Pitch guided the ship to the asteroid's surface. With a ring of the bell, gravity fled. There was some, but not much, and Jack's stomach flipped from the strange sensation. Pitch stood very still for a moment then took a deep breath. Jack could tell he was nervous, afraid that this was some trick. But there was something else: hope. If Nightlight was alive, they would save him. If he wasn't, Jack knew that Pitch would be crushed.

The Nightmare King strode off the ship. He had control of some kind of gravity within himself, or so it seemed. The lack of gravity on the asteroid didn't affect him at all. Jack struggled to step forward, muttering in frustration. Pitch glanced back, his lips twitching. Crossing his arms, he studied the boy as he tried to put one foot in front of the other and failed miserably.

"Trouble, Frost?" he asked.

"How are you walking?!" Jack demanded.

"I lived on a broken ship for the majority of my childhood. It's a skill most travelers used to learn anyway."

"Would you help me?" Jack asked, half floating.

"All you had to do was ask," Pitch replied.

Pitch strode back onto the ship and gripped Jack's slowly flailing arm. Jack hit the deck so hard that he nearly sat down, but Pitch held him up, his eyes shining.

"Do you feel your center?" Pitch asked.

"Center?" Jack asked, shivering.

"Center of gravity. It's a solid sensation that focused here." Pitch pointed at Jack's stomach. "I'm going to let you go. Try and notice the difference."

Pitch released his arm, and Jack immediately felt a tight ball burst out, filling his veins as he began to float again. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I notice," Jack rasped. "Please get me down."

"Looking a little green, Frost. It gives you a nice color."

Jack glared at him, unable to move fast enough to grip his stomach as his body rotated. "Keep joking and I'll puke on you."

Pitch snorted, righted Jack, and wrapped his hand around the boy's thin arm. Jack landed again, going to his knees as his stomach protested.

"Oh, don't let me go again," Jack groaned.

Pitch linked his arm with the boy's. "Crystal?"

Jack pulled it out, and Pitch took it in his free hand. Tapping it once, there was a flash of light that trailed from the veins and out into the darkness. Pitch inhaled deeply, and Jack could feel his arm trembling in his. He tightened his own, nodded, and then began to lead the way. They followed the light across the dim asteroid. Jack struggled to see, and when he tripped, Pitch kept him standing then walked out in front.

"Hole," he murmured. "Long step."

With Pitch telling him of the dangers in a low voice, they made their way to a valley. It was too dark to see. Pitch didn't even squint.

"There is a figure. The light ends down there. Do you want to stay up here or go down with me?"

"I'm not leaving you alone," Jack said firmly.

Pitch blinked, glancing at him. His brows came together for a moment before raising. "Hold tight then. Slide like you're on ice."

The valley was deeper than Jack expected, and he pitched forward when he hit the bottom, dragging the man with him. Pitch grunted as he twisted to avoid landing on Jack. A soft curse met Jack's ears, and Pitch tugged him up to his knees. Jack knew the moment that the Nightmare King saw the figure. He released Jack, who found himself in a dark gully, unable to see an inch in front of his face as he floated upward and began to rotate.

"Pitch!" Jack squeaked.

"It's Nightlight," Pitch said softly, wonder in his voice. There was shifting. "Nightlight? Speak if you can. Please, speak."

"Prism," a low voice croaked. "H-help. Hurts."

"I'll get you to my ship. I'll look you over there."

"What about me?" Jack gasped. "I don't even know which way is up! I can't walk! Help me!"

"Wait here, Frost," Pitch ordered. "I will be back in five minutes."

"Don't leave me in the dark!" Jack half-screamed, panic clawing at his mind.

Pitch went silent. There was more shifting, and when the Nightmare King spoke again, it was right next to Jack's ear.

"Do you trust me, Jack?"

Jack's heart pounded in his ears. "I…I'm afraid."

"If you're not afraid of me, why should you be afraid of the dark?" Pitch responded. "The valley is flat for half a mile either way. There is nothing that will harm you. Do you trust me?"

There was a soft quiver in his voice, a smidge of fear. Pitch wasn't afraid of the dark right now. He was afraid of Jack's answer. Jack knew that so few people trusted him. MiM had trusted him once, but what about now? Besides the boy that was currently cradled in Pitch's arms, nobody trusted the dark King.

Jack took a deep breath, calming himself. "I trust you."

Pitch sighed, a soft noise that spoke volumes. When he responded again, his voice had resumed its soft, calm tone. "Good. I'll be right back."

There was the sound of footsteps, then Pitch grunted. There were no other noises. Jack's heartbeat was the only thing he could hear. Unable to move, he began to hum to himself. The noise was loud, but it was a comfort as Jack floated helplessly in darkness. As he drifted in the blackness, he began to calm down. The dark wasn't so scary. Not when Pitch said he was fine. And his name was Pitch Black. And the only thing darker than him was Shadow Man. But there was no presence of evil. He was alone. In the dark. And it wasn't the worst experience of his life.

There was a sound from above him then Pitch's feet hit the ground near him. Footsteps sounded out, and Jack was rotated then gravity returned. His stomach didn't complain as much this time.

"Molly Malone," Pitch said, bemused. "Not a bad tune. A bit of a strange choice, all things considering."

Jack laughed. "It was the first thing I thought of."

"I'm going to fly us out of here."

"So that's why I didn't hear you climbing the bank."

"He's not doing well, Frost," Pitch said quietly. "He needs help. Now. Hang on."

The sensation of flying was a familiar one, and Jack relished the wind in his face. Pitch didn't stop at the top, dashing back to the ship through the air. Jack instinctively flipped, and Pitch started in surprise but allowed it. They landed on the ship. The gravity was already on, and Jack stretched.

"I never thought moving would be so nice," he admitted.

"I thought you had no control, Frost," Pitch said, grabbing a lantern for Jack's benefit and leading him down into the hold.

"What?"

"You flipped us. I thought you had no control."

"That was flying. I do that all the time," Jack said dismissively.

Pitch hung the lantern, shaking his head. "It's the same basic principle. Plus you didn't even have your staff. If you can control flight, especially on an asteroid with no wind to call upon, then you can definitely learn how to control your center of gravity. It will probably be easier for you than the other Guardians. Three of them have had gravity their whole lives, and none of them fly as you do."

"Tooth does," Jack said. His eyes landed on the dim form of the boy lying on a table, and he froze.

"But she has wings. It's different." Pitch shrugged his coat off and leaned down to look over the dark body, his eyes intense as he scanned the frail form.

"Is he…?"

"No. He's not dead," Pitch answered. "I knew it was hard to put out his light, but I didn't know that he could live without it. He's in agony. He needs to be healed. But I don't have the right materials."

"We're already out in space," Jack said, leaning against a crate. "Wherever we need to go to get the stuff, we can go."

"But Lunar…" Pitch muttered, his face troubled.

Jack stood up straight and spun Pitch around. Gripping his shoulders, he shook him. "Lunar is stronger than you think, Pitch. Nightlight is the one in front of us, and Nightlight needs help now."

Pitch worried his bottom lip, his expression falling for the first time into insecurity. "Jack…"

Jack stomped his foot. Grabbing Pitch's chin, he forced him to look at the black figure. "He needs you, Pitch. If Shadow Man's hurt Lunar, there's nothing we can do. We don't even know exactly where they are. But Nightlight is here right now. He trusts you to help him, Pitch."

Those words smoothed out Pitch's expression, and the man shook his head. "You're right, Frost. I…I'm…"

Jack smiled. "Somebody's got to shake the sense into you. Geez, grownups think they know everything."

Pitch rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth upturned. "So, we need to bring up his light. It's got to be slowly because he's been dark for a long time."

"So the red star core is out," Jack surmised.

"That would be so painful for him that I don't even want to think about it," Pitch said grimly. "There's a source of light that's softer, and we can distill it into a sort of medication. I know that Tsar and Tsarina used it before, and Nightlight told me of the recipe."

"What do we need?"

"There is a creature with glands full of light. They're on Icentuva in the lakes. The light is refracted through their crystalline bodies to fill the glands, which they use to lay eggs."

"Okay. How far is Icentuva?"

"Several hundred thousand light-years, in Earth speak," Pitch replied.

"How long will that take us?" Jack asked, wilting.

Pitch patted his shoulder. "About three Earth days, if we use lightspeed." When the boy looked confused, the Nightmare King added, "Your movies call it hyperspeed."

"Hyperspeed?" Jack asked, grinning. "That's really a thing?"

"Yes. But you'll probably be violently ill," Pitch warned. "It takes a while to grow accustomed to light travel."

Jack shrugged, gesturing at Nightlight. "His health is more important than me keeping my stomach. I'll get used to it. Let's go."

Pitch studied Jack for a moment then grabbed his coat. "You surprise me, Frost."

Jack frowned. "Why?"

"You don't even know him," Pitch answered. "And all you have is my word."

The Winter Spirit straightened up. "I don't care that I don't know him. And your word is good enough for me. I've never been veiled like the others, Pitch. You're a good man that bad things have happened to. What Shadow Man did to you was terrible, and I don't think the other Guardians could stand it. You're darker now, but there's still light inside of you. I don't understand all of your motives and actions, but I trust you to do the right thing."

Pitch's lips tightened, but there was a gleam in his eyes right before he turned away. "Come up to the deck. We'll set sail at once."

Jack followed Pitch up to the deck, and the Nightmare King walked up to the wheel and pressed down. The ship silently took off and Pitch steered until he was pointing at a dark region.

"Ready, Frost?"

"Probably not," Jack said.

"Right answer."

The bell made a strange twang as Pitch rang it twice, and Jack was on the deck before he could think. The contents of his stomach were spread over the boards as his body fought a tugging sensation that threatened to pull him apart. The feelings lessened but didn't stop, and Jack finally struggled to his feet to see Pitch holding a mop with raised eyebrows.

"You did it," Pitch started.

"I clean it," Jack finished, smiling.

He took the mop and pressed it onto the mess.