Tooth returned to find Bunny alone, staring into the flames of the fireplace. As the fairy approached him, his lowered ears flicked upward as he sensed her presence behind him. He turned just enough to see her out of the corner of his emerald eye. She put a hand on his soft shoulder.

"Are you okay, Bunny?" she asked with her sweet, gentle voice.

"No!" he said, turning to face her. "None of us are."

"That's not true. We'll be just fine. There are still plenty of lights. All we have to do is keep fighting and eventually we'll-"

"We'll what? Tooth, look at us! Look at yourself! We needed him! Why did we ever trust him? He's a traitor!" Bunny turned, furious, back to the fireplace.

"Edgar!" Tooth scoffed, using the Pooka's near-forgotten first name. "You saw Jack! He was fading! His skin was gray, his eyes didn't have any color to them. He was just as weak as us. Maybe he just thought that... that... Pitch was his only chance at survival. He didn't want to disappear again."

"That's no excuse. How could he just leave us? He's nothing but a bloody jerk who doesn't care about anyone but himse-" Bunny turned to spot Jack standing behind Tooth. "Oh... hey, Luna," he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"He's just angry," Tooth said calmly.

"I know. It's okay," said Jack. "Where's North? I need to ask him something."

"His workshop," Bunny answered.

"Thanks," Jack said, walking away. He cracked a small smirk when he heard Tooth slap Bunny on the shoulder for being a grump.

Jack trudged to North's shop, waving half-heartedly at the yetis who noticed him. When he reached the office, he almost pushed the door open, but remembered North's rule with a sigh. He knocked three times.

"Yes, yes, come in!"North's voice boomed cheerily from behind the wood. Jack opened the door and stepped inside.

"Ah, Luna! What can I do for you?" the bearded man asked, tinkering with an airplane made of ice.

"Could I... could I, um, borrow a snowglobe? I need to go see my sister," Jack said.

"Of course," North said as he rose and walked toward the disguised spirit. He reached into his pocket and removed the magic glass ball. He handed it to Jack gently. "How's your mother?" asked North. Jack just shook his head. North put his huge hand on Jack's shoulder. "It will get better," he comforted. "I can feel it..." he patted his stomach. "... in my belly." Jack smiled.

"Thanks, North." Jack held the snowglobe to his lips and whispered his destination. He threw it to the floor and stepped into the portal that appeared before him.

…..

The portal let Jack out in the second floor hallway of the Nightingale household. Jack walked toward Angie's bedroom door. He knocked. Angie approached and opened the door. Her eyes widened.

"Luna!" She pulled him in for a hug, but Jack pulled her gently away.

"I'm not Luna," he said. Angie looked confused. "I'm Jack. Luna did this to me. Can I come in?" She led him into the room.

"What's going on? What are you talking about?" asked Angie, sitting on her bed. Jack sat next to her.

"Luna is with Pitch."

"Pitch? What is that?"

"Not what. Who. Pitch is... well, he's the Boogeyman." Angie's brow furrowed. "He's spreading Nightmares to drain the children's belief in us. He wanted to take me, but Luna found out and did... this," he said, gesturing to his body. "She changed me so he wouldn't hurt me." Angie didn't say a word. She looked at her hands and twiddled her fingers, just like her sister. She looked to Jack.

"And there's nothing you can do?" she asked.

"For now? No."

"Oh..." She paused. "So, why did you come here?"

"I thought you would want to know. No one else believes me, though," he mumbled. They sat there for a long time without saying anything, until a question pricked at Jack's mind. "Can I ask you something?" The blonde nodded.

"Where is your dad?"

"Oh..." Angie looked down again.

"Sorry. It's just that Luna never mentioned him, but I found his picture in her room. I was just curious." There was a period of silence between them. There was no sound in the room, aside from Angie's breaths. Finally, she spoke.

"He left."

"What?" Jack asked, surprised.

"My dad. He left." Jack was stricken by this.

"Why?" he inquired.

"I don't know. I guess he just wanted something that we didn't have. Luna was only two. I was four. He just got up and left one day and didn't come back."

"Do you ever hear from him?"

"No. Luna writes him letters sometimes, but he never answers them." Jack was filled with a strange emotion that felt like hatred, but also disappointment. How could two girls as good-hearted and spirited as Angie and Luna have come from a man so uncaring and insensitive? More importantly, why would anyone want to leave these girls?

"That doesn't make any sense!" Jack exclaimed.

"I know. I hate him."

"You don't hate him," Jack tried to comfort her.

"Yes, I do! Who just leaves his wife to let her take care of two toddlers on her own? Luna hardly remembers him, and I only wish I could forget him! Anyone who does that to a woman and two little kids deserves whatever hatred he gets." Jack decided to stop talking. He put his hand on Angie's back, and they sat there, very quietly, for the rest of the evening.

…..

Meanwhile, Luna was busy exploring Pitch's strange, dark world. Upon her arrival in the cavernous lair, Pitch had given her a small speech about "no funny business" or "I'll be watching you," or something of that nature, but Luna hardly heard it. She was caught up in her own thoughts in a mix of panic, guilt, and relief that her plan was working. Now she just had to pretend. Just put on a show, she thought. The fate of everyone she loved rested on her now. She just had to keep up the charade.