This story is rated T for a reason. Minor violence and blood, and suggested themes.

I stared at the looming dark figure in front of us. Jack simply laid in my arms, frozen in fear. I looked around slowly, watching as the nightmares tore apart the walls of the burrow; the eggs were running around in a panic, few trying to defend themselves as the nightmares easily crushed them. I narrowed my eyes and took a step back; Pitch was not getting a hold of the winter spirit again.

"You're not gonna lay a hand on him, Pitch. Not if I can do anything 'bout it."

"Come now, Bunny. We all know you don't even like Jack. He's only caused you trouble. He has only put you and the other guardians in danger, and now he has put your entire realm in trouble. Are you really willing to risk what is left of your civilization just for a disrespectful immortal teenager?"

I felt darkness begin to surround me, and my mind started to grow fuzzy. Shaking my head, I realized the Nightmare King was trying to get inside my mind. Glancing down at Jack, I could tell he was worried I would listen to the shadow man. He seemed to believe in what he was hearing; Jack wasn't one known for much self-confidence. Then I noticed darkness beginning to cloud Jack's eyes; the nightmare king was gaining ground within him and I heard Jack whimper as he tried to fight it. I needed to get both of us out of here.

"What do ya want with Jack anyway, Pitch?"

Maniacal laughter filled the air. "What does it matter to you? Really, what does it matter? You never wanted the boy to be a guardian anyway. I would be taking him off your hands; he'd cause you guardians too much trouble for his worth." Shadows crept up to Jack and I, and I felt them beginning to tug at Jack, trying to get him out of my arms. I tightened my grip, trying my best to ignore Jack's whimpering. His eyes were closed now, nightmares more than likely playing throughout his mind.

I held my ground against the Nightmare King. "Jack is a guardian. He earned his spot with us when he helped us defeat you! He is different now; he has learned from his mistakes."

"What's to say he won't make more? Who is to say he'll stick around? He's been ignored by you "guardians" for 300 years. You think he just forgave you? That everything is okay now?"

I stared at Pitch, processing what he said before looking down at Jack. The longer I thought about it, the more worried I became. It was true; Jack probably did have a grudge against us. He never talked about it, but they all could tell whenever they said the wrong thing how angry he'd get, closing off from them for weeks at a time. Or if none of them had time to "hang out" with him, he would again close himself off. What if he really did pick up and leave one day? What if he does get that mad or upset? Will he stay on our side forever?

I mentally slapped myself. Pitch was playing with my mind. I could feel him trying to plant his nightmare sand inside my head. I glared at the shadow in front of me.

"Jack is still a child. Of course he is gonna feel that way; we just gotta show him that we do care now."

Pitch seemed to narrow his eyes at me. The nightmare sand began to swirl in aggression, and the nightmares gathered behind him. "Well, I can't let you have the chance to do that now can I?"

My eyes widened as Pitch's eyes stared into mine. My vision began to fade as the Nightmare King started to influence my actions; I tried looking away, but he had already locked his grip on me. I felt my arms go slack, my body going numb as I watched helplessly from the corner of my eye as the shadows enveloped Jack. I heard him cry out as I fell to my knees. I looked up at the shadow man and thought I saw a smirk forming in the nightmare sand. Everything started to spin. I heard Pitch laugh as my vision slowly faded to black.

"Thank you ever so much, Bunnymund. I'll be sure to take good care of the boy for you."

Multiple hours must have past, and by the time I woke up, Pitch and all of his minions were long gone. I rubbed my head and stood up, examining the damage caused by the fearlings.

Most of the warren was in pieces. Normally bright green patches of grass were now brown, lifeless. What little trees there had been were mostly uprooted, lying on the ground seemingly burnt. Some of the ancient statues were even in shambles, pieces all around. I saw few warrior eggs left, trying to repair the space. I quickly called them off; telling them to look for whatever other eggs might be left. I walked over to one of the dislodged trees and sat down on it, sighing and putting my head in my paws.

I need to contact the others. Pitch has Jack and it's my fault... But I knew I couldn't get word to them in time; who knew what Pitch could be doing to Jack right now. I shuddered at the thought; Pitch was probably even more sadistic than any of us could imagine. I needed to find and recuse Jack as soon as possible; I now saw it as my personal responsibility. I stood up and ran back inside my quarters. I looked around, grabbed my pack and started collecting everything I might need; gauze, bandages, medical supplies, egg bombs, and extra boomerangs. I started to head out, before I stopped in front of the doorway to my own room. I glanced over at a wooden, intricately-decorated cabinet that hung above my resting spot. I hesitated before walking over to it and opening its door.

Inside was a single, golden, felt packet decorated with swirls and glitter; it was a gift from Sandman. Inside was enough dreamsand to get rid of any nightmare, no matter how severe. It was for emergencies only; I figured this was a perfect opportunity to use it. I picked it up and set it in my pack carefully, making sure the tie at the opening was secure. Quickly, I shut the cabinet and walked out of my room.

I headed outside and sniffed at the air. Figuring Pitch either took Jack to his old lair or made a new one, I still needed to pick up some sort of trail. Thankfully, I could still barely detect Jack's scent, which was one of cold air and pine. I followed it to the same wall of tunnels that Pitch had originally come in, and tapped the ground once again. All of the tunnel entrances opened, and the scent became more distinct. I smiled a little, hopeful, before hopping through the opening with Jack's scent.

Hold on, mate. I'm on my way.

Pitch POV

The boy revealed himself to be quite a source of entertainment. Locked in chains against one of the walls of my domain, he didn't rest for a minute. For the first few hours of his kidnapping, he struggled against his restraints and screamed out as many curses as he probably knew. I simply listened from a distance, letting the boy tire himself out.

I had already done a number on him earlier- well, my nightmares had anyway. The wounds had been treated, but I planned to reopen them. Jack had caused me much pain, and it was time to return the favor.

Eventually, the winter spirit must have grown tired. His screams stopped, and he stopped struggling as much. I even saw his eyes begin to droop; he was ready to be picked apart. I smiled and dispersed into the shadows, traveling to the boy while hidden from his sight. I reformed directly in front of him, startling him awake.

"P-Pitch!" His voice was raspy, and I could see he was struggling to remain awake. I smiled again, placing my hand under his chin and lifting his head so his eyes met mine.

"Hello again, Jack. Did you enjoy your little temper tantrum?"

Jack wrenched his head out of my grip, looking to focus his eyes on anything but me. My eyes narrowed, and I repeated my previous movements, much more violently this time.

"Ah, going to give me the silent treatment now, yes? I suppose that is fair enough." I pulled away, looking down on him. I lifted my left hand and slapped him across the face. He seemed shocked by this, as he recoiled he rubbed his cheek against his shoulder and looked up at me. Pure fear was radiating off him now. I relished this and moved in close to him, simply staring directly into his blue, fear-stricken eyes. He began to shake as he backed up against the wall, trying to get away from me. It was time to have some real fun with the winter spirit.

I traced my hand up along his neck. His eyes shut tightly and he shivered under my touch. I smiled menacingly before leaning to whisper into his ear.

"You are mine now, Frost. And I'm not going to let you forget it."

Hours past, and which each blow I struck upon the immortal, physical or mentally, I found myself enjoying it more and more. It had been so long since I had been able to really use my powers at such a close range, just to simply cause harm because I wanted to. However, eventually I stopped. More fun was to be had with the boy, but I needed to allow him time to recover. It was more fun that way.

As I walked away from the winter spirit, I couldn't help but smile. I stopped and looked back at my handy work; Jack was still awake amazingly, lying on the floor huddled in a ball. He whimpered and I could see tears falling to the ground. His hoodie was torn in multiple areas, all of the bandages Bunnymund had placed on him now gone; I had ripped them off at the start. Blood was visible along the long scratches on his face, hands, and feet. The corners of his mouth were chapped; I had gagged his mouth one or two hours ago, I had grown tired of his screams no matter how much they gave me pleasure. Later I would ungag him and begin again, but for now, I simply snapped my fingers and Jack was unconscious. I had nightmares quickly fill his mind.

I walked back to the center of my lair, carefully thinking of how to proceed. The possibilities seemed to be endless. Jack could become an excellent second in command; the nightmare sand was already in his system waiting to be activated. Or I could continue to keep Jack as he is, simply torturing him for the pleasure of it. I could also hold Jack hostage and ask for another guardian; Sandman would be a great one to eliminate, but he had proven hard to beat after what had happened last time. The guardians would more than likely jump at a chance to rescue their precious, newest member from-

A sound up above me pulled me out of my thoughts. I narrowed my eyes, looking about. I slithered into the shadows, making my way towards Jack. It was time to find a new hideout; soon the guardians would be here, assuming they already weren't, looking for the boy as they knew the location of my lair. I stepped out behind Jack and grabbed him by his hood, yanking him awake and to his feet.

"Time to go, Jack," I began to drag him behind me as I made my way through the darkness, eyes darting from area to area in search of the intruder.

"Where I am going to take you, none of the guardians will ever be able to find us."

Jack started trying to fight back again, and I immediately struck him in the back of the head to stop his actions. I felt him go limp and the weight nearly caught me off guard. I summoned a nightmare to come and carry him for me before continuing towards the exit. It was then I felt another presence looming close to me. I snapped around and cautiously looked about. A few yards in front of me I saw the figure walking towards me, and I narrowed my eyes.

"Ah, Bunnymund," I gritted my teeth together as the Pooka walked into the light. "What an unpleasant surprise." He had his boomerangs in his hands, already prepared to throw them. The look on his face was enough to tell me he was not going to go down without a fight this time.

"Pitch. What have ya done with Jack?"

My eyes glanced back at the nightmare with the boy resting limply on its back. Bunnymund followed my line of sight, and I heard him gasp softly at the appearance of the winter spirit. I allowed myself to smile, proud of my handy work.

"Oh, I simply had a little fun with the boy. He truly is a source of entertainment; great for playing with my powers. He has awakened feelings I have long forgotten."

Bunnymund clenched his teeth together and I watched as his stature turned rigid. If he hadn't been furious before, he was now. I laughed.

"You surly know that this is a wasted trip; the boy is mine now, too far gone to retrieve."

"That's a lie, Pitch. The other guardians and I can help him; he's not a lost cause just 'cause of what you've done."

"Ah, that's where you are wrong, Bunny. You won't be able to help him, because you aren't going to leave." I snapped my fingers and fearlings surrounded the Easter spirit. I smirked as a look of fear crept onto the Pooka's face. I turned away before snapping my fingers again. The fearlings swarmed towards Bunnymund, quickly covering him in a sea of black.

"It was a pleasure knowing you, Bunnymund." I put my hand on the nightmare carrying Jack and started to walk away, listening to the shouts of the guardian behind me.

Bunnymund POV

Fury surged through my body as I kicked and punched away the fearlings that surrounded me. I was not letting Pitch get away with this; I would not let Jack down. Boomerangs and exploding eggs were flying every which way, and I soon had created a gap in the wall of black. Not wasting a moment, I hopped through and sprinted on all fours towards the unsuspecting Nightmare King and his Nightmare horse. I saw Jack lying unconscious on its back, eyes clenched shut. His skin was ashen, bruises and scrapes covered his face and his hair was tinted brown; probably from dried blood. I decided then to grab Jack and simply get out of here; revenge against Pitch could wait. Jack needed medical attention as soon as possible.

I increased my speed and pushed myself off the ground; jumping over the shadow man and his fearling. I snatched Jack into my arms, landed on my hind legs, and continued to run until I was outside. I heard Pitch scream in frustration behind me, and I quickly stomped on the ground, opening an entrance to the tunnels and hopped in. I shut it behind me and sprinted as fast as I could to the North Pole; my warren was no longer a safe place for Jack.

*hides under rock* I had too much fun writing this chapter. Soon Jack, you'll be happy and not being tortured, I promise!

As always, reviews and critiques are appreciated! C: