"Nightlight? Oh, you're just as bad as the guy next to you. Weren't you too busy protecting the child of the sun? No matter, it'll be the first star I claim anyways." Pitch chuckled as he called forth a torrent of black sand and ice swirling towards the two guardians.

"Get the gem… then we get rid of him." The glowing boy commanded as he pushed Jack away from the oncoming attack. They both went sailing in opposite directions of each other.

"How am I supposed to do that? It's literally in him!" He yelled back at Nightlight. There were waves of sand following behind the two as they flew around Pitch in the center.

"Enough of your chitchat, it's time to cut the wings!" The tall man in black disappeared behind a veil of sand and reappeared in the sky. Waving his hand furiously, the blizzard grew more powerful. Both Jack's vision and his mobility were severely reduced. He couldn't make out any sounds beyond the roar of the storm.

"Keep goooooing!"

The boy turned to the loud whisper that pierced through the winds. He couldn't figure out who it was or where it came from. Sprinting his way to the sound, he took a strong impact to the chest that sent him flying back. Landing to the ground, he had specs of black sand on his pullover. Immediately getting up, he looked all around him to find the perpetrator.

"We've played this little game before, Jack." Pitch whispered. Jack quickly turned around to see no one next to him. A lace of black sand wrapped around his waist. The boy was whipped into the air and pulled back down to the ground. The ice shattered from the shockwave of the impact. "Yet you still never learn!"

A large black ball plastered the winter guardian in the face. He went flying a couple feet back.

Wiping the sand away, Jack slowly got to his knees. He looked up to see Anna frozen solid.

"What… it can't be…" He looked at the immobile statue in front of him.

You couldn't save me… he heard a female voice in his thoughts.

Placing his hand on her cheeks, she crumbled to the ground. On the ground laid bits of ice shattered everywhere. Jack clutched his fist in anger.

"Pitch!" He exploded in rage. A wave of energy cleared out the surrounding area to reveal even more ice statues around him.

"Funny, isn't it? Every person you come across, you've disappointed one way or another. Even then, they still believed in you. How does it feel to only prove people wrong?" Pitch echoed in the wind.

"Show yourself!"

"You don't have to ask me twice." The man answered as he stood next to one of the bodies on the lake. He was leaning on the statue of North holding two scimitars in his hands. "Oh, North… At the peak of his wonder… left to thaw. He put up a valiant fight trying to find you."

"Get away from him!" Jack bolted towards the man. Pitch disappeared behind the shadow of the figure. The boy stood next to his comrade, his frozen ally. "North…"

"He's not the only one you let down. Poor little Tooth. So fragile, so delicate." The ominous figure stood over a mound of broken ice. In the pile were traces of transparent wings. "She must have been flying awfully quick before the storm got to her."

The winter guardian was in total despair as he looked to the remnants of the tooth fairy. He could hear the sound of cracking next to him. Jack looked over to see North slowly breaking to pieces as Pitch poked his beard.

"Stop!" Jack swiped his staff at him. He ducked under the attack and the staff swung into one of North's blades. The ice man began to crumble from the shock.

"Uh oh, looks like you should've been more careful. Now look at what you did. You might have been able to help him… heh, or not." The black figure disappeared behind a wave of snow.

"This is between you and me!" The guardian cried out as he tried to ignore Pitch's tricks to anger him.

"No, Jack. It was between me and them. You were just a nobody, an afterthought that decided to join the front lines. Because of you, the fight wasn't between me and them anymore. No. Now the fight is against everyone."

The massive blizzard was calming down. As the surrounding area became more visible, he looked over to an army of frozen figures all around the North Mountain. It was almost as if a war had broken out while he was lost in the storm. At one end stood an army of soldiers holding the banner of different kingdoms, on the other end was an army of snow monsters with black sand encrusted in the ice.

"Amazing, isn't it?" The sinister man laughed as he sat on a floating black throne.

"What… what is happening?" Jack was confused by what was going on. What was this scenery he was looking at? He couldn't make any sense of it.

"You've been out for a while so let me catch you up on the details. Quick synopsis of what happened, you failed. You couldn't save anything. Actually, you were the bad guy in all this. Elsa watched her sister freeze at your hands."

"No… that wasn't real… it wasn't me."

"Sorry to say, Jack, but it was all real. Worst part of it is she watched you turn her beloved little sister into nothing but dust. It didn't take much convincing for her to turn her back on you and the world. Doesn't she look lovely up there?" The man pointed to the figure standing behind the large army of snow.

"Elsa…" Jack was looking at someone he almost couldn't recognize. The person had Elsa's face but she had spiked black hair like jagged mountains. She had a tall white collar that wrapped around her neck and a transparent cape that draped around her sparkling ice dress. On top of her head was a crystallized tiara similar to the crown worn by the previous queen of Arendelle.

"She's like a completely different person now. She used to be so fidgety about everything. Always agitated, always scared. Look at her now. Standing at the tallest tower, confidence brimming from her face, everything she thought she needed to protect is nothing more than trash beneath her feet." Jumping off his seat, Pitch landed in front of Jack and continued to walk forward. "She's recently gotten a new nickname. Before, she was the wicked Snow Queen. Now, people call her the Queen of Nightmares."

Jack snapped as he whipped his staff at Pitch. His swing went right through the man of fear. He was like black vapor that faded in the air. The vapor suddenly became a fury of black fog that wrapped around the confused guardian.

"Now, I wonder what would happen if you weren't in the picture?"

As the fog dissipated, Jack found himself inside an ice dome. Looking down, he could see himself skating on the ice with his little sister.

"No! No, Pitch let me out of here. Let me out of here now!" Jack began slamming his hands on his dome prison as he watched himself glide over the lake. As the sun set over the sky, he could see himself slip on the ice. The moment was drawing near.

"My, my, I've never actually seen all this happen before. Let's think… what if… you never woke up." Pitch leaned against the glass dome encasing Jack.

"What do you plan to do, save me?" Jack snickered as he glared at him.

"Oh, please, and miss all this? No. I'll let it happen. Only this time, I'll bury you properly. Not even the light of the moon will reach you." Pitch's grin was large and crooked. A black aura surrounded him. This wasn't the calm and methodical villain Jack faced in the past. This was the first time he'd ever seen Pitch almost unstable. With everything going his way, it was clear he was mad with power.

"I swear, if you do anything to—"

"To what? Elsa? The Guardians? Your sister? Hah! You can't do anything. Don't even bother trying to scare me. I… I am fear!" He slammed his palm against the dome as he shouted back at him. Calming himself, he looked down to the earth. "Darn… it seems I missed the good part."

Jack peered back to see the ice completely shattered. His younger self wasn't anywhere in sight. He watched his sister crawl her way to the gaping hole.

"This will be my last gift to you before I say my goodbyes. I hope you enjoy your one last memory before I bid you farewell." The madman grinned as he dove to the earth. Jack was furiously pounding against his prison.

"Pitch. Pitch! Piiiiitch!" Jack's hands were turning red from the barrage of attacks on the ice around him. He couldn't bear to look at what was about to happen but he couldn't sit idly by and let it happen. Kicking, swinging, and slamming against the walls, he was helpless to do anything.

Watching the dark figure walk closer to his little sister, he clenched his fist even tighter. He closed his eyes, unable to witness what was to come.

Toot

Jack furrowed his eyebrow. What was that noise?

Toot, toot

He opened his eyes to see what the sound was. In front of him was a small glowing orb of light. Looking behind the orb, he found himself in Arendelle castle. The weather outside was dark but illuminated. It was like there was never a storm to begin with.

"That's my chocolate! Give it back!" he heard a girl shout.

"Doesn't have your name on it. Also, shouldn't you keep your voice down? I thought you didn't want people thinking you were crazy." Another person replied.

Jack recognized both voices. He could also remember the moment that was happening. It was a few weeks after he met Anna for the first time. He flew over to the voices to figure out why he was here.

"Hey, I've been wondering, you've been staying up pretty late recently. Any particular reason?" Jack continued to chew on the treat. He swiped another piece of chocolate from her hand. Anna quickly snatched it back and began chewing on it.

"No reason, I just like to look at the full moon."

"The moon, aye?"

"I like to think that there's someone up there watching over us."

"Heh, if there was, I bet he's a jerk that randomly throws people in time." He chuckled.

"What in the world are you talking about?" She giggled at his odd comment.

"It's nothing." He leaned against the window of the castle and looked up to the night sky. Anna was fixated on the glowing sphere.

"If someone is up there, I hope they're watching over Elsa. Heaven knows she needs someone to look after her." She frowned, sadness filled her eyes.

"Why do you have the blonde strand of hair?" Jack zipped over Anna's head and pressed his finger against the strands. She swiped at him a few times.

"What's with you always asking random questions." The princess pouted her lips.

"Because when you start feeling down, I want you to look up. Almost like looking on the bright side… except directional!" He grinned as he remained floating upside down above her. She giggled at his philosophy. "So come on, tell me!"

"I already told you before, I was born with it." She continued to look up at him while eating her chocolates.

"Nah! Too boring, you don't sound convincing at all. I know you're keeping quiet about something." He lowered his face to hers. "How 'bout this, tell me how you think you got those strands of hair and maybe I'll tell you what really happened."

"You know?!" She shrieked.

"Dunno, if someone gave me a little reminder I might remember… or maybe not. We'll have to see." The winter guardian had a devious grin as he looked at the princess's frustrated expression.

"Fine… I… um… I had a dream… and…" Anna was reluctant to continue. Her cheeks were blushing wildly about one of her deep, dark secrets. He landed himself in front of her and crouched over to see her face.

"Man, it must be one embarrassing story if it got you like this." He smirked at her before walking away. "It's okay if you don't tell me. I was only teas—"

"I dreamt that I was kissed!" the princess blurted out immediately.

Jack was like a statue with one leg still lifted in the air and his staff behind his back. Like a ballerina in a music box, he turned his body 180 degrees while remaining perfectly immobile. Talk about a neat trick.

"Kissed?" he asked as he relaxed himself and made his way towards Anna. His smile was curling as he continued to make his way to her. "Do tell, do tell."

The unnerved princess was cautious of the man before her. She was familiar with that look he had. It was a look of playful yet devious mischief. She wouldn't be bested by the trickster. She swallowed her pride and continued on.

"It was about the time Elsa stopped playing with me. I had a dream where I was in a deep sleep and unable to wake up. Then one day I felt a soft press on my lips… like in the fairy tales… and…"

"Prince charming?" Jack grinned.

"It was a troll…"

Anna was too afraid of opening her eyes the moment she uttered the words. She was ready for a flood of laughter from him. He was always quick to tease her. However, she didn't hear anything. She peeked up to see him leaning against the pillar with his hand over his mouth. She could hear him trying to hold in his voice.

"Not gonna lie, I guess I couldn't expect anything else, could I? Oh man…" Jack composed himself. He walked over to the shy princess and pat her on the head. He began snickering again. "But, if it were any other way, it wouldn't be as fun." He put his staff over his shoulders and started walking towards the door again.

"Wait, that's it? Usually, you would be rolling on the floor laughing like crazy. Then you would make a few jokes about it before cheering me up after I hit you a few times—"

"Don't make me seem like such a jerk. I do it so you don't look so down all the time. I didn't want to tease you too much on this because you were pretty brave about it. Also, I felt a bit nostalgic about the past." He turned to her and smiled.

"What about telling me what happened before?" She asked softly. He gave a slight laugh as he thought back to the event of that day.

"Let's just say… you were a cute baby blonde."

As he rushed off while Anna chased after him, the image of the event reflected off of Jack's eyes. Reconstructing this specific moment in his mind, he had a revelation. Looking to his hands, he started thinking of any way to get back to reality. However, he was still stuck in the moment and unable to figure out where the exit was.

Toot

He heard the sound off in the distance. He noticed the glowing orb floating outside the window. Looking at the object quizzically, the ball rushed towards Jack's face. Colliding into his forehead, his entire world burst into a blinding white light.

"Whaaaaa— !" the boy shot up from the ground. He was lying in a pile of crumbled ice and snow. Beside him was Nightlight's spear except without the tip. Turning to look at his surroundings, he found the shining ball flying over him. It immediately turned into a wave of light and wisped past him to the spear on the ground. The light formed into the pointed edge of the weapon.

"Glad you're up." Nightlight landed next to him as he took his weapon in his hand. He tossed Jack's soaking staff on the guardian's lap.

"How long have I been out?" Jack asked worriedly.

"About a minute."

He laughed at the reply. His minute long dream felt like years of conflict. Picking himself off the ground, Nightlight took hold of his hoodie and shot backwards from their location. A large boulder of black sand crashed down on their previous location.

"Why couldn't you just close your eyes a bit longer? It would have been much more convenient if you did." Pitch growled at them. Both Jack and Nightlight took a defensive stance as they faced their enemy.

"Hey, I've got a plan." Jack smiled at the glowing boy. He was filled with confidence from head to toe. "I have to get in close. Distract him and be ready!" he gestured to his friend as he sprinted off into the blizzard.

"Where do you think you're going?" Pitch launched a barrage of black icicles at the winter guardian. Nightlight ran in front of the shot and reflected the attack back to the assailant. He quickly followed up with a dash towards Pitch and launched his spear at the man's heart.

In the heat of the moment, Nightlight was caught by the leg and dragged backwards by multiple strands that shot from the ground. A wall immediately formed in front of the black figure, the spear barely able to pierce through the shield.

"Oh please, is that the best you can do?" The frosted Boogeyman chuckled at the attempt. Without him realizing it, the tip of the spear was blinking subtly. When he finally noticed the pulsing light, the spear burst an incredibly bright flash that blinded him. Caught off guard by the light, he was stumbling back as he tried to recover his vision.

As he regained his sight, he could feel his feet being locked in place. He looked down to see that his legs were trapped by a thick layer of ice that restricted his movements. He then felt a powerful blast hit him from behind that further covered his body in ice. Finally, his hands were being locked down by the freezing water formed at the tip of a staff. He was now completely immobile.

"You were getting a bit heated up so I thought I'd cool you off." Jack chuckled as he stepped out of the fury of the blizzard and in front of Pitch. The man was now stuck and unable to get out. This was the perfect opportunity for a counter attack. However, it seemed Pitch had no intentions of losing. With a smirk on his face, it was clear he was confident regardless of his situation. It was unsettling for Jack to say the least.

"You have this irritatingly smug grin when you're happy. Thought I'd let you know." The tall man barricaded in ice chuckled. Jack felt uneasy by his relaxed expression. Suddenly, his legs were immediately wrapped by the black particles protruding from the ground. Looking down to his feet, he tried to pull himself out of the bindings. Frosting the sand over, he cracked open the sand and set himself free. Looking back to where Pitch was standing, he saw the black figure dissolve into the ground.

"Did you think it would be so easy?"

Jack whipped his head around to see the man standing behind him. Before he could react, Pitch gripped the boy's neck with terrifying strength. Pitch lifted him from the ground. The guardian dropped his staff and grabbed hold of Pitch's arms to transfer the weight of his body. He tried desperately to free himself. He could feel the man's grip tightening.

"Do you really think I'd be caught off guard by a simple light show? I'm not so stupid as to realize what you were trying to do. You see, I'm a real thinker. You're just lucky. Not so lucky now though." The Boogeyman laughed wildly as his hands got even tighter.

Jack tried his hardest to shake off Pitch. He was flailing wildly in the air, unable to do anything. He looked over to Nightlight to see if he could do anything. However, the glowing guardian was still shackled by the black sand that wrapped his legs. His friend looked over to him in despair.

"This time for sure, I will personally make it so you never wake up again…" the man's grin revealed his crooked grey teeth. His eyes squinted at the person trapped in his grasp. Jack continued to struggle, it was becoming impossible to breathe. He noticed a thin wave of black specs circling around his face. The sand became thicker and thicker.

I guess this is it…

His view was getting blocked out bit by bit. The sand around him was becoming more opaque. His mind was drifting as his eyes became even heavier. It was the same feeling he had the last time Pitch trapped him inside his dream. His only thought was that the last thing he would see was Pitch's face of victory.

He watched the thicket of the storm become even denser. Large clouds of snow rising behind Pitch. Before his vision completely blacked out, he could see the clouds get closer and closer. Suddenly, an enormous gust of wind blew away the sand around his face. His consciousness was returning. Looking around them, the blizzard completely disappeared. Specs of snow were suspended in the air.

"What?!" Pitch turned to see what had happened. Both he and Jack looked into the distance to see Elsa on the ground with another person beside her. "Impossible! How could she stop the blizzard?"

Pitch was fixated on the queen. His grip loosened around Jack's neck. The winter guardian took the opportunity to execute his plan. He hovered his hand over Pitch's heart.

"I'll be taking this back." Jack chuckled as he pressed his hands against the dark man's chest. Pitch quickly turned to see what he was doing. He was now the one trying to pull away. However, Jack had already frozen his other hand around the man's arm.

"No! Stop!"

It was far too late. A fury of energy burst from his chest. Jack was absorbing the energy from inside Pitch's heart. All the powers of winter within the man in black were being forcefully taken out of him. He tried frantically to pull away but his feet had already been locked down moments ago.

Jack slowly pulled his hand away from Pitch's body. Underneath the black cloak, something was pressing out of it. The more he pulled back it revealed a small glowing blue gem. Jack took the gem into his hands.

Before him stood the Pitch he remembered. His iced over hair and his frosted cloak were no more. He was nothing more than the weak monster that hid under children's beds. All of the powers left in the dark man were gone. Jack finally let go of his arm and Pitch fell to the ground. He was panting heavily and clutching his chest. He looked up to see Jack standing over him. Then he heard a loud swirling sound behind him. Turning his head, he saw a spiraling portal that grew larger.

"I think it's time you head back." Jack grabbed Pitch's coat. He looked into the weak man's eyes filled with fear. Finally letting him go, he dissolved the ice around Pitch's feet and locked his own legs down. A powerful gale blew past him. The wind launched Pitch off the ground and sent him through the portal. The portal closed in immediately after. The nightmare was finally gone.

Relieved that his work was over, he noticed the ice melting. He watched as the surrounding waters rapidly thawed around him. The only ice remaining was the ice beneath his staff and his own two feet. Watching the wave of snow rise into the air, he observed as the snow storm just moments ago formed a giant snowflake in the sky. The snowflake exploded in the air and dispersed into the wind. Jack smiled at the beautiful sight.

"Way to go, Elsa."