There was an intense anxiousness burrowed in Jack's stomach that wouldn't go away.

It had been a lot easier to locate Starfire than Bunny and the others had led him to believe, just a few days scouting the uninhabited regions of Earth before one of Tooth's fairies finally spotted her. After that North sent a pair of yetis to fetch her, and now the five Guardians were assembled at the base of North's globe, awaiting the new recruit.

Everything seemed to be going far too smoothly for it to possibly end well.

I really don't like this…

Jack glanced around at the others. Tooth was busy directing her fairies, but there was a distinct grimness to her expression that was rather unlike her. Sandy was dozing, as expected, and Bunnymund was pacing restlessly. The frost spirit couldn't help but notice that the Pooka's paws kept inching for his boomerangs as if sorely tempted to take them for added precaution.

North, on the other hand, was grinning broadly. His massive hands rested on his hips as he patiently awaited the yetis' return. Out of all the Guardians he seemed to be the only one who was genuinely pleased about the whole affair, which Jack simply couldn't understand.

How can he be so jolly when everyone else has pretty much set their mind to the fact that there's gonna be trouble?

When the portal finally opened in a swirl of color and whooshing wind, all five of them jerked to attention. Startled out of sleep, Sandman floated up to Tooth's side as she quickly dismissed the rest of her fairies. Jack could tell she didn't want them anywhere near Starfire, and the little beings clearly didn't want to be near the flora spirit, either. They flitted away only too gratefully once Tooth bid them leave.

As soon as the pair of yetis appeared, Jack's attention was drawn to the writhing red sack one of them had slung over his shoulder. Normally he'd find it terribly amusing to witness such an event from outside the bag rather than inside of it, but he just couldn't find anything remotely funny about the present situation. The victim inside North's sack was clearly enraged, thrashing and kicking so fiercely that the bag was on the verge of tearing. Jack winced at the steady stream of furious words emanating from the woman's mouth, which was peppered with more than a few curses.

"I swear, fat man, I'm going burn your damn shop to the ground!" she shrieked as the yeti holding the sack set her down with far more care than they had Jack when he had been in the same situation. The other yeti was keeping a safe distance between itself and the writhing sack, cradling a staff in its massive paws as if it wanted nothing more than to drop the thing and run for it.

I've never seen them scared of anything before, Jack noted with growing dread. He wondered if it was her anger that intimidated them or if what they feared was actually retribution at the hands of a spirit who was as powerful as Bunny and the others made her out to be.

Wait…she wouldn't hurt them, right? They were only doing what they were told. Even I didn't get mad at them when they did the exact same thing to me...irritated, sure, but not mad.

It didn't take long for him to get his answer.

Once the drawstring was pulled loose, Starfire emerged with flailing arms, flushed and furious. She snatched her staff from the second yeti as the hulking thing gingerly held it out for her to take. As soon as the weapon changed hands, Jack felt the imminent surge of power and the yetis scattered. Undeterred by their hasty retreat, Starfire gripped the staff in both hands and swung the butt around, directing her power at the first yeti. The massive creature garbled in shock and pain as a long thick vine emerged from nothing and whipped it hard on the back of the head. It fell to the floor with a dull thud, scrambled to its feet and yelped again as the vine wrapped tight around its neck and pulled taut, yanking it back down again.

The second yeti made it a bit further before Starfire turned her attention to it. With blazing eyes she swung her staff around to redirect the vine, catching the fleeing beast around the ankles and successfully tripping it. Like its partner the yeti dropped to the floor, and it bellowed in pain as the vine struck it repeatedly across the head and shoulders. Whip-like cracks echoed in the workshop along with the yetis' howls.

"Lilly!" North boomed. "Welcome to the Pole!"

Jack couldn't believe the man sounded so cheerful when his workers were being unreasonably punished, but his incredulous glance in the big man's direction revealed that the Russian's eyes were hard. Messing around with the useless elves was one thing, but picking on his dedicated, hardworking yetis was clearly intolerable.

So why doesn't he do something?!

Then he understood North's intention as the flora spirit's head snapped around.

"Do not call me that!" she commanded harshly.

"Lilliana," North corrected quickly, his smile still fixed firmly on his face. "Welcome, welcome!"

With her attention successfully drawn away from the yetis, they took the opportunity to flee, whimpering and clutching their abused flesh. The flora spirit let them go, her focus now set squarely upon the gathered Guardians.

"Save your words, fat man," Starfire snapped. With a practiced twirl of her staff, the vine vanished. Then she slammed the butt of the weapon down onto the floor. The resulting bang echoed so loudly in the room that Bunny's sensitive ears twitched and his furry face pinched with pain. "You have no right to manhandle me!"

"Ah, well, all in the past," the big man said, waving his hands dismissively through the air. Jack wasn't sure if he was trying to calm or distract the raging spirit, but he wasn't doing a very good job of either.

"Do not act as if I am stupid enough to just forgive and forget a kidnapping, North," Starfire snarled. "I am no frost spirit!"

"Hey!" Jack cried indignantly.

"We need to talk," North said with a shrug. He was still trying hard to keep that cheerful smile on his face. "But you would not come. So…we collect you."

"I have no reason to speak with you," Starfire retorted. She cast contemptuous looks at the other Guardians. "You or your gaggle of so-called friends."

"Hey, now," Bunny growled, taking a step forward before Tooth dashed over to stop him. "Don't go looking down on us, mate. We don't want you here anymore than you want to be here!"

"Then why am I here?"

It was unbelievable how the flora spirit could manage to look down on a being that was so much taller than her, but she was doing just that—staring down her nose at Bunny as if the Pooka was far, far beneath her. Jack, in turn, let his gaze rove up and down the newcomer, getting his first hard look at the Sun Woman's daughter. She was quite tall, maybe a little taller than Jack, and stunningly beautiful. Her hair was long and thick and impossibly curly, red as flame with golden highlights to match. Her eyes were a deep green, like leaves, and her skin was the color of dark earth. She wore a thin white blouse with wide bell sleeves over a tight wrist-length undershirt that was the same color as her eyes. Her pants were also green, but it was such a deep color that in certain lights the cloth almost appeared brown. Then his gaze dropped to her feet and Jack couldn't help but smile a little when he noticed that she was barefoot. Seems we have a bit in common after all. Her toes were dusted with fresh soil, and there was a large pine needle stuck to the hem of her pants. She stood straight-backed and proud, her chin set squarely and her eyes blazing with contempt.

She was both the most striking and the most intimidating spirit Jack had ever laid eyes on.

Having studied the woman closely, the frost spirit's attention wandered to Starfire's staff. Something else we have in common. It was as tall as the spirit wielding it and noticeably thicker than Jack's, and if the dull thud it created when it struck the floor earlier was any indication then the wood used to make it was much denser than that which comprised Jack's own staff. I'd like to see Pitch snap that one in half, he couldn't help but think dryly. The weapon was intricately carved, unlike Jack's rather rugged design, with what appeared to be a vines-and-leaves pattern. The top of Starfire's staff was also noticeably different from Jack's, for his ended in a wide crook whereas the flora spirit's appeared to be topped by a large three-pronged claw made of some kind of black stone. Stranger still, cradled within the curled, iridescent talons was an actual flame. Jack couldn't even begin to fathom how the thing was kept alive without fuel, until he remembered that this spirit's name was Starfire and that she was the daughter of the Sun.

Must've been a gift from her mother, he decided. He stared for a long while, mesmerized by the flickering stark-white flame. He'd never seen fire hot enough to burn white, and he couldn't help the trepidation that curled inside his stomach as he realized that he really, really didn't want to be at the receiving end of that heat.

Ever.

North's booming voice snapped him out of his scrutiny.

"Why you think?" he asked in answer to Starfire's pointed question. "To make you Guardian!"

The moment the words left his lips, the six of them were nearly deafened by raucous fanfare from elf-wielded horns. The celebratory noise resounded starkly in the awkward silence, though North seemed to be the only one who didn't take notice. He was dancing in place along with the music, apparently trying to lift the mood.

It wasn't working. Jack quickly shut the little nuisances up with a blast of ice. Frozen with the horns still to their lips, the elves tipped onto the floor with sharp clinks and lay there like ridiculous little statues.

Starfire stared at the five Guardians in disbelief. Jack almost expected her to burst out laughing, but she didn't. Instead, her face twisted into a sneer.

"You cannot be serious."

"Is true!" North happily assured her, waving his arms about in his usual overly-animated manner. "Man-in-Moon decided!"

Bunny shifted next to Jack, grumbling darkly under his breath. The frost spirit saw that the Pooka's face was still harshly set, as if he didn't like the flora spirit any more than she liked any of them. Fluttering beside him, Tooth Fairy looked nervously between Bunny, Starfire and North, uncertain as to what to do. Sandy appeared almost nonchalant, as if he wasn't bothered by Starfire's reaction at all, but Jack noticed that the little man's hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly at his sides as if prepared to spring into action at any moment.

"Perhaps you have forgotten, North," Starfire said coolly, "but I simply don't care what that meddlesome Moon-man has to say."

Tooth gasped, hands flying to her mouth. Bunny growled, "Why I oughta—" but was stopped short of snagging his boomerangs by Sandman. Jack wasn't completely sure why they were all so upset, but he could guess as to the reason. Having never heard of the Man in the Moon referred to as anything other than "old friend" or Manny before, he supposed the name Starfire had just assigned him was at best rather rude and at worst incredibly insulting.

"Still," North proclaimed, purposefully ignoring the slight against his old friend, "Manny decided, and here you are. So! We make you Guardian!"

"Did you not hear me?!"

"Jack didn't want to be a Guardian, either," Tooth told her, bravely flying a bit closer to the angry spirit. "But here he is!"

"Yeah, it's really not all that bad," Jack put in, trying to be supportive of Tooth. But his words of encouragement almost seemed to make things worse.

"Oh, do not even think to compare me to the likes of you," Starfire snapped at Jack. "You chose your way, and it was the way of stupidity."

"Helping children is not stupid," Jack snapped back. He was starting to get angry now. He clutched his staff so tightly his knuckles popped.

"You don't help them, Jack Frost. And you certainly don't 'guard' them, either. That they've managed to convince you otherwise shows just how pathetically ignorant you are."

Pushed to the limits of his patience, Jack thrust his staff into the air. Ignoring Tooth's cry of warning, he sent a blast of frigid air and ice across the room towards the flora spirit. Tooth Fairy managed to duck out of the way just in time, but Starfire looked almost bored by the display. With a simple flick of her staff, a wave of nearly unbearable heat flared to life. In an instant, the powerful ice attack had been transformed into a harmless puddle of water on North's workshop floor.

"Do not ever compare yourself to me, boy," Starfire said softly, menacingly. "Who do you think I am?!"

"You are Starfire," North said loudly, "and new Guardian!"

"You wouldn't have been chosen without reason," Tooth pointed out reasonably.

Starfire's eyes flicked over the fairy. "Oh, he has reason. He wants to put me somewhere he can keep an eye on me."

"I highly doubt that," Bunny grumbled, and Jack found he had to agree. He couldn't imagine anyone, even the Man in the Moon, wanting to be responsible for this arrogant sharp-tongued spirit.

Starfire laughed. "That's because you don't know anything, rabbit."

Jack frowned. Rabbit? The only person he'd ever known to call Bunny "rabbit" was…

He quickly discarded the thought. Don't be ridiculous, Jack, he scolded himself. Pitch is gone. It's probably just a coincidence. She called Manny "Moon-man", after all, so is calling Bunny "rabbit" really that much of a stretch?

Then he smiled wryly. At least she didn't call him "Kangaroo".

Still…he just couldn't shake the growing dread that was starting to settle over him again. Something about this whole situation just wasn't right. He gripped his staff tighter, silently wishing that they could just resolve this problem quickly and be rid of Starfire.

She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't believe it. A Guardian? Really? What kind of twisted joke was this?

Then aggravated disbelief gave way to reason, and realization quickly dawned on her. This couldn't be a coincidence. The timing was just too perfect. That meddling Moon-man must have seen her in the woods that night and put two-and-two together. She'd known that stepping out in the open like that with a full moon directly above her head was taking a massive risk, but she'd hoped that the nocturnal spectator would either assume she was meddling in his precious Guardians' affair just to toy with them and, by extension, get some much-desired revenge against the ever-aggravating Moon-man, or that he'd guess what was going on but mind his own business for fear of angering Starfire and her mother.

It was pretty clear now that she'd been wrong on both counts. And to think that this was his reaction to finally learning the truth...

The hell is wrong with you?! She thought furiously, casting a dark look up at the night sky. You aren't even my father, so what right do you have to dictate to me like this?! What right do you have to interfere in my decisions?!

"I'll only say this once more," she told the assembled Guardians firmly. "I don't want to be a Guardian, and there is no way you can force me."

"Like we'd want to," that damned rabbit grumbled. He was always so full of himself, that pesky Pooka. Starfire was sorely tempted to teach him a lesson on respect, but decided against it. She had to get out of here, and quickly, before things got out of hand.

"Well, then." She spun on her heel, dismissing the lot of them with a swish of her red hair. "You have no right to stop me."

She'd only made it a few steps across the room, however, when she caught the flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Her jaw tightened.

Pitch.

This was bad. If the wretched Guardians caught him here then they'd know immediately that their defeat of the Boogeyman had been a farce—that the Nightmare King had let them presume victory just to get away from them. They'd make it their mission to defeat Pitch for real this time, and that was the very last thing he needed to be dealing with right now. He'd gathered and expended so much energy trying to defeat those five pests the last time, only to have all of his efforts go to waste thanks to the interference of a few pathetic human children with names like "Jamie" and "Cupcake". Such a dramatic swing of strength and power in a relatively short period of time was quite draining for a spirit, even one of Pitch's caliber, and what he needed most right now was a period of uninterrupted rest. Not to become involved in some messy affair like this. Teleporting to the Pole in such haste surely hadn't helped his recuperation one bit, and if things were to devolve into a full-fledged battle (which they undoubtedly would if he revealed himself), then he'd be hard-pressed to escape the Guardians unscathed, especially when he'd want to take her with him. Teleporting himself was one thing, but transporting another spirit through the shadows over such great distance was an incredibly taxing feat. He could probably manage it if he had to, but she refused to let it get to that point. He may have rushed here to help her, but she was just as determined to look out for his well-being.

"I'm fine," she announced in a clear voice. With her back turned to the Moon-man's pests, they couldn't see that her gaze was fixed on that shadow. Those words were for Pitch, to assure him that she was all right and to hopefully convince him to stay hidden and allow her to handle the situation herself.

He seemed to get the message, for there was nary a flicker from that shadow after that one brief flash of movement. Lilliana breathed an inward sigh of relief, thanking every shadow in the world that her love was far more intelligent than these idiotic Guardians.

Turning once more, she saw that said Guardians were looking rather perplexed by her seemingly out-of-the-blue statement. So she elaborated.

"I'm fine with how things are now, and I certainly don't want to ruin that because your precious moon got it into his head that I'm better off here with you."

It was clear to her that the Moon-man had stopped short of telling his minions the exact cause of his sudden summons; they wouldn't be acting anywhere near this nonchalant about the whole affair if they'd known. And they were obviously far too stupid to realize the truth for themselves, but that only worked in Starfire's favor. If she played this off correctly, she could get away from them, avoid becoming a Guardian, and return to the darkness with Pitch without their secret being revealed to anyone else.

As grateful as I am to you for keeping your fat mouth shout, she thought of the Moon-man, I find myself shocked at the true extent of your manipulative tendencies. Telling them I'd be a Guardian when really that's the very last thing you want me to be…. Here I thought you'd jump at the opportunity to subjugate me and be rid of your old friend in one stroke, but you just couldn't help yourself, could you? You just had to toy with everyone just a little bit more.

The fat man was talking in his annoyingly loud voice. Lilliana had to wonder if he only acted as the supposed-leader of the group because he talked too much for anyone else to put in for the position.

"No need for complaints," he was saying jovially. "We don't want to rule you, just have you help children when needed."

"I've already told you," she said through gritted teeth, "you don't help children, you bribe them, and I want nopart in that!"

The rabbit had a boomerang in hand and was gesturing at her with it in a manner that she supposed was intended to be threatening, but really it just looked ridiculous.

"You take that back now!" he commanded. "You take back what you said!"

"Or what?" she sneered. "You'll poke me with that stick?" She backed up a few steps and turned away. "I'm done with this foolishness." She headed straight for the door.

"Woah, now."

Lilliana stopped short as Jack Frost suddenly dropped down in front of her. The frost spirit was holding tight to his staff, a clear indication that he didn't trust her at all (Good.), but his expression wasn't one of fear like the fairy's, or aggravation like the rabbit's, or even of indignation like the yellow man's. His jaw was set stubbornly, as if he was determined to get her to acquiesce whether she wanted to or not.

And that pissed her off.

"At least hear us out on this," the boy said firmly. "You can't just plug your ears and pretend you don't care about anything. That's really quite childish."

Lilliana eyed him coldly. "A three hundred-year-old boy dares to call me childish?" She chuckled darkly. "That's so pathetic it's almost cute."

She took another step forward, but the boy didn't budge. "Move," she hissed, letting him see the resolve burning in her eyes. She was going to go out that door whether he made way or not.

From behind her, North gave a soft but stern command in his rumbling voice. "Outta the way, Jack."

"Let her go," the rabbit sneered as Jack obediently leapt out of the way. Carried across the room by his summoned wind, he landed lightly beside the others as the Pooka continued crossly, "The children are better off without her anyway."

Lilliana couldn't help but laugh. "More than you know, kangaroo."

She turned once more to leave, but there was a flurry of movement behind her as both the fat man and the fairy shouted "No!" Then came the telltale whistling of a boomerang, alerting her to the instigated rabbit's attack.

Really?

She dodged the assault easily, but the rapid patter of paws told her the rabbit was only just getting started. She spun smoothly on the spot, bringing up her staff for a counterattack, but halfway across the room the Pooka skidded to a halt, eyes nearly popping out of his fuzzy head as he stared with what could only be described as shock and…fear?

The others, too, were crying out in alarm and snatching up their weapons, fairy and fat man drawing their swords while Sandman summoned his whip of golden sand. What—?

She looked back over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of what had frightened them all: golden eyes, burning with rage, set onto a handsome gray face.

No!

That was the only thought she could muster before a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her and pulled her back into the swirling portal of darkness and shadow.

The moment they were back home Lilliana turned to give Pitch a sharp slap on the chest.

"What were you thinking?!" she cried. "Now they all know you only pretended to be defeated!"

"You'd rather I stood back and watched?!" he shouted back, golden eyes blazing. There were lines etched around his mouth, the only indication of just how much effort he'd been forced to exert in order to rescue her.

"You think I cannot handle myself, Pitch? Is that it?! Do you honestly believe I am incapable of defending myself against a stupid Pooka?!"

"Of course not!"

All around the room the Nightmares paced nervously, eyeing the pair with caution tinged with something very close to worry. Their masters rarely fought, and those bouts were only made all the more frightening because of that fact.

"What is it, then?" Lilliana asked more quietly, though with the same ferocity. "What on earth possessed you to come out of hiding after I told you that I could take care of it?"

He held her gaze for a long moment, chest rising and falling visibly with each sharp breath. Then his eyes dropped to the floor.

"He attacked you," he said softly. "I…I just couldn't stand for it."

The anger on her face died away, and she reached up to caress his cheek. She understood. She understood completely. He was a very proud, possessive man and hated it when other spirits meddled with what was his, be it his plans or his Nightmares or his woman.

Especially his woman.

He knew full well the extent of her power, and had witnessed for himself just how easily she could defend herself whenever necessary. His interference hadn't been about a lack of trust, or even about a lack of faith in her strength. He'd gone to the Pole because he was worried, and had sprung out of hiding because he'd felt compelled to defend her just as she'd felt the undeniable need to do the same for him that night on the frozen pond. They'd both damned the risks in the heat of the moment, and now they were both suffering the consequences of their decisions.

He looked up at her again.

"Why were you even there?" he asked her. "What in the name of darkness possessed you to go there?"

She laughed bitterly. "You think I went by choice? That damned North sent his yetis after me. They surprised me in the forest and stole my staff."

"So they really wanted you to help them?"

"Yes. They wanted me to be a Guardian."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?"

His expression fell for a brief moment. Then he growled. "He knows!"

"Yes. He must've seen me command those mares to help you and guessed what was really going on. He's just using Guardianship as a ruse to get me away from you."

"So the others don't know?"

"Not yet. But after that little stunt you just pulled I don't think it matters anymore. They're going to come after you again, and when they do I'm not going to just stand back like I did last time!"

The intensity of her words, the fire in her eyes that burned just for him, set his heart pounding. Excitement and something much richer pooled within him and he smiled broadly, reaching forward to pull her into his firm embrace.

"You don't know what you do to me," he murmured into her ear. Then his nose wrinkled with disgust. "You smell like Christmas."

She laughed and slapped him again, but more playfully this time. "You hardly smell better."

He pulled a face. "Even the shadows there reek of cookies and wrapping paper." Then he got a wicked gleam in his eye and, without warning, hoisted her into his arms.

"Hey!" she said with a laugh as the unexpected motion caused her to drop her staff. It clattered to the floor and was quickly forgotten, the white flame flickering brightly in the semi-darkness.

"I believe a bath is in order," he said smoothly, teeth gleaming as he grinned down at her.

"You're impossible."

That was all the complaint she could muster as he strode away towards the baths, holding her quite easily in his lean arms. As they disappeared up the stairs, the Nightmare Onyx stepped forward. Carefully taking the neglected staff between her teeth, she trotted away in the direction of her masters' bedchambers, where she instinctively knew the pair would inevitably wind up before the night was done.