March 8

Despite what one would have first assumed, it wasn't being restrained that annoyed Jack or the fact that he couldn't get free to find out where he was.

In was the fact that he couldn't move.

Pitch knew that, obviously. It was the reason why he had tied all of Jack's limbs to the same spot instead of to each other or to different parts of the room. He knew Jack craved to be able to move above anything, as he was always pacing and fidgeting if he was confined to a room for any measure of time. While restraining him was bad enough, forcing him into a cramped ball to the point where he was unable to move even a few centimeters was worse. If he got out of this, he was going to be really sore tomorrow…

Pitch had already come in a few times. Jack had had his eyes closed twice, since the room wasn't dark and there wasn't any point in keeping them open, so Pitch had assumed he was asleep. Jack hadn't felt the need to enlighten him. The third time, Jack had once again had his eyes closed, but had set a plate with a sandwich and a water bottle down on the ground in front of him. There was no way he would be able to reach it, let alone eat, but that was the point. Jack didn't try, not wanting to give Pitch the satisfaction of watching him fail at it.

The door opened again. Jack was once again resting silently on the ground with his eyes closed. Pitch didn't care this time, walking forward and kicking him. "Wake up, Frost," he snapped. "You're not here to catch up on your beauty sleep."

Jack cracked open one eye. "I've been awake for the last few hours, you idiot. I never said I was asleep."

"Saying you're asleep defeats the purpose."

"How do you know? Did you ask? Maybe if you had I would've told you I was awake. But no, you were rude and left."

Pitch crouched down next to him. He grabbed Jack's head and lowered his voice. "Do you really think I care about whether I'm being rude or not?" he said. He'd never had to raise his voice to sound deadly. When they had gone to school together, Jack had always thought Pitch just sounded that way and would never have actually been able to kill someone in cold blood. He knew differently now.

"It would clash with your style," Jack said. "What do you want?"

"I'm going to hurt you."

"I figured that out for myself."

"In more ways than one."

"Got that, too."

"You'll be screaming and crying by the end."

"I doubt it, but continue."

"And I'm not going to lay a single hand on you to accomplish it."

Jack paused. "Okay, I'll admit I didn't see that coming."

Pitch smirked. "You don't care if I hurt you or not. Your father almost beat you to death and you were more worried about the fact that Aster probably thought you were weak. Aster did have to beat up your dad for you to get him off, after all."

"Ah, good ol' Aster. He's got a hell of a right hook, doesn't he?"

"His left one hurts more."

"You'd know."

Pitch grimaced.

"Anyway, you left of at pain, screaming and crying, no violence."

"Yes. I'm going to break you."

"Without beating the sanity out of me."

"You're running around town in the middle of night pretending to be fairytales. What sanity are you talking about?"

"They call you the Bogeyman, you know."

"Don't mention that again or I'll scrap my plan and beat your brains out."

"Wow, that's a touchy subject."

"I'm serious."

"You have that look to you."

Pitch took a deep breath, trying to steer the conversation back. The worst part was the he knew he was at much fault for it going off the track as Jack was. "As we speak, Ana is ill and Sandy is fighting for his life. I asked some old associates in Harrisville to come help, and one of them shot him. Neither North nor Aster is looking for you right now. Make of that what you will. They are all currently bunkered down at Manny's house, but I don't have any interest in making an attack there. The warehouse has been raided and nothing is left for any of you there."

Jack frowned. "You know about the warehouse?"

Pitch laughed. "Jack, why do you think I've not been doing much this last month? You slacked off and fell into routines. We found out where you lived within a week. The only reason this attack took so long was because we wanted to be sure we would be able to separate all of you."

Jack would have shifted if he had been able to. "Okay, so you've taken three of us out but there's still two left."

"Four. Officer Cook is pretty pissed at me."

"Don't take it personally. She's usually pissed at everyone. She likes me, though."

"I doubt it. Now, Aster has a close relationship with you because arguing with you keeps him from focusing on his dead family."

"That's a grim outlook on things."

"Yes, but I would say it's at least partially true, if not mostly true. The point is that Aster will come after you and that will further separate the group. Once he shows up, I will inform him that you are suicidal."

"That's bull crap he won't believe."

"We'll see. It's true, which makes it all the easier. Anyway, you should hope he does believe it. I would much rather prefer the drama between the two of you to having to resort to violence. I don't like getting my hands dirty if I don't have to. If he doesn't believe me, I'll kill whichever one of you annoys me the most within the next few days, and then I'll use the other to make sure the other three don't give me any more trouble."

"That…sucks. Why fool Aster into believing that?"

"Because I want to make you suffer."

"And you're not beating me up because…?"

"If you hadn't noticed, Aster's got some serious leg strength and I am honestly afraid he would be able to get out of any restraints I put him in. He's rather sneaky, but he's also rather protective of his kin, which seems to include you for whatever reason. I'll threaten him with using the same abuse against you that your father used."

"Wow. You suck. And if he doesn't go for it?"

"Then I suppose I'll beat you both up in front of the other person."

"I think your blows would bounce off my ego."

Pitch smirked. "All smiles and jokes, as usual. Enjoy the feeling. It won't last long."

-.-.-.-

Aster glared at everyone in the room. His place from the floor was getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute, but no one would let him up because they were sure he was going to make a run for it. That might not have been the most outlandish idea, especially considering that that plan was at the forefront of his mind. Right beside it was the outraged thought that North had actually knocked him out. He had believed the man could do it, he just hadn't believed he would do it.

Although he knew it said how steadfast the Russian was standing in his belief that he shouldn't go after Jack for a while, he didn't care. Sandy needed their help too, of course, but none of them would ever forgive themselves if they stayed here and Jack was killed because they were protecting Sandy from a threat that wasn't coming. Pitch didn't have the guts to attack Manny's house. The doctor was extremely well known and respected across town.

The front door opened and Wind came into the living room a moment later. She glanced around, seeing Ana on the couch and North in a chair and frowning for a moment as she noticed Aster on the ground. She looked at his wrist and realized he had been immobilized. Time was wasting and she decided not to ask. "I came on my lunch break. There hasn't been any sign of him and nothing strange is going on at the station," she said. "Any news here?"

"No," Aster snarled. "Hey, if she stays here for her lunch break, that means I can go out an' find Jack, right?"

Wind rolled her eyes. "Right, because me searching the entire town for hours is going to be a total waste of effort while you looking for half an hour is going to help immediately."

Aster shot her a look. "Pitch doesn't care about ya. He'll be pissed enough at me that he'll snatch me off the street if I'm out there."

She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Oh, that's an excellent plan, that really is. Not only can Pitch torture and kill Jack, he can have his closest friend to torture and kill too! I'm sure that won't be like a day to the carnival for him or anything! Just imagine all the different ways he'll be able to use you two against each other. I'm sure he'll be delighted. In fact, he'll be so happy he'll just let you both waltz back home. Is that what you're planning?"

"Sarcasm isn't helpin'. No, if I they grab me, someone can follow Pitch-"

"Didn't you just say that if I stay here for my lunch break, you can go find him? If we're all here, who's following you?"

Aster growled. "Well, I suppose North is, since he seems ta be more capable than ya."

"Stop it, you two," Ana snapped. "This isn't helping. Look, I'm sure there's another way we can find Jack that doesn't involve putting anyone in a dangerous situation."

"Right, because this entire plan of yours has been safe and everyone has always come home without a scratch or a bruise," Wind said, folding her arms. "Yeah. Silly me. All of your plans go through without a hitch. I'm sure Jack will be fine. Let me know when I need to come with body bags to collect you guys."

Ana sighed. "Wind, where have the police looked for Pitch before? Where should we not look?"

"I don't see how that's going to help when you don't have enough people to raid the place."

"The police can-"

"-raid the place, arrest everyone, and find Jack, who's supposed to be dead and will face multiple charges in a criminal court. Oh, and if he's not dead, but the rest of you were supposed to be too, I suppose that means you aren't dead either. That's all well and good, though, so long as you don't care about the kids' image of the fairytales that are protecting them."

Ana rubbed her head. "Okay, I guess we're going to have to find a way to sneak in and grab him, then."

"Yes. Of course. Sneak in where, exactly?"

"That's what I was asking you about earlier!"

"Wind, just give us a straight answer instead 'a bein' so bloody patronizin'!" Aster snapped. "Yer no use like this!"

"You wouldn't be here if it weren't for me," she spat. "I'm beginning to think it would have been smarter to not help you in the first place. I don't know why I ever thought a bunch of teenagers like yourselves could pull this off. Incompetent and immature, and way in over your heads. How much closer are you to stopping Pitch than you were at the beginning? Is he getting weaker? It doesn't seem like it."

"His power hasn't grown at all since we entered the picture," Aster snapped back. "I don't know if you remember, but he had been expanding pretty rapidly before."

"He's not shrinking, though."

"Are ya goin' ta help find Jack or not? All I hear is a bunch 'a whinin'."

"I'm telling you, there is no way to find him," Wind said heavily. "I have looked everywhere and there is no sign of him. I don't know what to do. That's what I've been saying, but you're not listening. There's no way to find him."

Aster yanked his arm, trying to pull the handcuff off again. "Lemme out, Wind! If I get caught, we have a chance of findin' 'im! An' that's more than what we 'ad before."

"No, it's not," Ana said firmly. "Because we're just as likely to lose you, and that's worse than having Jack gone. We can't take that chance, even to get Jack back. I can't stand having two of you missing"

"Ana's right. I'm not allowing anyone else to get put in danger. That includes you," Wind said, leveling a glare at North, who had remained suspiciously silent and had had his head turned to look in the kitchen the entire time. She paused. "Are you okay? North?"

He looked at them. "Hm?"

"You're being really quiet."

"I was just listening to Phil tell Manny where Pitch is."

They stared at him for a moment. Wind strode into the kitchen a moment later and Ana hurried to stand up, moving unsteadily across the floor despite her obvious weakness. Aster floundered on the floor for a moment, unable to follow the rest of them in. He listened impatiently as he heard the conversation continue in the kitchen, surprised tones jumping up every few seconds.

"Hey! Move it in here!" Aster yelled. They became quiet. "Unless you want me dragging the couch in there!"

The group moved into the living room a moment later, silently filing in. The first four were the ones who had already been in the house, but the fifth person was someone he had also seen in the last twenty-four hours. "You!" he yelled, pulling at the handcuff again.

'Phil' jumped as soon as he heard the yell, looking wildly around for Aster. He paused when his gaze fell on the Australian on the floor. That didn't stop him from wincing when he saw Aster's murderous expression. "Um…"

"Manny, he's the one who shot Sandy!" Aster slammed his arm against the ground. "Blasted handcuff…"

"Yes, he was just telling us that," Manny said. "That's why he's telling us where Jack is at."

"I don't believe it," Aster growled.

"Weren't you just searching frantically for any idea of how to find Jack?" Wind mused.

"Shaddup!"

"Look, let's just hear him out first," Ana said. "It won't do any harm. We really don't have any other options."

"He doesn't need ta know that!"

Phil glanced around nervously, gaze flickering between everyone in the room. "Look, I can go… I was going to leave town but I just thought… before I left…"

"It might be our only chance," Ana said. Aster groaned, rubbing his face with one hand. She sat down on the couch, looking like she might have fallen down otherwise, and looked at Phil. "Okay. Can you tell us where he's at?"

Phil nodded. "There's only a few ways to get there because you have to go through some parts of town where it looks suspicious for a bunch of kids to be walking there. It's really weird. We had to find ways to keep people from getting there and to keep it hidden. I can't really describe it; I'll have to walk you there myself if you want to get there without anyone noticing."

"That's only mildly suspicious," Aster muttered from the floor, but Ana kicked him to keep him quiet.

"I promise I'll get you there!"

"I don't doubt it. What worries me is after we get there."

Phil slumped down where he stood, a considerable feat since he had already been pretty slumped over. He still looked like he was ready to bolt at any moment, afraid of everyone in the house. North put a hand on his shoulder, which didn't really help. "You will take us there," North said. He glanced at Aster. "We are wanting our friend back."

-.-.-.-

They set off as soon as the sun had set. Wind got off work and went to Manny's house to stay Ana, Manny, and Sandy while North and Aster went with Phil.

The path to Pitch's base was indeed a strange one. They passed in front of the town hall and by were moving towards the hospital, but then they abruptly went west towards the businesses in the town. Phil had been right. Seeing lots of teenagers going this route would have been very odd. There were enough roads in the town that it seemed like there could have been plenty of different ways they could have taken, but each time, it always seemed like this was the only possible path. They could only stick to the shadows to get to Pitch's base.

It took them an hour to get there from Manny's house, just from the many amount of times they doubled back in the direction they had just gone or went a way that wasn't helpful at all. Phil walked confidently, though, and for all looks and appearances he seemed to know what he was doing. They had yet to see anyone following in their tracks. In fact, no one else seemed to be out on the street. It was odd, being outside this late and not in the neighborhoods like they usually were. They felt bad for not being able to protect the kids tonight, but they had to protect one of their own first. Pitch was probably going to be too busy tonight to go out and do his job anyway.

They arrived at a small building on the outskirts of town. Aster was pretty sure he'd seen it before, but just hadn't ever really stopped to think about what it was used for. Phil had told them along the way that it used to be a lab owned by the Black family. Some of the chemicals they had made were what Pitch used now. Most of the building was underground, having been built to block out as much sound as possible. Some of the experiments had required loud machinery. Aster and North had exchanged unnerved glances at that point. That didn't sound like anything good. Phil had just kept walking, though, and they hadn't wanted to get left behind.

Now, they went their separate ways. Phil scurried away into an alley across the street. They saw him climb up onto the roof, where he could see them to make sure they had gotten out alright. Aster wasn't sure if that gesture was worrisome or not for their benefit but let it slide. North waited while Aster did what any sensible raiding party did.

He rang the doorbell.

The door opened. Onyx glared at him.

Aster pushed past without a word. She rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut behind him. He glanced around, taking in the surprisingly normal looking room. It had probably been made as a reception area for the CDC. "Wow, it actually looks…clean. Didn't see that comin'." There were a few of Pitch's people lounging around the room, but they sat up straight as soon as he entered. They looked more surprised by his entry than anything. One, however, didn't. A smug grin came over his face and a few of his colleagues handed over money. Someone apparently hadn't underestimated the Guardians.

He pushed open the only other door in the room and walked confidently into a hallway. Onyx followed behind him, not even trying to guide him along. She seemed to be more interested in seeing where exactly he planned to go off to without knowing where Jack was. Aster didn't care, figuring that he was farther in, past the outer core. At the end of the hallway was a dead end and a right turn. He took the turn. It only went on a few more meters before leading down a stairwell.

"This is even smaller on the inside than it looked outside," Aster muttered, starting to descend.

Onyx rolled her eyes behind him. "He's not down there, you idiot," she sighed. "You can look, but there aren't even rooms down there. He's up here. You're not walking out with him, though."

He climbed the stairs again just to get into her face. "Oh?" he said, although from his tone he wasn't expecting an answer.

"You're not leaving and Pitch wants to talk to you," Onyx said. "He'll be here in a moment. He was just asking people to secure the perimeter and make sure you didn't just walk out with Jack. That would be awkward."

"Not my problem, though. Where is he?"

"Wait for Pitch. He's bringing Jack." She turned around and pushed a door open. Without looking to see if Aster was following, she walked in. Aster sighed in exasperation, knowing there was really no other choice. He stood outside the door, able to see into what looked to be an interrogation room. To his horror, which he tried to swallow but found himself unable to, he realized there was blood on the floor and in two long smears across the table and wall. It didn't help that Onyx looked a tad bit confused.

Pitch finally walked in a few minutes later. He had blood on his clothes and was clearly in a bad mood, but the eight people behind him were a bigger motivation for Aster to get into the room. He wasn't sure he'd be able to fight off all ten in his wearied state and get Jack out. Meanwhile, Pitch took several calming breaths before starting to speak.

He laced his hands together behind his back. "You were unaware of this, certainly. A while back, Jack almost drowned, and would have had you not saved him with the staff he now carries around."

"Stop beatin' around the-"

"Jack's been suicidal for years."

Aster stopped. He stared at Pitch.

"Bullshit."

"He has."

"Did ya just pull that outta yer ass or somethin'?"

"He's been suicidal, Aster, you just never knew it."

"That's not true."

"You didn't save him from an accident, you saved him from a suicide."

"Shut up!"

Pitch smirked. "I'll go get Jack and let the two of you work out your problems."

"You have problems!"

Pitch walked out. Aster glared as the guys left, ignoring the fact that he wasn't going to be able to do squat. They stared back. It was actually a bit funny because the eight foot tall, buff football players actually seemed intimidated by the look of one tall, lean street fighter who had already taken hits from one fight that day. The humor was pushed aside. The confused look on Onyx about the blood was really getting on his nerves.

The men finally parted as Pitch returned, pulling Jack along. Aster stepped forward quickly only to be forced back by four of the football players. Jack had many bruises already growing on his body, including a split lip and what looked like a broken nose. All of his clothes were blood stained and his arm had a long gash on it. Both of his wrists had bruises on them from a restraint, and one of them still had a handcuff on. He was limping, struggling to keep up with Pitch and trying to dig his heels in. Pitch responded by wrapping one arm around his waist, trying to partially carry him further. Jack thrashed, arms and legs jerking every which way. Pitch let him go almost immediately, dropping him and shoving him into the room.

Jack stumbled back, almost hitting Aster. He caught his balance and looked up, glaring at Pitch. Aster gripped Jack's arm to stop him from going at him, which would have involved getting through five other people first. Aster glared back at Onyx. "Uninjured, huh?"

She still looked confused. "He was supposed to be…?"

Aster frowned, looking at the other two. Jack had started grinning, and Pitch only glared harder at him. Aster's look became confused as well. "I mentioned it," Jack said smugly.

Aster and Onyx stared at him and Pitch blankly. "If you mention that name one more time…" Pitch threatened.

"What? You already said you'd beat my brains out if I called you that, and yet, my brains are still in my head."

"They won't be soon if you keep running that mouth of yours."

Aster tried his very hardest not to start grinning as stupidly as Jack was. It was pretty funny to get Pitch this riled up over what appeared to just be a name. Jack grinned, reaching out to nudge Aster playfully as if to get him to join in. Aster rolled his eyes and started to brush him off, but realized the gesture had also been to get Jack close enough to lean on him. He stayed there, subtly taking some of Jack's weight. He did look like he was about to fall down.

Pitch looked at Aster but spoke to Jack. "As you assumed, he failed to recognize the truth. I guess that makes things a lot worse for both of you."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Stop pretending. You didn't like that idea as much anyway."

"I could entertain both."

Aster frowned. "…What?"

"What?"

"Rephrase that."

"…What?"

Jack bit back a snicker. Aster was still frowning. "The entertaining- nevermind."

Pitch looked confused for a moment before realizing what he meant. "Hell, you dirty-minded-"

"Hey, I'm not the one who said it!"

Unnoticed to them, Onyx was rubbing the bridge of her nose with one hand, exasperated.

Pitch glared. He gestured at one of the football players. They stepped towards the pair. Aster glared, arm raising protectively in front of Jack. The older teenager stopped, glancing back unsurely at Pitch. The "Bogeyman" gave him a level look. The teenager stepped forward again, less than a foot away from the two of them now. Pitch rolled his eyes and motioned towards the four of the others. They tried pulling Aster aside from Jack, but Aster's hand was up a moment later. Two of them jerked back in reflex, enough that he could shove his hand through the gap and grab onto Jack's arm.

Jack winced slightly at the pressure, and the first of Pitch's guys finally got to him. The teenager tried to pull them off further to no avail. He once again looked at Pitch for help.

Pitch sighed in exasperation. "Just handcuff him to the table, you moron."

"Yer not havin' a good day, are ya?" Aster asked, like he actually cared.

Pitch smirked. "I caught you two. That's all that really matters right now."

"Right now, until we cause even more trouble," Jack said. The teenager next to him took his wrist with the handcuff still attached and hooked it to the underside of the table. Aster's grip was growing steadily tighter. The football players looked like they were done trying to separate the two, to Pitch's complete exasperation. He would probably just let this slide because his people were just being so embarrassingly obvious about their fear of Jack and Aster.

Pitch gestured with his hand and the football players left, probably much to his own relief. Aster readjusted his grip, holding onto Jack's wrist instead for convenience's sake. "I am going to use you against your friends," Pitch said. "I don't have to spell it out. This whole 'Guardians' idea will be over within a few days. Jack is obviously not leaving anytime soon unless he wants to try and fit that piece of furniture through multiple doors or out a window, which won't be happening anytime soon. If you try to break off the piece that he is attached to, you will both be separated and will probably never see each other again."

"That's it?" Aster demanded. "We just stay here?"

"You will be able to walk around the entire building, actually."

"Why?"

"Because you won't leave without him. As soon as you left, we would know and would move Jack somewhere." He stepped forward, voice getting quieter. "Jack never feared his father, but you did. You always did, from the moment you realized what was going on. You were very afraid of him. He never was very coherent when he drank, and it would have been all too easy for an accident to happen to Jack. And accidents did happen. How did it feel to walk into your friend's home and find him beaten?"

Aster lunged forward. Jack reached out, grabbing a hold of the back of his arm to stop him before he could get to Pitch. There were too many people who could back Pitch up here.

Pitch smirked. "Calm down, attack dog. You're not needed right now and the master says heel."

"Ya better hope we never get out 'a 'ere," Aster snarled.

"I don't think you will," Pitch replied simply. "Anyway. It's common sense. If you try to break out, run off on your own, tamper with anything we're doing here, or otherwise cause any trouble, you're going to see Jack in that state again real soon. Do you understand me?"

"Lay a 'and on 'im an' ya'll wish ya were never born."

"Aster, you stupid child, I never said I was the one who was going to lay a hand on him. I have eight football players who are all too willingly to beat up defenseless balls and children."

"I'm sorry, did I just get referred to as a-?"

They ignored the very insulted teenager. "That promise extends out ta them too," Aster growled.

"Since when am I defenseless?"

"I thought you'd get this angry. Don't worry, we'll make sure you're in the room to watch."

"I'm sorry, 'child'?"

"Ya know, it doesn't matter if ya follow through with that threat or not. I'll come after ya anyway!"

"Or was I being referred to as the ball?"

"Bunnymund, I seriously doubt you could come after me in your state. Besides, don't you have to get out of here to come after me?"

"I wouldn't count on it if I were ya."

"And isn't a ball defenseless without the adjective being needed anyway?"

"You might want to consider watching your mouth. It'll land your friend here in a lot of trouble if you don't keep it closed."

"What's yer problem wi' Jack, huh? Can't ya beat on someone else for once? Or is it just a fetish wi' 'im in particular?"

Jack wrinkled his nose. "Ew, didn't want to hear that. Thank you, Aster."

"I don't know, but I'm beginning to believe he's a masochist because he kept insulting me when I was already beating him up."

"Hey!"

Onyx sighed. "However entertaining this is, I have things to be doing." She walked out of the room, briefly glancing at the other three. Her voice drifted down the hallway as she moved away. "I expect that you do, too." The remaining three looked at each other, shrugging. She did have a point.

Pitch sighed. "Well, I've got a small empire to expand. Bunnymund, although you surely want to pester us, you may want to consider staying here with your friend." A smirk crossed his face. "He doesn't look too good."

Aster snarled as Pitch left the room, letting the door swing shut behind him. Jack held onto his arm, stopping him from going after him. "Let's figure a way out of here first," Jack murmured. "Spending the entire time arguing with him isn't going to do any good."

Aster paused. "Ya don't want me goin' after 'im."

Jack's eyes flashed in irritation. "I want to see you get him as much as the next guy!" Aster stared at him for a few more seconds before he shifted awkwardly. After another moment, he sagged slightly and blew out a breath, fixing his gaze to a spot on the floor. "I'd rather he lose his temper on you over something else, okay?" He glanced up and smiled slightly. "I'm already going to be holding us back. We don't need two injured."

Aster shook his head, remaining silent for a moment. "How badly are ya hurt? I know yer goin' ta lie, but tell me the important stuff."

Jack smirked slightly at Aster's words. "I don't know. I suppose I've got bruises all over the place, but I don't know for sure if anything's broken. I can walk and move both arms without too much pain, if that helps."

"Okay, so yer fine enough ta run for it if ya get outta here?"

"Yeah." He lowered his voice, the smile fading from his face. "Aster, Pitch has gotten…darker. I don't know when it happened, but he's…he's not the same. One of us here was bad enough, but with two, he can…he can play with our emotions a lot easier now and use us against each other. You have to go."

Aster shook his head. "No, not unless you're wi' me."

"Stop with the hero complex. It's okay, I'll get out later. I promise." He gave him a lopsided smile. "Would I trick you?"

"You always play tricks!"

Jack laughed. "Yeah, I suppose I do. Go on, I'll catch up later."

"That sounds a lot like famous last words."

Jack shrugged, that stupid smile still on his face. The worst part was that he knew it was so cheerful, it seemed like there was no way anything could go wrong. The little bugger knew that. He shoved Aster playfully towards the door with a small laugh. The way he was acting, it really did seem like there was nothing to fear. "Go on," he said with a laugh, "it'll be fine." Aster paused, unsure. Jack tilted his head and grinned. "Don't give me that look. Just get going and I'll see you later."

Aster frowned, the spell suddenly broken. "Jack, hell, don't do that ta me! I know what yer doin'."

Jack frowned back at him. "Just go. Before I kick you out."

Aster laughed and whacked Jack lightly over the head. "Shut up. I'll be back. Stay here."

"Going to go beat up the Bogeyman?"

"Goin' ta make 'im cry."

Jack snickered as Aster walked out of the room. As soon as he was gone, he sighed and sat on the table. His body certainly was going to be different colors tomorrow. He had underestimated it a bit when he had told Aster there would be bruises. It would be fine while they escaped, so long as Aster didn't get himself killed in the next few minutes.

The door opened again. Jack looked up, already expecting it when three of Pitch's people walked in. All of them had just been in there a moment ago, getting bullied around by Aster even when they had the advantage. Jack waved with his free hand. Classic bullies, for them to come in while the bigger bully was away. Too bad for them that they didn't know they still weren't the biggest bullies in the room.

Jack opened his mouth for his first smartass comment of the next two minutes, after which he would make them leave.

He grinned a moment later. They hardly paused, used to seeing him so cheerful now.

That's why they weren't expecting to get slammed over the head and knocked out.

-.-.-.-

Aster always enjoyed a good brawl.

Before the business with the Guardians, he hadn't. However, being boys, immature, and stuck in a warehouse for days with little to do, he, North, and Jack had begun tussling almost every day to the annoyance of Ana and Sandy. It was lucky for them that they had started doing that at the beginning, because what had once been harmless sparring had turned into training that they had sorely needed during fights. As a result, tussling had become a normal thing for them and a random fight was nothing new.

Pitch stepped back, dodging a punch. He ducked underneath another one and stepped forward to throw his knee upwards. Aster turned and the knee barely nicked him. His arm caught Pitch's and shoved him forward, knocking him off balance. Without turning around, Pitch kicked backwards and threw an elbow at him. It caught Aster in the chest, but he returned with a quick jab to make him back off. Pitch stepped forward a moment later, right into another punch. The angle jarred Aster's hand, but he paid no attention to it and punched him again before he could duck it. Pitch took the blow but grabbed his arm, yanking him to the side. Aster kicked him in the ribs to make him let go before permanent damage could be done.

A crowd of Pitch's people were now watching the fight. Aster had certainly attracted enough attention, storming down the hallway yelling obscenities at Pitch. The fear monger had appeared less than a minute later, and the fight had started moments after that. The crowd had begun growing, but it didn't seem like they were rooting for either side. They assumed Pitch would win, but they just wanted to see a good fight in their off time that they weren't involved in. Aster didn't particularly care what they wanted so long as they were paying attention to something other than their jobs. Pitch seemed all too happy to distract the Australian. Aster was well aware that Pitch had sent the football players to the interrogation room to beat on Jack as a warning to Aster about wandering around, but he wasn't worried. Jack could take care of himself.

Aster was also aware about Pitch's odd movements. There weren't many people who would go to all the effort of capturing two people and then letting one wander around the base. The only kind of person who would do that would be someone who wanted to mess with their captive's minds. Sure, Aster was free, but he was going to have to remain in the cage to save his friend. As long as Pitch had control of Jack, there wasn't much Aster could do. It was one big mind game to Pitch, one to make both of them scared. Jack, for instance, was obviously frightened of why Aster had not been attacked by Pitch or any of his guys yet. Aster, on the other hand, would be afraid of doing anything that would cause harm to Jack.

Pitch threw a punch, but it went over Aster's shoulder. He ducked a hit from Aster, but threw a punch as soon as he was up. Aster caught it and twisted the arm so it was palm-up. He slammed it down on his knee. There was a loud noise as the two bones, weakened by the stress Aster had put on them by flipping the arm over, cracked. Pitch hissed in pain and lashed out with his other arm to make Aster back up before he could do more damage. Aster shot a glance over Pitch while he was distracted. North glanced back at him as he walked in. No one paid him any attention as he simply strode past into the building, heading towards Jack's room.

Pitch snarled and lunged forward. Aster ducked his angry hits, moving enough to keep him interested but not enough to make him realize something was wrong. He returned a few of them, but didn't want to overpower Pitch and end up with all of the guys around him piling on top of him. That would be no help. They needed to stay interested for just another few minutes, though.

Just as he was starting to get worried, he saw North walking back down the hallway with Jack beside him. They both waved at him before walking right out the door.

Talk about bad security.

He went back on the offensive, knocking Pitch back with just about every hit. It became obvious within a minute that Pitch was in real trouble. Someone reached out and snagged Aster's arm, long enough to delay one of his punches and allow Pitch to move in. Aster was able to shove him off, but as soon as he started attacking again, three other pairs of hands reached out to grab him. He tried to shake them off but they held on tightly as Pitch rained down a multitude of blows on him. It hurt and he knew he was going to look as bad as Jack tomorrow, but there wasn't much he could do about it. It lasted until the crowd got bored and Pitch decided he'd had enough. The hands finally let go of Aster.

He dropped down onto his knees as the crowd slowly faded away. Pitch crouched down beside him. They were both breathing hard. "Next time, think about your friend and not your pride," Pitch murmured. "I think you'll find that he's in worse shape than you are." He patted Aster on the shoulder and stood up. "You look pretty bad off yourself. You might want to see a doctor. Of course, that would mean leaving, and who knows what would happen to Jack…"

Aster waited a few minutes after Pitch left, just sitting there and getting his breath back. He sighed deeply, as if defeated, and slowly got to his feet, exaggerating his injuries. His limp was horrendously real, although it should have only been half as bad. The air rattled up his throat instead of the usual flow. He gave every sign of being in absolutely horrible condition and being unable to help Jack any longer. He walked out the door and into the night. A few of Pitch's workers snickered, thinking he had given up hope. For the next twenty minutes, this would be a huge morale booster for Pitch. That is, until they realized they had misplaced someone.

He caught up with Jack and North a few blocks later. They were sitting on the curb, waiting. He assumed at first that they were waiting for him and stood behind them, waiting for them to start walking. North smiled at him and gestured for him to sit down. "Sit! We are waiting for Manny. Phil ran off to get him as soon as I went in."

"Phil?" Jack asked.

"We'll tell ya later."

"That was the plan the whole time? Where's Sandy? Is he okay? Are you okay? I mean, take a look in the mirror the next time you have the chance-"

"Jack, calm down," North said. "You will do no good panicking. We can answer questions later, but it is not worth taking risk when there may be some of Pitch's people around."

Jack nodded grudgingly. "Fine. Aster, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look like it."

"Some 'a Pitch's guys started helpin' after ya left."

"That's bad luck," Jack murmured.

"Nah, I pissed 'em off on purpose an' made my limp look worse than it is. Now they think I'm goin' ta the hospital an' not just leavin' ya wi'out good cause."

"Oh, so I should've said 'That's stupid' instead."

"Shaddup, yer outta there."

Jack pointed further down the road. "Headlights. Think it's Manny?"

"Let's back inta the alley in case it's not." Aster got to his feet and grabbed Jack's arm. North grabbed the other side and they pulled him up together to retreat into the ally. The car passed by. "Even if it was them an' they couldn't see us, they'll come by this spot again an' we can come out. …Jack?" he said as Jack suddenly wobbled. He and North both yelped as Jack suddenly dropped out of their hands and hit the ground.

-.-.-.-

a/n: Did anyone notice that Wind searched for hours and couldn't find him, but could find his staff? It's almost like she couldn't find him unless he had it…kind of like the movie…or like another piece of symbolism.

Phil was not supposed to represent Phil the Yeti. You'll see.