"That's what I'm wondering, too. I'm gonna say it's because we're all out of options."

Which was the truth.

"We need help. We've got an enemy who in a fit of bloody genius let in -" he pauses, still not quite sure how to describe the things he's been fighting for a solid six months, with less and less backup. "Stuff that shouldn't be here. It put the four other Guardians out of the picture, and they were not myths to thumb your nose at. Now there's only Jack and me left, and we're not going to be enough to protect the kids forever."

He stayed in his stance, still eyeing Al dubiously.

"I don't call the shots, the Man in the Moon does. I'm not even gonna begin to guess what your story is. But if you care at all about the kids -" he paused, resigning himself to possibly working with this thing that looks so much like one of the bumps in the night he ought to be attacking. "Then we need your help. Otherwise the kids're gonna suffer."

Beneath the tough exterior, his plea was genuine. It wasn't nearly so important anymore that he not work with anyone he didn't want to.

The kids were in danger, and that took priority over everything else.