I missed hunting.

Never hunting animals, that was mean. Animals were precious.

Hunting people was a proud skill. Gained from decades of growing up beside Morgan Spencer.

I hunted Pitch into the woods. Every now and again, I'd fire an arrow at a tree. He yelled in surprise, turning away from it. He was being herded. The best part was that he knew it.

He made it to the pond. I show an arrow by his foot so he leapt onto the ice.

I was laying down on a cloud, using my wings to get around. Imagine swimming in a pool on a floatie, that's what I looked like. The cloud was softer though.

Pitch ran into the solid form of North. He fell back on the ice in a flop.

My cloud lowered so that I was behind him. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to leave a party early?" I asked.

Pitch jumped again, flailing on the ice for all the good it was worth.

"Leaving the party so soon?" North asked.

"You didn't even say goodbye." Tooth remarked. She tossed a quarter into Pitch's hand.

"A quarter?"

Tooth punched him in the face. So hard a tooth flew out of his mouth.

I gave her the golf-applause.

"And that's for my fairies."

"Ooh." Pulling out another arrow, I aimed it at Pitch's heart. "I never did get you back for my Cherubs...did I?"

This clearly was the breaking like for Pitch. He laughed desperately as he pushed himself to his feet. "You can't get rid of me! Not forever! There will always be fear!"

"So what?" North countered. "As long as one child believes, we will be here to fight fear!"

"Really? Then what are they doing here?" Pitch countered, shaking grinning smugly.

The Nightmares appeared around the pond. Not the hundreds from last that made that wave. Nah, this was a pitiful handful in comparison.

"They can't be my Nightmares, I'm not afraid." North laughed.

"I think they're kinda cute, in the right light." I complimented.

"Looks like it's your fear they smell." Jack pointed out to Pitch.

The Boogeyman flinched at it.

The Nightmares converged on him.

I watched in delight as they swarmed him. Eventually there were enough of them that they could carry away with Pitch into the distance. He was screaming all the way.

The screams stopped after awhile.

Once they did, the sun began to shine.

==CR==

I lowered myself from the cloud as the morning sun began to shine. It was making lying on a cloud annoying.

The Guardians and their newest recruit were laughing in joy. I was looking down at my dagger, wondering how long I could get away with tossing it in the air before worrying about 'child safety'.

"Are you ready now, Jack?" North asked from below. I peered over my shoulder at them. "To make it official." The Yetis walked up. One holding up the Guardian's book.

Jack nodded, looking braver than ever before.

"Then is time you take Oath." North instructed. He stretched out his arm. The Yeti gifted the book to him. He flipped through the pages. I sat down on the ice. 'Will you, Jack Frost...vow to watch over the children of the world?'"

Lilac walked up behind me. She sat beside me. She shivered- with good reason, she was still in her Easter clothes. And we'd kept her up all night. She leaned against me. Barely a second passed before I heard her snoring. My wing wrapped around her shoulders, protecting her from the cold.

I couldn't move- Morgan had taught me the Eighth Deadly Sin was to wake a sleeping child. She'd nearly beaten me blue once when I almost woke up a kid she was babysitting. Add on that this was Morgan's actual kid. I may be dead, but I didn't want to test how far this deathlessness went if I woke up her kid.

That's why I was letting her sleep on my shoulder.

No other reason.

Shut up.

"'To guard them with your life - their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams? For they are all that we have, all that we are and all that we will ever be.'" North recited.

Jack glanced over his shoulder towards the kids. "I will."

"Then congratulations, Jack Frost- for you are now and forevermore...a Guardian." North cheered. He turned to me. "Cupid-" He stopped at the sight of the sleeping Lilac.

"I can't stand." I whispered. My arm wrapped around Lilac, holding her closer. Only so she wouldn't fall on the ice. That's it. Nothing more. Why are you asking so many questions?! Dammit you're good at this! "She's...it won't work."

North chuckled from deep in his belly. The others were more quiet, laughing all the same.

"Is okay." North brushed off. "This is good- even better that you are protecting child!"

"Will you be quiet- do you have any idea what her mother will do if she knows we woke up her kid?" I whisper scolded him. "We will all die slow painful deaths!"

This just made Jack laugh.

"Never thought I'd see you scared of something, birdie." Bunny mocked.

"So isn't the thing I'm scared of, like, twenty times scarier?" I pointed out.

Bunny realized that was a good point.

"'Will you-...eh, it's just Cupid, yes?"

"...Cupid Stardust."

Someone snorted. I glared at the Guardians, daring them to do it again.

Like hell I would ever admit it...but the name's grown on me.

"'Will you, Cupid Stardust...vow to watch over the children of the world?'" North asked. "'To guard them with your life - their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams? For they are all that we have, all that we are and all that we will ever be.'"

My arm tightened around my niece's waist.

Memories came to mind, growing up with Morgan Spencer. Being taught how to kill, finding purpose behind it. Stopping bad guys, being worse than them so they'd stop in fear of me.

Then I looked down at Lilac. I remembered all the times Morgan dragged me back into Life just for this kid. All the times she pushed me out of it for the same reason.

"I swear." 'I'll do better this time.'

Everyone cheered. I winced.

Lilac murmured to attention.

'...now. I'll do better next time starting now.'

Lilac sniffled, wiping at her eyes with all the exhaustion of a child who had their first all nighter. "Auntie?" She murmured tiredly.

"Yeah?"

"Can we go Home?" She asked.

'Storyline...all the times I asked Morgan that, all the times she asked that...Lilac you're awesome.'

Her hand reached up to my wings. "These are pretty."

"Yeah. Kinda are." I mused. "Hadn't given it thought."

Lilac hummed. She snuggled deeper against my side. Everyone was still cheering around us. "Can we go Home now?"

That time I couldn't help but laugh.

That was when North scooped the two of us up. I yelped. Lilac started to laugh- though she was still drowsy from her almost-nap.

"Klasno!" North cheered.

"PUT ME DOWN!" I ordered.

Lilac laughed louder.

Bells could be heard overhead.

North put us down so he could see it. Lilac hugged my waist, looking at it with my wing curled around her.

"You guys, look!"

"That's Santa's sleigh."

Lilac's hand held mine. "It looks better flying."

I squeezed back.

It descended onto the icy pond. Lilac immediately ran over to see the reindeer. I flew up in the air.

Two cherubs flew up to my side. Hamil and Pelie.

"Oh hey guys." Hamil hugged my neck. Pelie flew up to my face, hands on his hips. "Would you believe I forgot you guys existed?"

Pelie started to scold me.

I snorted.

"Where are the rest of them?" I asked.

Hamil answered that they'd all gone back to work. Apparently none of them saw the use of checking in with me. Being able to fly was enough for them to know I was okay.

"Emotionless bastards." I grinned. "I'm overlord to a whole race, and they're emotionless bastards. There's a joke here, I can't see it. My sister would though..."

"Time to go." North spoke, soft but everyone around heard that.

Sandy threw up a ball of dreamsand. It burst out, falling like golden snow.

Lilac ran to me. She hugged my waist, suddenly looking afraid.

"Come Home." She begged. "Please, Auntie Killjoy, please come Home."

I knelt down to her- pulling her in a hug. My wings wrapped around her to keep her close. Lilac started to shake, holding back sobs.

"N-no." She sniffled. "No. They can't keep you. They can't! We need you more!"

"Hey. Stardusts are strong, remember? You'll be fine-"

"No we won't! Mom- she's not the same!" Lilac cried onto my dress shoulder. "We need you back!" She sobbed.

I held her, gently rocking her. Tooth walked up. She stretched her hand out in comfort, I gave her a look to step back. She pulled the arm back.

"Please Auntie...come Home with us. Please." Lilac cried. "I- I know- I know that if you- Mom didn't know how to bring you back. And she was getting sad. I thought- this place- you- she wasn't one so I thought it had to be you. You. You were supposed to come back to Mom. Why won't you come back?!" She fell apart in sobs. Those stupid silent ones that kids did when they couldn't stop.

'Now. This time I mean it. I'll do better.'

"Morgue wasn't the one to bring me here, was she?" I asked in a soft voice. Lilac shuddered, crying harder. "Come on, then. Let's get you home."

I climbed into the sleigh, ignoring the looks from the other Guardians.

"Hey North." I smirked, ignoring how I felt like I was dying inside. 'Made it so many decades without feeling guilt...fuck I hate this.' "I did promise she'd get a ride in the sleigh."

"Oh, get in!" North immediately boomed. "They always love the sleigh." He boasted.

As I settled in the sleigh, I sat where I knew Lilac could get a better view of the city. Hamil was in my hair now- chittering questions about why Lilac was crying. Pelie was asking what I'd done to make the young child so sad.

Jack sat beside me. I gave him a brief grin, before Lilac's grip tightened. It had surprised me so I winced. My gaze went back to my niece, wondering how I could fix this.

"Hyah!"

A blue snowflake appeared in Jack's hand. He blew it out. The thing landed on Lilac's head.

The tears stopped.

"My name is Darcy Anderson. And I'm a Guardian. How do I know that? Because my niece believes in me. When an eight year old believes in you, you can do anything."

Lilac pulled away from my arms. She moved to my right, looking out over the sleigh. She laughed in delight, manufactured joy from the snowflake. My hand reached out, taking Jack's hand and squeezing it tight. I was going to leave my niece- she and her mother were going Home without me. My last memory of her shouldn't be of my niece crying, or of me slapping her because Criers Get Slapped.

'I don't know what's coming next...but I know it's going to break my heart.'

==CR==

AN: And here we are folks, almost done. There's an epilogue coming out Valentine's Day- and I couldn't have planned that better if I tried.

This story is a lot of great things to me. It's the first story I posted on a weekly basis- and stuck with it (with a few outliers). It's the first story where Darcy Anderson was the MC, instead of her sister. It's the fastest I have ever finished a story. Ever.

Thank you to each and every last person that stuck with me! That stuck with this fandom that refuses to die!