Jack woke, finding himself in a room warmed by the fireplace. He was instantly filled with the warmth of the room, the familiar wooden furniture ringing in his heart. Looking over to the bed next to his, he could see his sister was still sleeping, her tiny body moving up and down with each breath she took. Smiling, he stood and walked over to her, placing a kiss on her forehead. She stirred, openeing her eyes slowly.
"Jack?" She asked, looking over his face.
"Yup." He said, moving the hair from her eyes.
"Thanks for saving me Jack. I was really scared." She said sweetly, her smile growing a bit wider.
"It's all all right now. Your big brother will always be here for you." He said, patting her head before standing and walking to the door.
"But your already gone Jack." She said, softly. Jack disgarded it as a sleepy murmer of some dream, not really hearing anything she said other than his out of the room, Jack walked silentley down the small hallway, into the living room in search of his mother.
"Mom?" He asked, seeing her figure in the wooden rocking chair, her back to him. When he got no answer from her, he asked a bit louder. But she didn't acknowledge him, she was still toiling away with her sewing material.
He approached her slowly, taking light steps. He stopped when he heard a sniffle, and then a soft sobbing. Is she crying? He thought, observing him from a distance. Why would she be crying? He asked himself, pondering whether or not to take another step.
"Mom!" He said, almost shouted. But still she didn't turn. He closed the gap between the two of them so he was standing right in front of her. "Mom!" He yelled, kneeling down so they were faceto face. But she didn't stir, and as he looked at her, he saw her face soaked with tears and her bottom lip quivering. He was about to call to her again when he heard stirring from his sisters room. Standing again he took his eyes off her and focused them on the entrance of the hallway, waiting to see if his sister was up. Seeing nothing, he focused back on his mother.
Much to his suprise, she wasn;t there in her chair anymore. Turning, he looked all around the small room but found no trace she was there, or had even been there. He dashed over to the room he shared with his sister, reaching for the doorknob slowly, listening to any sounds coming from the room. When he heard nothing, he threw open the door, calling for his sister.
"Mom?" He asked as he saw her, hunched over, back once again to him. She was cradling his sister, comforting her as she sobbed heavily, her face buried deep into her moms shoulder. He shivered, the warmth of the fireplace had gone out, extinguished with it the light the flame had brought.
"Mom." He said, stepping towards the two slowly. Before he was even a inch away, they both stood with surprising speed, backs turned, facing the fireplace.
"Alright, enough!" He yelled, stamping his foot. At the same time, the fireplace erupted in flames, and his mother and sister, both turned to him, eyes full of darkness.
"Jack?" The said in unision. But Jack payed no attention, he was focused on the demonicness of their eyes. "Jack we miss you!" They cried, hands outstretched towards him. "Come back to us Jack, don't leave us!" Thier voicies cracked, and black sand, much like that of the Sandman, started spilling slowly from thier mouths. "Jack!" They screeched, as the black sand now poured from thier mouths.
"W-what's wrong with you?" Jack stuttered, staggering back. Their eyes began over flowing with the black sand, letting it pour everywhere as they took more steps towards him.
"No!" He cried, backing up. "S-stay away!" He said, limbs shaky.
"Jack, we love you!" The two said. Looking down, jack saw the black dream sand rising, rapidly. By the time he back himself up towards the wall, it was already waist high. He scanned the room, but there no more exits. The door and and window had vanished, as if they were never there.
"Stay away! Please!" He cried.
"Jack!" They exclaimed, voices growing deeper. "Jack! Jack! Jack! Jack!" They repeated his name, again and again, voices growing deeper and deeper until they sounded exceptionally similiar to the Nightmare Kings.
"Go away!" Jack roared, standing up striaght, fighting down his fear, which only rised with sand. His whole body was buried in it, and it was moving to cover his chin. "Somebody! Help me, please!" He cried, before being submerged in the pitch black sand.
"Jack!" A voice said, sounding far away. "Jack!" It shouted again. He felt himself being shaken, and fearing it to be his sister and mother again, he flailed his arms in front of him, fighting away whatever was in front of him.
"Jack!" The voice sounded irratated now, but closer. "Wake up mate." It sounded familair. Jack opened his eyes, staring wide eyed at the wall in front of him. He saw a shadow that looked familiar dance across it before it seemed to hiss, wakey wakey.
"Jack?" A russian accent grabbed his attention away from the shadow. "It just bad dream."
"North? Bunny?" He asked, sitting up, staring at the two gaurdians.
"You fell asleep mate. Took forever to find ya." Bunny said, leaning in to take a closer look at newest gaurdian.
"What goes through mind Jack? Eh? You see dark alley and think, 'oh, this nice place to sleep?' "North exclaimed, gesturing around them. Taking it in, Jack saw he was leaning against a dumpster.
"What am I doing here?" He asked, still confused.
"You tell us. We've been looking for you all night. Baby Tooth saw your staff and we followed her here." Bunny said, picking up Jacks staff.
"Hey, Hey!" Jack said, rousing himself fully from his dazed state. "Careful with that furball. It's not a boomarang." Jack said, taking it from him. "It belongs in the hands of a professional." He said, trying to regain his normal attitude.
"Yeah, I can think of another place it belongs." Bunny said under his breath.
"Jack, what was dream about?" The large man asked, helping Jack up. "You kept saying 'mom,mom." Then you cry, and shout "no, no"
"I'd rather not say." Jack said, dusting himself off.
"Must've been some bad dream." bunny huffed, crossing his arms.
"It was more than that. It was a nightmare."
"What? You think it was Pitch?" North asked, rubbing his head as he remembered Pitches defeat.
"I know it was him. He had the black sand again." Jack whispered.
"Come on then, we should get back to Tooth and Sandy. make sure they both okay." North said, ushering them out of the alley.
"Hey Baby!" Tooth exclaimed as Baby Tooth fluttered over to her. She said a hello to Jack, who only slinked past her.
"It's Pitch" Bunny said as she looked to him for an answer.
"Back so soon?!" She gasped,trying to calm her faeries as they erupted in a paniced chirping.
"No, not that strong. Only caught Jack off gaurd." North said, taking off his coat. "Found him sleeping in alley."
"What should we do?" The Faerie asked, looking over her shoulder to a troubled Jack.
"Leave him be. He needs time to himself." Bunny murmered, not taking his eyes off Jack.
"No, we must help. Jack should not be upset like this. Unfitting for guardian." North proclaimed, raising his voice a little.
"Oye mate, I think he heard ya." Bunny said, nodding over in the direction of where Jack was.
"Where'd he go?" Tooth and North asked at the same time.
"Hopefully, not headfirst into more trouble." Bunny said softly, eyes following the pale figure in the sky until he was out of sight.