Don't kill me, I know this is long overdue! But I had some hard times trying to figure out how to end this! I think you'll enjoy it, and there's a special cameo for all you Disney fans in this chapter in reward for waiting this long! So without further adue, I give you the final chapter of the Old vs. New Arc!

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Bloody Bones was slicing at the dying willow tree with two long bones sharpened to a point, making crisscrossed lines in the bark, when a screech sounded. He turned around as two banshees flew in, dropping Piper before him.

"Ah, Piper, there you are. I was getting worried when you didn't return on time." Bones said, sheathing his bone swords.

"So, a little banshee told me you were with the Guardians," he stated, before grabbing Piper's shirt and lifting him off the ground, "Care to explain?"

His narrowed red eyes sent a chill up Piper's spine, and he hesitated a bit before answering.

"Th-they caught me and…I had to tell them everything…"

"You had to?"

"W-well…they had the Boogeyman with them and-"

He was slammed into the tree, and Bones was in his face, snarling. Only his face had drastically changed; it was now covered in blood red streaks, his teeth were now as sharp as knives, and his eyes had vanished, replaced with black pits that had a glowing red dot in their center.

"I AM THE BOOGEYMAN! NOT THAT CHEAP, GOTHIC WANNABE! I WAS THE ORIGINAL, AND I REFUSE TO BE USURPED AGAIN BY HIM OR THE FLOATING LUNAR INTERLOPER! UNDERSTAND?!"

Piper nodded furiously, his wide eyes staring into the red pupils fearfully.

"Good…" Bones hissed, his face returning to normal.

"I assume you led them here, so at least that makes things a little easier. Oh, I have to prepare; if that knock-off's with them, I gotta make sure our final confrontation is a dramatic one that they'll remember for centuries!"

He tossed Piper back to the banshees, who took hold of his arms again.

"Put him with the winter brat, I'll deal with him later." He ordered.

The banshees screeched in affirmation, and took to the air again. Bones watched them fly off, before smirking up at the moon.

"Thought you could get rid of me back then, didn't you? Thought you could replace me with some stupid horror movie reject; well, I'll be happy to prove you wrong when I slice that shadow sneaking blighter to bits!"

He pulled out his blades again and sliced at the tree, cutting all the way through it like butter. The willow gave a moan, before slowly falling to the ground with an earthshaking thud.

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Jack moaned as he came to, hand going to his throbbing head.

'What happened…?' he thought as he looked around.

It was dark all around, but he could make out the cage he was in…a cage of bones. He stared at the walls and floor uneasily, but paused when he heard whimpering. He peered through the bars, and spotted another cage with several children ranging from 6 to 14 years of age.

"Hey, you kids alright?"

Only a few of them glanced up at him, the others didn't appear to hear him. One child with brown curls and bright blue eyes met his own.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked quietly.

She nodded silently.

"Don't worry, help's coming. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman are gonna find us and take you guys home, alright? Oh, wait, I forgot about Pitch; he's the Boogeyman."

The girl's eyes widened, and she shook her head violently.

"N-no, don't bring him!" she stammered. Most of the other children were curled in trembling balls and didn't look up at her sudden shout.

Jack frowned for a minute.

"Don't worry, he's gonna help you."

"He's the one that brought us here."

Jack's frown deepened with confusion.

'What're they talking about? Bloody Bones kidnapped them, but he's not the Boogeyman…Pitch is, isn't he?'

He shook his head slightly, before offering a smile.

"Well, Pitch is a completely different guy; he'll help you. So, what's your name kid?"

"W-Wendy Michaels…"

"That's a nice name; I'm Jack Frost."

Wendy smiled, but seconds later it faded at the sound of screeching. Two banshees flew into the dark room they were in, and the children whimpered at the sound. Jack could see a thin figure dangling between the two creatures as they approached a small empty cage. They opened the door, and tossed the figure inside, before flying back out of the hole they'd arrived through.

There was a jingling noise, and Jack could just make out a jester's hat in the gloom.

"Piper?" he called.

The Piper flinched, and lifted his head.

"J-Jack…"

"So what brings you here, huh?"

"I-I know you're angry…but I really didn't want to help him…"

"Then why DID you?"

"It wasn't by choice okay? I wanted to fight him, I tried, but there's only so much I can do with a bloody flute! A horde of rats and birds weren't exactly the best fighters against an army of banshees!"

Jack studied him for a moment as he rested his chin on his arms, and let out a sigh.

"The banshees took them out in a heartbeat; they grabbed me before I could get away. Bones said I could either help him, or..."

"But he can't kill you, or any of us, right?"

"He could, but he won't...and now that I led the Guardians here...h-he's gonna hurt me so bad..."

Piper curled into a trembling ball, while Jack perked up at the mention of the Guardians.

"They're here? Well then, don't worry, they'll find us and get everyone outta here."

Piper peered up at him, and Jack offered an encoraging smile, before it fell into a questioning frown.

"I do have a question, though; the kids here said the Boogeyman brought them here, but...Pitch is the Boogeyman, not Bones...isn't he?"

"He is now, but a long time ago Bones was the Boogeyman. He did...things, horrible things to kids when they stopped believing in him...Man in the Moon sealed him away, and Pitch showed up and took the mantle. Now that he's back though...Bones...wasn't happy that he got replaced, so he's planning to...somehow he's gonna..."

Jack stared at him in shock.

"He's...gonna kill Pitch Black..." Piper continued.

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"So, Plan B, mates?" Bunny asked.

"Do we even have a plan B?" Pitch asked.

"Of course we have plan B...what is plan B, Sandy?" North asked, turning to the Sandman.

Sandy froze for a moment, before shrugging helplessly. Pitch sighed, rolling his eyes as he rubbed his forehead.

"Honestly, I can't believe I lost to you lot..."

"Anyway, I still say we just bust in and beat the marrow out of that Bones character!" Bunny stated.

"Gate is locked; it will take time to-" North started.

Suddenly, Pitch summoned his scythe and swung at the chained gate. The chains and padlock fell off, and hit the ground with a soft thunk.

"There, problem solved." he stated, before strolling in casually.

The Guardians watched him go for a moment, glanced at each other, before following him into the fog. They walked for what seemed like hours, before Bunny finally exclaimed,

"What's with this bloody fog?! Even for London this is extreme!"

"It makes for a dramatic backdrop, don't you agree?" a new voice asked.

The group came to an immediate halt, looking around for the speaker, and found him perched atop a tombstone.

"Greetings Guardians, you're looking well," Bones stated, grinning, before looking at Pitch, and it dropped into a disgusted frown, "Ugh, you brought the wannabe..."

Pitch returned it with a sardonic grin that was more bared teeth than anything.

"This coming from the has-been."

Boneslet out a growl, his face flickering to his other form for a moment, before turning back. Pitch raised an invisible brow.

"Oh, the scary face; was that supposed to be your special ability back then? No wonder people stopped believing in you..."

This time Bones' face changed completely, and he lunged off the tomb while pulling one of his swords out.

"SHUT UP YA CHEAP LOOKING KNOCK-OFF!" he shouted, slicing at Pitch.

The current Boogeyman blocked it swiftly and easily with his scythe, and he knocked Bones off his feet, quickly pinning him down with his foot on his chest, and the blade of the scythe inches from his neck.

"Why don't the rest of you Guardians find Frost and the brats; I have everything under control..." Pitch said with a smirk.

"Uh, no offense, Pitch, but do ya think you can handle him on yer own?" Bunny asked.

Pitch let out a soft laugh, and glanced at them over his shoulder.

"Now rabbit, what ever made you think I was alone?"

Eerie neighing filled the air, and nightmares materialized from the fog, surrounding Pitch and Bones. Bones gave a wry smirk as he glanced at the black sand horses.

"Oh goodie, you brought your ponies," he laughed, "I can't wait to see them get ripped apart."

Familiar screeching sounded, and several banshees appeared around them. Pitch met his smirk, before glancing at the Guardians again.

"Are you quite sure you wish to stick around?"

"Good luck!" Bunny replied, before quickly turning and racing off.

North was quick to follow, but Sandy was hesitant to leave. He glanced at Pitch for a moment, worry clearly showing in his eyes, before slowly following the others. Pitch returned his attention to Bones, and quickly jumped away when one of the banshees flew at him. Bones got to his feet, fixing his suit, and the duo sized each other up.

"So, where'd you get the flying sheets?" Pitch asked.

"Oh, a few tortured souls I came across here and there around the world."

Pitch snickered, before all humor left both of them. The nightmares and banshees hissed and screeched at one another, awaiting the first order from their respective masters. After a few minutes, they both spoke it in unison.

"Attack."

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"Okay, try using your flute magic on some of those rats and see if they'll bring us the keys!" Jack ordered.

Piper nodded with a sigh; they'd been at this for the last ten minutes, trying to hypnotize the nearby animals that were in the underground cavern, but they seemed immune. Piper wasn't too surprised, Bones wouldn't be stupid enough to give him any chance to escape. That was why he'd left Jack's staff behind when he took him.

The air was filled with the hypnotic music of the flute, but other than looking up with beady red eyes, the rats didn't respond.

"I told you, Bones made sure no one could get out of here, including me..."

Jack sighed as he leaned back against the cage wall; it was weird not having his staff. He felt naked without it.

"So we're just supposed to sit here and wait for rescue? That's not my style."

Piper rolled his eyes.

"Well that's about all we can do; Neither of us have the means to escape. And it'll take a while for the Guardians to find us, if Bones hasn't taken them out already-"

An explosion cut him off, and the children let out shrieks. Jack and Piper glanced in the direction of the explosion, and saw three figures.

"Guys? Hey, North, Bunny, Sandy, we're up here!" Jack called.

The Guardians glanced up at him, and relief flashed through their eyes.

"Jack, you are alright!" North exclaimed.

"I'm fine; hey look I found the kids!"

The trio shook their heads, and started opening the cages. Bunny freed Jack and Piper, and handed Jack his staff.

"Lose somethin'?" he asked with a smirk.

Jack returned it as he took the wooden stick.

"Har har; where're Tooth and Pitch?"

"Tooth's takin' care of a few kids that almost got kidnapped earlier, and Pitch is dealing' with Bones."

"Alone?"

"Well, he's got his horse army with him, so I don't know if I'd say alone-"

"We need to get back to him; now!"

"Why, Jack whatsa matter?" Bunny asked as Jack to the air.

"That Bones guy is gonna take him down!"

"Jack, Pitch is capable of handling Bones, I am sure." North stated.

Piper suddenly chimed in.

"No, you don't understand; he's been planning this for months. He started taking kids to gain a little power, but he mostly did it so their fear would attract him. He's got a trap ready, and Pitch just fell right into it."

The Guardians seemed confused, and Jack took to the air.

"Well I'm going to find him, you guys take care of the kids."

The other spirits nodded, but Sandy held up his hand, his sand forming images.

"I'm going with you."

Jack nodded, and they both flew off as the others got to work freeing the children, who were murmuring excitedly as they stared at the Guardians in awe.

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The graveyard looked like Pandora had opened her cursed box nearby. Banshees and nightmares were screeching at each other, biting, tearing, clawing, and kicking. Tombs were either knocked over or shattered.

Bones, with both swords out and his skull still terrifying, stalked among the still standing tombstones, eyes peeled for any movement.

"Get out of your lousy shadows and fight me like a man!" he shouted.

He sensed something behind him, and whipped around in time to block a slice from Pitch's scythe. Yellow eyes met red, and Pitch smirked as he pressed down harder on his weapon.

"You can't win, Tommy, just surrender and I can avoid killing you."

Bones glowered at him, before smirking.

"Before you do that, can you step back a couple inches?"

Pitch frowned in confusion, before a banshee suddenly sprung out of the ground and grabbed his ankle. Bones took advantage of the distraction, got to his feet, and threw a kick that knocked the Boogeyman off his feet. He quickly pounced before he could get back up, and pinned Pitch down with his foot on his throat, and Bones gripped one sword in both hands.

"I'm not going back to being nothing but a distant memory! There's only room for one Boogeyman in this world, and it's not gonna be you!"

Pitch only snarled in response as he tried to pry the foot off his neck. His nightmares screeched as they tried to approach, but the banshees kept them at bay. As an immortal, one would think he couldn't be killed; but that only applied to a certain point. If an immortal were injured badly enough, they would die. He'd always assumed that was some final act of mercy on Man in the Moon's part.

Well, if he was going down, he would ensure his pride remained until the end.

Bones thrust the sword down, and time seemed to slow for a moment; the tip was inches for his nose, when a stream of gold suddenly wrapped around Bones' wrists and yanked him back. With the pressure on his neck gone, Pitch swiftly got to his feet and readied his scythe for any attacks. Bones had been flung into a nearby tree, and Jack and Sandy landed beside Pitch while keeping their weapons aimed at the former Boogeyman.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

"Fine..." Pitch muttered, rubbing his neck with a slightly pained expression.

Bones climbed to his feet, and seemed a little surprised at seeing Jack.

"You?! How'd you get out?!"

"Your secret underground dungeon isn't so secret anymore." Sandy replied through his sand.

Bones glowered at the trio as he gripped his swords in hand. Jack raised an eyebrow at the sight of his altered skull.

"Uhh, what's with the monster make-up?"

"It's supposed to be his gimmick, though I don't see what's so scary about it." Pitch replied, examining his nails.

Bones growled, and lunged forward. The trio jumped out of the way, and Jack shot a blast of ice at him, freezing his foot to the ground. Sandy and Pitch attempted to close in, but a new wave of banshees blocked their way while Bones freed himself. He sent the banshees forward, and more joined in the brawl. Their numbers were countered by nightmares, and the two sand weilders made quick work of any that approached them. Jack however, was having a tougher time on his own. He was relieved when the familiar blurs of boomerangs suddenly struck two of the monsters in front of him.

"Need a hand?" Bunny asked, appearing out of a hoe beside him.

Jack smirked, before shooting more ice at the creatures.

"Where's North?"

"He and Piper are keepin the kids safe until we can get em back home."

"Alright then, I have a few complaints file about my visit. Care to help?"

"It would be my pleasure; CHARGE!"

He and Jack rushed into the oncoming horde, and ice and boomerangs flew along side golden whips and black waves of sand. Nightmares and banshees collided, and the brawl raged on. Bones meanwhile, had retreated to an overlooking hill, where the felled willow rested. His skull had returned to its plain white state as he watched the battle with narrowed eyes.

He had no leverage now, and he couldn't take on all of the Guardians and Pitch together, much as he hated to admit it. He'd have to flee for now.

"Another day, Black, another day..." he muttered, turning away.

He froze upon seeing Tooth and a group of her fairies hovering in front of him, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"Hi, remember me?" she asked, a faux sweet lilt in her voice.

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The three Guardians, Pitch, and the nightmares had managed to surround the banshees, and with their combined attacks, reduced them to a large pile of dust. Things were silent for a moment as they panted, before Pitch perked up and looked around.

"Where's Bones?" he asked.

The other spirits looked around for the former Boogeyman, but saw no sign of him. Then, a loud yelp caught their attention, and seconds later, Bones hit the ground before them. He let out a moan, lifting his skull slightly, before dropping it back to the ground. Tooth and her fairies approached them, shaking her hand a little, and looked up at the group.

"Sorry I'm late boys; his teeth are a lot harder to knock out."

Most of them laughed, but Pitch eyed her wearily as he moved back a little. Tooth shrugged, before her eyes fell on Jack.

"Jack, you're okay!" she exclaimed, flying over and trapping him in a hug. Baby Tooth landed on his head, squeaking happily, while the other minis hovered beside him, chirping excitedly.

"Um, yep, great...Tooth, ok Tooth I need air...!" Jack gasped as he attempted to move away.

"Oh, sorry! I was just so worried; well, we were all worried of course." Tooth said as she released him. Jack gulped down air while the rest of te present party shared a knowing look, before Pitch cleared his throat.

"If you're done with your sickening displays of affection; what do we do with the bonehead?"

"I...don't know. It's not like we can seal him away, none of us have that kind of power-" Tooth started.

She stopped when she noticed the fog had started fading. Bright light filtered through, and they all looked up at the source; the Moon. The rays of light fell on the unconscious Bloody Bones, and he stirred slightly. His eyes opened a little, but all he saw was blinding silver light.

'No...NO NO NO, YOU CAN'T DO THIS, YOU CAN'T...DO...THiiiiss...'

The light became too bright for the Guardians to handle, and they looked away while covering their eyes. As the light grew brighter still, for a moment, they all they heard a shout.

"NOOOOOooooo..."

It faded, as did the light, and they were able to see again. Bones was gone; in his place was a cracked skull, but it soon crumbled to dust, which was then blown away. Everyone was silent for a long while, until Pitch spoke up.

"I suppose that's that...well I'm leaving then."

He turned away, and started towards the gate that lead into the graveyard. The Guardians watched him for a moment, before slowly following.

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Piper and the Guardians had returned to town, and gotten all the kids back to their rightful homes. Now, they were all on the roof that North had landed his sleigh, overlooking the city. Sandy had put all the children to sleep, and Piper had performed a special tune that would wipe these events from the minds of the children and the parents; it would be nothing but a bad dream to them.

"I'm...sorry. For everything..." Piper mumbled.

"Don't be sorry, Piper, it wasn't your fault." Tooth stated, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"She is right, and it was very brave of you to help us fight Bones." North added.

Piper glanced at tem, before looking up at Jack. The snow sprite nodded with a smile, and Piper slowly smiled himself.

"Thanks guys...so, I guess we don't have to worry about Bones anymore, then, huh?"

"Yeah, guess so...whatever Manny did, it got rid of Bones."

Piper nodded, before standing.

"Well, we all have jobs to get back to; I've got spirits to lead into the light, so I'll see you again sometime, right?"

The Guardians nodded, and Piper grinned, before playing a short tune on the flute. Seconds later, a large flock of white birds approached, and Piper jumped onto them.

"Bye!" he said with a wave, before playing a longer melody, and the flock lifted higher into the air. The song of the flute faded into the night as they flew into the distance, and the Guardians soon lost sight of him.

"Okie doke, so," Jack sighed, flopping into the seat of the sleigh, "Case closed, kids rescued, bad guy beaten; I'd say mission accomplished. Can we leave now?"

The other Guardians laughed, before they all climbed in; except for Pitch.

"Hey Pitch, you comin or what?" Jack asked.

"I've already suffered one ride in that thing; I'll happily take my nightmare, thank you." Pitch replied as he mounted his main nightmare.

"Aw come on, Pitch, give your pony a rest after tonight."

Pitch's eyes narrowed furiously.

"They are NOT ponies, they're- forget it, just forget it! I've had enough of you lot for one evening!" he hissed, massaging his forehead. The nightmare hissed at Jack, before taking to the air, and they vanished into the night. The Guardians glanced at each other with smirks, before North geared the reindeer into action, and they headed for the Pole.

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It's done, it's finally done! I've been writing and re-writing this chapter dozens of times!

Well, looks like Bloody Bones won't be making a comeback...I'm sure Manny didn't enjoy doing that...

So that's it for this arc, leave your reviews in the box below!