Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "Dream On!" =D Ah, chapter three already. Not very far, but we're getting there. =D

For some reason, this chapter was pretty difficult for me to write...*shrugs* I don't know what was going on with me at the time, but I found myself stuck at a few parts, even though I did have my outline as a guide. X) But despite my difficulty in writing this chap, I'm proud of how it turned out (even though it took me, like, three hours to write *sobs* =')).

I hope you guys enjoy chapter three! =D

Chapter Three: Foolish or Brave

Jack was jumpier than a cat in a thunderstorm. Even the slightest sounds and movements frightened him now. More than once had he dozed off during Guardian meetings, so he decided to stop attending. Jack didn't want to risk the Guardians witnessing him having a nightmare again, but he was so distant from the others, that the winter spirit was starting to feel guilty.

The Guardians only wanted to help him, and they had made that evident at the last meeting Jack had attended. It was a short one, but Jack felt like it had been dragging on for ages. By the time the meeting drew to a close, North had asked him if there was anything that Jack wanted to tell them, or something that he needed help with. Everyone had noticed how exhausted Jack was. He wasn't as nimble as he used to be. He didn't throw or crack and quips or jokes during the meeting like he usually did. Jack's face was absent of a smile, and he was always so stiff and rigid, as if he were expecting an attack.

Jack had done his best to weasel out of the Guardians' concern, and he reassuringly explained that he was fine and there was absolutely nothing to worry about. He knew that the Guardians didn't believe him, but the Wind had whisked Jack away before the veteran Guardians could prod any further.

Days and days had gone by without Jack sleeping; he was completely enervated and worn out. Ever since the Guardian of Fun had discovered that Pitch had been interfering with his dreams, his eyes were glued to the shadows for any form of ominous movement. Was that a yeti wandering by, or the shifting shape of a Nightmare? Was it dirt before him on the ground or dark, gritty grains of nightmare sand? Pitch could appear at any moment, and Jack's guard was up. If he did eventually come face to face with the King of Nightmares, he would introduce him to the tip of his staff.

Unfortunately, all of this wariness had turned Jack into a skittish, fearful spirit who had difficulty paying attention to what was around him. When he still showed up for Guardian meetings, if one of the Guardians touched him, he'd accidentally send a blast of ice in their direction. The slightest sound compelled him to throw a snowball in whatever direction it had come from. Any loud noise caused Jack to run and hide. So, to save himself from being humiliated (or hurting any of the Guardians), he had safely distanced himself from them.

But was separating himself from his friends really the answer to his predicament?

To the Guardians, Jack seemed like he was giving them the cold shoulder. He hardly talked to them. He didn't answer right away when he was asked something. Even if they asked Jack a simple question, he'd snap at them as if they had been prodding at him for a long period of time. Jack saw the hurt that flickered in their eyes whenever this happened, and he felt even worse knowing that he wasn't telling the Guardians about his lack of sleep. But he didn't want to put them in any sort of trouble, and he was convinced that he really could handle what was happening by himself. Soon, Jack would need to learn that there was no harm in requesting help.

Occasionally, one of the Guardians would drop by his lake to see if he was alright. This happened when Jack was least expecting their company, so he didn't have time to fly away or hide. He was forced to answer the question of if he was alright or if he needed help every time North, Tooth, Bunny, or Sandy visited. Sometimes, Jack would manage to fly away, but he often found himself facing the concerned face of one of the Guardians of Childhood. Worry didn't suit them well.

The Guardians hadn't attempted to chase him down, and Jack was rather grateful for that. Hunting him down hadn't turned out very well the first time they had been acquainted, and the Guardians perhaps knew that Jack would enlighten them in time…But would he?

When it came to searching for Pitch, Jack tried to be as thorough as possible. The Boogeyman was shrewd and liked to keep to the shadows where he was untouchable and invisible. Tracking him down was like hunting for an animal without footprints. It was difficult to know where the Nightmare King would be, where he had been, or what he would do. Pitch was unpredictable, and Jack knew that he had changed his tactics since the last battle with the Guardians. Pitch hadn't shown himself at all, not even in Jack's nightmares. The winter spirit felt like he sensed him sometimes, but the dastardly man never appeared, which frustrated Jack greatly. How was he supposed to pinpoint him if he didn't even know where he was?

Jack had scouted the area around his lake. He had flown over the town of Burgess both during the day and at night to see if he could find any sign of Pitch. But the only trace that the winter spirit had from the Boogeyman was the nightmare sand he had found on his pillow two weeks ago. Next to that he had…well, nothing.

At least I have something, thought Jack as circled back to his lake. Instead of landing when he flew above it, he continued to head deeper into the forest that surrounded it. There was only one last place that Jack hadn't checked and that was Pitch's lair itself. Jack had been keeping himself from going there due to the bad memories that it held. Pitch had tricked him there and kidnapped Baby Tooth, and poked and prodded at every single one of Jack's insecurities and fears with ease. He had toyed with his mind, making him feel as lost as he had when he had first risen from the lake. Jack couldn't remember ever feeling so stricken, and since that day, he had never entered Pitch's lair again.

The winter spirit shoved the haunting memories aside and pushed himself to fly on. This could be my only chance at finding Pitch…If he isn't at his lair, then I don't know where else to look.

Jack shoved the memories aside and continued to fly over the woods. Dawn was breaking, and the sun was just peeking out from the horizon. Jack normally enjoyed the beautiful Burgess sunrise from his pond, but he was more focused on finding where Pitch was hiding and putting an end to his nightmares.

It didn't take Jack very long to locate the hole in which Pitch had been dragged into. Jack lived considerably close to the Boogeyman's lair, and he was quite surprised that he hadn't noticed the child's bed sitting in the middle of the woods during all of his exploits through the forest. That bed had been whisked into the underground lair along with the Nightmare King as well. All that was left were a few splinters of aged wood, and a pile of dirt sealing the hole of.

Jack landed a few feet away from the entrance to Pitch's lair and began to take careful steps toward the closed off hole. Unwanted memories of what happened last time Jack was there rolled into the winter spirit's mind. Jack did his best to cast them aside, and he soon found himself standing at the edge of the hole, staring at the dirt covered spot intently.

After the Guardians had defeated Pitch Black, they each took turns coming to that very spot to see if Pitch had stirred or attempted to escape. Jack had been excused from the task since he was rather uncomfortable heading back to the place that led up to the Easter fiasco. When he explained to the Guardians what really happened, they were very understanding about it, and they apologized for what they had done on the day. Jack forgave them, and he was glad to have gotten the whole story off of his chest before it weighed him down any further. The Guardians, in fact, once they heard the entire tale, were ready with their weapons to give the Boogeyman a serious chastisement. It had taken at least half an hour to convince the Guardians not to do so. Jack smiled wistfully at the memory; he felt his guilt sleep in again.

If I do find Pitch…what do I tell the others? he thought. Well, if he did encounter the Boogeyman, there would be no other choice but to alert the Guardians. Jack knew that he couldn't take him down by himself.

Every time the Guardians returned from examining the area around Pitch's lair, they reported that Pitch hadn't moved a wink and nor did the place look the slightest bit disturbed. Even now, as Jack towered over the hole, he found that it looked exactly the way it had a year ago: covered in dirt and old wood pieces that were sprinkled over it.

Swinging his staff into his other hand, Jack poked it through the hole, finding that it wasn't very thick. The winter spirit called on the Wind and—unlike his nightmare—she responded and swept the layer of dirt away into the forest.

"Thanks, Wind," said Jack. His old-time friend swirled around him, a questioning whistle sounding through her gale.

"I-I know…This is the last place I want to be right now…" said Jack as he looked down into the deep dark hole. The winter spirit gulped thickly; he didn't have to go down…Really, he didn't. He could freeze over the hole and fly away, acting as if nothing had happened and learn to live with his incessant nightmares…but he had an inkling that he'd find something down there that could aid him in stopping his bad dreams.

With a shaky breath—and uncertain if he was being foolish or brave—Jack leapt into the hole and plunged into darkness.

…

Pitch's lair hadn't changed. Not one bit.

The home for fear was still warped, dark, and ominous. Cages hung from the ceiling like bats, and they swayed in the chilling breeze that blew through the underground cavern. The bridges and stairs were as baffling as ever; they were either right side up or upside down. There were stairs that climbed the ceiling, and bridges that rolled down the collapsing walls. Many dark tunnels were spotted around the area. Very little light filtered through the ceiling, and what light did make it through was hardly enough for Jack to properly see where he was. He didn't see any sign of Pitch, and nor did he sense him. For if the Boogeyman was nearby, the place would be much colder than it was now.

Jack held his staff out and mustered up enough energy to allow a soft blue glow to radiate from his staff, allowing him to see better. Now that he had a potent light source, Jack felt a little more comfortable venturing through the dark. The winter spirit proceeded down the bridge that he had landed on, and he began to examine the hidden hideout.

As Jack walked through the lair, he made sure that he was ready to blast any defiling Nightmare that came his way. Perhaps even Pitch himself if he showed. The winter spirit's cerulean blue eyes were wide and alert for any shifting shape or change in the atmosphere.

Jack first searched the bridges and in the tunnels. The tunnels were the most difficult to navigate through, since they were completely cloaked in shadows and very hard to see through. Pitch wasn't in the tunnels or hiding away in the shadows on the bridges, so Jack flew up to the cages, where Baby Tooth and her sisters had been held captive. Jack vividly remembered how petrified the fairies looked when he had found them. However long they spent down in the murk was too long for them. Even Jack couldn't stand walking through Pitch's lair without feeling fretful. It was the foreboding feeling that the place gave off. The winter spirit couldn't imagine what days, weeks, months, or even years would feel like trapped down there.

Finally, Jack came to the throne room. He walked up the large stairs where, at the top of the high pillar, sat a throne made of Nightmare rock. It was large with sharp spikes jutting out from the back. Swirls, patterns, and engravings of what Jack assumed to be battles that Pitch had won in the past decorated the top rim of the large seat. At the base was a footrest. All Pitch needed was a robe and a crown, and he'd fit the title "Nightmare King'' reasonably well.

This was the place where Pitch pretended to be some sort of king over his horrible kingdom of nightmares. Jack frowned at the sight of the throne; Pitch was nowhere near worthy to be a leader. And yet a part of Jack felt pitiful toward the Boogeyman, since he had never had the chance to be anything more than what he was.

Gearing his focus back to the task at hand, Jack looked around the throne room, which had to be the most chilling place of Pitch's lair. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, sharper than needles and bigger than rowboats. They looked just about ready to fall down on the blue-hooded winter spirit as he examined the area around Pitch's throne. There was nothing there. Nothing at all. No sign of Pitch or his ilk.

A sparkling light caught Jack's attention, and he turned around to find the eviler looking version of the Globe of Belief, which sat on another platform just below the one that held the throne. Jack leapt down and landed in front of it, walking around the hollowed-out continents pensively. Unlike North's in Santoff Claussen, this Globe of Belief was unpleasant to look at. It looked aged and forgotten. Like a prototyped version of the real one that stood proudly in the heart of the North Pole.

The only nice thing about this Globe was the plentitude of lights that littered the rusted continents. They represented the children that believed in the Guardians of Childhood, and there were many. Jack stared at them pensively.

Pitch had used his Globe of Belief for the opposite of what the Guardians used it for. He didn't use it to see how many children believed in the Guardians, but for the number of children that didn't. His goal was to kill the lights. Snuff them out. Get rid of every single one instead of brightening them. Jack sighed and ran his hand over a few of the lights, glad that he and the other Guardians were able to stop Pitch before he could've caused any permanent damage.

Suddenly, something shifted in the corner of Jack's vision, and the winter spirit whirled around, shooting a blast of bright, glowing ice into the shadows. A sharp whinny tore through the air, and Jack's eyes widened when he realized that he had been found.

Nightmares. Hundreds of them. They trotted out of the shadows, their amber eyes flashing with malevolence. Their hooves pounded against the ground, and their large bodies rippled with the thousand layers of nightmare sand that they were made of. They snorted, steam blowing through their snouts as they began to approach Jack. They could smell his fear; it rolled off of him in huge waves. To the Nightmares, fear was like blood to a vampire. They craved it, and they did anything to gain a hold of it. Their minds blurred by lust, they charged and attacked the lone winter spirit who stood in the middle of them.

Jack reacted quickly, and he swung out his staff, using it to freeze the first wave of Nightmares that came his way. The others swarmed around the winter spirit and assaulted him. Jack sliced and slashed his staff through the fiendish creatures, his winter energy coming out in the form of bright bursts of light and cracks of lightning-like flashes. Jack's staff crackled with power as he created multiple shards of ice and stabbed and impaled the Nightmares that grew too close. Jack panted once the shards had done their work, but more mares came and took the place of the ones he had just destroyed.

Jack could feel his strength beginning to slip away; he was exhausted, and his lack of sleep over the past four months greatly weighed him down in battle. The Nightmares began to close in on him, and several of them bashed and ran into him, knocking him to the ground. Jack whacked and froze them over with his staff before they could cause further damage, but his reaction time was late. Scratches and bruises littered Jack's body, and one of the Nightmares had gotten close enough to sink its teeth into his arm. The winter spirit cried out in pain and hastily stabbed the Nightmare where its heart would've been if it had one. The creature shrieked like a banshee and burst into sand.

Using the last bit of energy he had left, Jack let out a yell and slammed the butt of his staff against the ground, sending a whipping gale through the lair. The temperature in the room lowered below zero, and several Nightmares froze into ice on the spot. Before more could appear, Jack leapt on the Wind and flew out of Pitch's lair as fast as he could. He didn't look back.

Jack didn't notice how the remaining grains of nightmare sand on him sunk into his skin, as if he were a sponge.

…

Jack grasped his arm tightly as he flew back to his lake. Bursting into his tree and stumbling inside, Jack fumbled around for some bandages that he had been supplied with from the infirmary at the North Pole. He had had several incidents that involved bleeding and broken bones, so North had graciously given him some medical gear in case the Guardians weren't nearby to tend to him. Of course, the supply was rather small, which was North's silent message of telling Jack to come to Santoff Claussen if he had any injuries that he couldn't patch up on his own.

Jack found the bandages tucked away in a cabinet, and he set his staff aside and seated himself on his bed, slipping off his hoodie so he could examine his arm properly. The winter spirit winced at the sight of the wound; the Nightmare had taken a good bite out of him, and it was bleeding rather heavily. Jack quickly tied up the wound with the bandages, but he had never wrapped himself with a bandage before, so his tying job was a bit sloppy.

Still, the bandage held and stopped the flow of blood, which was all that mattered to Jack. He sighed and put the roll of bandages back where he had found them and walked over to his closet and pushed the door open. Inside, there were several hangers holding several replicas of the blue hoodie that Jack always wore. The yetis of Santoff Claussen were excellent with a needle and thread, and they had made many hoodies for Jack. He had gone through many misadventures, and his clothes had gotten torn more than once.

Jack fished out one of the extra hoodies and pulled it over his head. He hissed as his arm burned with pain when he stretched it out too far. Frost immediately began to web across the blue garment the instant Jack slipped it on. He shoved the torn one into the back of his closet and shut the door. Now that he was fixed up (mostly), Jack went over what he knew from what he had seen at Pitch's lair.

The Boogeyman was…gone. It seemed wrong, but it appeared to be true. Pitch had left no trace behind except for his remaining Nightmares, but Jack knew that they hadn't shown up anyhow. Who told the Nightmare to attack him, if not Pitch?

Little was known about the Nightmares and their habits, so Jack couldn't immediately assume that Pitch had made them attack him. The Nightmares were driven only to smell fear, hunt fear, and eat fear. Jack had been on edge for the past few months, and fear was an emotion that he felt almost constantly now.

Jack was utterly bemused. He was stumped, and he couldn't take any more of the stress that came with his troubling thoughts. So, he decided to fly over Burgess to clear his head. Flying on the Wind had always opened his mind and made him think better. Once he returned to his lake nice and refreshed, Jack was sure that he'd have an easier time coming up with what to do next.

The winter spirit stepped out of his tree and waved his staff. "Hey, Wind…Do you mind carrying me over Burgess for a while?"

The Wind didn't mind at all. She whisked her winter child away into the air, lifting him over his favorite town. It looked to be about afternoon. Adults and children were walking through the streets. Some were on lunch break, and the kids were playing around nearby in the park. From what Jack had heard, the children were on what was called "mid-winter break," so there was no school for the day. Jack smiled as he watched the kids tumble and roll through the snow. Their laughter was like a melody to the winter spirit, and the aching fear that he had been feeling for so long melted away just a little at the sight of the young ones playing in the snow.

Jack continued to fly on, enjoying the cool breeze that the Wind brought with her presence. Snowflakes swirled around him, brushing past his cheeks and tickling them like feathers. Jack felt free, and his worrying thoughts faded as he steered the Wind through his favorite town.

Jack didn't know that he was flying over Jamie's neighborhood until he heard his voice accompanied by Sophie's shout up at him. Looking down, Jack saw the two Bennett children running after him as he soared through the air. They waved their arms hysterically, hoping that he'd notice them, even though he already had. Jack smiled, and he was just about to head down when he remembered that he didn't look his best. In fact, he looked awful. He didn't want to scare Jamie and Sophie and cause them any more reason to worry…But it had been an incredibly long time since he had last seen them, and even longer since they had seen him. Jack missed the two siblings and their friends who resided in the neighborhood.

If he left, he'd be ghosting the two, and Jack didn't want to hurt Jamie and Sophie's feelings. They had already spotted him, so he had no other choice but to go down and greet them. Flipping on his hoodie and concealing his wounded arm the best he could, Jack flew down to meet the two Bennet children, who were more than ecstatic to see him.

"Jackie, Jackie, Jackie!" Sophie cried happily, running up to Jack with her arms outstretched. Jack internally panicked and he tried to step out of the way, but Sophie already had him crushed in one of her hugs. Jack's arm screamed in pain, but the winter spirit did his

best to hide his pained look as Sophie squeezed him until he felt like he couldn't breathe.

Thank Manny that Jamie came to the rescue. "C'mon, Sophie. Let Jack breathe," he said, although he seemed like he wanted to give the Guardian of Fun a hard squeeze too. Jamie adjusted his large hat and grinned. "Where have you been, Jack? You've been gone for, like, forever!"

Jack pried Sophie's arms off of him and chuckled. "Well…you know all the work that comes with being a Guardian, kiddo," the winter spirit lied. Jack felt guilty that he was lying to his friends, but his situation was something that they couldn't help with or handle. Jack wanted them to enjoy their break instead of worrying about him. They didn't have to know, and they couldn't know.

Sophie playfully poked Jack's arm, which just so happened to be his injured one. The winter spirit slipped it behind his back. Sophie tilted her head in confusion.

"Do you want to play with us?" asked Jamie. "We're going to have a huge snowball fight later!"

Sophie nodded, bouncing on her heels excitedly. "It's gonna be really fun! You can be on my team!"

The two knew how much Jack loved a snowball fight, and he felt compelled to say yes. It had been so long since he had joined the Burgess children in a snowball fight, and they were always the biggest, most fun skirmishes that Jack had ever attended. Teams were made, areas were claimed, forts were set up. Hundreds of snowballs were created by the small hands of the children and thrown with accuracy that Jack had to admit was impressive for the young kids. Even the Guardians joined the fights once in a while. They enjoyed playing with the children just as much as they did with them.

Jack would've loved to say yes, but he was exhausted. Not only that, but his throwing arm was injured. He leaned on his staff heavily, his wounded arm pulsing with pain. "Sorry, guys…I have work to do," he said. "But I'll try and join next time, okay?"

Jamie and Sophie faltered. "Oh…okay," Jamie said. Jack didn't miss the disappointment in his voice. The winter teen felt a huge wall of guilt slam into him; he wished he could join them, but he didn't have the strength at the moment. His mind was cluttered, and he wouldn't be able to focus on the fun. And then there were his nightmares to worry about…Jack shook his head, knowing that he couldn't stay any longer. He could be endangering Jamie and Sophie by just standing there. Pitch could be watching him from the shadows.

"I…I should get going," said Jack. He was about to leave when Sophie grabbed his arm. His injured arm.

"Please stay, Jackie! Please!" Sophie begged. She squeezed his arm, and Jack did his best to hold back a cry, but one still escaped his lips. Jamie tilted his head.

"Are you okay, Jack?" asked Jamie worriedly. Jack nodded quickly.

""Y-Yeah…I'm fine," he said. Jack slipped his arm out of Sophie's grip and backed away. The little girl was on the verge of tears. Jack felt even worse. "I…I need to go."

And with that, the Wind swept Jack away. Jamie and Sophie watched as their white-haired friend flew into the sky. Tears cascaded down Sophie's little face.

"Why doesn't he wanna play with us?" the young girl hiccupped. "Does Jackie not wanna be our friend anymore?"

Jamie watched as Jack continued to fly away, his form becoming nothing but a dot on the horizon. Jack was his best friend, and he knew that he was hiding something from them. There was something going on, but Jack wouldn't say so. Jamie sighed.

"I don't know, Soph," the young boy replied. "But…I think something's wrong with Jack."

…

Jack arrived at his pond and tripped on his own feet as he walked out onto the frozen surface. He ran a hand through his hair, emotions swirling inside of him like a maelstrom. Jack groaned in frustration; it had been ages since he had seen the Bennett asked him to play, and he had just flown away! He had made Sophie cry. Jack shook his head vehemently and he gripped his staff. He needed to put an end to his nightmares. He needed to find a way to stop them before they completely ruined his sleep and life.

But who could help him? Jack chewed his lower lip. He had to tell them. He had to tell the Guardians what was going on. As much as he didn't want to, as much as he felt like he could deal with this on his own, Jack knew that he couldn't. The Guardians were the only ones who could help him now.

And as if his thoughts had been read by someone unseen, Jack was suddenly snatched up by a furry arm, shoved in a familiar sack, and tossed through a magic portal.

Author's Note: One of my favorite moments in Rise of the Guardians was when Bunny and the yetis captured Jack. And then later on, North said it was his idea to shove him in a sack and toss him through a magic portal. Like, what? XD I couldn't help but crack up, ahaha. XDD I actually have a one-shot idea in mind revealing what was said during the conversation on how to catch Jack. =) When I'll write it, I have yet to find out. X)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see ya in the next one. =D *Winks*

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203