It had been a fair amount of time since the Guardians had all met up together, two or three years at least. That wasn't to say that they never interacted, Jack visited them all pretty regularly and the other Guardians did venture out of their domains on occasion. It was just that there always tended to be a holiday coming up, or some minor crisis for one of them that had to be resolved, or just too much work for them to all get together.

So when North had called for them all to come to the workshop, Jack had been thrilled. It had been too long, in his opinion.

He should have known better than to think that it only had to do with companionship and not Guardian business.

Still, he had been surprised to see so many serious faces looking at him when he zipped into the room. "Uh, hey guys," he said, trying to recall if he had sent a blizzard through the Warren recently or done something else to warrant a scolding. Nothing but the usual mischief, far as he knew. "What's the deal?"

North's face broke into a welcoming smile. "Jack, I am glad you made it. The deal is that Pitch is gaining believers, very quickly."

"Oh, yeah, that. Isn't it great? He and I are making a bit of a game of it, actually. I'm in the lead right now, of course," Jack said, grinning.

"Jack, what we mean to say is that Pitch is becoming more powerful," Tooth ventured.

"You're telling me. Last time we tussled, I ended up hanging upside down from a traffic light for a half hour." Jack saw Sandy smile a little at that.

"This is coming down to more than your little tiffs with the boogeyman!" Bunnymund said, not looking amused. "Pitch is dangerous, Jack, and we can't let him keep gaining enough power to become a threat."

Jack's smile slid off of his face. He paused for a moment in surprise. "So, what? You want him to just stop doing what he does?"

"Not stop. Just, maybe, focus on the believers he has already?" Tooth said placatingly.

"Yah, Jack. Is good that Pitch has found a place for himself. He has what he wants now, yes? He is believed in. He can be happy with this," North added.

"Pitch will never agree to it," Jack said, shaking his head.

"We ain't asking his permission," Bunnymund muttered.

"So, what are you going to do, then?" Jack asked, whirling on the Pooka. "Are you going to attack him every time he approaches a new kid? Beat him until he agrees to stop? I cannot believe you. He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"He tried to take over the world, ya dill!"

"Okay, fine. He hasn't done anything wrong recently," Jack snapped. "He's never tried to hurt any of you since his defeat! The worst that happened were pranks, and you gave as good as you got! Come on, this is Pitch, he's pretty much the definition of all bark and no bite!"

Sandy, Tooth, and North glanced at each other, silently wondering exactly how much bite Pitch would have if it were anyone other than Jack trying even half of the things the boy did with the boogeyman.

"He attacks you constantly!" Bunnymund accused.

"That's how he shows affection!" Jack yelled. The Guardians all abruptly fell silent and stared at Jack like he was crazy. Jack took a deep breath to calm himself down. "If Pitch likes you, he'll try to put you in situations where he could easily harm you, but doesn't. It's how he establishes trust or something, I think," Jack tried to explain. The others just looked more confused. "Look, it's not important, alright? I just… If you're going to try this, I'm not going to be any part of it. It's not right." He spun on his heel and rushed out the door, leaving behind the rest of the befuddled Guardians.

Jack was halfway back to Burgess when the realization of just what he had done struck him like a sack of bricks. He had gone against all the Guardians, for Pitch. Suddenly feeling a bit ill, he spiraled down to the nearest town and perched on a telephone wire, crouching and clutching his staff to his chest. What had he done? He had sided with their greatest enemy, against them. What if they threw him out? They were his family. He didn't want to lose them.

Yet, all the same, he couldn't bring himself to go back and agree to their plan. Pitch deserved to try to have as many believers as the rest of them, didn't he? He wasn't a threat, not anymore, right? And other families had arguments all the time, and they stuck together. Maybe, maybe it would work that way for him?

"Jack! Humans coming out of horror movies are such easy targets!" Pitch was suddenly next to him, looking excited. "They jump so high, you have to-" He abruptly stopped. "You're afraid, Jack."

Jack dragged his hand down his face in exasperation. "Not now, Pitch."

"You're… afraid of what the Guardians think of you?" Pitch continued, looking confused. Suddenly his eyes narrowed in anger and his lips curled back from his teeth in a snarl. "Have they mistreated you? I swear I'll-"

"What? No!" Jack leapt to his feet, holding up his hands. The last thing he needed right now was for Pitch to attack the Guardians. "No, nothing like that. It's nothing. Don't worry."

Pitch faltered and frowned. "If you say so."

"I do. Besides, I didn't know you cared." Jack said, managing to pull off a teasing grin.

"If they hold your loyalty so securely, then they'd better well treat you properly. Otherwise it's just insulting that you chose them over me," Pitch replied with a shrug. "Besides, who am I to turn down an opportunity to harass the Guardians?"

"Ah, we come down to the main reason."

"Of course. Wouldn't it be just great if they did something terrible to alienate you and then we annihilated them all together?"

Jack snorted. "Keep dreaming, Pitch."

"See, there's that blasted loyalty again. It's really such a shame…" Pitch said with a dramatic sigh. "Anyway, horror movies. You should be good at sending a chill down people's spine, right? Would you like to come have some fun?"

Jack considered the offer for a second. Tempting though it was, perhaps being spotted in Pitch's company directly after he had just taken the boogeyman's side over the Guardians would be a bad idea. "Some other time."

Pitch shrugged. "Your loss."

It took Jack a couple more hours of worrying before he decided that he had better try talking to the others again. Letting something like this fester just seemed like a bad idea.

He was surprised, coming into the workshop once more, to see all of the Guardians still there, gathered around a table. He would have thought they would have gone their separate ways. He hadn't planned on facing all of them right away. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the room and began. "Guys, look, I-"

North held up a hand to stop Jack. "No, Jack. We should apologize."

Jack blinked. "What?"

"You were right about Pitch and Halloween. He's been different since then, kind of. We never thought that he could have a place in the world we protected, and we were wrong." Tooth said. "You knew him better than we did. We should trust your judgment on this."

"Yeah, mate. Weird as it is, you seem to know what you're doing on this count. …Though, if Pitch gives you any trouble, just let me know and I'll send him packing, alright?" Bunnymund added.

Sandy beamed and created an image of the five of them in a group hug, as if to say 'We are family, and we stand together'.

Jack let out a deep sigh of relief. He hadn't been aware of just how much this had weighed on him until it had been lifted. He smiled warmly. "Thanks."

"Is no problem, Jack. Now, we are playing cards, you will join in, yes?" North said, pulling out a chair.

"Of course I will." Jack slid into the seat, feeling a deep sense of contentment in knowing that he belonged.