Pitch Black is Back!

Jack smirked in amusement as he landed expertly on the fence surrounding Jamie’s backyard to find the boy stumbling out of his back door, jumping around as he attempted to tie his left shoe. Not paying attention, Jamie lost his balance and went tumbling into the grass; he then smiled happily and waved his arms and legs about, as if he were making a “grass angel.” He gawked as a bird twittered and soared by in the blue sky above, and relished the warm breeze that tickled his nose. Sophie came hopping down the steps, chanting "Spring, spring, spring!" with every jump until she landed beside Jamie and flopped down into the grass behind him, giggling joyfully.

“I can’t believe it’s spring already!” he cried happily. After a few more moments of admiring the season, Jamie jumped to his feet and whipped around, then cried out with glee when he spotted Jack perched on the fence like some kind of songbird. “Jack!” He cried.

“Where are you off to so early this morning?” Jack mused as he hopped down from the fence, propping his staff on his shoulders. Jamie ran up to him and wrapped him in a hug, grinning. “Whoa, dude, knock it off! You saw me like, two days ago!” he laughed as he ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately. Jamie looked up at him, giving that big smile. His new tooth had grown in, but he had somehow knocked out another one.

“Sophie and I are going to meet the others to go look at the flowers in the park and look for trolls and fairies! Wanna come?” he beamed, and Jack pretended to think about it for a moment, putting a hand on his chin and cocking his head to the side.

“Hmm, I dunno… I’m pretty busy making snowballs and everything…” he mused, then laughed as Jamie began to whine loudly. “Of course I’ll come!” So, the three of them made their way to the park, where the other children had already gathered. After troll- and fairy-hunting in the flowers (with no success, unfortunately), they began to play a game of tag, and Jack found himself dog-piled after the children decided that his use of flying was a completely unfair advantage. They played like this until the sun was high in the sky, and then collapsed in the grass, all panting and worn-out.

“The flowers smell so nice,” Jamie sighed contentedly as he rolled over. He cried out as he went rolling down a hill and right into the bushes, an occurrence that struck Jack as extremely funny. He then hopped up and flew to Jamie’s side, raising an eyebrow in confusion when the boy hastily covered his mouth. “Quiet! Look!” he whispered, pushing the leaves of some of the bushes aside so Jack could see the bushes behind them. There, stalking back and forth across the clearing, was Pitch Black. He had his hands clasped behind his back, muttering angrily to himself. Where he walked, the grass withered and died.

“Spring!” the villain suddenly cried, throwing his arms up in exasperation. “What a disgusting season… So full of goodness and light… And all these wretched flowers!” With disgust, he drove his foot into a few helpless daisies and squashed them into the dust. “If I had it my way, I would get rid of it altogether,” he muttered, then paused as if an idea had struck him. He grinned evilly and looked around at the woods. “Yes… What better way to create a world of darkness than to take the life out of it?” he howled with insane laughter, causing Jack and Jamie to shudder. Before Jack could leap from the bushes and confront Pitch, however, Pitch vanished into the shadows whence he came. The air once again became filled with birdsong, and the two sat in quiet contemplation and wondered what they had just witnessed.

“Well… He can’t be up to anything good,” Jack sighed, standing up to leave. Jamie hopped to his feet, bouncing up and down with excitement.

“Are we gonna go see the Guardians?” he cried happily between bounces, and Jack chuckled slightly.

“But of course- who else is gonna deal with that guy? I can’t leave it to Bunny!” Jack smirked, his eyes twinkling at the thought of another chance to take Pitch down.