"Nico!" Jason was the first one on the scene, immediately engaging the Boogie Man. Bolt after bolt of lightning tore through nightmare after nightmare as the two dueled it out, until waves of snow and ice rammed into the foray. The Boogie Man began to laugh as both Jack and Pete sliced through his army, the Pevensies, Leo, and Piper hot on their tail. Lucy gave a little shriek as the black sand moved Nico's unconscious body out of her reach, and down the hole beneath the bed.

"No! Nico!" Lucy got up to follow, but a cry from Peter stopped her.

"Lucy, look out!" A nightmare raced towards her, but she unsheathed her dagger and sent it flying through the horse, making it disappear into black grains of sand. She turned around to get back to the tunnel opening, but there were more between her and the opening, forcing her to unsheathe her sword.

The Boogie Man laughed, "Did you think that I would give up my darkling prince so easily, little queen?"

"Well, we're not going to let you take him so easily, Pitch!" shouted Jack, engaging the nightmares again. The rest of the group followed suit with their weapons, turning nightmare after nightmare into grains of sand, but for every one they killed, it seemed that more appeared.

"This is like fighting a hydra!" blurted Leo as he sent a fireball through a dozen nightmares. "Man, I'm beginning to wish that Frank was here!"

"That makes two of us!" blurted Edmund.

"Glad that you two are on the same page, but we need to concentrate on getting past these nightmares and get to Nico!" exclaimed Jack, using a staff to not only whack nightmares, but also using it to send blasts of ice at them.

"Give it up, Jack Frost! By morning, I will have my darkling prince!"

"No!" Jack yelled and sent a stream of ice at Pitch. The others had paused at the sudden revelation.

"J-Jack Frost? Then who are you?" Edmund asked Pete.

Pete grinned, "I'm Peter Pan!" With a laugh at their astonished faces, for even those from the forties knew who he was, he flew high and let out a mighty crow. The sound of jingle bells and the sight of little fairies answered his call. A team of reindeer landed, and four figures jumped out of the sleigh.

"S-Santa Claus?"

"The Sandman?"

"That's the Easter Bunny?"

"Oh, so that's what the Tooth Fairy looks like!" Everyone glanced at Edmund. "What? We've never really known what she looked like."

"Well, now you know, now you know what we all look like!"

Edmund glanced sharply at Pitch, "Well I didn't want to know what you looked like!" Leo snickered and high-fived him. Pitch gave a growl and sent another wave of nightmares at them, but they were ready. Santa Claus pulled out his two swords and sliced through the nightmares as fast as Peter, Lucy, and Edmund, if not faster; Bunny's boomerangs and Susan's arrows took care of many from a distance. Tooth and Piper had to get up close, but they made up for it in speed; while Jason, Leo, Jack, and Sandy blasted each nightmare with their powers. Jack made his way to Santa and whispered something in his ear, the big fellow nodding in agreement. Jack flew over to where Lucy stood, inching her way towards the black hole where Nico had been taken. Jack brought his staff down on the ground hard; an icy wind erupting from the impact, sending the nightmares flying.

He held out a hand to her, "Come on, we've got to get to him."

Lucy nodded and took his hand, "Yes, let's go."

He let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her, "Hang on tight." She sheathed her sword before she wrapped her arms around his neck and they flew down the hole.

"Frost!" came Pitch's angry cry. Lucy gave a little scream as the Boogie Man himself followed, flanked by several nightmares. Jack got Lucy to the ground before Pitch picked him up, and the two got locked in a deadly battle of cold and dark. Lucy slashed through every nightmare that came her way, looking for Nico with every chance she got. She finally saw him, encased in a glass coffin surrounded, and bound, it seemed, by snake-like tendrils of black sand. She looked at him, his face didn't seem to be contorted in pain or anything, it looked rather peaceful, in fact. He almost looked like Snow White, a male version, but Snow White nonetheless. Lucy shook the thought from her head right before slicing through another nightmare, she had to get to him. How she was supposed to get him out of his coma-like state, she didn't know, but she had to get to him, and soon. A nightmare knocked her to the ground, sprinkling her with a bit of black dust. She immediately got up, shook off the dust, and sliced through the nightmare. A noise caught her attention, and she swirled around. Nico was emerging from the coffin.

"Nico!" came her joyous cry, but she paused, her bright smile disappearing from her face as she got a better look at him. He looked taller, darker, menacing. The kindness she had seen in his eyes that told her he could be trusted was gone; instead, three cold, golden bands shone out of his otherwise black eyes. His pale lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Looking for someone?" he asked as he tilted his head, watching her like a predator watches its prey, the smile neither fading nor faltering.

"Nico, what's going on?"

"What, don't you like the new me?"

"The new you? This isn't you, Nico! I want the old you back!"

"Why? Don't you want me to be strong?"

"You were already strong, stronger than most! Nico, please, you have to fight him!"

"Why? This is where I belong! I'm stronger now than I ever was before!"

"Why is being stronger so important to you? You don't have to prove yourself to me!"

Nico's eyes flashed, "What makes you think I wanted to prove myself to you? You're nothing like your sister, but I can make you better than her."

Lucy rose slowly, "What? What did you just say?" Nico's grin began to falter. "Now I know this isn't you. Pitch Black! Get out of him! Get away from him!" Nico's form vanished in a cloud of black sand, revealing his body still in the coffin, his face beginning to contort with pain. "Oh no. Nico!" Lucy rushed towards the coffin, lifted the lid, and shook him. "Nico, wake up!" Lucy glanced down, a black tendril had grabbed at her ankle. It yanked her foot out from under her, and dragged her away from the coffin, screaming, "No!"