Arnold smirked, "You're pretty cocky. Just like a warrior should be. What is your name?"

"The vampires call me Crow." I saw his hair rise as I said that.

The giant trash panda scowled, "I'm going to kill you." He started to circle me, rage barely kept in check.

Swinging my sock laden with silver coins, I kept my chest towards him. "I didn't come to fight, I have been telling you that from the start. I just want to ask a few things, maybe even help you guys work it out?" Arnold lunged as soon as I finished.

"We talk with our fists!" He shouted the most generic line I ever heard.

The trash panda had me beat when it came to strength and charging in a straight line. But, if there was one thing I learned from all the previous guardians, it was how to turn a disadvantage like that into an advantage. Every monster had its weakness. I didn't just spend a year reliving the death of everyone before me. Generations of combat experience were ingrained into my syrup-filled veins.

Everything about his charge was taken in, his gait, how his eyes were boring into my buttons. All of it told me that Arnold was going for a straight-up tackle followed by a maul. The lilt of his head, how he got on his hind legs in the last few seconds, all of his weight going into his broad shoulder. My mind just thinking of every possible way to deal with this.

What mattered was that I had to reach him. This entire time, Arnold was screaming at me. He wanted me to see him as a warrior, to fight him in a proper battle. Deep inside, he was hurting. I adjusted my stance, ready to take on his tackle. I felt his weight and adjusted it in a way that only my body could. Fingers grew along my forearm, threads of corn silk erupting from my chest as he was surprised. Every bit of force redirected upward as he yelped in surprise.

Arnold landed behind me with a thud and the sound of breaking bone. He was a werecoon, his healing would fix it soon enough. "What the fuck was that!?" He rolled onto his side, demanding an answer.

I looked right at him, "This is how I fight, bud. You wanted a battle, so I will give you my best." I pressed against my neck, sad that I couldn't even crack it. My body was far too limber for the little things. "If you don't come at me with everything, then our battle is already over."

The sickening snap of bone being put back into place could be heard. "You're finally getting serious?" He half snarled, half grinned. A fire lit in him, "I am the guardian of this scrapyard! A proud member of the iron-blood tribe! I will not falter!"

Just like that, bud. I thought silently to myself, as he rushed at me. His claws caught the blue light of the moon, as he swung them. I bobbed and weaved, dancing in and out, from one strike to the next. My limbs rustled from the power of each strike, the rocks I took in clacking together. Arnold was full of openings, I hit each one with my sock full of coins. The jingle and burning pain distracted the huge guy.

Because of the silver, the small damage I was able to deal managed to stick. Minutes passed, as Arnold became more sluggish with each swipe. My sock was tearing, but those coins made great knuckle dusters. My opponent broke off first to catch his breath. I pursued as he became more defensive. Blow after blow, his skin sizzling with each strike.

Arnold fell back after tripping over a bumper that was jutting out from one of the piles. He landed a good kick to my chest, launching me back to the center of our little arena. He was panting, as I dusted myself off. I didn't have any organs to worry about, and any damage done was easily fixed. "How the fuck are you doing that?" He managed to get out between ragged breaths.

"My body changes near instantly if I keep it simple. A few inches isn't much, but it makes a lot of difference in a fight like this. I took out three vampires just by knowing how they were going to attack me. If you catch me I'm pretty much fucked, but because I know that I have a way to get around it."

The giant sat up, having caught his breath a little. He was grinning cheerfully, "That's amazing! If I hadn't tripped, you'd have kept going, right?" I gave him a nod as he got on his feet and lumbered towards me. "Are you still holding back?" He cocked his head.

"You're an honorable warrior, it'd be a shame if you died here." My words made him stop, as I continued. "I didn't come here to fight or hurt anyone. I just wanted to ask a few questions."

"But, I was going to tear you apart." He replied quietly.

"This is the place you have to defend, it makes sense." I shrugged, breaking my stance. "I don't know anything about the werefolk, or why you guys are fighting vampires. I don't know much about vampires either, and frankly, there are bigger scarier things out there. If everyone keeps fighting each other, what will happen when they come again?"

"What do you mean? I'm not the one to talk to about this kind of stuff. I'm not smart, I don't have power in the tribe." He shook his head, "I just like fighting."

I started to say something, when I heard the revving of motorcycles. I hoped it was a trio of bikers, but deep down I knew. "How much trouble will you be in, if vampires steal from here?"

Arnold's eyes went wide, then he looked down. "A lot, I won't let them take anything!" He roared up at the sky.

Joe landed on my shoulder, "They'll be here in a few minutes, what's the plan?"

The little trash panda stumbled behind Arnold, whispering something to him. It was clear the two of them were tired, it was their fault for fighting us instead of talking. Rubbing the back of my head, I sighed, "We'll talk to the vampires coming here." I looked at Arnold, waiting until he gave me his attention. "Do you know how much any of this stuff is worth? If you trade, you won't get in trouble right?"

It took a few seconds, but he slowly nodded. "Susy knows the prices, she says we have to charge more because it's after hours and they are buttmunches. Her words, not mine." Susy climbed onto his shoulder, and I couldn't even tell that she was a girl. Eh, whatever, it didn't matter.

"Got it, I'll do the talking. Joe, make sure they don't steal anything. This here, this is an opportunity! Arnold, don't you dare fight them. Whoever throws the first punch is the one I'm going to fight. You'll lose, and Susy might get hurt. Got it?"

Arnold nodded, "Yeah, Susy says she's fine with it. I won't fight them unless they steal." He walked over to one of the piles and plopped down to sulk. I saw the headlights of the motorcycles, as they came towards the gate. Bill, Joe, and Bob rushed in with shotguns. They looked around, confused to see me standing there with a sullen-looking Arnold.

I raised my palm and hook towards them. "Everything's under control. That said, I hope you guys brought money. I told Logan not to send anyone here."

Bill walked over, while the other two kept an eye on Arnold. "Well, he was worried. What happened here? Why is there a sock on your hook?"

"Nothing crazy, just some negotiating. Though, with you here, we can talk about things. By the way, if you guys start picking a fight, I will side with Arnold here."

He smirked, "His name's Arnold?" Bill almost laughed. "C'mon Crow, it seems like you knocked the guy out of commission. Why should we pay the Coons?"

"Because it's the right thing to do." I crossed my arms.

"Crow," he leveled his gaze at me, "These coons killed Logan's daughter. They've been attacking us for a while now. You can't just force us to get along."

"We didn't attack you guys." Arnold suddenly said. "We were just here minding our business when you guys suddenly attacked us."

Bill glared at him, "Like hell!" He took a few steps towards Arnold, stopping when I put a hand on his chest. "You fucks raided the highway coming into town! You're lying!" It seems Logan wasn't the only one that lost someone during that night.

Arnold shook his head, "I'd have heard about it. The highway isn't our territory." Susy whispered something to him, "Susy said that we probably all look the same to you guys."

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If it wasn't for the size difference, I wouldn't be able to tell the two apart. Not that I was going to say that. Bill chewed his cheek, "You all know each other. It's obvious you'd side with your own kind."

Crossing his arms, Arnold snorted. "The Iron-Blood tribe cares about strength above all. We would have no reason to defend cowards that would ambush people on the highway. A lot of tribes in the city get kicked out and make their way here. We thrash them and force them off. If they can best us, then our fate is up to them." He nodded to himself, clearly happy at having remembered all of that.

"Sorry to interrupt, but it seems we might need the leaders to hash this out. I think we can all see that the entire feud is a misunderstanding. This is why talking is important."

Bill grit his teeth, "Fuckers could be lying."

I looked at him, "Maybe, but it's not for you to decide if he is. Besides, I fought Arnold, he wouldn't lie. Sure, he could repeat a lie Susy told him, I don't know about her, but he wouldn't lie. Right, Arnold?" I looked at the man himself.

"Lying is something cowards do. I am not a coward." Arnold stated firmly.

"Thanks, bud. As you three can see, there's a way to help everyone out. I'm not saying it'll happen overnight, but we need to take the first steps here and now. We're going to buy what we need from the scrapyard, and if we don't have the money we'll get some and buy it later."

"That depends on whether or not they plan on gouging the price. I know what it should cost. I won't pay more than I have to!" He glared at the two.

I pulled him in close, "Bill, listen. If what Arnold says is true, then the family fucked up. Paying more now will go a long way to fixing the bad blood here. As you guys get closer, you'll probably get discounts for being repeat customers. Stop making this difficult." I whispered to him.

Bill broke free with a grumble, "Fine, we'll look around." He took Bob and Joe with him.

Joe (the crow) landed on my shoulder, "Want me to watch them?"

"Yes, please." He flew off, as I walked over to Arnold and offered him a hand. He took it, pulling me down as he got up. "I don't expect things to change overnight, but if the two of you guys work together we might be able to protect this town."

Arnold looked down at me, "What did you fight that has you so worried?"

I held out my hook, "Something that can eat a part of another's soul. It took out a few vampires the other night, and well desperate times make people do terrible things. I know that monster will come back and I don't think you guys would do much better. She got flattened by a steel beam and shrugged it off like it was nothing."

"Sounds like something worth fighting!" He laughed, hitting my shoulder hard enough to make me go face-first into the ground. "Uh... are you okay?"

I got up, dusted myself off, then nodded. "Yep." I looked at the small trash panda on Arnold's shoulder. "So, Susy. Are you okay with waiting until they bring everything up to tell them how much it's worth? Joe's crew is watching to make sure they don't steal. Though I don't think they would, pride and all that."

Susy moved behind Arnold's head. He laughed, "She doesn't like talking to guys. I'm her cousin, so I get a pass." He smirked, "She said that's fine tho."

Nodding, I just walked and sat down on one of the tetanus piles. Opening the sock, I took a look at the coins I found. Why would there be so many in the scrapyard? They'd pick it out and put them somewhere else. I didn't have the time to question it earlier, but now I could. I saw an ear of corn on the back, and it read just like all the other coins. I swear I saw a leaf move to wave at me.

Corn was watching me, he had these coins appear somehow. I sighed, looking back at Arnold, "So I found these coins in the scrapyard. Does that make them yours?"

He tilted his head, "Normally, it would, but you bested me. Consider it a token of a good honest fight." He smiled to himself. I looked back to see the leaves were folded in a cross manner. Smirking myself I took them inside my forearms while the others handled everything. It took hours, as the vampire boys made a pile in the center of the scrapyard.

They talked prices, and put some pieces back, while Bill made a call. Arnold was clearly bored out of his mind as he had to relay everything Susy said. I helped the boys load up, and headed to the home I had when I was still human. I needed to go to the pub for a new phone later, but right now I just wanted to make sure everything was fine with mom and dad.

I rode my bike to the edge of the neighborhood, then walked home. The night was still young, I peeked through the window to see mom talking to a strange man. Confused and a little hurt, I snuck inside through the window of my room. I was missing a few posters, my computer was off, and there were two photos on my desk. One with mom and that strange guy, the other with my dad and a strange woman.

Memories, that weren't mine, hit me. How my parents divorced and remarried. A life that wasn't mine, flashing before me. That burning in my chest, as I realized I couldn't protect them. They weren't my parents anymore. I hung my head, taking a slow breath to steady myself. I felt sick, in a way I never felt before. I tried to place the photo back, only to knock it over with an audible breaking sound. Glass shattered, as I heard the chairs in the kitchen move.

Stumbling towards the window, I fell out. I had meant to close it, I just wanted to make sure they were alright. Hitting the ground with a thud, I thought about laying there. Just staring at the night sky, as that blue moon looked down at me. Why were we so fragile? How little do our lives amount to?

I wasn't self-centered enough to think my family should be the only ones left untouched by whatever was going on. It hurt so much, even as I managed to pull myself up and hid behind the air conditioner as my mom screamed at someone for having broken in. Was there another me? Were they walking around?

Whoever that strange man was, he looked out, then ran down the stairs. I stumbled, climbing over the neighbor's fence, and continued walking to the next yard. That burning feeling gave way to something numb, something so very cold. Even as I continued to leave my home behind. I thought I saw that purple cat watching from a rooftop. Even as I walked into the woods, and fell again.

"I warned you not to pry." Came the calm collected voice after who knows how long. "Please, do get up. You've been laying still for a few hours now."

Getting up, I leaned against a tree for support. I shook my head slowly.

"There's nothing you can do to fix..."

"Shut up." I took a deep breath. The cat didn't say anything, as I steadied myself. "I'm going to the bar for a new phone, thanks for helping me snap out of this." I looked for the cat to see he was already gone. He definitely heard me. The bike ride to the bar was uneventful. I was in a daze as I was half congratulated, half jeered, by the vampires. They weren't sure how they felt about it all, even as they gave me a new phone.

Logan thankfully saw that something was wrong and agreed to meet with me tomorrow night. We'd get together, or just talk over the phone. They had things to repair, I had a crisis to work through. There was a lot of work ahead for all of us. After that was done, I rode back to the field. Joe had been following me the entire time. He knew when I just needed some time to process it all.

The night passed, then the day turned into night once again. Igor asked me a few things, but I wasn't giving him too much to work with. I barely even talked to Logan, as I felt that cold pit inside me grow. Another day passed us by, and before I knew it a week had blown by. I watched the blue moon moving through the night sky, how it was always watching.

Walking over to the alter, I tried to reach out to Corn. I couldn't make my way into his domain. Even as I stayed there with my hand buried for a day or two. Everything was getting colder, my body was covered in icy crystals. I looked up to see I wasn't in the field anymore, nor was I in Corn's domain. Before me was a barren field covered in white snow. A wasteland covered in its entirety, without any markings. A part of me wanted to just stand there, to become a marker of some kind, yet my legs started to move.

I found a crucified scarecrow, his body frozen in place. Bowing my head in respect, I moved on. There were more that I kept finding, with each one I passed the flurry slowly became a blizzard. I couldn't see anything in front of me. I felt a bone-chilling cold tearing at me, threatening to stop me from pressing forth. There were no thoughts, just that constant pull, that tug guided me in my stupor.

Spikes of bone erupted out of the ground, with strange icy figures shaving away at them. People made out of ice, with spikes pointing upwards towards the empty sky. The blizzard had stopped suddenly after passing into this threshold. It was somehow even colder than when the winds were whipping at me. In the center of this dome, marked by the bone spikes being shaved, sat a figure on a throne of ice.

His brow was made of frost, his face carved from ice and snow. He had no bones, only branches covered in ice one could see through. His coal eyes pierced straight through me, as a black silk tophat sat firmly on his head, like a proper crown. "What brings you here?" He asked, his voice harsh and cold. Frosty had seen a lot.

"A question..." I found the answer escaping my lips before I could even ask.

"Ask." He demanded.

"Who... am I?" There were so many more things to ask, but it was as if some pressure forced me to say those words.

There was a silent pause, as Frosty considered me. He looked every bit like a man made out of snow and ice, with branches for bones. Ice-covered coal with a pinprick of white moving about as pupils to show where he was looking. "You are Jack, the captain, the horseman, the pumpkin king, and the guardian of Corn."

Frosty rose from his throne, walking towards me. "You are me, I am you. Jack Frost." He offered a hand, while my own moved to shake it. "During the blue moon, you felt the true depths of loss. Left with nothing, you have arrived here in our domain." Small alters of snow rose from the ground, blue dragon hands clutching globes. "That icy numbness, that pain you felt shall linger here. Once a week, you shall endure what others have felt. You will learn of ice and the strength it bears."

"Cool." That was all I could say, as that oppressive weight was lifted off of me. "How long is this gonna take? I thought I needed dead people or something. Aren't I supposed to do the path of fire first?"

"You are, but as the moon is blue it aligns with your current state of emotion. That feeling of grief, loss, and so on. It drew you to this domain, and you made it here. Had you failed, you would have been lost. We are one, now that you are here. Yet, the pain we harbor must be taken in small quantities, unless our will breaks. You need power, and we provide such."

"Does everything change, depending on the color of the moon? Will I only be able to do this while it's blue?" I asked.

"No, once the test and training have been completed, the colors of the moons and suns will not deny your access to our power. They merely form a bridge to make it easier for you to get here. It is up to all of us to ensure you make it through."

I pursed my lips, realizing it was about to be a long year. One training montage after the other, I swear. At least, it gave me time to get the vampires and werecoons working together. I just hoped it would be enough, I needed something, just in case that monster came back.