The black sand circled faster and faster, making it impossible for anybody to see… except Pitch. He could see exactly what he was after. He pulled his black bow back, took aim… and fired. His aim was true and his arrow found its target; burying itself deep in Jack's heart. Pitch had originally planned on going after The Sandman, but he saw something more in Jack, something strong, something that could have taken him down… or taken the Guardians down.

So rather than shooting him in the back, he shot him through the heart… and changed him. Jack groaned loudly as he looked down at the arrow. His eyes rolled back, he dropped his staff, and began to fall out of the sky. The wind wasn't there for him this time, but The Tooth Fairy was. She flew up quickly, catching him and laying him down in Santa's sleigh. Bunny, Sandy, Santa, and Tooth all sent Pitch a dark look, and with a final grin… he disappeared with his nightmares.

They went back to Santa's workshop and took Jack inside. He still hadn't woken up. They knew he wasn't dead, because he would have disappeared. All they could do was wait. And so they did. They watched the globe while they waited and… the lights stayed steady. They could tell Pitch was waiting, but what was he waiting for? As long as he wasn't messing with the children, they could afford to put Pitch on the back burner. Jack needed their attention right now. Even Bunny seemed really bothered by Jack's condition. He wasn't showing any signs of awakening

To keep themselves from being too bothered, Bunny painted eggs, Easter was soon. Santa kept the yetis and elves busy. Sandy send dreams out the window, he tried sending dreams to Jack, but it didn't work. And Tooth told her fairies where they needed to go. They had been released by Pitch, every single one of them. Not long after they returned to the workshop, fairies showed up by the hundreds. But why?

After what seemed like forever… Jack awakened. His eyes just suddenly opened and he sat up. Everybody gathered around him, asking him questions, but he didn't say anything. He simply took his staff from Tooth, and stood up. He said nothing before taking flight with the wind out the open window. Tooth tried to follow him, but Bunny stopped her. There was something off about Jack that had made him feel uneasy. And so they all allowed him to leave.

Jack knew just where to go. He didn't know how he knew; the Moon didn't tell him, but he found the old, broken bed quickly. Without any hesitation, he went down the hole under the bed and followed the tunnel until it opened up. Pitch was waiting for him. He grinned at the sight of Jack. His eyes, once a bright ice colored blue, were now a blue so dark they were nearly black; the color of midnight… when nightmares liked to play the most. And his teeth, which used to be perfect, were all now sharpened. Several nightmares surrounded Jack, to see what he was doing there and try to determine his fears. Jack said nothing as they nudged at him and smelled him.

"Jack Frost… how nice to see you here; I trust you have seen… the light?" he said, chuckling slightly. Jack took a deep breath and spoke his first words since…

"What did you do to me?" he asked. His voice was different from before; deeper, gruffer

"I made you see things my way! It is quite nice, isn't it?" he told him

"I saw fears…" Jack said softly, more to himself "Why?" he then asked Pitch

"Because we can help each other this way; we can make them believe. I know how badly you wish to be believed in… I feel the same way. But now, together, we will make them believe" he explained

"Why me?"

"Why you? What goes together better than cold and dark?" He said, motioning to Jack, and then himself

"…Who will believe?" Jack asked

"Everyone" Pitch told him, softly.

Jack thought about it for a while. He had waited three hundred years to be believed in. He tried being the good guy. He helped thousands of kids have fun… but they never believed. The Moon always refused to tell him his purpose… and He never stopped him from going to Pitch. Maybe it was meant to be. Jack looked around Pitch's den… it was missing something

"Okay" Jack agreed to work with Pitch. Then he flew around the room, adding sharp shards of ice to the ceiling and walls. His ice used to be a bright, beautiful, clear blue. But now it was dark with the occasional streak of black. Pitch grinned at the sight of it

"Perfect" he said

Jack made his way back to the workshop, slowly, taking his time. He stopped a few times to shoot ice onto sidewalks and freeze windows. When he got to the North Pole, he started a blizzard. A huge blizzard, with incredible winds and large snowflakes; it was a white out. Then he went inside, taking his time shutting the door, letting in a lot of snow and cold air

"Jack!" said Tooth. He looked over at her and she gasped at the sight of his eyes, having just gotten a good look at their new color

"What happened, Jack?" Santa asked him. Sandy stared at Jack, a large question mark in sand over his head. Jack smiled at them and they all let out a slight gasp at the sight of his teeth

"Well, I made a nice blizzard outside. I'm sure you know all about those, huh, Bunny?" he said, looking at Bunny and winking. Bunny jumped up to after Jack

"You-" but Santa's arm came out and stopped him

"What's the problem, Santa? Let Bunny come over here to we can have a little… talk… or are you too afraid?" Jack said. He knew Santa was afraid; he could see it. He could also see it in Sandy and Tooth… but not Bunny. He needed to fix that.

Bunny was staring daggers at Jack, and Jack was staring back, but in a much calmer manner. Jack looked deeper into Bunny, beyond his eyes. Then he grinned. He had found it; Bunny's deepest fear

"What is it about that that scares you so?" Jack asked, smiling at him. Tooth shot a look at Santa, and he looked back; they weren't sure what to do "Is it just the kids you care about? Or is it more than that? Could it be that if all the kids stop believing… that eventually even the Guardians will cease to believe? And then maybe even the Man in the Moon himself? Then you would be stuck with nothing in the world…you could watch everything happen… but do nothing to contribute. I think you have abandonment issues, Bunny" Jack could feel and see the fear increase in Bunny's eyes. And now it was very high, higher than anybody else's. Jack could see nightmares gathering outside the window "I think you should talk to Tooth about that… find where your fear of being abandoned… alone… forever may have come from. I have a little advice for you; never stop fearing that. Because if you get over that fear… it may just sneak up on you… and pull the rug right out from under your feet… leaving you cold and in the dark… forever" Bunny tried to hide it, but Jack could see the tremor that had begun in his hands

The others just watched on in surprise, unsure what to do or say. Jack continued to grin at Bunny while he watched him break down. He eventually dropped to his knees and sobbed. Jack could feel the fear radiating off of him, and he reveled in it. The nightmares were getting antsy, able to smell the fear so strongly, but unable to get to it. Tooth rushed over to comfort Bunny while staring after Jack in horror. How could he be so cruel?

Jack said nothing else, just strolled casually back to the door. He opened it and stood there a moment, letting in more snow and cold air. Once the room's temperature dropped at least ten degrees, he turned back to the others and spoke

"I will be believed in" he said, and then left