Okay guys, here it is. I'm done with finals, so hopefully the chapter releases will get more regular. Disclaimer: I don't own this. Love you guys, please review!

Trapped

Images of Jack's past flashed through his mind. He was underwater, it was dark, it was cold, and he was scared. Why he was underwater, he wasn't sure. But when he opened his eyes, he saw a light. It was so big, so bright, and it seemed to chase the darkness away. Jack reached for the light and broke through the ice, taking his first breath in the frigid night air. The light was the moon. Upon landing on the frozen surface, tendrils of ice spread from his feet, refreezing the cracked ice.

Jack stepped across the ice, looking up at the stars. His toe tapped something, and when he looked down, it was a staff. He tapped it with his toe again, and a streak of white shot through the staff. He leaned over to pick it up, and when he did, it was became covered with ice. He dropped it in surprise, one side of it touching the lake. A leafy pattern danced across the surface, like a frozen fern unfurling its leaves. Going up to a tree, Jack touched its trunk, watching in awe the ice leaf spreading across the bark. Laughing with glee, Jack raced across the ice, slipping and sliding and dragging his staff. Wherever it touched, the ice spread out in an artistic display. When he pointed the staff at the sky, a cold wind rushed to greet him, shooting him up into the air. From there, he could see his magic spreading throughout the forest. He accidentally pointed his staff down, causing the wind to drop him and send him crashing through the trees. When he recovered, he saw lights in the distance and decided to investigate.

He flew towards the village, practicing his newfound control over the wind. He landed clumsily, nearly falling flat on his face. Regaining his balance, he entered the little village, greeting the people who were outside. None of them seemed to notice Jack, but that didn't stop him from saying hello. But when he stopped to ask where he was, the people walked through him, causing a strange pain in his chest when they did. Grasping his chest, Jack tried to talk to someone again, but the results were the same. Jack realized that no one could see him or hear him, so with a heavy heart, he left. The seeds of confusion and loneliness were planted.

In a blur of color, the dream fast forwarded several years. Jack was now almost thirty, but still looked like a seventeen year old. Jack felt most at home near his lake, the one where he was created. He watched over the town near his lake, which was named Burgess. He watched over Burgess as often as he could, even though he sometimes left to explore other lands and kingdoms. Jack decided to rest a little, so he chose to sit in a tree close to his lake. As he was sitting, he felt a shift in the night air. The temperature seemed to drop, and even though Jack was impervious to cold, goosebumps appeared on his skin. Jumping down, Jack clenched his hands around his staff, looking for the source of the change. Bubbles of fear formed in Jack's stomach, but he kept a calm expression. A dark figure appeared from the shadows, scaring Jack. His yellow eyes seemed to gaze into the heart of Jack. Out of fear, Jack pointed his staff at the figure, it was his first meeting with Pitch Black, the man of his nightmares.

Pitch was nice at first, if nice could be defined as staring creepily at Jack. He introduced himself, and said he wanted to meet the new immortal. Jack said hello, and feeling uncomfortable and nervous, turned to leave. Feeling a rush of wind, Jack started to turn around again, but a cold hand on his shoulder caused him to jump. Knocking the hand away, Jack asked what Pitch thought he was doing, but Pitch merely ginned and asked Jack if he wanted to join him in ruling the world and taking down the Big Four. Jack quietly declined, lifting into the air to get away. Pitch shook his head and said that Jack was poorly mistaken and that he would make Jack his fearling one day. Frightened, Jack shot ice at Pitch, but Pitch merely disappeared into the shadows of night, a chilling laugh resonating long after his exit. This was the beginning of Jack's hell and futile attempts to escape fear.

In the years following, Pitch and Jack played Cat and Mouse. Pitch would appear to Jack, and ask him if he wanted to join him. Jack would quickly decline and fly off to another village. Pitch would find Jack by searching the coldest place at that moment. Eventually, Jack learned to hide his abilities, making it impossible for Pitch to find him. Jack thought that he was safe, but Pitch changed his tactics.

Jack and Pitch began to know each other really well. Pitch realized that Jack was invisible to people, and that Jack longed to be seen. Using nightmares, Pitch was able to make people traverse the land, where they would eventually find Jack. Within the nightmares, they were able to see Jack, so Jack trailed after them like a hungry dog, but they would always lead him back to Pitch. To combat this, Jack began to avoid all people, a lonely life, but Jack was willing to endure it in order to avoid Pitch. Pitch realized that asking Jack to join him was not going to work, so he concocted another strategy for Jack to join him, whether Jack was willing to or not.

When Jack turned thirty-seven, he decided to return to Burgess and see how the village was doing. He was surprised to see that the quiet village had grown into a bustling town. Jack was happy for the people, but also sad at how his little village was changing. He turned away, feeling like he was no longer needed to watch over the town and went to his lake, looking for a tree to sleep in. Unbeknownst to him, a Nightmare, one of Pitch's fearlings, was running from the town, going to alert its master of a certain someone's arrival.

Jack slept well that night. He felt safer in Burgess, and his powers also felt stronger. As he slept, snakes of black sand wormed their way to Jack, and wrapped around him tightly. Their powers forced Jack into a deep sleep, trapping him in nightmares until their master released him. With that, the rest of the fearlings appeared, and with great care, they took the sleeping boy from his tree and to the lair of the Nightmare King. The Spirit of Winter was finally caught.

When Jack returned to consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the darkness. Just as when he had been born, there was a deep darkness, and Jack was scared. The second thing he noticed the overwhelming silence, seemingly crushing Jack. His staff was also missing, making Jack powerless. Jack stood up, and blindly reached out his arms. Walking slowly, Jack reached for a wall to his cell. But when Jack made contact, his hands were covered in a layer of slime. Jumping back, Jack wiped his hands in disgust. He carefully reached out again, and traced his hands over all the walls, ignoring the slime. He wasn't able to find any means of escape, so for now all he could do was wait alone in the darkness.

Jack wasn't sure how long he waited. Months, maybe years. It felt like forever. Jack longed for freedom. Being immortal, Jack couldn't wait for the escape of death, so he was forced to spend his time in the depths of his own mind. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, Jack saw his captor.

Pitch entered the room with a plate of food and a light. Jack hissed at the sudden brightness, and turned away from Pitch. He refused to touch anything Pitch had touched. Pitch told him to eat the food, then left. Jack ignored the food for a while, but months without anything to eat had made Jack ravenous. He crawled over to the food and ate it all within minutes. As soon as he had finished, Pitch entered and asked Jack to join him. Jack again declined. Pitch's expression turned angry, but quickly changed back to kind. He told Jack he would return when Jack was ready to give the right answer.

More time passed. Pitch would bring food and ask Jack to join him, and Jack would immediately decline. When Jack slept, his dreams were filled with nightmares of Burgess being destroyed by his hands. Jack slowly began to look forward to meeting Pitch, and being able to see another face. Jack hated it, but he began wanting to join Pitch and get out of his silent cage. With a burst of inspiration, Jack came up with a plan to get out.

Finally the day arrived when Pitch brought food to Jack and asked Jack if he wanted to join him. Jack had been crying and screaming for an hour, so Pitch expected Jack to finally give in. Jack did just that. With a laugh of glee, Pitch picked up Jack and carried him out from his cell. Calling over a fearling, he set Jack on it and began to guide Jack around his cavernous lair. He brought Jack his staff, so Jack could rebuild his strength. He then left Jack in a bedroom, expecting Jack to be too weak to try anything. Unbeknownst to Pitch, Jack had been preparing himself for escape, so he had been exercising to keep up his body strength. Since his body strength also equated to his magic strength, when Jack was given his staff, Jack was stronger than he had ever been before. He waited for a bit, then quickly ran out of his room, his mind focused on escape. Nightmares who had been standing guard quickly raised the alarm, and Pitch raced after Jack in a blaze of fury. Finding the exit, Jack flew up into the air, escape at his fingertips. Just as he reached the outdoors, Jack felt a strand of black sand wrap around his ankle, and pull him back into darkness…