Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "Dream On!" =D This chapter is a short one; it falls under the category as a filler/transition chap, so I wasn't intending it to be very long anyway. X)

To answer a question about chapter twelve from Taloness: Tooth and Sandy couldn't fly over the forest because Pitch designed it to take them back to where they started every time they tried to get to Jack's lake. =) The woods would shift and change, even if you're in the air, making it incredibly difficult to leave. And why they didn't fly over to save Jack was because things in the nightmare realm don't work the same way they do in real life. Tooth and Sandy didn't want to fly over to save Jack in risk of Pitch making the ice break once they reached him (the Boogeyman has total control here), but the ice broke regardless. =')

I thought I made those things somewhat clear, but I guess I didn't, ahaha. XD Sorry about the confusion, and I hope this answer your questions! =D

Okie doke! Despite this chapter's lack in length, I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless! ^u^

Chapter Fourteen: Wake Up

Never had he been more grateful to be wide awake.

Jack rubbed his eyes, washing out the remnants of sleep that still blurred his vision. He still couldn't believe that everything that had occurred was only a dream…it all felt far too real and far too vivid. Jack could hear, feel and sense everything as if he were living it in real life. His side still thumped with pain, as if the stab that Pith had given him transferred over when he woke up. Jack tried his best to ignore it, but a foreboding feeling in his gut told him that he shouldn't.

The Guardians hadn't noticed his discomfort; they were too busy peppering him with questions. This time, Jack didn't feel as irritated by their fussing.

"Jack, are you alright?" asked Tooth, sitting up so she could face the boy more clearly.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze fixed on the covers in front of him. "Y-Yeah…I think so…" he said quietly.

"What exactly happened down there?" asked Bunny.

North nodded. "We weren't able to see everything from where we stood."

Tugging at his sleeves, Jack replied. "Well, er…once we were separated, Pitch appeared, which I'm assuming that you already knew. He…"

Jack paused, realizing that telling the Guardians about the offer Pitch had proposed to him would only further tip their uneasiness. Not only that, but they'd become even more hysterical than they were now, and would most likely try to face the Nightmare King without hesitation. Jack didn't want any more fussing, and if he knew that he told North, Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy that he had actually considered the proposition, that he would face a lot more trouble.

The winter spirit had trailed off, and he hadn't picked up where he started. "What did Pitch do to ya, mate?" asked Bunny.

Jack pulled himself out of his thoughts and ran a hand through his hair. "I, uh…Pitch stabbed me," he said bluntly. The Guardians were taken aback. Jack shifted uncomfortably where he sat. "After that, he attacked. I had no other choice but to defend myself even though I was punctured with a knife."

"Sandy and I got there before Pitch could hurt Jack any further," Tooth continued. "But he was gravely injured, and there was no easier escape from our position. Jack needed to wake up, which is why we're where we are now, and that just about covers everything."

"It's a good thing you got out of there in time," said North. "Who knows what would've happened to Jack if we stayed."

Jack wrapped his arm around his stomach, his dread deepening. He was still in pain, and it was getting worse. Jack had to bite down on his lip to hold back a moan. Something was wrong, and he knew it, but he didn't want to bring it up to the Guardians just yet.

"It was just a nightmare," said Bunny. "Worst-case scenario probably would've been Pitch capturin' us again. But I'm sure we would've woken up before that; a nightmare can't cause any real harm."

"But these nightmares in particular seem like they can," mused North. "They are vivid and life-like, just like Jack said. We all felt and experienced it. Especially when we were glaciers. We could feel the cold, as if we were actually there."

Sandy nodded, his dreamsand weaving over his head creating the image of a pair of eyes, a dream bubble, and a hammer thudding against stone. A large x crossed over the images. The choice of pictures was interesting, but the message they gave was simple. "I've never seen a dream so concrete and real. The thought of Pitch achieving to create incredibly vivid nightmares is…"

"Unnerving?" prompted Bunnymund. Sandy nodded, finding the word fitting."

"This means Pitch is gaining power," Tooth summed up. Her feathers twitched anxiously. "We don't know where he's deriving his energy from, but it's building up fast. Imagine if he used these nightmares on children? Kids and adults alike would be terrified…"

"It would be like the Dark Ages all over again," murmured Bunny. Everyone darkened at the mention of the long, horrible years that Pitch had reigned over the globe. Darkness was overwhelming, and both children and adults lived in constant, unending fear. Pitch had been the most powerful being on Earth due to the uproar and surge in fear, but the Man in the Moon had taken notice, and chose the Guardians of Childhood to stop him. After a long, feverish battle, the Guardians vanquished him into the shadows. Centuries later, Pitch had returned, but with the help of Jack, the Guardians were able to defeat him once again.

This time, however, things were different. Pitch wasn't fighting physically, but mentally. He was toying with the Guardians and each of their fears, and it would only be a matter of time until he sent his newest nightmares on the children across the world. And if he did, the Guardians knew that he would be unstoppable. He'd venture through the dreamsand minds of children, planting their deepest fears in their minds and destroying any good dream that came their way. The Boogeyman perhaps wouldn't reveal how to heal Jack if he went along with his plan to permanently cloak the world in darkness and fear.

"We cannot allow that to happen," North said firmly. "Pitch seems to be residing in dream realm for time being, and he is probably plotting against us at this very moment."

"We can rest and regroup before heading back ta face whatever Pitch has for us," said Bunny. "Can't run in without a plan, and seeing how badly things went this time, we're going to need a better one."

North, Tooth, and Sandy gave their mutters of agreement, and it was then that they all realized that Jack had been uncharacteristically silent. Squashed in between Bunny and Tooth, Jack looked straight ahead, his eyes distant and breaths labored. His arm was wrapped tightly around his stomach, and the winter spirit's face was as white as the snow he created.

"Jack? Jack, what's wrong?" Tooth asked worriedly, placing her small hand on the boy's shoulder. Jack turned to her; his sapphire blue eyes were filled with pain.

"What's ailin' ya, mate?" Bunny asked, equally concerned. Jack shifted where he sat.

"If those nightmares really were just nightmares…" Jack said slowly. "How are we supposed to explain this?"

Jack lifted his hoodie, exposing his stomach. The Guardians gasped at what they saw.

There, standing out against Jack's ghostly pale skin was a bleeding stab wound. It was in the very same spot where Pitch had driven the knife into him in his nightmare.

Author's Note: ...Oof. That's all I've got to say.

Jack: Moon, you really need to stop torturing me.

...That's not gonna happen anytime soon my fine winter friend. X)

Jack: Darn it.

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

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203