It was entirely too quiet when the three Guardians dropped down into the Boogieman's lair. Even Bunny and North's landings were silent, though Sandy simply floated and thus did not actually land. The dead silence was offsetting to say the least. They had expected it to be darker, and that they would arrive to an almost complete absence of light. However, there was an abundance of dim, off-white almost gray light with no obvious source that cast tall, eerie shadows around too many turns and corners to count.
But the silence and the lighting did not hold the intruders attention for long.
North swore in Russian under his breath. Sandy nodded wide-eyed in agreement. Bunny, for once in his life, was utterly speechless.
Hundreds of cages. Like giant birdcages, they dangled from the ceiling from thick iron chains. None wanted to think what they were meant to hold, only what they were possibly holding now.
"Perhaps Jack and Jamie are in one of those?" North mused.
"Lets get'em and get out," whispered Bunny. "This place is giving me the willies."
The group walked a short distance before they stopped in their tracks. A small, desperate voice came from above.
"Easter Bunny, Santa, Sandman, is that you guys?"
"Jamie," Bunny shouted. He looked up and saw the boy peering out of one of the suspended cages, knuckles whitening as he gripped the bars. "Thank Manny your alright." Bunny turned to Sandy ready to ask him to levitate up to the cage to free Jamie, but the wordless spirit was already halfway up.
"Thanks, Sandman," Jamie said with immense gratitude when Sandy opened the cage. Gently, Sandy took hold of the boy and slowly floated to the ground. Jamie smiled when he was finally back on solid ground.
"Jamie," North asked, "Where is Pitch holding Jack?"
"What do you mean?" Jamie asked, confused. "Pitch doesn't have Jack. He kidnapped me to get Jack to come here."
The Guardians looked questioningly at each other.
"He said his Nightmares have all run away," Jamie continued, "and he needs the Guardians help to get them back. I guess they're trying to take over the world without him and he's to weak to stop them by himself."
"If Nightmares are out of control," North thought aloud, "and Jack is still missing…"
"Then we've got a bigger problem on our hands than we though," Bunny finished.
"Wait," Jamie interrupted, "Jack's missing?"
"That is why we went to Burgess," North Explained. "We were looking for Jack when we saw police at pond. Children said you vanished. We found Pitch's hole in ground and followed it here."
"Could this get any worse!" Jamie shouted. "The Nightmares are out there destroying everything, my mom is probably worried sick thinking I've been snatched by some kind of child molester or something, and now Jack's missing!"
All four were startled when a smooth dark voice seemed to emit from the walls themselves.
"Don't tempt fate, dear boy. She doesn't like it. Trust me, I know her quite personally."
"Pitch," Bunny called out, looking around in every direction, ears twitching in the air. "Where's Jack Frost?"
"Did you not hear the child? I don't know where your baby Guardian is any more than you do. But I'll make you an offer." Pitch himself made an appearance then. Slowly, his tall, lean figure grew out of a nearby shadow.
"What kind of offer?" North questioned cautiously, punctuated by a question mark above a visibly angry Sandy.
"First off, I assure you I mean no harm to the boy. He was simply a tool to lead you to me."
"I though you wanted Jack," Jamie interrupted.
"Yes that was the original plan, but seeing as how he seems to have disappeared, the others will suffice. After all, one Guardian is quite the same as another for my purposes."
"And what are your purposes exactly," demanded Bunny.
"As big as your ears are, one would think you'd listen better. That would be the twice in as many minutes you've asked a question of me which Jamie has already answered. North," Pitch's eyes met North's and locked. "I'm sure you noticed the anomalies effecting the lights on the globe. As much as I hate to admit it, this is not my doing. After you lot stripped me of all but the last of my power, the Nightmares I created became stronger, not weaker as I'm sure you foolishly assumed. They did so by torturing me for moths on end. In the presence of innocent ears," Pitch glanced down at Jamie, "I won't detail the horrors of my experience at the hands of my creations."
"Don't you mean at the hoofs of your creations?" Jamie asked, cocking a weary half smile.
Pitch stared down at Jamie, deadpanned. "Aren't we funny. I'm sure the Guardian of Joy would be quite proud, which leads me," Pitch looked back up at the Guardians, "to my offer. I will help you find Jack. In return you will help me regain control of my Nightmares without destroying them all." He emphasized the last line. "I would say first the Nightmares then Jack, but in order to overpower the tremendous force they have become, it will take all six of us and Jack's abilities in particular have already proved effective against them."
"We Guardians take care of our own, thank you kindly," said Bunny to Pitch. "We don't need your help."
Pitch looked back down at Jamie with a toothless grin. "Jamie, I do believe we had a deal between ourselves, didn't we?"
Jamie nodded. "If no one controls the darkness, the darkness will control everything. If Pitch doesn't control the Nightmares, no one will. And if no one does, then those things with the lights are going to keep happening. I saw one on Pitch's globe. It's scary just looking at it."
"If Pitch hadn't made the Nightmares in the first place, then none of this would have even happened!" Bunny argued adamantly.
"Well he did, and is has," Jamie argued back. "Look, it's not like I've joined team Boogieman or anything, but Nightmares destroying the world isn't good for anyone. Not Pitch, not the Guardians, not the kids you guys swore an oath to protect."
"Must admit," North spoke after a long pause, "Boy has point."
"Excellent rebuttal, Jamie," Pitch congratulated. "Have you considered a career in law?"
Sandy looked at Jamie, nodding and giving a "thumbs up."
"Say we do help you get the Nightmares back," Bunny offered, "Who's to say you won't turn right around and attack us again?"
"By that logic, whose to say you won't abandon me as soon as I help you find Jack Frost?"
"We keep our word. You're a lying piece of-"
"Guys look!" yelled Jamie, pointing at Pitch's globe.
Australia was a blaze. Not just a few cities. Not just a segment. No. The entire mainland continent flashed.
"St. Petersburg was the site of the first anomaly." Pitch said, looking at North. "Recently Pennsylvania and now," he turned to Bunny, "The Land Down Under. They are already attacking the homes of the Guardians. It's like I said to Jamie before you arrived. If left to their own devices, my Nightmares will do more damage than I could ever dream of. They are more dangerous without me than I am with them."
When the massive ripple was over Bunny sighed heavily. "You're right. I hate it, but you're right."
"Nightmares must be stopped!" North agreed. "At all costs, even if this means temporary alliance with Pitch."
Sandy gave a sharp nod.
"We can't really have a proper vote without Jack and Tooth," Bunny said, "But Jack's missing, probably in trouble, and Tooth's holding down the fort up top."
North rubbed his beard. "Three out of five is still majority."
"So what's your plan to stop these things?" Bunny asked Pitch.
"First thing's first, Rabbit," Pitch answered.
Jamie finished the thought for Pitch. "We have to find Jack!"