The nightmares rushed at Aster, surrounding him on all sides. The Pooka was swift, though. He dodged easily and threw his boomerangs with precision, disintegrating the foul beasts. They kept coming. It wasn't long until his arms began to ache. He could hear Pitch taunting him through the army, the coward. He'd kill the Nightmare King.

One particularly large nightmare charged Bunny head-on. Bunny grunted and fell into the snow, trying to move quickly as to avoid the hooves that surrounded him and surely would be painful if they stepped on him. He picked himself up and cursed under his breath. He was getting tired. Where were the others? Shouldn't they be here helping him? It was frustrating, but he didn't have much time to think about it, as the nightmares were relentless.

Suddenly, a flicker of gold caught his eye. A new hope surged through Aster and he turned to see Sandy flicking his whips in every direction, stopping momentarily to give his friend a reassuring smile. Tooth swooped in next, slicing the black sand with her razor-sharp wings and directing her mini fairies. 'Good', thought Aster 'this is real good.' But...

But where was North?

Well, he didn't have time to think about it. The nightmares multiplied and struck at him harder. The bucked and bit and kicked him. Bunny started throw his egg grenades, and was pleased to find they were very effective (and kind of pretty, if he did say so himself).

Bunny smirked when he saw there was a clear path to Pitch. He casually stretched his paw to catch one his boomerangs and crouched, ready to pounce.

Shit was about to go down.

To say the nightmare king was surprised would be an understatement. Too absorbed in his own little world of fear and chaos, he hadn't noticed Bunny until he was on top of him, clawing like mad and snarling. At first he panicked, but then with a flourish he materialized a large scythe of black sand. He used the butt of it to knock the Pooka off of him.

"Silly rabbit", he sneered. "Can't you see? The poor boy is too far gone, even if you were to get the last ingredient, which is highly unlikely. Jack will soon belong to me. You. Can't. Save. Him."

"Shut up!" Bunny roared. He pounced at Pitch, but had to duck at the last minute when the scythe came flying at him. Pitch advanced on him, looking quite menacing, but Aster was far from giving up. A grenade was thrown at the boogeyman and he backed up, giving Aster more room. Once again he was on top of him. He struggled the black weapon out of Pitch's hand and raised it above him. Ready to strike, he brought the scythe down… And stopped. Wait. He couldn't kill him. Jack wouldn't be able to survive. He needed that tear. The last, yet most vital ingredient was right in front of him, and he'd almost thrown it away because of his blind rage. Breathing heavily, Bunny let himself relax, but still kept his weight on Pitch.

"What to do, what to do?" sang the Boogeyman. "Well, Aster? Any bright ideas?"

No. Bunny cursed. What now?! He was running out of time! He tried to think, but it was impossible with the sound of whips and buzzing and sleigh bells! Wait… Sleigh bells?

"Bunny!" North called from up in his sleigh. Something was dangling from his hand. He swung it a couple of times and threw it down to Aster. The Pooka jumped up and ran to catch it. It landed easily in his paws. Bunny chuckled, relieved. Maybe, just maybe, he sort of-kind of liked the sleigh. Sort of.

"Ha!" Pitch said as he approached Bunny. "You think a stupid necklace can stop me?!" He wrenched it from his grip. "You're pathe- … pa… S-ser…Serephina…?" He began to shake awfully and his golden eyes became misty and distant. Bunny smirked. He'd gotten him.

"See what you lost, Pitch?" Bunny whispered. It was a cruel thing to do, he knew, but Jack needed this.

"I…" croaked Pitch. A single tear slipped down his grey face. It fell into the locket, on top of the faded picture of Pithiner's daughter. Seeing this, Bunny snatched it and clicked it shut.

Pitch's head snapped up and he looked around, disoriented and breathless, but he knew he'd lost. Weakly, he called his nightmares to retreat and left.

"It's here!" Tooth cried, flying the cup to Jack's room, where everyone was crowded. Bunny was closest to the bed, holding Jack's hand and nuzzling him occasionally. The boy's veins were almost all black now and he was whimpering as his glazed eyes darted around the room. Bunny squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Shh, Jack. You're gonna be just fine, ya hear?" When Tooth entered the room he propped Jack up and was handed the medicine. He tilted it against Jack's lips, letting the boy try to swallow it down. It was somewhat difficult, but he managed, and then laid against Bunny with a little sigh.

Slowly, the black faded from his veins. The dark pink on his cheeks lightened more and more until it was completely gone.

"Now what?" Tooth asked. North took her hand and tugged her gently out of the room.

"Now… We let him sleep."

Nobody had said anything when Sandy left with the locket. They probably didn't even notice. 'Probably for the best', he thought. He wouldn't admit to anyone, especially his fellow Guardians, but he pitied Pitch. Speaking of, he'd just arrived at the entrance to the boogeyman's lair. Carefully, and of course silently, he dropped the locket down the whole. Hopefully, Pitch would find a way to regain his former self, and maybe this would help. Smiling softly, Sand slipped away.

When Jack woke the next day, there was a dull throb in his head, but other than that he felt rather refreshed. He stretched and turned over in bed, only to be met by Bunny's sleeping form. With a small laugh, he curled up to Bunny. The Pooka sighed and put his arms around the boy. Jack smirked. Maybe a bit more sleep wouldn't hurt.

DONE! I'm so happy! I know this wasn't my best story, but it was super fun to write. Thank you all so much for reading! Read my other stories, soon to come, if you like!