The night air was peaceful, calming, and even the wind fluttered gently to keep the tranquility from breaking.

Four teens slept soundly within the comforting environment, though their fire had gone out a while ago. It didn't bother them as they were so buried in their mounds of quilts, blankets, and coverings that the cold the youngest of them was producing didn't faze them in the slightest.

Jack- still asleep -shifted suddenly, disrupting the relaxing pull of the earth. A quiet gasp interrupted the wind in her dance and called upon a hesitant worry. Several attempts to wake the obviously distressed child were proven vain so wind began the daunting take of rousing one of the humans. Perhaps they could wake her companion from his nightmare.

Hiccup was attacked first, a huge gust of wind forcing Toothless to startle to a stand and leave the teen to tumble to the hard ground. After far too long- in wind's opinion –the Viking's eyes burst open to reveal hazy, confused orbs that searched his surroundings for a moment, trying to figure out what had woken him. Another burst of cold air snapped him into focus as Jack's whimpers were carried along the breeze.

Leaping into action, Toothless rushed towards the sprite while Hiccup made quick work of waking the girls and sliding to his knees beside the now-thrashing child. It took a few moments before Rapunzel was able to drag herself and Merida over to them, but Hiccup had long before begun to shake Jack awake by his thin shoulders. Much to their surprise, it didn't work.

Licking (Toothless), yelling (Rapunzel), slapping (Merida), and more shaking (Hiccup) followed, but the boy was still asleep. They all shared a frantic look, hoping that maybe one of the others would have an idea and yet Jack remained trapped in his nightmare.

It hadn't started out bad; just a little…off.

He had been instigating a snowball fight with a group of children unable to see him. Of course, this didn't put too much of a damper on his fun as he darted between their ever-moving bodies and created more ammunition for them to use. He even tossed a few of his own.

The game continued until he heard a young girl scream from nearby. In an instant, he was moving towards the sound; pictures of a child in trouble hurrying his soundless steps. When he found the source of the noise, his breath stopped.

A young girl, no more than 8, was balancing dangerously on a thin sheet of ice that covered the lake he called home. Ice-skates donned her quivering feet as she cried out again in fear. The more she shook, the more the ice cracked, causing her to shake even harder; it was a vicious cycle that would only end in her death if he didn't do something to save her.

Ideas flowed through his mind. He couldn't freeze the ice or her feet would get stuck in the water that was already pooling around her skates. If he tried to pull her off the ice himself, he would only pass through her as he couldn't be touched. His last bet was to grant her a way to save herself. This option was cleared as his darting eyes landed on his staff laying innocently in the center of the pond, just beyond the girl's reach. If he could get her his staff, she could lay it sideways and at least keep on the surface of the ice until he could get help.

Deep within his mind, he realized he should be confused as to why he didn't have his trusty staff with him as he had only moments ago, but his thoughts were too focused on the task at hand and the dwindling time he had to save her.

As terrible as the situation was, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of deja-vu at the sight. Pushing passed the feeling he unfroze his motionless feet from the ground and joined the girl on the ice knowing his weight would not affect the reflective surface any more than it did the snow he trekked without footprint. He was soon standing firmly before her, hoping for everything he was that she could just see him. Much to his dismay, she couldn't.

Regardless of his invisibility, he spoke as if she could hear his reassuring voice trying to cheer her up.

"I know you're scared, but you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in." As if in response to his words, the girl's breathing seemed to calm ever so slightly, so he continued, forced excitement gleaming through his words. "We're gonna have a little fun instead! Trust me! Would I trick you?"

"You always play tricks."

He stopped. She answered. Her voice was quiet, like she was talking to herself, but it was far too close to a response for him to let it pass. Light burst into his core at the thought of being heard; of being seen, however, he curbed his elation. Now was not the time to be distracted.

"Well, not…not this time. I promise. I promise, you're gonna be...you're gonna be fine," he paused, almost not even wanting to continue. "You have to believe in me."

As the words cross his lips, he instantly regrets them. Of course she's not going to believe; she can't even see him. He needed to focus, getting the staff and guiding towards her. Much to his bafflement, however, the young girl slowly looks up until her fear-filed, brown eyes are level with his own blue orbs.

She heard him. She sees him.

Time slows; stops even as he waits for her to speak, nod, breathe, anything to show that she trusted him to help.

With just two words, his world shattered around him like glass.

"I don't." Her voice was as cold and clear as the message those two sounds gave, but that didn't stop him from trying.

"Please, let me help you," he pleaded through the tears pooling in his eyes. He tried yet again to hand her the staff, but she wouldn't take it

She shook her head, only then did he realize her feet weren't shaking anymore. "I don't believe in you. You can't save me. You can't save anyone. You make a mess wherever you go." Each word seared into his core like a brand, snuffing out the light that her acknowledgment had brought to him, yet she continued. "No one sees you. Who would even want to? Your powers kill people. You're the reason no one likes the winter."

The ice under her began to crack ominously through her accusations and he pushed passed the pain to rush closer to her. Even this cruel taunting couldn't keep him from caring for a child. He had only closed half the distance when the young girl was sucked under the clear surface with earth shattering last words.

"This is your fault."

He landed heavily on the re-frozen ice, left to peer in at the floating shape of the disappearing girl whose large, brown eyes never closed. Instead, they were left staring accusingly up at him, her would-be savior.

His breathing picked up to dangerous levels of gasping pants, he shoved himself away from the sight onto his backend before he continued to push himself farther across the pond, but with each movement, the surface grew longer. It was as if he wasn't moving at all as he looked down to see the girl's haunting face once again.

A scream tore its way out of his throat quickly silenced by a long, black shadow rising up from the dark depths beneath the falling child. Unable to move from shock, he could only watch as it wrapped itself around his wrist in a painful grip. More followed its example and seen he was left struggling with darkness circling both ankles and his one wrist.

Pulling at the tendrils with his free hand, he could do nothing to stop the shadows from pressing him harder into the cracking ice. The moment the glass broke, the darkness wasted no time in dragging its prey down towards the girl who was reaching up to him with a deranged smile. He pulled and thrashed, and fought with all he had, but he all-too-soon was running out of air and strength.

Casting one last look back at the fading surface, he tried to free his hand so he could thrust it towards the moon's glowing light as if searching for help that he knew deep down wouldn't come. Pain came along with gasping breaths only collecting frigid water in his starving, burning lungs. A cacophony of overbearing noise pounded in his ears sounding like a fading heartbeat and screams calling his name, but that was impossible on both accounts.

His heart didn't beat; he was dead.

And no one would call his name; he didn't exist.

The last of his strength faded along with the ever disintegrating spark of hope he had held so close.

Darkness took him.

He woke gasping for air and shooting up off the ground.

Holding his staff to his chest like a security blanket, he stumbled away from the confused figures that had him surrounded.

Breaths came too quickly filling his lungs so unevenly that left him coughing violently and falling to his knees in weakness. His staff fell with him though he no longer had the strength to reach out for its calming presence.

As of sensing his need for the relic, Rapunzel was quick to push it closer to the child who snatched it away from her as if afraid she would take it from him.

Nothing was said for some time. The barn remained silent save for Jack's shivering pants and the occasional sweep of wind passing as if she was checking on her cold companion. Eventually, the quiet became too overbearing for the eternal child's patience and he let out a breathy chuckle.

"Good morning," he greeted as if nothing had happened. "I didn't take you lot for being early risers."

Taking a page from the boy's book, Merida seemed to have no problem dancing around the subject no one wanted to begin. "Tha's because 'm not. Should be ah rule against gettin' up before the sun." She stood up and stretched her arms above her head before mumbling something about going back to sleep. In a few short minutes, she had curled back into her bundle and filled the chilly air with even snoring.

Normally, the red-head's antics would have brought at least a chuckle, but neither human could even spare a smile. Jack, picking up on their emotions, found himself unable to resist shifting uncomfortably under their intense gazes.

Rubbing a nervous hand across the back of his neck, winter's child cleared his throat loudly. "I think I'm going to go for a quick flight. I'll be back soon." His voice was unsure and awkward, but his new friends didn't stop him from calling the wind and disappearing into the darkness beyond the absent door, though Toothless did follow the boy into the clearing and settled in the grass to await his return.

Left to sit in the silence, Rapunzel was the first to break it, though her voice was soft in respect for their serene surroundings. "Was that…a nightmare?"

Hiccup nodded, still staring after Jack. "Yeah, it had to of been," he paused for a while in thought. "Though, I've never seen one so violent before." The memory of Jack's thrashing and screaming form was still fresh in his mind.

"What could it have been about to make him react like that?" the princess wondered absently.

"I almost don't want to know…"

She shivered, the air around them seeming to decrease despite the winter sprite's absence. A thought then crossed her mind; one that had been bothering her for some time. "Hiccup?" she began uncertainly, "Last night, when we returned…did you see…and just then when he first opened his eyes…" The girl trailed off as she found no words to describe what she had witnessed.

Hiccup, however, didn't need any more prompting than that. "It was like there was a shadow in his eyes. I can't begin to wonder what it was, but I'm almost positive it has something to do with the Nightmare King."

"He looked so sad," Rapunzel added softly. There was a moment of pause between them before she continued. "When we were leaving the village with our supplies, a boy approached us. I thought nothing of it until he became aggressive, but Jack's expression made it seem like he could sense the danger. He stopped the boy by knocking him to the ground and freezing him there before he could do any harm. Some kind of darkness clouded Jack's eyes…he smiled…like he was happy to be hurting the boy. I stopped him from going any further and when he snapped out of whatever had taken him, he looked at me like…I've never seen a more frightened child. It was as if Jack believed I would hate him…or attack. That same shadow crossed his eyes as he begged for forgiveness; for understanding. I didn't hesitate to reassure him that there was nothing to forgive, but he didn't seem to hear me until I hugged him. After that, he changed like night and day; one minute broken, the next as lighthearted as ever."

A crease formed on the Viking's brow as he considered the possibilities regarding their new friend, but nothing came to mind. "I don't understand," he finally admitted, "I can imagine that his solitude make him a bit distrusting and cautious as would his meeting with Pitch before anyone else. His ability to switch moods could be connected to the fact that he's still young at heart and attacking a threat just proves that he's protective. He's lived through wars and more than likely seen the worst humanity has to offer, but can still- somehow –see light in the world which is more than almost anyone else could accomplish. What I can't wrap my mind around are these shadows." Hiccup stood and began to pace the room, the gears in his mind running furiously as his boots made soft thuds with each step. "From the way they interacted, I can assume Pitch and Jack had some kind of history, but that was explained as just a brief meeting. I can't help but feel that, while this really was the second time they met, there's something else between them that even Jack is unaware of. Then again, with Jack's ability to hide his emotions so well, one can only guess."

"Pitch was able to get Jack to give in with so few words, but he doesn't seem to be the type to quit so easily," Rapunzel mused, recalling the one-sided conversation they heard from the shade earlier and following her pacing friend with bright eyes. "What if Jack doesn't know it's Pitch? I think he's afraid of himself…or at least something he tries not to think about. If Pitch can remind him of whatever it is, or amplify it even, Jack might be even more afraid to face him."

"That's…a good point," Hiccup blinked, "Legend states the Nightmare King has the ability to read people's fears and use them to create nightmares, but if what you say it right..."

"Then Jack could be in a lot more trouble than we thought." The statement came from behind them, causing them both to spin around to face Merida who was now sitting up in her bed, arms around her raised knees, and wide awake.

Before anything else could be said, a strange chill permeated the air around them. The darkness began to shift within the corners of the barn, drawing the humans closer together until they were standing in a circle with their backs together. None of them had weapons as they were still sheathed in their blankets that were now covered with the murky shadows. Continuing to converge on the defenseless teens, the unseen enemy chuckled at the fear he could feel rolling off of them, but he soon found his fun cut short when a bright, blue light chased the darkness into the far reaches of the building.

"Jack!" the three humans cheered gratefully as the sprite slice through one of the many upper windows followed by the dragon's dark form bursting through a thick line of shadows that had prevented his interference earlier.

A tight smile- geared toward the humans –crossed the boy's lips before his expression was set in a determined glare cast at a certain corner as Toothless growled in the same direction. Seeing nothing there, the teens were just about to ask what the two were looking at when a tall figure stepped away from the writhing darkness. Jack was quick to move, placing himself between Pitch and the humans.

"Hello again, Jackson."

No one missed the way Jack's tense shoulders shivered at the slithering voice or the way the boy's own words were lightly trembling. "What do you want, Pitch?"

The shade chuckled again at the terror within the boy. "I was just coming to check on you. After that nightmare you must be quite shaken, but you give off such delicious fear I just couldn't help it."

"Forgive me for not believing you," the frostling scoffed, tightening his hold on his staff that was now level with the shadowed form in front of him.

Careless to the implied threat, Pitch lifted an idle hand and began to twist the shifting darkness around his hand absently. Sighing as if exasperated, he spoke in a dark voice without taking his piercing gaze off of the sprite. "You have a very bad habit of getting in my way, but I should expect this from one so useless." Jack flinched at the insult as if he had been struck, though the shade continued. "Centuries of being ignored have no doubt influenced your incessant need for attention and yet I somehow expected a higher maturity from you. All these years and the truth still hasn't quite been discovered; no one wants to you."

"That's not true!" Rapunzel cried out, but winter's child seemed unable to hear her as his fearful, blue eyes widened in horror.

He curled himself around his staff as if seeking protection, though it did nothing to stop the onslaught of Pitch's words. Subconsciously, Jack knew they weren't true, but that reassurance lie far too deep; hidden beneath his insecurities. The hissing voice of doubt within his mind let every insult settle in each crack of hope his new friends had created until it festered like an untreated wound. "Listen, Jackson, he's telling you the truth."

"Then again, it's in your nature you destroy everything you touch. You just can't help but make a mess wherever you go." His shadow-play had stopped as his voice took on a taunting confidence that proved to the humans he was choosing every word carefully. "Even your creator turned his back on you after deeming you unworthy of his precious time. It must be maddening; having your dreams held so closely in front of you and yet never within reach."

Jack finally had enough. "Stop it!" he cried, covering his ears with tightly clenched fists and backing away on trembling legs. Had it not been for Toothless' sudden appearance behind him the boy would have fallen to the ground.

The Night Fury was immensely confused. Why was his tribe's new hatchling acting as if he was injured when the threat hadn't begun his attack? Was it an invisible assault? If so, why were his other pack-mates not interfering? He could understand that the evil man in the corner was insulting their cub, but he was at loss as to why the words were allowed to continue. He had witnessed his human defend himself from such things so why was he not assisting someone else?

Unable to figure out what was going on, Toothless took it upon himself to act out on his tribe's failure to protect their new kin. Growling dangerously at the shade, he bared his teeth in warning while simultaneously placing himself in front of his new human and wrapping the cub in his wing. He had already claimed this cub by covering him in his scent; the enemy should know better than to harm any pack-mates of a dragon such as he.

Yet another surprise to the dragon was the aura of unsure hesitance permeating the air around the frostling while he was being guarded. Toothless could only assume that the boy didn't expect any assistance which only brought a darker anger into the beast. Why would he think a Night Fury of his power would stand aside as the youngest of his tribe was tormented? This was yet another moment when the dragon desperately wished he could speak to humans if for nothing more than to scold them harshly for not coming to the cub's aid.

If they wouldn't defend the cub, than Toothless would.