Jack flew after the monster.
He had to lead it away from the festival!
One small mercy was the creature had made itself invisible. They were still a fair distance away but the thing was so huge, some poor festival patron would've had to have noticed it.
That said, Jack didn't understand the point of trying to sneak up on people when you were bigger than hundred year old trees. As he watched, the monster's hide brushed against one. Dozens of rudely awoken birds fluttered away in panic.
'Okay. So you're big, mean and don't care about the things around you', Jack commented, trying to come up with a plan of attack.
Worst of all, it had Pitch's teeth. He could barely see the box's telltale glimmer deep inside the creature's chest.
Who knew how strong the beast was now?!

Well Pitch certainly wasn't going to help and the thought of the self-centred boogeyman spurred Jack's speed. He swooped around the creature's face like a gnat, causing it to stop and shake its immense head in annoyance.

'Come and get me!' Jack shouted, conjuring a snowball that he threw at close range.

The snowball smacked the creature right on its pointed nose.

It growled and its eyes focused on Jack.

'Now I've got your attention', he grinned.
It was a good thing it shared Pitch's hatred for being made fun of.
Its mouth opened and dozens of tentacles shot out. Jack froze them and distanced himself to the creature's right.
The creature gagged at the sudden dead weight in its mouth and used a clawed hand to break the ice.
As Jack expected, it pivoted to face him. It was good and angry now. Easy to distract.
The double edged sword this development was became apparent within the next few seconds as Jack was forced to use every ounce of his preternatural agility just to stay out of the creature's reach.
He bobbed and weaved like a sparrow escaping the clutches of an angry cat but it was no use.
The monster was too interested in destroying him now to give up.
It spat sticky black liquid at him to try and slow him down.
Jack reacted by flinging icy breezes and icicles from his staff.
This just seemed to make the creature angrier.
Jack tried to break its line of sight by hiding in the top branches of an old fir. He heard the creature make a frustrated growl and sighed, trying to calm his racing heart.
The creature heard the noise and before Jack could react, it slammed an immense fist into the tree's trunk.
The trunk cracked in half and it fell. Jack barely dodged, tumbling head over heels.
He moaned as he stood up.
Never mind hurting in the morning: this was aching right now!
He backed away, staff ready as the creature advanced.
He wracked his brains for more ideas.
The creature wasn't doing any major shapeshifting: only changing its style of attack, never its main body.
Pitch had said his brain had once been animalistic. Maybe this thing hadn't figured out the more creative uses of its powers yet.
Jack could only hope.
It was hard enough dealing with it when it was dumb as soup!

'Enough dancing Frost!'

Pitch's voice distracted both Jack and the monster from their battle.
Jack's jaw dropped. He couldn't help it.

Pitch sat atop one of his Nightmares on the crest of a nearby hill, a black shadow against the moon.
They dissolved as one and reformed from a patch of shadows beside Jack.
Pitch offered Jack his hand.
Jack took it and was hoisted unceremoniously to his feet.

'You can only defeat fear one way', Pitch said, 'Head on!'

Urging Onyx forward into a charge, Pitch grabbed a nearby Jack O' Lantern from the side of the path and heaved it at the creature. It burst open on the creature's oily skin, causing it to roar in anger but not in pain.

Pitch took advantage of the distraction to dismount, grab a stunned Frost and drag him through the shadows to a nearby hiding place behind some bushes.

'Thanks for the cavalry!' Jack said, 'What made you change your mind?'
Pitch was about to answer but the bush was suddenly yanked from the ground. The creature dangled it above them tauntingly then swallowed it whole. The branches crunched as it went down.
The creature raised its fists again and this time, Pitch barely dodged a cluster of newly formed tentacles.

'A fairy godmother!' Pitch snapped, 'Can we just focus on the monster?!'

He whistled and Onyx emerged from the shadows. Grabbing Jack, he threw him onto the horse before leaping on Onyx's back himself.
She cantered into the sky at speed, circling the monster below.
Jack noticed how tightly Pitch was grasping the reins.
He sometimes forgot other spirits couldn't fly.

'Yeah good plan!' he yelled over the rush of the wind, 'Any idea on how to beat it?'

'I know I can't defeat this monster. It's resistant to my shadow magic'.

'Then I have even better news: my powers don't work either'.

As Onyx executed a perfectly timed barrel roll to avoid a gobbet of black slime spat at them, Pitch found time to glance incredulously over his shoulder at Jack.

'I can assure you Frost, they don't bloody tickle when you're on the receiving end'.

'Well I can assure you they don't tickle or hurt this guy'.

'You've beaten me before! I thought Guardians knew how to defeat things that go bump in the night!'

'Okay okay! Let me think for a second!' Jack said, starting to count on his fingers, 'It's big, dark, scary, it came from inside you…'

Jack trailed off. At Pitch's withering look, he shrugged sheepishly.

'I don't suppose any of your friends would have any advice about our dilemma?' Pitch asked, rolling his eyes.

He rolled them again at Jack's surprised look.

'Yes, I am that desperate', he deadpanned.

'North says 'Fear finds us when we are most alone'. That helped me find your lair but it's not like it's gonna help us now', Jack groaned.

Then he noticed Pitch's face.

'Unless it is gonna help us now?' Jack asked.

'Not us', Pitch said, 'I have to do this alone'.

'I didn't mean that! Your powers don't even work!'

Without a word, Pitch directed Onyx back down to earth. As they both dismounted, Pitch made a gesture with his hand. Onyx vanished into the shadows.

'You've got some kind of crazy idea don't you?' Jack asked as he watched Pitch walk towards the monster.

'Trust me Frost. I know that's a big ask after everything I've done but don't try to stop me'.

'Who's gonna stop you?' Jack smiled, 'Need a boost?'
Pitch nodded.

Slamming his staff into the ground, Jack created a whirlwind of waiting air.
Willing himself to become shadow, Pitch slithered into the waiting wisp.
With a shout of effort, Jack forced the wind upwards, sending Pitch skyrocketing towards the creature.
At the point of impact, Pitch concentrated, maintaining his transparency.
It worked and he leapt into the creature's chest, phasing through the tough hide.
It was like swimming in oil, cool and slick but Pitch found he could thankfully breathe easily.
He dove towards the box sitting where the creature's heart should have been.
Artery like tendrils pulled across the gap in a bid to stop him.
Pitch gripped them and began to pull them apart. His hands became torn and wept black liquid as the vines grew thorns to protect themselves.

But Pitch didn't stop.

'You don't control me!' he yelled defiantly.

As he let the last of the vines shrivel as they sank away from him, he grabbed the box.
The world turned upside down as the creature bucked and roared, sensing its power source was being interfered with.
Even as he tumbled within the liquid, Pitch scowled at the box.
It frantically pulsed in synchronicity with Pitch's own adrenaline fuelled heartbeat.

'You're nothing but a bad dream!'
He began to close the box. It burnt him with blue electricity as it reacted furiously to his touch.
He focused and summoned whatever strength he had left.
The tendrils whipped his face, leaving stinging red welts.
The lid began to close.
The creature tore into its own chest, frantically trying to pull Pitch out like an invasive parasite.

'I control my future!'

He was pushing it too far. He could feel his vision wavering. He was at his limit.
But then he felt the lid snap shut.
A roaring sound like a fierce wind.
The crackling of electricity.
Open air on his face.
Falling.

He landed on something soft yet solid.
He groaned as he felt the box fall from his fingers.

'Got it!' came Jack's voice from somewhere beneath him.

Opening his eyes, Pitch felt Onyx's sandy mane on his cheek and knew who had caught him.

'Good girl', he whispered, sitting up on her back.
Everything ached and the wounds on his hand tingled as they began to seal themselves shut.
He glanced around as Onyx came back down to earth.
The creature was gone save for a few tar like puddles scattered around the area.
The festival continued in the distance, the population oblivious to the battle that had just occurred.

In a central tar puddle, a pathetic shape tried to crawl from the liquid.
Wisp like and flickering, the remains of the creature tried in vain to escape its coming punishment.
Pitch dismounted.
Jack solemnly gave Pitch the box of teeth.
Pitch took them with a nod of acknowledgement and advanced on the creature.
Diminished and wraith like, the creature's form wavered on the edge of existence.
It gave a high pitched whine of fear as Pitch bent down to it.

'There is only one boogeyman', Pitch whispered, 'Boo'.

The shadow shattered like black glass.
In the midst of the crystalline fragments, a pale object lay gleaming wetly in the light.
As the fragments began to break down into grainy sand that was absorbed by the earth, Jack used his staff to uncover it fully.

'A tooth?' he asked, bewildered by what he saw, 'That thing was a tooth?!'

'My tooth', Pitch said, rubbing his cheek ruefully, 'Thank you Toothiana. Happy Easter to me'.

As Pitch added it to the box of teeth, securing it safely, the two groups of Nightmares that Pitch had summoned arrived.

Running with one group came Monty, Jamie and Cupcake. On the backs of the other group of Nightmares were Pippa, Claude and Caleb along with a figure that Jack recognised as the stall operator from the festival. They were sleeping soundly.
Jamie ran ahead of his group to Jack.

'Jack! What's happening? The Nightmares got us to follow them here and- Oh my gosh! Look! Monty, Cupcake! It's Pippa and the guys!'
With cries of delight and surprise, the children clustered around the Nightmares who shrunk back instinctively, worried about the touch that would transform them back to dreamsand.
Realizing the Nightmares' discomfort, Cupcake held up two restraining arms and raised her eyebrows at the boys.
'Sorry', they chorused at the Nightmares, realization dawning.

'How did they find them?' Jack asked as he and Pitch joined the group.

'Well?' Pitch asked the foremost Nightmare.

Pitch listened intently to the successive whinnies, shrieks and snorts the Nightmare produced.

'The murals', Pitch explained to Jack, 'The creature put them there as entrances to its lair. In case it needed to escape. They found the victims there by following its scent as I instructed'.

The Nightmare whinnied again.

'And they were just in time', Pitch relayed, 'The portals vanished just as they got out'.

Jack nodded gratefully and took Pippa off the Nightmare's back. Pitch lifted the twins down with strength that was totally at odds with his thin frame.
Jack wasn't surprised.
After what he'd seen, he doubted he would ever be surprised by anything involving Pitch again.
The guy could talk to horses for Pete's sake!

'What's wrong with them?' Jamie asked.
A touch of Pippa's wrist told Jack they were definitely alive but a small shake brought no response from her.
Pitch looked at the sleeping faces of the twins and knew what was wrong.

'The creature had them in a trance: replaying their worst fears over and over again', he stated.

'The Nightmares tell you that?' Jack asked.

'They didn't have to. It used to be a favoured tactic of mine', Pitch said.

Keenly aware of the uncomfortable silence that greeted this pronouncement, he lowered the twins to the ground and brushed some dust from his robe.

'Thank you', Cupcake said, smiling at him.
Pitch hid the blush creeping over his pale skin by turning his back.

'They're sleeping peacefully now the spell's broken. They'll wake at sunrise. Now if you don't mind, I need a…a…sit down'.

'Sure', Jack said, 'You earned it'.

He looked up just in time to see Pitch collapse.

'He really did go all out', Cupcake said fondly.

Jack smiled.
Until he noticed one of Pitch's hands.
It was inky black with gnarled fingers topped with curved claws. The blackness was spreading up his arm. As Jack looked at Pitch's drawn face, he saw the boogeyman's eye colour change to pools of tar. Pitch breathed shallowly as he reached out for Jack.

'What's happening to him?' Cupcake cried.

'He's used up too much power', Jack said, 'He's turning into that creature. What he used to be'.

'Do something!' Cupcake commanded, rolling Pitch onto his back to help him breathe.
Pitch was too weak to push her away this time.

'We believe in the boogeyman!' Jamie said, 'Come on guys!'

The Nightmares were clustering around their fallen master, heads lowered as they tried to understand what was happening.

'It's not enough!' Monty yelled, 'He's not a Guardian anyway!'

Cupcake practically growled in frustration but then gasped as an idea popped into her head.
She marched over to Jack.

'Jack, there's at least fifty kids at the festival! We can do it with their help!'

'How are we supposed to do that?!' Monty cried, 'A lot of 'em don't even believe in Jack Frost!'

Cupcake groaned at Monty's pessimism.

'Then how come we can still see Pitch?! We believe in him. We can make them believe too!' she said.

Jamie's eyes lit up.

'She's right!'

'She is?' Monty asked, earning himself a thump on the arm from Cupcake.

'Look around!' Jamie said, 'If you see a guy walking around dressed as Dracula do you think 'Hey there's Dracula!' or 'Hey there's some guy dressed as Dracula?!'

'Who do they expect to see?' Jack breathed, Pitch's own words taking on new meaning, 'That's it! I mean if you can't believe in the boogeyman on Halloween when can you?!'

He knelt down beside Pitch and touched his shoulder.
Pitch's eyes became focused despite the tremors in his body.
He just wanted to go to sleep: to give into the simple instincts trying to control his brain.

'Hang in there Pitch', Jack said, 'We're gonna get you some believers'.

Mayor Brannigan was checking his tie in a mirror hung up hastily behind the outdoor stage when the kids found him.
Pitch had been stowed safely inside Jack's cabin. It was out of the way of any casual festival goers but close enough to the PA system so he could hear what was going on.

'Hi Mr Mayor', Jamie said.

Brannigan smiled at the voice. He liked kids and knew Jamie's mother well.

'Hello Jamie. You enjoying the festival?'

'Hello sir', Jamie said politely, 'This is gonna be a big favour but we'd really appreciate it if you'd Jack Frost do the intro. He's like a town mascot now'.

'Jack Frost?' Joseph, Brannigan's security guard asked as he joined them.

'Yeah', Cupcake enthused, 'He's made his own costume and everything!'

Brannigan hesitated, unsure of how the other organizers of the festival would feel.

'Good for publicity sir', Joseph whispered, 'Especially with recent events'.

That sold it for Brannigan. He knew Jamie knew the missing children. Letting Jamie's friend open the festival was the least he could do.

'Alright then', he smiled, 'I'm tired of making speeches anyway: after a while they all sound the same'.

He headed towards the stairs leading to the stage.

'I'll just go up and introduce him. Where is he anyway?'

'Right there', Monty said, pointing.

Mayor Brannigan jumped as Jack suddenly became visible behind him. Joseph reached into his coat automatically before quickly backtracking. No way the scarecrow-thin teenager was a threat.

'Sorry son, didn't see you there', Brannigan said but then he seemed distracted, 'Do I know you?'

'Guess I just have one of those faces', Jack said, then winked, 'Toby'.

'Toby? Ha! Nobody's called me that since…'

Jack watched the tell-tale blue sparkles dance in Toby's eyes and his smile increase.

'Sir?' Joseph prompted.

'Huh?' Brannigan said, shaking his head, 'Oh sorry! Just remembered something from when I was a kid. Great costume son!'

Brannigan stepped onto the stage to a round of enthusiastic applause. Joseph followed and took a seat at the back of the stage, beside the head of the PTA and other people who had organized the festival.
Jack and the kids breathed a collective sigh of relief.
They waited for the small speech Brannigan had promised and finally the moment of truth came.

'I'd like to introduce one of our honorary citizens: Jack Frost!'

'Let's do this', Jack said determinedly and flew out into the spotlight for good measure.
As the crowd whooped and gasped as he flew over their heads, he knew it had worked!
Just like with Pitch's spiders earlier, even adults were prepared to believe, as long as ironically they thought it was fake.
He landed back on the stage to a generous amount of applause and bowed.

'I know this isn't really my time of year to be hanging around', he said, 'but I just thought I'd come and say thanks for the great cabin!'

As the kids moved to the front row, they could hear snatches of conversations over their heads.

'Oh! He's adorable', smiled an old woman.

'What a great idea. That's so nice for the kids', said a man further downstage.

'Aren't his feet cold?'

'You know I've never thought about Jack Frost but that is totally what he looks like! He nailed it!'

'Keep going Jack', Jamie whispered, 'They're liking it!'

'You all having a good time?!' Jack continued, Jamie's words carried to his ears by the North Wind, 'It's Halloween! And that means it's time to introduce a special guest!'

'I wasn't told about this', Brannigan whispered to the Head of the PTA sitting beside him.

'Really Mr Mayor?' she responded, 'Everyone's been talking about it. That really great magician you hired?'

'Oh yeah, think I saw him earlier', Joseph commented, 'He was good'.

'You probably saw him doing some tricks earlier', Jack said, listening to the conversation behind him, 'Those spiders got me good!'

'This is going to be awesome!' whispered someone dressed as a scarecrow beside Cupcake.

Aware of the excited hum from the crowd and the smiling faces of the children in the front row, Jack went for it.

'So let me ask you something? Do you believe in the boogeyman Burgess?!'

Cupcake, Monty and Jamie yelled 'Yes!' at the top of their voices.
They weren't the only ones.
Three hundred voices all yelled 'Yes' as one gigantic mass of men, women and children.

Jack looked at the cabin and a vivid green lightning flash illuminated the windows.
Maniacal laughter echoed around the stage as black smoke began to billow from the cabin.
The crowd clapped and cheered as a vast cloud of bats burst from the trees surrounding the festival, flapping between multi-coloured lights. These changed and morphed together to form large horses with blazing yellow eyes that cantered above the heads of the audience.
Then lightning struck the stage.
The crowd went quiet as a black shape emerged from the web of vibrant electricity.
Pitch raised his staff and shrieked.
Jack felt the hairs on his neck stand up at the sound as well as the hair on his head.
He chuckled at the odd sensation and the audience joined in, amazed that every spectator's hair was suddenly standing on end.
Pitch swept his cloak impressively and it dissolved into spiders that crawled off stage.
'Speak of the devil', Pitch declared, all weakness gone, 'And he shall appear!'
He thumped the butt of his staff into the stage and every decorative pumpkin on stage began floating.
'Happy Halloween!'

As the crowd clapped, whistled and stomped, Brannigan nudged Jack, who had taken a good few steps back out of range of any unexpected explosions.

'I don't remember hiring him but I'm glad someone did!' Brannigan laughed as he jumped at a ghostly shark circled overhead.

'The crowd's really liking him', Jack agreed.

'See if he does birthday parties would you?' Brannigan asked, 'My daughter would love this!'

'What age is she?'

'Eighteen'.

At Jack's raised eyebrow, Brannigan humphed.

'So what? I'm enjoying it and I'm forty six!'

Everyone agreed it was the best festival the town had ever seen.
It was made even better by the missing children turning up safe and well the next day.
Nobody was quite sure what they had been through but all would come out in time.
In true Halloween tradition, nobody could find the magician or even recall catching his name.
Afterwards, when Brannigan asked Jamie and his friends who the magician had been, little Sophie piped up.
'Boogeyman!'
Nobody believed her. No adult at least.
There was no longer any talk of the Nightmare Man but amongst the children of the town, whispers began about a creature that looked evil but kept the worse ones away.
When Jamie told him, Jack just laughed and wondered if Pitch would appreciate the mark he had left on the town.

The next morning, the bleak Autumn sun rose over discarded pieces of forgotten candy and extinguished Jack O' lanterns.
Walking beneath the trees, Pitch picked up a candle and idly examined it.
It smelt of cinnamon.

'Slipping away without saying goodbye?'

Frost's irritatingly cheerful voice nearly made Pitch jump. Nearly.

'I don't much care for the spotlight Frost', Pitch sniffed, dropping the candle into a nearby bin, 'Or sunlight for that matter'.

'That's funny', Jack said, jumping down from the tree he was perched in, ''cause it looked like you were really enjoying yourself up there last night'.

Pitch tossed him something as he landed.
Jack realised it was the box of teeth.

'Seriously? You don't wanna keep these?' Jack asked.

'More trouble than they're worth', Pitch shrugged, 'Besides, thanks to last night, I feel better than I have in eons. So many jump scares and spines tingled. Delicious'.

'So?' Jack prompted.

'So what?'

'Anything else you wanna say to me before you head off?'

'There may still be young children in the vicinity so no'.

Jack folded his arms.

'You try really hard to get people to hate you don't you?'

'Compared to you who barely has to try at all', Pitch said, rubbing his eyes, 'It's been a long night Frost and I just want some peace and quiet'.

'Looks like we can agree on something. Oh! One more thing'.

He tossed Pitch a small object.
Pitch caught it between two fingers and examined it.
A small foil wrapped chocolate that looked like a pumpkin grinned up at him.

'Happy Halloween', Jack said.

Pitch looked at Jack as if he were crazy, laughed once and walked away.
As Jack did the same, he thought he heard something but by the time he had turned back around, the boogeyman had vanished into the forest.

'I suppose it was…fun'.

Later that day, Jack returned the box to Tooth.
She was dumbfounded when Jack told her the origin of the mysterious monster and immediately started to blame herself.

'I didn't realise there was one missing. I got so distracted. It's all my fault!' she cried, covering her face.

'It's okay Tooth', Jack said, touching her shoulder, 'We saved them didn't we?'

She gripped the box of teeth and eyed it with distaste.

'I just hate even looking at these….wait…'

She examined the box closely.

'What?' Jack asked, getting nervous.
The box wasn't broken was it?

'Something's different', she said, weighing it in her hand, 'It's lighter somehow; it doesn't feel bad to hold it anymore! Jack, what did you do?'

Moving back slightly from Tooth's intense, questioning stare, Jack looked at the box.

'All the power must have been used up', he suggested.

'That's not possible. Bad memories never fade. Unless…'

'Unless what?'

'Unless the owner chooses to let them go', Tooth said quietly.

'Why do you think the tooth took the kids?' Jack asked.

'It was part of Pitch', Tooth said, looking at the box as if she was trying to convince herself she could really see it, 'Probably trying to feed off their fear instinctively. It must've targeted Pippa and the twins because it recognised them. It could feed off their fear but no matter how much it ate, it still felt empty inside. It was…'

'Lonely?'

Tooth closed her eyes and clutched the box tight.
Could it be true? Could the boogeyman be more than he appeared?
The thought made her uneasy.

'You think we could let him out again next Halloween?' Jack asked, 'Maybe drop into his place for a house party?

At Tooth's expression, Jack held up his hands to ward off the lazer beam stare.

'Okay we'll put a pin in it', Jack said, 'But he sure knows how to throw a party'.

The End.