The Rule of the Spirit Kingdom

In the animal kingdom, the rule is, eat or be eaten; in the human kingdom, define or be defined.

-Thomas Szasz

Head Into Darkness of Space

Three Americans left the earth today on man's first voyage into deep space - destination moon. Sunday News 1968

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"Hello, Jack."

Pitch barely dodged a spike of ice the white-haired boy threw at him in response.

That had been to be expected.

Still, Jack Frost was the guardian he could talk the easiest to, so he was the first on his list.

"What are you doing here? How did you come back?!"

He sighed theatrically.

"There you try doing something good for once, and this is how you're treated. But you would know, wouldn't you, Jack?"

This time, the ice singed his hair.  Looked like someone got better during his... time-out. But then again, he'd learned many interesting things because of it, so he wouldn't hold a grudge.

Not much, at least.

"What are you talking about? ...No, don't tell me. I don't care. Just get out of here or I'll make you."

"I'm so scaaared," he mocked, covering his mouth with his hands.

"Oh wait, I'm not."

"Just like you weren't the last time you showed up?"

The boy had the audacity to smirk. Like he had always been with the guardians, like he hadn't been tossed aside and ignored for centuries.

It made Pitch want to ignore everything the darkness had shown him and leave those arrogant usurpers to their fate.

Unfortunately, doing so meant he'd have to share it.

"You think you know fear, boy?

You think a few centuries of existential crisis mean you've experienced footsteps of dread following you, primal panic leaving no place for rational thought or the dark abyss of hopelessness and despair?"

Pitch leaned forward, almost touching the curved end of the staff the guardian had raised defensively.

His gold eyes bore into Jack's light blue ones.

"You know nothing of fear, Jack Frost," he whispered, almost gently.

Then, slowly, his mouth stretched into a grin full of grey teeth.

Jack stared at him like he'd been hypnotized. His words tended to have that effect.

But he'd wasted too much time, had gotten distracted.

Seemed like the note on the article would need to be enough.

"But soon, you will."

Jack took a step back and tightened his grip on the staff.

"And who'll teach me? You?"

"Oh no, not me."

He broke out into a grin.

"Didn't you notice, Jack? That the man in the moon gave up on us?"

Then he disappeared in a whirl of black smoke.

A newspaper page with something scribbled on it floated where he'd stood.

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