Jack sat on his bunk, looking at the doll he had taken from the deserted colony.
He had taken time to clean it up, borrowing the sewing kit from North to re-attach its button eyes and fixing tears in the little green cape that was attached to its shoulders. He was glad he had taken it but felt ill at ease.
Pitch had found something on the planet: something that didn't belong. Bunny had seemed surprised but Jack wondered what else he might not know about. He had been tempted to ask Pitch more questions but was honestly worried about what he would say. Anytime he tried to mention it to Bunny, Bunny had shut him down. Jack had come to accept that at least Bunny had not been involved in whatever the Pookas had been doing on Arcadia but Bunny was stubbornly refusing to accept Pitch had found anything at all. Then again, Pitch had no proof.
Jack ran his hands through his hair as he set the doll back on his bunk.
To make matters worse, the pair of them were at each other's throats again.
The crew had awoken that morning to find they had drifted far off course. The nightmare sails had changed direction sometime in the night. They found themselves drifting in a graveyard of ships. There were all kinds of vessels drifting amidst a vast field of debris: thankfully the dreamsand ship's shields had repelled any junk that could have damaged or intercepted their flight path. It seemed to have been the site of a fierce space battle between two factions. Bunny had sorrowfully pointed out Pooka ships to Jack: they were colourful and vaguely egg shaped save for their crescent like wings. One was far bigger than the others and was shaped like a massive crescent moon.
They were the visual antitheses of the other side's ships. These were black and designed like old- timey galleons, sails and all. Jack couldn't help but notice the similarities between their own ship and these hulking monstrosities. North had commented on it saying they looked like the lunar galleons Sandy had given him the designs for when building their craft. Pitch had countered by saying these were Nightmare 'Dream Pirate' galleons: Lunar Empire vessels corrupted by shadow magic. They seemed to have fared little better than the Pookas in the fighting that had occurred: it was impossible to identify a victor or if even any ships had escaped.

Naturally Bunny had blamed Pitch: he had been the one to change the sails, ergo this mess was his fault. Why else would they be travelling through a ship graveyard with ships that showed obvious signs of Nightmare attack? Pitch had countered by saying this was a temporary setback and if he hadn't changed the sails, they would've been eaten by Nightmares by now. North had stepped in and assigned them both unnecessary yet lengthy tasks on opposite ends of the ship, leaving he and Jack free to check on the systems and engine.

'Sails are being pulled, not pushed as they should be', North had mused while checking one of the numerous dials around the ship's wheel.

'Pulled towards what?' Jack had asked.

'Pulled by what'.

North's correction had made Jack's hair stand on end.

'So what do we do about it?'

North had stroked his beard thoughtfully, eyes narrowed as he considered their options.

'We need navigator module of some kind. Like I have on the sleigh'.

'Where do we get one of those?'

North had pointed up to the nearby Pooka vessel. It was the biggest ship in the 'graveyard' and was one of the more intact hulks floating in the dark. Save for some scorch marks on its smooth hull that reminded Jack of black tendrils, it looked relatively stable. The crescent shaped vessel almost seemed to be of organic design, its texture reminiscent of aged wood.

'There', North had said.

'I was afraid you were gonna say that', Jack replied.

Hearing the tell-tale sound of the ship's whistle, Jack leapt off the bed and picked up his staff. It was time for their field trip.

Jack had suggested quietly to North that they leave either Bunny or Pitch behind to keep the peace but North had disagreed. They would need Bunny as he knew how Pooka ships worked and Pitch would be useful should any Nightmares 'rear their ugly heads'. He had been forced to apologise for the remark when he had noticed Pitch standing close enough to have heard it but the fact remained.
Jack couldn't argue with North's logic but made sure to put himself between his two passive yet feuding shipmates as they stepped out of the snowglobe portal and into the hulk's main docking bay. North had stayed behind to maintain their connection and ensure their own vessel remained somewhat anchored. Pitch had not been able to halt the ship. Whatever magnetic pull was affecting it was also affecting the ship's controls, overriding North's 'all stop' commands. So, North had it drifting in a circle, powerless to halt its movement but also ensuring it did not leave the area.

'Which way to the bridge Bunny?' Jack asked.

Bunny pointed towards a rounded arch leading to a dark corridor. The ship seemed devoid of power save for emergency red globe like lights flashing. Thankfully the life support systems still seemed to be operational so they could leave the protective field of the snowglobe. Pitch didn't need to breathe but Bunny and Jack didn't feel like putting their own abilities to the test.

'That way. Told you, Pooka ships are all designed the same. Once ya know where one bridge is, you know where they all are', Bunny said, taking the lead.

Bunny had chosen to use the snowglobe to materialise in the docking bay as that was the most obvious point of entry. If, against all odds, there were still Pooka crewmembers aboard, they would most likely be more receptive to alien visitors if they came aboard in the same location that regular visitors did.
Jack had asked why they couldn't just beam to the bridge from their ship but Bunny had brought up the point that the defensive systems may still be operating. If that was the case the bridge would be shielded from any outside teleportations and would vaporise any materialising intruders automatically. It was best not to take the chance and shut the defences down manually while on the Pooka ship. The docking bay and all other areas of the ship would not be shielded: it was designed to help crewmembers escape in case of an emergency.
As Jack examined scattered debris on the floor and burn marks on the walls, he thought how 'emergency' seemed to be a fitting word.
The ship was quiet as they walked along the corridor, periodically coming across signs of firefights or struggles. Ashen marks and strange ink like footprints, scratches on the walls, smashed remains of hastily built barricades: none of these points of interest were very comforting.
Nor was Jack's impending realization.

'Hey', he said but dropped the volume when the other two jumped, alarmed by the sudden sound of his voice, 'Where are…well…'

He rubbed the back of his neck, discomfited, as he tried to figure out a way to diplomatically ask the question on his mind.

'The bodies?' Pitch finished, saving Jack the trouble, 'I'm more curious as to what kind of ship this was'.

Bunny's narrowed eyes signalled Pitch to continue.
He held up a finger pointed to the ceiling.

'Can you hear it?'

'Hear what?' Bunny asked tersely.

'Moonlight steel', Pitch said, 'I'd know that infernal chiming noise anywhere'.

Bunny showed him the knife he had found on Arcadia safely strapped to his waist as explanation but Pitch shook his head.

'Not that toothpick', he said, 'The noise is too loud. There is an armoury on this ship somewhere and it's full of moonlight steel weapons'.

He turned his attention to one of the ash marks on the wall.

'This is from a moondust bomb', he elaborated, 'Rather heavy ordinance for a civilian vessel'.

'What are you getting at Pitch?' Jack asked, noting Bunny's fingers curling into fists.

'This is a troop transport', Pitch said with distaste.

'So?' Jack asked.

'The Pooka don't have an army', Bunny said coldly, 'Just a planetary defence force. It's part of our treaty with the Lunar Imperium'.

'A treaty you cleverly sidestepped by training your entire population but never calling them an army', Pitch corrected, 'All Pooka are trained as warriors growing up'.

'For discipline!' Bunny snapped, losing patience, 'And for good reason!'

'What reason is that?' Pitch asked, crossing his arms.

'Guys', Jack said cautiously.

He was looking down the corridor. Was it just his imagination, or were the shadows lengthening? Moving?
Neither of his teammates heard him.

'You really need me to spell it out for you?!' Bunny yelled, hands gesturing at the environs, 'Look at this Mr Detective!'

He jabbed a finger at the black footprints and splashes.

'Those are Nightmare traces! They attacked this ship and the crew defended themselves the best they could til the poor buggers had the life sucked out of 'em by those stinkin' monsters!'

'Then where are the bodies?' Pitch repeated, 'You know as well as I do that Nightmares don't take Pooka prisoners!'

'Wait a minute, you sayin' you don't think Nightmares did this! Yer all one big happy family ain't-'

Bunny was silenced by a sudden harsh gust of cold air. Jack punctuated his exerting of his powers by striking the butt of his staff on the floor.

'Guys!' Jack shouted angrily, losing patience, 'Instead of arguing, why don't you ask them?!'

All three looked up the corridor.
Jack had not been imagining things. Shapes were peeling off the shadowed walls of the ship, thin, twisted limbs flexing as they extricated themselves. Pitch and Bunny, both possessed of keen nocturnal eyes, counted twelve collectively.
Each one stood tall, the pointed ears on top of their heads nearly touching the ceiling. Their eyes had no pupils: lamp-like and empty, they were emanating what looked like pale smoke. They had no weapons that the trio could see but claws protruded from the end of each finger and each toe. The strangest and most unnerving thing about them though was the absence of any other features. Each one looked like a silhouette come to life: pure darkness constrained by a vague outline of a body that was only broken up by their spectral eyes and red mouths that showed black sharpened teeth growing from their black gums.
They moved slowly and arthritically. It reminded Jack of puppets being walked by a puppeteer: their movements unnatural and jittery as they staggered forwards in a mockery of an advance.
Despite all their grotesque qualities however, the resemblance between them and Bunny was unmistakable.

'No', Bunny whispered in horror, eyes wide, 'It's impossible'.

'What are they?' Jack asked, raising his staff.

'Fearlings', Pitch answered, 'Corrupted by shadow magic. Mindless slaves'.

Pitch's last words seemed to break through Bunny's impotent fear and sadness. He gave an angry bellow and threw both boomerangs into the crowd. They broke through two of the advancing fearlings, slicing cleanly through their torsos. They wobbled for a moment but seamlessly, their bloodless wounds healed.
Jack slammed his staff down and a thick carpet of ice began to spread up the corridor. Jagged icicles broke through the floor beneath the fearlings and impaled their large feet. They struggled to free themselves as Jack focused his magic, causing the freezing effect of the ice to creep into the fearlings bodies, locking them in place.

'Are there any other ways to the bridge?' Pitch asked.

Bunny shook his head as he caught his boomerangs.

'No', he said, 'And my boomerangs aren't fast enough to take them all out! They heal too quick! Jack: how ya holdin' up?!'

'Not good', Jack grunted, 'I can't hold 'em for much longer! There's too many!'

'You gonna fight or just stand there?!' Bunny snapped at Pitch who seemed distracted.

'Neither. Or, actually, maybe both', Pitch replied, eyes suddenly flashing as an idea finally took shape, 'Throw them again!'

'What good'll that-' Bunny began but stopped when he saw what Pitch was doing.

He was moving his hands strangely, eyes locked up the corridor. Bunny saw multiple portals beginning to open in the walls surrounding the fearlings.

'Right', Bunny said, comprehension dawning, 'You got it!'

He flung both boomerangs again but this time aimed one at the portal closest to him and the other at a portal above the fearlings. The boomerangs entered their targets and flew out of other portals Pitch had set up. They slashed through the fearlings before passing into other waiting portals, their momentum not having time to slow. The fearlings' healing factor tried to compensate, only for them to be sliced again in a different place.
Despite his increasing fatigue, Jack smiled in appreciation of the combination of Bunny and Pitch's powers. The fearlings were struggling less now: their escape attempts eclipsed by the pain they were experiencing from Bunny's boomerangs.
Bunny's mouth was hanging open, baffled and grateful their improvised strategy was working. Pitch gave no sign of any emotion save for concentration, reopening and closing portals as required as he intently watched and forecast the directions that both boomerangs were travelling.
Jack mentally ordered the ice to melt as the fearlings began to collapse under their own weight, the damage from Pitch and Bunny's relentless onslaught breaking them down into black puddles of gunk. Bunny wiped a hand across his forehead.

'That was close', he said.

'Yeah', Jack said, 'You can stop now Pitch'.

Pitch didn't seem to hear him.
The boomerangs were increasing in speed as Pitch opened portals faster and faster, the sharpened edges hurtling at the remains of the fearlings with brutal speed. Black liquid flew from their bodies as they were sliced like butcher meat.
Jack and Bunny exchanged a look.

'Pitch!' Bunny said sharply.

Pitch's head swivelled at Bunny's louder tone. Bunny met Pitch's angry glare unblinking.

'That's enough', he said, 'They're beaten'.

Pitch seemed about to argue but then abruptly dropped his hands. The shadowy portals vanished instantly and Bunny's boomerangs clattered to the floor, the noise echoing uncomfortably as silence resumed.

''One big happy' what?' Pitch asked Bunny, bitterly quoting his earlier words back to him.

Bunny looked away and went to retrieve his boomerangs.

'This doesn't make any sense', he said as he lifted them, wiping them clean of black slime, 'These were Pookas'.

'Why is that weird?' Jack asked, walking past Pitch to join Bunny.

Bunny returned his boomerangs to his bandoleer.

'Pookas can't be corrupted by shadow magic', Bunny said, mind racing.

'Why's that?' Jack asked.

Bunny was about to answer but caught himself. Jack saw his eyes flick momentarily to Pitch.

'Tell ya later', Bunny said quietly as he resumed walking towards the bridge, 'Come on'.

Jack followed and after a moment, felt Pitch fall into step behind him.

'Why 'later' Bunny?' Jack pressed, though he already knew the answer.

Bunny did not reply which ironically confirmed Jack's suspicions. Bunny didn't want to tell Jack because Pitch was there. He didn't trust him with the reason Pookas couldn't be corrupted.

'Don't you think you're being a bit unfair?' he asked evenly, 'We're all on the same team'.

'It's fine Jack', Pitch said, 'Pookas like their secrets'.

Bunny stopped dead.

'I know what I saw on that farm planet', Pitch said darkly, 'I don't blame you for keeping quiet about it'.

'I told you', Bunny said without turning around, 'I don't know anything about a lab'.

'I believe you', Pitch said without a trace of mockery or sarcasm.

'Wait-what?' Jack asked, surprised.

Bunny glanced over his shoulder, taken aback himself.

'I just don't know why you're not concerned about it', Pitch shrugged.

'I don't have time to be!' Bunny snapped, 'Or time to argue with you!'

He began to walk again, faster this time, trying subconsciously to escape his racing thoughts.

They reached the bridge ten minutes later without any further altercations.
As Bunny had suspected, the defence field was operational, the open doorway bathed in a glowing silvery forcefield.
Pitch gripped his head suddenly and grimaced.

'You okay?' Jack asked.

'More blasted moondust', Pitch snarled, 'It doesn't agree with me'.

Bunny went up to a panel on the wall and placed his hand on an imprint pad. The pad lit up as it scanned his palm and the forcefield gradually faded. The security was not high level: any non-civilian Pooka could have unlocked it. It was designed to keep enemy forces out after all, not the Pookas on board.

Jack went in first, unable to disguise his excitement to see an alien bridge despite the unsettling situation. Pitch waited until Bunny had followed before cautiously walking through the formerly shielded doorway.
Despite himself, he was impressed.
The bridge was more akin to a garden than a machine. A pool of water was set into the centre of the room and surrounded by a number of wooden plinths and platforms. Each one was inscribed with runic writing and levers. Some were idly hovering around the room counter clockwise. Looking up, Pitch saw the ceiling was decorated with painted fantastical images of mythical creatures and numerous multi-coloured flowers. It seemed to be unfinished: a large patch of blackness covered the left side of the painting.

'Nice huh?' Jack asked, joining him.

'Intriguing', Pitch admitted, 'Having art on a ship for soldiers'.

In the background, Bunny was pressing numerous buttons and pulling out wooden tabs in some sort of memorised sequence.

'Ya don't have to spend all your time sharpenin' weapons just because you're a warrior', Bunny said, 'It ain't healthy'.

'What are these images?' Pitch asked, 'I recognise the starred eyed wyrm, the garden of Infinity and the cherry blossom maelstrom but-'

'Wait a minute', Bunny interrupted, 'You…you know those stories?'

'Doesn't everyone?' Pitch asked with genuine surprise.

Jack shook his head and shrugged.

'But they're Pooka fairy tales', Bunny said, confusion all over his face, 'How do you know them?'

'I like to read?' Pitch said simply as if it were an obvious response.

Jack burst out laughing at the identical consternated looks on their faces.

'You asking or telling him?' he giggled, 'What's the matter? Upset you might actually have something in common?'

Bunny returned his attention to the monitor.

'Amost done', he said, ignoring Jack, 'Can't take my hands off this while I'm extracting the module so don't touch anything'.

Jack saluted and flew up to the mural for a closer look. What things had Pitch mentioned? A serpent cherry blossoms, a-hand?! Jack yelled as he was suddenly grabbed by a grasping hand from the blackness. It flung him away. Somersaulting in mid-air, he just managed to catch himself before colliding with the floor.

'Jack!' Bunny cried out and made to move.

'No!' Pitch commanded, scythe materializing as he rotated a wrist, 'Get the module!'

Bunny stayed where he was, eyes locked on the mural. Another shape, bigger than the fearlings had been, was crawling away from the brightly painted pictures. As it fell and landed wetly on the floor of the bridge, Jack realised the mural was finished: what they had mistaken for the unfinished part of the picture had actually been the creature now rising from the puddle on the floor.

It was another corrupted Pooka but this one was armoured with dull metal plates protecting its shoulders and chest. Like the fearlings it had no weapons but the claws it was dragging along the floor left impressions in the wooden surface.
Its eyes were yellow and glowed in the dim light of the room as it analysed Pitch and Jack, its potential opponents.

'Another fearling?' Jack asked.

The creature surprised him by laughing.

'You dare insult me?' it asked in a sibilant, mocking voice, 'I applaud your courage'.

It adopted a stance that Bunny recognised as a Pooka combat opening move. He looked desperately at the orb he was slowly extracting from the console. The navigator module was too fragile to pull move quickly. Even if he tried to put it back it would be too late!

He just had to trust that Pitch and Jack could handle the new enemy until he had extracted and secured the module.

'It's not a fearling', Pitch explained to Jack, 'It's a Nightmare'.

'What's the difference?' Jack asked as he was blindsided by a sudden kick from the Nightmare who had taken advantage of his distraction.
He swiftly ducked and danced away, taken aback by the creature's speed.

'It doesn't matter', Pitch snarled and sliced at the Nightmare.

It turned to the right but Pitch's blow still sheared through its shoulder, the scythe extending magically to cause the blow.

The creature staggered and touched its shoulder.

'You…you are like me?' it asked incredulously.

Pitch leapt forward and struck again, this time aiming for the Nightmare's head. It ducked but the tip of one of its ears was sliced clean off. It howled in pain and rage and clawed at Pitch but Pitch faded into the ground as a shadow and rematerialized behind it.

'Not quite', he snarled as he raked his scythe across the Nightmare's back.

As the Nightmare fell to its knees, Jack saw his opening and froze the Nightmare's knees to the ship floor. The Nightmare strained but could not break loose. Pitch dissolved his scythe.

Bunny breathed a sigh of relief as he finally extricated the module and carefully placed it inside his bandoleer.

'Time to go?' Jack asked, resisting the Nightmare's attempts to break free. It wasn't easy.

'Hold on', Bunny said before glaring at the Nightmare, 'Tell me what happened here'.

The Nightmare hissed in Bunny's face, its black spit steaming as it hit the floor.

'What's your name?!' Bunny demanded, ignoring the Nightmare's defiance.

'We have no name', it growled, 'We serve'.

'Who do you serve?' Pitch suddenly asked, 'Who ordered this attack?!'

The Nightmare turned its attention to him.

'Traitor!' it snarled, 'We will string you on barbed wire and make necklaces of your teeth!'

'He's just a barrel of laughs isn't he?' Jack grunted, decreasing the temperature of the ice for good measure.

'Last chance', Bunny threatened, 'What happened here?'

The Nightmare groaned in pain as he felt Jack's magic intensifying. It was beginning to creep upwards, towards its chest.

'How did they get to you?! What did they do?!' Bunny yelled, 'Pookas can't be taken over by shadow magic!'

'Not taken over', the Nightmare hissed through gritted, shaking teeth, 'They let us in'.

Bunny drew his moonlight steel dagger. His grip was shaking.

'Let you in?' he asked, 'How?'

The Nightmare smiled evilly at Pitch who glared in return.

'He is not the only traitor around', it cackled.

Bunny made to move but Pitch beat him to it. Neither Jack or Bunny saw him move clearly. It was only when the Nightmare fell backwards dead with its throat cut and they saw the ink like blood on Pitch's fingertips that they realised what had happened.
Jack lowered his staff. He could tell from the quickly growing pool of blood beneath the Nightmare's neck that Pitch had dealt a fatal blow. Pitch walked forward, coldly looking down at it. The expression in his eyes worried Jack. As Jack saw Bunny readjust his grip on his dagger, he knew Bunny felt the same thing. Pitch's eyes were burning into the Nightmare and he was subtly shaking as if trying to hold something back.

'Mer..cy', the dying shadow gurgled.

Pitch lost control.

He flung himself onto his knees and ripped into the Nightmare's dissolving form like an animal. He gulped down the shadowy substance as he tore into its shoulder, its armour flaking away like dead skin as it expired. Jack saw black ink flowing down Pitch's chin and staining his teeth as he gulped it down, head shaking savagely as he pulled ravenously at the creature. He was focused only on his cannibalistic meal, eyes far away as he snarled.

Jack felt his stomach churning at the sight.
He was so horrified, he didn't notice Bunny move until Pitch suddenly stopped eating.
Bunny had grabbed him by the hair and yanked him back from the mess on the floor. As Pitch rounded on him, teeth bared, Bunny held the edge of his dagger to Pitch's throat.
Pitch shrieked and fell back, throat showing a vivid red burn mark where the dagger had touched his flesh. As he back pedalled, one hand clasped to his throat, his frantic snarling abruptly stopped.
He blinked and looked around suddenly as if he had just realised where he was.
He looked at his hands and touched his face, recoiling from the black liquid staining them.
He slowly and shakily stood, fixing his hair and robe self-consciously.
Bunny reached into his bandoleer and threw him a clean rag.
Pitch caught it after a slight fumble and wiped his face and hands. He didn't offer it back to Bunny, instead casting the filthy material aside.

He wouldn't look Bunny or Jack in the eye.

'I know what he said', Bunny said, 'But my people would never work with Nightmares'.

Bunny walked to the pool of water and, kneeling down, retrieved something from its shallow floor. It was a black egg. He tucked it under his arm and with his other hand, took out the snowglobe he had brought for their return to their own ship. He threw it and as the portal materialized, Jack could see the blurred outlines of North and the yetis assembled on their own bridge.

'They're too dangerous', Bunny finished and walked through without another word.

'So, why can't shadow magic corrupt Pookas?' Jack asked.

He and Bunny were swabbing the deck. The ship was still where it had been before the 'away mission' to retrieve the module. North was still in the process of installing it. He had known from the attitude of the returning trio that something had happened and had whisked Pitch away to help him with the sails configuration before Jack could ask him anything.
They had been swabbing in silence since they had started twenty minutes ago and Jack couldn't contain his questions any longer.

'Because of chocolate', Bunny said, 'Pooka chocolate's nothin' but good magic in a wrapper. It's made by special alchemists on Homeworld and every Pooka eats it at least once every month from when we're born. Shadow magic can't take hold in a body protected that way'.

'Then, how did Candy corrupt you on Valentine's day? Pitch's magic shouldn't have affected you'.

'I said 'Pooka Chocolate', not just chocolate. Earth chocolate's not the same. I haven't had my ration of Pooka chocolate in decades: my immunity's long worn off. Wasn't a good experience'.

'If you guys were so worried about the Nightmares, why not give some of your chocolate to everybody in the galaxy?' Jack asked, 'Make everyone immune'.

'Some of us tried', Bunny said thoughtfully, 'When I last left my planet it was being debated by the elders. Dunno how it turned out'.

'But those soldiers should've had enough to keep them going right?'

'Depends how much they brought with them. Might've been a long voyage'.

They slipped back into a sombre silence for a time until Jack once again, lost patience.

'What happened to Pitch back there?' Jack asked.

'It's what Nightmares do when one of their own gets weak', Bunny said, 'I've seen it before'.

'They…eat each other?' Jack asked, the image of Pitch's gory feasting making him queasy again.

'It's some kinda twisted survival instinct. Stronger ones eat the little 'uns. It's in their nature'.

'You talk about them like they're animals'.

'They practically are'.

'Pitch isn't', Jack said, feeling a slight jab of annoyance at Bunny's dismissive attitude, 'He hates other Nightmares'.

'Maybe. But instinct always wins'.

'That's not his fault-'

'I know!' Bunny said, jamming his mop into the bucket.

He exhaled deeply and held up his hands in apology for his sharp tone.

'That's what worries me Jack', he said, 'I know he's tryin' to change who he was but he can't change what he is. I think about him with Tooth and the feelings that come with that and I just think: how long? How long until he hurts her? It may be an accident but it won't change anything. It was hard losing Sandy. I'm not losing another friend because of him'.

'I'm goin' to get more water', Jack said quietly, simultaneously agreeing with Bunny and hating himself for doing so.

He headed down the stairs towards the reservoir but was distracted by the sound of voices. It was Pitch and North in the engine room, talking in muted voices.
Jack knew he shouldn't eavesdrop but he felt himself almost magnetically drawn to the door, the stress of the day overwhelming his better judgment. The door was closed but Jack could hear them as he knelt down to the keyhole.

North was speaking.

'How are things between you and Tooth?' he asked easily.

'Better', Pitch answered, his voice sounding drained, 'She can spend two hours in my lair now without feeling bad'.

'This is good', North said, 'Told you it would go away if you both kept at it'.

Pitch didn't respond.

'Tell me', North said gently, 'What do you remember of back then? When you were Nightmare King?'

'It's all a blur', Pitch said, frustration creeping into his voice, 'So many emotions all at once: I'm joyous, heartbroken, enraged and all at the same time. I cared nothing about my own sanity or safety. All I cared about was making them pay'.

'Who's they?'

'I think it was the Lunar Imperium at first. Then it was anyone who got in my way'.

'Everyone who was not you?'

'It wasn't just the Nightmares who wanted revenge on the Tsar', Pitch said bitterly, 'It's why he chose Kozmotis Pitchiner as a host to begin with. A willing participant'.

Pitch laughed sourly.

'I know I don't remember the rabbit's planet', he continued, 'I know it was on the agenda but I don't remember how the fight (if there even was one) went. Probably badly if I crashed to Earth like I did'.

'Have Nightmares always attacked their own kind like you say you did today?'

'His fear was too much for me to resist. I lost control'.

There was a period of silence save for a deep sigh from Pitch.

'I scared them didn't I?' he finally asked.

'I think we do not scare easily', North said evenly, 'But I would ask you to try not to do it again?'

'If it does and I don't come back…stop me. It has to be you. Jack wouldn't do it and I don't want the rabbit to do it'.

'How?'

'Don't be naïve. You know how. You were a soldier. Like I was. Or like Kozmotis was'.

North didn't speak but Jack could sense the tension emanating from the room.

'Make it clean and make it quick', Pitch continued, 'No pity. No remorse. No fear'.

'And Tooth?' North asked quietly.

Jack couldn't bear to hear anymore. He moved away from the keyhole and back on quiet feet to the reservoir, trying to freeze the sympathetic tears brewing in his eyes.

Bunny leant heavily on his mop, staring at the Pooka ship high above them.

Reaching into his bandoleer, he withdrew the egg he had taken from the pool. He rotated the top half of it and it clicked open. As he separated the two halves, an image formed between them. It was a 3D image of a tall, strong looking Pooka wearing armour identical to what the Nightmare had been wearing. It was the last recording the ship had of the bridge.

'It's over', the image was saying, 'I've sealed myself in here but it's only a matter of time. They wrecked the escape pods and disabled communications. They're all over the ship. We don't know how they got on board; reports started popping up all over sayin' they were on board then reinforcements showed up. At least we blew those ships outta the sky before they reached Homeworld-gah!'

Bunny saw the soldier wince and grasp his side. He had obviously been wounded at some point.

'I know I'm gonna die here', he continued, face resolute, 'But not in vain. Despite the Nightmares reaching this place, Homeworld endures. At least for now. This is Captain Vervain signing off, location: The Rex-Angora Desolation'.

The recording fizzled out like a dying firework and Bunny closed the egg.
He put it away, mind racing.

If the soldier had sealed the bridge, how had he been corrupted? The forcefield should have stopped any Nightmares breaking through. And Nightmares didn't just materialize on Pooka ships: they always came in their galleons and boarded through force. They could materialize but they always chose not to. It was too quick. They wanted to make the enemy afraid and what better way to do that than by blasting away at their ships before slowly moving in for the kill? They always had favoured self-satisfaction over proven military tactics.

Had their tactics evolved?
The corrupted Captain Vervain had mentioned a traitor. Were there enemy forces on Homeworld?!
The Rex-Angora Desolation.

As Bunny remembered the region Captain Vervain had quoted, his blood ran cold with sudden realization.

That was in Pooka space.
He was in home territory already.
And it was infested with Nightmares.