Hi my friends, thank you so much for the reviews :) I love hearing from you guys. Ok guys time for a challenge ;) If the reviews hit…270 then I will post another chapter tomorrow :) Good luck! And enjoy.

(At Chandrakumar)

For most of the day the corridors had echoed with laughter and stories. Now a somber silence had settled over the entire palace. Chand and his two sons had left the dining room and were currently talking within a large room full of comfortable couches and a large grand fireplace carved from ivory marble. The conversation had gradually been shifting to a question that had been plaguing Pitch's mind for a long time; now he was in the middle of getting the answer to it.

"Why father, why the hell did you leave us after mother passed? Do you know how hard it was? I was sixteen father, Samuel may have been older than me but with his disability of not being able to speak I had to step up as head of the house." Pitch clenched his fist as he glared at the man standing in front of the marble fireplace, "Gwendolyn was only two…"

"I want you to know I never wanted to leave you or your siblings Pritchard." Chand stared into the crackling flames, his voice held a haunted tone

"Then why did you?" a slight growl echoed in the Nightmare Kings words.

Jack cringed slightly, he could feel the tension in the air. It had been building the moment Pitch had asked his question.

A sigh escaped Chand as he turned from the fire to face his sons who were sitting on the large couch, "When your mother became sick Pritchard I was afraid that Morana had found our family. When she died from it, my fear was confirmed." The man's shoulders sagged, "I had no choice but to find Morana and make a deal with her."

"You what!" Pitch was on his feet, his eyes flashing with anger at the thought of Chand even speaking with Death

"Hear me out Pritchard." Chand's voice took on a strained tone, "For centuries your mother had simply lived out her life and was reborn. But by Morana killing her with her poison by spirit law she owned her soul."

A horrified look crossed Pitch and Jack's faces

Chand continued, "I…couldn't…wouldn't allow that so I traveled to the entrance of the catacombs and bargained with her." He sighed, "Morana's deal was that I was to leave the earth and not return, even on the new moon, for fifteen years. If I did so she would release your mother's soul back to me to be reborn within the appropriate time frame."

Golden eyes glanced at Pitch, "I agreed to her terms but made her swear that she would not touch my children for that time as well." A dark shadow crossed his face

Jack jumped when Chand slammed his fist onto the mantle; blue eyes watched a small piece of the marble clatter to the floor.

"But as she always has, the hag found a way past the terms." Chand hung his head

A look of understanding came to Pitch's face, "Fifteen years from that day was when I…became a spirit."

"Morana had planned everything…she knew that I would unable to help you that night." A haunted look came to golden eyes, "I…I am so sorry Pritchard." Chand started when a hand rested on his shoulder, he glanced sideways into Pitch's eyes

"Father, I forgive you." Pitch looked away into the flames of the fireplace, "For so long I questioned why you left us like that…I understand now that you did what you had to."

Relief flooded Chand's face, "You have no idea how much that means to me Pritchard. I…" he stopped when the sound of footsteps echoed

"Here you three are." Akal huffed as he and Sam walked into the room, "I have looked everywhere. We need to get going."

"Do we have to go?" Jack got to his feet

Akal nodded, "Sorry, but I have a lot of work to do back at the Saniya Palace."

"Can we come?" the winter spirit asked, excited about the prospect of seeing where Father Time lived

A grin came to Akal' face "That's a great idea, allow Jack Frost to run rampant through the very palace that controls the flow of time. What could possibly go wrong?"

Chand laughed as Jack stuck his tongue out at the spirit, "Before you guys leave I wanted to give you something." He motioned to Jack, "Jackson, this is for you."

Jack took the small box wrapped in silk that Chand removed from the top of the mantle, he carefully opened it, "Wow," the winter spirit removed a small bottle of purple liquid from within the box. A sheepish grin came to his face, "What is it?"

"That is Hydra blood." Chand chuckled when Sam and Jack's face filled with excitement as the two teens stared at the bottle, "It can melt through anything."

Pitch shook his head, "Perfect, just what the little demon needs. Something to dissolve the Pole with."

Jack grinned, "Come on Pitch, you know that's something you'd like to see."

"You have a point." Pitch chuckled at the thought

Chand smiled, "And this is for you Pritchard." The man reached and pulled another small box from the mantle

Pitch took the box and carefully opened it, golden eyes stared at the small adamantine dragon stature in his palm. It was a traditional Chinese style dragon, within its tiny maw it held a clear orb in the shape of a full moon.

"That is the Dragon of Tanay, a relic that helps you find family. Whenever a member of your family is near the dragon will tell you who and if they are in danger. You can follow the orb to their location, it will glow brighter the closer you are to them."

Jack grinned, "That's perfect for Pitch. He's all about things that will help him find me."

"And for good reason Jack, you can't leave my sight without something happening to you." the Nightmare King huffed.

Chand laughed when Jack mumbled about how that wasn't true, "Now how to activate the relic you simply speak the incantation, "Trapa ton era ew os, noitacol rieht laever. Doolb ym dnif, traeh ym dnif."

Pitch startled when the moon in the dragon's mouth began to glow a bright red, it began to pulse rapidly. He jumped when a low voice whispered in his mind.

"Jackson is near, he is fine. Chand is near, he is in pain."

"Father, are you ok?" Pitch glanced at Chand, he frowned as he noticed the crimson stain on the man's lower shirt as he shifted his body trying to hide it.

Chand faked a smile, "I am fi…" he hissed in pain when Akal suddenly lifted his shirt.

"Damn it Chand, why didn't you tell me?" amber eyes glared at the wound that had begun to bleed from the stitches that had been sewn into it.

"It's nothing Akal…" the man pushed the shirt back down, "I'm not a chi…" he stiffened when Akal pressed two fingers to his neck, "I…hate…you."

Jack and the others startled when Chand slumped forward suddenly, Akal catching him before he hit the floor.

"What the hell!" Pitch growled, taking a step toward Akal as the man flung Chand over his shoulder.

"Calm down, I simply knocked him out." Akal smirked, "He'll wake up in a few hours. Hopefully in better shape than he is now."

"Should we leave him alone?" Jack asked in concern as the man started out of the room

"Don't worry, Adana is coming in a few minutes to keep an eye on him." Akal spoke as he left, "I'll be back in a second and we can leave."

"I wish we didn't have to leave." Jack sighed

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I have had an awesome time listening to your dad's adventures."

Pitch chuckled, "Though he did tend to go a bit overboard at times." He grinned, "Speaking of going overboard…I believe it is time to visit Patrick and get my revenge for that little 'prank' of his."

Blue eyes widened "Pitch…what are you going to do to him?"

Golden eyes glinted, a chuckle escaped him, "Oh, just something that will remind him that one should never prank the person that knows you like a book."

(Unknown)

A low moan filled the forest as a young spirit began to regain consciousness. Oaken eyes blinked open and immediately filled with tears as his mind registered the pain in his body. The boy glanced around, confused to find that he had been propped up with his back against the trunk of the tree. He shifted his body, and immediately regretted it, a muffled cry escaped him.

Faine gasped into the gag still firmly locked over his face, the agony in his leg taking his breath away. "Great Rhea help me." The boy trembled as he caught sight of what was causing him so much pain.

The skin of his broken leg had turned a horrid purple and blue with yellow streaks, bright red liquid was slowly cascading from the partially closed wound where the bone had been pushed back through the skin.

"Why would he care to fix my leg?" Faine asked himself, confused by the thick branches that had been placed on either side of the limb to keep it straight. What confused him even more was the fact the branches had been lashed to the limb with rare vines known as Liana, which for him meant that the wound would heal much faster than normal.

Faine ran his hand over the vines, a faint grin coming to his face under the band as the energy from the vines leapt up into his palm. The pure energy filled his bruised body, greatly lessening the pain within his body. He sighed and laid his head back, mind reeling with confusion.

"Why? What is the purpose of all this?" the boy whimpered, he glanced up at the midday sun shining down through the leaves of the trees. "Why did he bring me out here, just to leave me?"

The teen absently glanced at the shackle that was still attached to his ankle, he reached and tugged at it sighing at how it was still firmly anchored within the tree. "At least he removed the one from my broken leg." Faine thought, he began trying to grasp anything positive in his hellish nightmare, "And he…didn't bind my wrists so I can still gather energy to survive."

The spirit glanced around the forest, "And at least I'm captive here, and not…in that hell hole I was in." the boy sighed, his eyes gazing up at the tree he was under, "And at least when Tithus decides to kill me I'll be here, amongst the trees so perhaps my soul will be quick in finding its way to Aizza." Oak eyes closed as Faine tried to rest despite the fear of the unknown that had settled within his soul.

Please review and let me know what you guys thought. I love hearing from you and seeing what you are thinking about the story. Till Next Time (or tomorrow ;)