Jack sat crouched on the ebony globe in the center of the room, the same place he'd been for the last hour or two. For a while he had been comforted by the sparkling pinpricks of light that dotted the surface, but after a while, not even the pretty little lights could distract him from his situation. Currently, though, his attention shifted as the double doors to the room opened and Pitch swept in. Jack gripped his staff a little tighter, but said nothing as the man entered.

"Don't tell me you're still sulking." Pitch said after a small silence. He walked closer while he waited for a reply, then sighed when he didn't get one. He chuckled as he trailed a long finger across the twinkling specs that covered Asia. "It's almost like you don't want to be here." He said, his amber eyes lifting to meet Jack's gaze. "Which is silly. You chose to come here, after all."

"No." Jack said simply. The only change in his stony expression was a slight tightening of his jawline. "I mean, come to think of it, I had a little help with the decision making process."

"Course you did!" Pitch laughed. He gave the globe a slap, then walked to the center of the room. "I may have given you a nudge, but you could have chosen to stay with the guardians."

Jack wanted to yell at Pitch; to tell him exactly how little of a choice he'd had. But he worked to keep his composure. He remembered Bunny's face in Sophie's room only a few hours ago.

Bunny stared at Jack, his jaw slightly open, eyes reflecting his inner disappointment. Jack was honestly surprised that he had been taken in by his treachery so easily, but he supposed it was all for the better. Pitch smiled, showing his slightly pointed teeth for just a moment, then swept through the open window to their left. Jack risked one last glance up at his friends before he followed. He kept his gaze cold, but his uncaring front dropped in shock when he saw that Bunny was... Grinning?

He held up two furry fingers. "Double agent?" He mouthed silently. Numbly, Jack nodded in confirmation. He looked over at Sandy. The little man winked and gave him a thumbs up. He then made shoo shoo motions with his hand, letting Jack know he should go. Jack shook off the surprise, and disappeared out the window after Pitch. The whole exchange had taken less than five seconds.

"It doesn't matter anyway." Jack said. His friends had faith in him; he wouldn't let them down. He'd find a way to get around Pitch's leverage against him and maybe even put a stop to him using the terror sand. "I'm here now." He said, meeting Pitch's gaze steadily. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Pitch half turned so that he was facing him full on. "No." He agreed readily. "You're not. But I do wonder Jack," The nightmare king came closer, his impressive height bringing him eye level with Jack, even while he was perched on the globe. "was there anything besides concern for little Sophie that brought you to your final decision?" His eyes bore into Jack's.

The winter spirit realized what Pitch was alluding to. Jack wanted to set him straight, tell him for the thousandth time that they were nothing alike. But he knew what Pitch wanted to hear, and now he had to tell it to him.
"Yes, actually." Jack said. He jumped down from the globe and began to walk the stiffness out of his legs. He swung his staff in time with his pre-scripted monologue. "The guardians have been awesome. Really, they have. They make sure I'm included in all the guardian business, and they try hard to make sure I don't get ignored. I think they feel bad about all those years I was on my own." He changed his tone, going for a more earnest effect.

"But they kept...I mean, I didn't want their pity, Ya know?" Jack forced himself to make eye contact with Pitch. "But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that you've already been through what I have. Not being believed in. You've known loneliness like I do, for longer than I have. I just couldn't ignore that anymore."

"Couldn't ignore that we should be on the same side?" Pitch asked, drawing out the confession he'd wanted for so long. Nothing was quite as satisfying as being absolutely right.

"Couldn't ignore that we always should have been." Jack corrected. He wondered if he wasn't maybe laying it on a little thick. Was Pitch going to believe he could undergo such a complete one-eighty personality change? He guessed in the end, he'd just have to hope Pitch would only see what he wanted to.

Pitch, in turn, studied him carefully for a moment. "Good." He eventually said. A smile cracked his face and he began to chuckle. "Good! Oh, Jack, you've finally caught on. You're not the person you pretended to be. You never were!"

Jack shrugged, hoping he was hiding his annoyance at Pitch's gloating well enough. "We all have our quirks." He said evenly.

"Yes, well you had quite the odd one, didn't you? Come on, Jack. With your new found self awareness, I believe you need something to show for it on the outside, don't you? I have something for you."

He walked briskly out of the room, and Jack hurried to keep up. What could Pitch have for him? Whatever it was, he wasn't sure he was going to want it. He followed anyway. They wound through a couple of corridors, and once Jack was pretty sure they doubled back on themselves. They eventually stopped outside one of the many heavy wooden doors. Pitch turned to him before he opened it.

"Now, I don't spend much time in other people's attics," he said, laying his fingers on the door handle. He stopped, thought about what he had just said, then corrected himself. "Actually, yes I do. I just don't usually take things from them." He amended. Jack waited to see what Pitch was trying to get at. The door opened.

Inside was what appeared to be Pitch's personal living quarters. There wasn't much in the room. It was far from cozy. Lived in was also not a word Jack would have used to describe it. Pitch didn't give him much time to appraise his surroundings, though. He walked to a small cabinet and pulled out a clump of black fabric.

"I had it on good faith we might be on... better terms soon. It suits you. I want you to wear it." He threw it to Jack. In turn, Jack tried to ignore the feeling he'd just been given an order and shook out the cloth.

It was a caplet. It looked uncannily similar to the deerskin cloak he'd given up so many decades ago, only made of a shimmering black. It seemed the shade of ebony that sucked the light from the colors around it. Jack had to admit, it was nice. But he liked his hoodie. He looked up at Pitch.

"I don't know." He said, pretending to think about it. "I'm trying to modernize. I'm kind of a hoodie type of guy."

"Fair enough." Said Pitch after a moment. "But Jack, your hoodie needs replaced."

"Why's that?"

"Honestly? It's giving me a headache."

Jack looked down at himself, analyzing the clothing in question. He immediately regretted forgetting one little fact. He had grown used to the new colors in his peripheral vision, so he hadn't paid it any mind for a while, but he realized now he still looked like an Easter egg. Maybe the new cape let wouldn't be so bad. Just until he could find a way to fix his hoodie. Or get a new one.

With a shrug, he pulled off his hoodie. He put the black cape let over his white undershirt. Pitch appraised him for a moment. "Black suits you, Jack." he said after a moment. His eyes narrowed. "Shadows suit you." he added, almost as an afterthought. Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Glad you think so."

A/N: Hey guys! Guess who's back from hiatus? Me! yeah! Sorry for the wait, but here's chapter sixteen anyhow. Oh, and about last chapter. There was an asteric in the middle of it, and I forgot to add the explanation in the authors note. I went back and fixed it, but I'll post it here too so you don't have to go back to find out what it was.

I made a reference to the fact that Toothiana had a box of baby teeth and they had saved her life. This was a reference to her past, as per the original series. These teeth are what made it possible for her to split herself into thousands of tiny fairies. Now, personally, I believe that when she splits like that the fairies take on a personality and consciousness of their own, but that's just my opinion.

Thanks for your patience! I love each and every one of you guys.

Love,

Mariah