The Guardians stared in horror. "What have you done?" North thundered.

The Krampus tossed the vine away. "I would think that's obvious." He smiled. "Destroying your work and as a result ensuring your death."

"Bastard!" North spat.

The demon smiled. "We should be on our way." He turned. "No point in all us being blown away." He started walking away but stopped when he noticed that the Jólasveinarnir weren't following. "Problem, Gentlemen?"

"Our brother, Gáttaþefur." Stekkjarstaur stepped forward. "The ice whelp froze him. He will—"

"—Appreciate us acknowledging his noble sacrifice," the Krampus finished. The demon arched a thick brow. "Surely you didn't expect us to take down North without at least one casualty. Besides, the blast is meant to kill only the elves and yetis. We'll come back for your brother later."

The Jólasveinarnir looked at one another before following Krampus.

The Guardians were left looking at the bomb. "What do we do?" Tooth turned to North.

The Guardian of Wonder looked over at his friends. The yetis and elves stared at him worry evident in their eyes. They had entrusted their lives to him and now look what have come of it. "I do not know." North whispered with shame. He hung his head.

Sam knew that the Krampus had told him to wait outside with Pitch, but the excited spirit just couldn't wait to get the Boogeyman home. He turned his cloak into wings, grabbed Pitch under the arms and carried him back to his home. Sam didn't know what the place Krampus had planned for Pitch was like, but he thought with a few items he could make it feel more like home.

Now if he could just get passed Jack O'Lantern everything would be super.

"Be extra quiet." He told Pitch once they landed.

The Boogeyman just looked at him with this expression of intense loathing.

Sam sighed. "Whatever," he muttered. "As long as you're quiet." He pulled Pitch into the factory and shut the door behind him.

It was dark. Maybe Jack had gone to bed early…

The numerous candelabrums, lamps, and torches used to provide the factory with light all lit at once.

A very ticked off Jack O'Lantern sat in his chair glaring at him, arms folded across his chest.

Well, damn.

"Where have you been?" Jack demanded. He didn't even wait for the chair to let him down instead he jumped out of it.

Sam took a step backward as an angry Jack stormed over. "I was out." He muttered and wouldn't meet Jack's eyes.

"We have work to do!" Jack shouted. "Do you have any idea how much you've set us back production-wise?" it was then the pumpkin-headed spirit noticed Pitch. "What is he doing here?"

Sam's face was riddled with guilt. His hair hung even more in his eyes as he ducked his head. "I took him from North."

Jack looked ready to blow. "You did what?" he screamed. He started pacing. "Of all the irresponsible—" Jack stopped and looked at Sam. "You have to take him back."

Samhain's head jerked up. "What? No! I don't want to give him back!" he protested. "I worked too hard. He's mine!"

"Damn it, Sam!" Jack took the other spirit by the shoulders. He shook him violently. "Listen to me! For once in your existence will you just listen to me? You can't just take people like they're toys! North is in charge of Pitch's punishment not you! Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get in for this? Damn it! This is why the Man in the Moon paired us! You let your emotions rule you too much and look at what happens!" he jerked a thumb at the Nightmare King. "You make bad decisions, Sam! You're always making really bad decisions and it's always up to me to clean them up!"

"But," Sam pulled Pitch forward in a one-armed hug. "He chose to be here."

The Nightmare King snarled and shoved at him. "Like hell I did!" Pitch said vehemently. "I'm only here because you threatened to blow up North's shop and ruin Christmas!"

"YOU WHAT?!" flames shot from Jack's mouth. Jack O'Lantern started pacing again. "Oh this is bad! Oh man. Oh man. I think I'm having an aneurysm! Is this what an aneurysm feels like?!" he rounded on Sam. "Are you crazy? Why would you even…? This is what I'm talking about, Sam! What you're doing right now? This is a bad decision." Jack pointed in Pitch's direction. "You are making bad decisions again!"

"I know what I'm doing!" Samhain protested. "I really do this time!"

"NO YOU DON'T!" Jack rubbed the side of his head, feeling a headache coming. "Just…just take him back to North."

Pitch wasn't sure what was going on. He wasn't comfortable with the amount of tension in the room nor was he happy with being discussed like he wasn't there. But the Boogeyman realized that Jack O'Lantern seemed to want him back with North so for now he quietly watched the drama play out.

Sam looked close to tears. He hated when Jack yelled at him like he was a child. "It's not fair." He mumbled. Samhain cringed expecting Jack O'Lantern to yell even more.

Instead the other Halloween spirit sighed heavily. "I know you don't think so, but this is for the best. Take Pitch back." Jack told him. "Take him back and tell North that you're sorry. Okay?"

"I'm afraid that will be more difficult than you imagine." Krampus clomped into the room.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Krampus." He sneered. "I knew there was no way Sam could have thought of all this on his own."

The Krampus bowed. Pitch looked at the demon, ice running through his veins. "What did he mean?" the Nightmare King demanded. He glared at the hellbeast. "What did you mean when you said that it would be difficult?"

The demon smiled a sharp-toothed cruel smile. "I meant that North's shop is no more."

"What?" Pitch felt the room spin. He doubled over and clutched his knees, swallowing back the bile that threatened to spill forth. He's gone. Nightmare King felt another wave of despair and nausea. I need to sit.

"What are you talking about?" Sam demanded. He looked at the demon wildly. "You said the bomb was just a bluff! You said no one would get hurt!"

The Krampus gave him a belittling look. "I lied." He said bluntly. "I'm a demon. We tend to do that."

Samhain looked visibly shaken. "You..." he clutched at his head. "You can't do that! You said once I got Pitch then this whole thing was over!"

"Why would I care about North's whore?" the demon snorted.

"I've heard enough." Jack O'Lantern stepped up. He snapped his fingers and a pumpkin-shaped shield and a straight-edged sword flew to him. "I don't know what you've been filling Sam's head with but it ends now, Krampus!"

The demon smirked. He undid the chain from around his furry waist and tossed the sack to the side. The Krampus snapped the chain and gripped it in his fist. "You don't want to fight me, O'Lantern."

The Pumpkin Lord snorted. "Oh but I think I do." He surged forward bringing his shield up as the demon brought his heavy chain down. He slashed at the demon's naked leg only to have the Krampus jump back. "Stay out of this, Sam." He told the other spirit when it looked like he might intervene. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Yes," Krampus ran his tongue over his lips in an obscene way. "Plenty of time for that later." He swung the chain. It wrapped around Jack's leg and with a grunt the demon tossed him into the air.

Jack flew through the stairwell's banister and landed hard on the second floor. He got to his feet just as Krampus scaled the wall and joined him. "He thinks he's a big man." The demon commented with a smile. The Krampus glanced back at where Sam and Pitch were watching. A malevolent glint was in the demon's eye. "But when there's someone who's a bit more alpha than him, he folds like a house of cards." Krampus licked his lips again. "I can see why you like having him around."

Jack opened his mouth and shot a pillar of flames at the demon. The Krampus hissed and slid to the side. "You know nothing!" Jack snapped.

"Oh I know plenty!" the demon taunted. He lowered his head and attempted to run the Halloween spirit through with his horns. Sam grabbed them and flipped himself out of the way. "You want to know how easy it was to twist him into my pawn? He was always coming to me and whining. You never listened to him it seems and I—I would." Krampus dealt a brutal kick to Jack O'Lantern's leg. The spirit cried out and tried to stay standing. "And when I listened, I offered advice knowing that the idiot would do whatever I said because he thought I was his friend." The Krampus sneered at the word.

Jack sliced at the demon. Blood spurted from a cut on the Krampus's chest and the creature bellowed his outrage. "I'll fix this." Jack O'Lantern swore. "After I send you back to where you belong!" he charged sword held high and brought it down in an arc...

The Krampus grabbed the blade. Blood dripped down the metal but the hellspawn's twisted face showed no hint of pain. He raised a hoofed foot and kicked Jack in the stomach. The Halloween spirit toppled over the broken banister and fell.

Jack landed painfully on his stomach. He groaned. He could see Sam watching him fearfully. "It's okay." He tried to reassure the other Halloween spirit with a smile. "Just…just give me a second." Jack winced. He reached for his sword.

The Krampus's heavy hoof slammed down onto his hand, crushing it. "Ah-ah," the demon scolded. He used his foot to roll Jack onto his back. Krampus cut his eyes over to where Samhain was watching before looking back at his fallen foe. The demon smiled down at him as he raised his foot. "He's my bitch now."

Sam screamed at the sight of the demon bringing down his hoof on top of Jack O'Lantern's head. "Jack! No! No! Nuh!" the Halloween spirit ran forward. He tripped and crawled the rest of the way. "Jack? Oh god! Jack!" Samhain took the mess of pulp and shattered rind into his hands. "You're okay." He muttered. "You're going to be okay. Right? Right?! You're going to be okay, Jack."

"Oh dear." The Krampus shook his hoof in an attempt to clean it. "Guess you lot aren't immortal after all. Pity."

Sam stared at him. "Why?" he was openly weeping now. "Why would you do this?"

The Krampus rolled his eyes. "He was in my way." The demon said simply. "I removed him. Now get up. I've wasted enough time here." He looked over at Pitch. "It's time to take the Nightmare King to his new home."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Samhain cried. He cradled a broken piece of Jack's guord against his chest. "This is all wrong. I thought—! You said—!" Sam broke down again. "No one was supposed to get hurt…"

The Krampus was done feigning patience. He knocked off Sam's floppy hat, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked him to his feet. "You listen to me and you listen well! I'm not Jack O'Lantern! I'm not going to coddle you or listen to your simpering and weeping!" the demon gnashed his teeth. "You will obey me or you will go in my sack. And trust me," Krampus narrowed his eyes menacingly. "You don't want to go in there. Are we clear?"

Sam whimpered and nodded. The Krampus smiled and dropped him. "Good. Let's go then. I'm sure the Jólasveinarnir have finished getting your new home ready for you, Pitch." The demon grinned.

The trip back to the Krampus's cave was a quiet and quick one. Using his chain to open a portal against the wall, the demon had them back at the Alps in no time.

Sam was unresponsive. He still held a piece of Jack's pumpkin head and he'd gone through three faces so far. His new one was kittenish with large almond shaped eyes that only made his sorrowful expression worse.

Pitch had his own problems. The spirit was in deep in mourning. North was gone. His new home was gone and so was the family he had come to find in the other Guardians and North's helpers.

All gone.

It felt like something inside him was breaking. Pitch wiped at his eyes. No. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing his tears.

"Here we are." Krampus smiled as they made their way through his tunnels. The demon waved a hand. "Your new home."

Pitch blinked. It was a metal barred door. The Krampus opened it and ushered them inside. The room was made of stone. Seemingly carved into the side of the mountain, the room was spartan. There was a bed, a wash basin, and a small stone table with a chair. It was cold and impersonal and looked exactly like what it was supposed to be:

A prison cell.

The ceiling was open and Pitch could see the stars in the sky, but try as he might he could not see the moon.

"Don't bother," the Krampus sneered. "The Man in the Moon won't be able to see you. I made sure of that." The demon gestured around the room. "This is well you will spend the rest of your days, Pitch. I'm not sure how your influence was destroyed eight years ago when you were stuck underground but I hypothesize it was from the lack of exposure to the Moon's light." He pointed up. "This will allow your fear to stay active, but it won't allow the Man in the Moon to find you and help you." The demon smiled meanly. "Not that he would." Krampus turned. "Coming Sam?"

Samhain had taken the seat at the table his back to them both. The spirit silently stared at the broken piece of pumpkin in his hands. The Krampus snorted and shook his head. "Useless," he muttered and left. The cell door slid shut.

Pitch whirled around. He stalked over to Samhain and struck him across the face. "This is all your fault!" he snarled into Sam's face. "Why couldn't just leave things alone? I was happy! I was finally getting better and you come along and ruin everything! Why? You already said that you didn't love me!" the Boogeyman glared. "Has there been anyone you ever cared about?"

Samhain stared at the pumpkin piece. "Jack." He whispered. "I loved Jack."

"What do we do?" Tooth turned to North.

"I do not know."

Bunny swallowed hard. "Right," he muttered. "Nobody panic, but I'm going to try something." The Easter Bunny walked over to the bomb and reached for it.

"Bunny! Get away from that!" Toothiana cried.

The Pooka tossed her a look. "Like my being five inches away is going to make a difference." Bunny placed a paw on the bomb.

It stopped flashing.

Treat: the words read. Two slots opened at the topped and confetti blew out. The Trick or Treat bomb split open and a mountain of Halloween candy fell onto the floor. The elves cheered and dove into the pile and immediately started stuffing their mouths.

The others cheered too, running forward and hugging the relieved Easter Bunny. "Bunny!" North kissed the Pooka's cheeks. "How did you do that?"

Aster grinned. Reaching into his bandolier he pulled out a small zip-loc bag and allowed them to see inside it.

It was a four-leafed clover.

"Won it off the Leprechaun during our last poker game," Bunny explained. "Cheap bastard didn't want to give up his pot of gold." The Pooka grinned even more. "He's absolute rubbish at cards."

That got another cheer. The elves joined in, mouths bulging with chocolate. "So what now?" Jack asked.

North snorted. "Now we go get Pitch." He frowned. "Where do you think Samhain took him?"

"No idea," Bunny shrugged. The rabbit's ears suddenly jolted. "You hear that?"

The others looked around. "Hear what?" Jack asked.

"I dunno. Sounds like a motorbike."

They heard the work shop's door being broken down and the thunderous noise of a motorcycle. The Guardians went into defense mode thinking their foes had returned. Imagine their surprise when the motorcycle drove toward them and stopped six feet away. "Well," a strange spirit commented. "I'm glad to see that the Krampus's tale about your demise was just another one of his lies." He propped his bike up on a kickstand.

North eyed the stranger. The newcomer was tall with an athletic build and black hair tied back into a simple ponytail. The man's skin was emerald green and he donned all black under his leather duster. The stranger was looking at them over with slight interest in his bright orange eyes. "And who would you be?" the Guardian of Wonder asked.

The spirit smiled slowly. "I'm Jack O'Lantern, the Pumpkin King."

Pitch stared down at him. "You loved Jack?" his voice dripped with skepticism. "Since when?"

"A while," Sam replied. He rubbed his finger along the grooves. "When the Man in the Moon paired us I thought he was a total poser with that stupid pumpkin schtick, but we had so much fun. He could play pranks like the best of 'em and one night after a really great Halloween we ended up in bed." Samhain sounded wistful. "It was great…or at least I thought it was. The next day he acted like nothing happened."

Pitch looked away. He knew exactly how that felt. Samhain continued. "After that he just ignored me. It was just business, business, business. He stopped wanting to have fun and cared more about making the best candy. I was in charge of making sure that the kids safely got them and remembered to have fun."

"So why were you with me?" the Boogeyman asked. "If you were so in love with him why be with me?"

Sam finally looked up at him. "To make him jealous," he shrugged. "Jack hated you. He thought you were a bad influence."

"I was a bad influence?!" That was a laugh! Every hare-brained thing they did together was Samhain's idea! Pitch frowned. "So you just used me? I was just a tool?"

Pitch lunged forward and wrenched the remains of Jack O'Lantern's head from Sam's hands. The Halloween King shrieked and tried to take it back but the Nightmare King dodged him.

"Give it back!" Samhain pleaded with emotion he hadn't shown for hours. "Please!"

"No!" Pitch kicked at him. Fire danced in his eyes. "Why should you have a memento of your lover when I don't?" he demanded through clenched teeth. "This all your fault." Pitch's eyes flashed. "Everything is! You destroyed me, Sam! You belittled me, crushed me, and made me think that I would never find happiness in another person! And all because you and Jack couldn't talk to each other like fucking adults!"

"Please, Pitch!" Samhain was weeping. His face was unraveling at the edges.

"I should destroy it." The realization sent a gleeful thrill through him. It would be easy. He could smash it to pieces beneath his heel and that would be that. "You have any idea how much I hate you and what you've done?" he raised the shell. "You helped kill a wonderful man today."

"He wasn't supposed to die!" Sam tugged at his skin, pulling a long strip down the side of his face. "Krampus told me no one would get hurt. He told me we were just going to force North to give him and the Jólasveinarnir their old jobs back!"

"And you trusted him?" Pitch spat. "He's a bloody demon, Sam!"

"I know! I know!" the Halloween King fell to his knees and blubbered. He hugged himself and cried while Pitch just watched. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry."

The Nightmare King made a noise of disgust and threw the piece back. "Take it!" he sneered. Sam snapped it midair and cradled it against him, moaning with relief. Pitch walked around him and sat on the bed. "What did I ever see in you?" Pitch muttered. He sighed and closed his eyes. Pitch reopened his eyes and stared up at the sky. What happened to a Guardian after they died? What happened to any spirit after they died? He had known many demons and nightshades that were forgotten and simply ceased to exist. Pitch shivered. Oh North. The Boogeyman felt a tear come to his eye. He lay down on his side and stared at the wall. I never even told him. Pitch realized. He died without even knowing that I loved him.

Samhain was still over by the table quietly sobbing and Pitch started doing the same.

"I'm sorry," Bunny frowned. "You're Jack O'Lantern?"

The handsome green-skinned spirit smiled slightly. "That's what I said."

"Shouldn't ya have a…" the Pooka used his paw to make circling gesture around his head.

Pumpkin Jack frowned. "That was taken from me," he ground out. "Courtesy of the Krampus's hoof." The Halloween spirit sighed. "I guess you could say that this is my default setting. Takes me a while to get my pumpkin head back so I'm stuck with this one."

"I think it's lovely." Tooth sighed, longingly. Her fairies cooed their agreement. The others looked at her. The Tooth Fairy blushed. "What I mean is," she stammered. "Is why not keep it? Try something new?"

Jack O'Lantern frowned. "Because the pumpkin was part of my image." He looked at his hands. "Without it, I'm just some weirdo with a skin condition."

"He's got a point." Bunny commented.

Jack eyed what remained of the pumpkin bomb. Stepping over bloated elves he moved in for a closer look. "So it's true." He murmured thoughtfully. "Oh Sam. What have you done?"

"What he has done is get Pitch kidnapped!" North snapped. "When I find him I will be sticking boot where sun does not shine!"

Jack O'Lantern rounded on him, eyes flashing. "You're not going to touch Sam!" he warned. "It's hardly his fault that Pitch Black brings out the worse in him! This is so typical! He's always putting Sam in harm's way!"

North's jaw dropped. He swelled with anger. "Pitch is not to blame! He did not ask to be taken!"

"Yes, but he's always causing trouble!" Pumpkin Jack countered. "Always pulling my poor Sammy into his little schemes!"

"You watch your mouth."

Jack O'Lantern frowned. "I heard that he had you spellbound." He muttered. "But I thought they were exaggerating. Wake up, North! Pitch Black is an evil manipulative—"

"Boys!" Tooth flew in between the two and held out her arms. "Okay let's settle down!" she tried to interject.

Jack sidestepped her. "Whore!" he finished, defiantly. "I don't imagine him being in much trouble. He spread his legs to get you under his thumb. I imagine he's doing the same thing for the Krampus!"

North's shock bled away to rage. He charged past Toothiana and socked Jack O'Lantern in his square jaw. "You will silence your poisonous tongue or I rip it out!" the Guardian seethed.

Jack O'Lantern dabbed at his nose. He narrowed his eyes when he saw blood. "Oh you wanna dance, Fat Man?" he snarled. A ball of flames formed in the palm of the Pumpkin King's hand and he fashioned it into a sword. "Cuz we can dance!"

North sneered and widened his stance. "I will rip off your head and see if new one grows."

"You can try, Kringle!" Jack launched forward, arm raised. North dodged the first attack and managed to land a blow in Jack's middle, but the Pumpkin King grabbed onto his arm and kicked at his leg.

"Oi!" Bunnymund shouted as North lifted Jack into the air and flung him among the remains of dinner. "We don't have time for this!"

They weren't listening.

Jack grabbed a goblet and smashed it over North's head.

North retaliated by trying to drown Jack O'Lantern in the stew's tureen.

Jack responded by trying to drive a fork into the back of North's hand.

Finally Sandy sighed and whipped up two balls of dream sand. The little man floated above the two spirits (who were now just grappling and rolling over the smashed remainders of dinner) and let them fall on their heads.

North and Jack collapsed on the spot, dreaming of candy canes and dancing skeletons respectively.

Pitch decided that he wasn't fond of crying. It made him feel weak. The Boogeyman was sitting up in the bed, his back against the wall. Samhain had finally ceased his weeping and was staring at his pumpkin piece. The Nightmare King's brow furrowed. "Wait," he looked over at his reluctant cellmate. "Didn't you tell me once that you slept with naiads?"

Sam looked up at him. His new face resembled a version of Pierott the Clown with a black tear drop under his right eye and bright red lips. "I lied."

Pitch frowned. "What about Cupid and the Japanese and Greek spirits and the April Fool?"

"Also lies." Samhain looked down. "I just wanted to break up with you. So I said the things I knew would hurt you so you'd leave me alone."

"But why?"

"Because it wasn't working!" the Halloween King snapped. He looked guiltily at his hands. "The whole point was to make Jack jealous and for him to pay more attention to me, but when I told him I was sleeping with you ya know what he said? 'Oh. Well, to each his own' and then he went back to his stupid book! He didn't even care!" Sam said angrily. "I was fooling around with the spirit he despised—"

"Despised?" Pitch repeated, incredulously. What the hell had he ever done to Jack O'Lantern?

"—And the most I got was 'oh'!" Sam's face crumpled. "I just wanted him to care or at least treat me like I was just as important as finding the perfect Halloween treat."

Pitch had no response for that. They sat silently for a few minutes.

"I suppose that explains it." the Boogeyman suddenly commented.

Sam lifted his head just enough to look at him. "Hmm?"

"Why you were so terrible at topping." Pitch clarified. "You'd never done it before."

"I wasn't terrible—" Samhain started to protest, but a look from Pitch shut him down. "Shit." He muttered. "You never said anything."

Pitch shrugged. "I wasn't going to critique your technique when you were already moody and unpredictable."

Samhain digested that information. "I was really terrible to you." He said softly.

Pitch's eyes narrowed. "Yes," he said acidly. "You were."

Sam placed the pumpkin piece onto his lap. "I'm sorry."

"Apology not accepted."

Sam's head snapped up. Pitch stared at him. "You don't really expect me to just forgive you at the drop of hat?" he sneered. "You put me through hell, Samhain! I hated you and I hated myself for always letting you back into my life! You were a mistake." he took a deep breath. God, it felt good to say that. "A mistake I kept making because I didn't want to be alone! You were selfish, inconsiderate, and abusive and I will never forgive you for that!"

Sam lowered his eyes. "Okay."

Pitch sighed. "But," he added. "Taking in how utterly pathetic you are right now I might be able to find in my heart to tolerate your presence as well as suppress the urge to castrate you." The Boogeyman folded his arms and looked away. "But that's all you'll get from me."

The Halloween King smiled slightly. "Thanks, Pitchy."

"And don't call me 'Pitchy'. I always hated that."

Tooth looked at North and Jack with displeasure. "Now, that you boys have had a little nap we can assess the situation with cooler heads."

The Guardian of Wonder was on one side of the room, sitting and glaring across at Jack O'Lantern. The only thing keeping North from walking over there and smacking that smug face was Phil's hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place.

Toothiana shook her head she fluttered between them. "Some things were said," she continued. "Hurtful and terrible things that I'm sure no one meant."

Jack and North both snorted at that. The Tooth Fairy gave them both equally molten glares. "Regardless! We are all rational beings and we know that there is a time and a place to have squabbles and this is not that time." Tooth's face softened. "You're both worried about Sam and Pitch so the best thing to do would be to find out where they are so we can get them."

"We already got the element of surprise on our side." Bunny piped up. "They expected that bomb to go off."

Tooth nodded vigorously. "Exactly! Now if we only knew where they were—"

Baby Tooth flew out from Jack's hoodie and cheeped excitedly at her queen. Tooth listened and her entire face lit up with a smile. "That's genius!" she turned to the others. "We can thaw out Gáttaþefur and question him."

"What if he doesn't want to talk?" Jack Frost asked.

"Then we make him." Bunnymund told him and to drive the point home, Sandman popped his knuckles and set his pudgy face grimly.

Stekkjarstaur and another of the Yule Lads walked into the cell. The tall Jólasveinn smirked at Pitch. "I assumed you would have killed each other by now. Oh well." The Yuletide Lad motioned for his sibling. "Bjúgnakrækir, if you'd please."

The portly, greasy-skinned Yuletide Lad waddled forward. He held a wooden box in his thick, warty hands. Pitch got an odd sense of déjà vu. Stekkjarstaur opened the box and pulled out a pair of manacles connected in the center by a chain.

Pitch eyed them and then looked at the Yuletide Lads. "What's the point?" he asked. "I have no powers. I can't escape."

The Jólasveinarnir laughed their wheezy ugly laughs. "The point is to break you," Bjúgnakrækir said merrily. "The Krampus wants to drive in how hopeless your situation is."

Pitch scowled as Stekkjarstaur clamped the manacles over the gold bracelets. They covered the bracelets completely and for some reason that left a sour taste in the Nightmare King's mouth. When the Yuletide Lad turned his back, Pitch lifted his arms and brought them over his head. Pitch pulled the chain tight around Stekkjarstaur's throat strangling the surprised spirit. "If you think I can be broken by the likes of you then you're sadly mistaken." The Boogeyman hissed in the Jólasveinn's ear. "I'm not some shivering, simpering weakling!" the chain bit into Stekkjarstau's flesh.

"What's this?" the Krampus stood on the threshold of the cell, eyeing the situation with the barest of interest. "You seem to be strangling my ally, Pitch."

The Nightmare King bared his teeth angrily. "Back off!" he warned. "I'll break his neck."

"Now really Pitch, there's no need to misbehave." The demon smiled in a condescending way. "After all you're stuck here so why not make the best of it?"

"Are you really that dense?" Pitch spat. "You expect me to sit here and just do whatever you tell me? Ha!" Stekkjarstaur cried out as the chain tightened even more. "If you wanted me to be on my best behavior then you shouldn't have foolishly killed the one person that would ensure it!"

"Oh Pitch," the Krampus whispered in his ear. The Boogeyman screamed and dragged the Jólasveinn as he scrambled away. Pitch hadn't even seen the demon move but lo and behold Krampus was standing behind him. "I don't need North to ensure you behave yourself." The hellspawn smiled. He lashed out with his chain. The heavy metal hit the Boogeyman in the arm, eliciting a scream from him.

Stekkjarstaur escaped the Nightmare King's loosened grip and ran. Krampus's blood-red eyes took on a delighted gleam as he brought the chain back down again and again. The demon floored the Nightmare King and continued to beat him mercilessly.

Finally, after seven brutal minutes, he stopped. Pitch lay on the ground, bloody and broken. The Krampus toed the Boogeyman's unresponsive body. He looked over at Samhain who sat looking terrified in the corner. "I think I'll move this to another location." He smiled a sharp-tooth smile. "I want to finish this conversation in a more…private setting." The Krampus grabbed Pitch by one his arms and started dragging him to the door "In the meantime," he turned to the Jólasveinarnir. "Someone find him some new manacles. I can't have him strangling everyone who comes into his cell!"

Jack O'Lantern stood by Jack Frost as he examined the block ice that encased Gáttaþefur. "Well," he said at last. "You were thorough."

Jack Frost beamed.

Bunny rolled his eyes. "I don't think he meant it as a compliment." He told the ice elf.

Jack's face fell. "Oh."

Jack O'Lantern took a deep breath and breathed out a long stream of flames. The ice around the Jólasveinn melted away and the wet and shivering creature fell to the floor.

"Whoa!" Jack Frost whistled. "That was awesome."

The Halloween spirit grimaced. "Yeah well, it's easier with my pumpkin head." He burped. "Ugh, god! It's like a bad case of acid reflux!" Jack grimaced.

Bunny leaned over the fallen Jólasveinn and yanked off his hood. There was a collective sharp intake of breath as everyone present was given a view of Gáttaþefur's features.

Beneath a thick white unibrow the Jólasveinn's eyes were sewn shut with dirty twine. His massive nose was on full display and it seemed to dwarf the rest of Gáttaþefur's features. A thick tongue flicked nervously to wet thin, flaking lips. Gáttaþefur's face was gaunt and sallow and he turned it this way and that as he sniffed the air, trying desperately to determine who was where.

Unfortunately, Jack Frost's attack had done him no favors and for the first time in his existence Gáttaþefur felt truly blind. Still, he sneered at the Guardians baring crooked, stained teeth in a ferocious manner.

"We got some questions for ya," Bunny got over his shock first. The Pooka scowled. "The Krampus took Pitch. We wanna know why and where."

Gáttaþefur turned toward the sound of the Easter Bunny's voice. "I'll tell you nothing, rodent!" the Jólasveinn spat. The glob of spit came dangerously close to Bunnymund's foot and the Pooka hopped back.

"Oi!" the Easter Bunny snapped. "Watch it."

"Bunny!" Tooth sounded scandalized.

Aster frowned. "Look, firstly that was unintentional. Secondly, I'm not going to be polite to the fuckwit that just spat at me!" he kicked Gáttaþefur in the side of the head. "Donger!"

"You're going about this all wrong." Toothiana rolled her eyes. She fluttered down until her toes touched the floor. "Hello," she said cheerily to Gáttaþefur. "I was wondering if you would be a dear and answer a few teensy questions for us."

"Get stuffed, you feathery cunt!"

Tooth's eyes widened slightly, but then she laughed gaily. "Girls?" she called to her fairies. "If you'd please."

Five mini fairies flittered forward holding a medium-sized black case. Tooth hummed happily as she took it in her hands, 'Thank you, ladies." She turned back to Gáttaþefur. "Now I want you to remember that I gave you enough of an opportunity to talk." The Tooth Fairy started to undo the bag's clasps.

The others leaned forward to get a better look.

"Holy shit, Tooth!" Bunny squawked. "The hell is that?"

Tooth looked at him wide-eyed an innocent. "These are pliers." She said as if amazed that everyone didn't know that.

"I know what they are," Bunny looked at the others. They shrugged. "What I meant was—why do need those?"

"For questioning."

Gáttaþefur jumped as Toothiana took one of his hands. The Jólasveinn tried to yank himself free but the Fairy hit him hard across the face with her tool. "None of that," Tooth scolded him like he was a naughty child. "Now, we want to know why Krampus took Pitch."

She used the pliers to pull out one of Gáttaþefur's claw-like nails and the Yuletide Lad howled. "You bitch!"

Tooth frowned. "Please watch your language when addressing me." She pulled out another nail. "I am a lady. Now answer the question."

"You're all just going to stand there and watch her do this?! Auugh! Shit!"

"You only have ten fingers, Gáttaþefur. If you don't cooperate I'll be forced to move to your toes and those horrible teeth." The Fairy said with the same tone someone would use when discussing the weather. "I might even break your nose. I don't know. I haven't really given it much thought." She removed the final three nails and placed them on the floor. The Yuletide Lad was screaming and crying. He tried to strike her, but she cuffed him twice with the pliers and kicked him in the stomach for an added effect. "Now for the other hand."

Gáttaþefur screamed and slid away. "I'll talk!" he yelped. "I'll talk!" the Jólasveinn took a shuddering breath. "The original plan was to force North to give us our former positions back, but the demon knew you'd never let us near your brats even if your lover was taken." He swallowed. "So the Krampus decided that the only thing to do was to kill you. That way we would have free reign of the Christmas season and there would be no one from stopping us wreaking havoc!" the Yuletide Lad grinned.

"I understand that part," Jack O'Lantern frowned. "But why keep Pitch? It's clear he's still being imprisoned."

"Because he ruined us!" the Jólasveinn snarled bitterly. "Those eight years he was trapped underground everything and everyone having to rely on fear's influence found themselves weakened. The Krampus is still popular in some parts of Europe, but during that time his influence was weakened. Sure, they still held their annual Krampusnacht festivals but it wasn't the same."

"I know what he means." Pumpkin Jack turned to them. "Sam complained about it. He said there were no real scares happening. People were just going through the motions. It felt…forced."

"Yes." Gáttaþefur sneered. "It was one thing for Pitch to get himself in trouble but his foolishness did damage to the rest of us! He had to be punished too."

Jack O'Lantern moved over to the Yuletide Lad and knelt down. "But what about Sam? I find it hard to believe he'd go along with murder."

Gáttaþefur snorted. "The Krampus told him that we were to use the bomb as a scare tactic." He chuckled mirthlessly. "There was no way we'd let him in on the actual plan, he'd never go through with it. The idiot's so eager to please and so naïve." He laughed again. "Not to mention easy to manipulate. You pat his head and throw him a few compliments and the bastard is following you around like a puppy."

Jack O'Lantern frowned deeply. The urge to crush Gáttaþefur's gigantic proboscis under his boot heel was strong. "If anything happens to him I'll rip off your arm and beat you with it." he promised. The Jólasveinn blanched. "Where are they?"

"T-The Krampus's mountain lair." Gáttaþefur stammered. "In the Alps."

"Everyone to the sleigh!" North ordered.

"Yeah, no." Jack O'Lantern headed for his bike. "I got my own ride."

The Guardians followed North who was firing off orders to the yetis. Phil grabbed Gáttaþefur by his hood and tossed him into a closet for safe keeping. "So," Jack Frost said conversationally to Bunny. "Are we just going to completely ignore the fact that Tooth knows torture methods?"

"I'm more than willing to let it slide." The Pooka sidled up beside him. "But you can feel free to ask her about it." he arched a brow.

"Hell no."