"You know, I'm afraid." Jack said. He and Thana sat side by side, their legs dangling off the side of the cliffs that neighbored Ambrose's cottage. He knew that the Thana he sat next to wasn't real. It wasn't the one that he knew. Her hair was blonde, not black. Her eyes were hazel, and her teeth were square. Her cheeks had color in them, her skin like a brown pear. She had no wings, and her scythe was nowhere to be seen. A raven was perched on a small bush behind them.
"What are you afraid of?" She asked. Her voice was strange. It wasn't as smooth as before. Jack didn't feel the chills down his spine, or his heart begin to climb. Her accent changed too. He turned back to the vision of the crashing ocean.
"I'm afraid that I'll never see you again." He said.
"Why would you be afraid of that?"
"Because I don't want you to disappear."
"Do you believe I will?" She was looking at him now. Her eyes looked empty. Dead.
"No but, I believe you won't come back."
She laughed. Her gaze turned back to the ocean and she closed her eyes.
"You know," she began. "When I was like this I was very ordinary. I had no ambitions or desire. I didn't want much for myself. I grew without any outstanding skills or talents. I knew how to speak, and that was all. I could bring out the worst of people and the best of them.
"I don't know for what reason I was given the responsibility of guiding souls to the afterlife. I never thought that being able to talk someone off a ledge was appealing in the line of death. But Jack," She turned to him. "It is precisely that reason that I cannot disappear. I have a purpose that must be met. I was not placed here for nothing." Wind pushed her hair away from her face and carried with it particles of sand from her shoulder. They flew off of her body, pulling her away. The wind grew and her body began to dissolve. Jack's eyes grew wide when a hole in her chest suddenly appeared. Black tears streamed down her face.
"I'll be back."
He tried to reach out, grab her hand, anything that would tell him she was still there. At a blink, she was completely gone and all he held in his hand was a pile of sand, slipping through his fingers. The wind grew stronger, and the waves began to crash harder and harder. A storm was rising and with it, a voice lingered closer and louder. He couldn't really make out what it was saying. Lightning flashed in the sky. Thunder shook the earth. The black clouds turned into a swarm of ravens battling vultures. A voice cried in his head.
"Jack!"
His eyes flew open and he gasped painfully as air filled his lungs. He curled forward, coughing and gasping for breath. Someone was telling him to keep coughing, to try to breathe. They were rubbing his back and kneeling beside him. He finally exhaled a long, shaky breath and opened his eyes. He was still on the rooftop. Deep into night, no moon and not a star in sight. The purple haze was gone. There was no sign that a battle had taken place at all. Jack's eyes settled on the other side of the roof, where Bunny had settled in a corner. He played with a boomerang in his paws, turning it over and over.
"Morning, Frosty." He said out of the corner of his mouth. A pain suddenly pulled at the back of Jack's head. He pressed his fingers to his forehead and groaned.
"Right," Bunny said, jumping to his feet. "How're ya feelin'?"
"Where's Thana?" Jack asked suddenly. Bunny froze in place and looked at the ground. "Bunny where is she?" He began to stand shakily to his feet. His crook was off to the side but he didn't reach for it.
"Mate, she's gone. You saw it with your own eyes." Bunny said. Jack shook his head.
"She can't be-"
"She is!" He said again, placing a massive paw on his shoulder. "Gone, Frost. She's gone. I know you don't want to accept it, and I know that I barely understand it, but she's gone."
He was right. It still played like a film in his head. Gunza had raised the scythe above her head. Just as she was going to bring it down, Thana had said goodbye and she had frozen. It was a split second, but there Gunza had hesitated. Finally, she brought the blade down. It passed cleanly through Thana's sternum like slicing warm butter. A gasp caught in Thana's throat as it started to fill up. A thin line of black blood trailed out of the corner of her mouth. And just before the light faded away from her eyes, she looked up at where Jack was on the roof of the building and smiled. She disappeared, a conspiracy of ravens taking place of her body and flying away.
Jack sighed and sat back down.
"What are we supposed to do now?" He muttered.
"We go to Athens."
"What?" Jack looked up at him. "Why would we go to Athens? We obviously can't beat Gunza. What would Cassius be able to do?"
"You were already going there. Obviously Thana had some kind of plan. Wouldn't it make sense to go through with it?"
"But that was before. We can't do this without her now."
"I have a way."
At the last voice, Jack froze. A high, thick, Irish accent that he realized had belonged to whoever had been rubbing his back the entire time. Jack turned to face the new voice and was met with a very up-close pair of gold-rose eyes. They belonged to a round face, long, white dreads, and a dense and brawn body. Jack stared at the man.
"Who… who are you?"
The man gave Jack a look of offense. "Wha- How dare you not recognize me! After I nuzzled your chest and even allowed you a glance at my flock. Welcomed you into my home with the Lady of the Leaf!"
Bunny bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. "Crikey, Frost! I didn't know you were into the sort!"
"I'm not, I really don't-" He stopped. This man was dressed like a Viking. A white sheep's wool hung from his shoulders like a cloak. Jorvik boots woven with wolf's fur, a grey tunic, black fisherman pants, and he was protected in leather armor. On the burgundy that protected his chest, was a massive, gold leaf big enough for Jack to see his own reflection in.
"Idyss…?"
"There's a good lad." The massive sheep dog that had curled up in a white, fluffy ball now stood before Jack looking like a Norse God. His white dreads were tied up and braided behind his head, reaching to his waist. Idyss sat on the ledge of the roof, and it was then that Jack noticed the axe that hung from his waist.
"Why did you come here?"
"After you left County Kerry, The Lady and I fought the vultures ferociously. It was a hard battle, and in the end, we were swarmed with them. At the battle's peak, The Lady unleashed her terrifying powers. She called upon the forces of the four winds and created a terrible storm. The Lady told me to find you and to aid you in your mission. To protect you as if one of the sheep."
"Ambrose stayed behind to fight?" Jack asked. Idyss nodded. "What happened to her?"
"I cannot say. But I believe in The Lady. She is powerful and good. She would never let herself fall so easily."
"You said you had a way?" Bunny spoke up, but he looked pale. There was a quiver in his voice and Jack couldn't help but smirk. Idyss' pupils were visibly larger when he looked at the Easter Bunny. He gripped his shaking knee, steeling himself.
"Aye. I know someone who can help us in the battle to come with the Hela, and who knows the way to her. But as The Guardians, I fear you won't like who it is."
"Who is it?" Jack asked.
"A being affiliated with fear and darkness, and unfortunately an enemy of yours."
Jack and Bunny exchanged glances.
"Please tell me you aren't talking about-"
"Pitch Black." The dog finally said. "I know that he can help us."
"No." Bunny stood. "No way, it's off the bloody table."
Idyss' eyes jumped to the Easter Bunny and was soon on his feet. "I don't see any choice else."
"You're blind if you think that we are gonna work with Pitch. Do you not know what he did to us? How he tried to destroy the Guardians?"
"He is a being of darkness who has direct link to the Queen of Helheim. And if anything, this affects him too."
"I'm getting real tired of your knowitall lip, tail chaser." A boomerang was gripped in his paw.
"Aye? And I your bad boy softie attitude, you toothy, big eared, cotton tail." Idyss had his hand resting on the blunt of his axe. The two were inches away from one another, and Jack could have sworn that he heard a growl from Idyss' throat.
"Bunny," Jack spoke up, drawing their attention. "Idyss is right."
"What? Frost have you forgotten the things he's done to you?"
"No, Bunny I haven't. But I know that we don't have any other choice. If Pitch is willing to help us then we could put an end to this."
Bunny exhaled and spread his paws. "I don't want to be a part of this if we're seeking the help of an evil monster. And neither will the other Guardians."
"It's our responsibility, Bunny. We don't have any other way!"
The Easter Bunny only shook his head. "See you when this is all over, Frost." He tapped his foot twice on the ground and a tunnel opened up beneath him. When it closed, a pink tulip stood in its place.
Idyss put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Come on, Lad. We need to get moving." Idyss crouched on all fours and morphed, his usual canine form returning, only three times larger than before. He made a gesture with his head, and Jack hopped onto his back. He gripped the burgundy harness, and nodded.
"Let's find Pitch."