AN I've been trying to respond to all the reviews when they come in (I'm very flattered! Thank you so much for your support!) and I sometimes miss a response or two (or more..). I'm going to just throw out a large thank you to all those I didn't respond to!

I'm going to aim for Saturday/ Sunday updates, but I'll try to post them around when I finish writing them.

Warning: Headcanon headcanon headcanon :) enjoy!

"His dreams are scaring him." North said once the Guardians were all seated around North's impressive conference table found in one of the hundreds of rooms in his workshop. "He came to me last night and he is sorry for lying to us."

"That's all good, but why isn't he here himself right now?" Bunnymund asked, tapping a nervous paw on the table.

North ran his hand along his beard, nodding, "He woke up early this morning from his sleep and asked to be put back in his room. I did so, seeing as I do not believe pressuring him into anything is the best idea for Jack." Bunnymund, if possible, frowned deeper and went back to examining the grains in the wood of the table.

Tooth flitted from where she was seated, "So what do we do? Did he tell you what was wrong?"

North shook his head, clearly as distraught at the loss of answers, "He does not know himself. But it is strange, what is happening to him. He has eyes of gold, sometimes, and his skin is turning the ash color of burnt wood. I do not know what causes it." The Russian turned his eyes on Sandy, but the sandman shook his head and shrugged, indicating that he had no idea either.

A slam brought their attention back to Bunny and the Pookah stood up, "You know what? We're not looking at the obvious here. Who do we know who deals with nightmares and is as gray as dusk? And yellow eyes? You can't possibly say all of you haven't thought about it."

The table was quiet for a full minute before North shook his head, "I do not think Pitch is strong enough. He hasn't even been able-"

"Come on, North! What else could it be? It's gotta be him. Who else could it be?" Voice cracking slightly, Bunny's ears dropped slightly and he looked away from North's eyes. It was then that North, as well as the rest of the table, realized how Bunnymund was really feeling.

"Bunny." Tooth said quietly, resting one hand on Bunny's shoulder, "I know this is hard for you, not knowing what's wrong. And it might be Pitch, but it might not be. Regardless, jumping to conclusions won't help Jack."

Bunny grit his teeth, "Why don't we just sit the little nuisance down and really ask him what he thinks it is, then? We're not getting anywhere sitting around gossiping like loons."

North nodded and raised a hand for one of his Yetis. The beast was over almost within seconds and North spoke quietly to it, asking for it to go fetch Jack. Instead of leaving, the Yeti only looked confused before muttering something incomprehensible to all the rest, but North immediately looked worried. "Jack is no longer in his room?" He asked and the Yeti said something else. North slammed his fist onto the table before addressing the others, "The yetis saw Jack leave early this morning. They did not think to stop him because he has been doing so since his stay has begun."

Tooth's feathers fluffed out in distress, "Should we go find him? He hasn't been in the best health. He could be in trouble!" She darted her head around, looking at all the exits she could fly out of.

"I think we should go find Pitch and find out if he's at the bottom of this!" Bunny argued and Tooth gave him her best glare and pout.

"Why are you worried about that when Jack's out there alone?"

"Like he isn't used to it." Bunnymund shot back and the shocked look the other Guardians gave him startled the Pookah, as if he hadn't realized what he'd just said. "I'm… I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that." He rubbed at his eyes and looked down at the table in shame.

Tooth fluttered out of her chair and came to hover next to Bunny. "We know you didn't mean it, Bunny. We're all tired and worried." She soothed and Bunny looked up at her, giving her a tight smile.

"I have decided." North said and they looked at him, "Tooth and Bunny will go and find Jack. I do not think it is wise for him to be alone right now." Sandy shot a question mark above his head and pointed at himself. North chuckled. "You and I, comrade, will go and find Pitch to ease Bunny's worry."

Bunny's ears perked straight up at that, "What?! North, let me go!"

North shook his head, "I have to be honest, I do not think with your current anger it is best for you to go to Pitch. I believe it is in Jack's best interest for you to go with Tooth. Please." The last plead was what made Bunny's shoulders sag in defeat.

"Fine, mate. I'll go find Frostbite. But I don't be happy about it." Bunny said but there was no bite behind it. Tooth grabbed his arm and tugged him out of the chair, her own wings fluttering so breathtakingly fast in anticipation that they were just blurs of distorted air. Bunny threw one last look back at Sandy and North before thumping his foot on the ground twice, opening up a rabbit hole. "Be careful. Just because he's not as believed in as he used to doesn't mean he isn't a nasty, lying thing." He warned before jumping into the hole, Tooth zipping in after him.

/ / /

North and Sandy stood next to the crack- more of a chasm, really- that broke the ground and led down into where Pitch resided. The Boogeyman no longer had the strength to wander the Earth now that few children still found fear in his being. The Guardians left the nightmare spirit alone for the most part, now that he wasn't a danger to anyone but himself.

Sandy looked up at North, as if asking if this was what he really wanted. North nodded back grimly and Sandy shrugged, lifting a palm and pooling sand in it. The sand poured down between his fingers to line the crack and the opening widened until it was large enough for even North's girth to fit through. North peered over the edge and watched the golden dream sand drip through and form stairs down into the darkness.

"I am not so sure this is a good idea, Sandy." North said, though he sounded more amused by the way the golden sand glittered even in the absolute darkness then actually concerned about what lay within. Sandy made a few symbols above his head- a padlock, eyes, a sheep jumping over a fence- that North didn't care to try and interpret. Instead, he put one sturdy boot down to test the step, and found that it held. Unsurprised by this but pleased none the less, North hiked his pants up and began to make his way down, listening to Sandy tapping along behind him and the shivering of the dream sand stairwell falling away behind them.

The sand trailed along before them, gently illuminating their path and it weaved and pooled before a great entrance, or what might have once been grand. The black marble that once formed impressive pillars and a beautifully, if not twisted, archway was now crumbled and cracked. North and Sandy stepped through it and the cavern that might have once been a chamber was now just an expansive, high ceilinged room.

The two Guardians tread lightly, knowing that they were now in the Nightmare King's home.

Sandy called his dream sand, the two no longer needing now that the cavern seemed to be lit by moonlight, though there was no noticeable windows and both Guardians were well aware that it was mid-morning, when Pitch had originally been at his weakest even when he was a powerful entity. They paid it no regard, chalking it up to one of Pitch's trickeries.

They walked slowly into the next room and paused, coming to a stop in the entryway. Both looked in shock upon what they saw, and who sat before them.

Where a throne may have been was now a decrepit old thing, one North couldn't even find Pitch worthy of sitting on. Pitch himself was in a terrible shape, one hand resting in the tangled mane of a decaying nightmare, its side heaving with effort and its face and neck pocketed with gaping holes. The Boogeyman sat hunched over, his being flickering in and out of sight even as North and Sandy stood there watching. He didn't seem to have acknowledged their presence yet.

"Pitch." North called out, voice echoing thinly off the stone walls.

Pitch raised his head, golden eyes ringed with exhaustion and hatred. He sneered at them and made an aborted move like he wanted to stand and then thought better of it. Taking a breath that seemed to shatter his body, Pitch asked in one great sigh, "What?"

Sandy tilted his head, a cloud that had been torn in two floating above his body and staying there. Pitch shot an annoyed look but didn't comment otherwise. He then dragged his tired gaze back to North and repeated his question, though this time with much more poison in his voice.

North took a strong step forward, "Are you responsible for what is happened to Jack Frost?" He asked. straightforward, voice booming around the stone. Pitch let his head fall into his hand, fingers rubbing against his temple as if North's voice gave him a headache.

He managed to look interested though. "Little Jack? Something's wrong with your dear winter spirit?" He managed a grin, but it was small and lacked its usual venom.

Sandy's cloud exploded into dust and a throbbing vein pulsed over his head in irritation. North placed a hand on the other's shoulder in reassurance, "We do not think you capable of much beyond sitting on your stool, of course." He chuckled and Pitch lost all amusement that was present in his face. Small sparks of darkness shot from beneath his palms but did little to worry the Guardians as they died mere inches from Pitch's hands.

"You know not who you speak to." Pitch growled and North raised a dark eyebrow. Sighing, Pitch rolled his wrist, "But please, do tell me what ails the boy."

North and Sandy shared a significant look, both silently asking if Pitch was up to something or if he really had no idea. Sandy shrugged, there was no harm in sharing the situation.

"Jack is having nightmares. They haunt him whenever he sleeps behind closed eyes. They hurt, he says. And he has begun to take on the appearance of shadows."

"The appearance of shadows?" Pitch asked, intrigued.

"Golden eyes and darkening skin," North clarified as Sandy popped up a pair of blinking eyes above his head. "We are wondering if you have anything to do with his condition, seeing as you are the master of nightmares."

Pitch picked at something in the corner of his eye and rolled it between his fingers, examining it as he took his time answering. Finally, Pitch shrugged, running his hands through the mare at his side's hair, the beast shaking its head in discomfort as Pitch's fingers caught in its tangled locks. "I am not responsible. Though I am flattered you find me capable of doing so." He blinked and looked at them, bored.

"We did not think you were." North admitted and Pitch grew sour. "Have a good day, then, Pitch." North turned and Sandy shot up the now commonly present question mark.

Pitch waited for them to almost get through the entryway before he called out, "Wait, you oaf." He released another long suffering sigh. "As much as I wish I was responsible, I am not. I have no idea how to fix whatever is making Jack suffer so. However, there is someone else you can talk to."

A moon appeared above Sandy and Pitch shook his head, "No, you worthless pile of dust." Sandy looked irritated but Pitch paid no mind, "The Man in the Moon will not meddle. You know as well as I that he would have said something to you by now if aiding Jack had gotten as hopeless as you resorting to coming to me."

Neither North nor Sandy disagreed. "So, Boogeyman, what do you propose?"

Pitch grinned, pointed, uneven teeth falling together haphazardly. "Why, it's simple. You need to go speak to our parents."

/ / /

Jack sat atop a rooftop, a place he had grown increasingly accustomed to as he lost the will to slip and slide along the streets with the children as he used to. Occasionally he'd kick a flurry up and send children slipping and falling to the ground just to listen to their laughter but he hadn't had the strength to do much more lately.

A sharp, knocking pain sometimes found its way to the forefront of Jack's head, and he would cradle his staff in the crooks of his elbows as he gripped the hair at his temples and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ride out the sensation until it inevitably retreated to a dull thrumming.

Bright yellow would streak across his vision before it dimmed to a hazy gold before finally clearing again, and Jack spent the majority of his time alone watching the gray color on his feet and hands. He wondered if his face had begun to turn to ash as well, but Jack had avoided looking in a mirror since the night with Sandy.

Wind pushed gently at his cheek and ran through his hair, Jack brushing it away, exhausted. He wasn't sure how much time passed with him staring at the gently falling snow as it dusted the world, but eventually he was snapped out of his state when a quick thumping caught his attention.

Looking over his shoulder, Jack can't say he was surprised to see Toothiana and Bunnymund standing on the roof, looking at him as if he were some long lost child.

"Hey." He said halfheartedly, raising his staff off his shoulder slightly in greeting.

"You planning on coming back to the Pole or were you going to keep hiding?" Bunny asked, arms crossing across his chest.

"I came here because I wanted to be by myself. Is that not okay?" Jack asked, bitter. He didn't always have the best patience on a good day, but recently his nerves had been so frayed that Jack was willing to snap at anybody for anything. Most of the elves had, unfortunately, been on the wrong end of his attitude the past few weeks.

"Jack, we just want you to come home." Tooth said and Jack scoffed.

"To do what? Walk around like a freaking zombie and lay in bed trying not to sleep? Leave me alone. How many times do I have to say it?!" Jack stood up as he shouted, the hand not holding his staff flexing in irritation.

"Stop being like that and just come with us!" Bunny said sternly and Jack's face darkened, eyes shining dangerously. Bunny took a strong step forward and Jack bared his teeth.

Taking a stumbling step backwards in defense, Jack's heel slipped off the edge of the house's gutter. "Leave me alone! That's all I want!" He gripped his head and raised his staff as high as his shaking arm would let him, "Wind!" He called and both Bunny and Tooth braced themselves for the strong North Wind to come sweeping in, inevitably carrying Jack away and putting them back at square one.

However, much to the surprise of all three, no wind was forthcoming. Jack looked up, confusion written across his face. "Wind! Take me home!" He yelled and looked around, gold eyes flashing, when the wind once again refused to blow.

"Looks like even the wind knows there's something wrong, mate. Just come with us." Bunny said, taking an aborted step forward. "We can get you help."

"Help?" Jack hissed and Tooth let out a tiny gasp. Black ink left a dark line over Jack's lips from where it dripped out his nose like dark blood, his eyes their dusky gold and the hand that gripped his staff turning a gray ash. "Why help me?" His voice sounded hollow, the noise echoing in his throat. "When have you ever wanted to help me?!"

Tooth fluttered forward, one hand extended, "Jack, it's okay-"

"It's not okay!" Jack shrieked, a blast of frost that bit like metal needles blasted around him, "When has it ever been 'okay'? Saying you want to help me? Please. I've only ever helped you! When I needed help you all turn your backs!" Jack spit, black running and mixing with slush. "I'm just a convenience."

Bunny and Tooth, shocked, almost missed when Jack swung out at them, ice spouting from his staff like water. Pulling Tooth with him, Bunny twisted to the side to avoid the hit and immediately stood back up and turned when he heard Tooth let out a sound of pain. Eyes darting across her body, he didn't miss how she held one wing carefully behind her.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, quickly, while Jack regained his footing.

"It's alright." She assured him, "No harm." She flexed her wing to show, but the gossamer appendage was cracked ever so slightly in the corner and Bunny growled, one hand on his boomerang. "Bunny, no!" Tooth cried from behind him, "He doesn't know what he's doing!"

"Maybe not, but I'm not going to let him hurt people!" Bunny said, fur bristled as he watched Jack regrip his staff. The winter spirit stared at them, eyes unfocused as if he had just woken up.

"Bunny." He whimpered and coughed, black bubbling up and staining his lips. Bunnymund loosened his grip and looked like he wanted to reach out but Jack just grinned wickedly, "Stupid rabbit." And struck out, catching Bunny on his shoulder and, with a twist of his own arms, Jack sent him to the ground.

"Jack that's enough!" Tooth yelled, feathers fluffing out as she shot forward and tried to grip Jack's staff. Jack growled, shocking Tooth with how animalistic it sounded, and his eyes flashed in anger as he twisted his staff out of her grip and used the butt of the wood to hit her in the stomach.

"Tooth." Jack muttered and Tooth's eyes widened from where she lay on the rooftop, icy chill seeping in through her feather down. The eyes stormed with fury and his face contorted in rage, but beneath that his voice broke with hurt and Tooth's own heart felt like it had been squeezed.

"Jack…" She said but as she lifted a hand to his, Jack suddenly jerked forward, falling to his knees with a groan, eyes flickering as colors battled one other for dominance.

Bunnymund stood behind him, one paw wrapped around his boomerang, the end still quivering with the force of being smacked against Jack's head.

"Bunny!" Tooth screamed, "Why did you do that?!"

"He needed it." Bunny said quietly, replacing his boomerang and leaning down swiftly to catch Jack around the waist when the boy fell forward, cradling him in his arms. "It was either him or us, or worse it could have been one of the people." The Pookah said about the humans walking oblivious below them, though now that Jack lay in his arms, Bunny looked genuinely upset. He reached down with his free paw and wiped away the black that was smeared down Jack's chin.

The pressure on his skin resulted in Jack shifting and fluttering his eyes, the clear, sky blue blinking up owlishly. He had a moment of confusion before he focused on Bunny's face, the Pookah himself searching Jack's for any hint of his previous malice. Instead, Jack's lips shook and he gripped Bunny's fur, "Don't make me go back to sleep." He asked, voice cracking beyond its usual roughness, "Please, don't make me fall asleep."

The plea was so childish, so expected of someone Jack's age, that Bunny forgot for a moment that he held in his arms a being who had existed for more than three hundred years. "Okay, kid. You don't have to go to sleep. But we're going to get you back to North's, okay?" Bunny asked, eyes not leaving Jack's.

Jack closed his eyes, whether in relief or shame, Bunnymund wasn't sure, and he nodded. Tooth glided forward and held her arms out and Bunny gave Jack one last reassuring squeeze before handing him to Tooth, the fairy hugging Jack to her and Jack turning his face into the familiar feel of her feathers.

Bunny thumped twice on the roof and a hole opened, him jumping in first and listening for Tooth to follow, the usual hum of her wings bouncing off the earth walls, before he closed the hole up and directed them to the North Pole.

/ / /

Bunny and Tooth stepped into North's study, Jack still held tight in Tooth's arms. North looked up from where he had been muttering softly to Sandy, gaze immediately snapping to Jack, who lay motionless.

"Is he…?"

"He's awake." Jack answered, voice muffled by Tooth's feathers. North let himself smile slightly, heavy wrinkles that had set in since Jack's nightmares had begun easing minutely. Regardless, the other Guardians noticed it and let their shoulders all relax ever so minimally.

"So did you talk to Pitch?" Bunny asked of North, the Russian merely shrugging his great shoulders. "Shrug meaning no or yes?"

"Shrug meaning yes, but it was not the outcome you would have wished. It is as I thought; Pitch is not strong enough to be of such a hazard to Jack's health." He sat heavily in his chair, "But…"

"But?" Tooth's wings trembled expectantly, and even Jack shifted enough to peek one blue eye out. North made eye contact with the winter spirit, smiling reassuringly.

"But he did give us an idea of who to talk to."

North let what he said sit in silence, and it was Bunny who asked, "The Man in the Moon?" And, as usual, the mere mention of the name caused Jack to perk up slightly.

Shaking his head, North ran a hand through his beard, "He made a good point, actually. Bunny! When was the last time we paid a visit to Mamyula and Batya?"

Bunny looked taken aback. "Mom and Dad?"

North nodded and Jack squirmed until Tooth let him down. Jack leaned heavily on his staff, chest heaving, when he asked, "Who's mom and dad?"

"we're really going to go see them?" Tooth giggled and North nodded. The other Guardians hummed in agreement and Tooth smiled down at Jack, who was looking at them with wide, curious eyes. "Jack." She said, "We're going to go see Mother Nature and Father Time."