Dedication of this chapter goes to my 50th reviewer – angel azul :)

Also, I want to thank Dreamer for the lovely review, it really made me happy :)

IMPORTANT! – I am changing the title to: Nightmares so Sweet, expect this title in the next update.

Chapter 9

The Moon's Paw

Silence, which had filled the workshop seemed to be endless, tension was floating through the empty corridors. Yetis paused their work, even the elves remained quiet. It was like the time on north pole just stopped, waiting. Waiting. All they could do was just stand there and look helplessly as the reanimation was going on. Their breaths were held, the only sound to be heard was the sound of their heartbeats.

The cardio monitor calmed down. Phil handed North a medical instrument which he had requested. They had no idea what it was, fortunately North had some medical experience and he knew what he was doing. It might have been minutes or hours, everyone lost the track of time. Time meant nothing when Toothiana's life was hanging on the edge.

"Thank you, Phil" the Russian said when he had finished and the Yeti left to let them talk.

"How is she?" Bunnymund asked after a while. North sat down on a chair and sighed.

"She's in coma"

"In coma?... W-will she wake up?"

"I have no idea" North replied rising his blue eyes full of sadness to look at his friend.

"Everything will be alright" Sandy spoke patting the Cossack on his back but he remained silent. The look of his face showed no emotion. Then he stood up not looking at his companions and headed toward the door.

"I hope you're satisfied with what your brother has done" was all he said before he walked out.

"Wait, where are you going, mate?" Bunny called and followed after him.

"And where do you think I can be going?" North hissed coldly "He wants the war so I will give him the war"

"But… but Nick, Christmas are coming, kids are waiting for presents… you have far more important things to take care of" Aster tried to calm the Cossack.

"Important thing to do is to avenge MY friend before Pitch brings more harm. No Christmas this year. Face it Bunnymund, it is war. Are you with me or against?" Nickolas North made it clear for Bunny that there were only two choices for him. And Bunny couldn't leave a friend no matter how mad he had gone… but Sandy was also his friend. Not wanting to get into an argument he just nodded and decided to wait for the things to develop.

"What's your plan mate?" he asked.

"Well… Pitch has the great army of Nightmares at his command and what I'm afraid of is that he hasn't shown his full strength yet, as he might have the army of fearlings up his sleeve… maybe even dream pirates" North responded after a while of thinking.

"Seriously mate? Dream pirates? No one has heard of them since the golden age. And fearlings are a closed chapter"

"Never question the power of evil, my friend. We need to protect the good of this world and to do so, I am ready to sacrifice Christmas. We must gather our own armies and consult with Man in Moon. We can't risk the next dark ages. I think you understand it, Aster. It brought extinction to your race, won't let it happen to many other kinds. It really is the high time to finish it once and for all"

"I… think I see your point mate" Bunny agreed as it gave him to think about the case from a different point of view. It wasn't only North's mad ambition to just avenge Toothiana. There was far more behind it. The truth was, the Nightmare King was unpredictable and actually it all started when MiM had warned them about the greater danger. After all, MiM made them the Guardians, to fight the boogeyman, to guard the people from darkness, it was their duty. And so, North wanted to protect them all, at the moment it was clear for Bunnymund that even if he saw a little, tiny chance of Pitch returning to… Kozmotis… he had to put that little light of hope away. It was the risk they couldn't take. The problem was that along with North, Bunny questioned Sandy's loyalty. And in the actual case, they would have to get him out of the way if he stands on it.

Meanwhile Sandy was going through some serious struggles. Never he had thought that it would come to the point when he had to decide about his true loyalty. He would always follow and support his friends, no matter what, but the matter at the moment was a little bit complicated, as it was his very own brother. As much as he wanted to, he simply couldn't be on both of the sides. It pained him to think about it, but sooner or later he would have to turn on his dear friends, which would hurt them much. In the end, he couldn't leave his family… he once did, it brought the dark ages upon the world. He regretted it every single day and wished he could had changed it. His loyalty belonged to both, but when it would come to the fight, this time, he would protect his brother and the good in him.

He felt so tired, tired of all this mess. If only there was a way of uniting them all… He looked up and his golden eyes searched for the moon. He didn't need any words to speak.

'father, help me'

He just stared at the silver orb shining from above, making the snow look like beautiful stardust, and he knew that the moon stared back at him, understood. It didn't take long until the answer came like a bolt of lightning… well, almost literally, as the pale beams of moonlight got replaced by subtle mixture of green and violet light falling from the sky like a veil floating in the air. Northern lights were indeed a marvelous thing. But this one was just for him to watch, Sandy followed the colorful streak to meet its end only to find that it actually led him back to North place, foot of the mountain of his workshop, to be exact.

'And what is the meaning of that, father?'

There it was, Man in Moon perfectly knew what he was doing. Sandy spotted the part of the mountain was illuminated more that the rest, he came closer and brushed his hand against the wall, shaking off the snow to reveal a soft surface reflecting himself, the mountain was icebound. He looked at his reflection trying to figure out what was so special about this very place. Then he brought his hand once more to the icy surface and poked it. To his surprise, the sound echoed, like there was something hidden behind the frozen gate. He placed palm on the wall and pushed it. He expected it to move or remain in the place but instead his hand penetrated through the ice, he pulled back. The feeling was weird and sent a shiver through his body. After the cold feeling faded, he once more let his arm disappear behind the surface followed by the rest of his body.

He found himself in place that was rather breathtaking. The walls, the ceiling, the floor it was all made from ice, but not ordinary, as it looked like pure crystals reflecting different colors and glowing to illuminate everything with its magnificence. No words could hold the true beauty of the phantasmagoric cave before his eyes, so he slowly walked to discover what was lying in the end of it. The crystal walls formed into shelves filled with books looking very old, there was glowing cube, made of pure ice and on the top of it there was a huge book, its cover was scuffed and the pages yellowed of age. Sandman approached and carefully opened the heavy book on a random page. There was nothing, no words written, just empty pages with some scars. He frowned not sure what to do next. When he was about to turn his eyes noticed something appearing on the paper, signs forming into words. It was not in the language that anyone else could understand, it was runic language, long dead, but not to Sandy, as he's been wandering through the world since the language was born.

"You came for the answers and I shall give them to u if you ask the right question" it read. Sandy wondered for a while. It was one of the enchanted books.. actually one of very few that survived through the ages. Those books had knowledge of every part of the history, they knew everything about everything, and probably more about Sandy than he knew about himself. Back in the golden age they used to come for help and search for answers in the all-knowing book. It must have been the enchanted library, hidden so the darkness couldn't reach such a powerful weapon, it had been lost for centuries. Smile made its way upon Sandman's face. 'So this is where you hid it, father'. His eyes fixed on the book once more. He had to ask a good question.

"How can I unite my friends and my brother?"

Instead of writing an answer the book pictured a boy holding a staff, then all of them, the guardians standing around him, including Pitch. "Jack…" Sandy thought.

"This is why Man in Moon wanted us to search for him?"

Once again pictures appeared in a form of a boy then he turned into a key which again switched into something different, a candle with a little flame dancing on it. It was shrouded by the shadows that finally blew out the candle. Sandy could perfectly read from symbol speech but he didn't know what this meant. He had to think about it later. It reminded him of the sickness the boy had been suffering from.

"What is happening to Jack?"

The book showed him a circle and a boy sitting inside it. Then black mist surrounded him and formed into a bird, a raven, sitting on his shoulder. Sandy knew that this one meant that Jack had been cursed.

"How can we help him?"

Then behind the boy a hooded figure appeared and reached for him. It put its hands around his neck and spread its wings to lock him inside of it, then it all faded away. Sandy stepped back and his heart raced… no it couldn't be… maybe he read it wrong? There was no way…

"It… it can't be… he's so young, death shall not put its claws on him!"

"You came to ask, I shall not answer when I am not given a question" The book warned.

"…How long? How much time is given to him?"

The answer was immediate as an hourglass formed on the page, but sand pouring inside was so fast that it only meant there wasn't much time left. He closed his eyes and felt some liquid forming in them. Tears. Maybe he didn't know the boy very well, but what he knew was that he was just an innocent being and the reason of the good that awoke in his brother. The reason Pitch could change back into the man he once was. Pitch hasn't raised Jack to be evil like him, no, he could have done it and have someone he could use against the Guardians but instead he only showed care for the boy that made his heart good. Now that the time was… ending… his brother will be once and for all destroyed and broken. So after all, Jack's death was the key of uniting them all. Who could have been so cruel and cast the deathly curse upon the poor winter sprite? For what purpose? He turned away from the book and with his head lowered walked away, not noticing the new pictures that formed on the pages.

"… has retuned" He heard a whisper and tuned on his heel toward the book but it was already closed.

"Who? Who has returned?" Sandy asked but the he never got an answer.

There was infinitive blackness, he couldn't tell if he was lying or standing, if he had his eyes closed or not, there was just nothing, like he wasn't even in his body. On one side it was wrong and shouldn't have been happening, on the other, however, he didn't feel any pain, any weakness. It was so relieving that he felt his soul be so weightless, it was the peace his aching body longed for so long. Pure harmony within which no harm could reach him. His mind was thought-less, empty, it was clear like as if it was reborn. He didn't have to worry whether he was alive or dead. He could stay like that for eternity.

"Jack" A feminine voice called out his name. Was it his name?

Then he felt like something pulled him out of the daydream "Touch the ground"

His mind was able to proceed the words he had heard, which meant he wasn't dead. Probably.

"Jack, it is not your time" The voice sounded again. The thoughts slowly started to form in his mind "Touch the ground, Jack"

He didn't know what to do, he had his mind back, but he felt nothing, none of his senses. Somehow he managed to give a sound out of himself. "I can't"

"It's not your time" the she repeated.

Finally vision came to his eyes, it was although dimmed but slowly the view was coming into colors, yet he still didn't recognize where he was. Neither how long time had passed.

"Now, touch the ground Jack, now!"

Everything refused to obey Jack's mind, his body didn't want to give him the control over itself, but he had to, he just had to find the strength pull out of this trance. His will concentrated and tried as hard as it could to feel the senses, he needed to find the muscles in his body and order them to move. He had vision, he forced his eyes to open, now it was time for his mouth, he focused on the thought of breathing, he had to breathe to live. Finally his lips opened and he gasped for air to fill his veins and travel through him to revive the parts of his body. The air finally made it to his lungs and heart which was like a kick for him. He could feel everything at the moment, actually more than ever. Every part of his body, the cells, the matter that created the cells, impulses that came from his mind and commended his muscles, as if he stepped on the whole new level of his brain. He could slowly move and then he felt the ground under his feet.

The reality hit him roughly, out of a blue, he raised his back from the floor breathing fast and heavily holding hands on his chest to stop the heart that was about to jump out of it. He felt shock but relieved that he no longer felt all the matter. He realized that someone had been calling his name and kneeling beside him. He rubbed his eyes and slowly adjusted to the situation around him.

"For the love of Man in Moon, Jack, you live!" Pitch exclaimed and embraced the boy.

"I… I thought I was dead.. I mean, it was as if I wasn't in my body…" Jack was so lost, confused but he knew that he was alive and safe, with Pitch who would take care of him.

"All that matters now is that you are here and you will be healed no matter what" Pitch said and helped Jack onto his feet. "You gave me a heart attack, boy"

"Getting too old?" Jack joked.

"This is not really the time for jokes" the boogeyman's voice was serious.

"C'mon, you know me" Jack chuckled "too old for jokes as well, dad?"

"Feeling better, I see" Pitch's face lightened and little smile crossed his lips "Come, you need some fresh air"

He led the winter sprite to another room with a double-door. When Jack stepped the first thing he saw was a breathtaking view, they were high on the mountain and he could see everything from there. It was even more amazing that it had looked through the window. Wind brushed through his white hair and he took a long deep breath of the mountain air that felt so refreshing. He definitely needed that. His lungs finally felt comforted and the pain left him.

"Don't come close to the edges, Jack, you might fall…"

"Yes, yes, of course" the young sprite cut him off "What do you take me for, a reckless child?"

Pitch raised an eyebrow which perfectly answered the question.

"Okay fine" Jack gave up and folded his arms across his chest.

"You should eat something to regain your strength, but first you need to drink some herbs" Pitch spoke then he added with a smirk "They taste really bad"

Jack's mouth twitched in a grimace. So now he was going to be drinking the stupid stinking herbs like a plant. He knew that he wouldn't duck it out. He shook his head and retuned to enjoying the view. He took few steps forward but not too close to the edge as it would be reckless. He sat there and relaxed closing his eyes, maybe few minutes passed until he heard something behind him. Probably Pitch had returned.

"I knew you were strong enough Jack" He heard this feminine voice, so familiar… wait. The same voice he heard in his trance. He opened his eyes wide and got to his feet turning toward the source of the voice. His mouth fell open, There was a woman standing before him. She had a warm smile on her face, her eyes were golden, that reminded him of Sandy's, her chestnut hair was long and wavy, falling upon her shoulders. She seemed to glow in the white dress she was wearing.

"Y-you were talking to me when I…?" He finally asked.

"I had to pull you back, it was not your time, my dear Jack" she replied before he even finished.

"Who are you? A-and how do you know me?"

"My name is Katarina. And I think you know who I am"

This name, when he sneaked to Pitch's library and read the history of all the spirit's origin… Tsar Lunar had four kids, Petter the guardian of fear, realizing people what they fear to keep them away from it, and Kozmotiz the guardian of the line between bravery and rationality, bringing nightmares to keep the balance as Sanderson was the guardian of dreams. And the daughter, she was the guardian of fire and human emotions that warmed up people's hearts, her name was…

"Katarina…" Pitch managed to whisper.

So, here it is. I don't know what kept me from posting this chapter for so long… I actually had it almost finished a while ago. I am sorry for the delay, I hope you still remember this story. It's just that things in my life haven't got any better, at least I don't feel so broken anymore. I should have written more, this community always lifts me up.

Anyways, thank you for reading, I can promise you for sure that this story will be finished no matter what :)

Please leave me some reviews, it really encourages me just for everything :D

Till the next time!

(I will check the grammar mistakes later on)