North finds Pitch only a day after they have defeated him. Pitch is barely conscious, having used what remained of his strength to escape his own Nightmares, who tore into him without mercy, leaving him as little but a pathetic scrap of a shade. It's only because North's mount, one of his massive reindeer, almost steps on him that the Cossack finds him. Pitch doesn't know why North has come, but he refuses to simply be taken in. He tries to struggle when North picks him up, but the attempt, and the jarring movement is enough to make him pass out.
When Pitch wakes up, he knows instinctively that he is in Santoff Claussen. The room he is in is large, with a fire roaring in the fireplace. It takes time for the Boogeyman to realize, that he has regained his human form, rather than the wretched wight he was when North found him.
North. Why in the world did the Cossack bring him here? More importantly, why did he come searching? To take him prisoner? Enslave him? North knew magic, Pitch wouldn't put it past him…
But there is no slave collar around his neck, no cuffs on his wrists or feet that will bind what little power he has. And the only runes of magic he can find, are old but powerful ones already carved into the bed, made so that whoever sleeps in the bed will heal from whatever injuries they may have. Pitch moves himself to the edge of the bed, feeling at least well enough so that he doesn't need to sleep anymore. He wonders idly how long he has been unconscious.
There is a set of clothes waiting for Pitch on a nearby chair. But along with it, there is something else as well… a golden collar and belt. And nearby is a long staff, carved from black oak, the top of it shaped in an intricate 'S'.
The Boogeyman blinks and frowns. These were objects that were very dear to him, a long time ago. The staff… the staff had been burned to cinders by a Light Demon, one whose name he has long forgotten (or chose to forget?); But the collar, and the belt that went with it…
He only remembers that he had lost both after his battle with the Guardians, at the end of the Dark Ages, but he couldn't for the life of him remember how. The Guardians had gotten the upper hand at some point and had been utterly merciless, at least until Pitch had managed to flee.
The memory of that battle leaves a bitter taste in the Nightmare King's mouth, and for a moment, he is ever so tempted to just grab both belt and collar and throw it all over in a corner and then go back to sleep until he forgets about the objects once more.
But no. Even as he reaches out for them, he can't bring himself to do it. Instead, he starts with putting on the black tights, followed by the robe. The robe is so very unlike his own shadow woven clothes, and feels almost too large. It billows down around him when he stands up, in an almost uncontrolled way, but once he puts on the belt, he feels… more at ease somehow. The collar helps as well, its weight familiar and comfortable around his neck, even though it has been hundreds of years since he last wore it. And the staff… the staff is like being reunited with an old friend.
Pitch catches sight of himself in a mirror, and he tilts his head curiously at the sight of himself. He looks, and feels, if he has to be quite honest with himself, damn good.
He looks like the mighty Spirit of Fear that he used to be. Question is of course… why?
He will never admit that he is startled when the door to the room opens. North comes in, and the Cossack looks surprised for a moment at seeing Pitch awake and out of bed, but then he grins, his eyes almost seeming to sparkle.
"Ah good! You are awake!" He exclaims and enters fully, before closing the door behind him. "I see you have found your old things! You like?"
Pitch frowns, unconsciously clutching the staff tighter, as if afraid that the other will suddenly snatch it away. "They are… acceptable." He finally says, giving the other man a wary look. "Why am I here, North? And why have you given me these… these things?" He narrows his eyes suspiciously. "Am I a prisoner? Did you come to gloat?"
The other man frowns slightly. "You are guest, not prisoner, Pitch." He says. "I have no reason to hold you against your will." He sighs, slumping a bit in his shoulders. "I simply wish to… make amends."
Pitch straightens up a bit, giving the former Bandit King a nasty look. "So I am here because you pity me." He growls. "Oh poor little Boogeyman, let's save his measly life so he can owe us a favor! Keep him on a honorable leash so he won't cause any more trouble!"
"Nyet!" North exclaims. "Is not like that at all! I have let you stay here and recover for a reason. Allow me to speak!"
Pitch fumes and looks away. "Very well. Since I obviously owe you a favor now." He speaks the last part venomously, but falls silent after that.
The former Cossack sighs. "Do you remember when we were first introduced? Santoff Claussen is not yet finished, Tooth and Sandy are already there… And you come in, in high spirits, dressed as you are now."
Pitch looks to him with an unamused raised brow. "How could I possibly forget?" He sneers. "You came swinging down like some swashbuckler, going on about how you make people work together."
"And that is still what I do!" North replies. "It is a part of my Center." He pauses for a moment, before he hesitantly adds: "But what is yours?"
The Nightmare King stares at him blankly. "Excuse me?"
North sighs again. "It is something I should have asked you those many years ago, but that fault was my own. Making people work together is something I have always been good at. Is why Man in Moon chose me to lead Guardians, yes?" When Pitch just rolls his eyes, North continues. "When we met, I have not been leader for long. But I take my responsibility seriously. Perhaps too much so! I never question the Man in the Moon, I never ask others for advise and I never ask for criticism." He huffs a bit in slight frustration. "You, when I suggest working together, have your ideas at once! Frighten bad children, reward good children! And what do I reply?"
"'Not quite right idea,' if my memory serves me right." Pitch scoffs.
"And not long after, when I tell you that Man in Moon chose us to protect children, and I suggested how you could aid us all…"
"I said no," Pitch practically snarls, narrowing his eyes. "And my answer is still the same!"
North looks at him with a strange, sad look however. "And I do not blame you. Is not often one is stabbed in back by an old friend, yes?"
This makes Pitch give pause, and he frowns in confusion. "What in the world are you blathering on about, Cossack?"
"'Man in Moon observes. Is all he ever did.'" North says quietly. "I still remember how you looked then."
"Do enlighten me, Cossack. How exactly did I look!?" Pitch replies, his tone oddly neutral. He tries to ignore the slight chill he feels down his spine, when Nicholas St. North looks at him with a hardened look.
"Like someone you trusted had betrayed you." He then shrugs and sighs, "and I with grace of cow in shop simply blunder ahead, telling you what Man in Moon wants. Never stopping to think of what you would want."
"The phrase is 'bull in a chinashop.'" Pitch mutters idly, refusing to meet the other mans gaze. Because as much as it frustrates him, the other man is right. He did feel betrayed, and he remembers how he had only bothered to listen to the first few phrases that North had spoken afterward, how everything had seemed to drown in white noise as his feelings of anger, hurt and betrayal welled up in his chest until finally erupting. He remembers his own words as he verbally lashed out in utter fury at the Cossack and the other spirits.
"I have been on this world for millenia, and you're asking me to… to back away? No! I have a role to play."
And it had been an important one, one that had shaped humanity, and still did in countless ways!
He will never admit it out loud, but underneath the hurt of betrayal, and the anger of being challenged this way… he had been afraid.
"You do not have to be." North says, and Pitch jerks when he realizes that he spoke that last thought out loud.
"And what would you have me do." He growls, "bow in the dust to the Man in the Moon, and beg for forgiveness? Like a dog will beg its master even after being kicked?" He bares his teeth, sharp and hostile. "Never."
North simply looks at him with sad, but gentle eyes. He does not look at the Nightmare King with pity, however. He knows that pity will lead nowhere with Pitch Black.
"I would not ask, nor beg of you to change, Pitch Black." He finally says quietly. "You are the Nightmare King, and you can not help who you are."
It is the first time that North has ever referred to Pitch by what has always been his proper title, rather than the other one that Pitch has always secretly loathed. And the older spirit has no idea how to react.
"But neither can you help what you are, Cossack." He finally mutters. "You can't help protecting the children any more than you can help breathing."
"Is true," North agrees with a sage nod. "But there is only so much that Wonder can do. But Fear… it follows from the cradle to the grave. It is needed… and it is why I came for you, and brought you here to rest and heal." Pitch frowns in response to that.
"And then what?" He demands to know with a scoff. "I go out and spread my fear in attempts to gain believers, and then Manny snaps his fingers and you will all hunt me down, and then we start over?" He scowls and looks away, clutching the staff firmly in his hands. "No thank you."
"The Guardians can not change the past," North says seriously. "But Nicholas St. North however…" He reaches out a hand, palm up, offering it to Pitch. "He can always start again in some place, and first by making friends. If others are willing to do the same."
Pitch looks at the outstretched hand for the longest time. For a moment, he remembers their first meeting once more, of how he back then had been interested, and had been tempted to accept the others deal… at least until he had mentioned the Man in the Moon.
"And what about your precious Man in the Moon?" He asks.
"Manny is not here." North replies. "But Guardians are. And we can make it a world that has room for Pitch Black as well."
'And Jack Frost too…' The Nightmare King's own words echoe back in his mind, and Pitch flinches, taking a step back.
"… I need to think about it." He finally says. North watches him for a moment, and then simply nods, lowering his hand.
"Take all the time you need." He says kindly. "I will not keep you from leaving. But this room…" He motions to it, "is yours to come and go as you please, at any time, day or night. And whenever you make decision… then my office is down the hall to your right."
With that, he finally leaves. And Pitch Black is left alone to his own thoughts.
A/N: In the official comic for the movie made by Rufftoon, aka Johane Mater, one of the storyboard artists who worked on the movie, Pitch and North didn't meet like they did in the books. You can see what I mean here: rufftoon dot tumblr dot com /post/36154217858/dreamworksanimation-travel-back- i n-time-pitch