Darkness closed all around him. It engulfed him, swallowed him whole, and above all else, made him cold. The darkness continued to press in on him, the coldness growing until it burned his skin, and looking down on him was the moon.

Jack jerked awake, and found himself sitting in the middle of the ice of his pond. Pitch was nowhere in sight, but neither was Bunnymund. It was all a dream? How could it be, it all felt so real.

He tried to stand up, but the pain in his foot caused him to plop back down on the ice. It couldn't have been a dream then, otherwise he wouldn't have hurt his foot. Summoning the winds, he used them to stand up, and awkwardly hobble over with his staff to a branch that was lying on the ice. He broke it in half and used it to brace his foot so it would set right.

With his foot and ankle secured, he jumped into the air and felt the wind catch him, a comforting sensation. He willed it to take him in the direction of Bunnymund's realm. Maybe there he could find Bunnymund, or at least some answers.

Upon his arrival, he set himself down gently, as to not hurt his foot, and gazed around in wonder. Bunnymund's place looked exactly as it should, not a spring flower or egg out of place. This can't be right, he thought to himself. When Bunnymund first went missing, Tooth had found his realm completely destroyed.

Don't be so shocked, Jack

It was Pitch's voice, but instead of it bouncing off the walls, it seemed to be in Jack's head. It's sudden appearance shocked Jack that he rocked backwards. Quickly regaining his balance, he pulled his staff into defense position, turning in a slow circle, looking for the danger.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not actually here

Jack spun around once more, looking for the source of the voice, but to no prevail. His eyebrows furrowed in frustration, how could he fight someone that wasn't there?

And you're not here, either

Jack froze, how could he not be here? He could feel the crunch of the frosted-over grass beneath his feet, and smell the spring flowers. Pitch must be trying to scare him. Jack needed to focus, or he could fall further into his trap yet.

"Of course I'm here," Jack called back, but he could feel that familiar feeling of coldness creeping up his spine, a spot of warm breath on his neck. His eyes grew heavy once more, threatening to make him fall asleep…

But he wouldn't allow it. If this wasn't actually Bunnymund's realm, then he was still out there and probably still hurt.

Don't fight it Jack, you know you can't win

"Try me," he said, through gritted teeth.

Alright, would you really like to see where you really are?

And just like that, Bunnymund's realm changed from its glorious beauty to destruction and terror. All the flowers were dead, the sun no longer shone warmly on the grassy hills, and the darkness and moving shadows were everywhere. Pitch's black dreamsand was strewn all over, as if Bunnymund had to battle Pitch's forces. However, by the looks of the broken egg shells strewn about, it seems as though Bunnymund was greatly outnumbered.

The wind blew, ruffling Jack's hair, but this wasn't the kind of wind he was used to, the kind he could summon. This wind was almost murky, far from Jack's control. A dark mist gathered at the edges of the shadows, and began creeping slowly, almost lazily, towards Jack. He quickly backed away, stumbling over stones, until he reached the middle of the clearing, completely trapped.

He tried to summon his own winds, to carry himself away to safety, but he didn't seem to have the strength anymore. With each passing moment, the mist got closer, and his strength seemed to be leaking away with the remaining light. It was growing colder and colder, nothing was under his control anymore.

He fell to his knees and could not get back up. The mist reached him and scorched his skin. He closed his eyes shut with fear, and was lost again into sleep.