Hi guys! This chapter is a little shorter than the previous, but I believe is as intense and even more. I thank you again for following the story up to this point and I hope you all like the way things are going. I feel the end is nearing, so look forward to it. I'll try to update as soon as I can because now I am in school and such. Now here is chapter six. Enjoy!

Chapter Six

Jack woke up with a throbbing headache. He opened his eyes slowly and tried to stand up, only to fall back on his knees again. He looked around and found himself in a narrow path surrounded by rocks. He looked up and saw the giant slope he had been rolling down from and his memories of last night returned fast. He tried to stand up and he didn't let himself fall. He couldn't allow that for he needed to get back to the village and fast. Pitch had spread his nightmares and no one was safe anymore. He looked up at the sky and realized it was already day time, which worried him greatly. Luckily he would make it back by sundown, although he doubted he would with his body in that condition. There were no broken bones, but there sure were many injuries that started to bleed as soon as he started to move.

He tried to climb the slope back up, finding it an extremely difficult task at the moment. He tried to look around for another way besides climbing and he saw a path covered by the bushes. He saw where it was headed and decided he would take longer to reach his home if he take that detour, but he had no other choice; he simply couldn't climb. He walked slowly, lacking the support of his staff which he had lost in the running the night before. He stopped only one time when he found a stream and he drank from it. He also washed his wounds, trying to prevent an infection. Although if the infection was already there, little would it helps to wash it. He also grabbed some berries from a bush and ate after making sure they weren't poisonous. He managed to arrive back to his home way past sundown, as he had anticipated when he took the detour. He couldn't see much, but he could make out black sand coming from many of the houses of the children he knew and cared about. Many were at the bonfire with him. He had to do something. He took a step forward to head to his house and look for something to fight with and to make sure his sister was okay.

"Going somewhere?" A voice asked in the darkness. Jack recognized it as Pitch's. He turned around fast and moved his way, angrier at him than ever and forgetting for a moment about his fears.

"Get out of my town. Leave the children alone," Jack said in a low and dangerous tone, the thread tainting all the words.

"What if I don't?" Pitch resorted, knowing Jack had no weapon. "How are you going to fight me without this?" He asked sarcastically, slowing down the speed on his voice on the word 'fight' to let know Jack he was mocking him, that Pitch didn't even consider him a serious threat. Then he showed Jack his staff, swinging it in his hands without a care in the world. Jack growled and gritted his teeth in frustration. "What happens? Do I leave you that speechless?" Pitch mocked again, clearly enjoying himself.

Rage won over Jack and he threw himself at Pitch, hoping to hit him in the gut and get his staff back. However, a rope made out of black sand appeared out of nowhere and tied itself around Jack's ankles, making him trip. Then it enlarged itself and tied itself more around the boy's frame. Soon the rope had him unable to move, the only part free of sand being his head. Pitch chuckled coldly and a shiver ran down Jack's spine. He was completely under Pitch's mercy, and that was not something pretty. Jack struggled with the rope, feeling his force fading under the nightmares, and then feeling hopeless. And then, just as he looked up, he saw Pitch standing in front of him. He didn't have time to mutter a single word before Pitch sprinkled him with his dark sand and Jack fell asleep into a dream full of nightmares and fear.

And so Jack dreamt. He dreamt of his life, as Jackson Overland and as Jack Frost. He saw in his dreams all the bad moments he had to endure on his own, all the deceptions he ever felt, all the betrayals. Then, some of Pitch's trick was to use his memories against him, turning his ever good sister into a jealous girl who always told Jack awful stuff about how great would it have been if he had really drowned; after all, now she would have all the attention for herself and wouldn't be teased by his jerky older brother. Pitch was resourceful, and he didn't hold back on torturing Jack. When he finally woke up, he was feeling as exhausted as if he hadn't sleep in a century. His body was sore, still tied up, and it hurt from the injuries he got the day before. The day before…? Had another day already go by? Jack didn't know and he had no way of figuring out. He needed to get out of there, but he was still unable to move even a finger. He could feel the sand crawling into his open wounds, which disgusted him and hurt him even more.

Then he took a look around his surroundings. He was in a dark place he recognized, he was twice there before and he had hoped he wouldn't have to return never again: Pitch's hole. Jack realized he didn't have the black sand up to his neck anymore, it only reached his chest, and his legs were free except for the still tied ankles. Jack was also attached to a big pole behind him, with his back pressed tightly against it. Jack groaned as he tried to move something and he just couldn't. He had lost sensibility in his libs due to the lack of blood circulation.

"I see you are finally awake," Pitch's voice startled him. "I enjoyed you better in your sleep. The fear my nightmares gave you was so delightfully exquisite," he told Jack in teasing tone.

"What do you want Pitch?" Jack yelled at him, fury, anger, hate, sorrow, fear; all those emotions present in his voice.

"I thought you would have figured it out already," Pitch replied with false disappointment. "But, if you insist," in an instant he was arm length from Jack, using the shadows all over the place to travel from one place to another. "I want my revenge on you, Jack Frost, as well as on the guardians. At the same time I might even get ten times as stronger, isn't it wonderful?" he mocked Jack, who just scowled at him. "Oh, what's with the face? I haven't even told you the story leading up to this moment, have I? How rude of me, I apologize."

Pitch's constant mocking was pushing Jack over the edge. He felt silent anger boil up within him and in the very depths of his sous he thought he felt a tiny bit of cold. Still he had yet to realize this. Pitch didn't notice, or if he did he ignored it, having Jack pinned against a wall didn't make him a threat anymore; that without even counting the fact that he was human and powerless. Pitch would enjoy so much of this.

"It all begins with the Man in the Moon, as always" the king of nightmares continued. "He had this test planned for a young new guardian. He talked to the Master of Time, another ironically timeless being with power over time as you had over wind. According to them, everything that happens in the world could have happened differently; for example, a path with many roads to take. If someone walks down the farthest path, the other don't disappear; that someone could still return and take any of the others," Pitch let his words sink in, hoping it would shed some light on the subject for little human Jack.

On his part, Jack wanted to smack himself against the wall repeatedly for being that idiot. How could he have forgotten the test? They had talked about it the night before he winded up at his home! How could he have been so clueless all that time? Pitch, sensing the discomfort on Jack, just grinned and carried on.

"The Master of Time decided to help the Man in the Moon by isolating the needed time frame and create from there an alternate dimension in which the time could flow without being interrupted by the other events in time and space. On the meantime, the Man in the Moon went to you and locked up your powers as the winter spirit deeply inside yourself, to make sure you didn't unlock them by accident. That way he turned you back almost completely into a human and put you in the time frame he needed you. Then the test began." Jack was astonished and amazed by the story. He didn't know anyone could ever bend time and space at will, much less that the being in charge would agree to do it only for a test! He also couldn't believe his own stupidity and he really wanted now someone to smack him hard. "As you wish," he heard Pitch say before he felt a whip made of sand hit him hard across the face, like a very painful slap. Jack growled. "You asked for it, have you forgotten I can sense fear and angst in you?" Pitch replied and he couldn't help but groan in frustration.

"However," Pitch waved it off with a shake of his hand, "let me continue. As I was saying, the test began. It went smoothly at first, and you were playing right into their trick, but then that Easter Bunny went to warn you that time were almost over, even if that just puzzled you further. I took the opportunity to sneak in. I didn't know what I was going to do yet, but I just knew I just had to ruin this for you. Suddenly I felt my powers coming slowly back at me, and I neared the source of it. There, in a clearing, were a bunch of kids hearing a story about the scary boogeyman and how he was defeated. Nevertheless the seed was already there, and my powers were rising. The one telling the story was none other than… you, Jack" Pitch said nearing his face to the point where Pitch's nose could almost touch Jack's. The eyes of the later widened in realization and guilt: he had caused this. It was his fault. Pitch laughed at his response. "The rest you know because you lived it. And just for the record, when you were spying on me on the woods I did know you were there. I just decided to let you go for a little while."

Jack snorted at this. "Really?" he said sarcastically and skeptically.

"Oh, yeah" Pitch answered.

"And why's that?" Jack asked again, trying to unveil more the plot that was already unveiling on its own.

"So that I could run some errands for you," Pitch simply said while looking at his nails, as if it was the most common and boring thing to be doing at the moment. Jack didn't know what to answer at that; he knew what Pitch was capable of and feared whatever he might have done. "Oh, yes, you are so right to fear right now. I'll go get you your errands, now be a good boy and wait here for me," Pitch laughed and walked away, fading into the darkness that was consuming all around Jack.

After a few minutes, Jack heard screaming. "No! Let me go! Please, let me go," the voice begged. Jack's was drumming hard against his chest, almost making it hurt, while he silently begged for it not to be true; while he begged silently for his ears to be deceiving, for everything to be just a bad dream, an illusion that was unreal. Unfortunately for him, he had no such luck. Out of the darkness Pitch emerged again while dragging something with the same kind of rope that tied him to the pole; Jack's eyes widened in terror when he saw Pippa being dragged by the Nightmare King. He had her wrists tied and he pulled from that rope, almost humiliating, just like the people did to the slaves in ancient times. Other than that she was free an untied, she had a few scratches over here and there, but otherwise she seemed fine; frightened to death, but fine. Jack again let rage wash over him and again failed to notice the ice core deep down himself.

"Pitch, Let her go!" Jack wailed, fighting frenetically against the rope that had stopped him from ripping Pitch apart and hurting himself in the process. However Jack wasn't worried about him or his pain. He had to get Pippa back to safety as soon as he could. It was a life-or-death situation, not any better than when they were at the pond. Pitch's response was a cruel and cold laughed that could make even the strongest Yeti tremble.

"Jack…?" Jack heard Pippa ask shyly, her voice trembling. Jack cringed at her voice so scared and fragile and he cursed the Boogeyman with all his might.

"Oh, isn't this touching?" He mocked, making Pippa flinch and Jack growl. A fierce, deep sound coming from the back of his throat, much like any beast out there would do. His anger was plausible in the air, and Pippa felt for the first time in her life scared of her own brother. "You shouldn't behave yourself like that in front of the ladies," Pitch said referring to Pippa and moving aside so that Jack could see her well, "don't you see you are scaring her?"

Jack glimpsed only for a second at Pippa and saw how scared she was, but not only of the Boogeyman, but also of him. His gaze softened and he looked at her reassuringly, telling her with his eyes everything was going to be fine. Pippa's face lit up a bit when he recognized his brother and Jack almost sighed in relief at that. "Don't be scared, I'll get you out of here. I'll get us out of here," he told her, trying to sound as comforting as he did in the frozen pond, and she nodded.

Then, abruptly, Pitch stood in between them blocking Jack's view of Pippa and said in a harsh and cold tone. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Jack" he said and formed a whip out of sand. Then he hit Jack with it, again, harder and much more times. He did it on purpose in front of his sister so that she understood who was in charge down there and who the victim was. So far it was working, and when Pitch decided to finally stop and give a rest to the boy, he was honestly surprised when Jack lifted his head, looked at Pippa straight in the eyes, and smiled at her. Pitch couldn't feel any fear coming from the boy, even when he was tied up at his mercy and with his sister trapped and not much better than him. As if casting a spell, he also stopped feeling the fear from the girl. Pitch made a face and rolled his eyes in annoyance. He would do whatever it took to break the boy down to the core.

Suddenly, he pulled from the rope in Pippa´s wrists and he practically smashed her against the wall of his lair. Pippa screamed in pain and then passed out. Jack called out to her but she didn't respond; she was out cold. Pitch smiled when he felt the familiar fear again. Jack turned furious to him and glared with all his might, because it was the only thing he could actually do. "You monster, she is just a child!" he yelled at him. Pitch just laughed.

I will do whatever it takes to taste fear; after all, it does make me stronger. Now, wait here, I have another surprise for you," he said as he faded back into the shadows again. Jack couldn't possible imagine what would come next; he couldn't think Pitch could be anymore evil. She tried to call for his sister again but it was futile. He battled against the rope again to no avail, only hurting himself more, but he had to somehow reach Pippa.

Then, when he thought things couldn't get any worse, Pitch reappeared again and he was carrying what looked like a cage. When it got into view Jack gasped in surprise and anger. Inside were the guardians, hurt and barely conscious. Jack could tell they had put up a fight, but that he failed though. Tooth looked at Jack and tried to move forwards, but one of her wings was nearly broken and she could barely stand up. She begged silently to Jack, who could do nothing but stare.

"Isn't this great? All the guardians reunited in one place, completely under my mercy. One of them is useless and the others can barely do anything. And the bonus of the human girl is as much gratifying for me," Pitch laughed and Jack lunged forward, forgetting he was tied. He screamed in pain and fell back useless against the pole.

"Pitch…" Jack tried to sound threatening but he just sounded lame. He was panting and gasping for air, because the rope was getting tighter. His head hung low in surrender and defeat.

"Just deal with it and accept the fact that you are completely useless. I have everything you love and want under my grasp and you can do nothing about it. You are powerless. You will never save them as long as I'm here. I'm going to make you suffer and you are going to watch it all. And to think that is was you who caused it in the first place…" Pitch said while grinning evilly. Then he faded into the darkness, taking with him the unconscious Pippa and the hurt guardians.

Jack was left alone in complete darkness. When he was sure that even Pitch was gone, he cried. He cried out of frustration, anger and disappointment. He cried because he could not help, he cried because Pitch was getting away and he cried because, in the end, it was all his fault.

Thank you all for reading! I hope you liked it! I hope you are not mad at me for leaving things like that, but it's all to keep the suspense up. See you on the next chapter!