Pitch couldn't recall a time when he'd felt such excitement. Well, he could, but this was the first time in a while where he didn't have to worry about someone taking it away. The Guardians had actually agreed to not interfere with his job…much. He supposed he shouldn't pull too much on the short leash he'd been given, lest he hang himself.
But that didn't mean he wasn't going to enjoy his newfound freedom. Oh no, he was most definantly going to make use of it. He'd been relishing the new rushes of fear, as had his beloved Nightmares. So far, none of the Guardians had gotten in his way, other than Sandy giving him a stink eye when they'd come across each other in the same child's room one night. Out of professional courtesy, Pitch had decided to let the Sandman have the child.
Now though, he was relaxing in the shadowy confines of his lair, observing the globe of glowing lights indicating his own believers. He had to admit he was impressed that there were so many; he didn't think so many people actually believed in his existence. He'd always been brushed off as a bad dream by so many people, including the Guardians-
"What're you so sullen looking about?"
He glanced to his right to see Jack leaning against one of the pillars.
"Oh nothing, just recalling some unsightly memories."
"Well, stop recalling, and come on! I got a great idea!"
"The last time you said that you ended up being depressed for three days."
"I was NOT depressed; anyway, I swear this time things will go great!"
Pitch gave him a blank stare, before turning and walking away.
"Hey come on!"
"I don't do fun, Frost, and as of recently, I don't have to in order to spread fear."
Jack quickly flew in front of him, and Pitch came to a stop with a sigh.
"You're not going to leave me alone until I agree, are you?"
Jack nodded with a mischievous smile. Pitch muttered under his breath, but gestured for him to lead the way. He and Jack exited the underground lair, and headed for the frozen lake. The sky was darkening slightly, indicating it was late in the afternoon.
"What do you want, Frost? As hard as it is to believe, I do have other plans."
"I know you do, but I just wanted to try something; now, I want you to stay in the trees for a minute, but you can come out when I call, okay?"
Pitch merely nodded nonchalantly, and stood in the shadows of a tree while Jack flew out to the lake. Upon peering past the trunk, Pitch could see a group of children…those children.
"Jack, where'd you go? We don't have a lot of time before we have to go back home." Jamie asked as the winter spirit landed in front of the group.
"Sorry kiddo, had to go get a friend."
"A friend? Who?"
"Friends now, are we?" Pitch asked, appearing behind Jack.
The children yelped, jumping back and taking cover behind Jamie. Jack sighed in annoyance, and looked back at the Boogeyman.
"I told you to wait."
"That was before you referenced me as your 'friend'. I wouldn't call us friends, I'd go with…associates."
"Jack, why is he here?" Pippa asked uneasily.
"This isn't the introduction I was hoping for…okay, look; Pitch agreed to a truce, so now he's…sorta nice?"
"I wouldn't go THAT far…" Pitch muttered, looking at his nails.
"Anyway, point is, he's not gonna hurt you, and even if he tries, you got me, so no need to worry, alright?"
"As enjoyable as this conversation is, can someone tell me why I had to leave the comfort of my lair hours before I'm allowed to go spread fear?"
"Because we got this really awesome idea for a prank that you can help us with." Jack replied.
Pitch glowered at him, and was just about to refuse, when a pink and yellow bundle ran up beside Jack.
"Fun, fun, fun!" Sophie squealed.
"C'mon, you can't say no to this little face." Jack said with a smirk.
Pitch stared at him with a skeptical glare, before looking down at Sophie with the intent of saying no. Her big green eyes were focused on him, with a large grin on her face. Those eyes were filled with such childlike innocence, unmarred by the brutality of the world, seeming to stare right into his darkened soul-
With a frustrated sigh, he met Jack's smug grin.
"Fine…"
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"Was that great or what?" Jack laughed.
"Did you see them running? I don't think a brick wall coulda stopped them!" Claude guffawed.
"They screamed like little girls!" Caleb added.
The children and two spirits were gathered in the park, most of them laughing, save for Pitch.
"That's what they get for being mean to Sophie." Cupcake stated.
"So I'd say this prank of vengeance was a complete success, right?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, and it went really great thanks to Pitch!" Jamie added.
All eyes turned to the Boogeyman, and he continued examining his nails.
"Honestly, I don't see WHY I was required for this…" he muttered.
"Are you kidding? Your horses freaked them out, and then it got really dark, and then that black sand grabbed them and-"
"Yes, I know what happened, I was the one that caused it."
"Thanks for helping us, you should do something like this again for Halloween!"
"No."
"Aw c'mon, it'd be fun!" Jack said.
"Again, not my area of expertise."
"You looked like you were having a good time pranking those kids to me."
Pitch glared at him in warning, and Jack held his hands up in surrender.
"Just pointing it out…"
"Yes, well, don't; now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for a slumber party on 6th Avenue. They'll be watching the Halloween series tonight…"
Pitch vanished into the shadows of the trees, leaving a smirking Jack and a confused group of children behind.
"So…did we do all that right?" Jamie asked.
"Yeah, I think he had fun, no matter what he says. Plus, it takes care of getting revenge on those guys; no one messes with you or Sophie without any repercussions. Having it happen on the same day works out nice."
Jamie snickered, before taking Sophie's hand.
"We gotta get home. Bye Jack, tell Bunny that Sophie says hi."
"Hop, hop, hop!" the 5 year old blonde cheered.
"I will, see ya kiddo."
The children headed for their houses, and Jack took to the air and headed for his lake.
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