#truffulalish

"No, Pitch, I think it's your fear." Jack says firmly.

One last jolt of electric fear runs up Pitch's spine, and then they pounce upon him, dragging him into his lair and surrounding him with terror. You're nothing, Pitch. They'll forget about you. No one cares about the boogieman. No one will believe in you ever again.

They whisper his failure to him, pushing him through the pain of being passed through and forgotten, over and over and over. It was so much worse, and they assault him from every angle. It is the same heart wrenching pain, only it doesn't stop. His breath is stolen from him, and he's gasping and gasping. He tries to scream for help, but no sound can escape from his lips. Tears fall, and he mouths the word stop, begging for mercy from his own nightmares.

But they do not give it to him. If anything, his fear makes them stronger, making the attacks worse and worse. No, Pitch Black is no longer the Nightmare King. He is a fool, only a fool. But there are other, darker, more powerful nightmares in the shadow. And as the less powerful sands attack them they hide in the shadows, waiting for their turn.

When Pitch passes out, no longer able to take the blows they are dealing, it is these monsters who pounce. They are the primal fears, those that take what is good and make it into a torturous mockery. They do not whisper words, they speak in feeling, destroying what comforts he once had. They are doubt, wanting, and loneliness. Most of all, they are fear.

He tossed and turns violently, trying to escape. He wants to wake up, to escape, but he cannot. He cries, choking and gasping in his sleep. He groans in pain, trying to call out. His heart pounds faster and faster, making him sick. His muscles seize and his core clenches, and its agony, mental and physical. He gags, and wretches weakly. Nothing but bile escapes, but he still feels the hollowness in his body.

He is awake enough to feel all the pain of both world, finding solace in neither. He is just powerful enough to know what is coming, and the nightmares let him keep that. He knows his fear, and that is what makes his punishment so horrible.

It goes on for so, so long. Maybe even an eternity. They chip away at his soul and his sanity, and it is hard to believe there is anything left of the former Nightmare King. He begins to grab hold of himself, to survive. The pain does not lessen, but his endurance grows stronger. He does not sleep any longer. He stands, and slowly the nightmares cannot face him. Only the primal fears are left, and soon he has them back under control. He may fear them, but he is no longer afraid.