Hey, guys! Welcome back to RFL 2: Into the Dark! Believe it or not...after this one, there are actually only about two chapters left in this story. However, I'm happy to confirm that RFL will be a trilogy! I promise I'll try my best to get my upload schedule as under control as I can, and I hope you all will continue to join me for the third book in the series once this one is done :) However! That's still a little ways off, so for now, let's just get to the reviews!

Thanks so much to last chapter's lone reviewer, Demi clayton! I'm glad you enjoyed, and I hope you continue to do so! :D

And with that, on with the chapter!

Chapter 30: The End of New Iskald

Under normal circumstances, moving from the center of New Iskald to the exit tunnel was a clear, straight shot between a few ice buildings, and the distance was easily traversable in as little as a few minutes at a leisurely stroll.

Unfortunately, "normal circumstances" decidedly did not include Nightmares and Fearlings banding together to swarm the path.

Though Jack's bolts of magic had temporarily cleared the way for Lily, Simon, and himself, the shadowy army was less than willing to allow them easy passage. Many nearby monsters were temporarily stunned from the frost's blinding glow, and others still were half frozen where they stood, but the Nightmare Army was vast, and the three of them were only able to get about halfway to the exit before the creatures Jack had cleared out were replaced.

"D-Damn!" Jack cursed as they were forced to come to a halt in the face of the onslaught. Exhaustion was threatening to overtake him, but he refused to allow himself to collapse during such a vital escape. "There's no end to them!"

"Can someone tell me what's happening!?" Simon called out in alarm. Without any sort of dark-vision to aid him, and with Jack's ice no longer lighting the area, he could likely only see the occasional flash of a Nightmare's amber eyes. "How far did we get!?"

"We're halfway there!" Lily answered, tightening her grip on both Jack and Simon's arms as she willed a few ice stalagmites into existence to pierce through several Nightmares that were rushing at them. "But we're blocked off again, and there's no way Jack has enough energy to clear a path a second time!"

"W-What about your sun charm!?" Jack quickly asked.

Lily shook her head. "It's a powerful spell, Jack! Technically, I still have enough energy to conjure it again, but there's no way I could sustain it while running, let alone while keeping you on your feet as well!"

"Then can't you just throw it at them or something!?" Simon shouted, blindly kicking out at a Fearling that had clawed at his leg.

Lily glanced at him, surprised. "Throw it at them!?"

"Th-That's a good idea, actually!" Jack put in. As he spoke, a Nightmare reared up beside him, clearly with the intent of crushing him with its hooves, but he quickly jabbed at it with the end of his staff, piercing its chest and dissolving it into formless black sand before continuing. "S-Send the light in a straight line towards the tunnel! Th-They should shy away from it long enough for us to get through!"

Her eyes widened for a moment in realization, then she nodded firmly. "Good plan! Both of you, brace yourselves for the light, then get ready to run!" She then let go of Simon and raised her left arm into the air, crying out once more, "Helisolus!"

Jack swiftly shielded his eyes as another tiny sun flared into existence, hoping that Simon had been quick enough to do the same. Just as before, the Nightmares and Fearlings gathered around the three of them screeched in pain and retreated back a few feet, which left a cleared ring in the center of the swirling mass of sand and shadow.

"O-On my mark!" Lily called out, now panting from the effort of maintaining her spell. "Th-Three...two...one...now!"

She lobbed the little ball of light forward, sending it hurtling through the dark army, scattering even more of the fiends. The three of them immediately took off running through the gap that the sun charm had created, and though they were already nearing exhaustion, they forced themselves into the swiftest sprint they could possibly achieve.

Almost there… Jack silently told himself. Just get to the surface...it should still be dark out, it should still be cold...just get up there, get to the sleigh, and everything will be fine…

Unfortunately, a mere ten feet before they reached the entrance to the tunnel, a hand suddenly grasped the back of Jack's tunic, yanking him roughly back and jerking his arm out of Lily's grip. She and Simon immediately stopped in their tracks, whirling around to face the boy. "Jack!" Lily exclaimed in surprise. Then, her eyes widened in horror as her gaze moved just past Jack.

"Going somewhere?" the Nightmare King hissed in Jack's elfin ear.

The young sprite's breath caught in his throat as he slowly turned his head to the side, only to be met with the sight of Pitch's scowling, slate-gray face. There was a small amount of steam rising from his skin, likely from being so close to Lily's sun charm, but the ball of light had landed on the ground nearby and was already beginning to fizzle out. While Jack was still weary from his prior attack, the Nightmare King was clearly not weakened at all.

A strong sense of terror began to once again creep into Jack's mind, practically freezing him where he stood.

The Nightmare King's eyes narrowed into strange, gray-gold slits. "I've let you live for long enough already, boy," he growled in a voice so quiet that Jack doubted Simon and Lily could hear. "Even if you manage to escape from here today...the Fear and darkness within you will consume you."

Suddenly, Jack felt a sharp pain jolt through his left arm, almost reminiscent of what he had felt when Ebon had tortured him with needles of ice. However, he had no time to even begin to register what the pain could mean before a searing golden light flared to life all around them.

Pitch let out a gasp of pain and instantly dropped Jack to the ground, ducking away into the darkness that his still-colossal Nightmare Army provided. He gritted his teeth, glaring at the brilliantly shining newcomer that was now standing between him and the youngest Guardian. "Damn you, Sandman…" he seethed, shielding his eyes from the gleam. "You Guardians never quit, do you!?"

Sandy, as per usual, said nothing, merely snapping his dreamsand whips threateningly in the Nightmare King's direction. However, another familiar, thick-accented voice rang out to answer him.

"You are right! We do not!" North called as he slashed through a row of Nightmares, then ran forward to stand at Sandy's side. "We will never let you win, no matter what!"

A boomerang flew through the air, disintegrating several more of the skeletal-looking horses before returning to its owner. Aster leaped into the air and flipped over the Fearlings that had been left in the Nightmares' places, landing with the other Guardians just as Toothiana flitted into place as well, cutting several Nightmares down with her wings as she went.

Now safely hidden behind his fellow Guardians, Jack quickly pushed himself to his feet. The pain in his arm had subsided, but his fatigue still remained. Still, he refused to let his weariness stop him from standing alongside his family.

Turning to face Pitch and stepping up to join the line of Guardians, Jack saw North lift his sword and point it at the Nightmare King. "And get one thing perfectly straight!" he bellowed. "You will never take our boy again!"

Though Jack's heart swelled at the sentiment, Pitch seemed less than impressed.

"Oh, I'm not allowed to take your boy, am I?" he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. His eyes swept over each Guardian, studying every one of them for a few seconds before his gaze finally came to rest on Sandy. Then, his mouth curled into a wicked smirk. "Mhm...very well. I suppose I'll simply have to eliminate the greater threat instead."

Suddenly, quick as lightning, Pitch made a motion that resembled pulling back on a bowstring. Though he held no bow, a black sand arrow materialized in the air, then rapidly flew forward the moment Pitch opened his hand.

There was no time to react. No time to run. No time to even utter a syllable. In less than two seconds, the arrow had found its mark.

Right in the center of Sandy's chest.

For a moment, everything stopped. For a moment, there was no sound, only tense, silent shock. Jack's heart nearly stopped as he stared at the black spot slowly spreading across the front of Sandy's golden sand robes. The arrow had burst upon impact rather than piercing through the little man's skin, but it appeared as though it threatened to corrupt the very dreamsand that made up Sandy's form.

No… was all Jack could think. No, this can't...no…!

Suddenly, time resumed as Sandy himself made the first move. The Sand-Spinner flung both arms out, creating two golden whips as wide and as long as tree trunks, then he whirled around and pushed outwards, sending them careening into all four of the other Guardians, as well as Simon and Lily. The force of the blow roughly shoved the six of them into the nearby exit tunnel, and the large whips fell on top of one another at the entrance, blocking off just over half of the opening.

The word GO! flashed above Sandy's head, and even as the black sand consumed his golden torso, the Guardian of Dreams turned back to face the Nightmare King, his usual, smaller whips snapping at his sides.

"NO!" Jack found himself screaming. His fatigue was replaced with pumping adrenaline as magic surged through him, more bolts of frost crackling at his fingertips. He made to lunge back into the city, but Lily grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the tunnel's entrance.

"Jack, stop it!" she shrieked, clasping her hands over his, as though that would stop the ice magic from surging out of them. "Your body can't take another attack like that!"

The boy ignored her, however, and fought to pull out of her grasp, though Lily held him tightly. He heard Simon shout a little ways behind him, "What the hell just happened!?"

It was Aster who answered him, joining Lily in holding Jack back as he did so. "Doesn't matter right now! We have ta get outta here, immediately!"

Jack's head jerked around to stare at the Pooka in shock. "W-We can't just leave Sandy!" he protested. "W-We have to go back! W-We have to-!"

Suddenly, a paw collided with the side of Jack's head, not truly hurting him, but effectively stunning him for a few moments. The boy blinked a few times, then looked back up at Aster, mouth agape.

Though the older Guardian's eyes held anguish and sorrow, his jaw was set in determination. "There's nothin' we can do for him now!" he stated firmly. "Nothin' but escapin' this damn place alive, and livin' ta fight another day! Sandy gave us a chance, let's not waste it!"

For a second, Jack considered ignoring Aster and running back to lend the Sand-Spinner his assistance anyway. His mind was thoroughly stuck on the fact that they were essentially abandoning Sandy.

Sandy, who had treated Jack with kindness from the beginning. Sandy, the one who had been able to consistently calm him down whenever panic and anxiety began to set in. Sandy, the one who had given him a small pouch of dreamsand when it had become clear that his nightmares weren't going away on their own.

Every fiber of Jack's being was screaming at him that he could not let Sandy die.

And yet, a second later, his cynical sense of logic finally kicked in. Aster was right, there was nothing they could do for the little golden man now. The only one of their numbers that knew how to convert Nightmare sand back into dreamsand was Sandy himself, and even he appeared to have been struggling to keep his form intact. Jack solemnly realized that the only thing that running back to fight would accomplish would be getting himself killed.

Sandy had pushed the remaining six of them into the tunnel for a reason. He wanted them to leave him. He wanted them to escape, and not succumb to the same corruption currently eating away at him.

Who was Jack to deny a family member his last request?

"...alright," he murmured softly. "...let's go."

Aster nodded grimly. "Yeah. Let's." Before he turned to run, though, he leaned in a bit closer and lowered his voice so much that not even Lily, who was still holding onto one of Jack's arms, could hear it. "We'll avenge him, Frostbite. Pitch isn't gonna get away with this. But for that ta happen...we have ta live. Alright?" Though his tone was quiet, his voice had a certain bite to it that reassured Jack that his resolve was unwavering.

The boy looked up at the Pooka warrior, saying nothing, for there was nothing that needed to be said. He simply nodded and stood up straighter, relaxing so that Aster and Lily could let go of him. As his heart rate slowed and the adrenaline began to fade, he felt exhaustion creeping up on him once again, but he pushed it aside as best as he could. There would be time to rest later, but first, they had to make it to the surface.

The sound of stamping hooves and demonic shrieks nearby jolted all six of them back to reality. Without another word exchanged between them, they turned and charged up towards the tunnel's other exit as fast as possible, with Aster running on all fours, Tooth zipping through the air, and the rest sprinting alongside them, fortunately all able to maintain traction on the frozen floor.

Sandy's barrier did not hold for long, but it had been enough to give the others a generous headstart. Though they could hear shifting sand and hoofbeats not far behind them, they all shot out of the tunnel and into the cool, early morning air without further incident. North immediately ran for the sleigh, with most of the others following him, but Jack and Simon both noticed Lily hesitate, and ultimately stop in her tracks, looking back at the still-visible tunnel entrance. The young men shared an uncertain glance and both stopped beside her.

"W-What...what are you doing!?" Simon asked frantically, his breathing heavy and his eyes wide with alarm. "C-Come on, we have to get out of here!"

"I...I know," Lily answered, equally winded, but her expression a bit more distant and detached. "B-But...this must be done first."

Then, without warning, she ran forward, pausing just outside the tunnel and flinging both arms out in front of her. "Fuegara Maxima!" she cried.

Suddenly, a stream of flames burst forth from her palms, surging into the tunnel and rapidly melting the thick ice had that previously kept it from collapsing in on itself. Almost immediately, the desert sand fell to fill in the tunnel, and perhaps even some of the underground city itself, depending on how far the flames had stretched, and how forceful the cascading sand inside was.

One thing was certain, however; though the Nightmare King and his army could still easily travel elsewhere through the shadows, their immediate pursuit of the Guardians and their allies was effectively blocked off.

Once the sand finally lay still, Lily fell to one knee, hissing in pain and holding her hands close to her chest. Jack and Simon both ran to help her, only for her to stagger back to her feet on her own, shaking her head quickly. "I-I'm fine!" she gasped, already turning to face the sleigh. "L-Let's just go! N-Now!"

She began to stumble across the still-cool sand, leaving Jack and Simon no choice but to follow. When they reached the sleigh, Tooth and Aster leaned over the side, helping to pull the exhausted trio up and into it, while North gathered the reins in his hands. Once everyone was safely seated, he snapped them with a shout, causing the reindeer to take off in a gallop, eventually leaping into the air to run across the sky.

As they gradually climbed higher into the air, Jack glanced at Lily, who was sitting beside him, and asked quietly, "Are you sure you're okay…?"

Lily gave a tight smile and nodded. "I-I'm fine...j-just drained...and…" Her smile faded as she looked down at her hands, which Jack could now see were badly burned. She sighed. "S-Snow sprites really aren't s-supposed to use fire charms...I-I'll be okay, though, this has happened before…I-I just need to properly tend to the burns s-soon..."

Jack's eyebrows creased in worry, though he simply nodded and replied, "Well...if this sleigh moves as fast as North says it does, then that shouldn't be a problem…"

"R-Right…" Lily murmured. She lifted her hands closer to her mouth and took a deep breath in, then exhaled an icy mist over her burned palms, likely in an attempt to soothe them. She sighed slightly. "I-I...suppose I may have o-overdone things a bit."

"For what it's worth…" Simon put in, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't for nothing. If you hadn't closed the tunnel, those things would've gotten out and been able to continue chasing us, right? What you did probably saved us, you know…"

Lily blinked in surprise, then smiled and looked down as a soft, periwinkle blush came to her face. "Th-Thank you, Simon…I...I'm happy to have helped."

Had it been any other time, Jack might have shot Simon a teasing smirk, or made some sort of witty remark regarding the archer's significant improvement in the art of speaking to a woman he liked. However, the boy was simply not in the mood. As he stared up at the approaching layer of clouds, he couldn't stop picturing Sandy's look of shock as the Nightmare sand arrow struck him. The image was seared into his mind, and now that their frantic escape had come to a much calmer close, there was nothing distracting him from agonizing over it.

He felt sick.

Was there anything I could've done? he thought mournfully, folding his arms across his abdomen, as though hugging himself for comfort. Was there anything any of us could have done? Maybe if I hadn't let the Nightmare King grab me…? Then perhaps we could've escaped without delay, without practically lining up before him and giving him a clear shot… He sighed. Damn it...it seems like all I ever do is create problems for everyone around me...I make a mess of everything…

Jack let the voices of the others fade into the background as he stared off into the distance, watching the sun slowly begin to creep its way over the eastern horizon, at least until the sleigh entered the clouds, obscuring it from view. He sighed silently, absentmindedly rubbing at a sore spot on his left arm as he sank a little lower in his seat.

Things aren't looking good for us...I suppose Ebon's revolution provided the Nightmare Army with far more Fear and energy than they had the last time we fought them. They even took down Sandy in a matter of seconds...if the Nightmare King can defeat the most powerful Sand-Spinner in existence...then what hope is there for the rest of us…?

()()()()

The rest of the sleigh's flight proceeded without incident, much to the relief of its exhausted occupants. According to North, he had long ago put an enchantment on the entire structure, including the reindeer, that caused it all to become completely invisible to beings on the ground, once it reached a certain elevation.

Jack was vaguely reminded of the similar invisibility enchantment on the Guardian base in Soluna City, and felt a sudden, odd pang of homesickness. A lump began to rise in his throat as he realized how long it had been since he had set foot in the place he had called home during the five months after he had first become a Guardian, and how much longer it would likely be before he saw it again, if ever. For a few moments, he thought he might start crying.

What is with me…? were his troubled thoughts once he had managed to silently rein in his emotions. Now is hardly the time to be getting sentimental...I'm useless to the others if I can't keep myself together...perhaps I just need some rest, is all…

He figured that, if the other Guardians knew what he was thinking, they would tell him that, after all he'd been through recently, he deserved the chance to break down and cry until he felt better. Unfortunately, given the present circumstances, he simply could not agree with them. Not only did he feel at least somewhat responsible for the tragedies that were transpiring left and right, but he knew, deep down, that if he lost his composure again for even a moment, it was far from likely that he would be able to regain it any time soon.

If he allowed himself to bend, he would surely break.

Thus, he kept his mouth shut throughout the rest of the journey. He didn't once dare to speak, not even when the sleigh landed on the snowy ground, next to an enormous workshop that was visible only to Guardians and their specifically invited guests. The boy had to admit that the colossal building was an impressive sight, quite befitting of the Guardian of Wonder, but he didn't quite have the heart to comment on its magnificence. The reason for traveling to the workshop that morning was far too bleak, anyway.

Once the sleigh had come to a stop, Jack was the first to jump out, landing lightly on the snow. He had to admit that its soothing coldness felt far better on his bare feet (his boots had been thoroughly ruined when he had kicked them into the pool of water in his cell, and he had yet to procure a replacement pair) than the coarse sand had, but he took no time to concentrate on his relief at finally being away from the desert.

He and the others briskly made their way inside (though North stayed a bit behind to unhitch the reindeer from the sleigh), only to be met with the entire group of New Iskald refugees gathered in the entrance hall, waiting for them. Shiro and Rayla stood at the front of the cluster, though they quickly moved forward to greet the Guardians as they entered.

"What happened?" Rayla asked in a hushed tone, her eyebrows creased in worry. "You took far longer than expected...did you run into trouble?" Her concerned frown deepened considerably as her cerulean eyes swept over them, noting their small number. "...and where are the others?"

Jack looked down, staring hard at the floor and keeping completely silent. The others were quiet for some time as well, before Toothiana finally was the first to find her voice.

"...North is outside, taking care of the sleigh," she said softly, nervously clasping her hands in front of her. "But...Sandy…" Her voice broke slightly on Sandy's name, and Jack almost thought she was going to trail off and stop speaking entirely, but the fairy simply took a deep breath and gravely continued, "Sandy is...gone."

Shiro and Rayla's eyes both widened, and they shared an alarmed glance. Silence filled the room once again, though for a lesser stretch of time before it was broken by Shiro's quiet voice. "It...would seem that we have much to discuss."

A bit of an understatement, Jack thought grimly. But...it would seem so, indeed.

Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think! I'll see you in the next one!

For now, Sapphire316, out.