Dizgirl: Hey everyone!

I'd like to start by giving you fair warning: this story is unfinished and there's a very good chance I will never finish it. At best, I won't be able to finish it for a couple of years. I will post what I have, which is about twelve chapters, and then we'll see if I just let it sit in hiatus or, I dunno, maybe let someone try continuing it if they want... (shrugs). I hope that doesn't scare you away but just wanted you to be aware.

On to the fun stuff. I'm rather excited to see what y'all think of this story line and the theme running throughout. This story kinda came out of nowhere and I can't even say I know completely where it's going. I usually plan my stories out in great detail but this was one of my first attempts to just "pants" it and it was an interesting experience :) Hope you enjoy and love!

(For my dear DP readers, I promise you I WILL finish Because of Him. I WILL.) And as for my disclaimer, see my profile.

Chapter 1: You Are Blind

PRESENT

The moment consciousness returned to him, Bunny knew something was very wrong. His mind was in a fog, body heavy in an uncomfortable way, and he didn't know where he was, but he knew that something was wrong. In fact, that was exactly why he knew because there shouldn't be any reason for him to feel this horrible if he had been sleeping at home. Where was he? What had happened?

He tried to move his arms, hissing as a sharp pain raced up his limbs and down his spine with the small movement. The pain spread in a prickling sweep that notified him that his arms had fallen asleep while he was out, making every inch of his skin buzz with the sensation of pins and needles. Grimacing, he tried once more to move them and felt something hard holding his wrists together. With another tug he confirmed that something was clasped around both wrists, keeping his arms twisted behind his back.

As feeling returned to his arms they throbbed. His head also ached and was pulsing in tempo with them. He bit back a groan, not yet sure he was in a safe enough position to make a noise. The only thing that didn't seem to be screaming at him was his legs, though he did feel bruises on both of them. Whatever had happened to him had put his body through the works. Deciding he had gathered as much as he could from what he could feel, Bunny opened his eyes.

Darkness met his gaze. His eyes wandered in all directions, searching for any semblance of light that could give him something to work with, but he found nothing. Everything around him was black…pitch black. Clenching his teeth together, Bunny felt a wave of anger roll through him. Pitch. This had his name written all over it.

Actually… memories bombarded him, swirling through his mind and clicking into place. It was Pitch. He knew that. He remembered what had happened. He remembered the fight, the waves of black sand, the whinny of his night mares, Pitch's oily smile, and a heavy blow to his head that had knocked him down and apparently out. He had lost…and he had been taken.

Bunny was currently lying down on his side, his right cheek and shoulder pressed against cold stone. He pushed against the ground, trying to at least get himself into a sitting position. His arms protested and head continued to pound, but he ignored this as he worked on the difficult task. Finally, after much quiet groaning he was sitting with his arms still tied behind him.

They felt like they were being held by manacles that were chained to the floor, based on the tight unforgiving feel of whatever was around his wrists and the faint rattle of something being dragged across the ground behind his back. He paused for a moment once he was upright and then, once the ache in his body had subsided, tested out the chain. He pulled sharply on it, jerking forward about two feet before it snapped tight, cutting into his wrists. Grimacing, he pulled once more to double check. Only a few feet long, just enough for him to stand while still attached. And the material it was made of was strong. He could not break it.

Bunny settled back onto the ground, closer to where the chain was anchored and looked around once more, his green eyes staring unseeing in all directions. Strange, even if the room was completely dark he should be able to see something considering what he was—vague shapes at least—but instead blackness met his gaze in all directions. This was no ordinary darkness that surrounded him. A small trickle of anxiety ran down his back. He was trapped, injured, and couldn't see. This was not good.

"Finally come to terms with your situation, Bunny?" a familiar voice echoed out from above him.

His lips curled in disgust. "Pitch!"

"Oh good, you know who I am," came the sardonic reply. "Perhaps I overestimated your ability to put the pieces together…"

Bunny's eyes narrowed, scanning around him for any sign of where Pitch stood. The way his voice echoed gave him the impression that it was from above him and to his left, but he had no way of confirming that. He at least knew that the ceiling was several stories tall based on the sound, but that was the extent of what he could gather.

"Where am I?" he growled.

"Is the darkness too much for you?" The voice had moved, coming from behind him now. Bunny whirled around, the chain holding his arms clinking against the stone, eyes swinging back and forth blindly.

"This isn't just darkness," Bunny replied.

There was the hollow sound of one person clapping. "Good eyes," Pitch said, his tone mocking. "Or should I say, they once were."

Bunny's face twisted into one of confusion. "Whaddya mean?"

There was a moment of silence and then Pitch spoke again, his voice much louder and much closer than before. Bunny was sure the Nightmare King was now only a few feet in front of him.

"Do you know why people fear the dark?" the man purred. "People fear it because it makes everything an unknown. It robs them of their knowledge and therefore their ability to react in a reasonable manner."

A chilling breath wafted across the back of Bunny's neck and he jerked violently away from Pitch who suddenly stood behind him. "It makes them vulnerable," he whispered, his voice reverberating around them.

Bunny snarled and shoved himself in Pitch's direction in an attempt to knock him down. He was met with nothing and his momentum sent him crashing to the ground. Pitch's quiet chuckle bounced around him as he grimaced against the pain now radiating from his shoulder.

"You are blind, Bunny," Pitch told him smugly. "Fear has blinded you and you are now at my mercy."

Bunny pushed himself back up onto his knees, clenching his jaw against the continued protests of his body. "What fear are you talking about?" he scoffed. "I'm not afraid."

"Oh, well, we know that isn't true…" Pitch drawled. "Yes, you may not be afraid of me, but even the big bad Easter Bunny is afraid of something. Many things, actually." His voice circled around Bunny who kept his eyes and ears focused in the direction of the man's voice as best he could from his position on the ground.

"And can you honestly tell me you don't feel even an inkling of fear at this moment? Because we both know that is a lie…" Pitch stopped in front of Bunny, far enough away as far as Bunny could tell that he could not reach him. "You're blind," the man continued in a pleased tone, "trapped, alone, and so very far away from your fellow guardians."

Bunny let out a laugh. "You think just because I can't see and I'm alone that I can't still kick your sorry behind into the next century?"

Pitch chuckled in return. "I don't have to think that, I know you can't. And whatever bravado you may claim, you know it too. How can you do anything while tied up as you are and blind to everything around you?" Pitch asked. Bunny frowned but before he could formulate a reply, Pitch continued.

"But I wasn't talking about your fear. I can agree with you on that at least. The fear that you have has its merit, but it's not nearly as powerful as the fear I used to rob you of your sight. For fear to be able to blind a person, it needs to be particularly potent and fear like that can only come from a child."

Bunny shifted slightly, his eyes narrowing in thought. Fear that could blind? Did he mean literally? Bunny blinked several times, his vision never changing. He had assumed they were in a place with no light, that Pitch was being figurative. Did he really mean he had used some sort of power on him to blind him?! Was it permanent? When had the Nightmare King gained a power like that? He had never seen him use something like this before. And what did he mean fear from a child?

"You've never blinded us before," Bunny said as steadily as he could, swallowing back a growing panic at the idea of not being able to see again to focus on getting as much information as he could. "When did you learn that little trick?"

"You may not have realized it, but I've had this 'trick' up my sleeve for years," Pitch answered, his voice moving further away, but staying in front of Bunny. "Children have feared the dark for centuries for good reason. There have been times, when their fear was strong enough, that I have been able to render them helplessly and terrifyingly blind."

Bunny could hear Pitch settle down onto something before he added, "I never left them that way…often, but I did use it. You and the others were always so caught up in rescuing your dear little children from my nightmare men and beasts that you always did miss the finer details of my craft…I wonder how many children suffered without you even realizing it."

Balling his paws into fists, Bunny did his best to not rise to the bait. He needed more information and to do so he had to remain calm. "So you can blind a person if they're afraid enough?"

"If a child is afraid enough, I can use that fear against anyone," Pitch corrected.

"Then why haven't you used this on us before?" Bunny questioned. "You scare children all the time!"

"You are not listening very closely," Pitch teased, his voice almost sing-song, "but what else can I expect from one of the 'Big Four'? Hm, I suppose I should say Five now…." He trailed off for a moment before adding, "And that brings me to my point. A child must feel a fear so deep and so rich as to blind them with panic and, in turn, I can use the power gained from it to blind others."

There was a rustling sound before Pitch continued. "Normally I wouldn't bother to try and explain this to you; I hardly have the patience. But this will make my point all the sweeter, because you still haven't caught on. You still don't remember."

"Remember what?" Bunny glared in the man's direction as he felt apprehension sink into his chest. He wouldn't say it, but he knew he was right. He was forgetting something. It had been nagging at him for a while, but he had been too focused on their conversation to figure out why.

"Why you are here in the first place. Why you attacked me. What brought you into my possession," Pitch replied in a tone that suggested this was obvious. "And why I didn't say 'children' when I was so patiently explaining what I had done, but 'child.'"

Bunny's ears fell back against his head as he attempted to remember what Pitch was hinting at. The nagging feeling was growing and Bunny felt it mix with dread as suddenly he started to recall what had happened before the fight with Pitch, what had brought him to that forest that day. Or should he say, who…

"Jack."