Pitch watched the sleeping form of the girl for what seemed like hours. She showed no signs of life save for her steady very slow breathing. He watched her chest rise then fall ever so subtly. Joey wasn't nearly as peacefully to watch. He screamed and shouted from his hanging cage, trying to break the bars, trying to slip between them to get to his sister.

"The Guardians will come for us Pitch! If you touch my sister they'll kick your gray butt!" He shouted, rattling the thick bars angrily. Pitch smirked slightly and looked from the sleeping Larrin to her brother.

"Is that so Joey? I don't think they could. Nor do I think you understand just who you are dealing with." Pitch melted into shadows, making Joey red with anger. It wasn't fair that he could just slip away during an argument while the other person still had things to yell. But Joey looked from the dark where Pitch had disappeared to his sister, sleeping deeply on the dark ground by a weird looking globe. She didn't appear to be having a nightmare, but how could she be having anything else? He felt so sad just looking at her. Two years ago she was so warm and knowing and friendly. And despite the fact that she still smiled at him when she came home, he could see she wasn't quite the same.

Pitch had hurt her. Very deeply, more so than their birth parents ever had when she was little. Maybe it was the abuse both she and Joey suffered as little children that made it so easy for Pitch to break Larrin. But after they had been adopted by their new mommy and daddy, Larrin had been so happy. You could hardly catch a sight of her without a brilliant smile or a laugh on her lips. She wasn't like that anymore.

"I can make her forget them Joey." Pitch's voice startled the already terrified boy and he jumped near a foot. He turned to glare at the golden eyed Nightmare King.

"Why?" Pitch shrugged at that, trying to seem less interested than he was.

"She served her purpose for me a long time ago. I needed your sister so I could return to power. She had suffered so much at the hands of your birth parents, I knew it wouldn't be long to reach a breaking point. And then after that...I became completely infatuated with her. Well mostly her fear."

"So why didn't you stop? Why not let her return to her family?" Joey demanded, cheeks getting red with anger.

"I couldn't let her go." Pitch looked lovingly down at the girl. "I always intended to make it up to her. Once I defeated the Guardians and had my place reestablished on this world. I wanted to give her everything she deserved. A grand palace, all the pleasures in life she could wish for. Someone to love her." Joey looked at the Boogeyman in disbelief. He didn't really mean himself did he? After everything he'd done to Larrin, he wanted to try and convince her that he loved her? How stupid! But Joey saw the slight weakness in Pitch's eyes and decided to try and work a wedge in.

"You still have a chance to make it up to her. Let us go. You have your oh so precious power. You don't need her anymore, and she won't want you ever if you go about it like this." Joey pointed out. Pitch narrowed his eyes slightly and glared at the rocky ground of his cave.

"I'm afraid it's too late now. And besides, I do need her. When I let the Guardians carry her away she nearly destroyed me with only a few words. I have become so attached to her that if she were to stop being afraid of me completely it would destroy me. I need her to remain afraid, at least until I have put an end to the Guardians. By then I will have more than enough believers to not be so dependent." He spat the word out like a swear word. "And then...then I will make her queen over the shadows."

"And if she doesn't want to be?" Joey narrowed his eyes. Pitch rolled his eyes giving Joey a look like, 'are you serious'.

"She would do anything for you Joey. And so I have great plans in place." Joey crinkled his eyebrows together in a mix of fear and confusion. He put as much distance as he could between the two of them, and tears built in his eyes as a black arrow materialized in Pitch's hands. "Sweet dreams Joey."

WITH THE GUARDIANS

"I don't understand! How did this happen?!" Larrin's father demanded, gesturing to his daughter's empty room. Her mother was rather close to tears and she stood next to her husband waiting for an answer from one of the Guardians. Jack was busily pacing back and forth, trying to keep his mind off the obvious answer. Bunny looked to North, hoping the leader of the Guardians would have an answer. Because he sure as hell didn't.

"And Joey is gone too! Would Pitch have taken both of them?" Her mother asked, wiping her eyes. When they had first adopted Larrin and Joey, the children never showed any affection. They never smiled or laughed. But Larrin was so protective of Joey. She just hoped that where ever they were, they were together. That way at least she could be sure they were looking out for each other.

"We...we didn't think he would be back so soon. We assumed he would try to make a move against us before he came for Larrin." North said sadly.

"Well how can we get them back?!" Her father demanded. When Larrin had been taken two years ago he had felt so responsible for it. After hearing her circumstances with her biological parents, he had been so protective of the girl. And seeing her tonight it had made his heart ache with how much he'd missed her. Now she was gone again.

"We'll go back to his lair. If he has them, they'll be there." Jack explained bravely. Her mother sobbed and her father nodded. Jack tried to look reassuring as he and the other two Guardians made their way out of the house. "Bunny, you got our ride?" The pooka nodded and tapped his foot on the ground a few times before a hole emerged. They all jumped through, Bunny and Jack maneuvering the swift tunnel easily but North bumping around behind them letting out little lines of Russian swears. When the end of the tunnel opened Bunny was the first out. Jack swooped out and stopped just before hitting Bunny. But North careened right into both, the three collapsing into a heap.

"O bozhe moi." North muttered. After recovering and stretching, the buff man took the lead and began walking. They were in Pitch's lair, the dark rock and cold air felt exactly as creepy as the last time. But something felt different. When last they had been here, the whole place had seemed to be alive. To breathe with fear and darkness. But now, it felt dead and blank.

"Guys." Jack motioned towards a tunnel that held a little more light at the end than the one they were traveling. They followed the new tunnel all the way to the grand cave. But, it was different now. The cages were gone, and so was the globe. It was just a cave. They all let out a groan. "Great. He picked now to move." Jack muttered.

"We don't have time for this mate." Bunny growled.

"We should consult Man in Moon. Bunny take us back to sleigh. We will get Tooth and Sandy and meet at workshop." North instructed. Bunny nodded, opening a tunnel that let out right next to North's sleigh.

"I'll go find Tooth and Sandy." Jack explained and took off on the wind. Bunny and North boarded his sleigh and rushed off, Bunny taking his normal pose now that Larrin wasn't there to comfort him with her giggles. He missed her. And he was determined to get her back.

IN PITCH'S LAIR

Larrin moaned slightly in her sleep and began to stir. She had been still as death, save her slow breathing, but now she was finally rejoining them in the land of consciousness. She mumbled something Pitch didn't understand and then stood, looking around in terror. She knew where she was. It had to be Pitch's lair. How could it be anything else? She began to shake slightly as she slowly walked, trying to investigate a possible escape and also trying to find Joey. A dark shadow passed over her, making her shudder. And Pitch materialized from the darkness in front of her. She was too frightened to move as he towered over her.

"You slept so long I was worried I had overdone it on the Nightmare Sand." He said seductively, darkness curling around Larrin and tugging slightly at her pretty lavender dress.

"Stop it!" She cried, trying to squirm away from the darkness. It made Pitch laugh, the sound like pure evil to Larrin. He watched her futilely trying to escape the claws that clung to her hair and arms and dress for a moment before dismissing the darkness with the flick of his hand. He reached out, grabbing the girl by her throat, before she could move. He held her startlingly close to his own face, making her look him in the eye.

"Did you miss me Larrin? I missed you." He cooed. She shuddered, hearing her name come from her lips. The two years of torture she endured, he had never referenced her name. And now she was glad for it. It sounded so rotten and cold when he spoke it.

"Where's Joey?" she demanded instead of acknowledging his sick taunts.

"Oh not to far away. We've been spending some quality time together. Talking about your parents. You remember them don't you Larrin? Not the softhearted pair that adopted you, the ones who gave birth to you. Do you remember how daddy would beat you? How mommy would look the other way, not listening when you asked for help? And poor little Joey, he was so small. It was hard not to break the boy for your father." He smirked, enjoying the way she squirmed in his grasp, desperately trying to ignore him.

"Stop it please!" She begged, tears on her cheeks. Pitch chuckled deep in his throat, before simply dropping the girl to the ground. She sucked in heavy breaths, trying to forget the memories as they became prevalent. When Sandy had retrieved her memories, he had stopped urging her mind before she could think of her birth parents. She hadn't remembered them. Not until this moment. But now the memories flooded her mind like a sickness, making her heart break in her chest.

"Oh poor Larrin." Pitch cooed, putting his fingers beneath her chin to tip her head up towards his. "It hurts, doesn't it." She couldn't help but nod. "It hurt me too when you so casually dismissed me."

"I didn't know I would hurt you!" She sniffled defensively. She didn't necessarily care if she had hurt him, in fact it made her thrilled to learn she had dished even a little bit of what he had fed her for so long. But she knew if she wanted any sort of mercy for herself or for Joey, she should at least act sorry.

"I know. But none the less, I have someone to introduce you to. Although, I think you have already met." He released her and walked away a few paces. He gestured faintly to the side where there was only darkness. Larrin sniffled a little but tried to peer into the darkness. She tried to see who it was Pitch was talking about. And she recoiled noticeably when golden eyes opened in the darkness. They were accompanied by a round face that she did know. But his skin was gray, and his hair a dark black. His clothes too were now black, and all his skin the same horrifying color as Pitch's. Larrin's eyes began shedding tears uncontrollably as realization dawned on her.

"Joey." Her voice was high and sad. Her brother looked at her with a malicious smirk, similar to the one the Nightmare King was wearing. Pitch walked over to the boy and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I have to admit I've grown somewhat attached to the lad. And I figured how better to make him warm up to me, than to make him my newest Fearling. It's a good look for him don't you think Larrin?"

"You sadistic bastard! Turn him back!" She exclaimed, the tears still flowing. Joey shrugged off Pitch's hand and walked up to his sister, wiping away a few of her tears.

"It's okay Larrin. He's going to make everything better." It nearly broke her heart to hear her little brother like this. His voice distorted and dark.

"It's true Larrin. With Joey's and your help, the Guardians will fall. And then, everything will be better. Everything...will be Pitch Black." Pitch again tilted her face towards his. "And you will be the queen of it all." With a smirk he pressed his lips to hers. Darkness clouded Larrin's vision and she passed out, still in the hands of her tormentor and Fearling brother.

Authors Note: If anyone is interested in doing some fan art for this story, perhaps a shot of Larrin and Pitch, please Private Message me and let me know!