Tainted Ice

Chapter 27

Pitch fled into the forest, looking back every now and then. Jack had bested him yet again! This time, the other guardians were just accessories! He hadn't expected Elsa to suddenly find it in herself to accept her powers and be not afraid! Women are supposed to be fragile creatures, Pitch scoffed. How did Elsa suddenly get so powerful? He had been too busy into his thoughts only to smack into the stomach of North who stood in front of him with the other guardians.

"You," he seethed in rage.

"That's enough, Pitch," North folded his arms. "It's time for you to go!"

Pitch shook his head and snarled. "You can't kill me! If you do, there will be no reason for Hope to exist!"

Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "Who said anything about killing you? We're actually just supposed to put you back in the whole where you belong."

"You don't understand," Pitch gasped and glared at Jack. "No matter how you look at it, this victory is mine!"

Jack chuckled and shook his head with a smirk. "Yeah sure, Bunnymund is going to help Elsa and Anna bring back spring. Arendelle is gonna be out of the winter. Hans is probably get carted off to prison and you're going back down to the hole. Tell me how that is your victory."

"For now it's yours," Pitch growled with a cryptic, cruel smirk. "But I win in the long run."

Seeing that devious smile, North grabbed Pitch by his coat and held him a few inches off the ground. "What are you saying?"

"I'm just saying North," Pitch shrugged and smirked. "Happily Ever After usually doesn't end. But believe me... this will..."

Suddenly, Pitch melted into a shadow and zoomed away.

"Get back here," Jack roared and leapt after Pitch's shadow, only for him to be held back by Sandy. "Sandy? Wh-what are you-?"

Sandy shook his head. Let him go. He's probably heading back to his old usual hiding hole. I'll deal with him. After all, he is my responsibility.

"Your responsibility? Since when," Jack gawked.

Sandy floated past him before forming a ball of sand in his hands and revealing a small tableaux performance. Jack gawked and saw how Pitch and Sandy interacted. He saw how the gold sand and the black sand met at one point, swirling around to form the world of Dreams. He saw how Pitch and Sandy stood at two opposite ends of one another as it formed a circle of a gold and black Yin and Yang. It was only then, it hit Jack to what Sandy and Pitch really were.

"You guys are," Jack shook his head.

Sandy hung his head and nodded. Let me be the one, Jack. You should go back to Elsa.

"Sandy's right," Tooth said and placed her hands on Jack's shoulders. "Elsa needs you. She'll need a morale boost in melting the snow off Arendelle."

Bunnymund nodded. "We better go, mate. I might hafta help her little sister before she does something crazy like marry the reindeer or something."

Jack nodded but couldn't help but look back at Sandy. He wondered; did the other guardians know of who Sandy really was? He just knew that Sandy was the oldest guardian living among them. But that would explain why Sandy wasn't killed before even when Pitch shot a Nightmare Arrow into his back. The guardian of fun sighed before flying off with Bunnymund sprinting off behind him. North and Tooth looked back at Sandy who had followed Pitch into the forests.

"Do you think Sandy's gonna be okay," Tooth glanced up at North who shook his head.

"I don't know, Tooth. I really don't know."