It was still in the small town of Burgess. A small dusting of snow had been placed almost hastily on the town. Although - i'm sure many wouldn't call it 'hastily' as snow didn't have a choice of where it went. At least this is what the adults believed. The children looked on it in a completely different manner. In fact, they were down right disappointed at how little the winter in their town seemed to have been greatly neglected.

"Where is he?" Jaimie asked his group of friends. To which they all shrugged.

"Maybe he's...busy?" one of the girls suggested. Kicking at the snow in a disgruntled manner.

"It was never like this before he became a guardian..." Jaimie sighed "I wonder what's so important that he can't come and play with us."

It hadn't been more than a year since Jack Frost had been chosen for the new spot as Guardian by the Man in the Moon. No more than a year since anyone had heard anything from Pitch Black. Because of this - everyone was becoming noticeably antsy.

"I am not understanding vhy Pitch is remaining so quiet" North boomed one day as he chipped away at one of his ice sculptures.

"I don't know big man," Jack replied touching the window in various places making beautiful patterns out of the frost that issued, "maybe he's just bidding his time - you know - trying to gather up some strength. It's only been a year." He added as he glanced over at North who was still frowning down at the miniature ice horse he had just carved.

North lifted his seemingly heavy eyes and looked over at Jack - staring at him for several moments before speaking.

"If you are hearing or seeing anything-"

"-I'll come straight to you," Jack finished for him, "don't worry - I wouldn't leave you out of the loop. I'd miss out on all the free hot chocolate anyway" he added with a smirk "anyway - all this searching you've gotten me to do lately has made me neglect my duties as both a winter spirit and the Guardian of Joy" Jack told the oversized man over exaggerating the pompousness in his voice as he stood up.

North smiled as he looked back at Jack - he had really grown a fondness for the boy over this past year. All of the guardians had really (even if Bunnymund wouldn't admit to it).

"Alvight - Vill you be back tonight?" He asked placing his perfectly modelled ice horse on his workshop desk making it spring to life and prance around joyously.

The winter spirit shrugged before grinning and turning to the open window "Don't wait up!" he called over his shoulder as he effortlessly glided out of the window and toward Burgess. The great man laughed as he watched Jack quickly vanish from sight.

It was mere moments before the wind had carried Jack to his home town. He frowned - slightly annoyed with himself at how abandoned the town looked without his wintery touch.

"I'll soon fix that" Jack grinned as he landed silently in a tree surveying the town deciding which plan of action he should take first.

But before he could take off he heard all too familiar voices and smiled instantly recognizing them as the children (the only children) who believed in him.

"I mean he has to be around here somewhere - he wouldn't just leave the town like this! No way. No how." Jack distinctly recognized the voice as Jaimie's the first child to ever see him.

"Aw c'mon Jaimie - this is getting really stupid" Obviously the voice of Cupcake - Jack thought to himself.

"Well this is no good" Jack said aloud making all the children jump as he hung upside down from the tree he was perched in revealing himself "no good at all" he added as he shook his head.

"Jack!" They all cried in unison.

"Where have you been?" Jaimie asked a hint of distress in his voice.

"Oh you know flying around - I have to make it snow in other places around the world too you know" He smirked floating down to the ground and ruffling Jaimie's hair. "But clearly I have some work left to do" he grinned down at all of the eager and excited faces in front of him as he took off back into the sky. Jack glanced back down and saw the small specs he had just left were following him now before he turned his attention back to the town and instantly making it snow with large snowflakes that lazily floated down from the smoky sky.

It was almost instantaneous. In the blink of an eye the small town went from looking rather dismal to the perfect christmas post card.

Jack nodded as he approved of his handy work before floating back down onto a roof and watching many children coming out of their houses now beaming as they saw the freshly fallen snow.

"That feels better" Jack sighed happily watching snowball fights beginning to ensue. He was just about to grab some snow from the roof he was sitting on and fly over head dumping them on anyone who happened to pass under him. But he had a sudden tugging in the back of his mind that made him feel as though he was being watched. Confused he looked around the town as his heart began to pound in his chest. Jack shook his head trying to clear it."That was...strange" he mused to himself before shrugging and gathering up as much snow as his thin but surprisingly strong arms could carry and floating over the town forming snowballs and throwing them all around him creating a huge snowball fight that must have involved over half of the children in the town. Jack felt this made up for his recent discard of the tiny town. As most of the children were called inside for dinner Jack noticed Jaimie waving at him and he waved back with a grin plastered on both of their faces before Jaimie turned away and ran back towards his house.

Jack flew in seemingly no direction well to him at least - but the wind had taken him back to his usual haunt - the lake. Jack didn't realize he was there until his feet landed in the middle of the glazed ice.

Looking around with a slight frown he felt strangely...small. Something he had never experienced here. This was the one place Jack always knew he could come too. But now something felt definitely off. The black all around him looked uninviting. Almost teasing him as he sat in the spotlight of the moon. Then that strange tugging sensation revisited his mind - he looked around expecting to see someone walk out of the darkness. But unfortunately for Jack his search led him to actual darkness. Black infact. Pitch Black.