack had been detained by Pitch at the time. He received his case of teeth from him. He came back to us. Bunny sent him away.”

Shifting on his large feet Bunny looked at the gathering of spirits just over Jack's head.That was the one Easter he had missed. No eggs had made it out of the Warren thanks to Pitch. He didn't blame Jack anymore, he explain how Pitched had tricked him. Besides the kid looked really beaten up about it after the battle.

However if the kid didn't keep his mouth shut about his little ankle biter in front of the twins he was going to tie him up in a sack so tight he would never get out.

North's words shut the little voice int he back of his mind up. He remembered clearly the guardians turning on him. Remembered that hollow empty feeling that had just started to go away grow stronger. Stepping around North he figured this was the part only he could really tell them about." I went to Antarctica. That's were I ran into Pitch." The name came out with a slight growl. He hated him.Hated him for so many reasons that he would never be able to face but had enough to warrant his hatred. "He tried to turn me against the guardians. What goes together better then dark and cold." He didn't look at the rest of the spirits, beings he had never really met.
" He kidnapped Baby tooth. Squeezed her, threaten her until I gave him my staff. He snapped it right in front of me. He threw baby tooth."

Every word that Jack was saying felt like a dagger in Pitch. He had said that, hadn’t he? And he broke the Frost-boy’s staff. And threw that little fairy. Regret wasn’t really the word. Shame wasn’t either. Disconnected. Sandy smiled sadly at him, and Pitch hung his head slightly.

North placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder, attempting to be comforting. “But Jack fixed his staff.”

North was very cautious about how to approach the next part of the story. Tooth’s teeth were on edge, and she had to remind herself not to bite her fingernails.

“He returned to the workshop. There remained only one light on the globe. Pitch threatened to kill the child and vanished. Jack flew off to the child and we met him there later.”

Pale hands tighten on his staff as if Pitch might try to break it again. "Jamie. Nothing can shake that kids faith. Maybe it's cause he saw you guys or well maybe it's just cause he's Jamie. He was wavering though. He needed proof. So I gave it too him. I made an ice bunny hop around his room and it did more then restore his belief. It made him believe in me too. Not a moment to soon either since Pitch was on his way over." He would make sure the Pitch never came near Sophie and Jamie again. In some way Jamie was still that eight/ten ((I couldn't remember how old he was)) year old in his pajamas. Even if he did just turn twenty-two.


"What? You didn't tell me that Soph." Jamie leaned over the table to give her a kid of one armed hug. With his other arm still around Joyce he ended up pulling the red head with him. Joyce her self was an only child but she had always figured if she had a younger sister. She'd have wanted on as free spirited as the blond. " We'll have to come down for the show. And I'm sure the apartment will be needing a new painting soon enough."She hadn't seen much of the girl's work, just what Jamie had shown her.Jamie of course loved that Joyce wanted to buy one of his sisters works. And what better place to put a Sophie Bennett original thing in their apartment.

North coughed again, bringing the attention back to himself. “The child and some of his friends helped us confront Pitch. Pitch launched an attack on the boy, but the boy’s faith turned the nightmare sand into Sandy’s dreamsand, and from it Sandy reappeared.”

Pitch’s eyes widened as he looked down at the floor. He had done that. He had threatened Jamie. He was prepared to kill him. A child. How could he have done that? His history…he couldn’t actually hurt a child, could he? But he had. He had given so many children nightmares. Fear without reason. He stared at his hands. Those hands could have killed that boy.


Sophie grinned at her brother. “When was there time to tell you, Jamie? We were both too busy with Jack.” She turned her attention to Joyce, her smile not wavering. “I’d be happy to paint whatever you would want.”

All this talk about what Pitch had tried to do to Jamie wasn't sitting well with him. Jack had pushed those memories away. Only bringing them up when they told the story to Sophie. In those bedtime stories the tale was always twisted just a little. So as not to scare the young girl too much. It wasn't until she got older they old her the full story.

He had never been more proud of the kid then when he had looked the Nightmare king in the face and tole him he wasn't scared. "They didn't just help us. They stood up to the boogie man. Jamie flat out told him that he wasn't scared." He didn't what Jamie's part in the whole thing to be under played. They would have lost with out those kids and they wouldn't have had those kids without the oldest Bennett.

North sighed. “That they did, Jack. Their faith defeated Pitch. And then Pitch was overrun by his own nightmares, forced to live in them until he could break their hold.” That was that. They had gotten through with their side without even drawing the twins attention, apparently.

Tooth let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Now Pitch had to have his say. And then they could finally be over with all this. Well, once they decided what to do with him.

Jamie.Jamie. Jamie. The word bounced off of the crowded walls of her mind. who had said it. Ah the new Frost. Jamie. Acid eyes moved away from a interesting little crack in the corner to her brother. Matching eyes met and cleared of all confusion.Jamie was a child. A child that the new jack seemed to be very close too. Jamie a boy not scared of fear it's self. An hauntingly twisted smile curved chapped pale lips. One full of more dark playfulness formed on Trick's one face.The guardians had a pet.

" Tell us more of this...Jamie."



" Don't make excuses. You have my cell number...Ankle bitter." Smiling over at his sister he let himself fall back into his seat his girlfriend still leaning a little closer to his sister. Joyce was actually really excited about the gallery. She called it a success if her stick figure had something that resembled a head. " Really. thanks. uh.." Sitting back in her seat the normally blunt red head cast a glance at Jamie before deciding to ask. "Would you mind showing me some of your work when e get back to you place?"

Fuck. The only word that hit North’s mind. He had thought they were in the clear. That the two psychotic twins hadn’t caught on.

Tooth’s wings stopped moving and she landed on the floor. They had Jamie’s name. They had Jamie’s name. Nothing good could come of this.

“Jamie is merely child who helped us defeat Pitch. Not important to trial.”

Pitch pitied the Guardians at that moment. If he knew the Guardians as well as he thought he did—well, at least now that he was sane—then there was no doubt in his mind that they did keep contact with the boy. And if he knew anything about the twins, it did not bode well that they were showing an interest.


Sophie turned red and started fiddling with the napkin in her lap. Other than family—and Jack—the only way her art had been seen by other people was in class, although she did suspect her father of stealing a few pictures to show off to his colleagues. But she had been the one to offer up the painting. “Oh, um, yeah, sure,” she said, smiling. “I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Fear gripped the heart inside his furry chest.What had the bloody drongo thought talking about the kid. He had seen how crazy they were. Why would he think that he needed to open his mouth at all North had it.

The eerie double voice of the twins rocked ever nerve in his body. Was it good or bad that they asked about Jamie. Sure they ere a little... a lot off but they were Manny's enforcers right. They weren't going to hurt Jamie right. Looking around at the other guardians blue eyes widened trying to under stand just what he had done.

Taking a shifting step closer to the four guardians the twins tilted their heads at the same time. "No but he is important to you." Their eyes were far to clear for any ones comfort.


"Thank you. It'll be just us girls." Taking a bite of her pizza she felt Jamie squeeze her shoulder. She knew that he liked the idea of them getting alone. And she really wanted the little blond to like her.

North knew they couldn’t lie to the twins. Not only because of the trial, but because the Guardians couldn’t lie. “That is not the task at hand,” he said, stepping forward and block Jack with his body. Maybe the winter-child would be quiet now. Maybe North could distract them again. “It would not do to let your minds wander, children.” The bait was obvious. He could only hope they would take it.

Tooth started chewing at her nails, hidden behind North. It was a horrible habit that she had thought she had dropped. But apparently the threat the twins gave was enough to make her go back to it.

Sandy removed his hand from Pitch’s shoulder and glared at the back of the twin’s heads and floated forward a little. Briefly, he considered hitting the two with some dreamsand to knock them out. Of course, he was also considering dusting the entire room.


Sophie nodded. “No boys allowed? Or just no Jamie?” she asked, giggling a little.

Trick took a slightly larger step the Treat but they both moved closer. No other sign was made that showed a reaction to the taunting name. "He was there." There was a crunching sound of bones grinding against each other as Treat shifted the eight of the Axe on her small shoulder,"we'll need his testimony." Voices hissed out the last word.



Pretending to think about Joyce smiled over at Jamie. "Just no Jamie." Sticking her tongue out at her boyfriend she gave the high schooler a joking wink.

North shook his head. He could not let this happen. “His testimony is not needed. We have five Guardians’ testimony, and Pitch’s. The boy should be left alone.”

Pitch’s eyes shifted over the gathering. Not one person was looking at him…


Sophie grinned and poked her brother in the side, tickling him. “I can make a sign for that. And you can hang it on the apartment door whenever you don’t want Jamie around. And then he can come home to hang out with me and Jack.”

The clarity started to seep form their eyes. Pupils dilating as the glanced more around the room. Their focus waning as it did from time to time. "He was there." the axe slipped from her shoulder and fell close to Pitch even f her eyes never moved near the dark man. " He was important enough to kill." there words had taken on a hissed whispered quality to them. Every so often their eyes would move back to the Globe at the same time. Yes they would need to meet this Jamie.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Did they just...threaten Jamie. No Manny wouldn't let such dangourse creature be his enforcers would he? His whole body tingled and he felt the wind dance around his arms and legs. He could take flight and making to the Bennett's in record time. But did they threaten him?



Joyce let out a barking laugh bring her hand up to cover her mouth. " I like that idea. I can use it when he doesn't do the dishes." Though once again there was that name. Jack. She had never met Jamie's best friend nor had she seen a single picture of him.