"Yeah." He was ready to go, his wings folded in automatically so he could get through the door. Jamie folded his wings and followed Jack out of the room. He'd strangely adapted well to having them, as if he'd always had them. When they came down stairs to the living room they found that Bunny and North were playing charades with Ombric. North didn't notice that the two had come down, Bunny had; though the only indication was a twitch of his nose and ears as he stared at the drawing Ombric was trying to get the two to guess. Jack snickered.

"A boat." Ombric clicked his tongue.

"Yes! Finally!"

"Jack! Jamie! Is good to see you." North said, turning to them; Bunny only seemed mildly annoyed Jack'd gotten the answer. Jack smiled.

"Good to see you guys too. Hey kangaroo, what's this?" He mimed boxing himself in.

"A frostbite makin' a fool of himself." Bunny replied with a slight smirk. Jack threw an ice dagger that landed between his ears on the wall behind him, just above his head.

"Don't push it rabbit." Jack glared, he still had that dark imprint, but he shook his head as if none of that had just happened.

"You started it." Bunny shot back, glaring.

"Enough of this. Take it outside you two if you're going to argue." Ombric said with a slight frown at them both. Bunny grumbled, but settled down. Jack stuck his tongue out at the Pooka and sat in a chair, floating back and ignoring the conversation as he blew a feather from his wings into the air. Jamie was a little concerned about the violent reaction, but said nothing about it for the time being. Instead he merely found a chair to sit down in.

"Now then, shall we have lunch?" Ombric asked. Jack nodded, brightening suddenly.

"Oh boy! What do you got? I can make a nice sandwich and Jamie cooks really well!" Ombric smiled a little at Jack's enthusiasm.

"Just about anything you can imagine you'd like I can have made." Jack gasped.

"Anything? Really?!" He thought for a long moment.

"Blue pancakes."

"Blueberry or just blue?" Ombric asked with a twinkle of merriment in his eyes. Jack thought for a moment, floating self consciously around the room; Bunny's eyes widen a slight fraction as he'd never really seen Jack fly about a room before except when he wanted to leave.

"Both blue and blueberry."

"One final question for you Jackson... how many and did you want anything else with them... like butter or syrup for example."

"Four, two for Jamie and two for me." He glared, slightly annoyed with the questions; his hostility violently flashing in his eyes which made Bunny flinch and push him into a chair, being protective of Ombric. Jack lashed out.

"Keep your mother fucking hands off me rabbit." Frost covered his paws but when he looked back at Ombric he was back to his happy attitude instantly.

"Butter and syrup thank you." Ombric nodded and headed for the kitchen though he glanced towards Jamie who wondered what in the world the old wizard meant by that glance. Why did everyone think that he was the solution when it came to Jack? Jamie nearly sighed, what did the wizard think he could do? He hadn't been able to keep Jakoul at bay except for brief periods of time... the same with Gale. He'd only managed to beat Death by outwitting the other through pre-planning that really had been more luck than anything since he'd no way of knowing before hand that the dark spirit had been after Jack. Jack hummed and drew with his frost, only snapping at Bunny when he tried to talk to him; freezing his ears shut.

"Why don't you just fuck off rabbit. I don't wanna talk to you." Bunny glanced to Jamie who shrugged. Bunny was just trying to be friendly... had he missed something? Well... there wasn't much he could do. He unfroze his ears and settled on the other side of the room, not saying another word to Jack, though he did glance his way in concern every once and a while. Wondering what had happened to the winter spirit who had become his friend since that fateful Easter... Jack drew on some paper left for him by Ombric, there was a pile of mutilated Bunny drawings on the floor, which made North concerned too. Jamie was beyond horrified... as was Bunny who stayed as far from Jack as possible. Jamie moved over to Jack, his voice a near whisper.

"Jack... what is this?" Jack didn't answer beyond an annoyed.

"What?" The drawing dropped to the floor, it was a scribbled drawing of the world in turmoil, mostly red covered the page as well as mutilated bodies of children with icicles through them. He didn't feel the violent emotions though, all he felt was happy...

"Jack... this... isn't normal..." Jamie said after a long moment of silence. Jack looked at Jamie.

"So, you're saying I'm not normal now." His eyes flashed black momentarily, all Jamie could see in them for those few seconds was blood-lust, murder, and the want for those around him to just die. Jack went back to drawing, trying to draw something pretty only for it to turn out to be a drawing of frozen baby teeth all over the page and a symbol, which was on all of the other pages of a snowflake, blood red with scythes sticking out of it. He had unconsciously drawn those. Jamie sighed.

"Not like we had hoped..." Jamie glanced over at Ombric who shook his head.

"I was able to free Jackson from Death's influence, not erase the darkness within. That is a matter that he will have to deal with himself." Jack sat back.

"Ooooh! Pancakes!" It was like a switch of fighting between his darkness and then his happy self. Jamie wasn't sure what to think of that new fact, but one thing was certain... things wouldn't be like they had been ever again... but at least Death couldn't control Jack. Jack munched on his pancakes, adding butter and syrup and handing Jamie his two.

"Eat." It was all he said between bites. Jamie didn't really feel hungry anymore, but he figured he might as well. So he slowly ate his own, but he couldn't manage to eat it all; unaware that he was too worried to actually eat without making himself sick. He stops after a moment as he began to feel sick.

"Thanks for the meal, but I think that was a bit too filling for me to eat it all." Jack whined, but slowly went back to the strange, happy self, which was now kind of scaring North.

"Now I worried." Jamie glanced at the Guardian of Wonder with a silent expression that said 'me too.' Jack chuckled.

"Gosh, wow... what a wonderful day it is!" He said as he floated on his back, drinking the milk he'd asked for.

"Haha milk mustache!" He laughed out loud, walking about.

"Do I look old to you people?" He said in an adult-like voice.

"Ha ha, but I'm only 19 sergeant, but I will join the army!" He walked about like an army man. No one was able to make any sense of Jack for the remainder of the day and eventually the other two Guardians left. Jack sighed and started reading but the book went up if flames for an unknown reason.

"Terrible story, could use more ripping out of the hearts to me." Jack pulled out a knife, slowly sharpening it; it had been given to him by Death, his wings flapped menacingly as Jamie drew near. Slightly scared by that, Jamie halted half way; torn between the uneasy feeling in him and at the same time wanting to be close. Jack looked up.

"Jamie, come sit." He patted the spot by him as he returned to his happy-go-lucky attitude. Jamie seemed uncertain and thoughtful... trying to weigh the decision of whether or not to get closer, his wings clung tightly against his body and quivered slightly. Jack reached over and pulled him closer.

"Come here, stop being a chicken." He chuckled and kissed Jamie lightly on the nose.

"Why are you quivering?" He said, eyes full of love and happiness.

"Not a chicken..." Jamie mumbled, but he didn't answer the question; not really sure he should. Jack giggled and his wings and arms wrapped around Jamie in a gentle and protective embrace. When Ombric walked in Jack hissed, tightening his grip on Jamie, his wings flaring out and a dagger of ice at the poor man's throat. Jack's eyes burned like hell fire.

"Okay. I saw this coming, probably should have knocked instead." He gulped. Jamie shoved Jack from him.

"This has to stop!" Jack shook his head, the black leaving his eyes.

"Huh?" Ombric noticed the change and the ice dagger disappeared.

"Uh what?"

"This is not only ridiculous... it's down right scary." Jack looked at Jamie, confused.

"What?" He didn't remember anything of the past few seconds at all, which Ombric slowly explained to Jamie. Apparently when Jack attacked or did things of that nature he immediately didn't remember what he'd just done.

"I... don't know that I can deal with this... I'm going for a walk..." Jamie left the tree home, he didn't how how he was supposed to deal with this... Jack tried following Jamie only to be pulled back by Ombric.

"Just give him time to himself."

"Jamie." Jack whined.

"Not much you can do lad. Just as you have things to sort out on your own... so does he. You can't keep switching back and forth like that and there not be consequences." Ombric said. Jamie walked along the streets of the protected city. Late as it was, he didn't seem anyone else around; most were inside, enjoying the evening meal now but Jamie didn't feel like eating. Just thinking about it turned his stomach. Jack glared a mirror nearby, the way he looked hurt him more than anything.

"All I do is drive him away..."

"Yes, but where there is love there is always hope lad." Jack looked at him, confused.

"How do I stop it? How do I get rid of this?" He pointed to the wings, also meaning the darkness as if it were a physical being that was inside him.

"The wings will always be a part of you, as will the darkness m'boy. The trick is to stop running from it and to face what is here." Ombric gently pressed a finger against Jack's chest, indicating his heart then gently tapped his head.

"You have much to reconcile with. Only by facing what is... what has been... can you understand what may yet be." Jack looked at him like he was crazy.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"More simply put, Jackson. The answer to your questions lies within. You need only find it and it may yet mend the rift." Jack shivered.

"I can't. Last time I tried that a lot of people got hurt 'cause of me."

"True enough... perhaps you would consider taking the risk if you were allowed to face this without taking that risk? There is a way, of course... to come face to face with it... but the experience isn't pleasant more often than not." Ombric said after a moment. Jack looked at him.

"How? Tell me."

"A mirror. Not an ordinary mirror, but one that can show you what you need to see as much as what you wish to. I'll take you to it." Jack nodded.

"Please show me." Ombric led Jack to his personal study where he kept the mirror. The mirror itself was off in a pure white room, it was against a wall to the left. It looked like a normal, full length looking glass other than the fact that it was encircled by rhinestones of varying colors. Ombric stepped into the room, he motioned to the mirror only once Jack was inside and he had closed the door. Jack gulped and stepped in front of the mirror, he saw only his reflection for the moment. Ombric simply watched from a distance, he wouldn't see what was in the mirror as it shifted; the reflection lost the wings, looking like Jack had before, except with black eyes and fangs.

"Well... well... come to play?" Jack glared.

"Jakoul." He spit the name from his mouth like acid. The figure grinned.

"Yes... and no." Jack was confused.

"What." He glared angrily at the hell figure of himself.

"Honestly... you think Jakoul is all there is? He's just the personification you gave the way you were in the past... I'm a combination of that AND the present... which isn't Jakoul because Death sealed him." Jack growled.

"Then what the fuck are you." He was losing it, making Jack wince as he felt his influence again.

"Stop."

"I am you. Simple as that... I believe Death dubbed me 'Angel' when we were newly christened." Came the reply. Jack glared angrily.

"You're not me and you'll never be me!" He snarled at the being before him.

"NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF ME!" The reflection laughed.

"Oh you are a riot... get out of you... yeah, not gonna happen." Jack glared, grinding his teeth.