Wow, thank you for all the reviews guys! I honestly did not think many people would read any of my stories. It truly means a lot to me to hear from you, my readers! Keep the reviews coming, what do you think will happen next? What is your favorite part so far? How do you think it will end (because I am undecided and would like some ideas c; ) Hope you enjoy the chapter~

Thankfully, I reached the Pole in good time. An opening appeared above my head and I jumped up, landing in the soft snow. I quickly located North's workshop and ran towards it. There was no time to notify him properly of my arrival; I needed to get inside right away. Jack was still unconscious in my arms, but he was plagued with nightmares and thrashed out constantly. I couldn't help but notice as dark circles had gathered under his eyes and his hair had turned from the white shade it normally was to grey. Worry trickled up my spine and I felt exhaustion stiffening my body, but I pushed it down; I needed to keep strong and calm.

I ran up to the front door and knocked as hard as I possibly could before pulling the door open; the yetis deserved some kind of warning at least. I pushed past a few who tried to stop me, trying to ask what was going on. Elves simply stood watching as I rushed to the infirmary. I hoped the yetis had enough sense to notify North of my arrival, but I didn't hesitate on it.

I kicked the door open to the infirmary and quickly laid Jack down on one of the multiple empty beds. I put his staff up against the wall near his bed. I knew if- when, I quickly corrected myself- he'd wake up, he would definitely want confirmation of it.

Spinning on my heels, I raced to the wall of cupboards across the room and opened them. I rifled through their contents, looking for the medical supplies I needed. It was during my search I heard North burst through the infirmary doors. He started to walk over to me, not having yet noticed Jack lying on the bed behind him.

"Bunnymund? What is going on?"

I gathered the supplies in my arms before turning around and making my way past him towards Jack. North turned around as well, and I heard him gasp; now seeing the winter spirit.

"Jack got attacked by Pitch. I don't have time to explain, just call Tooth and Sandy. We'll need all the extra hands we can get." North nodded a bit surprised, and briskly walked out of the room, already shouting commands to the elves and yetis, some of whom had been poking their heads into the infirmary.

I laid out my items on the bed across from Jack and sorted everything, beginning to block out my surroundings. The only thought running through my mind now was to help Jack. After laying everything out accordingly, I turned back to the immortal teen. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I walked over, leaning over him.

His skin was grey, and his hair was as well in a darker shade. He was covered in cuts and bruises, dark circles were apparent under his tightly-closed eyes. The boy's face was contorted in pain and discomfort, likely because of his injuries and nightmares. I inhaled quickly before starting; I took off his hoodie and began to go to work. North walked back in and came over to me. He stood next to me, watching my movement. I glanced over at him, and saw concern in his eyes.

"I have notified the others. They will be here as soon as they can."

I only nodded in response and looked back to Jack. I felt North rest a hand on my shoulder.

"Bunnymund, get some rest. I can take over, and you look like you could use a break. How long has Jack been like this?"

I sighed, knowing he was right and stepped back, sitting on the bed behind me. North stepped forward and quickly continued what I had been doing. I started to tell him what happened.

"Jack came to the warren yesterday in the early afternoon in bad shape; he actually passed out when I finally got to him. I had assumed he had only gotten in some kind of spat, with one of your yetis perhaps, but I wondered why he would come all the way to my warren if he was near you. After getting him back to my quarters and getting him fixed up, I left to investigate the trail he had left. I followed it for a while, probably a few hours, and I found he had gotten in on the far side of the warren. I quickly found out what had attacked him… and what followed him in."

North looked over at me, concern growing in his eyes before turning back to Jack. "Who was it? How is your place?"

It was then North turned Jack over, and I saw him freeze in shock, more than likely seeing the scarring on the boy's back. After getting over his surprise, he went back to work. We sat in silence until North finished wrapping Jack's injuries, re-dressed him in clean clothing, and tucked him into the sheets, covering him with a blanket. We walked to the other side of the room, and continued the conversation.

"I'm assuming you saw the scarring and figured it out, but it's Pitch; he's back."

North stared at me blankly before leaning on the handrails of the bed nearest him, trying to process this discovery. "How can he be back?" He whispered. "It is too soon for him to be back; we only defeated him within this past year!"

"I know it makes no sense mate, but he is back," I paused, trying to delay the next part. "And he had Jack for a couple of hours earlier today."

North rounded on me. "He what?!" I raised my hands, motioning for him to relax. He complied, taking a moment to calm himself before continuing.

"How did he get ahold of Jack? Weren't you protecting him?"

"Of course I was." I defended myself. "I did my best to fight off Pitch, go look at my warren it is proof enough! The damage is extensive. I'm lucky I am okay; Pitch tried to use his nightmare sand on me, but he must have knew he was weakening and left before he could finish, taking Jack with him. As soon as I woke up I went after Pitch; I knew it was my responsibility."

"You could have contacted us, we could've assisted you."

"There wasn't time. Just look at Jack now, imagine if I had gotten to the Nightmare King's lair any later. Pitch was about to relocate when I ambushed him; thank the sky I did. And now Jack is here, safe. Well, for now, at least."

North nodded, but I could tell he was thinking about something. It didn't appear like it was a good thought either. He seemed puzzled, and turned to look at the winter spirit.

"Did Pitch use his nightmare sand on Jack?"

I nodded, looking solemn. I was sure the sand was deeply rooted into his system, and Jack was probably fighting it already. He was restless in the bed, tossing and turning under the sheets besides his injuries. I could hear him whimpering from across the room. I hoped that Sandy would get here before it became unbearable for Jack, or worse.

North, a look of dread appearing on his face, motioned towards the door before walking to it. I followed, and we exited shutting the door quietly, Phil slipping in to keep an eye on Jack. North turned to me. We walked to the Globe Room, continuing our discussion. We stood in front of the fireplace, and North leaned on the mantle, putting a hand to his forehead.

"So there is nightmare sand inside Jack. Do you know how long has it been there?"

I shrugged. "At least two days now. There might even be some from the battle a few months back."

He simply looked at me with a serious expression on his face.

"You do know what this means, yes?" I nod, being completely aware of the possibility.

"Jack could be overtaken by Pitch; he could be in his complete control, at his mercy…" North quickly turned around, starting to pace.

"Sandy needs to get here as soon as possible; we need to get the sand out of his system. Who knows what damage Pitch could do if-"

The doors burst open, sending a rush of wind in our faces as Phil came rushing into the room, frantic. I felt my heart stop, and Phil ran up to North, yelling something I didn't understand. North tried to calm the yeti, putting his hands out to stop him.

"Phil! Phil! Calm down! What is-"

It was then I saw the dark shadows creeping into the room and a figure looming in the hall. I instantly pulled out my boomerangs, North unsheathing his swords. Both of us took steps forward slowly as elves ran behind us and out of the room in a panic. However, I quickly lowered my weapons when the figure stepped out of the shadows.

It was not Pitch.

It was Jack.

North and I didn't move; even though we had just discussed the possibility, we were not prepared for it to actually happen.

Jack was walking towards us, staff in hand and nightmare sand swirling around him. The ground layered in frost behind him, snow beginning to accumulate as well. The boy's hair was as black as Pitch's, messier than usual. His skin ashen, making the cuts and bruises seem to mix with it. His eyes however, worried me the most; they were black, unseeing, but I felt as if he was staring directly at us. He was smirking, and it sent shivers up my spine how much he resembled the nightmare king. I took a step towards him.

"Jack, if you can hear me-"

I was cut off when a burst of ice was hurdled at my head from his staff. I dodged it easily; Pitch didn't have much control over Jack's aim in this state thankfully. But I knew he could still cause massive destruction. I was sure Pitch knew this as well. I looked at the immortal teen again; the smirk was gone, a frown now in its place. Out of the corner of my eye I could see North was advancing towards him slowly, walking at an angle to avoid Jack's line of sight. I kept his eyes on me. I smirked a little, figuring I could have a little fun with this.

"Okay Jack, you want to go toe-to-toe with the Easter Bunny?" Something similar to a growl came from Jack as he narrowed his eyes, and I saw him raising his staff to throw another attack. North was now standing behind the boy, arm already raised with one of his swords in his hand, handle pointing towards Jack ready to knock the winter spirit unconscious. I felt a pang of guilt, but I knew it had to be done.

"Now!" I shouted, and Jack whipped around only to have North's sword slam into his side, knocking him back into a wall, hard. His head slammed back, and he crumbled to the floor. I raced over with North right behind me, and leaned down to him. He was out like a light bulb, and I could see blood trickling down from somewhere in his hair. I glanced at North angrily.

"Did ya have to punch him so hard, mate?" I muttered. He shrugged guiltily.

"I wanted to make sure I only had to hit him once."

I rolled my eyes a little I hated the fact that we had to hurt him more to help him. I picked the boy up in my arms and walked back into the infirmary to treat his new wound. As I laid him down, his hair and skin slowly turned back to normal. I smiled a little; that had to be a good sign. Quickly, I located the source of his bleeding and dressed the wound. I was just finishing up when Toothiana and Sandman burst through the door.

"Where is he? Where is he?" Toothiana gasped before catching sight of me in front of Jack's bed. She quickly flew over to me, Sandy right behind her. She gasped when she saw the condition of the immortal teen and looked at me in horror.

"Is… is he going to be-"

I rested a hand on her shoulder, smiling a little. "He's gonna be fine, he actually looks worse than he is. Believe me, Tooth. If anybody can pull through this, Jack can." I looked up and North, he was shaking his head.

Don't tell her about what just happened. She doesn't need to worry more. He mouthed.

I nodded and looked back at Tooth and Sandy. Tooth continued to look at Jack worried, and Sandy looked at me. He pointed at Jack, then at North and I, then at the door which he floated over to. He motioned with his arms for us to come over. North and I complied, and stood next to him. He made a series of symbols above his head, much too fast for me to follow only picking up that he was asking questions. North however seemed to understand. He whispered quietly so Tooth wouldn't overhear.

"Sandy, Jack was attacked by Pitch. It's not good. We need you to use your dreamsand to pull out the nightmare sand inside him. Pitch has already overshadowed him once, right before you and Tooth came in. Can you do that?"

I bit my lower lip as Sandy looked at us with an expression of shock and concern on his face before nodding slowly. The idea that Pitch was already back was a huge blow, especially to him. Pitch had affected Sandy the most out of any of us during the fight. The concept of him returning and doing this to Jack was frightening nonetheless.

Sandy turned around and floated back over to Jack, rising up and sitting on the bed next to him. He looked at North and I, then at Tooth. I nodded, and walked over behind Toothiana. She was standing on the ground next to the bed, holding Jack's hand. Her eyes were wet with tears, and the mini-fairies were silently floating around her.

I laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hey Tooth, why don't we head on out to the Globe Room? Jack could use some peace and quiet."

She looked at me for a moment before turning her head to look at Jack, sleeping quietly now under the covers. Dolphins created from dreamsand danced above his head, Sandy trying to calm his nightmares successfully. I took her free hand, motioning towards the door. She sighed, nodded and lifted off the ground slightly, slowly releasing her hold on Jack's hand. I walked out, looking back at North and Sandy, who quickly sent North out behind me. I held eye contact with Sandy, ears down as I left Jack in his care. The doors shut quietly, and I sighed.

Come on, Sandy. Make sure Jack comes out alright.