Jamie was feeling even worse when he got up the next day. Ignoring Jack, lying to these people who just wanted to help, and encountering Pitch yet again was more than enough to make him snap. Why had he even thought he'd find a way out of this? There wasn't any hope to stop him, not for Jamie at least. Maybe Violet could come up with some strategy on her own, but whatever they figured out, Jamie had to prioritize Sophie first.

Merida's house was lively, to say the least. She'd disappeared off to school, leaving Jamie alone in the house to watch over her three younger siblings. Apparently, they were 'sick to their stomach' this morning and couldn't go in. When both of their parents received urgent business calls immediately after the triplets faked their vomiting episodes, Jamie started to get suspicious. It was just too convenient to not be somehow caused by them.

Still, since he was the only near-adult around and he was sorta staying at their place free of charge until he could figure out how to get all the way back to Pennsylvania, he couldn't refuse the request to watch them. This was also probably the only time he'd be around them without the gang of teens that all knew about Pitch, so Jamie figured it was his best chance to show the boogeyman that he hadn't forgotten their deal.

"Hey, put that down!" One of them had gotten his hands onto some ceramic jar in the kitchen. All three brothers blinked at his objection, before grinning and starting to run. "Wait! You're going to get caught by the boogeyman if you keep that up. He'll chase you, and jump at you, and hide in the closet at night."

He still didn't know their names, but the three terrors did pause at his words. They gathered together in a huddle, seeming to have a team discussion on their next move. Walking towards them slowly, Jamie wondered if he could grab the jar before they noticed him. Then, their huddle ended. Whoever they had elected as the lead stepped forward with a frown, meeting his eyes. Then, he proceeded to stick his tongue out at Jamie, shaking his head before rejoining the others and resuming the chase.

As if aware of his attempts, one of Pitch's nightmares entered the room then. While technically invisible to the non-believing kids, it could still grab at the jar. The dark creature swallowed the entire jar whole, apparently able to magically hold it safely within its…stomach? Jamie could visibly see where it was held as the sand shifted around, but he supposed that would be the location of a horse's stomach if it were a real horse.

"I warned you! The boogeyman is stealing your jar!"

Now, the trio seemed to be more intent. One of them frowned, staring at where the jaw had been and remaining mystified as it was now suddenly invisible. He supposed the thing now followed the same rules as the nightmares to be seen for the kids - it was a part of the creature's body after all.

Pushing aside the urge to keep his distance, Jamie walked to stand next to the horse. It huffed, sniffing the air around him for a moment. Taking a deep breath, Jamie held his head high. It had nothing to sense here. Pitch already had him, after all, and Jamie didn't have much else to lose in his life.

The moment one of the trio believed was when it became obvious to the rest. A single child's jaw dropped, pointing at the nightmare by Jamie's side. When his brothers didn't react, the little boy started tugging on their sleeves, whispering in their ears. Before long, it had a chain effect of all three little boys staring at one of Pitch's creations, fully aware that the boogeyman was real and able to, well, steal their cookie jar he guessed.

With a battle cry, one of them charged forward at the creature with his hands high in the air. Jamie laughed as the kid swung punches at the nightmare, stepping aside to let them battle out their war with the creature and leave him out of the mess. Yet, as he started to walk away, Jamie froze with wide eyes at the sight of golden sand. He'd forgotten about this part. Children who still had hope could transform a bad dream into something brighter, bringing back the original pleasant dream the Sandman had given them.

Swirling golden sand rushed throughout the room as the nightmare fell apart in an instant. Jamie swallowed as he saw it, a heavy weight filling his stomach. He'd come in contact with a nightmare recently, right? Yet, nothing changed. It didn't target him, sure, but it also didn't turn back. Was he too old? Or was he no longer that hopeful light filled with enough wonder to make his dreams into reality?

My little light. Pitch's nickname echoed in his thoughts. His light now. His believer. It was a sick thought, when he really considered what it meant. Sure, he believed in the Guardians and was probably still one of the millions of lights on the globe right now at the North Pole. Yet, he didn't belong on that globe at all. He was betraying Jack, betraying all of them, by helping their enemy. Yet, what else could he do? If he didn't help Pitch, he'd go after Sophie. True, Sophie wouldn't help him, but she…she didn't deserve to go through that sort of torment, not like Jamie and his friends had endured as kids.

Jamie didn't bother to do anything as the triplets ran away with the desserts, locking themselves in their room. Instead, he returned to the couch, sitting down and hanging his head into his hands. Everything was just one huge mess. Yesterday morning, he'd had hope. How had his hopes fallen so quickly?

Pitch, that was the answer. Everything, all of his worries revolved around him. Jamie hated that he'd felt relieved to see him, knowing he wouldn't have to explain things to Violet. Then, he hated himself for feeling that relief. The feeling had only grown worse, listening to him torment her with his words and doing nothing but agree with them. Everything Pitch said was honest and true. The only issue was that he twisted how he said it into something that made the truth seem sinister and wrong.

A cold breeze entered the room and Jamie did his best to sit still. "Hey, kiddo. It's been a while since it's just been the two of us, huh?" Jack walked around, not looking over at him as he let out a sigh. "Sorry about that. It just got hard, after I first realized what had happened. Maybe if I'd ignored how it hurt, or just, tried harder…maybe I would know what is going on with you now."

Jamie didn't know if he wanted to hide, scream, or just sit down and let himself cry. "I'm trying, though, I really am. Promise, kid, we'll get you home safe and sound. And…maybe I'll head back to Burgess for a few days. It's been a while since we all had a snow day together, right?"

Jack couldn't come back, not now. Jamie had to help Pitch bring back the…well, the same fear that had haunted the neighborhood as he grew up. He had to force that onto people around the world, regardless of their age. "We always had the best of snowball fights. And, oh, that sledding accident! That has got to be one of the best examples of my work, I swear." He paused. "But, sorry about the tooth, anyway. That was still an accident, even if you insist that I did it on purpose so I'd have an excuse to come collect your tooth later after the fairies were stolen."

Jamie did remember and that was the problem. He didn't want to remember the good times, not when he was trapped into betraying them all now. "Sorry for rambling. Not like I have much else to do during school days. I mean, I guess I could—" Jack's voice broke off. "Sand? This…" Jamie tried his hardest not to turn and look. He knew that Jack had to have found the spot the nightmare had been, before the triplets faced off against it.

"No…it can't be." Jamie stayed in his curled position on the couch as Jack flew over, landing in front of him. In his palm was a mixture of gold and black sand, the result of the loss of energy from a nightmare turned into a dream before it lost its form. "Please tell me this doesn't have anything to do with Pitch. It can't, not again." Jack began pacing around the room. "I mean, Violet wouldn't hide that and she clearly knew what had happened, right? She knows that Pitch is bad news."

"Well, well, why am I not surprised to see you here." Pitch's voice filled the room, leaving Jamie feeling cold. He didn't dare to speak or look at either of them, not while Jack was here. "I should've known you'd catch me going back to my old tricks. What are you going to do now? Throw a snowball at me?"

Jack held his staff out warily, standing between Jamie and Pitch. "You're not going to come anywhere near him, not ever again."

"Ah, but you already let me near him. Don't you remember, Jack? I did try to warn you, months ago." Pitch laughed, enjoying this as if it were a movie. "I almost thought it would be better to keep you in the dark about all of this. After all, I knew it would break you to learn that you had abandoned your precious first believer to suffer through my nightmares yet again. All you needed to do to keep that blissful ignorance was…well, stay ignorant. Yet, of course, you just have to stop by and see the damage you've created yourself."

Jamie didn't want to hear this. "Stop lying to me. I've done nothing to hurt Jamie, and I never would."

"Then why does he believe in me and not you?" Jack's eyes went wide, his head twisting to look over at Jamie. "You hear me, don't you, Jamie? Do you remember me from when you were oh, so young? Ah, we had so much fun back then, running around your town, chasing each other as if we were hunting down the other in a fun game of cat and mouse."

The pain throbbed in his chest as Jamie met those golden eyes. The silent threat was still there, the warning that Sophie would suffer if he didn't play along with Pitch's game now. "Please. Leave me alone."

Pitch rolled his eyes at the comment, shaking his head. "Ah, but I have to finish dealing with an uninvited guest first. Would you be so kind as to patiently wait for me to finish, Jamie? I'll reward you if you do, you know." Pitch's smile widened. "I know! You've been asking for a break for so long from my little nightmares. How about you go and hide in your room right now…and I'll leave you alone for the night, hmm?"

Swallowing, Jamie looked into his eyes. With his mood, it didn't take much to maintain a frown as he spoke. "What visitor? I'm just watching Merida's brothers. Th-there's no one else here."

"Jamie…" Jack's voice sounded broken.

"Well, then is there any harm in listening to me just this once?" Silently, Jamie rose to his feet. He kept his gaze down, avoiding Jack just through sheer familiarity with exactly how cold the air was near his body. "That's a good boy, my precious little light."

That name was almost too much. Jamie rushed out of the room even faster, hearing Jack's angered shout as he likely lost control and started a one-on-one battle with Pitch. At this point, Jamie shouldn't worry about things, but he knew that every day, Pitch was gaining power because of his actions. What was he doing? Jamie needed a way out but there was nothing he could do.

Everything just felt wrong. He couldn't sleep at night anymore, he couldn't think straight because he was tired all of the time, and now Jamie couldn't even face himself in the mirror. He belonged to Pitch Black. Jamie Bennett…was going to help destroy all of the hope, wonder, dreams, and fun that the guardians protected.

Letting out a frustrated yell, Jamie grabbed the first thing in the room and threw it. A book slammed against the wall with a loud thud, his eyes glaring at the sight. There was an odd satisfaction in it, seeing visible results of his destructive behavior rather than this invisible knowledge that it was doing something that'd result in something horrible later on. Reaching over, Jamie belatedly realized it was an entire bookshelf in the room to use. He picked up yet another book, hurling it at the ground this time with a glare. He kept repeating the process, not even noticing that the other room had gone silent as he gave into his urge for this childish tantrum.

By the time he'd finished, the bookshelf was empty and Jamie was breathing hard. Books were scattered around the room, some open, some face up, some closed…it was just a huge mess to look at. Walking over slowly, Jamie blinked at one of the covers facing back at him. Shattered Lands: Tales of Broken Bonds

It was an anthology, based on the table of contents listing of various titles of short stories. Taking a deep breath, Jamie sat down and began to skim through the first story. It spoke of an ancient kingdom, ruled by a powerful king. That king had four sons and when he passed on, he'd divided his kingdom equally and given each son a quarter to rule over. However, the eldest son was jealous and angry over the result.

Rules of inheritance in the kingdom had promised that the eldest would be crowned the next king. Yet, the act of dividing the kingdom was a betrayal to that law. Angered, the man sought out the necessary power to unite the kingdom once more. However, the result was not what he'd desired. As he independently worked to overcome his obstacles, he first attempted reasoning with his siblings. Yet, when discussions failed, the eldest became enraged and violent.

Wars broke out and the eldest was losing against the united front of the other three nations. Desperate for a solution, the brother sought out magic. That magic gave him the strength he needed to overcome all of his enemies but it came at the cost of his own mind. Even though he had conquered the other kingdoms, the man no longer had any memory of who he was. All four of the divided lands now suffered in poverty and ruins, with the war long-over. Peace returned to the land but truly, there was no one left satisfied with the result.

Jamie stared at the book, not turning forward into the next story. Oddly, the story felt like it was somewhat relatable, even if his circumstances were different. True, it wasn't a struggle to gain his own power, but Jamie hadn't exactly made attempts at a more peaceful resolution. He'd refused to even consider it when it was an option by ignoring Sophie when she begged him to believe in Jack again. Now, he was off fighting some war she knew nothing about beyond the story he'd told her of his own childhood. Pitch was the usurper in this story, the one seeking out that power and Jamie was siding with him. Pitch's methods to win, despite being subtle due to the hidden nature of spirits and magic, would not result in a happy ending.

He didn't want this to end with nothing but broken, shattered people to tell the tale. Jamie didn't want to be the reason for any of this. Taking a deep breath, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Sophie…would understand, he hoped. Mom just knew that he was staying with friends for a little bit. He knew he'd be in trouble when he got back, but at least she wasn't thinking he'd just run away completely. Yet, Sophie believed. If he could be honest with anyone about all of this, it had to be with her.

"Jamie?" He felt a small smile flicker as she answered. "You do know we have school right now! I'm gonna tell Mom you skipped."

"Yeah, I know." Jamie wiped at his eyes, surprised to find they were wet. "I just…needed to talk to you, Soph. I think I made a mistake and I don't know what to do."

"Don't tell me you're upset about what I told you yesterday. You know I'm right and you can't just give up on Jack just like I'll never stop saying Bunny is the best."

Chuckling, Jamie sat down and nodded. "Not when Jack brings us snow days. Sorry, but Bunny can't beat that. And there's no way he can top the Great Sled Adventure of 2007."

Sophie snorted. "Glad to hear you're back to your usual self then."

"Well, that's the problem." Jamie sighed. "I'm…not really feeling like myself, Soph. See, I didn't think much of it, but after you talked to me, I realized that…my nightmares are more than just bad dreams."

"Well, you were the one who told me nightmares were just bad dreams. From your story, remember?"

"Ah, I mean…more so that I realized Pitch had been around, even when I couldn't see him." Sophie didn't reply. Swallowing, Jamie turned to stare out the window. "He…Sophie, I may have agreed to…help him."

"NO! Jamie Bennett, you get back here right now and tell me you're lying! My brother would never do that. Pitch wants to get rid of Bunny and Jack! Neither of us want that, you dummy!"

"I-I know." Jamie rubbed the back of his neck. "But, Soph, he said if I didn't help him…he'd go after you. And I didn't want you to hurt, but now I'm starting to think that I skipped an important step when agreeing to his deal."

"And that was?"

"Talking to you about it." Jamie closed his eyes. "You were so young last time. I know you remember some little bits and pieces of the Warren, but…well, you weren't really there for the big fight. I thought that you'd never want to see something like that. I guess I just…assumed I knew what was best."

Sophie didn't respond immediately. "Jamie…I understand." Her irritation was gone, calmed slightly. "I wish you'd said something sooner, Jamie. I-I'm really sorry but you'd been acting weird so I just…I didn't know if I could talk to you."

"About what?"

"About…my nightmares." Jamie frowned at first. Then, he felt his heart start to pound as realization sunk in. "Jamie, I appreciate what you want to do, but honestly, you're pretty oblivious sometimes. You like to live in your own little world and you don't realize when the people around you are struggling too. You aren't protecting me from anything, Jamie. You're just tormenting yourself and making things worse for the Guardians when they do step in. Anyway, I've gotta get back to class before they realize I'm not actually using the bathroom. Try to get back to school yourself."

"Well, I'll do my best, but it might, uh, be a bit of a challenge when I'm in Illinois right now."

"You're WHERE? Jamie, don't you dare—" He hung up on her mid-sentence, not wanting to be chewed out by his little sister over the phone. Staring at the device, Jamie closed his eyes and collapsed back on the bed. This entire time, he thought he was protecting her. He thought Pitch would leave her be, if he helped. Yet, of course that was nothing more than a manipulation from the guy. There was never a good reason to trust Pitch Black. This time, Jamie would remember that lesson well.

Poor Jack. I haven't written about this in a while - I'd nearly forgotten how much I rather enjoy the dynamic between Jack and Jamie. While I might be tormenting them a bit in this story, I do think there's a lot of interesting ways to explore things between them in writing. Either way, I will add that story stats don't seem to be working for me at the moment on the site - I usually try to use them as a gauge for determining posting schedules for stories (try to get an idea of when traffic slows down on the latest chapter to see if it is about time to put out another update). So, I only really know if you're reading through reviews, follows, and favorites until that's fixed. Feel free to review or message me if you have any feedback on the story!