Chapter 28:

Jack hung back as the Guardians celebrated; throwing a snowball at Bunny's face had, surprisingly, gotten their attention off him as a more involved fight began to break out.

"No! How dare you…!"

"Pitch, it's over!" Jack snapped, throwing out his right arm and blocking Pitch from moving further forward. "Get a grip, would you? You'll only make things worse!"

The Bogeyman snarled at him, but Pitch's eyes betrayed him. Jack imagined he'd likely looked like that the first time someone had walked through him. It was… comforting, in a bit of an odd way, to know older spirits felt much the same.

"Get a grip," Jack said again, more quietly this time. "You're drawing way too much attention for my comfort right now."

Pitch looked at Jack like he'd lost his mind, but comprehension dawned when he looked behind the former frost spirit.

"Pitch, you can control it! You're the Nightmare King, for crying out loud! Act like it!"

Unfortunately the Nightmares had been seeded by the Demon of Fear, and since they no longer had many viable targets around…

Jack cursed as Pitch took off running into the trees, back toward the lake. He leaped onto Mei's back, kicking her into a gallop after the fleeing Bogeyman.

Jack expanded his Reaper aspect, allowing him and Mei to become ethereal enough to move through the trees and brush that were in their way. Thankfully this meant they were able to beat Pitch to the lake.

Pitch was obviously surprised to see them when he burst from the trees. He was even more surprised when Jack summoned his scythe, holding it up over his head when the Nightmares came stampeding into view. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Jack and Mei standing beside the Bogeyman, snorting and pawing aggressively but not coming any closer.

"Don't turn your back on them," Jack said to Pitch out of the corner of his mouth as Mei pinned her ears, whinnying back at the Nightmares. "Do not back down; they're desperate and starving, and I can't hold them all if they decide your fear is worth the risk."

Pitch was looking at Jack like he'd lost his mind, but he did turn to face the Nightmares all the same.

A tense standoff ensued; it likely only lasted a minute or two, but it certainly felt a lot longer than that.

"Jack?"

"Oi, Frostbite, where'd ya run off to?"

"Jack! Where are you?"

The Nightmares bristled visibly at the Guardians' shouts. Pitch tensed as well, but Jack didn't so much as twitch. He kept his eyes on the Nightmares, scythe raised. Mei didn't move, either.

When the Guardians crested the ridge, the Nightmares became even more agitated. Pitch, thankfully, though he did obviously not appreciate the Guardians showing up, kept his eyes fixed on his former minions.

Given the suddenly much longer odds, the Nightmares were having second thoughts about their target. After a few more extremely tense seconds of standoff, some of the equine creatures simply faded into nothing, while the rest turned and galloped into the trees.

Jack didn't relax until he'd done what he referred to as a 'sensor sweep' of the surrounding area. When that didn't turn up anything concerning, he finally allowed himself to relax and tuck his scythe back into his saddlebag.

"Crikey, those things're creepy," Bunny muttered, keeping wary eyes fixed on the trees as he hopped toward Jack and the Bogeyman, the other Guardians following close behind. Pitch, for his part, glared at the Big Four but did take a few small steps back. He was outmatched here, and he knew it.

The Guardians were equally pleased with Pitch's presence, Sandy possibly a bit less so judging by the withering look he gave the Bogeyman. Jack found himself suppressing a grin when Pitch tried to hold the Sandman's eyes but ended up looking away, lips pursed. Huh. He might actually feel kind of bad about what he did to him.

"What're ya helpin' him for?" Bunny asked, levelling his own glare at Pitch.

"I don't think any of us want to be dealing with the Nightmares any more than we have to," Jack said. "If they can't feed, so much the better."

"Wait, they were after you?" Tooth said to Pitch. "Don't you control them?"

"Not anymore," Jack said, more brightly than he felt.

"Bunny? Tooth?"

Oh, boy. Jack stayed where he was as the Guardians turned and started heading back toward Jaimie and his friends as they ran around the pile of rocks at the top of the hill, coming toward the frozen lake. Pitch was at this point several feet away from Jack, standing so he could keep both the former frost spirit and the Guardians in his sight.

Mei pricked her ears a moment before a familiar feeling had Jack turning his head back toward the shadows of the trees.

His face broke into a broad grin, and Mei whickered a happy greeting at the pale steed and Death, in human form, as they trotted down toward the lake from the ledge, Death's horse moving as though his hooves were on a solid trail instead of air.

"Thank goodness!" Jack breathed as the Wind whipped through the trees, circling happily around the pair of them when Death brought his horse to stand in front of Mei. "Is it over?"

"Yes," Death said, a small smile tugging his mouth sideways. "War had great fun serving as a distraction; it was a team effort between Famine and Pestilence to keep her from charging straight down into Hell to run her own personal harrowing, but we've de-clawed any of the demons still left in this realm and sealed the Gates they were traveling through."

"Is War sulking yet?" Jack asked, a grin tugging his own mouth sideways before he could stop it.

"Most likely; Famine and Solriss volunteered to stay with her to make sure she…ah, has a chance to cool down, as they put it," Death said, his tone implying he thought that was a very mild way of putting it.

Jack shuddered, not something he'd done often in the past few centuries. "You know, suddenly I'm glad Agramon was my assignment."

"You did well," Death said, giving Jack a look the young Reaper found inscrutable. It did create a pleasant feeling in his chest, though.

"I think it was mainly 'cause the guy was being cocky. Demon of Fear, capital letters and all," Jack said, fiddling with Mei's mane and looking quickly to the side.

"Even if that was the case, most would not have held their own for very long at all, yet you and Mei kept him at bay until Piscea was able to get to you and help end things."

Death's horse whickered and tossed his head, as though nodding in agreement. Mei lifted her head, a damn right we did well if Jack had ever seen one.

"Who are you?"

Jack turned to look at Pitch, brow furrowed. Embarrassed though he was to admit it, his jaw almost dropped when he saw where the Bogeyman was looking.

Straight at Death.

Who met the Bogeyman's glare with a flat look. "I believe Jack has mentioned me to you before."

Pitch's glare intensified. Jack was doing his damndest to avoid a gasping fish impression, instead settling for giving Death an incredulous look.

The entity gave a minute shrug. 'They've all been annoying lately and quite frankly at this point I don't care if they see me.'

Jack choked on a laugh while the horses snorted in agreement. Death's horse was staring at the Bogeyman with a look that conveyed he thought Pitch's interruption the rudest thing he'd encountered in the past millennium.

"Who are you?"

North's voice was much more alarming than Pitch's had been, mostly because it was a good bit louder. Jack turned in the saddle to see North also glaring at the Pale Horseman, both swords raised, one pointing at the newcomer. The rest of the Guardians stood on either side of him, Bunny with his boomerangs drawn and Tooth, with a collection of fairies hovering around her, had her fists raised. Sandy, thankfully, only looked a bit wary. He was still on guard, but not looking like he was about to leap into a fight the second someone put a foot wrong.

Death was just as unimpressed with this display as he'd been with Pitch's. Jack was further puzzled when he saw Jaimie and his friends standing at the top of the hill, on the path leading back into town. They were watching the Guardians, with an occasional glance at Pitch.

"The kids can't see you?" Jack asked Death.

"That would likely cause a few more questions than I am prepared to deal with at present," Death answered. "No, I am not currently visible to humans."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "But you're prepared to deal with them?"

Death shrugged, more visibly this time. "You have told them all they really need to know. It's no one's fault but theirs if they paid no attention."

Jack got the distinct impression that this was intended either as payback or to make a point about something for the spirits; for what, or what that point was, he wasn't sure yet.

The spirits had been super annoying for the past couple years, though. Never mind how long they'd been driving the Reapers up the wall on and off before Jack had even… well…

A golden exclamation point appeared over the Sandman's head just as Pitch's eyes widened. "Ants'nel? You're the one the sprite would go on and on about two hundred years ago?"

This elicited several sharp intakes of breath from the Guardians, and Death's subtle inclination of the head in acknowledgement of Pitch's recognition didn't seem to help the overall air of tension.

It certainly didn't seem to have eased North or Bunny's nerves. North's eyes narrowed as he took a measured step forward, though he did lower the sword in his left hand slightly. "Who are you, exactly? I have never heard of a spirit with such a name. Not from any who were not Jack." This last bit was added after Jack gave the older spirit a flat look. Sandy snickered silently.

"Not surprising; I involve myself relatively rarely with spirits. Very few in your circles know me, and they are of the more… reclusive persuasion," Death said.

The elder spirits, Jack realized. And most of the other ones that know him aren't really in a position to be telling anybody else.

North and Bunny still didn't look pleased, but Tooth was looking more puzzled than defensive now. Sandy appeared thoughtful; Jack knew the Sandman had crossed paths with Death more than any other of the Guardians, though Death had never really allowed the Guardian of Dreams to perceive him.

Pitch still appeared wary, but he had definitely inched to his left enough that Jack and Death would prove a decent barrier in case a barrage from the Big Four came his way and he needed to dodge in a hurry, Jack noted.

"Oi! The hell are you two still hangin' around here for?"

Death rolled his eyes while Jack, after his initial start, laughed.

"Hi, Red!" Jack called to War, who was standing astride her steed just above the trees to the south. Famine, Solriss and their horses were beside her, Famine rubbing her forehead in exasperation at War's antics and Solriss hanging well out of punching or sword-swinging range should the Red Horseman decide to take umbrage with something.

War grinned, and though Jack didn't doubt it was intended to be friendly he barely kept from flinching backward. "Piscea told us all about it; good job, mite. Nicely fought and cleanly finished. Sorry we missed it."

Jack managed to grin back, and it became a genuine smile when he heard Death mutter, "I'm not certain I agree with Famine's definition of 'cooled off'."

It was at that point Jack realized that all the spirits had taken several steps away from the Red Horseman. Funnily enough, Bunny and Pitch were both bristling, while North had both swords raised again. Tooth and Sandy had both adopted a defensive posture too, and even Sandy was visibly alarmed by this newcomer.

"Please excuse her," Famine called down to Death and Jack. "She's still riding out a bit of a high."

Jack laughed at the affronted look War shot her colleague. "Don't worry guys, they won't hurt you," the former frost spirit told the Guardians (and Pitch by proxy, he supposed, though Jack doubted Pitch would try to fight so much as a guinea pig at this point). His smile grew when he heard War's indignant scoff (and her horse's equally indignant snort). "They're… close friends of mine."

The Guardians shot him incredulous looks. "Why didn't you tell us about them, Jack?" Tooth asked after a moment to digest the news.

"You didn't believe him when he did!" Famine shouted down, to the snorted approval of the horses and Death's nodded assent.

Bunny still didn't look convinced. "Who are ya blighters?" the spirit asked, still keeping his body turned toward War but allowing an ear and his eyes to snap over toward Death for a moment. "How come we've never seen any of you? I ain't even heard of any spirits like you, ever."

"And who said we were spirits, lad?" Solriss called, daring to edge a little bit closer to War and Famine now that the Red Horseman's focus seemed suitably diverted. Famine, War and Jack snickered, the horses tossing their heads and whinnying. Death grinned, widely enough Jack wondered for a moment if he was going to let the Guardians actually see him.

He didn't, but his voice had certainly… changed when he spoke next.

"Peace, Aster," the entity said when Bunny snarled, arm moving back in preparation for a throw even though his comrades had moved to stop him. Bunny's eyes went wide, but he went still, lowering his weapons and appearing in a momentary daze. The rest of the Guardians went rigid. "We mean none of you any harm. We have simply come to retrieve our… friend, and assure ourselves of his safety."

"And why should we trust you?" Bunny said, trying to snarl again and failing. Jack realized, with a start, that the spirit was shaking.

"I trust them, Bunny," Jack said, nudging Mei to take a few steps closer to Death and his steed. "They're not going to hurt you, not unless you attack them first. Please calm down." That last bit was directed at War almost as much as Bunny; he could hear the Red steed champing at his bit even at this distance.

Bunny's eyes moved to Jack; Jack didn't know exactly what it was that the spirit saw, but after a long moment he took a step back and, almost painfully slowly, put away his weapons. The other Guardians followed his lead.

Pitch… was nowhere to be seen. Jack glanced quickly at Death.

'He slipped off some time ago,' Death said. 'He's gone to lick his wounds; I doubt anyone will be seeing anything of him for a while after this.'

Jack hoped that was the case. Pitch may be less irritating than the Guardians, but he still wouldn't mind not laying eyes on the guy anytime soon.

Or the Guardians, for that matter.

"Interesting as this is, we do still have business to attend to," Famine called down. "Sorry to break it up, but we really should get moving before everyone starts to wonder what happened to us."

"Ooh, yeah," Jack said, almost smacking himself in the forehead; he'd completely forgotten about the rendezvous in Xibalba. Aditi and Madrik would kill him all over again if he showed up late to that, considering who the focus of his mission had been.

As Death and Jack turned their horses toward the others, Tooth called, "wait! Jack, hang on a second!"

"Sorry, Tooth, but we really do have to go," Jack said, tugging Mei into a quick stop while Death did the same with his horse a few steps ahead, looking back at Jack as Jack looked back at the Guardians.

"Jack, there is still…," North began. He was interrupted by Jack's sigh.

"I know what you're going to say, North, but the answer is still no. We've got work to do; I'll… see you around, guys."

With that, Jack turned back toward Death, following the Pale Horseman's lead as he nudged his horse into a skyward canter. He slowed to a trot as they came near the trio hovering over the trees, and the three nudged their own horses to join them.

"Hey, where're the Spring spirits?" War asked Jack as her horse fell into step beside him and Mei. "I was hoping to run a few of 'em down."

"I don't know," Jack said. "I'd have thought Pitch would have at least called them for back up when it started going south for him. Maybe they just didn't answer; I know they won't work with someone they think is too weak."

"They do like to make sure they're betting on the winning hand," War said. "Shame. Well, you'll probably run into them sooner rather than later. If you'd give me a ring when that happens, I'd appreciate it. If you forget, just kick their asses for me, yeah? Maybe feed 'em to a leshy."

Jack swallowed. "That's an interesting thought, War, but I don't think I'll be doing anything quite that drastic."

"Drastic? It's just a quick way of doing the clean-up."

"That's nice. Still not happening."

Until our next meeting. Happy New Year!