The first official chapter. Thank you to everyone who's enjoyed my story. I hope I've gotten all the characters right...please enjoy.

Five Types of Nightmares

Not to Be

Bunnymund blinked opened his eyes, groaning at his stiff muscles. Above him were branches of pine trees, covered in thick layers of snow. Further passed them was a blue sky. Shifting some, he managed to sit upright, the powdery snow falling from his body. Even covered in fur, he could still feel the freezing temperatures surrounding him.

Laying near him in the snow were his three friends. He spotted Tooth laying on top of a pile of puffy snow, curled into herself and trying to keep warm. Sandy was leaned up against a tree, small clumps of snow falling from a branch above and landing on his head. North, however, seemed to be buried under a few feet of the white powder. He seemed content with it, though, only giving a small shiver.

They all seemed to be deep asleep from the way none were moving. There were no dreams skipping around their heads, though. That was the first thing that worried Bunnymund. The second thing was that there was no sign of Jack. No matter where he looked, up in the trees or off in the distance ready to play whatever trick he was planning, the winter spirit was no where to be seen.

"Alright Jack. Where are ya, ya overgrown ankle biter?" He called as he pushed from his bed in the snow. Brushing off the cold powder, he stayed on his guard. For all Bunny knew, the younger guardian would sneak up and pelt him in snowballs. It had happened before.

"Bunny? Where are we?" Came Tooth's exhausted voice. Looking back, he found her pushing up from the snow, rubbing at her eyes. "Ah. Why's it so cold? Did Jack start a blizzard in my palace?" At her words, she seemed to wake more. Tooth stood, her face filling with confusion. "This isn't my palace."

"What was yer first clue?"

Tooth rolled her eyes, but decided not to push him. Instead, she went about waking up their other two friends and pulling them from their snowy beds. Once everyone had managed to get up and wipe away their sleep, Tooth finally asked, "Where's Jack?"

That was where Bunnymund shook his head. "Not sure. I've been lookin' for Frostbite and still can't find him." Sandy frowned, patting his paw in an attempt at comfort. Bunny shook him off. "I'm fine. Let's figure out what's happened."

Three sets of eyes turned to Tooth for explanation. The fairy flushed, tapping her fingers in thought as she fluttered around, back in forth until she had created a small runt in the snow. "Let's see. I'm not quite sure. One moment, Jack and Pitch fly through fighting about one thing or another then there is yelling and then—" She cut herself off, looking frantic. Dropping to her knees, she began digging through the snow. "Where is it?"

For a moment, they only watched her. Finally, North asked, "What is it? Where is what?"

Violet eyes looked up at them, filled with horror. "His box! Where is Jack's Tooth Box!" She went back to digging. "We had it! I remember that. Just before it fell over the ledge we had grabbed it but then..."

It was Bunnymund who asked, "Then what?"

"Come on Jack! You said you would show me how to do that those jumps today!" Came an excited young girl's giggle.

There was a chuckle that followed. "Hold on Emma. Yes, I'm going to teach you but we don't need to run."

Bunny ears perked up and hurried toward the edge of the trees, the others following close behind him. Walking passed the treeline, toward a frozen pond, were two brunette children. One was a young girl, eight years old, jumping around excited and waving her ice skates through the air. The other was a teenage boy, large grin on his face and the ice skates over his neck. The thing that put a lump in Bunnymund's throat was the wooden staff the boy was carrying, curved like a hook at the top.

"Jack?" The name slipped out before he could stop it. But this boy couldn't be their winter spirit...he looked nothing like Jack. His hair and eyes were both the wrong color. Yet, the way he acted clearly resembled to young guardian they knew.

Sandy shook his head, frowning as he watched on. "This is before Jack became spirit?" North asked.

Tooth, having finally given up her search for the Tooth Box, nodded and sighed. "Yes. That's what it seems to be. I'm guessing this is from his memories. I'm not sure what else it could possibly be," she went on to explain. "We must be...in Jack's memories. There's nothing else it could be."

Despite how he tried not to, Bunnymund smile. He had always been curious about the winter spirit's memories, seeing that he was never told about them. Jack had said a few things, but not enough to tame Bunny's curiosity. But, this, seeing how happy a human Jack looked with, who he assumed, was he younger sister, that feed enough curiosity for a lifetime.

No one spoke as they watched the two get closer to the lake, sitting in the snow to put on their skates. That was when North cleared his throat. "Not meaning to interrupt, but how do we get back to home?"

Finally drawing his eyes away, Bunnymund forced himself to focus on his fellow guardians instead of the pair of children. Tooth was giving him an anything but innocent smile, making it clear she knew exactly what he was thinking. Bunny offered her a glare. "Yeah. How are we gettin' out of Jack's memories and back ta the present day?"

Tooth giggled. "We just have to live them out. Don't worry, though. These are his most treasured memories and there are only five." She had settled back on her feet by now and her body was completely relaxed. "There isn't any danger in it. We'll return to my palace, exactly as things were, when all five of the memories have been lived out. Simple as that."

The three male spirits seemed uneasy about this. They weren't very keen on seeing Jack's most cherished memories. Especially since the winter spirit didn't have a say in it. Though...they were happy memories, plus Tooth said there wasn't any harm in it.

"Yeah. Okay," Bunny nodded. "No harm done. We'll just be learnin' more about our friend. Can't cause any damage there."

"Jack!"

Bunny spun around at that. The younger girl, Emma as Jack had called her, was standing in the middle of the ice...it cracking under her skates. Jack was beside her, just out of reach of the danger. His breath caught.

"Jack, I'm scared."

"I know, I know." Jack stepped forward, the ice cracking under his bare feet. He took a deep breath, "But you're going to be alright. You're not going to fall in...we're going to have a little fun instead."

"No, we're not!" Emma instead, fear beginning to take over her features now.

Jack's easy smile was back on his face. He seemed to have wiped away all the worry to avoid scaring his sister. "Would I trick you?"

"Yes!" She cried. "You always play tricks!"

Bunnymund started forward, prepared to do whatever it took to get both of them out of danger. He was only held back as North grabbed his shoulder. "What are ya doing?!" He spun around, green eyes swirling with anger. "We have ta help them!"

North simply shook his head, face shadowed in sadness. "We can not Bunny."

"Why?! Our job is protectin' the children of the Earth. Those two need help!"

"He's right." Tooth's voice came out as more of a pained whisper now. "This is Jack's memory. Even if we could intervene, do you want to change it?" Bunny was silent. "Plus, it's a treasured memory. The ending must be good...right? Otherwise we wouldn't be seeing it."

The pooka could only stare at them. He didn't want to accept that, despite how logical it sounded. Even if one of them ran over there, he resolved, neither of the children would see them. They were only figments in a memory now...they couldn't do anything to help. "Fine...but I'm not acceptin' it," he growled, turning back to the scene unfolding in front of them.

"You have to believe in me," Jack was whispering now, trying desperately to get the younger girl to listen. "You want to play a game? We're going to play hopscotch, like we play everyday. It's as easy as one," he jumped on the ice, making a joke out of himself. "Two." He had successfully made Emma laugh. "Three!" He jumped out of the cracking ice, grabbing his staff. "Now it's you're turn. One. Two." He stuck his staff out, voice seldom as he hooked onto her. "Three!"

Jack managed to toss Emma into safety, stumbling backwards as he did. The loud sighs of relief could be heard from the before silent guardians.

"Jack!"

Bunnymund looked back just in time to see the ice crack and Jack fall into the freezing water. This time, North couldn't hold him back. He charged forward and onto the icy pond, slipping and sliding as he did. He went as close to the ice hole as he could without causing more breaking or fall in himself. He waited, waited for the human boy to bob back to the surface and pull himself out. That would be a memory, after all, one where he lived when he should have died.

"Jack!" Emma cried. At this point, the girl had dropped to her knees on the ice, tears filling her eyes.

The pooka wasn't pay attention anymore. He was only waiting. He wanted, needed, for something else to happen. For Jack to pop back up. For a miracle that would never come.

By the time anyone tried to approach him, Emma had gone home and the day had turned to night. "Bunny," it was Tooth's whispered voice. She knelt down beside him, her voice cracking and on the edge of tears. "This is when he becomes a spirit...it has to be. There is no other reason this memory is in there."

"Da, that's what it is," North supplied. He had sat down on the edge of the iced pond, Sandy beside him. "We must wait for Manny to pull Jack up. That is when memory is over."

Bunnymund took a ragged breath and nodded. "I figured. Just...he's grown on me. Jack's our friend," that was all he could offer as an explanation for his sudden actions. With nothing else left, he looked up to the sky. His heart stop. "There's no moon...he has to be here...otherwise—"

"But...Manny must be here. Jack died, so he must save him," North insisted, eyes wide as he stared at the black, starless sky. It was as if the had blinked out to honor the dead boy.

Tooth gave a loud shriek, pushing away. "No! It can't be!" Shimmering black dust was slipping out of the ice and floating into the air, begging to gather.

Bunnymund's eyes narrowed as it came towards them. "Pitch...he's messed with Jack's memories." He looked toward Tooth now. "Could he have changed them? Can he change the future with them?"

The fairy shook his head, fingers fluttering together with worry. "I'm...I'm not sure. I've never seen this before. I don't think so...but maybe."

The dust had collected into a cloud and quickened its speed. It flew toward them, surrounding the group before anyone had the chance to stand, let alone run. A dark laugh boomed around them as the world became black.