"Let's get 'em!" Cupcake yelled and the children fearlessly charged at the Nightmares, turning a nearby Nightmare into gold sand as all but Jamie touched the horse. While the Guardians and their helpers, along with the children took care of the Nightmares on the ground, Jack took to the air and headed straight for Pitch. The Nightmare King turned around, as if sensing Jack's presence and the winter spirit lunged forward, freezing Nightmares with his lightning without hesitation. The Guardians noticed the lightning strikes up on the roof where Pitch was and didn't hesitate to leave the children, the sentinels, yetis and elves to deal with what remained of the Nightmares on the ground as they rushed to Jack's side to deal with Pitch. Pitch, on the other hand, dodged Jack who ran across the rooftops with ease and tried to attack the Boogeyman only to have the other dodge him at every turn until he spun around as Jack charged forward. Jack's eyes widened as he saw too late the dark sand spear that Pitch had hurled at him. A familiar whoop came from a blur that cut into the weapon.
"Thanks Tooth!" Jack called as the fairy soared around, knocking out Nightmares that had been behind him chasing him as he'd been chasing Pitch. Bunny appeared from a nearby chimney.
"Ho ho ho!" He said, tossing one of his boomerangs; had this been any other time, Jack would have laughed at the imitation of North. As the last of the Nightmares around him were destroyed, Pitch urged his mount to the adjacent roof only to fall when North's blade cut through his mount. He quickly recovered from the fall, summoning his sand scythe to his hands to swipe at North, who dodged him even as Pitch's scythe blocked North's blades when the Guardian had attacked. Pitch forced him back only to face Bunnymund who tried to kick him, but he dodged and the Pooka sent out a boomerang at him; he dodged that too and tried to swipe at him, but missed as he pulled his scythe from the ground he grunted as Jack appeared with a kick and knocked him back a few paces. Jack landed on the ground, twirling his staff a little, the other three Guardians just behind him; North brandishing his blades, Bunny spinning one boomerang in one paw and Tooth hovering near Bunny menacingly and ready for anything that Pitch might send while Jack pointed his staff at the Nightmare king.
"It's over Pitch. There's no place to hide." Jack said, they'd cornered him in an alley just as he had done to them only moments before, but Pitch grinned. There were always places to hide. With a laugh he sank into the shadows behind him, leaving the three Guardians and Jack to spin about, their backs to one another as they searched the area for Pitch who had conjured shadows to dance along the nearby buildings as images of him. Silently he rose back up where he'd been, Jack had made the mistake of turning his back from the others to face the busses that had been at Pitch's back. Giving the Boogeyman an opportunity he wasn't going to waste. Summoning his scythe back to his hands he hefted the weapon back, ready to bring it down on the unsuspecting winter spirit.
"Jack look out!" Bunny cried, his sharp hearing having alerted him to the other spirit's presence. He tossed a boomerang at the scythe, but it only bounced off and Jack was turning to face Pitch, but he was too late as the weapon swung down. He instinctively brought up one arm, bracing himself for a blow that never came. When he peeked from behind his arm he noticed a golden strand that had curled around the scythe, stopping it just above Jack's head. Pitch didn't have time to do more than let out a small sound of surprise as he was suddenly yanked back over the busses. Jack and the others watched as Pitch flew through the air and around over to a snowy hill several blocks away. Jack's surprise began to turn into a smile and the others watched with sudden hope as they saw a mass of swirling dream sand as Pitch landed in the snow. From that sand emerged Sandy, their fellow Guardian; it had been he who had stopped the scythe from hurting Jack.
Jack could only watch with a smile as Sandy pulled Pitch to him, made a sort of "tsk tsk" motion before winding his arm and smashing his fist into Pitch's chin, sending the shade high up into the air, connected to Sandy only by the gold whip that was in the little Guardian's other hand.
"The Sandman!" Jamie said from close by. Sandy turned at the sound of a voice, making a hat at which he tipped to the children who had been responsible for bringing him back. Jamie saluted him back with two fingers, a smile on his face at their success. The hat dissolved as the Guardians moved towards their revitalized comrade and Sandy seemed to suddenly remember Pitch was still up in the air; he yanked on the gold strand and it seemed to yank the Boogeyman back from the air. Pitch let out a yell, slamming into the ground a few feet behind him as Tooth and the others gathered around him happily. Jack and Tooth were the first to arrive; Jack was ecstatic to see the little Guardian again! He'd thought Sandy had been gone for good when Pitch had shot him, but that obviously wasn't the case as the Guardian of Dreams silently raised his arms in a cheer even as North and Bunny arrived; North picking him up and tossing him into the air happily, laughing.
"Mate you are a sight for sore eyes." Bunny said with a smile, joy gleaming in the Pooka's emerald eyes. No one really taking any note of the dreamsand butterflies that flew around the head of an unconscious Pitch nearby; with Pitch defeated, Jack picked up a snowball as the children were distracted with all of the dreams that were walking, flying nearby. He aimed the snowball at Jamie and let it fly as the boy was distracted by a group of dream fish. Jamie turned to him with a laugh and picked up some nearby snow, sending his own snowball flying at someone else. Soon there was an all-out snowball fight between the kids. North moved over to Jack with a smile.
"Your center?" He said as much as asked, motioning to the snowball fight with one arm. Jack turned, considering it a brief moment before responding.
"Well, it took me a while, but I figured it out." He ended with a smile. North nodded, smiling as if he had known all along. He tossed something at Jack; Jack reached out, catching the small object and looked down at it. It was a tiny figure of him, much the same size as the small wooden nesting doll that North had once gave him of North himself as a baby; this figure was obviously not a baby by any means, but it was Jack and he was smiling as he held a large snowflake in one hand and his staff in the other. Maybe North had known all along…. Jack couldn't help chuckling as he peered at the tiny wooden doll that represented his center. Represented Fun. He looked up at North who just laughed. The Guardian's eyes went wide though when a snowball hit him in the back of the head and he turned to look at an elf who stood between the twins, it had a snowball in one of its hands; both of whom pointed towards the little elf. North laughed a little.
"You're all on naughty list!" He exclaimed jokingly as he stooped down to gather snow and make a snowball himself.
"Bunny, think fast!" He called, sending the snowball hurling through the air, it smacked the Pooka right in the face and knocked him over but instead of being mad the Pooka just sat up with a goofy grin on his face as North laughed and Tooth, who was hovering nearby, was trying not to laugh at the rabbit. It was soon an all out war with the kids and the Guardians throwing snowballs, none of them seemed to really notice Pitch who had gotten back up.
"No." He ducked as a manta ray dream "swam" by.
"You DARE have fun in my presence?!" He demanded.
"I am the Boogeyman and you will fear me!" He cried and lurched towards Jamie who was running his direction, the child looking over his shoulder to try and avoid being hit by any snowballs. Jack let a snowball fall from his hands as he turned to towards the Boogeyman who was going after his first believer. Pitch cried out when the boy ran straight through him like he was a ghost. Jack merriment washed away instantly as he watched his foe be walked through by Jamie; he knew the pain of that all too well. It didn't hurt, well not physically but there was something emotionally tearing about being walked through
"No!" Pitch seemed to pat himself as if to make sure he was real, much as Jack had done near 300 years ago after he'd first been walked through.
"No." The shade said again, fear suddenly leaping into the golden silver eyes. He scrambled away from the Guardians and ran towards the end of town where his lair was. Pitch ran as hard and fast as he could, glancing back as he crossed the frozen pond was a mistake as he slammed into something only to bounce back.
"Leaving the party so soon?" Pitch looked up in horror to see he'd slammed into North and the other Guardians were standing with him.
"You didn't even say goodbye." Tooth said, a coin was twirled in her fingers and she flicked it at Pitch. He caught it, looking down at it a moment before looking up in something of confusion.
"A quarter?" Seconds later his confusion cleared as Tooth was right in his face, arm pulled back and she punched him hard enough to knock out a tooth which bounced across the ice. Pitch looked up at her in dismayed horror as he stuck his finger in his mouth to try and figure out which tooth he'd lost as she spoke.
"And that's for my fairies." The fairies around Tooth chirped with a sort of "yeah"-sounding tone, nodding their little heads as if that were that. Pitch scrambled back a little, getting to his feet.
"You can't be rid of me, not forever." He sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself than threaten the Guardians before him.
"So what?" North said, uncrossing his arms.
"As long as one child believes, we will be here to fight fear." He indicated the others.
"Really? Then what are they doing here?" Pitch asked with a smile, indicating behind the group with one hand. The Guardians glanced around and behind them, seeing the Nightmares that had begun to gather.
"They can't be my Nightmares, I'm not afraid." North said with a smile and Pitch's smile faded as he looked from one to the other.
"Looks like it's your fear they smell." Jack said, leaning forward slightly with a smile and suddenly fear washed over Pitch's face as he realized that he was indeed afraid and the Nightmares came rushing forwards towards him; ignoring the Guardians.
"No! No!" He cried as he ran, trying to outrun them but they were faster and the swarmed him, black sand swirling about him to drag him to his lair.
"No no no no no noooooooo!" His cries echoed out into the night as the bedframe disappeared with him down the hole that closed up behind him as he was dragged back down into the darkness. Jack watched with wide eyes, he hadn't expected Pitch's own minions to turn on him like that and… right or not, he pitied the Boogeyman.
The clouds parted and Jack looked up. He swore that he saw a smile on the moon's "face" but he didn't have a long time to think about it, even as he felt an answering smile on his own. Tooth's laughter cut into his thoughts as she suddenly hugged him. He laughed a little as he hugged her back, suddenly she seemed to realize what it was she was doing and became embarrassed, pulling back even as Babytooth zipped between them, seeming to chide Tooth. Jack just laughed at the two.
"Are you ready now Jack?" Jack shifted to look at North, who was standing before him, Bunny and Sandy stood behind him a pace or two and off to the side; Tooth hovering on the other side of North as the Guardian spoke.
"To make it official?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Jack felt pride and happiness swell up in him. He had rebuffed the Guardians at first, he'd wanted nothing to do with them based on what he'd known of them; he had judged them wrongly… just as they had done with him. He realized that now as he watched a yeti hand North the book he remembered seeing only a few days ago when the Guardian of Wonder had been ready to swear him in without even asking his opinion, but this time it was more of a question than it had been before. This time Jack was ready and willing to join their ranks. North saw the answer in his eyes as he thumbed through the large book.
"Then it's time you take oath." Only after finding the page needed did the larger Guardian began to read.
"Do you, Jack Frost," At his name, North glanced up to meet his gaze and Jack couldn't help the smile he felt tugging at his lips even as the other went on.
"vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes and dreams for they are all that we have, all that we are and all that we will ever be?" Unable to keep the smile from his face, Jack glanced back to see that all the children had followed the Guardians and now stood, with eggs, elves and more yetis, as witness to this turning point in his life as he was certain that this day would be a day he would never forget in all his years. His eyes sought out Jamie though and his first believer smiled back at him, nodding in encouragement. Jamie… that boy had changed everything for him, had changed how he viewed the Guardians and what they did. He turned back to look up at North.
"I will."
"Then, congratulations Jack Frost. For you are now and forevermore" North closed the book on that word.
"a Guardian." The children let out a cheer along with everyone else and North said something in Russian before grabbing him and kissing him on both cheeks. He laughed then at Jack's dazed confusion. Jack could only smile though at the happiness he saw in the eyes of his new friends and comrades who were celebrating his joining them. He couldn't have been happier… he knew he had never been so happy in all of his life and finally he felt as if he really had come home. Not to a place, but to others who really cared. He grinned a little when he saw the group of tiny fairies form a heart in mid air.
"Keep it together girls." Tooth said and the bottom most fairy fainted, Jack chuckled a little at that. He might be a kid compared to the other Guardians, but he wasn't completely oblivious….
As the children cheered, North's sleigh appeared in the sky and the children began talking excitedly amongst themselves about it as it came to a stop on the ice before the Guardians.
"Everyone loves the sleigh." Bunny said to North as the children marveled over the sleigh. Jack shook his head a little as he watched the children. The feel of a hand on his shoulder made Jack turn to look at North.
"Time to go." Jack shifted his gaze back to the children while Sandy made fireworks of his sand that exploded only to rain down on the children and make them sleepy. As the sand floated down, Bunny knelt down, encouraging an egg to hop off his paw and towards others that were gathered around the little girl, Sophie.
"Happy Easter ya li'l ankl'-biter."
"You're leaving?" Jack turned at the sound of Jamie's voice, he knew he had to leave with the others; their work here was done, for now. He took a step towards the boy who seemed desperate.
"But what if Pitch comes back? What If we stop believing again?" His gaze dropped from Jack's and became troubled.
"If I can't see you…" He trailed off and Jack knelt in front of him to meet his eyes again, placing a hand on his shoulder as he spoke with a slight smile.
"Hey, hey, slow down. You tell me you stop believing in the sun when the moon comes out?"
"No."
"Well, do you stop believing in the sun when clouds block it out?" He asked, his hand dropped towards one knee to hold his staff still while his other hand pointed up at the sky."
"No." Jamie replied again with a smile and Jack knew the boy was starting to get what he was trying to say.
"We'll always be there Jamie." He knew they would be too, if something did happen, they'd all be back to set it right; after all, that was what they did, they protected children and everything that went with childhood.
"And now, we'll always be here." He pointed to the boy's heart gently.
"Which, kind of makes you a Guardian too." The boy seemed to brighten at this. With a smile, Jack stood up and made his way to the sleigh; he'd never forget Jamie, he would always remember this boy who had helped him in ways the kid would never know and wouldn't understand until he got older. He was about to get on the sleigh when he heard his name called.
"Jack!" He turned to see the boy running to him, Jamie flung his arms around him, hugging his waist; Jack stilled in surprise as shock rippled through him before he smiled and knelt to return the hug. Thanks to this boy, he would never need worry about being alone, about constantly being walked through because this young child and his friends wouldn't do that again. They believed and that was something Jack would treasure for a long time. When the boy let him go and stepped back, Jack leapt up onto the wing of the sleigh, turning so he could look at his first believers even as North snapped the reins and the deer took off. The children waved, and Jack couldn't stop the smile on his face. He was sorry he had to leave them, but seeing them wave at him made his heart glow with a warmth he'd never thought he'd feel. As the sleigh rose in the sky and out of sight of the children below, Jack leapt into the sleigh, smiling at Tooth who was seated to one side near the front, he grinned at Sandy who sat on the other side and moved towards the back; Bunny smiled at him with a nod. Finally the Pooka had accepted him as a Guardian and he saw in those green eyes that he had not only earned his trust, but that there was more that would come in the time ahead. Because this was not the end, not for Jack, this was just the beginning. He moved to the far back of the sleigh, but not to sit down. He crouched near the back and formed a snowflake to drift down into a nearby cloud; it would bring a light snow to Burgess and he turned to look at his new friends…. No, his new family; that's what the Guardians were after all and Jack felt his heart swell again with happiness. Yes, this was the end of his years of loneliness and the beginning of a new life for him. He was a Guardian now and he had come home.
