Jack looked at the disappointment in North and Tooth's eyes. "He has to go! We should never have trusted you!" Bunny shouted, he raised his fist and punched him. Jack fell to the floor and let a whimper of pain out, he looked up at Bunny and Bunny could see the tears forming in Jack's eyes.

Without a word Jack stood up, shoved his teeth in his pocket, pulled his hood up and flew off, staff in hand ignoring the shouts from Tooth and North. The Guardians watched as Jack left, and then North turned to Bunny. "It is our job to look after the children; Jack is just a child Bunny. How could you?" he asked.

"I-I didn't-" Bunny cut off unable to form the words.

"We have to find him before Pitch does, we didn't even give him a chance to explain" Tooth said. The other Guardians agreed and left in search of Jack.

Meanwhile in Antarctica

Jack ran to the edge of a gorge and tried throwing his teeth over the edge but he couldn't, sighing he shoved his teeth in his pocket. He let tears fall from his eyes; the dim sun glistened off of them like diamonds. "I thought this might happen. They never really believed in you. I was just trying to show you that, but I understand" a voice said from behind Jack, he turned around and saw Pitch.

He put his staff in a defensive position, ready to attack if necessary. Pitch just raised his hands in surrender and slowly Jack lowered his staff but kept it tight in his hand. "You don't understand anything" Jack replied from under his hood.

"No? I don't understand what it's like to be cast out, to not be believed in. To long for a- a family. All these years in the shadows I thought no one else knows what this feels like and now I see I was wrong" Pitch said.

Jack sighed "I just wish that they'd believe in me, trust me. They didn't even let me explain" Jack said.

"I believe in you Jack" Pitch replied. Jack saw Pitch's face and it looked genuinely sad and truthful.

Pitch saw the edge of the bruise forming on Jacks face underneath his hood and slowly approached him. When he reached him he lowered Jack's hood and saw the huge bruise covering the right side of his face "who did this?" Pitch asked, Jack pulled his hood back up.

"Bunny" he muttered.

"I never meant for that to happen, if I knew that would happen then perhaps I wouldn't have interfered" Pitch said.

"Join me Jack; we don't have to be alone. Think about what we can do together! What goes better together than cold and dark? We can create a world that is- is"

"Pitch Black?" Jack offered.

"And Jack Frost too" Pitch corrected. "It's your choice" Pitch continued.

Jack turned around and thought about all the Guardians, how he never truly felt he belonged, how he didn't get a choice to be a Guardian but Pitch was offering him one, how Bunny hit him, how Pitch cared about who hurt him.

After a few minutes he turned back to Pitch who was waiting patiently "okay I agree" he said. Pitch smiled a true smile and Jack felt like he made the right decision, he smiled too.

The Guardians were just minutes too late.