AN: I don't usually keep a new story on one chapter for so long. Sorry T_T''

Special Thanks To:

The Almighty Pickle Lord XD for being the first reviewer!

Guest

MetaKnightRoxMySox

Guest 2

Abby-Flourite

The One Named MoonLight

yori neko

Rosellia of Lunaris

Satoshistar7

-x-

The Dreams of Insomniacs

Constant Fears

-x-

~It shall not be death,
but a deep sleep of a hundred years,
into which the princess
shall fall~

It began with a light.

It's what led him to the window, mistaking the apartment as his own from his hazed attention. Or maybe Orion had done this on purpose, just to give Pitch a hard time.

But that wasn't his biggest problem. As Pitch Black took to the skies early that night, who better to ruin his gracious mood than Jack Frost? Or, now known to the mortal world as Jackson Winters. More on that later.

His head was already pounding, the hollow energy within him hungered for the fear of the children he denied himself the entire week in favor of April's company. But now he could take it no more, and upon following the line of the Sandman's dream sand, he tainted it's path and absorbed the child's terror as they awakened in the night.

Pitch snickered to himself. Children were just so easy to frighten. Add a rubber snake to their paradise and all hell breaks loose. An elephant to their swimming pool, a fall to their flight. Of course, Pitch was doing better now with his abilities, no longer making a child suffer in their nightmares for his mere amusement or pride. He didn't have that luxury anymore, having developed empathetic feelings towards heart-breaking phobias because of the child he now called his own. Not to mention, feeding on the nightmares of children had become a necessity for him to survive, now that he's forced to take a human form and live among the mortal world.

It was his punishment for his actions the year before.

Or had he exiled that deep part of himself in purgatory?

He came upon Jackson Winters during his rounds through Burgess, just following behind the Sandman who had finished and moved on to the next area of work. The little girl, the sister of the mortal child that brought his downfall over three years earlier was sleeping soundly on the floor of her bedroom. Sophie, her name is. And didn't Pitch find it odd that her purple dream catcher was taken down now?

He was immediately suspicious. Did the child reach the age where she believed in the boogeyman no more? Or was did she believe she was a big girl now, and no longer thought such childish superstitions could keep away her nightmares that she could so clearly handle herself?

It was a thought that plagued his mind once he slipped through the window into his bedroom. She was only 5 years old. It wasn't possible for children to stop believing at so young, was it?

Scoffing to himself, because of course children didn't lose their grasp on a magical life that young, Pitch grabbed the child by the scruff of her collar and plopped her into the cradle of his arms. He then placed her on the bed and tucked her comfortably under the covers.

She reminded him so much of April back at home. The blonde hair, her sound sleep, the way she smiled softly at nothing in particular . . .

But of course, April was much, much cuter, he thought proudly.

Sophia Bennett was dreaming about a playground. One that took place in the middle of a beautiful forest filled with fairies and rabbits that hopped all around her as she sat and played with the flowers.

How uncreative, he thought, rolling his eyes. However, compared to April's nonexistent dream world he had managed to break open a little at a time these past few months, anything would seem dull.

"The forest is such a dangerous place for a little girl," he chuckled darkly, moving his hands around the dream sand to taint it with his own. He could feel it now. Sophia's world darkened, clouds covering her sun as she turned with a gasp. The animals scattered, the flowers wilted. Something growled from the bushes, and she jumped to her feet -

Just as the best part was about to be shown, Pitch felt his trance break and was brought back to the real world. Something burned the back of his neck, and he was about to yell out in pain before a hand clasped over his mouth and muffled his voice. His body tugged backwards, back out the open window and suddenly he knew. Pitch knew this was a trap.

Crashing to the ground, Jack's body sitting on top of him, Pitch yanked the boy's hand away and glared furiously.

"Frost!" He yelled, but the boy simply grinned and held a finger to his lips.

"Will you keep it down?"

"Get off!" He grunted, shoving the boy away to sit up and rub his neck. The burn had ceased, and his skin healed, leaving no trace of the wound behind. "Was that really necessary?" he continued.

"You've been avoiding North," Jack said simply, dusting himself off once he got to his feet.

"Were you really hiding under the child's bed all night just to tell me this? Would it have really been that hard to meet in some other inconspicuous place?"

The boy scoffed. "And risk walking straight into an ambush? I don't think so," Jack held up the dream catcher - the one Pitch recognized as Sophie's.

"And yet it was you who ambushed me," Pitch tsked. "How unfair. You attacked me and I haven't even done anything to provoke you!"

"I saw what you were trying to do! I knew you couldn't resist hurting Sophie!"

"I am offended!" He said, his face open with mock offense.

Pitch's eyes narrowed, his vision adjusting easily against the darkness of the night. Jack was still in his mortal form, his white hair replaced with a chestnut-brown, and his pale skin tanner and dark. It wasn't the first time Pitch had seen Jack in this form, but that didn't mean he wasn't used to he.

Pitch had to consider himself lucky though. Unlike himself, who was brought among the immortal world by the night, Jack was stuck as a human boy during the span of the summer and spring seasons. A situation that reminded him much of the Greek myth of Persephone.

"I would never hurt the darling child! I was just showing her how dangerous it could be being all alone in the forest, is all." He circled Jack as he spoke.

Jack snorted, as if amused that such a creature as Pitch Black could mean anything that wasn't harmful to children, and crossed his arms.

"Now, why don't we cut to the chase, hmm? I doubt you brought me all the way into your . . . territory, to sting me in the neck like the troublesome wasp you are."

Jack huffed, but ignored the insult. "North has tried to contact you for several weeks now. You haven't been checking in like you promised when making the deal with Manny to turn you human."

"Ah," Pitch nodded to himself, closing his eyes as he bent down to pluck a yellow flower from the Bennett's garden. Such things always brought warm feelings inside him, and believe it or not he enjoyed the warm weather in contrast to the cold one. "I must apologize then. Must've slipped my mind. Time does move so fast, you know."

"Now, tell North," -he said the name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth-"that I have no interest in this little meeting of his - don't look so surprised, of course I know that the Counsel of All has been summoned. I am an elder member, after all."

"You can't ignore it, Pitch. When you let yourself be seen to the mortal world, placing the lives of people in danger, that power doesn't just go away. You may have suppressed to power of Jett Black now but that won't hold forever."

"'Let myself be seen'," Pitch repeated, turning sharply. "You say that as if it is so easy! If we could just 'let ourselves be seen' I'm sure you would have figured out how to do such a thing long ago! So no, don't tell me how I just 'let myself be seen' because you and I both know that it is so much more than that!"

His form expanded, and his back cracked and bent to let the hard sand consume the air around them both. Grabbing the teen with one of his tentacles, Pitch held out his hands to beckon him forward. Jack struggled, resisting the urge to let out a cry of anguish as his body was being squeezed and made it difficult to breathe. After a moment, however, Pitch's grip loosened and he was met face-to-face with the scowling boy. His lips pulled back into a snarl to show off his razor teeth.

"You don't know it, but they fear us, Jack Frost. I've seen it in their eyes. They fear what we can do and that is why they plan to keep us on this leash. Our time in the human world has taken it's toll and though we have been given our human forms to recover from that power, There is oh, so, much more."

Now, you may be angry with me and my ways, and none of you ignorant Guardians understand what it is I do, but know this, Jack Frost: Fear protects. Without fear, there would be war, and chaos and darkness!"

"Pitch!" Jack gasped for air, his legs kicking, his arms going numb, "Your eyes!"

His insides burned as he realized what was going on around him. Tentacles seeped out from under his robes and whipped wildly around them. Pitch could see his reflection in the window of the Bennett house, his eyes glowing a demonic red, and with a sharp hiss he released Jack.

Calm yourself you fool! His mind shouted.

Pitch's eyes reverted back to their golden shine. He shrunk down to his normal form and dusted off his robes like nothing happened.

"I can control my demons." he said, huffing. Jack gasped for air, still, his eyes set into a fierce glare.

"Can you control yours?"

-x-

A headache. That's what the boy was and it only made Pitch shiver in disgust when he was forced to mention that they were related in their human lives. His night was ruined, and just to spite the little pest Pitch took to the skies and frightened the other little buggers in their dreams more than he would on this night.

That only made his inner demon cry out for more, and Pitch soon found himself zooming through buildings for his life with a very angry, very grumpy Sandman on his trail.

Sending out several look-alikes, Pitch hid himself among his NightMares, riding his most true, most noble steed by the name of Orion through until he got to the safety of his neighbor hood.

The horse snorted, making a sound that wasn't too much like a scoff. Pitch's eyes furrowed, offended.

"Why you insolent-"

His horse gave another sound, much like a whine before slowing to buck the Nightmare King off his back. Pitch kept his grip, but his body flung forward painfully.

"You think I don't know that I over did it?!"

Orion stopped in front of the window to Pitch's apartment building and gave another snort, patting it's hooves against the air.

"Do I not know my limits!?" Pitch repeated its question. "Of course I'm aware - don't give me that look! You've been hanging out with her too much to be giving me that attitude!"

Orion, like many of Pitch's mares, had grown very fond of the little girl who wrapped their master around her little finger. April wasn't very sure about them at first, wondering if they were on 'those pills mommy yelled about to cousin Austin' because of their large size. But she became attached to them soon enough, and even they had trouble following their master's commands when she wanted to play with them.

Rolling his eyes, Pitch released Orion from his form and the glittering black sand disappeared into the night like the memories of a bad dream.

Giving attitude to his master. I'm going to have to talk to April about encouraging this sort of behavior.

With a last huff, Pitch pushed himself through the glass barrier and tumbled into his apartment.

Err, not his apartment.

-x-

Must the world be so cruel to a simple Nightmare King such as himself? Pitch awoke with his splitting headache dulled from last night's events. After observing himself in the mirror, he was happy to find that the large bump had nearly disappeared, and fixed his hair accordingly to cover up the unappealing area of red.

That girl, he growled as his mind replayed the night. Stupid Orion, dropping him off in front of the wrong window. But what was even more amazing was the fact that that woman - whose name he never got - could see him! Who was she? Pitch never cared to know the other neighbors, with the exception of the two girls who lived across from him, if only because he recognized April's nanny from Halloween, Jessica. Not to mention the little boy April was so fond of came over often, because much to Pitch's disdain, the other girl, Alison, was his sister.

But who else lived down the hall? April's mother mentioned a student boy on the other side, and another man whom they rarely saw lived in this hall too . . .

Getting dressed, Pitch still thought hard about if he'd seen that woman before. He didn't get a good look at her, but by the tone of her voice she was quite young. Early twenties, perhaps? The room was so dark, with nothing but a single lamp to light the room for her.

And at two o'clock in the morning, no less!

And she saw him. And threw a damned phonebook at him. He growled at the memory, a phantom headache causing him to rub his head again. He was only so lucky to make a narrow escape when a man pounded on the door, asking of the girl was all right.

Not that he was lucky, but she was. Because what power did the lowly human have over a powerful creature such as himself? It was laughable. No, really!

He might as well put his curiosity to rest. Maybe he could stop by on his way to the University, just to say hello? After all, he hasn't lived in the building long, and it would be a perfect excuse to put a face to the grown-up who can see him in his spiritual form.

And so, Pitch decided to groom himself extra well today. His hair tamed, sweeping over one eye and he made sure to put some of that special lotion mortals seemed to use to help the dark rings under his eyes (Not that Pitch bought it himself, since he was obviously too handsome enough for these human's to handle and didn't need such things, but April's mother had insisted).

Straightening his suit under his dark trench coat, Pitch made his way out into the hall just as the middle door opened.

An arm slithered out near the bottom of the door, and Pitch rose an eyebrow curiously as he made his way over to observe more closely. He could see her more clearly now, the woman who caught him off guard was kneeling on the ground to reach the brown paper bag of delivered groceries. Her dark hair was straight and the color of her freckled skin was faded, as if she hadn't seen the light of day in ages.

Curious, Pitch walked into her line of sight, using his foot to graciously sweep across the floor and into her reach. The hand froze, and for a moment the woman shook her head and slowly looked up. Hair moving from her eyes, he could see that they were an odd shade of gunmetal blue, with a small, almost unnoticeable beauty mark under her left eye.

Pitch flashed a dazzling smile, one he knew charmed the other female professors at work. But her reaction wasn't one he expected. Her face flushed a deep, deep red and before he knew it, she snatched the bag and slammed the door.

He blinked once. Twice.

"Don't take it personally. 302 doesn't do well with new people. Or, really, people in general."

Pitch nearly jumped back from surprise. A messy blond-haired-grey-eyed man stood in front of the neighboring apartment, leaning against it with his arms crossed and a foot flat against the door. He was slightly taller than Pitch, with a wide-set jaw and a crooked smirk that rivaled Pitch's charming smile. How old would Pitch say he was? Late 30's, early 40's?

"I'm Lucas Pride. You're the new guy, 306, right? Haven't seen you much since you moved in - hell, I don't think I've seen you move in. Just sorta appeared there, didn't ya?" he shifted to both feet and held out his hand to shake. Pitch cautiously took it, looking back to his apartment to see the numbers 306 embedded on his door in silver to make sense of the nickname.

He laughed at Pitch's confusion. "'tis ai'ight, this floor is kind of the housing of the recluse. All of us do our own thing and don't really see much o'eachother anyway. At least I don't, though I have met Lily when she first moved in. Tiny thing like her trying to haul a huge box up 'ere and nearly fell down the stairs."

"Kieran. Kieran Lightman." was all Pitch said. He remembered April's mother telling him about 'the handsome man down the hall' after he helped her unload the moving truck. Pitch didn't care much for the information then.

"And who is . . .?" he refered to the woman's apartment.

Lucas nodded. "302 there is Amelia. Sweet gal, though a bit on the," he tilted his head, as if trying to find the right word, "well, I wouldn't know how to describe her, but she doesn't very much like people. Or going outside. 'Agoraphobia', she once told me - and only because we've lived here a couple years longer than the rest o'ya. Nearly took off my hand when we first met, slammin' the door. I work all night, ya'see, and even though she has insomnia, Amelia doesn't really expected visitors at that time of night."

Lucas subconsciously rubbed his wrist, chuckling at himself. "Bit of a shock when she opened the door and found me half bloodied from a fight I got scraped into." he sighed. "though it comes with the job, I suppose."

For a moment, Pitch wondered what exactly this man did to get himself beat up by others. Judging by his outfit, he looked to wear a sort of uniform, though not a formal suit a professor like himself wore. More like a . . .

A bartender?

"Amelia, huh?" Pitch said curiously, deciding not to care about the man's occupation.

-x-

Curiosity. Pure curiosity brought Pitch to Amelia's apartment again that night. Her curtains were drawn through her window, but he could still see a light flickering on and off.

"Just what is she doing?" he wondered aloud. Orion snorted, kicking his front legs up.

"Don't think I forgot about what you did last night," Pitch growled before nudging his mare forward. Orion rolled his eyes, much to Pitch's annoyance, but complied.

Light on. Light off. Was this a game the human woman was playing? He didn't know. But Pitch chose the split second she let the room encase in darkness to slip through her window, silently crawling her ceiling like a spider; quick and nimble.

The girl looked distressed, staring at her hand hidden under the lampshade as if it were about to bite her. Relentless, she flipped the switch and loud out a squeal before flicking it back on.

Pitch rose an eyebrow. What an odd ritual, he thought.

Orion poked his head through the window, the curtain hiding his large head, and let out a nick of annoyance. He didn't expect his master to make him wait outside and do nothing, did he?

The girl stopped, hearing a strange noise as Pitch face-palmed. He narrowed his eyes at his steed, sending a silent warning for the animal to keep quiet and snapped his fingers. The horse burst into smoke, a large, black spider taking its place, and scaled the wall to meet his master. The horse-now-spider moved in a way of displeasure.

'Oh, stop your complaining,' Pitch told Orion. 'If you wish to join me than you shall do as I say!'

"Who's there?" Amelia called out, her eyes darting from the corners of her room as she curled on her mattress. Pitch chuckled to himself, eyes glimmering in amusement. He let the pitter-patter sound of Orion's legs clacking against the ceiling amplify.

Time for some payback.

Pitch ordered Orion to make himself seen. It crawled right above her, and using its newfound abilities, the arachnid lowered itself with a spin of it's thread and swung right in front of her face.

Her face paled, and Pitch grinned. Such a simple trick; the oldest in the book!

Amelia gave a bloodcurdling scream, swung her body off the mattress and crawled backwards, her breathing heavy.

"Oh, come on!" She yelled out, suddenly rubbing her head and arms to check for any other spider friends.

"Okay, Amelia," she gulped to herself, her eyes still on offending arachnid. "Just find a tissue a-and . . . smashitwithyourpillow!"

Oh, brother. Pitch rolled his eyes. Flattening his body to the cornered shadows and gliding down the wall behind Amelia, he let more of the mysterious clatter trail along the ceiling. She looked up, frightened, then left, then right -

Pitch pulled the full top of his body out from the wall, leaned down by her ear with a sinister smirk, and whispered ever so softly . . .

"Boo."

A/N: Yay! Chapter 2 is done! I posted this story forgetting that I haven't completed it's timeline, so that's what held me back, lol I'm sorry!

Next Time on The Dreams of Insomniacs:
Amores was a very handsome man, but with the grace very much like a female's. Pitch had to wonder for a moment if there was a definite gender to this particular spirit known as 'Cupid'.
"The love between a mortal and an immortal can only end in tragedy," he says.
Pitch licks his lips and forms a feral grin.. "And what fun that would be."