Jack could not sleep. He rolled over, feeling the soft grass spring back up where he took his weight off of it. The warren was warm, but not uncomfortably so. He had definitely slept in worse places. Bunny snorted in his sleep, then kicked a leg. Jack smirked. At least he wasn't completely bored. Bunny was all the way across the colored pond, but Jack could still hear all of his sleeping noises.

The amused light faded from his eyes as thoughts with a more serious tone slunk into his mind. Bunny had spent hours telling Jack the details of his life with the guardians when they got to the warren. They had relocated from the frosty tundra when Jack realized that Bunny's fur was literally growing icicles. Tiny ones, though they were, he knew this couldn't be a healthy temperature for a rabbit to stay in for very long. Once Bunny had warmed up at the warren, he had began to talk to Jack. The more the rabbit explained, the more Jack could tell just how dedicated he was to getting his memories back.

Jack had listened attentively, asking questions here and there. He could now recite the chain of events of last year with near perfection, though he still remembered none of it in his own right. When Bunny had finally finished talking, he had looked at Jack in silence. The hopeful sparkle in his emerald eyes slowly dimmed, then snuffed out at Jack's response.

He hadn't said much.

It hadn't taken much.

"I'm sorry."

Bunny had punched Jack's shoulder lightly. His smile, though well intended, only served as an eerie contrast with his untouched, disappointed gaze. "What for?" He asked, trying for a chipper tone. "I ain't done with ya yet, snowflake. Just 'cause ya don't remember yet doesn't mean ya got rid of me that easy. I'm gonna keep buggin' ya 'til ya murder me, or ya remember. Whichever happens first." Jack punched him back.

"They both sound like fun, cotton tail." He watched Bunny desperately try to suppress a yawn. He kept his chuckle to himself, then suggested casually that it might be a good time to call it a night. Bunny usually would have preferred to stay up, but couldn't help seeing the idea of sleep as attractive. It had been a long day, full of emotions. He had offered Jack what he could in the way of accommodations, but the boy had insisted on sleeping on the opposite side of the colored pond. He rejected the offer of bed or blanket, which Bunny was slightly grateful for. He wasn't sure he knew where his guest materials were anyway. He couldn't even remember the last time someone had stayed at the warren with him.

But while the pooka had quickly dropped into oblivion, Jack assessed the ceiling above him. It was a vibrant green, it's hues somewhat warped by the dimness of the underground cavity. The lighting in the room seemed to react to Bunny's emotions. It had been far brighter an hour or so ago. But Jack didn't mind the low light. He was keeping his mind off things by picking out shapes in the vines that grew over the moss above him. It worked until one wonky array began to resemble a nightmare the shadows in the room didn't seem quite so peaceful. Jack tried not to let thoughts of Pitch change his view of the dark room, but failed. He could almost hear the mans silky voice.

"Ja-ack..." It called softly. The teen frowned, ears straining. He couldn't almost hear it...Perhaps it had started as quiet as a thought, but now there was definitely someone calling his looked over at Bunny in alarm. Surely with his large ears he had heard the call as well. he watched as Bunny continued his deep breathing, apparently undisturbed."Jack..." The voice was far off, sounding perhaps as if it were behind one of the walls. Jack stood, trying to stretch the pins and needle out of one of his legs. He briefly considered waking Bunny, then decided against it. He would only be gone a moment.

He wasn't quite certain where the voice had sounded from, so he lifted off the ground. He flew down the nearest tunnel, listening to the silence. It seemed to press in on him from all sides. When the strange beckoning came again, it was almost a relief. Jack doubled back, realizing it had come from the tunnel adjacent. He hesitated at the gaping darkness ahead of him, then shook off his wariness. He needed to face Pitch. He didn't know how the man had gotten into the warren, but he knew he needed to confront him head on. He knew Pitch wouldn't leave him alone until he did he flew deeper into the tunnel, he strained to see in the darkness. His unadjusted eyes did not pick up the subtle changes in his surroundings. Grass faded into stone, the dirt walls doing likewise.

When Jack realized where this path had led him, he looked behind him in confusion. His eyes widened as he saw not the tunnel he had come through, but a stone barrier. He frowned, then continued to move ahead. Now was not the time to go back flew on. No one was calling his name anymore, but new sounds had taken the voice's place. A drip here or there. The creaking of the hundreds of metal cages that swung above his head. Most were rusted, some broken. They were abandoned, and creepy. Jack moved on to another he flew down one dark corridor after another, he began to hear a faint whimpering. A confused frown wormed its way onto his face. Who was that? He followed the pitiful noise, sidetracked from Pitch for a moment.

The voice sounded like one that would belong to a young child, most likely a boy. It grew louder as he got closer. Finally he reached a door that was familiar. The noise was coming from the same room he had stayed in when he had been... with Pitch. In a rush he realized where he was, the strange halls and balconies snapping into recognizable landmarks. He was in enemy took a breath, gathering his courage. He pushed the heavy door open. The crying immediately grew louder, and Jack was met with a heart wrenching sight.

"Jamie!" Jack cried, flying over to the boy. A white hot pulse throbbed in his head. Memories overlapped, trying to gain dominance. A sled, zooming through the street.

A snowball fight... The boy laughed. A stuffed Bunny, falling into a rug covered in woven, colorful spaceships.

Jack winced, hands gripping his head. He knew this boy, didn't he? A boy named Jamie... He thought he did. The name had been a reflex, called before he knew what he was saying. But no matter now, the child was obviously in distress. Jamie lay in bed, asleep. Asleep, but not at rest. He thrashed around, whimpers escaping him. Tears were streaming down his face, and Jack's breath caught in his throat at the child's terrified expression. How had he gotten here? What was wrong with him? Jack gripped his staff a little tighter. He could figure out the whys and how's later. He needed to do something about Jamie's suffering right now.

He reached for his frail shoulder. A voice interrupted his intention.

"You won't be able to wake him." Jack spun around, staff raised defensively. Pitch smiled at him, then disappeared back into the deep shadows of the room. "Not when he's like this." The voice came from nowhere, yet pierced the quiet clenched his teeth.

"What are you doing to him?" Pitch's laughs reverberated around the cold walls.

"Do you know what a night terror is, Jack?" Jack swung his staff wildly at the presence he felt form to his right. Pitch sidestepped easily, grabbing the length of the staff. He used it to pull Jack closer to him. "It's technical term is 'Pavor Nocturnas'. It's a very exciting technique." Jack stared wide-eyed into his looming face. Another whimper behind them drew Jack's attention. His gaze hardened. He threw a foot into Pitch's side, turning to face Jamie. His whimpers were growing more frantic, rising in intensity. They began to morph into screams. The tears increased, and Jack bit back tears of his own as he watched his young friend sob in his sleep. He couldn't remember much yet, but the details were just on the edge of his mind. What he did know was that the boy in front of him was precious. The feeling he got from looking at the freckled brunett was almost... brotherly. Long fingers touched Jack's shoulders, the breath from Pitch's words brushing his ear. "You can try if you want. To wake him up, I mean." Jack grunted in fury, thrusting his staff behind him. Pitch gave a cruel chortle at his attempt, dodging with a smirk.

"He's just a kid!" yelled Jack, fury clenching the words between his teeth. He lashed out again, not even really aiming at anything this time. The nightmare king watched him calmly.

"That he is." he agreed easily. "Are you really going to let him suffer like this because of your selfish desires?"

"What are you talking about?" snapped Jack. Behind him, Jamie thrashed again, and Jack couldn't handle it any longer. He knelt by the side of the bed, throwing furtive glances at Pitch while he tried to soothe the boy. "Jamie, its okay. Wake up." he gripped both small shoulders, giving them a light shake. "It's just a nightmare! Wake up!" Jamie's eyes flew open. Behind him, Pitch began to laugh once more. "Jamie?" Jack asked tentatively, "Are you-"

"NO!" Jamie shrieked. Jack nearly stumbled back in alarm at the boys passionate terror.

"Jamie? What's wro-"

"No, no, no! Get away from me!" He was sobbing again, barely getting the words out. He scrambled as far away from the winter sprite as possible. "Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me." Jamie had partially sat up, curling in on himself in the farthest corner of the small bed.

"I'm not gonna hurt you…" Jack trailed off uncertainly. Something was very wrong. He looked back at Pitch again. The man leaned against the stone wall nonchalantly, watching the scene before him with sick pleasure.

"He may look awake, but I assure he is not." Pitch told him. Jack could feel the anger and the helplessness rising within him. It burned the backs of his throat and eyes.

"Jamie. Come on. Wake… wake up." he pleaded softly. He reached out a hand to touch the trembling figure. It was met with a slap. Jamie exploded from his curled up position.

"Get away!" he screamed. Jack felt a foot land underneath his ribs. He gasped in shock, stumbling back from the bed. A small hand aimed a punch at him, but missed. Jamie collapsed again, unintelligible words mixed in with his crying.

"That's really the best part." the voice from beside the wall told him. "They appear to be awake. To be aware. But they're not. It doesn't matter who you are, or what you try. They won't wake up. They suffer like this until the dream releases them."

"Why?" Jack whispered. "What did he do to deserve to suffer? He's a child."

"Yes, he is. But you know what, Jack? He doesn't need to suffer. Its really you that holds the power here."

"Me?"

"You." confirmed the man. "You have power that I need. And Jack, you may find that once you learn to work with me, I'm not as bad as the guardians would lead you to believe."

"Why would I ever choose to work with you? You lied to me, kidnapped me!" He began to add things he knew about, but couldn't remember to the list. "You killed Sandy! You destroyed Easter!"

"You'd do it because of him." a long grey finger gestured toward the somewhat calmed boy on the bed. "Help me like I want you to, and I'll let him go." A fragment of a memory pierced Jacks mind, making it throb. The same voice, the same inflections…

"Hand over the staff, and I'll let her go." an icy landscape… a small, distraught fairy in grey fingers...

"I won't ever send him a night terror again. You just have to join my side of the fight." Pitch continued talking, and the memory started to fade even before he knew what it was. "But I won't make you choose now. I'll even take little Jamie home tonight. Just think about it, Jack. I don't really mind either way. Your help, or a lifetime of fun with this child. It doesn't matter to me, so really its your call."

The ground underneath Jack suddenly fell away. He landed painfully in another dark room. The shadows tilted and whirled around him, and it was all he could do just to hold onto his staff. It seemed Pitch's lair responded to him the way the warren did to Bunny. Jack was helpless. Whenever he tried to run, to find his own footing, the floor would shift again, or he would hit a dead end. Every once in a while he could hear the sharp laughter of the Nightmare King, though it was farther away each time.

Eventually, he fell on soft grass. He was breathing hard, a cold sweat slicking his ice white hair to his brow. He crawled toward the end of the tunnel, not knowing how much time had passed. He was too weak to fly. Pitch had done a number on him, keeping him running until he was exhausted.

After what seemed like an eternity of slinking toward the faraway light, he reached the end of the tunnel. He found himself in the warren once more, happy noises surrounding him. At the beginning of the night, he had thought that it was quiet here. It was nothing like the horrible absence of sound in Pitch's lair.

Jack found his way to the place he had been sleeping before. He knew he needed to think over the event that had just taken place, to tell the other guardians. But each time he even considered getting up, his muscles turned to jelly. Eventually he fell into a restless slumber, dreading the morning to come. He had a choice to make, and he wasn't sure where the guardians would stand in it. He wouldn't keep tonight a secret, but regardless of what they said, the deciding factor would eventually be him.

He just hoped he didn't choose wrong.

A/N: So, I hope the action in this chapter was exciting. Action writing is something I feel I could use some improvement in, so if you have any suggestions or comments on what I did well, or what I didn't, please let me know! I also understand if you hate me for doing this to Jamie:( I almost made myself cry while writing this! I know it probably didn't make any of you tear up, but hey. I'm a crybaby. I also have a special place in my heart for Jamie because I have a brother around his age. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update! Thanks you guys!

Unrelated: I have watched ROTG every single day this week. Except for Wednesday. When I watched it twice. I officially have a seriously unhealthy addiction XD

Love, Mariah