'Welcome friends! I am not one for speeches so will get straight down to tacks of brass. Eat, drink and make merry for tonight you dine!'

Polite applause greeted North's short introduction.
He stood at the head of a long table with a place set for each guest.
The room was warm thanks to the fire blazing in the carved fireplace set into the wall.
Jack gave several shrill whistles and Sandy tapped the butts of his knife and fork on the table to signal his anticipation.
The table was loaded with food: a whole turkey with all the trimmings, a massive cornucopia filled with fruit and a large steaming baked fish were just some of the dishes on offer.
His duties as host concluded, North retook his seat and began to tuck into a turkey leg with relish. Occasionally he incongruously dabbed his beard delicately with his napkin.
Jack was in the process of constructing a multi layered sandwich.
Sandy was marvelling at Jack's creative process as he sipped his soup quietly beside him. He wondered if Jack could unhinge his jaw.
Pitch rarely ate fresh food and was not sure of his preference for taste, save that he enjoyed meat. So, he had selected relatively unadventurous things to being with: turkey slices and a few cocktail sausages.
Beside him, Tooth, favouring fruit, was enjoying a colourful salad she had made herself.
Directly across from Tooth, Bunny had not touched the plate of lettuce and carrots he had chosen.
He was on his third glass of wine.
It surprised him he hadn't thought of it before.
Nothing like a dose of bubbly to knock someone out.
His head was splitting already so what further harm could a hangover do?

'Bunny, slow down a bit eh? Don't want you ending up under table!' North laughed.

Bunny smiled with great effort and it seemed to satisfy North.
He directed his attention to Pitch.

'So glad you could come Pitch', North smiled, 'How do you like everything?'

Pitch swallowed his mouthful and became aware that several pairs of eyes were on him thanks to North's question.

'It's lovely', Pitch said, self-conscious that he had never had a friendly conversation with the Russian before, 'Thank you for the invitation'.

Tooth touched his leg under the table and Pitch felt his face flush at the contact.

'It was least I could do after all your help at Valentine's Day', North said.

'Well…I spent most of it brainwashed just like the rest of you', Pitch responded, 'I don't know if I helped exactly-'

'But you helped Tooth when we could not', North interjected warmly, 'For that we are all grateful'.

He raised his mug in salute.
Sandy and Jack, taking the hint raised theirs too.
Pitch squirmed in his seat as Tooth raised her glass.
He didn't know what to do with himself.
He had already said 'thank you' but that was in regards to being invited. Would he be repeating himself if he said 'thank you' again?
North's voice cut through his anxious thoughts.

'Come Bunny, join us!'

'In what?' came an angry retort.

Everyone stared at Bunny.
Bunny downed another drink and twirled the stem of his glass.

'In a toast of course!' North said, seemingly unaffected by Bunny's lacklustre attitude, 'To second chances!'

'Yeah. Okay', Bunny said bitterly.

He stood up and picked up a nearby wine bottle.
It spilled over his fingers as he refilled his glass.
He cleared his throat.
Jack, Sandy and Tooth shared confused glances.
Pitch's eyes narrowed as he met Bunny's defiant stare.

'Here's to Pitch Black', Bunny said grandly, 'Without whom we would not all be sitting here today'.

North nodded and began to take a drink.
But Bunny had not finished.

'Especially Sandy', he muttered, 'Who wouldn't be here at all'.

Everybody heard him.
North gagged on his mouthful and had a brief coughing fit.
Sandy slapped his own forehead.
Jack inhaled sharply.

'Okay', Jack said, trying to keep the peace, 'Thanks Bunny. Let's sit down and-'

'And what?' Bunny asked with a humourless laugh, 'Pretend this is perfectly normal?'

'Let. Him. Speak', Pitch said through gritted teeth.

His nails were digging into the arms of his chair.
Tooth couldn't figure out what to do and unfortunately Bunny seemed to be building up steam.

'Why thank you Pitch! Almost makes me forget that you've spent the last hundred… two hundred… heck, I've lost count! How many years have you been scaring the living daylights outta kids Pitch?! Making all our jobs harder?!'

'Bunny', North barked.
The obvious warning in North's voice should have been a red flag but Bunny did not seem to notice.
Sandy and Jack's heads were swivelling between Pitch and Bunny like spectators at a tennis match.

'Yet here we are havin' a tea party with him as the bleedin' guest of honour! Well I hope you enjoy it Pitch 'cause hope's what I'm all about'.

Bunny waved his arm carelessly but dropped his glass.
It shattered on the floor.
This seemed to snap him out of his rant.
He finally seemed to notice the shocked looks on everyone's faces.
Where had all that come from?
He felt nauseous and his heart was racing: he'd definitely had too much to drink.

'Sorry North', Bunny said, shoulders sagging, 'I-I don't know what's wrong with me'.

He began to sit down.

'I know what's wrong with you', Pitch said quietly.

Bunny stopped dead.

'You don't know when to keep your mouth shut', Pitch said airily.

Tooth shook her head in disbelief but Pitch ignored her.
The rabbit wanted a scene, he'd give him one.

'What?' Bunny asked in a dangerous, low voice.

'Sit down before you say something else you regret', Pitch said coldly, 'Treat yourself. Have another drink'.

The tension in Bunny finally exploded.

'The only thing I regret is not doing this sooner!' Bunny snarled.

Pitch bared his teeth when he saw there was suddenly a boomerang in Bunny's hand.
Jack gave a wordless shout and North slammed his mug down.
Sandy's eyes widened.

'Bunny stop!' Tooth yelled.

Suddenly, Bunny gasped in pain and began to twitch. His plate crashed to the floor as his arms flailed wildly. His eyes were rolling back in his head and his mouth gaped like that of a beached fish.
North, Sandy, Tooth and Jack leapt from their chairs.
Pitch realised the reason for the rabbit's aggression instantly.
The nightmares.
Bunny swung the hand holding the boomerang at them and shouted in wordless fear.
Pitch remained seated. He could sense Bunny was not seeing his friends. He was seeing whatever terrors tormented him in the night and was desperate to keep them away.
Pitch lost patience when Bunny's boomerang nearly clipped Tooth's cheek as she tried to stop his thrashing.
There was no time to explain what had to be done.

'That's enough!' Pitch snarled and flung his hand out.

A blast of shadows erupted from his fingertips and enveloped Bunny's head like an attacking octopus. It caught Bunny by surprise. Bunny's boomerang fell from his hand and clattered onto the floor as Bunny began to claw at the black mass covering his face.
Pitch swiftly rose and began to move his arm back in a pulling motion.

'What are you doing?!' Jack cried, 'Let him go!'

Pitch ignored him.
Jack began to panic as he saw Bunny's fingers begin to spasm and his movements grow weaker.
North had already leapt the table was trying to pull Pitch back.
He was grunting with the effort. Pitch, having anticipated resistance had used his powers to anchor himself to the long, heavy table.

'Pitch! I said 'let him go'!' Jack shouted, staff gleaming coldly, 'Now!'

'Jack! North!' Tooth shouted, moving between Jack and Pitch, 'Look!'

Something was emerging from the centre of Bunny's head as Pitch continued to pull.
A black bubble was rising to the surface. Its oil like surface showed distorted images as it caught the light. It began to move towards Pitch, stretching like a piece of black chewing gum.
It reminded Jack of drawing poison from a wound: as he drew the comparison he realised what Tooth meant.

'Tooth knows! You need to pull problems out', Pitch said, straining with effort as he pulled, 'By. The. Root!'

The strand snapped and Pitch and North were both thrown backwards as the tension vanished.
The shadows vanished from Bunny's face as he collapsed onto the floor insensate.
The extracted black bubble hung in the air.
It spun once, twice then burst open, the two halves continuing to levitate.

A dark cloud enveloped the room and a great wind erupted out of nowhere. The tablecloth whipped and flapped in the fierce gusts.
Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing.
It was as if they were no longer in North's dining room.

Around them, the branches of blackened dead trees groaned in the wind. The grass beneath Jack's feet was brown and dead, mud squelching between his toes.
He spat reflexively as he tasted iron in his mouth.
Where those screams he could hear?! Where were they coming from?!
Desperately looking around for help, he spotted Sandy a few feet away.
He tried calling to him but he couldn't even hear his own voice!

Sandy recognised the nightmare for what it was instantly. He tried to begin the ritual to cleanse it into dreamsand but was caught fast in the nightmare's constricting aura. His arms felt heavy and weak even as he struggled to form the signs.

North could see shadowy shapes running past him and heard a sound like thunder rumble above like a giant's laughter. He saw a figure, smaller than the rest stumble and fall.
He tried to reach for the child (what else could it be?) but even as he watched, he saw a shadow looming over it. Something falling.
He tried to shout for help: he could do nothing else even as he saw the child like figure vanish beneath a mound of rubble from a damaged building.

Tooth was huddled on the floor, the breeze making it impossible for her to fly.
She cracked open her eyes, shielding them from the wind with her arms and saw Pitch ahead of her.
Unlike her and the others, he was unmoved by the wind.
He was looking up in at what had formerly been North's ceiling, eyes darting as if trying to pin down an irksome insect.

Suddenly, Pitch leapt up and reached for the orb, immune to the nightmare's paralytic effects.
Pitch grabbed the remains of the bubble and crammed them back together, squishing them between his fingers.
He knelt as if it were a large creature he was trying to choke into submission.
He was whispering something into his cupped fingers but it was hurried and not in any language anybody in the room could have translated even if they could have heard it.
As Pitch's incantation slowed, light began to cut through the nightmare.
Like steam on glass, it began to fade, the reality of North's dining room bleeding through the darkness.
Just before it vanished completely, a disembodied, unfamiliar voice echoed around the walls.

'Come back to us Aster. Come home. You are our last hope…'

'What was that?!' North asked.

Pitch opened his cupped hands in answer to the question.
A small black horse whinnied as it pawed the skin of Pitch's hand.

'That thing we saw was one of Bunny's nightmares?' Jack asked, astonished, 'It's tiny'.

Pitch got to his feet, swaying slightly.
Tooth helped him to steady himself.

'Leave a nightmare in someone's head and it can turn poisonous', Pitch explained, 'It's under control now. I've absorbed most of it'.

'Sorry for the grabbing', North said, embarrassed and shaken by what they had all just witnessed.

Pitch nodded curtly, petting the nightmare gently with one finger.

'Is Bunny gonna be okay?' Jack asked, staring at his friend's unconscious form.

Bunny lay where he had fallen.
North picked him up and placed him into a nearby armchair.
Sandy felt Bunny's forehead and touched two fingers to his neck before nodding at Jack.
Conjuring a dreamsand fan: he began to wave it to cool Bunny down.

'Why was it so strong Sandy?' North asked.

Sandy tried to select appropriate pictures to explain but Pitch interjected.

'Sometimes dreams are more than dreams. They're messages. Something or someone was trying to use this nightmare to tell him something. It didn't all come from inside his head'.

Sandy nodded at Pitch's explanation, looking impressed and somewhat relieved he had not needed to explain the concept.

'But where did the message come from?' North asked.

Sandy formed a series of golden stars that got bigger and bigger until they covered the entire room.
Golden planets zipped by them and galaxies swirled and glittered.
Pitch sheltered the little nightmare under the fingers of one hand to protect it from being purified by the granules. He rarely got to study recurring nightmares.

'Space?' Jack interpreted, 'But what could be out there?'

'My home'.

They turned at the sound of a weak voice.
Bunny's eyes were bleary as he rubbed his head.
North brought him a mug from the table.
It was filled with hot chocolate.
He guided it into Bunny's paws. Bunny accepted it gratefully and took a sip.

'Sorry everyone', he said, licking the chocolate from his lips, 'Didn't mean to ruin things. Don't know what came over me: felt like something was trying to burst outta my skull'.

'It was', North said, 'One nasty nightmare. How do you feel now?'

'I feel like a horse has kicked me in the head. Fitting right?'

'You said something about your home', Jack prompted, intrigued by the emerging scenario.

'You just saw what happened to it', Bunny said sadly.

Jack lowered his eyes. That nightmare had been horrible.

'Where was it?' he asked, 'It looked strange'.

'Oh, I forgot you wouldn't know. Jack, that wasn't Earth. It was my home planet'.

'You're from another planet?!' Jack cried.

'That's right', Bunny said with a fond smile, 'It didn't have a name though'.

'Why?' Jack asked, eager to hear more.

'We just never bothered to give it one', Bunny said, 'Our job was to oversee other planets. It seemed more important to name them since we were helping them grow'.

'What exactly are you then?' Jack asked, 'I thought you were a regular bunny before you became a Guardian'.

'I'm what you call a 'Pooka'', Bunny said, 'I just looked like a rabbit when I was on Earth: it was my assignment. For some reason the sunlight made me shrink every time I was there but it didn't get in the way of the work. Earth never needed a lotta attention: plants grew easily, oceans had regular tides, good healthy sun and humans were smart enough to take care of themselves. Sorta boring job really. Didn't need round the clock surveillance so I just popped back occasionally to make sure everything was normal'.

'Always meant to ask how did you get to Earth so quickly? You told me your planet is long way away', North said, 'Part of the Lunar Imperium like Manny's'.

'Used a doorway', Bunny said simply but then corrected himself, 'Well it's not really a doorway. More like a… a tunnel, yeah, a tunnel between two points in space'.

'Like a Stargate?' Jack asked, looking enthralled with Bunny's story.
He hadn't known Bunny was an alien!

'Never heard of one of those', Bunny said, scratching his head, 'Good name though. So one day I'm on Earth in the Warren (used to be the control centre) doing my usual checks when the 'star gate' starts going crazy'.

Bunny's face darkened.

'What you saw was what I saw when opened the portal to home. Before I could get through to help, the tunnel collapsed and the star gate stopped working'.

'Leaving you stranded', Tooth mused.

'And totally powerless', Bunny said, 'Eventually Sandy spotted me wandering around aimlessly. Knew I wasn't a regular rabbit soon as he saw me. Brought me to Manny who offered me a way to get back to my old self. After a little while, I was back to me old self and a Guardian to boot'.

'What about the stargate?' Jack asked, 'Couldn't you fix it?'

'I tried but I couldn't figure out how. Stopped tryin' after a while. Even Manny didn't know how to help: we had never shared our technology with other members of the Lunar Imperium. Figured even if I fixed it, who knows what horrors would be waitin' on the other side? Just tried to move on'.

'But then where is the message coming from?' North asked.

'That's what I need to find out', Bunny said determinedly.

'What are you saying?' Jack asked.

'Look guys, I love you all', Bunny said, casting his eyes around the assembly, '(well, mostly) and I love Earth. But I need to make sure. I need to see it with my own eyes. I don't know how I'm gonna get there but-'

'You mean how 'we' are gonna get there', Jack said.

'You sure?' Bunny asked, ears straightening.

'You're seriously asking if I'm I sure I wanna help one of my closest friends find out what happened to his home planet?' Jack asked, rolling his eyes.

'It's gonna be dangerous', Bunny warned.

'It's space Bunny. Danger's what makes it exciting', Jack said.

'Well, we can't do anything yet', Bunny said, 'Easter's only two weeks away. I need to be here'.

'Gives us time to get ready', North said, 'Have had designs for spacecraft for few decades now. Little side project I have been working on. I could pilot it: already nearly managed take off once!'

''Nearly'?' Pitch said sardonically, 'Forgot to carry a one on the 'reindeer power' calculations no doubt'.

He stifled a gasp as Tooth elbowed him in the stomach.

'Don't be silly!' North said, looking confused, 'Reindeer cannot breathe in space! Ship functions using thaumic engine I made. Powered by same energy used in snowglobes'.

'Hey, why don't we just use a snowglobe?' Jack asked.
He thought it was a good idea. Even though it would cut out the tantalising 'space travel' part of the experience.

'Need to have an idea of where destination is', North said with regret, 'Also need to know what we are looking for'.

'And if there's something there to find', Bunny said.

'How does a thaumic engine work?' Tooth asked.
She had always been fascinated by North's machines. The man was practically a wizard: combining earthly materials with magic to create wondrous things he designed himself. He never kept blueprints, preferring to build instinctively. This organic approach was totally at odds with Tooth's careful categorization: the main reason it intrigued her so much.

'Basically allows ship to travel vast distances in very short amount of time through sub space', North summed up.
There was no point going into the delicacies of the thing: they'd be there all night.

Jack was smiling.
North's tone suggested it had been no hardship at all to create what was basically a-

'Warp drive', Jack said, eyes shining, 'It's a real life warp drive!'

'Yes…yes I like sound of that!' North said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, 'Where are you getting these wonderful words?'

'Jamie's been showing me some great TV shows lately', Jack smiled.

Pitch fought to keep a sneer from his face.
Television, a failed prototype and a message from nowhere: obviously the ideal foundations on which to base a dangerous mission.
Were these really the same people that had defeated him last Easter?
Or had they lowered their standards when he had stopped trying to actively destroy them?

'Well, if you three are going, Sandy and I will have to stay here', Tooth said, 'We work every night so even with just the two of us it'll be easy to keep belief going while you're gone'.

'But Sandy's the only one who's travelled through that part of space before', Bunny said, 'How are we supposed to know where we're goin' without him?'

'You've never travelled through space?' Jack asked.

'Only ever used the 'star gate' mate', Bunny shrugged, 'They were designed so my people wouldn't have to use spaceships anymore'.

'And him being afraid of heights makes flying difficult', Pitch said simply, earning him a scowl from Bunny.

North looked at Sandy and shrugged.
Sandy pointed at himself and shook his head.
Tooth collection and dreamsand dispersal would have to continue. With three Guardians gone, it was more imperative than ever to maintain belief in them until they got back. At least they would have months until Christmas for North and Jack didn't have a 'holiday' to worry about.
There was another option for a guide: someone else who didn't technically have any responsibilities.
But Sandy was fairly sure Bunny was not going to like it.
When Sandy pointed at Pitch, he was proven right.

'No way', Bunny said.

'Absolutely not', Pitch said.

They had spoken in unison.

'But Sandy says you've been in space before', Tooth said.

'Sandy should also know my memories from back then are not what you'd call 'reliable'', Pitch said, annoyed.

'Well, then what about some of those lunar texts in your lair?' Tooth asked, 'Pretty sure I saw some maps. And we can use your teeth to see if we can find any useful memories'.

Sandy glared at Pitch.
He had finally figured out where some of his missing volumes might have gone.

'Sounds good!' North said, 'Bunny can listen for distress call, Pitch can help us find it, I will pilot and Jack can…uh…'

'Act as morale officer?' Jack offered, 'Make sure that everyone, you know, gets along'.

'No need', Pitch said, 'I'm not going'.
He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.
Jack and Tooth shared a look.
Jack's eyes darted at the doorway Pitch had left through then back to Tooth.
She in turn flicked her eyes between Jack and Bunny.
The two gave almost imperceptible nods.

As Tooth flew after Pitch, Bunny grumbled, 'Who needs him anyway? Gonna have enough to worry about without him hauntin' the ship'.

'Bunny. Can we talk?' Jack asked, pulling him away from the others before Bunny could answer.

Tooth quickly caught up to Pitch.

He had thought to let the nightmare out of a window to allow it to join the others in the lair.
One look at the fierce blizzard outside had put an end to that plan.
As well as his intention to phase into the shadows: he would have to go outside to use them. North had defences that stopped shadow teleportation inside the workshop.

'This was a bad idea', Pitch said, as Tooth stopped beside him, 'I shouldn't have come'.

'If you hadn't then that nightmare would still be in Bunny's head', Tooth said then after a moment of hesitation asked, 'You really don't remember anything about his planet?'

'Do I remember destroying it you mean?' Pitch asked bluntly.

'You said you didn't and I believe you', Tooth said reassuringly, 'I'm just asking if you can help, that's all'.

Pitch placed the little nightmare carefully into an inside pocket of his robe.

'When I crashed on Earth all those centuries ago I lost a lot of power as well as memories. Not that the rabbit seems to care'.

'He's in pain Pitch', Tooth said but held up her hands as he seemed about to object, 'I'm not saying he wasn't out of line in there. But if you can help, you should'.

Pitch said nothing.

'Why did you come to this dinner?' Tooth asked.

'To see you mostly', Pitch said, wondering where Tooth was going with this.

'What other reasons?' she prompted.

Pitch didn't say anything: he didn't know what to say.
Why had he come? He had known his presence might cause ructions but he had come anyway.
Out of boredom perhaps?
Tooth answered for him.

'I think it was because you want them to see the real you'.

Tooth touched his face.

'To see what I see in you. And if you're the person I think you are, you know this is your chance. You only fail if you don't try'.

Tooth took her hand away.
Pitch looked thoughtful.

'You should put that on a fridge magnet', he quipped, 'I suppose I could look through my books. By the way, judging from his face, Sandy might want them back once we're done'.

'Bunny, you gotta ease up a bit', Jack said bluntly.

'It's because of him I'm even having this problem', Bunny said sourly.

'We don't know that'.

'Who else could put rotten things in my head like that? He was cooing over that nightmare like it was a fluffy kitten!'

'That's what we're gonna find out right? And like it or not, we might need Pitch. Or at least some of his books'.

'I know but how can he not remember Jack?! How many other planets did he destroy?!'

'Maybe he really doesn't remember Bunny', Jack shrugged.

'Well I remember losing my family even if he doesn't and I'll make him realise what he did if it's the last thing I do!'

'Bunny calm down. I know you're upset-'

'You have no idea how I feel!' Bunny raged.

Jack looked like Bunny had just punched him.
His grip clenched on his staff.

'Right', Jack said in a quiet, tight voice, 'Okay'.

Bunny felt sick: he had actually just said that.
To the one person who could possibly know how alone he felt.
Gods he was stupid!
Had he always been this bitter and the nightmare just brought it into the light?
He hated feeling like this.
And he hated how he had made Jack feel.
Some friend he was.

'Bloody hell', Bunny sighed, 'Jack I'm-I'm so sorry. I don't know why I said that. My head's still all messed up'.

'It's fine Bunny', Jack said gently, 'I won't hold it against you. I know Pitch can rub people the wrong way and you haven't slept in a month'.

Jack perched easily on the arm of Bunny's chair and affably patted his friend's shoulder.

'You really think he would help?' Bunny asked, staring into the depths of his hot chocolate.

'He came to the dinner didn't he? Why do that if he didn't want to try and reach out to us? Okay, he made a couple of mistakes but so did you. And he did get that thing out of your head instead of punching you in the face'.

'You got me there', Bunny admitted, mollified by Jacks teasing smile, 'Alright. I'll try'.

Bunny and Jack re-entered just as Tooth and Pitch did.
Jack gave Tooth a surreptitious thumbs up.
Sandy and North had been cleaning up the mess the nightmare had caused when it had emerged but paused when they saw Bunny and Pitch approach each other.

'Thanks for pulling that thing out of my head', Bunny said abruptly, 'I'm sorry for flyin' off the handle like that. I'm not meself right now'.

'I know what that feels like', Pitch said, 'You're welcome'.

'I'm gonna be honest: I still don't trust you', Bunny said neutrally, 'But Tooth and Jack do. If they say you're alright, I'm willing to try'.

'As am I', Pitch said.

Bunny extended a hand stiffly and Pitch took it.

'One wrong move', Bunny promised mentally, 'One wrong word at the wrong time, one wrong look in my direction and I'll stuff you in an airlock'.

'In space nobody will hear you scream rabbit', Pitch thought to himself, 'I'll make sure of it'.

They shook hands once and both let go quickly.

There were visible signs of relief as the tension in the room dwindled.

'Not that is sorted, meet back here the day after Easter', North said, checking a gold watch he had produced from his waistcoat pocket, 'Will work out assignments for each of you in the meantime. Then we blast off!'