Author's Note: *Jack's voice* Hello everyone and welcome back to "Dream On!" =D I hope you all are having a wonderful evening, morning, night, or whatever time of day it is where you live. X)

I can't believe that we're on chapter nine already. X) I feel like I posted this story not too long ago, and yet here we are, nearing chapter ten. =) I know things seem a bit slow right now, but the action will pick up. Soon. Eventually. You'll just have to wait and see, haha. X)

Before you guys scroll down to get to chapter nine, I'd just like to say thank you for the wonderful feedback that you've given me on this story so far. =D Eight reviews, three favs, five follows...I'm smiling like a lunatic. XD This may not seem like much to most, but it's a lot to me. ^u^ Thank you all ya awesome peoples! =D

Oh! And I'm almost on the favorites/author alert list of 100 people on this site! =D Only a few more people who decide to fav/follow me, and I'll be at 100 ahhhhhh! =D I literally can't believe it. I cannot believe it. I'll be sure to chug down a whole bottle of orange juice on the day I hit 100 on both, hehe. X)

Anyway, you guys are probably wondering what happens next to our favorite Guardians after that stunning cliffhanger, so here's the next chapter for "Dream On!" =D I hope you guys enjoy it! =DD

Chapter Nine: A Little Convincing

When it came to planning, Jack always thought of the Guardians. Very often their plans changed, and they ended up doing something crazy, but things managed to turn out right in the end.

Despite that, however, Jack was a little wary on the Bunny's idea of venturing through his dreams to confront Pitch.

At first, the Guardians were shocked by Bunny's suggestion. Several questions were asked and very few answers were given. The idea was, indeed, risky. And perhaps even a little reckless, which was saying something since it had been the ever so organized Pooka's idea. Eventually, as the Guardians mused over the idea, they realized that Bunny did make a point. If they all ventured through Jack's dreams, they'd not only be close to the winter spirit but be able to take Pitch on together as one. Jack wouldn't have to suffer alone like he had for four months; he would have extra support, and would feel much less fearful with them by his side.

At least that's what they assumed. Frankly, Jack didn't like the idea. In fact, he downright objected it. "Are you guys out of your minds?" he exclaimed, gesticulating wildly with his hand. "You can't just dream along with me! Heck, it's not even possible!"

Sandy raised a hand, interjecting, and dreamsand swirled over his head. Above his head the image of a wire being bent to allow a lightbulb to turn on played over his spiked hair. His dreamsand took the wire's place, and the lightbulb shifted into a sleeping Jack, the golden sand swirling over the dreamsand winter spirit before flying over to the dreamsand sleeping Guardians.

"If I alter my dreamsand just enough, I'll be able to connect your dreams to our minds. Then we'll be able to face whatever Pitch has planned for us. Together."

So sharing dreams was possible. If Jack had been told this sooner, he knew that he would've been awed by the fact. Dream-melding sounded interesting—amazing in fact. But with the current situation and nearly four months of sleep deprivation, Jack was completely against the idea.

"But…but…Do you guys even want to do this?" asked Jack.

"Well, yeah," said Bunny with a nonchalant shrug. "We all gotta defeat Pitch, and yer nightmares need ta be taken care of. This could be the only way ta do both simultaneously."

Tooth nodded. "And we need to stop Pitch as soon as possible."

"Isn't there some other way?" inquired Jack. "One that doesn't involve you guys venturing through my mind?"

"There could be," said North, pensively weaving a hand through his beard. "But we do not have much time, moy mal'chik, since you are—"

Tooth and Bunny glanced at him warningly and North caught himself. Jack seemed to not have noticed the peculiar change in the three's demeanor. Sandy looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Er, what I mean to say is that we need to act now. You are at risk of Pitch and so are children," North said at last.

"And we can't let him hurt any of the ankle-biters," added Bunny. "Especially since it's been only one year since his last attempt ta gain power."

The Guardians all made valid points. Jack didn't want the children getting hurt, and nor did he want Pitch to spread his darkness across the world. The Guardians had defeated him once before, and he was sure that they'd be able to do it again, but still, Jack couldn't agree to plan. He didn't want to go through with it, and he didn't want anything to do with it.

Jack shook his head feverishly. "No, no…You guys have to find some other way to do this. You aren't venturing through my dreams."

"Please, Jack. Think about it," pleaded Tooth. "We're not doing it right away."

"Well, I have thought about it!" the winter spirit snapped. Noticing that the was losing his temper, Jack took in a deep breath and spoke again. "Look…I get that you guys only want to help me, and that you believe that this is the only way to fight Pitch off but…Think of the children. Childhood belief is stable now, yeah, but one missed tooth, one night without good dreams could tip the balance that we worked so hard to restore."

"We're willin' ta take that risk," said Bunny. He sighed. "Come on, mate. This could be the only way ta end yer nightmares."

Jack shook his head. "No…" he Guardian of Fun looked up at the Guardians, eyes hard. "No, I'm not doing it."

"Jack—" Bunny started.

"I said I'm not doing it! You guys will practically be invading my mind!" he claimed.

"Not if you are letting us," said North.

"I'm not!" yelled Jack, his voice as loud as the Wind roaring through the room. Snow rained from the ceiling. The curtains hung over the window flapped in the violent breeze. Icicles stretched down from the ceiling, and the temperature was so low, that the Guardians began to shiver. The winter spirit pursed his lips and climbed out of bed, grabbing his staff that had fallen on the floor. Frost collected on the aged wood the instant Jack's fingers touched it.

"Jack, wait!" called Tooth, trying to placate him, but the winter spirit wouldn't be calmed. Jack stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving the Guardians in the midst of the mini snowstorm that he had created.

…

He thought he was angry. He believed that he was. He could feel the burning emotion tearing at his insides like claws. He felt the heat of it in the very depths of his chest. This was what was sparked the miniature blizzard that swirled aggressively around him as he walked through the Workshop. His hood hung over his head, making the winter spirit look even more intimidating as his winter wrath radiated from him. Toys were swept up in the harsh gales. Elves froze at Jack's feet. Thick layers of ice scattered out where the winter spirit stepped. Papers and plans flapped through the violent winds. In just a few minutes, the Workshop was in shambles. The yetis tried to calm him down, but once they were met with the sharp, icy blue eyes of Jack Frost, they immediately backed off, running away like spooked horses.

Yes, he was angry. Jack was angry; he felt it and believed it to be true. But frankly…that wasn't what he felt at all. Although a scowl decorated his face, his brow was deeply furrowed, and the grip on his staff was adhesive to the point where his knuckles turned white…Jack wasn't angry. He wasn't angry at all. Not at the Guardians or the creatures of Santoff Claussen who were attempting to help him.

No. What he really was…was scared. He was scared. Scared of his nightmares, scared of his fears. Scared of what laid ahead of them in the unknown. Scared of the thought of Pitch taking over once again and losing the Guardians of Childhood in their attempt to help him.

And he hated that feeling. He loathed it. So much so that he unleashed that feeling of abhorrence in the form of a brutal blizzard that was just as vehement as the emotions swirling inside of him.

The yetis were panicking, and the elves were freaking out. Jack could see the fear in their eyes as they darted around the destroyed Workshop in a frenzy. For a moment, Jack felt bad. He felt guilty that he was unleashing his emotions on the poor creatures when they hadn't done anything at all to him. So he continued down the hall until he arrived at the large doors that led into one of the many storage rooms in the North Pole, taking his blizzard with him. Jack locked himself inside and huddled in the darkest corner. He hugged his staff close, sitting in the midst of his own storm.

Jack drew his knees to his chest, thousands of thoughts running through his mind as the ice and snow continued to tear through the air around him. The horrific images of his past nightmares flashed alongside his musings. The idea of venturing through his worst nightmares vexed the winter spirit. And having the Guardians there alongside him witnessing them? No. Jack couldn't allow that to happen, he didn't want it to happen.

Jack curled into himself tighter as his old nightmares and fears stirred up inside of him. He felt like he was back in his previous dream, being swept away by a sea of nightmares swirling inside of him like a whirlpool. Sitting in the dark room listening to the screaming of the blizzard he birthed wasn't making him feel better. The scenes from his nightmares consumed him. Pushed at him. Weighed him down until Jack felt like he was carrying boulder and boulders on his shoulders. Overwhelmed, Jack squeezed his eyes shut and buried his head in his knees, shuddering. His staff laid beside him, completely forgotten. The familiar object brought no comfort to him. Jack tried in vain to block out the images, but they refused to leave him.

Jack could hear the roaring of the waves before they snatched him away.

The awful screeching of the Thing chasing him through the woods.

The scream his sister let out when she fell through the ice.

And the booming thunder that had sounded before he had been struck by lightning and plummeted to the Earth like a stone.

The Wind shrieked and howled. Snow and ice spun around Jack like a vortex. Items that were fastidiously stacked on the shelves tumbled and fell from their places, crashing to the ground. Jack was afraid. Scared. Terrified, and he didn't want to feel fearful anymore. But he didn't know how. How to stop the fear that was slowly eating away at him. Jack didn't know what to do. To venture through his nightmares was a risk that all of the Guardians were willing to take, but they couldn't do so without his permission. He had to decide the next move. He was the one who had to make the call…

But would he?

The sound of the storage room doors opening willed Jack enough to lift his head. Heavy footsteps approached him, and the winter spirit subconsciously reached for his staff, his old instincts kicking in. But it wasn't a foe who was approaching him, but Nicholas St. North himself, who looked very, very scared for the winter spirit sitting before him.

The storm raged on.

North knelt down in front of Jack, his round blue eyes scrutinizing the winter spirit that sat before him. Jack hoped that he wasn't trembling, and if he was, he prayed that North would think it was because of the callous storm.

Jack turned away from the Guardian of Wonder, his gaze dropping to the floor. "You should leave," he murmured. "You'll freeze to death if you stay…"

"I am not leaving," said North. In fact, he sat right beside the winter spirit, seemingly unaffected by the storm. North was close enough that Jack could feel the warmth radiating from him. The winter spirit shifted uncomfortably, but he didn't attempt to make North leave again. A small part of him liked the camaraderie that the ex-Cossack was providing him, but he tried to ignore that feeling as much as he could.

There the two sat in the middle of the storm; Jack wasn't too compelled to speak. After a few moments of silence, North sighed.

"You know…you have every right to be afraid," he said softly.

Jack looked up at him, taken aback. How had he known?

"I'm not scared," said Jack, but he knew that was an overt lie.

"I know how you feel, moy mal'chik," North said. He softened. "I can see it in your eyes."

What's up with this man and eyes? Jack thought fleetingly, thinking back to when North had first introduced him to Centers. He remembered the little wooden doll with the big blue eyes. The ex-Cossack had made one for him too; the winter spirit still kept it in his hoodie. The doll felt heavier in his pocket now that he was beside the person who created it.

Jack turned away again, drawing his knees closer to his chest "Well, you're wrong," he said tartly. "I feel fine."

North didn't argue with him, which left Jack feeling somewhat surprised. He had thought that he would assert otherwise upon hearing his lie, but he didn't.

As the storm continued to rage on, Jack wondered how long North would stay there with him. He knew that the temperature in the room was definitely below zero, and while North couldn't necessarily die from frostbite, Jack didn't want to be responsible for making him feel so cold. Jack squirmed where he sat, about to tell North to leave again when the ex-Cossack beat him to speech.

"You remind me of someone I once knew," said North.

Curiosity gaining the best of him, Jack asked, "Who?"

North smiled wistfully. "A boy, just like you. His name was Nightlight. He loved to have fun, play games…pull the occasional prank when he got chance. The boy was always carefree and laughing. He hardly ever sat still for very long, and he spent a lot of time flying with moonbeams."

"Moonbeams?" asked Jack.

"Yes, moonbeams," confirmed North. "He was protector of Man in Moon long time ago."

The Man in the Moon had his own personal protector? Jack found that hard to believe. Manny lived on the moon, far away from any enemies that could reach him. Who had threated him so long ago that he needed a guardian to defend him?

Now that Jack thought about it, he realized that he knew very little about MiM's personal life. Who was he before he became the founder and head of the Guardians of Childhood? Did he have a family? And did they teach him that sending people to do the work for you was the best way to go?

Jack shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside. He couldn't just make assumptions about someone he didn't know much about. Jack knew that the Guardians were perhaps willing to tell him more about the Man who they revered, but he, frankly, wasn't interested at the moment. He still hadn't forgiven the Man in the Moon for leaving him behind for all those years, and Jack knew that it would be a long time until he would. Perhaps he'd ask in the near future when he was apt to.

"Nightlight was very young when he became Guardian, but in many ways, he was the wisest and oldest soul. Both literally and figuratively," he added with a small chuckle. "But he thought of things in very simple terms. He was still child, faced war at young age. He didn't know how to handle strong emotions very well."

Sounds like someone I could relate to, Jack thought.

"But with the help of his friends, he eventually learned how to embrace them in the end," North concluded, his eyes on Jack, appearing to be insinuating something. Jack knew where he was going, but he didn't want to accept what the man was hinting at just yet. The winter spirit knew that the Guardians were his friends—practically his only ones next to the children of Burgess. They were more than willing to help him in whatever he faced, but old doubts seeped their way in. The Guardians didn't even give a thought to him until the Man in the Moon chose him to be a Guardian. What if Manny had never said anything about him? Would he have gone 300 more years alone by himself?

"Jack," called North. The winter spirit looked up at him. North placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I know we were not there for you when you needed us most, and we can't take what we did back. 300 years is long time to make up for, but we are trying to atone for past mistakes. Starting with being here for you in time of need. We are here for you, Jack, and you will not be alone in whatever you choose to do."

Slowly, the storm began to fade and dwindle until stillness surrounded the young winter spirit and ex-Cossack. Jack let out a breath, not expecting North's words to have a such an impact on him. But perhaps those words were what he needed. Jack still felt out of place in the Guardians, and often he doubted if they truly did care for him, but here North was, confirming everything that he had thought to be untrue. And while it would take time for his wounds to completely heal, Jack decided to give the Guardians a true chance.

Tears had welled in the winter spirit's eyes, and he didn't notice until he pulled himself out of his deep musings. Jack wiped them away before they could fall.

"North, I…Thank you," said Jack. The Guardian of Wonder smiled and pulled the winter spirit into a hug. Jack was momentarily surprised, but he soon allowed his arms to wrap around North, a small smile gracing his lips. Though Jack normally preferred the cold, the warmth from North's hug was just as comfortable as standing in the middle of a snowy field.

When they pulled away, Jack drew in a breath. "I've made my decision," he said. The winter spirit picked up his staff from the floor and pushed himself up. "You guys are right…As risky as the plan is, it might be out only way to prevent Pitch from hurting the kids…And stop my nightmares."

With a determined nod, Jack said, "I'm ready to go through my nightmares to stop him."

North was about to clap the boy on the back, but he rethought his action and settled for a gentle pat on the head. "I knew you would come around in time," he said with a smile. Jack smiled back, but the winter spirit knew that it wouldn't be his own fears that he would be facing. If the Guardians were joining him in the realm of nightmares that Pitch had so meticulously crafted, then the Guardians of Childhood may face their own fears as well.

…

Jack and North returned to the bedroom, and it was then that Jack realized how much damage he had caused. The winter spirit winced at the sight of the strewn covers, the tipped desk and side table, and the crooked curtains. Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy must've attempted to clean up, for some parts of the room looked more tidier than others.

"Oh, Jack, you're back!" Tooth said happily. She flitted over to the Guardian of Fun immediately. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," Jack replied. He sighed. "I'm sorry for acting so harshly earlier…It's just that I…" The winter spirit looked down at his feet. "I'm scared…After everything that's happened in the past four months, I'm a little on edge."

"A little?" Bunny quoted with a raised eyebrow.

Jack frowned at him. "Okay, maybe more than a little," he conceded. "But you get the idea."

"It's alright, Jack," said Tooth, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know I'd probably feel the same way after months of constant nightmares."

Jack nodded. "Anyway…I decided that we should go and see what we can find in the tumultuous world of dreams," he said. "I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea, but…I guess it's worth a shot."

"Well then we'll need ta get on with it as soon as we can," said Bunny. He turned to Sandy, the expert in dreams. "What time works best for ya?"

Sandy tapped his chin and produced the image of a moon and stars. "Nightfall is preferable since it's easier to fall asleep at that time. We can complete our jobs and meet up back here once we've completed them."

"But what about Jack?" asked Tooth. From her shoulder, Baby Tooth twittered, and she fluttered over to the winter teen and nestled in his hoodie. Jack smiled.

"Baby Tooth will keep me company," he said. The winter spirit looked up at the Guardians. "I'll be fine by myself for a while."

"Are ya sure?" asked Bunny.

"As sure as I can be," replied Jack flippantly. He walked over to the bed and sat down. "You guys get out of here and complete what you've got to do today. I'll be here…waiting."

"Don't fall asleep," said North as he and the other Guardians filed out of the room, each of them setting of to complete the last of their duties. Jack leaned against his pillow and sighed, anticipation brewing for what was yet to come.

Author's Note: This chapter is one that I also had a lot of fun writing. North and Jack's father/son relationship is so sweet. It's like the fuel to my every morning...

*Cough* M'kay, yeah, maybe I'm being a little overdramatic...hehe. X) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see ya in the next one! =D

(PS: *Whispers* And for the sake of this fanfiction, we're just going to pretend that Jack Frost and Nightlight totally aren't the same person, m'kay? Thank ya. XD).

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203