Chapter 17:

Mei moved along at a steady canter, Black Shuck loping easily at her left side while a cat sidhe rode in front of Jack in the saddle.

Jack was greatly disturbed that he had been unable to find Raven. Recalling that the spirit had gone with Death to find the ghouls, Jack feared that Raven had been caught in the crossfire of whatever plan Mephistopheles had for Death.

Jack had, however, found the Leprechaun when he'd been searching for Shuck. The poor spirit had been terrified when Jack had told him what was going on, but he had agreed to tell whatever Elder Spirits he could find about the situation and get them to help spread the word.

So now Jack and his companions were travelling along England's western shore, hoping to find some secluded, hidden space where Jack could try to reach Death.

At least they were until Shuck suddenly let out a furious howl. Mei skidded to a halt, whinnying loudly in alarm while the cat sidhe bristled, leaping out of the saddle with a yowl.

Hearing a series of loud whinnies from above, Jack looked up just in time to see a herd of Pitch's Nightmares descending upon them. Jack quickly dropped the reins and brought his staff up in a defensive position while Shuck and the cat sidhe braced themselves on either side of him and Mei. When the Nightmares reached the ground, though, they didn't attack. Instead they formed a ring four deep around the winter spirit and his companions, snorting and pawing threateningly at the ground.

A tense standoff ensued for several seconds until a quiet laugh echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once.

"Well, well. Jack Frost, without his new Guardian friends. What a surprise; I would have thought you'd want to spend some time with the only spirits to ever pay attention to you."

"Pitch! I don't have time for this, what do you want?" Jack yelled, glancing around in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the Boogeyman.

Chuckling, Pitch emerged from a shadow a few feet in front of Mei, who pinned her ears at him.

The cat sidhe leaped in front of the horse and pinned her ears as well, tail swinging slightly behind her as she began a low, singsong meow. Shuck kept staring at the Nightmares behind Jack and Mei, but by the way he'd cocked his ears Jack could tell he was paying attention to the conversation as well.

Pitch grinned. "My, my, more animals, Jack? Is that the best you can get?"

"Seems to be better than you; I didn't have to make them," Jack said with a raised eyebrow.

Pitch's smile turned into a mild glare while Mei whickered her agreement.

Smiling a little himself now, Jack said, "I ask again, Pitch, what do you want?"

Pitch's grin returned full force. "Why, simply to give you a gift, Jack."

A series of pinned ears and switching tails showed how much stock everyone present put in those words. Jack himself gave Pitch a deadpan look. In return, Pitch smiled congenially and pulled something from behind his back.

A golden box; a tooth case from Tooth's palace.

"Don't you want them, Jack?" Pitch asked softly. "Your memories?"

Jack was frozen in place, staring at the box as one would at an animal they weren't sure would bite or ask for a pat. Death had told him decades ago what the purpose of Toothiana's work was and that she may well have some of Jack's memories stored away in one of her little cases. He had told the frost sprite that she would likely give them to him if Jack asked, but Jack had been hesitant to do so. He knew from many of the ghosts he'd met that it was possible to recover memories of life through various processes; the easiest and least stressful of which was a process similar to meditation. Some may even regain memories over a period of time, usually while hanging around areas they had inhabited in life.

Jack knew that Burgess had always held a sense of familiarity, of home, to him. Death had confirmed that the lake Jack lived by was the same one that had claimed his life three centuries ago. As for the rest of his memories, Death said, it would be best if Jack recovered them on his own. There would be much patient work that needed to be involved, but all the Reapers and ghosts agreed that, for the dead at least, recovering memories slowly was the best course of action. Getting everything back in one go often had a devastating effect on the spirit, being too overwhelming to take in all at once. And if many of the memories were painful, they could easily turn the spirit malevolent.

Pitch took a step forward and Mei raised her head, ears flat against her head, sensing her rider's unease.

Pitch raised an eyebrow. "Scared, Jack?"

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Not of you."

Pitch laughed. "Maybe not. But you are afraid of something."

Jack's glare intensified. Pitch smiled. "Come now, Jack, give me a little credit. It's the one thing I always know; people's greatest fears. Yours is that no one will ever believe in you."

Jack flinched as though struck; deep down, he'd always known that was what he feared above all else, but to hear it spoken out loud was like a blow to the gut. The Nightmares whickered as though laughing. Mei whinnied furiously, rearing up and nearly sending Jack toppling off as she kicked at the Boogeyman with her front hooves. Pitch disappeared before the first blow could land, reappearing a few feet to the right laughing like the cat who'd gotten the canary. The Nightmares only got louder.

Then all sound ceased when everyone became aware of one sound; a low, menacing growl that seemed to emanate from the ground beneath their feet and the surrounding air.

Jack froze when he realized the sound was actually coming from Shuck. Turning Mei about, he saw that the great black hound and the cat sidhe were standing tail-to-tail. The cat spirit pinned her ears to her head, claws kneading at the earth as she hissed. Her eyes were beginning to glow a soft white and her singsong meow began again, though now it was more haunting than before.

Do you want to play, little steeds?

Shuck, meanwhile, had his eyes fixed on Pitch. His lips had peeled back in a snarl that showed his sharpened teeth; his form seemed to grow larger as Pitch's shadows gathered around him, his fur bristling and making him look more wolf than dog. Shuck flexed his claws as he dropped into a hunting crouch, eyes beginning to turn from yellow to glowing crimson red. The ground beneath his feet blackened where he stepped as he moved slowly toward Pitch.

You wish to test a hound of Death, Shadow King?

A coldness that had nothing to do with Jack settled over them; white mist began to roll in too quickly for it to be natural. The Nightmares, instead of laughing now, shuffled about uncertainly, several of them snorting and whinnying in agitation. Pitch himself didn't move, but his eyes betrayed his alarm.

Mei also went to move toward the Boogeyman, but Jack gently held her back.

"Whoa," he said firmly. Glancing at the snarling hound, he said, "No, Shuck. Down."

Shuck gave a small growl of protest, but straightened out of his crouch and stopped advancing. The cat sidhe also straightened up; both animals' eyes quickly returned to their usual color, but their tails were still twitching.

Tense silence.

Then Pitch turned to Jack and raised an eyebrow, looking not at all like he had just been threatened by a ghostly hound.

"Here," he said, tossing the golden box to Jack. Jack quickly brought his hands up, catching it purely on instinct. "Take it, with my good will."

"Oh, and, before I forget…," Pitch smiled. Not a nice one. "Happy Easter, Jack."

Jack had no time to react before a large shadow loomed up before him and Mei, swallowing them whole. Both sprite and horse screamed as they tumbled through the darkness, Jack falling from the saddle in the process.

When Jack finally rolled to a stop he immediately leaped to his feet, finding himself facing an earthen wall instead of a black hole.

"Mei!" he shouted, pounding a fist against said wall.

Something crunched under his bare feet.

Startled, Jack glanced down. The floor of this… tunnel was covered in painted eggshells. Crushed painted eggshells.

"What?" Jack said softly to himself, stepping over the shattered eggs and keeping wary eyes on the shadows as he moved toward the shaft of light he could see at the other end of the tunnel.

He emerged in an open glade surrounded by trees and bushes. Shielding his eyes against the sun, Jack saw the Guardians -Tooth and Bunny, at least- standing near a picnic table and a group of children.

"I can't believe it," a little girl was saying. "There's no such thing as the Easter Bunny."

"What are you talking about? I'm right in front of…," Bunny said incredulously, stepping toward the kids.

He stopped cold when one of them passed right through him, eyes going wide as he crouched in on himself.

Jack winced in sympathy.

"They can't see me," Bunny whispered, so quietly Jack barely heard him. "They can't see me."

"Jack!"

North's call had Jack jumping and whipping about to face the Guardian of Wonder as he approached the winter sprite, a harried look on his face. "Where were you?"

Jack's jaw dropped. "I…,"

"The Nightmares attacked the tunnels," North continued, swinging one of his swords for emphasis. "They smashed every egg, crushed every basket."

"Jack!" Tooth called, nearly giving Jack whiplash as he turned about to face her. She looked relieved as she flew toward him; then her eyes moved downward and she came to a halt, expression morphing into shock. "Where did you get that?"

Startled, Jack looked down; he hadn't even realized he was still holding the case Pitch had given him. He looked up again when Tooth gasped in horror.

"Where's Baby Tooth?" she asked, eyes darting frantically about as she searched for her missing fairy.

"What? She wasn't with me; I thought you guys…," Jack said.

"That's where you were?" North asked, incredulity stamped over his features. "You were with Pitch?"

"With him? He popped up out of nowhere and literally threw this thing in my face, then shadow-dropped me and my horse! If it were up to me I wouldn't…!"

"He has to go."

Everyone fell silent, turning to face Bunnymund as he walked toward them, eyes downcast.

"Bunny…," Jack began.

Then Bunny's eyes snapped up to meet his; Jack drew back at the plain, searing rage he could see expressed there.

"We should NEVER have trusted you!" Bunny shouted, leaping forward with his fist drawn back.

Jack had done this so many times now he didn't even need to think. He grabbed Bunny's fist as the spirit threw it forward, stepping aside and guiding his assailant's paw downward. He gripped Bunny's arm just below the shoulder, twisting the joint in its socket as he brought Bunny to the ground, pinning him with one knee in his ribs and the other at his elbow, not letting up his grip in the slightest. Jack twisted his left hand slightly, drawing a pained yelp from his opponent.

"I hope you'll think twice before doing that again," Jack said lowly, hooded eyes staring Bunny down when he turned his head to face the winter sprite. "I could just as easily have broken your elbow."

Bunny's eyes widened, and he didn't even attempt to get up when Jack pushed himself to his feet. Painting an indifferent mask over his face, Jack didn't even look at the other Guardians as he grabbed his staff and leaped into the sky.

Knowing Mei, she was already on her way to Antarctica to meet him.