A/C: Okay guys, here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy, this was a rather tricky part for me. Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Helps me know if I'm going a good direction. :)

Chapter Five

Silence filled the air. A silence that would unnerve most people or make them feel vulnerable to the unknown elements of the dark cavern. But it had become the home of a particular spirit. The darkness, the scent of aged stone against stagnant water, and the pure silence of a cave. A place that had been forced upon the spirit of nightmares, Pitch.

But even after spending so much time in his abode, he had gained no love for it at all. Even now, he sat upon a stone outcropping and lazily twirled his finger in the air. Black sand, what little he had left, danced around his finger in lazy circles and dips. With his power so depleted, it was all that he could do. Even summoning a nightmare or two, ate what energy he had, and created a vicious cycle for him to live by. Missing a single night forced him into an almost astral state and he was forced to desperate measures. His hand clenched into a tight fist.

"Damned Guardians...why should I be punished for what I am?!" He jumped to his feet in anger, throwing a stone at the same time before he began pacing.

"Tis a sat thing, to be hated for what we naturally are." The hissed and barely audible voice echoed lightly in the cave. Pitch froze, eyes widening for a moment as he heard the noises that followed. After so many years of isolation and silence, the clocked figure's movements were as loud as a full orchestra. The soft swish of fabric rustling, claws scratching at stone, and the hiss of an almost animalistic creature. Pitch's eyes narrowed as he raised his head up, staring at the various dark spots within the cave.

It wasn't until the figure showed himself did Pitch finally see his distant cousin. A dark black cloak that floated down to the top of a large stone. Light reflecting on what seemed cloth but was actually a thick black cloud. The cloak billowing and forming around the figure, writhing as if alive. Then a pale, almost dead, blue hand came out from the dark folds. Long claws adorned each digit as they wrapped around the edge of the hood to expose a face.

"Yara, it's been far too long." Pitch said, voice slightly shaky but sarcastic from the pride he refused to waver. Blood red eyes stared straight at Pitch, surrounded by pale blue branding that decorated the spirit's face. A smile came to Yara, exposing a row of thin, sharp teeth. The figure swept out another arm, exposing more of the intricate tattoos that decorated the man's entire body, and Yara bending down into an exaggerated bow.

"Apologies, dear cousin. I had thought that a spirit as powerful as you, would need no help or company." The words dug deeply into Pitch and the spirit of nightmares clenched his hands into tight fists. Yara's smile widened, red eyes glistening in obvious enjoyment of wounding Pitch's pride. For years, since they had met that fateful day that Pitch had become a spirit, they had hated each other. It was that same day that Yara had been created, as many others were. All cut from the same darkness that had invaded Pitch's body and he knew, that Yara was probably more closely related to him than any other being on the planet. Yet it was something that he hated. The red-eyed spirit reached into his cloak then, amusement still in his voice.

"Come now, I have come calling to you and have even brought you gifts." The last word came out after a slight pause before Yara tossed two figures toward Pitch, a laugh filling the cave. Pitch barely heard the hissing cackle as he stared wide-eyed at the two small figures that fell limply and hard onto the cave floor. Two small children with empty and dull eyes, skin pale and limbs weakly shaking as if in immense pain. Pitch stared in horror, eyes wide in shock for a second before jerking his head away in disgust. Yara's chuckled slowly died out.

"They are not as rosy cheeked as you are accustomed but you need to feed. In this state, you shall have quite an easily attainable feast from these two." Pitch scoffed. Yes, it would be easy. The children were broken dolls in comparison to what they may have been before. To him, in this state, they were like eating a snack that was not as filling as they could be. Their struggle to fight the nightmare made it all the more pleasurable and filling for him. Pitch raised his eyes to his guest, staring defiantly at the dark spirit. Normally, he would drive the creature away but with his weakened state, he was more than at a loss to the spirit. A spirit that was as powerful as himself and weakened only by a nearly always absent enemy.

"The fight is half the fun, Yara. Sucking out all the hope, makes it so bland." Pitch complained and Yara snickered. The dark figure simply shrugged his shoulders and Pitch had to hold back a shiver. He was glad that the dark spirit had decided to appear in his humanoid form instead of his natural state, a look that would frighten even the most seasoned of spirits. A creature that was more demon-esque in appearance, ones that had filled the pages of mortal books, believing that a devil had been born into their world. Yara was usually the one to blame for all this.

"Yes but is it not a perfect match? Me, eating away all that beautiful hope and you, delighting in the nightmares that come so easily to those children with no true desire for life. You and I...are kindred spirits, cousin." That part was true but too bad Pitch hated the man almost as much as he despised the Guardians. Pitch's eyes narrowed, suspicious of what the evil spirit wanted from him. The spirit never did something for others, only concentrating on what would make ease away his lustful hunger for hope, as if he were an addict. If Yara were a mortal, he would have definitely been an addict. Running around from room to room, alley to alley, sucking away all the hope from those that he encountered, and the spirit had been busy over the past couple weeks.

"Enough with the feigned formalities, Yara. What is it you want?" Pitch demanded and Yara's face slowly died out, his face turning to the side as he raised a hand up. He acted bored, gazing at his long claws, and scratching them together to create that sickening sound as he spoke.

"Well, no need to be rude, cousin." Yara said in a rather demeaning manner and Pitch felt his hair stand up on end in irritation. The hopelessness spirit just shrugged his shoulders, lazily turning his red-eyed gaze back towards the nightmare spirit.

"HE is back. I felt his power appear back into the world." He stated simply and Pitch put his hands onto his hips, chucking in a mocking manner, and Yara glared at the spirit.

"Oh, so your old enemy is back and you need help with him? How cute." The statement barely escaped Pitch before he found himself pinned up against the cavern wall, wrists trapped by the dark cloak of the man, and red eyes slowly leaking red smoke. Yara bared his teeth to the other, sharp and thin white teeth that glistened in the low light of the cave. The tattoos that were normally ghostly in appearance on the man's face were slowly pinching their way from the skin, forming sharp points of horns on the man's face and forehead. The dark shadows around Yara's eyes slowly oozing their way from the corners of his eyes, making the orbs slowly grow in size, but empty.

Pitch felt his breath hitch, slightly fearful of the other spirit's willingness to hurt his own kind. Yara was one scary spirit, one that had no true friend or kindred feeling towards the others made from the same cloth. Pitch knew that the other had no qualms about destroying any spirit that threatened him in any manner or had any effect on his ability to feed. The other would kill to make sure he got his fix.

"Do not dare mock me! In your state, I could easily erase you from the essence of the world and forever kill whoever you reincarnate into!" Yara hissed, eyes glowing a dangerously bright red before he slowly eased himself away. His eyes and tattoos slowly returning to normal but his eyes still glowing brightly. Teeth disappeared behind closed lips and simply glared at Pitch as he released the other from his grasp. Pitch rubbed his wrists, feeling the ache of the spirit's touch, which pulled out whatever hope that lay within his victim.

"I get it! You want me to help you destroy this spirit. Why should I? What's in it for me?" Pitch demanded, not wanting to risk his own neck for the sake of nothing in return. Yara was not the kind to give away anything for nothing and he knew the other was going to use him in some painful manner, one way or another.

"It is simple, cousin. Help me to destroy this creature, help me to destroy the hope and feelings of ease in the world. In return, I will not kill you. Is this less formal, as you asked for?" The spirit teased in a sadistic manner and Pitch glared angrily at the other. Yara had a sick and twisted sense of humor, one that Pitch hadn't grown used to at all over the past several hundred years that he had known the spirit. But he knew better than to anger the man, who was being kind at the moment by being in his more human looking form.

"Do I really have a choice?" He said in return and Yara's frown turned into a wide grin, exposing those terrifying teeth once again.

"Then it's a deal."

The wind blew hard as Jack flew down the long tunnels, avoiding the slipper grass and moss that grew along the length. He never understood why the rabbit was so keen on zooming down these damn tunnels, they seemed rather disgusting after awhile. He shrugged his shoulders though as he finally made his way out, eyes adjusting to the sudden bright sunshine in the Easter domain. Electric blue eyes scanned the area that brought painful memories to Jack now but he pushed himself through. He flew about in the air until he heard the sound of angry voices flying up.

"This is ridiculous! I have trees! Bushes! Don't you dare boil up my eggs!" Bunnymund shouted the threat and Jack had to cover the giggle that threatened to escape him. Eros had grown over the last couple weeks, his powers becoming more easy to control, and discovering more of what he could do. Whatever it was, he knew that he could make people smile and glow with happiness from a simple shot of that white flame or a simple touch. Jack stared down at the scene, smiling as he saw Eros sitting on the top of a large mossy rock, swinging his feet in a kid-like manner. Sandy sat nearby on a cloud of golden dust and Bunnymund standing between the two, glaring angrily at Eros.

"Hey! Relax, I'll just ice it over." Jack said as he came down to the ground and Bunnymund glared back at the other.

"That ain't any better, ya gimp! He's already heated up some of the rocks and tricked me into sitting on'em!" Jack had to cover his mouth again, bending over slightly as he laughed hysterically into his icy hand, and even Sandy fell over on his sand cloud from the force of his laughter. Bunnymund felt a light blush come to his cheeks, embarrassed that he had been tricked into such a simple tease from the youngest spirit.

"Don't laugh, you git! Why is he even here, anyway? What the hell does he do? What is his reason, huh?" He asked, arms crossing over his chest in an angry huff, and Sandy silently laughed on his cloud. Jack shrugged his shoulders, looking over to Eros and giving the man a smile. Eros had to look away.

Over the past couple weeks, he felt the draw to be near the man become even stronger. Whenever the man would smile, Eros felt the pull in his chest to go near the man. Whenever he looked hurt or upset, Eros wanted to hug him. Whenever the man laughed or joked around, he felt a sense of pride that made him want to hug the man to him and spin him around like he had done so many days ago. The mix of all the feelings and trying to discover his purpose in all of this, had grown too much for the man, and he found himself avoiding Jack. Even now, as the man smiled at him, he had to turn his face away. Jack saw this and a momentary glimmer of pain shined in his eyes before he coughed into a clenched fist and redirected his attention to Sandy.

"What do you think, Sandy?" He inquired and the golden man brought a finger to his chin, pondering for a moment before he began speaking. Or least, how he did speak. Sandy started to show images above his head then, showing that he believed Eros' power had something to do with making sad people happy. That it was possibly something about bringing joy? Or at least, that's what Jack got out of the sand figurines that danced above the man's head. Jack let out a chuckle, waving a lazy hand to Sandy.

"Okay, okay. I got it, little man. You think he brings joy?" Sandy nodded in response, shrugging his shoulders to show that it was his best guess, but Jack had to agree. It seemed the most likely and he turned his gaze slowly back to Eros, seeing if the other man agreed. Eros took a deep breath, shrugging in response.

"Possibly but...I don't know. I just feel like...if I knew more about...me..." His eyes shot up to Jack's then, feeling his heart pound in his chest again.

"...if I found out more about me, then maybe...I can figure out more. Ya know?" Just as he spoke, Tooth came fluttering from the bright foliage of the area, and giggled as she saw all the boys together.

"Hi! How's the practicing going, Eros?" She asked and Eros took a deep breath again, smiling to try and hide his frustration. Jack gazed at Eros from the corner of his eyes, knowing that the man's previous statement wasn't something that would just go away. Several times already, he had asked for Tooth about gaining back some of his memories, wanting to know more. Only to have Tooth deny him, saying that it would do more harm than good at the moment, and frustrating the poor man into a fiery inferno for a couple hours.

"It's going okay but...Tooth...I really want those memories. Sandy said that I only need to have the little teeth holders to actually see the memory! I think I can handle whatever they tell me now!" He complained and Tooth glared daggers at Sandy, who tried to look as innocent as possible, but failing horribly. Eros had asked him question after question about memories, having grown curious about them ever since finding out what exactly Tooth did. Tooth fluttered down to stand on the ground, holding up her hands in a gesture of calmness towards Eros, and the man felt his hair flame up. He knew the woman was going to deny him again.

"I'm serious Tooth. I want to know. I'm sick and tired of not knowing what all is going on with my own fucking body!" He yelled out and silence filled the area. All eyes turned to Tooth, a hurt expression on her face. She knew how difficult it was for someone to not remember something that they wanted to. She had watched for many years as each spirit was created in the world and how they struggled to accept their new positions and to forget about the past. All were curious about who they were in their former lives and she had learned long ago, about how dangerous it could be. She had seen how a good spirit could turn so desperately dark from the memories they found.

"Please Tooth...please..." Eros pleaded, his eyes narrowing into pain as he tried to show how desperate he was now. Tooth felt an ache in her own chest, wanting to help the other feel better so badly, not wanting to see those eyes turn downward.

"Eros-"

"Tooth, wait." She paused, jerking her head over to Jack. He approached slowly on light feet, hand reaching out to gently touch Tooth's back, and his eyes staring down at the ground. It had been long enough, he knew. Months had passed by now and Jack had a feeling that Eros just wouldn't let this go. Not until he found out whatever part he wanted to know. Slowly, he looked up to Tooth, nervous tension in his eyes, and she frowned.

"If you think so, Jack. Just...be careful." As she spoke, a baby tooth came fluttering down with a small golden parcel. Lowering it to Jack's hand and seeing Eros' picture from when he had been a small child. Taking a deep breath, he gazed back up to the man, holding up the golden parcel that held all his baby teeth. They held more than just his childhood memories. The last baby tooth, Jamie had kept a hold on, wanting to have an excuse for Tooth to come and hang out with him more often. He had held onto it for so long, that it had retained all the memories of Eros' youth and up to his teenage years. Up to when they have first started admitting their feelings to one another.

Eros lit up, jumping down from the rock and reaching out to grasp the golden parcel. His fingers cradling it as if it were a holy relic. Then golden eyes came up to meet with Jack's icy blue, filled with the hope that he would finally understand what all was going on within him. To finally understand why he felt he had such a strong connection with the snow spirit but the sight of those eyes were filled with worry and his smile faltered for just a moment. Jack reached out, grasping Eros' hands, and Eros lacing his fingers with the other into a tight grip. Smoke went up into the sky from their contact and Jack gave a pained smile.

"Let's go somewhere else for this." He stated simply and Eros nodded his head, allowing the other to fly them up into the sky and back into the tunnels. This was going to be so hard for Jack, he could already feel it. The tightness in his chest that told him that he would either get extremely hurt, as he had felt so many times since knowing the other man, or he would become more elated than he had ever been before. The uncertainty of it, almost made him run away, but he wouldn't. He refused to run away from the chance of getting back his beloved.

A/C: And that's the end of Chapter Five! We know who the bad guy is! For those interested in seeing how Yara looks in his human form, you can see it on my y!gallery account (username: jaysin) or on my deviantart (merlin87tx).