Surprise! Another update! Bet you guys weren't expecting that were you? Well anyways, enjoy this chapter! It's longer than the previous one, and guess what? I've already started on chapter 30! That's right I'm on a roll.

Warning this chapter is a bit evil, but well let's face it about 85% of this story is evil/angsty so you're all used to it by now. Leave any critiques/suggestions/comments that you like. I love seeing reviews. :)

Darkness… Why was everything so dark? He couldn't see a thing. It was darker than any night he had experienced in his long three hundred years of life…it was pitch black.

Immediately his eyes snapped open, revealing the frantic icy blue irises lying beneath his lids.

Inhale…. Exhale…. Inhale… Exhale.

His own breathing, that's the first thing he heard when he attained consciousness.

A shudder ran through him as his body shifted from the fear coursing through his veins. It seemed that his body was far from healed; pain raced from the various injuries covered in gauze.

A few coughs racked through him, and he had to blink away the moisture that formed in his eyes from the nauseating pain.

As Jack became more aware of his surroundings his panic dissolved away, he soon realized that he was not in Pitch's clutches, but still in the infirmary.

Soon his breathing settled into normal rhythm and his heartbeat no longer drummed heavily in his ears.

Briefly he eyed his surroundings, noting right away that the other three Guardians were nowhere to be found, making him feel uneasy. As his eyes continued scanning the infirmary he noticed the odd blue light illuminating the entire room. If he could get out of bed and investigate the strange light he would of, but he knew better, he knew his body wasn't ready for walking. He wasn't even sure if he could sit up properly yet.

As his senses continued to kick in Jack began to wish he were still asleep and in the safety of Sandy's dreams. His back throbbed and his head felt like it was going to explode. He was so sick of it, it was almost as if he couldn't remember the last time he was conscious and not in pain. As his focus continued to stay on his body he couldn't shake the feelings of uneasiness that lurked within him.

'I'm like this because of him…' Jack thought warily.

No he didn't want to think about him, he didn't want to think about what he'd been through, not yet, he wanted to stay locked away from those thoughts. He wanted to be asleep again.

As the minutes crawled by Jack tried to think about the pleasant dreams he had from Sandy's dreamsand, but it was as if the darkness of reality kept trickling in, reminding him that all he'd been through in the past weeks was real, that he couldn't escape it. His thoughts went all the way to where it began, to when he awoke after his kidnapping.

A burning anxiety grew in his chest and spread out through his limbs. His ability to breath properly became harder to do as the memories flooded in…

"Time to wake up Jack…" A cruel and seductive voice called out.

A weak groan escaped the injured body lying on the black and gold marbled floor. Slowly Jack opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the dark surroundings.

Cautiously the teen lifted his head, looking around the unfamiliar room for the source of the voice, though he already knew who it was.

"Urgh… Pitch! Show yourself!" Jack demanded, wincing slightly as he stood to his feet. He couldn't help but bring a hand to his forehead as his head throbbed from any slight movement. As his fingers brushed against his forehead he felt the dried blood there, irritating his skin. His fingers continued downwards until they rested on his throat, he was sure there were bruises there from his previous rough treatment.

"Why would I do that? You're in my home now Jack. Do you really think you are in any position to be making demands?"

A chuckled filled the air, seeming to be coming from all directions. Jack whirled around searching the shadows of the room, his feelings of uneasiness growing from his inability to find the Nightmare King.

Jack continued to take in his surroundings as he searched for Pitch; the walls seemed to be shifting on their own, made completely of Pitch's nightmare sand. There didn't seem to be a ceiling, not that he could tell anyway, all that his eyes were met with was black abyss that seemed to go on forever. The only light in the room came from the various torches that lined the shifting walls.

His eyes stopped when they were met with a giant black door lined with gold. Without a second of hesitation he dashed over to it, grabbing the golden handle with both hands. He pulled at the door harshly, silently begging for it to open.

He gave up after realizing with a heavy heart that it was locked.

"It's quite amusing, watching you look for a way out, like a trapped animal running out of options. Have you realized your predicament yet? Or should I spell it out clearly for you Frost."

Jack kept his fingers wrapped around the handle as he grit his teeth in frustration.

"Why did you bring me here?" Jack questioned, looking angrily at the door.

"Isn't it obvious?" Pitch said as he finally stepped out of one of the shadows, Jack's staff clutched in his fingers. "I brought you here as my prisoner. I brought you here so that I could inflict as much pain on you as possible during your stay. I brought you here because you chose an alliance with the Big Four instead of an alliance with me…"

Jack could hear the malice in that last sentence. A shudder of fear went through him as he felt a presence standing right behind him.

"The Guardians will come, they'll find me, and they'll beat you again." Jack said defiantly before turning around to face the threat he knew was there, watching him.

The winter spirit felt his confidence fall as his eyes fell on the Nightmare King with his staff grasped in his fingers.

Pitch smiled as he saw the winter spirit's features morph from angry to fearful. He needed to see that expression more, and he knew just how to make it happen.

"What's the matter Jack? You look pale, well, paler than usual that is." Pitch said condescendingly.

"Give me my staff Pitch. Fight me" Jack growled, anger now bubbly back to the surface. Jack knew without his staff he was nearly powerless, and he hated feeling weak.

"I see there's plenty of fight still in you. That's good. I'd hate to see you give up to quickly. Watching you break will be much more rewarding." Pitch sneered as he grabbed Jack's staff with his other hand, holding it out in front of him.

"You want this stick? Come and get it boy." Pitch said, beckoning the teen, he wanted the spirit to attack.

Jack didn't wait for another invitation; in an instant he lunged forward, reaching out for his staff.

Pitch smirked.

It happened too fast, one second, Jack's fingers were inches from his staff, the next, he was on the floor, pain flaring in his abdomen. Jack struggled to breath; he tried desperately to bring air into his lungs, but it just wouldn't come.

Pitch watched as the boy wheezed from the blow he had just received from his very own staff. He waited patiently for the winter spirit to regain his bearings.

"That…was…cheap" Jack said in-between labored breaths.

"Have I ever been the type to play fair?" Pitch said, a tone of playfulness in his voice.

Jack struggled to his feet, standing as straight as possible, not wanting to show weakness.

"Do you want to try again?" Pitch said as another smile crept its way onto his face, his sharp teeth glinting from the light coming off the torches.

Jack could only glare in response, knowing that trying again would be foolish.

"Do whatever you are going to do Pitch, but you won't win. You can't beat the Big Four and you won't break me." Jack said, rebellion clear in his voice.

"You have no idea how delighted I am to hear that…"

Once again the Lord of Shadows grabbed Jack's staff in both hands, "let's get started then. Shall we?"

Blue eyes widened as it dawned on the winter spirit what Pitch was about to do.

SNAP

In an instant Jack's scream filled the dimly lit room. His body lurked forward, his hand grasping a fistful of his frosted hoodie when pain blossomed in his chest. He did the best he could to wait for the agony to end. However, he wasn't granted any time to recover before another loud snap filled the air, renewing the pain once more. This time he couldn't keep himself up. He dropped to the ground on all fours and screamed until his lungs burned. The loud snaps continued until Jack thought that he was going to go insane from the pain. Then all at once, it stopped.

Shakily Jack drew in breath, his body now lying curled up on the cool marble floor. Beads of sweat dripped down the side of his face and dampened his hair.

"Well you look comfortable lying on the floor like that," Pitch cooed as if he were talking to a pet. "A little too comfortable," he added before reaching down and grabbing Jack by his hair, yanking him up in one harsh pull.

Jack cried out, immediately reaching for the hand laced through his white locks.

"Are you afraid yet boy?" Pitch sneered. "No wait, don't answer that," pulling Jack up higher, until only his toes touched the floor. Jack could only clench his eyes shut, trying to block out Pitch's voice.

"I can already feel it myself, it's such a wonderful emotion flowing through you right now. You pretend to be a brave little Guardian, but I know you're lying."

Jack slowly opened his eyes, small traces of anger appearing on his face. "I am not afraid of you." Jack rasped, dots of black now appearing in his vision.

"Keep telling yourself that Frost, but soon the only emotion you will know is fear."

The Nightmare King released his grip on the boy's hair, letting him fall with a loud thud to the floor. Seconds later Jack lost all consciousness once more.

When Jack awoke again he found himself bound hand and foot to the shifting walls of the room he first regained consciousness in. From there on out he would get repeated visits from the Nightmare King, during some visits he was tortured physically, in all the others he was forced into nightmares. Days passed on and Jack could feel his resolve crumbling with every hour that went by with no sign of his rescue.

These memories were too painful, not only was he remembering his days of torture but he also began to realize with even more clarity that he was no longer himself. He was a pathetic shell of the Guardian that first stood up to Pitch, now the very thought of the man sent shivers down his spine. As the memories flooded in of his most recent bout with the Nightmare King Jack felt his panic reach unbearable levels. Briefly he tried calling out for the three missing Guardians, but all he managed to do was whisper their names hoarsely.

Panic continued to build inside of him as the memories of his time with Pitch flooded in like a raging river that couldn't be calmed. His harsh uneasy breathes were all that filled the room as he gripped at the sheets and tried to escape the unwanted thoughts and memories that kept racing through his head.

Suddenly high pitched squeak suddenly broke the chaos, catching his attention, and soon he found Baby Tooth fluttering in his line of vision, looking down at him worryingly.

"Baby Tooth?" He rasped uneasily.

She chirped cautiously in response, not letting her eyes leave the teen.

He needed her that much was obvious.

"Baby Tooth…" He whined, silently asking her to do something to help him.

Baby Tooth flew down to his face cradling her body against his bandaged cheek, letting him know that she was there and would find help.

Just as she was about to fly out of the infirmary in search for any of the other Guardians, another voice called out, startling her.

"Urgh…Wha-what happened?"

Baby tooth instantly turned around, recognizing the voice of her mother.

She swiftly flew over to her, nuzzling her cheek in the same way she had Jack's.

Tooth groaned again as she tried to pull herself up higher on the pillows.

"Baby Tooth?" Tooth whispered in confusion as she tried to figure out where she was and what was happening.

Baby Tooth chirped happily, excited to see that her mother was awake and on her way to being healed.

"B-but, I was, Jack was…Jack!" Tooth's head turned instantly to the bed besides hers. Tears welling in her pink irises when she saw him alive and awake in the other bed.

Jack felt dread in his stomach knowing that she was awake, now he'd have to answer for not being able to protect her. All he could do was stare at the ceiling and wait for her to start yelling at him.

But the shouts never came, and instead he began to hear soft sobbing coming from her fragile frame.