Author's Note: Crikey, this chapter is a bloody 8,632 words long...

Hey everyone! Welcome back to that one ROTG fanfic that starts with "Dream" and ends with "On!" =D Holy cannoli, I have no clue why this chapter came out so long...It took me three days to write, and I think this has to be the longest chapter that I've ever written for one of my stories.

...Well, I'm saying that now, but I'm still not finished with "Dream On." X) Who knows, maybe we'll have a, like, 10,000 word long chapter for this fanfic in the future. Eh, I dunno. XD

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, though. =D This one delves into the Guardian's POV on Jack; they still don't know what's going on, but Jackie Boy will enlighten them...soon, haha. X)

I hope you guys enjoy this freakishly long chapter! =D

Chapter Four: Nightmares

The Guardians of Childhood were deeply concerned for their youngest member.

Jack hadn't visited the North Pole in weeks. Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy hadn't received a visit from him in months. None of the Guardians had seen Jack outside of their usual Guardian meetings and no one had caught even a glimpse of him at his lake in Burgess. When they did encounter him, Jack was unresponsive and moody. Sometimes, he'd fly away before the Guardians even got the chance to speak with him.

As far as the Guardians could comprehend; it seemed to be that Jack Frost was avoiding them.

It wasn't like the winter spirit to act so closed off. It was as if he had shut all of his doors. He pushed the Guardians away when they offered him help. He kept his distance. He was quiet most of the time. The dark circles under his eyes had become more than evident, giving the hint that he had not slept in a long time but why he wasn't sleeping was what caused many questions to arise. Why wasn't Jack sleeping? What was preventing him from getting his rest? And whatever was preventing him from slumbering, could it have anything to do with his distant attitude?

So, without Jack knowing, the Guardians had gathered together in the Globe Room to discuss what to do about their youngest member. They had had enough of Jack's indifferent behavior and wanted to put an end to it. The discussion wasn't a brief one; Jack Frost was known to be a loner and seclusive. He didn't like to talk about his feelings openly, so he bottled them up inside of him until he couldn't hold them in anymore. Like a dam, his emotions would burst. And when Jack's emotions spiraled out of control, they were like a blizzard, they were a blizzard. The storms were strong and destructive depending on how violent Jack's mood was. The Guardians had only witnessed this happen once or twice. Jack never meant to cause any harm with his winter storms, but they still occurred.

Since Jack had joined the Guardians of Childhood, he was slowly learning to accept help. He no longer kept his feelings to himself. He wasn't completely open with them but he had been improving, and the Guardians could see it. Jack was more prone to talk about his problems and came to either North, Tooth, Sandy, or Bunny whenever he had a situation that required their help. He still tended to keep to himself most of the time, but Jack was definitely improving and recovering considerably well from his 300 years alone. The Guardians would check in on him sometimes whenever it seemed like Jack was falling back into his old habits, but the winter spirit always came around. All of the Guardians were proud of how far Jack had come; he had a long way to go until he could be labeled as "perfectly okay," but he was getting there. And with the help of North and the others, Jack had gained significant control over his winter magic as well.

But the Guardians hadn't seen or heard from Jack in a long time. He appeared at Guardian meetings, but he stayed separate from the others. He spoke very little, and when he did, it was usually a short, quick sentence without any light or mirth. Jack frequently left without reason, flying off to only the Moon knew where, and the Guardians were never able to track him down to see if he was alright.

Yes, the Guardians were very worried about their young member, which was why they stood in the center of the Globe Room, where a very feverish discussion was taking place.

"Jack isn't by his pond," said Toothiana, feather twitching anxiously. Baby Tooth sat perched on her shoulder, a troubled expression on her face. Jack was her best friend, and she hadn't seen any sign of him during her tooth runs. The winter spirit often stopped by to say hello, and he sometimes accompanied Baby Tooth when she was collecting teeth. The two had a wonderful time together, and without Jack, Baby Tooth didn't take much pleasure in collecting teeth. "I'm starting to think that something really bad is going on…Jack has never avoided us for this long."

"If only he would tell us what is wrong," mused North as he wove a hand through his beard thoughtfully.

"We won't be findin' out anytime soon if the bloke keeps on flyin' away every time we come within a millimeter of 'im," Bunny said with a huff.

"There has to be something we can do!" Tooth said frantically. "There's something wrong with Jack, and we need to help him!"

"But how are we gonna do that if he won't tell us what's goin' on?" asked Bunny.

Tooth frowned, wishing that she could answer that question.

Sandy waved a hand over his head, where the image of Jack's lake, an arrow, and a question mark had taken form. "Perhaps we should stop by his lake again?"

"I doubt that he will be there, Sandy," said North. The dreamsand over Sandy's head disappeared in a golden puff. "And even if he is, he will flee at the sight of us."

"Then what do we do?" asked Tooth. "Jack isn't going to come to us."

"So we bring him here," Bunny prompted. Sandy, North, and Tooth turned to him. "If Frostbite isn't goin' ta come ta us, we're gonna have to bring him here ourselves," elaborated the Pooka. He looked at North. "Ya do still have those sacks lyin' around, right?"

North smiled, catching on to what Bunnymund was hinting toward. "Of course I do! I will send yetis to fetch Jack right now."

…

When it came to tasks and duties, the yetis were always on top.

It had taken approximately five minutes and twenty seconds for Phil and another yeti named Roger to catch Jack and escort him to the North Pole. The Guardians all knew that the winter spirit wouldn't act too kindly about being shoved in a sack (again), but the four of them were desperate, and Jack had made it clear that he didn't want to talk despite the fact that he needed help.

The two furry creatures burst through the colorful vortex of a shattered snowglobe, holding a writhing red sack. Inside was Jack, who squirmed and kicked as he tried to abscond the bag. But his movements were sluggish, and Phil held the bag tight, so the winter spirit eventually gave up.

Phil flipped the sack over in front of the Guardians and out tumbled Jack. The winter spirit yelped as he hit the ground, unfortunately landing on his injured arm. He sucked in a breath as pain shot up and down right arm; the Guardians quickly took notice of the reaction.

Scrambling to his feet, Jack quickly flipped on his hoodie, which had fallen off due to the rigorous ride. He turned on his heel and was about to fly away, but North was there in an instant, and he placed a gentle, but firm hand on Jack's shoulder. The winter spirit stiffened.

"Jack, please stay," said North gently. "We need to speak with you."

"What's there to speak about?" was Jack's tart reply. He shrugged off North's hand, his eyes as hard as ice. "Besides, I'm busy."

"Busy hidin'?" Bunny said with a raised eyebrow. Jack pursed his lips and turned away. Although the Guardians and Jack were standing in the same room, the distance between them felt as vast as the ocean. The Guardians only wanted to help Jack, to open the door that he had closed. But the winter spirit firmly kept it shut, which was only hurting him more.

"Jack, we only want to help," Tooth explained, fluttering up to the boy. Baby Tooth hovered beside her. At the sight of the little fairy, Jack softened for an ephemeral moment before returning to his frigid pretense.

The winter spirit shook his head. "I'm fine. I don't need any help."

"Have ya looked at yerself in the mirror?" asked Bunny. Jack's blue-eyed gaze turned to the Pooka, a look of irritation on his face. "When was the last time ya slept, mate?"

"I haven't slept in a while," Jack fibbed. "But I'm fine."

Sandy, the Guardian of Sleep and Dreams, knew otherwise. Jack hadn't been sleeping well, and that had been affecting his work and the time that he spent with the children. The children of Burgess—the kind, young souls who were closest to Jack—had reported to the Guardians that they hadn't seen much of the winter spirit this winter, which was odd considering how often Jack's visits were to Jamie, Sophie, and the rest of their friends whenever his season rolled around. Jack never missed the chance to play with the children, especially now that he was seen. So hearing this left the Guardians bemused, knowing how much Jack loved to interact with them.

The little man could sense when one was asleep or awake. When one was dreaming or not. He could also sense how long it had been since one had last slept, and how well they had, and the Sandman could feel that Jack hadn't been sleeping at all. And nor had he had a good night's rest in a long, long time. There was something keeping him awake, but whenever Sandy tried to prod into Jack's sleeping mind, he was met with a wall of darkness that left him feeling uneasy.

As Sandy wondered what was keeping Jack from getting the rest he needed, the other Guardians tried to cajole the winter spirit into telling them what was wrong.

"Jack, we all know that something's wrong," said Tooth. As she approached him, the winter spirit backed away. "Whatever's been going on has been happening for a while, hasn't it? It's been affecting you and it's been affecting us. We haven't seen or heard from you in a long time."

"If you have not been sleeping well, moy mal'chik, Sandy can give you dreamsand," North said. Sandy nodded, waving his dremsand in the air for emphasis.

"But we do need ta know what's been keepin' ya from sleepin' for so long," said Bunny. "So ya best spit it out."

"I just can't sleep," said Jack sharply. "It isn't that much of a problem."

"Yes, it is. We all need our rest," Tooth countered.

"We cannot help you, Jack, if you do not tell us what is wrong," North said.

"And we don't want ya ta fall behind on yer work," added Bunny.

Tooth flitted forward. "Please, Jack. Just tell us what the matter is," she pleaded.

"I already told you nothing's wrong!" shouted Jack. A gale swept into the room. The temperature dropped several degrees. Icicles began to take form on the ceiling, and snow whipped around the room like a cyclone. Jack's eyes glowed with indignation, and he turned toward the window. "So leave me alone!"

The Wind lifted Jack off of his feet, and he was about to dash through the window when Bunny quickly grabbed his arm to pull him down. Unknowingly, he had taken hold of Jack's wounded arm; the winter spirit cried out in pain, and he immediately fell back down. The storm stopped the moment Jack hit the ground.

Bunny pulled back his paw, flabbergasted. He didn't think that he'd grabbed the boy that hard. The other Guardians were just as stunned.

"What's up with yer arm, mate?" Bunny asked in concern but made sure to sound as firm as possible. Jack needed to tell the truth before he ended up hurting himself any further.

The winter spirit frowned. "I scratched it. No big deal."

"But a scratch wouldn't hurt you so much that ya'd scream," retorted Bunny. Tooth fluttered up to the two, a gasp slipping past her lips as her amethyst eyes widened.

"Jack, you're bleeding!" the Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies exclaimed. Jack looked down at his arm where he could see splotches of red seeping through his blue hoodie. The bandages had come loose; Bunny must have pulled at them when he had grabbed him. Now that nothing was in place to stop the flow of blood, red as bright as day was visible to all the Guardians. Bunny's nose twitched at the scent of blood while North, Tooth, and Sandy were struck with shock.

Upon seeing their shocked expressions, Jack quickly slipped his arm behind his back, concealing it from view. "It's…just a small injury. I'm fine."

"No, you are not fine, Jack," North said sternly, but Jack could hear the worry hidden behind his tone. The Guardian of Wonder walked up to the winter spirit and examined his arm before turning to Phil. "Take him to infirmary and bandage arm," he instructed. North looked down at Jack. "You will be staying in Pole until further notice."

"Well, I don't have to stay here if I don't want to," snapped Jack. He called on the Wind once again, and aimed for the window, ready to escape. But before his feet could lift from the ground, Sandy had splashed a ball of dreamsand in his face, taking the Guardian of Fun completely off guard. Jack stumbled backward, his vision flickering as he tried to fight off the soft feeling of sleep washing over him. The dreamsand—blast it—was too powerful. And Jack could feel himself ultimately losing the battle.

Finally, Jack's knees gave way, and he felt himself falling into what he assumed to be Phil's furry arms. With a soft groan, Jack fell into a sleep that he didn't want to fall into.

…

Jack's eyes snapped open with a gasp. Swirling around him was a blizzard. A violent blizzard. One that he didn't remember bringing to life. Ice and hail ripped through the air uncontrollably. The Wind howled and screamed in rage. Thick snowflakes dotted Jack's line of vision, and snow was all he could see. It was impossible to see what was right in front of him. The snow blanketed the area like a heavy fog, and Jack stood in the midst of the chaos, unaffected. He was the Spirit of Winter after all. Snowstorms were like a warm summer's day for Jack Frost.

But it wasn't himself that he was worried about. Jack could hear voices. and shouts coming from up ahead. They were the voices of children—young children—and a few adults, who must have been strolling out in the open when the storm had hit. Jack didn't recognize any of them, and a part of him was glad that he didn't hear Jamie or any of his friends in the storm. Even though Jack didn't know who the people were, he knew that he had to get them out of that blizzard that he seemingly created.

Jack leapt into the air, harnessing the Wind long enough to carry him over the area that he soon recognized to be one of the many parks in Burgess. The place hardly looked like the lush, green field that Jack had seen it to be during the spring. It was a barren, snowy area that looked like a replica of Antarctica. Jack navigated his way through the icy storm as he relied on his hearing to guide him to the mortals who had found themselves trapped. Snow and hail blinded Jack's vision. His eyes stung as snowflakes swept into his eyes. Jack could only see a few inches. After that, everything was white and blank.

He knew he was headed in the right direction. The pleas and cries for help were getting louder—he was almost there! Jack pushed himself to move faster, grappling and wrestling with the fierce winds as he propelled himself forward. The shouts grew louder and louder still. Jack gripped his staff and squinted to locate them when suddenly…the voices stopped.

Roughly, the Wind that Jack had thought was his friend dropped him into the snow. Jack grunted as he hit the ground, feeling the Wind's icy presence leave him as she moved on to cause more destruction. Jack scooped his staff and got to his feet, looking around. Dread creeped into his soul when the only thing his ears picked up was the sound of the howling winds around him. He chided himself for thinking negatively so quickly…perhaps the children and adults found a way out of the storm? Perhaps they had evicted the area and all that he had been hearing was in his head?

Jack yelped in surprise when he felt a freezing hand suddenly grab the sleeve of his hoodie. The appendage gripped it so tightly, that Jack could feel its fingernails digging into his skin. Jack tried to wrench his arm from whoever had grabbed him, and the winter spirit looked down to see a middle-aged man whom he didn't recognize. Jack stiffened at the sight of him; the man was practically a living corpse. His lips were tinged with blue, and his skin was pale, almost purple. Jack shivered not from the cold, but from the apprehension building up inside of him.

"You," the man hissed, his voice dripping with venom. Jack tried in vain to pull away from him, but the mysterious man forced him to look at him. ""You caused this storm and for what? To show off? To show those Guardians of yours who you truly are?"

"N-No, I didn't do this," stuttered Jack, but he himself didn't know. He had woken up in the middle of a raging blizzard, and he often created those storms if not intentionally. This storm, though, Jack was sure that he didn't take any part in making.

Or did he?

The man gave Jack's arm a hard shake, and the winter spirit had to swallow down a cry. "Look around you! Look at the damage you've done! Children came out here to play, but you prevented them from having their fun. And you're supposed to be a Guardian."

Hesitantly, Jack turned around. And what he saw crushed his heart.

Children. Young. Little. Innocent children laid in the snow, half buried. Jack still had a clear view of them, though he wished that he didn't. They were all bundled up in their snow clothes, but they were futile against the freezing cold. Their round little faces were pale and frozen. Their eyes, the eyes that were supposed to be alive with life and full of innocence were glazed over. Emotionless. Empty. Their lips were parted, but no oxygen went through. The children were as still as death.

Dead. They were all…dead.

"No…" Jack ran into the field of inert children, trembling. "No…no, no, no…I didn't do this, I DIDN'T do this!"

Whispers and hisses, the voices of the dead children around him flooded his mind. "This is all your fault…" they said.

"We only wanted to play…" came a young girl's voice.

"You took our lives away!" shouted a little boy.

"We had families!" screamed a little girl.

"But then we were met by this storm…." another boy growled. "All because of you."

The overwhelming screeches and whispers were all too much for Jack. The blames and accusations the children threw at him weighed him down, and he collapsed to his knees in the middle of the field, gripping his staff tightly.

"No, no…no, I-I'm sorry!" he cried.

"It's too late…" the voices hissed. "The damage has already been done…"

The Wind howled. The snow swirled around him. And Jack Frost mourned in the middle of the storm.

…

Jack woke up with a gasp as if he had just come from underwater for air. He looked around wildly, his post-nightmare mind thinking that he was still in the center of that horrible blizzard that he had supposedly caused. Belatedly, Jack discovered that he was not in the middle of a storm, but in his room at Santoff Claussen. Out the window, snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and Jack's beloved friend the Wind whistled nearby. Jack took no comfort from the beautiful view; he examined the rest of his surroundings, relieved to find that none of the other Guardians were present in his room at the moment.

Looking down at his arm, Jack discovered that it had been rebandaged. They had been replaced, and the wrapping job was much more immaculate than his had been. Jack's arm had stopped bleeding, but the bandages were stained with red, leaving a frown on the winter spirit's face.

The Guardians knew that something was wrong with him. They had ever since he had stopped appearing at their gatherings and his visits to each of their realms had ceased. They were more than determined to find out what was wrong with him, and Jack knew that they'd do anything to pry the truth out of him, even if they meant to do so…literally.

Jack knew that he could trust the Guardians of Childhood, despite their idiosyncrasies and their rocky past with him. He knew that he could bring up his nightmare problem, and the Guardians would be more than happy to help him out. He could tell them that Pitch was attempting to make his return, and North, Tooth, and Sandy would be ready with their weapons and their faithful helpers by their side.

The Guardians could help him. They would help him. But something stopped Jack from requesting for their aid, something that he couldn't name. And that something made the task of asking for their help quite difficult.

Jack slipped out of bed, vertigo crashing into him like a wave as he wobbled on his feet. Once he regained his equilibrium, Jack used his staff to steady himself as he walked over to the window seat and sat down with a sigh. He leaned his head against the windowpane, gazing blankly at the wonderful, stunning view of the North Pole outside. But the sight of all the snow stirred up the disturbing images from his nightmare, and it took Jack a great effort to shove them away.

The nightmares were growing worse. It was becoming harder and harder to fall asleep without being greeted by a horrific nightmare, which only woke him up a few minutes later. Jack longed to sleep peacefully again, and he was more than sure that Pitch had a hand in this…And if Pitch Black was involved in his sudden uproar in nightmares, then the situation was much worse than Jack thought. He'd have to make the Guardians aware, for not even he had the ability to stand up to Pitch on his own.

He needed to tell the Guardians. He had to. But when he would, Jack was still unsure.

…

Bunny knew that Jack liked to keep to himself. He never showed his feelings openly, and he wasn't what one would lael the sociable type. Jack was a loner by nature, and it was because of his 300 years of solitude that left him the way he was. Unpredictable. Rebellious. Mischievous.

And Bunny understood that. If he and the other Guardians had taken notice of the boy sooner, he perhaps wouldn't have been left like this. Unfortunately, what was done was done, so the Guardians could only make up for the past by being there for Jack when they hadn't been before. Bunny was quite sure that they had been doing a good job at that, and Jack had been slowly warming up to them if not right away. Still, Bunny couldn't help but feel annoyed that the little bugger wouldn't come clean and tell him and the other Guardians what was going on.

The signs had been subtle, but over time, Bunny could sense that something was wrong with Jack. Just a few months after celebrating their one-year anniversary of defeating Pitch, he noticed that the young Spirit of Winter had begun to distance himself from the Guardians. He spoke and conversed with them occasionally, but the daily visits that he took to each of their homes had slowly lessened until they ceased altogether.

At first, Bunny assumed that Jack was busy with his own season. Winter had just come into full swing, and it was Jack's first winter as a Guardian, meaning that he would need to be present in a lot of places to deliver or redirect snow, and spend time with the children as well. The last meeting where Jack had been normal, he reported proudly that he had been handling things quite well. Jack was well organizing his time with the children and his winter duties, and the Guardians were glad to hear that.

But now whenever a gathering was hosted, Jack would arrive completely withdrawn. He wore his hood during the meetings frequently, concealing his face from the Guardians as if he were ashamed to show himself. He barely spoke, only giving a brief, lifeless summary of his work when he was asked. But other than that, Jack was uncharacteristically silent. No jokes were cracked. No pranks were pulled. No surprising gusts of wind were thrown in Bunny's direction when the winter spirit entered.

And that was when Bunny began to grow concerned.

As much as the Pooka hated to admit it, he was worried about the Frost boy. He didn't show it openly, only in small doses when he would tap his foot against the ground, or his ears would twitch without his permission. There was something wrong with Jack, and he needed help. But the winter spirit adamantly insisted that he was fine despite the fact that he wasn't. He refused to admit what was nagging at him, and he avoided the Guardians whenever they went to go and talk to him. It was then that the Guardians decided to bring Jack to the North Pole and ask him to tell them what was wrong, but their plan had been derailed when they discovered that Jack was injured.

It was a bite; Bunny could recognize them anywhere. But this particular bite was unlike any bite that the Pooka had ever seen. It looked like it had been done by a horse, but the webs of black that stretched from the wound like a spider's web threw Bunny off. This wasn't a normal animal bite, and whatever creature had bitten Jack wasn't a regular mortal animal. It was a dark, enigmatic being that wanted to sink its teeth—quite literally—into Jack.

The yetis from the infirmary nonchalantly proceeded to treat Jack despite the horrific looking bite on his arm. The Guardians of Childhood tended to the winter spirit too as he rested. Sandy's dreamsand had done the trick, and Jack didn't flinch as his arm was cleaned up and bandaged. Once the wound had been patched up, the Guardians allowed themselves to relax just a little. But the concern for their fine winter friend still lingered in the air, so Bunny had gone over to check on Jack while the other Guardians researched the mysterious bite in the library as well as discuss what to do about Jack.

Bunny arrived at the door to Jack's room in a few minutes. The sleeping quarter wasn't difficult to spot since it was the only door that was frosted over and had a single, intricate snowflake hanging in the center. Bunny placed his paw on the silver doorknob and twisted it, pushing the door open gingerly expecting to find Jack asleep. He was surprised to find that the winter spirit was wide awake.

Jack wasn't all there, though, and Bunny came to realize this when he saw the distant, almost blank look in the winter spirit's cerulean eyes as he stared at the window, watching the snowflake fall. His arms were wrapped tightly around his knees, and his head leaned against the glass. The hood that Jack had started wearing more often was flipped over his head, so Bunny only caught a tuft of his white hair.

Bunny walked up to Jack; the winter spirit didn't acknowledge him. The Guardian of Hope placed a paw on Jack's shoulder and shook it lightly. Jack snapped out of the daze he was in and whirled around, nearly falling out of his seat.

"Whoa, whoa, mate," said Bunny, holding his paws up in a placating manner. "It's jus' me."

Jack breathed out. "Oh." He curled into himself again and turned his head to the window once more. "Hey, Bunny."

The greeting was bland and emotionless. No "Hey Kangaroo" or "Heya, 'Roo" like the winter spirit usually greeted the Pooka with. Bunny felt his disquiet increase, and he took the empty spot beside Jack. The Guardian of Fun didn't look up from the window.

"How are ya feelin'?" inquired Bunny. Jack shifted where he was sitting.

"Fine," he replied simply. Bunny had an inkling that Jack was feeling the opposite.

"How's the bandage holdin' up? Does it need ta be replaced?" asked Bunny. Jack shook his head in response, and he placed his chin on his knees, eyes still glued to the window.

Having enough of the boy's evasiveness, Bunny sighed, deciding to get straight to the point. "Look, mate—"

Jack cut him off immediately. "Don't even start," he said sharply. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me, so just drop it."

Bunny frowned. "Ya really expect me ta believe that, mate?" With one quick sweep, Bunny flipped off Jack's hood. He ignored the indignant squawk of protest that Jack gave as he fully examined the boy. Dark, deep bags hung under Jack's eyes. His normally pale face was as white as a ghost, and his blue eyes were dimmer than a broken light. Jack looked utterly exhausted.

Jack pulled on his hoodie again, and he shuffled away from Bunny. The Pooka continued.

"Listen here, mate. There's no way yer bloody fine if yer lookin' like that." Bunny crossed his arms. "Ya look like a corpse, Jack."

Jack flinched, but Bunny didn't notice. "So I look like a zombie from one of Jamie's movies, so what?" he snapped, glaring up at Bunnymund.

"Yer exhausted. Ya look like ya haven't slept in months," said Bunny. Jack turned away, the grip on his legs growing even tighter. "What's goin' on with ya?"

Jack didn't respond, which irked Bunny. Sometimes, he wished that the winter spirit was more open and easier to understand. But Jack was the way he was, and Bunny knew that he and the other Guardians were partially to blame because of that.

Bunny sighed and ran a paw over his ears. "Jack, mate, we only want ta help ya," he said, deciding to use a more tender approach. Jack lifted his head. Bunny placed a paw on his shoulder. "But we can't do that if ya don't tell us what's wrong. So if ya don't say anythin', ya'll be here for a while, because North's got yetis positioned at every exit of this place, so yer stuck here until ya come clean."

Jack chewed his lower lip. Bunny wondered if he had actually gotten through to him. The Pooka felt more than pleased when Jack said quietly, "I…I've been having trouble sleeping."

Jack had mentioned that earlier, so the answer wasn't enough to satisfy Bunny. He could tell that Jack was still avoiding the truth. "Trouble sleepin', eh? What's been keepin' ya from gettin' any sleep?"

Jack fidgeted in his seat, frost crawling out from underneath him. "It doesn't matter…It's stupid…"

"Well, I ain't leavin' until ya tell me," said Bunny. Jack glared at the Pooka and stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

After a while of silence, Bunny decided to take the shrewder approach. He leaned back in his seat and guessed. "Have ya been takin' on too much again?"

"No," answered Jack.

Bunny hummed. "Pullin'' too many pranks?"

"No," replied Jack sharply. He was beginning to grow irritated.

"Mother Nature been botherin' ya?"

"No."

"Late night wanderin'?" prompted Bunny.

Jack finally snapped. "I've been having nightmares, okay?!" he shouted. Bunny stared in surprise and Jack turned away, the temperature dropping several degrees. More frost webbed out from under the winter spirit, and his eyes hardened like the icicles forming on the ceiling. "Now leave me alone…" he whispered.

Tense silence hung in the air as Bunny processed what Jack had said. The winter spirit had been having nightmares…but for how long? And when was he planning to tell him and the other Guardians about them? The Guardians hadn't seen Jack in a very long time, and nor had any of his believers. He had fallen behind on his work, and the Guardians had been receiving messages from Emily Jane asking about the winter spirit. She wasn't all too happy that winter in some places had been delayed.

Of course, the Guardians knew that Jack wasn't purposefully slacking off. When he had first become a Guardian, he had worked even harder to prove himself to them, even though no proving was needed. Jack was a Guardian, through and through, and he had shown that during the Battle of the Nightmare King.

Knowing that he was treading on rocky ground, Bunny asked, "How long have ya been havin' nightmares, Frostbite?"

Dodging the true answer to the question again, Jack replied, "A while…"

Though he tried his best to hide it, Bunny knew that Jack was withholding information. The winter spirit hadn't properly slept in a long time, but how long was what Bunny and the other Guardians wanted to know—needed to know. Bunny didn't prod the winter spirit any further; he already knew that he had reached his limit. It took Jack a lot of effort to answer just the first question.

Bunny stood up. "I'll go and tell the others. Sandy could give ya a pouch of dreamsand, but yer still gonna have ta answer some questions."

Jack was alarmed. "Y-You're really going to tell the others?"

"Yeah," said Bunny as a matter of factly. Jack slumped in his seat.

"You really don't have to…" he mumbled.

"They're going ta have ta know what's goin' on, Jack," Bunny said. "Can't leave them in the dark forever."

Jack decided not to stop Bunny, but he wasn't too thrilled on having his months-long problem revealed to the Guardians. He was planning on telling them on his own time, and that time wasn't right now.

Bunny walked to the door. He paused in the doorway and turned around.

"You rest," he said. "Ya look like ya could really use it." Once he left, Jack leaned in the window seat, tiredly gazing out the window. When Bunny told the other Guardians about his nightmares, they were eventually going to ask questions. Questions that Jack quite frankly didn't feel like answering.

Jack sighed, feeling a sudden wave of drowsiness wash over winter spirit frowned and he shook his head. No, no…Don't fall asleep…

The bite on his arm flared with pain, but all Jack felt was an uncomfortable ache. He shifted in his seat, desperately trying to keep his eyes open, but he couldn't. Exhaustion took him over, and with a heavy sigh, Jack's eyes slipped shut, and he succumbed to slumber.

But just like every time he fell asleep, a nightmare was waiting behind his eyes.

…

Worry was a feeling that none of the Guardians liked to feel. It meant that something, somewhere, wasn't right. So they sought out the problem and fixed it so their nerves would ease. Whenever the Guardians felt worried, they were able to hunt down the issue and solve it in an instant before things spiraled out of control. Their worrying would then come to an end, and the Guardians would proceed with their jobs as normal.

But the worst kind of worry that they felt was when they knew something was wrong, but they didn't know what. Or how to fix it.

Jack had been dealing with his problems by himself. He kept them locked away, out of reach from the Guardians of Childhood and those around him. The winter spirit kept himself closed off from the Guardians, and although they knew that something was troubling him, they didn't know what the problem was simply because Jack wouldn't tell them. And that only peaked their worry.

The Guardians understood Jack's propensity to keep things away from them. Whenever a problem arose, Jack solved it by himself. For 300 years he was alone; he had no one to go to for help, so he had to rely on himself. And when one relies on themselves for too long, they forget how to ask for help. They knew that they should, but they didn't. It becomes a habit to do things, solve things on their own.

Slowly, Jack had begun to learn when to request for assistance, but it was progress nonetheless. But the Guardians were left baffled when Jack refused to tell them what had happened that got him injured, or why he looked like he hadn't slept in…a very long time.

"The gumby finally opened up a little," Bunny said as he approached the other Guardians, who were standing at a table in the library, which was piled with books as thick as tree trunks. The library in Santoff Claussen held many great volumes, both short and long. Ancient and new. Stories, spell books, and informative novels of all kinds could be found in the North Pole, and the collection was constantly being updated. Some of the oldest books in the library were the ones that North had received from his old friend and mentor, Ombric, the last surviving wizard of Atlantis. The Guardians often headed to the library for research when they came across a problem that they knew very little about, hoping to find a tome that held the answer.

"What did he say?" asked Tooth, looking up from her book. Baby Tooth beckoned for her queen to turn the page, finding whatever was in the tome most interesting. Tooth kindly did so, and she looked back up at Bunnymund for a response.

"The kit's been havin' nightmares," explained Bunny. "He didn't say how long, but from what it looks like, it's been a while."

Sandy waved his sparkling dreamsand in the air, silently saying that he could give Jack his own personal dreamsand supply to keep the nightmares at bay.

"That is great idea, Sandy," complimented North. Sandy nodded, but then he frowned, and shook his head.

"What's wrong with givin' him dreamsand, mate?" questioned Bunny. "His nightmares will stop eventually, and we won't have Mother Nature chasin' our tails because Frostbite's been behind on givin' blizzards."

Sandy pointed over his head, where the image of Jack, a bed with an x over it, and the picture of a nightmare. They circled around a question mark, which had formed in the middle. "Giving Jack dreamsand is a great solution, but I'm wondering why I wasn't able to sense any of his nightmares." As the Defender of Sleep and Dreams, Sandy was connected to everyone who was asleep, and he could sense when they were awake. As long as his dreamsand had touched them, he could feel whenever someone was having a nightmare or a pleasant dream. Jack always played around with Sandy's dreamsand, so the Sandan was easily able to sense when Jack was asleep. The winter spirit's dreams were often vivid, so he never had any trouble tracking him down. But for the past few months, he had felt nothing from Jack's sleeping mind. And when he did, he was met with a hollow, empty darkness that completely blocked him out of Jack's head.

"Now that you say that…" said Tooth, fluttering up from her seat. "It does sound rather strange. Do you have any idea on how long it's been since he's slept?"

"If I had to guess and goin' off from what Sandy said, I'd say at least a few months," said Bunny. Sandy nodded, agreeing with his statement. At this, the Guardians grew deeply troubled. If Jack hadn't gotten a good night's rest in months, he was close to collapse. Even though the Guardians were immortal, they still needed their rest. They could go on without sleep much longer than a regular mortal, but for months was redundant.

"We will give Jack dreamsand so he will be able to rest," North said. "But at the same time, we will dig into what is causing his nightmares."

"It has to be Pitch," prompted Tooth. "He's the only one who can counter Sandy's dreamsand as well as alter it."

"But we can't jump ta conclusions too quickly," said Bunnymund. "It could be Pitch, but what if the nightmares end once we give Frostbite the dreamsand?"

The thought of Pitch harming Jack made all of the Guardians feel angered, but they knew that they couldn't accuse him without any proof.

"We haven't seen or heard any sign of Pitch and his nightmares for a year," Bunny added. "It's almost like he disappeared. But maybe Frostbite knows somethin' we don't. He's the closest one to the ratbag's lair anyway."

"Then we should go and ask him right now," said Tooth. "Because if Pitch really is behind all of this, then we may have more to worry about than we realize."

The Guardians knew that it would be difficult to get Jack to speak. He had gone months without sleep, months suffering from horrible nightmares, and months without telling the Guardians any of this. But now he needed to tell them the truth. The whole truth. If Pitch was involved in Jack's sudden uproar of nightmares, the Guardians wondered how long it would be until they would have to once again face their old foe.

Suddenly, Bunny's ears twitched, and he jerked his head toward the door. Tooth, North, and Sandy were about to ask what was wrong, but Bunny didn't need to answer.

Jack's screams tore through the air. And faster than lightning, the Guardians rushed to his room.

…

There he stood across from his sister, paralyzed in fear. Jack felt the same way. The spider web cracks beneath Mary were thickening. Expanding. Stretching out until they crawled out under her form, creaking and groaning like old wood. Jack's heart thudded, beat against his chest in a palpitating rhythm. Fear almost palpable coursed through his veins, locking him, gluing him to the very spot he stood. Jack's breath caught in his throat when another crack clawed out from under his sister. She stifled a scream, tears spilling from her eyes as she desperately looked up at her brother.

"Jack, I'm scared!" she cried. More cracks spread out from under her. A stifled sob rose from Mary's throat. Water began to leak through the fractured ice. It wouldn't hold her for long.

He was scared, perhaps even more scared than her. His limbs were nearly frozen, but he forced and willed them to move because he needed to save her.

Jack pushed away his fear and locked eyes with his sister. He wasn't going to let her drown. She wasn't going to fall. His heart still thumping in a staccato beat in his chest, Jack gingerly lowered his skates and his staff, crouching down, his fingertips brushing against the frigid ice. The frozen water was cold, so very cold, which only meant that the water below was even colder.

The ice cracked and groaned below; the two sibling's weight was too heavy for it. Jack knew that it was only a matter of time before his little sister fell through the ice, where he wouldn't be able to rescue her. It was now or never, and so, mustering up all of the courage he could, Jack locked eyes with his sister. Tears were welling up in her eyes as the ice began to give way.

"It's okay, it's okay…" Jack said, reaching a hand out toward his sister. His mind screamed with panic, but he swallowed and continued. "Don't look down, just…just look at me."

"I'm scared, Jack! Help me!" sobbed Mary.

"I will, I will…you just have to stay still. Don't move…"

"I wanna get off the ice!" Mary wailed, subconsciously taking a step forward. The cracks around her began to thicken. They branched out below her. More water seeped through. The ice began to creak. Jack's heart nearly stopped.

"No, no, Mary, don't move! You'll only make it worse!" Jack pleaded.

"But I wanna get off!" Mary shouted.

"I know, I know…" Jack did his best to hide the fear in his voice, if he was going to save his sister, he needed to calm her down. If Mary panicked, she'd cause the ice to break even faster, and it would be more difficult to rescue her. "We're...uh…We're gonna have a little fun instead!"

"No we're not!" protested Mary.

"Would I trick you?" asked Jack.

"Yes, you always play tricks!" she retorted.

Jack inwardly chuckled, knowing that she was right. But this time, she was wrong. And that was a good thing.

"Well, not this time," said Jack. He extended a hand out toward his little sister. "I-I promise you're gonna be fine."

Mary exhaled, but she still seemed shaken.

"How about we play a game? We can play hopscotch, like we play everyday," suggested Jack. "It's as easy as one…"

Jack tentatively stepped to where the ice was more solid. The weak ice creaked below him, and he winced nervously. But to cover up his fear, he windmilled his arms as if he were falling. Mary laughed, which was what the boy wanted, and he took two more steps before making it over to safety. When he looked back at Mary, he could see that he had successfully calmed her down.

"Alright…now it's your turn," said Jack, reaching out for his staff. Mary gulped nervously, fear flashing in her eyes. But she trusted her brother. She believed in him, so when he told her to take a step, she obeyed.

One. The ice began to break.

Two. She was so close. Jack stretched out his staff and got ready to pull his younger sister to safety.

Just one more…just one more…

Three—

CRACK.

Time seemed to slow, as if Father Time was slowing down the horrible, terrible moment when the ice gave way beneath her.

Brown eyes widened in terror, and a scream tearing passed her lips, Mary fell through the ice. The dark, murky waters of the lake swallowed her whole, leaving nothing but ripples expanding from where she had fallen.

He couldn't move for the first few seconds. He could feel, he couldn't sense, all he could do was stare. Stare at the spot where his beloved, cheerful, caring little sister had fallen through the waters of the lake where she loved to spend so much time around. Jack's breaths were quick and sharp. His eyes stung. Before he knew what he was doing, his legs carried him to the hole, shouting his sister's name.

"MARY!" he yelled. Jack slid to his knees and pounded his fist against the ice. Then, acting completely on impulse, Jack swiftly leapt into the water after his little sister, his eyes burning as water pooled into them. He held his breath, and his lungs burned as he swam deeper and deeper into the waters. Jack could no longer see the sunlight that filtered through the hole above him. Darkness surrounded him. Cold, frigid, haunting darkness that he could feel right to the bone. Jack kicked his legs in desperation, his chocolate-brown eyes flicking around the dark to locate Mary when finally—there!

Just up ahead of him was Mary. Her hair pooling in the water around her. She kicked and thrashed in the water as if something were strangling her. Mary's brown eyes flicked up at Jack's, bubbles leaving mouth as she screamed his name. The little girl's eyes were filled with fear, and bubbles blew past her lips as she tried to breathe only to discover that she couldn't. Jack pushed himself through the water, feeling like he was swimming through lead as he slowly made his way toward Mary. Determination burned within his chest; he couldn't lose her. He had to save her!

But he was too late.

Mary continued to writhe in the water, but her movements were beginning to slow. Her kicks grew weak, her flailing ceased. The eyes that Jack had known to be alive with light since she had been born became vacant. Her lips were tinged with blue. A trail of bubbles left Mary's mouth as she sank into the darkness like an anchor.

"MARY, NO!" Jack screamed. Tears sprung in Jack's eyes, and he desperately tried to get to her, but he knew it was already too late. Water filled his lungs and the boy began to cough. Jack desperately tried to swim back to the surface; his lungs begging for air and his vision was beginning to blur. But something was holding him back. Something had grabbed his heel.

A chilling laughter came from the bottom of the lake, and Jack looked down, eyes widening in fright when he spotted a thick, oily tentacle wrapped around his foot. It squeezed and constricted it, tightening its grip whenever Jack struggled or kicked. The Overland looked longingly at the instant dot of light above, but it grew further and further away as the appendage dragged him down. More black tentacles wrapped around his torso, choking out the last of his ozone. With a painful, broken scream, Jack was dragged to the bottom of the cold, dark lake, the image of his departed little sister still fresh in his mind.

…

"AUGH!"

Jack jerked awake, and he nearly fell out of his seat, but strong hands firmly kept him in place. The winter spirit struggled against them, thinking that he was still being pulled to the bottom of the lake by those ominous tentacles. Jack reached for his staff, ready to freeze them when a voice broke through his panicked thoughts.

"Moy mal'chik, calm down!"

Jack stopped thrashing, and then did he look up, finding himself looking into the worried eyes of Nicholas St. North.

Jack's breaths were shaky as he looked around, seeing that the other Guardians were surrounding him, equally concerned looks on their faces and just the slightest hint of fear. North's large hands were still placed on Jack's shoulders, so the ex-Cossack could feel the winter spirit trembling.

Tooth fluttered up to Jack, Baby Tooth perched on her shoulder. "Jack, what did you see? What happened?"

But Jack was silent. He was still shocked by what he had seen in his nightmare. It felt too real…He was sure that Mary had died; he was sure that he hadn't saved her. He had felt the bone-chilling cold that surrounded him as he jumped into the lake, heard the sharp cracking of the lake giving way below them, saw his little sister plunge into the freezing waters below, and the constricting, black tentacles that had dragged him to the bottom of the lake…

On his cheeks, Jack felt the wet, salty tears that had slipped down his face in his sleep. The winter spirit quickly wiped them away.

"Jack?" Tooth called gently. The winter spirit looked up at her. The Tooth Fairy's eyes were begging, and from her shoulder, Baby Tooth looked pleading as well. "Please…tell us what's going on."

Jack's eyes were filled with fear, and his expression was deeply troubled. He looked down, a sigh slipping past his lips.

"I should've told you guys this sooner…" he muttered. The winter spirit looked up again, his expression solemn. "I think…I think Pitch is back."

Author's Note: Dun. Dun. DUNNNNNNNNN.

...Yeah I got nothing else to put here, haha. XD Thank you guys so much for reading, and I'll see ya'll in the next chap! *Flies away on the wind*

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203