Dread had settled into the pits of their stomachs at the words. They had failed. The timestream was now going to go into disarray. How could they have let this happen? How did it even come to this?

:The hoard came out of no where.: Sandy signed above his head, his eyes flashing with frantic worry.

"They overwhelmed me… we failed… I failed." Pitch admitted, his small head hung low to avoid gazes.

FrostLight shook his head, determination gleaming in his eyes. "No! We're still here! That has to mean something!" he huffed, his breath appearing in front of him as a light mist in the cold.

:Maybe we have a chance to fix everything?:

"But what can we do? I've lost most if not all of my power."

"We might be down one, but we have to go on."

"What's going on?!" Katherine asked, her voice slightly higher than a whisper, the panic more than evident in her features. All heads snapped onto the girl and she slightly backed off in fear.

"She's afraid." Pitch had said from the palm of Sandy's hand where he sat perched, the black sand that made him up shifting around. He said it as more of a warning than a statement, a quiet curse coming from the miniaturised Boogeyman.

Katherine shuddered, pulling North and Ombric closer to herself protectively. Her eyes were fearful as they moved between the three of them. There was a moment of silence then the astral boy walked closer, making the girl move back in fear, no longer trusting the boy who she thought was her friend.

Was he working with Pitch? How could he? She trusted him! Trusted him with her own life and yet here he was conversing with the very man that had hurt her adoptive dad and older brother figure! She trusted him, just as much as Ombric did! But what of the time they had spent together? Played together? Laughed together? Was it all a trick to get close to them? But then, if it was, why was he helping her? Was it just a way to gain trust? Could she even trust him now? What of the moonbeams?

"Katherine," He started, his voice soft and soothing, his glow even more so as he crouched right in front of her. She looked away from him, not wanting to let him see the tears of hurt that were starting to flow from her eyes. The tears of hurt she let loose at the thought of their friendship being nothing but a lie.

Seeing him reach out a hand, Katherine instantly curled herself around North and Ombric, not wanting to let go of them as she closed her eyes so as to not see whatever the spectral boy was to do. She didn't want to accept it. She wasn't going to accept that her friend was betraying her. She was afraid. Afraid of losing the people she cared about. Afraid that she had been so gullible to believe in a lie. Most importantly, she was afraid to look at the face that once made her smile, the face that made her happy despite the situation. She was afraid to look and see an enemy instead of a dear friend.

What she didn't expect was the gentle fingers that brushed against her cheek, wiping away tears that had already fallen. In an instant, her eyes snapped open and she could see the pale blue fingers that rested on her cheek, still gathering the falling tears. Slowly they moved, going over to the other side to wipe away the tears there as well before she followed the movement of the hand to the boy in front of her.

His light was so dim that she could clearly see the small specks that dotted his skin. His hair no longer flowed in an invisible wind and instead stayed put. But what made her let out a quiet gasp were his eyes. His ethereal green almost blue eyes. They were glossy, and she could see the beginnings of his own tears, yet he held them back.

"Katherine…" he started again, his voice as quiet as a whisper and echoey, yet loud and clear to her ears. "There is little time to explain everything… I know you're scared right now but you're going to be alright… but you have to believe in me." his voice had wavered slightly at the last part, and yet still held an urgency she could not ignore.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she sniffled and shuffled in place, her gaze never breaking from the astral boy's own gaze. "...promise?"

He smiled softly at that, pulling the hand that had wiped away the tears closer to his chest and held it close to his heart in a tight fist. That action caused a bright light to emanate from his chest- no, his hand where suddenly, there formed a crystal. It was a crystal that glowed almost as brightly as the one on the boy's spear, and definitely just as big, but this one looked more like a dagger.

He brought up the tip and started to trail an X above where his heart should be, leaving a glowing mark on his chestplate. "On my soul." His voice was still quiet but it was more determined. She couldn't help but believe him.

The new crystal dagger was then offered to her, and she felt safe once again. But she was still afraid.

The astral boy blinked away his tears and plastered on a determined look as he got up to his feet. Moving to the entrance of the cave, the boy of light twirled his spear around once and out flew the moonbeam that lived in its tip before he faced everyone in the cave.

"Sandy, Pitch. Keep them safe." He commanded, earning nods from the dreamweavers before turning to face his moonbeam with a wide mischievous grin. "We're going to go play chase!" and with that, he laughed and rushed out, glowing brightly as he did so to catch the attention of any straggling fearlings.

Katherine had watched FrostLight leave, amazed at how he could still laugh at a time like this. She wondered if it was because he was used to the fearlings, or if he wasn't afraid at all. At that thought, she held the doll forms of Ombric and North closer, wrapping them up in her coats and scarves along with the dagger she had received.

Carefully, she inspected the crystal in her hand. It was beautiful, shimmering slightly in the dim light that was coming from the golden man not too far away. She wondered how it had appeared for a second before her attention was called by the familiar voice of Pitch.

"He's afraid, you know…" he said quietly, having not moved at all from his perch on the Sandman's palm as the man of sand moved and directed the reindeers to pull up snow to cover up the cave until there was only a small lookout hole left. "We all are." Katherine couldn't suppress the disbelieving snort that escaped her. The Nightmare King? Afraid? That was ridiculous. He was the embodiment of fear itself! He can't be afraid!

"Oh, but it is true. Everyone fears something. Even I…"

"But you're the Boogeyman- the Nightmare King!" she retorted, snuggling up against the warm bodies of the reindeers who crowded around her.

"Yes, that I am. But I do have a fear."

"Oh? And what would that be?" she snapped at him, her voice quiet.

"I'm afraid of losing the only thing that matters to me."

"Power?"

"In a sense… if you could call family a source of strength." that made Katherine look up to face the two dreamweavers, intrigue in her eyes.

"You have a family…?"

"...yes…" he paused for a moment, as if revisiting old memories, or trying to recall them. Sandy smiled softly, flashing an image of two girls, one smaller than the other which Pitch eyed for a moment before nodding. "Apparently, I had a wife and a daughter…"

"Apparently?" She sat up straight, making sure that North and Ombric stayed safe inside her coats. "What do you mean by that?"

"It is a long tale…"

"Well, we have all night…" At that, Pitch turned to look at the Sandman who smiled gently and nodded, causing the shade to sigh in defeat.

"Truth be told, child, I do not remember much of the time before I became Pitch Black…"

"You weren't always the nightmare king?"

Sandy chuckled softly, shaking his head as images appeared above his head. :He was actually the greatest general of the golden age. It was just unfortunate circumstances that he was taken over by the fearlings.:

Katherine blinked, deciphering the pictograms after a minute before nodding slowly and eyeing Pitch. "Ombric had told us, but I never truly believed it."

Pitch huffed half-heartedly, crossing his tiny arms over his chest as he made himself comfortable on the sandman's shoulder. "It has been a few… well, a very long time since then. I am no longer that fierce general that protected the golden age… I do not remember much of it as the fearlings that had overtaken me then have corrupted and buried those memories so deep that I no longer can recall any if at all."

"But you remember you have a family, right?"

"Yes… but now, I have a new one."

"A new family?"

"Indeed. Much like you and that old wizard, my family now consists of the ones who are willing to help guide me back to a better future." her gaze softened at those words. It was odd. She had always imagined and saw Pitch as some kind of terrifying force that would do anything to gain power, but talking to him like this, now, made her realise that maybe it wasn't Pitch who was to be feared. In fact he was a pleasant person to talk to.

A yawn soon escaped the girl as sleep started to take hold of her senses. More often than not, she was more than capable of staying awake, however, with the rush of adrenaline fading from her and the biting cold of the Himalayan night settling into her small form, sleep was starting to get harder and harder to stave off.

Sandy frowned at watching the girl struggle as she snuggled up against the reindeers and the dolls. "Dear… seems the child is tired." Pitch spoke out loud, his voice smooth as always, though there was the barest hints of fondness to his words. From the corner of her eye, she saw Sandy shake his head with a weak smile before conjuring up a stream of gold that snaked towards her before her world got dark. In an instant she was asleep, the dolls and dagger clutched close to herself protectively.

As for North, he was wide awake. Although he could not move, could not speak, he could hear and see. His mind was racing with many thoughts at once. He was both thinking about the predicament they were in- Pitch Black was right there and still he could not do anything. Little Katherine was in a dark and damp cave with their enemy and yet he found himself seeming to calm a bit after the conversation he had heard between them.

Now north's focus was on Katherine's coat. Was it thick enough? Katherine shuddered in her sleep as if to answer his question. He could imagine the coat he was going to make for Katherine if they ever made it back to Big Root by using an old Cossack technique he had learned many years ago. Another round of shudders wracked the sleeping child's body. She was cold, colder than any child should be.

He wondered if there was anything the stranger of a glowing man could do to help her. And to North's great relief, he did do something. Sandy had conjured up a blanket made of golden sand, carefully wrapping her up in it. North watched with joy as Katherine seemed to relax further and let out a breath of contentment at the extra warmth. And warm it was! Like sand on a beach he had visited in summer during the middle of the day!

"Is she dreaming, Sanderson?" North had heard Pitch ask the other man in a hushed whisper.

"Good… she needs the rest…" it didn't take North too long to follow the young girl into the land of dreams due to the warmth the blanket had provided him with as well.

Katherine was coming and going in her dreams. A kind of dream that children have, like a storybook where one watches events unfold like a movie that starred someone dear to the dreamer. The dream she was having was of North as a hero of a thousand adventures. He was not a wizard or a thief or a warrior, but a powerful figure of unending mirth, mystery, and magic, who lived in a city surrounded by snow.

Yet this was no ordinary dream, as it was a dream that was now shared with the ex-cossack in the girl's arms. He had begun to see Katherine's dream for him as he stood in a city of snow with a flurry of activity, happy and at home. He had realised with a growing awe that this was how the little girl viewed him, how she had depicted him in the drawing that was placed within the Djinni's chest box.

And so it became his dream as well. Became a part of himself that he was going to strive towards. It had made its place in his heart and now it would never die.

All of a sudden, the dream had ended and all he could see was black. He was awake, he knew, but he could not see anything through the coat that covered his eyes. There was a blast of cold air. Then shouts, and he was being jerked up. He could hear the furious neighing of the reindeers and the sound of hooves and antlers clattering against metal. He could also hear the sounds of a whip cracking. Must be the strange man , North thought. But then a dawning realisation struck him. They were found.

AN: hey everyone from ffn! so um, i may or may not have forgotten to post on here... BUT! you'll be happy to know that i will now upload the rest of the chapters here too since its all up on AO3 anyway! i hope you enjoy reading! :D