Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "Dream On!" =D This chapter is on the shorter side compared to the others; it's more of an informational/filler chapter, so I wasn't really intending it to be any more over 2,000 words. Despite it being brief, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter nonetheless. =)

Chapter Five: Nothing but the Truth

The silence had never felt so loud. The tension was so thick, that Jack was sure that one could cut it with a knife.

The great library of the North Pole was usually a calming place that all of the Guardians loved to spend time in. There was something about being surrounded by thousands of books, a warm fire in the heart, and the large, cushioned, comfortable chairs that made all of the Guardians feel at peace. A large window lined the wall, revealing the fantastic view of the North Pole outside. The heavy footsteps of the yetis walking up and down the aisles, dusting and reorganizing books was comforting. The Guardians spent a lot of time in the library together, whether it was reading books, playing some sort of game, or simply just talking to each other.

But now, as the Guardians sat gathered in their favorite place, they found themselves uncomfortable in the chairs that were designed to be as comfortable as any normal cushioned chair. The flickering in the hearth highlighted the looming tension that hung over the Guardians like the sagging leaves of a willow. The veteran Guardians sent glances in Jack's direction; the winter spirit's hood was up again, casting a shadow over his darkened face. Only a flash of white peeked out underneath, and Jack's icy blue eyes glowed with apprehension.

Jack had never thought that silence could be so deafening.

Unable to handle the silent strain any longer, Jack shifted in his armchair, chewing his lower lip. Finally, he let out a sigh, which echoed long after it had been exhaled.

"I've…I've been hiding things from you guys," the winter spirit admitted quietly, but his voice was still audible to the others. "I should've told you what was going on sooner, but I couldn't bring myself to."

Tooth's feathers twitched and she folded her hands in her lap. Baby Tooth was perched on the arm of her chair, watching the start of the conversation. Toothiana tilted her head and inquired, "Is it true that you've been having nightmares, Jack?"

Jack nodded. "Yes…They've been going on for quite some time now." He sighed again; he didn't even try to hide his exhaustion. "At first, I dismissed them…I thought if I ignored them long enough, that they'd go away on their own. But then they started happening more and more frequently…the next one even more terrifying than the last…"

Jack drew in a shaky breath. The Guardians knew how difficult it was for the winter spirit to admit that he was scared. But Jack continued to press on, knowing that the Guardians needed to hear this in order for them to help him.

"There's a nightmare waiting every time I close my eyes," said Jack, perturbed. "And because of them, I haven't had a good night's rest in a long time..."

"Ya mentioned that Pitch was back earlier, mate," Bunny said. Jack turned to face him; eyes weary but focused. "Have ya seen any sign of him?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't seen him, I just…I just have a feeling that he's up to something," he conceded. He faced each of the Guardians, his blue eyes solemn. "And whatever that something is…it's really bad," Jack added grimly.

While the Guardians and Jack hadn't been together for very long, they knew that when the winter spirit had a feeling about something, it was often correct. During Jack's 300 years alone, his instinct was the only thing that he trusted. From as far as the Guardians could tell, they were often correct. Jack had gotten himself out of several sticky situations with his sixth sense.

"When was the last time you slept, Jack?" asked North. At that question, Jack looked down at his pale feet. Orange firelight danced in his abashed blue eyes.

"Ya better be honest with us this time, mate," said Bunny sternly. The statement sounded like a threat. But really, Bunny was just as compelled as the other Guardians to discover how long Jack had been suffering from his nightmares.

A beat of silence passed. And in a low, quiet voice, Jack replied, "I…I haven't properly slept in four months. The nightmares started back in September."

Four months. Four whole months since Jack had last gotten a good amount of sleep. The Guardian felt terrible that they hadn't taken notice of Jack's internal struggle sooner. They knew that something was wrong with him, but it wasn't until a while ago that they decided to make a move. Silently, they all pledged that they would do whatever they could to help Jack rid of his nightmares. Now that he was opening up, the Guardians were confident that they would be able to assist him.

"Has Pitch appeared in any of yer nightmares?" asked Bunny.

Jack shook his head. "Each nightmare I have always focuses on one of my fears, but they take that fear and amplify it to the point where it's impossible to fall back asleep after you wake up."

Sandy, who was sitting on the couch along with North and Bunny, raised his hand to gain Jack's attention. Once the winter spirit turned to him, Sandy pointed at the bleeding wound on Jack's arm, and a golden question mark coiled over his spiky hair. The Guardian of Fun still hadn't explained how he had received it.

Jack chewed his lower lip, knowing that the Guardians would panic if he told them the truth. He let out a soft breath and looked up. "Promise me you guys won't freak out," he said.

The Guardians stared at him suspiciously.

"That depends," North said slowly. "On what you are about to tell us."

Jack pursed his lips and lowered his gaze. "I…might have gone to Pitch's lair to see if I could find anything," he mumbled. The Guardians were stunned. "Instead, I found a giant herd of Nightmares and one of them managed to bite my arm."

Despite Jack's previous statement, Bunny shot up out of his seat. "Yer sayin' that ya went ta Pitch's lair without any backup or without tellin' us?!" he exclaimed.

Jack cringed. Shoot. "Um…yes?" he said feebly.

Tooth fluttered out of her chair, feathers popping out in all directions. Her wings beating so swiftly, that they were an undistinguishable blur in the air. "Jack, you shouldn't have gone down there! And by yourself? That's even worse!"

"What if Pitch was there, Jack? We wouldn't have been able to get to you in time!" North chided.

And the three did exactly what Jack told them not to do: they freaked out. They panicked. Their voices and exclamations intertwined and overlapped each other, all of them directed at the shrinking winter spirit in front of them. Jack winced at the tone of their voices; he hated it when they got like this. The Guardians often stayed calm in most troubling situations, but whenever it came to Jack, it seemed like whatever bad news he brought relating to himself caused them to go into full-on panic mode. Jack knew that the Guardians were protective over him, most likely because they were the Guardians of Childhood, and he himself was technically still a child. While most of the time he was touched that they did care for him and wanted to protect him, he deeply disliked it when their overprotectiveness became…hysterical.

Jack could hardly understand what Tooth, North, and Bunny were saying. He was sure that Bunny was scolding him, and Tooth was questioning why he went to Pitch's hideaway without any help. North boomed out all of the horrible outcomes that could've happened if Jack wasn't able to escape the Nightmare's wrath. All of the buzzing and cluttered statements were too overwhelming for Jack's already fragile mind, so the winter spirit covered his ears and whimpered quietly, pleading silently that they would just settle down.

Sandy, who was the only person who wasn't chiding Jack, noticed his discomfort. The Sandman flew up in front of his friends and brought a finger to his lips, creating the word "Quiet!" over his head with his dreamsand. North, Tooth, and Bunny silenced, now realizing the state that Jack was in. He still had his hands over his ears, and his eyes were screwed shut. The three instantly felt guilty for losing it in front of the winter spirit when he was already going through so much.

Gently, Sandy lowered to Jack's eye level, placing a golden hand under his chin, tilting it upwards so he could look at him. Jack opened his eyes; they were so round and fretful. The Sandman couldn't help but think how much the winter spirit looked like a young child right then. The Guardian of Dreams pulled Jack's hands from his ears gingerly, and he held them on his own, producing images over his head that the winter spirit understood.

A Nightmare horse, a snowflake, a sword slashing through the nightmare, and a treasure chest being pulled out of the sand with Pitch inside. The Sandman was promising that he and the other Guardians would help bring an end to Jack's nightmares and uncover whatever fiendish plan Pitch was plotting. Jack's posture eased, and he nodded slowly, but he wondered how they would unravel what Pitch was up to without even knowing where on Earth he was.

"If there were Nightmares in Pitch's lair, then he can't be far off," Bunny spoke up. "They don't stray too far from him unless they're told ta."

North nodded in agreement. "I will send out yetis to scout around globe. We will see what they can find."

"I'll send some of my fairies out too," said Tooth. Baby Tooth flitted beside her eagerly. "While they do their tooth runs, they can keep their eyes out for Pitch. If they work together, we'll be able to cover more ground and perhaps pinpoint him faster."

"We'll stop the nightmares, find out what Pitch is up ta, and then take 'im down before he can cause any damage," said Bunny determinedly.

From where he sat, Jack smiled lightly, confidence rekindled. "Sounds like a good plan to me," he said. Sandy grinned from ear to ear, dreamsand sparkling brightly.

The pleasant moment ended when a loud, sudden commotion erupted from outside. Yetis were bellowing loudly, and the elves' bells that tipped their hats jingled incessantly and in a frenzy. The sound of papers and toys crashing to the floor and flying around in disarray reached the Guardians ears, and they dashed out of the library to find out what was going on. All around them, chaos swirled. The elves were screaming in panic. The yetis were desperately trying to keep things together. Shadows loomed on the walls, eerily creeping their way over the Globe of Belief.

The Guardian of Childhood arrived in the Globe Room in record time. The Globe's lights flickered. Nightmare sand as black as night swirled in a vortex above the Globe of Belief. The ominous shadows stretched over the walls like fingers. A large, face-shaped shadow loomed over the Globe of Belief. A darkening cold swept through the room.

Jack trembled.

"Pitch," he breathed.

Author's Note: *Grabs walkie talkie* The Boogeyman has entered the fanfiction. I repeat, the Boogeyman has entered the fanfiction. Get your dreamsand.

Finally, the moment I and perhaps a lot of you guys out there have been waiting for. XD Pitch finally makes his appearance! X) I actually haven't written his character in a LONG time (which I deeply regret =')), but I rewatched the movie recently, and I think I have a decent grasp on how he sounds and acts, so I hope I did somewhat of a great job writing him throughout this tale, haha. X)

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

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203