See end of the chapter for notes.

Sum: In which the showdown between Bunny and Kyden in the Oasis goes very differently, and things take a turn for the worst.

Bunny ran, pushing his body to the limit in his need to get to the others. Every muscle burned in over exertion, his lungs were bone dry, his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. The desert air was stifling, too hot and dry. It sucked whatever moisture that wasn't chased away by his relentless pace out of his lungs. The hot sand under seared his feet until he swore that he could smell his soles burning. The sun beat down on his back, just as cruelly hot as the sand. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up, keep running. His head spun as dehydration and exhaustion took their toll. But still he kept going.

'I just ran. It didn't occur to me that I could fly until I collapsed. My feet couldn't carry me anymore.' The thought drifted over the front of his mind, spoken in a dull, saddened voice. A voice that was supposed to be filled with light and joy. A voice that had told Bunny of horrors beyond imagination. Bunny pushed himself to run even faster.

The land around him became a blur of movement – not that it looked much different at any speed. He kept his nose close to the ground as he moved, as if keeping closer to the scent would get him to his friends, his fellow Guardians, faster.

He tried not to wonder just how much longer he would have the chance to call them that. Bunny sobbed at the thought, and the burst of escaping air made his dry lungs burn even more. He wanted to vomit. His body begged him to stop. His mind told him that he couldn't outrun the thoughts following him. But he kept running.

'Please just go...'

'I need you to get the others.'

'Just promise me...'

'Please—'

'I know what he wants, I know what...'

'Nothing will change—'

'Please— go, please – just go...'

'Just promise...'

He dropped into a tunnel when he found exactly where he needed to go to find the others. And kept running.

When he was finally, finally was able to come to a stop, when the scent trail ended, the endless white and pick of the desert had become the endless stretch of green of a forest. In the Amazon, if Bunny could guess correctly. He took deep, heavying breaths of air filled with the scent of decaying plants as he took a moment to get his breath back. Just a moment, he told himself sternly. Just long enough that the world stopped spinning so much. Then he needed to find the others, who were so, so close now.

Just a moment, because...

'Just promise me...'

"I'm promise, Jackie," he said quietly, swallowing heavily against tears as he did so.

Then he moved into the trees to find the others.

-Line Break – Line Break – Line Break-

North led Tooth and Sandy out of the tree line, and all three of them slumped under the crushing weight of defeat. Almost two days of trying to convince Mother Nature to step in with the Kyden situation, and all they had to show for it was a heaping, steaming pile of nothing. Two days, to find Mother Nature's domain and plead for her assistance, all wasted.

Two days Jack and Bunny may not have had to spare.

North's hands clenched and ached for his swords – for the need to do something – as he thought back to the casual way Mother Nature had dismissed his friends' peril. Like their deaths would have meant absolutely nothing for the rest of the world. Like losing Jack would mean nothing.

Jack, who was the head of a season critical to the balance of the world. Who was a strong, vibrant light whose lose would darken the world in a way that could never be forgotten. Who...who was Jack.

How could she, how anyone possibly think that the world could keep turning with a loss like that?

"Aster?!"

North snapped out of his thoughts at Tooth's cry. The fairy zipped over to where their fellow Guardian was stooping against one of the towering trees. North smiled in relief at the sight of his friends, alive, whole if a bit injured. Then he frowned with growing dread. Where...?

"Aster, are you alright? You're hurt, you're burned!" Tooth flittered around the rabbit spirit, poking and prodding at the tender injuries. Aster stood listless, eyes down. "It'll be okay, we'll get you looked at. How did you get away? Did you kill that sick, twisted—"

"Where's Jack?" North growled as he slowly stalked forward.

For the first time, Bunny pulled his eyes away from the ground. His eyes were shimmering with tears, and he couldn't meet North's gaze. Tooth and Sandy stared at him with a growing mix of anger and horror. Bunny's gaze landed on each of them, and his mouth gapped open in aborted attempts to speak.

"Aster. Where is Jack?" North asked again. Bunny's eyes finally met the group's leader.

"I'm so sorry. I tried, I—"His words were cut off by the large fist that collided with the side of his face. Bunny went to the ground, and North loomed over him.

"You left him there?!" He pulled the other spirit to his feet, only to punch him to the ground again.

Bunny rolled and climbed to his feet, eyeing North warily as he did. The big man lunged for him again, and the rabbit-man evaded. Much as he was deep in the pit of self-loathing at the moment, Bunny really didn't feel like being pummeled by his friend.

"North," he appealed, being careful to stay out of the large man's range. "North, please. I'm sorry, I didn't want to—"

"You're sorry? You left Jack in the hands of that monster. You have betrayed everything we hold dear as Guardians, and you're sorry?" North had been very quiet throughout his spiel, and it was only through centuries of knowing the man that Bunny recognized that as a sign of extreme anger. When the Christmas spirit stepped forward again, Bunny was sure it was to kill him. Luckily, Tooth cut the man off before he had to find out for sure.

"North, stop it! This isn't helping."

Bunny sighed in relief as North backed down. Then his gut curled as Tooth sent him a look that said he wasn't forgiven. Sandy was giving him the same dark glare, and Bunny wilted.

"Aster, he trusted you. How could you so that to him?"

Bunny ran a hand over his ears, which were lying flat against his head in distress. He looked to each of the harsh stares leveled at him, and swallowed thickly before answering.

"He asked me to."

'Just promise that you'll come back for me.'

In light of Bunny's claim, the Guardians decided to return to the Pole, to re-group and hash out a new plan. If it were possible for Bunny to look more down-trodden than he already was, the knowledge that Mother Nature had refused to help them did just that. The rabbit completely sunk in on himself. He stared off into the distance, utterly forlorn, for the entire trip up north.

Tooth and Sandy soften considerably toward their fellow Guardian, especially once he was set up in the infirmary. It was hard to stay mad at him when he looked so completely heartbroken and was covered nearly head to toe in third degree burns.

North, however, was doing a fine job of staying mad at the giant rabbit. When he thought of Jack's terrified face as he was pulled behind the barrier, and the fact that it was Bunny's fault that the boy was still trapped there, it wasn't hard. He was so hopelessly angry, that it wasn't hard at all.

With that in mind, North stalked forward. He loomed over the rabbit, thick arms crossed and gaze stormy, until Bunny slowly met his gaze.

"Speak," was all he said, short and sharp.

Bunny sighed and winced as the Yeti around him prodded on a particularly tender burn.

"Kyden's been huntin' the spirit's he traps in the Oasis. He'll take a big group of 'em, and them pick them off one by one. That's how Jack knows about 'im; Jack's the only one that's ever gotten out." The room was silent, and Bunny took the opportunity to ask for a glass of water. One of the Yeti went off to do so and quickly returned with a glass. Bunny downed in a few gulps. The water did nothing to soothe his ragged throat.

"He knocked me out, after I made it through the barrier. When I came to, he gave us twelve hours ta... he said it was a reward ta Jack for bein' the only 'returnin' member'. Bastard was toyin' him."

North swallowed down the angry accusation of 'and you left him there!' and began to pace.

"We waited until night ta make a run for the barrier. Jack," he trailed off. Jack's story of his first time in the Oasis wasn't Bunny's to tell. If anyone was going to tell what happened with Fynn and Cassandra, it was going to be Jack. When they got him back. So he skimmed over that part as he went on. "Jack knew we could get out that way. From last time. And we were... we got separated. I got knocked out, again."

He took a shaky breath and told them about waking up after fire had rained down from the sky, and the gut wrenching fear of finding Jack gone. Of rushing through the trees in a mad dash to find the boy. And coming across Kyden leering over Jack. Jack, who was lying flat on his back, staring up at the larger spirit in fear and horror as Kyden traced the boy's eye socket with the tip of a very large knife. Anger at the sight had clouded Bunny's vision, and looking back on it, he figured that must have been his mistake.

He'd charged forward, drawing his weapon as he moved. He must have stepped on a twig, or maybe the fire spirit caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye. Either way, the next thing Bunny knew, he was tangled up in vines that stopped him dead. He'd pulled against his bounds, only stopping when he heard Kyden's nasty chuckle and looked up to see him pulling Jack – half naked and bound and gagged and terrified – over to stand in front of Bunny.

"Well, look who's still alive and kicking," the fire spirit mused as he moved Jack so that he was flush against his chest. "Not that I was all that focused on you the other night. I had my mind on more important things."

Jack shivered as he felt that leer the fire spirit sent his way. Bunny sent the man a scorching glare and growled low in his throat.

"But, now you're here!" Kyden went on, either oblivious to those reactions, or ignoring them. "And now we have to figure out what to do with you. What do you think, my bird? Should we kill him?"

The last part was in a sinister whisper against the shell of Jack's ear. Jack's eyes went wide and shimmered with frightened tears. He looked over his shoulder to where the man was still looming over him, and shook his head, desperately.

"You don't think so?" More frantic, silent no's. "You don't want to? Well, I want to. I want to cut into him until there's nothing left to cut. I want to see how much he can take before he's a quivering mess. And we do what I want around here."

He pushed Jack to the ground, where Jack landed jarringly on his shoulder. He watched as the fire man stalked over to his friend, unable to stop small whimpers from slipping past the vine between his teeth as he fought to loosen the binds around his arms.

That sound snapped Bunny out of the frozen shock that had fallen over him at hearing his imminent death casually brought up in conversation. He kept his glare steady as Kyden glided over to him, knife in hand. The fire spirit smiled, almost giddily.

"You've got fire." He cackled at his own joke for a moment before quieting as he waved the knife under Bunny's nose. "I think that. The ones with fire last longer before they're just piles of whimpering flesh."

The knife trailed down his neck, to his chest and hovered over his stomach. Those burning eyes were lit with manic joy as the tip of the knife pressed just above the point of breaking skin. Bunny stared back without flinching, perfectly still and unable to do anything but wait for the blade to rip him open.

"Stop! Please! I'll do it, I'll stay!"

Both adults froze. Kyden slowly turned to look over his shoulder. Jack stared at the man imploringly, having loosened the gag enough to speak.

"What?"
"Jack, no!"

Bunny's warning and Kyden's question intermingled. The fire spirit shushed him with half a mind, and half-heartedly conjured another patch of vines to wrap around the rabbit's muzzle. He kept his eyes trained on Jack, and slowly made his way over to where the boy was lying.

"What was that, my Jackie-bird?" he asked again as he pulled Jack to his feet. Said boy took a shaky breath before replying.

"I'll stay. Let him go, and I'll stay here."

"But you're already going to do that. And I still get to kill the fuzzy. I like that idea better than letting him leave."

"No!" Jack jerked his head to the side as Kyden moved to slip the gap back between his teeth. "If you kill him you'll keep me here. But if you let him go, I'll stay!

"That's what you want, isn't it," Jack pushed on in a desperate whisper when the fire spirit paused. "Someone to stay with you. Someone who will, chase away the loneliness and the silence? Someone to make sure they can never come back? I can give you that. Let him go, and I'll give you that."

"Yes," Kyden whispered back, almost sounding like he was in a daze.

"Please just let him go."

The two elementals stared at each other, Jack trembling in fright and Kyden horrifyingly blank. Bunny jerked at the vines holding him and made muffled protests through his muzzle, hoping to catch Jack attention and convince him not to do this. To get Jack to see that it was Bunny's job to protect the kid, not the other way around.

It didn't matter that he couldn't really convey either of those without his words, because neither spirit looked at him.

After an eerily long minute, Kyden's face broke into a sunny smile. Bunny's stomach sank.

"I might consider it. If... I get to steal a kiss first."

"What?"

"You heard me. I can't be expected to believe you'll do what I want with your friend free if you don't do what I say now. If it's good, I'll let him go. If not, well," he trailed off, knowing full well that he didn't need to finish the threat.

Jack swallowed nervously and shook as he met the older spirit's leer. He nodded, titled his chin up slightly and pressed his lips softly to Kyden's. The fire spirit lunged forward and crushed Jack to his body, tangling on hand painfully in the boy's hair as he slipped his tongue between Jack's teeth. Jack stood utterly still while the fire man's other hand groped every bit of his body that was crushed to Kyden's front.

The older man lewdly rock his hip against the smaller spirit, and then allowed Jack to pull back. He grinned down at the boy, licked his lips with a repulsive smack, and then released his grip on Jack's hair.

"Okay, he can go."

"Thank you," Jack said in a burst of air. Most of the tension drained out of his frame.

"Thank you." The man nipped at Jack's lips, and the boy's shoulder shot back up. "You hear that, fuzzy? You're free to go." With a wave of his hand, the muzzle fell away, though the bounds around the rest of his body stayed in place.

"If ya really think that I'm leaving ya alone with that kid, yer out of yer twisted, soot clogged mind," Bunny shouted back, jerking forward with the desire to rip the bastard apart.

Kyden smirked, like he'd been waiting for that response. Which was likely the reason that Bunny was still bound. Kyden sent Jack a mock disappointed look and sighed.

"Well, I tried, my bird. But if he doesn't want to leave," he sighed, and conjured a handful of fire.

"No, please! Let me talk to him. I'll get him to leave, just let me talk to him."

"Do you really think I'll fall for that? Give you a chance to get close to him so that he can bolt with you?" The fire man sounded genuinely irritated, and pulled Jack close with a painful grip on his shoulder.

"You've made it clear that we can't get out of here." Jack really hoped that the fire man didn't remember his first escape, and pushed on before Kyden could think too hard on it. "Trying to get away isn't going to do me any good, and I know that. So, please, just let me talk to him."

The fire man still looked hesitant, and Jack pushed up to his tip toes to plant another kiss on the warm spirit's mouth. It made his stomach curl as much as the first kiss – though luckily Kyden didn't shove his tongue into his mouth this time around – but the delighted smile on the man's face told Jack that it was worth it.

"Learning already, are we? I like it." This time Jack had to force himself not to be sick. "Alright, see if you can talk him out. But best hurry: he's starting to irritate me." The bounds around Jack's arms fell away and he ran over to Bunny.

"Jack, there is no way that I'm leaving ya with this man," the rabbit declared as soon as Jack was in ear shot.

"We don't have a choice."

"Yes we do. As soon as I can move, I'll grab ya and we'll make a run for the barrier."

"That won't work,' Jack said, voice resigned and almost dead.

"We have to try!"

"No we don't!" Finally, some life leaked back into the boy's voice. "There are only two options here, Bunny: either one of us gets out of here, or neither of us. The second one doesn't do us very much good, so I need you to go. I need you to get the others."

Bunny stared for a moment, mouth gapping and bile rising in the back of his throat.

"Jack...if I leave ya here, he'll... ya don't know what he'll do ta ya. I can't just let that happen."

"I'm not stupid, Bunny. I'm three hundred years old, and I really think that I've seen more of the world in that time than you have. I know what he wants, I know... I've always known. But that's going to happen no matter what we do. Nothing will change it."

"Jack..."

"Please, just go. Please, go, please." Jack rested his head against the rabbit's chest. His shoulders trembled with repressed sobs that were thick in his voice and Bunny felt some of his resolve crumble. "I can't watch him kill another friend. Not when I can do something to stop it."

The rest of the older spirit's protests fell away like sand. He sighed in defeat and rested his chin on Jack's head.

"Low blow, kid."

"Just promise that you'll come back for me," Jack said in place of a response.

Bunny felt his heart shatter. What made the kid even think that he had to ask something like that? Unfortunately, before Bunny could reassure the boy, Kyden cut into the conversation.

"Well, you gonna go, fuzzy? My patience is wearing thin."

"I'm goin'," Bunny said quietly. This time Jack did sob, in relief or grief, Bunny couldn't tell.

"Excellent," the fire man chirped. He strolled forward and jerked Jack back by his neck. It wasn't to keep the kid from leaving, but to show that there was never a chance for him to escape. "Ta, ta now, may your travels be marry."

The vines holding Bunny in place fell away. The rabbit sent Kyden a final glare, met Jack's shimmering gaze, and then turned on his heels and dashed for the barrier.

X

The room was, incredibly, even more tense than when Bunny had started speaking. North's pacing became even more agitated, making everyone else all the more uneasy. Bunny kept his eyes firmly on his clasped hands, and waited for his friends to decide if they hated him.

Tooth was the first to move closer to him. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, wordlessly urging him to meet her eyes. He did so, somewhat reluctant.

"You did everything you could. This is not your fault."

Sandy nodded in agreement, though he still looked grim. Bunny almost collapsed in relief. Then all three looked to their leader.

North's first thought was to say that, as Bunny was still alive, he obviously had not done everything he could have. It was his second thought, as well. And possible his third; but he followed none of his initial instincts, because regardless of the situation, he would never wish for his friend's death. So he finally stopped his pacing, and turned to meet Bunny's gaze, saying the least hostile thing he could muster.

"I am glad you are alive, my friend." With that, he turned on his heels, calling that they needed to plan Jack's rescue over his shoulder as he left the room.

Once he was outside the door, he let the helpless, sickening anger he's been feeling all day take over. He rammed his fist through the nearest wall, and let out a wordless roar.

"North." The saddened voice called from behind him as North pulled his hand free of the wall. He turned and found Bunny, who was shuffling at the door way.

"If he dies in there, I will never forgive you," he growled, unable to hold back his darker thoughts.

"Ya and me both, mate."

North sighed, dark thoughts replaced with heavy sadness, and hopelessness. He clapped Bunny on the shoulder – the best peace offering he could muster – and left before he could say anything more damaging. Bunny watched him go, weighed down with guilt and fear. Tooth and Sandy floated up behind him.

"He asked you to go, Bunny. And he was right: it wouldn't have done anyone any good if you'd died in there," she said gently.

"Yeah." But he couldn't fully believe that he'd done the right thing. There was one thing, more than anything else, that kept him from being able to think that. A terrible, mournful keening that had followed him though the barrier.

Jack had been screaming as Bunny left, and it was a sound the rabbit knew would haunt him to the grave.

This is a request from WinterCrystal1009, for an alternate ending to my story To be Hunted by Fire. I'm thinking it'll be around four chapters. Maybe more, we'll see.

Be warned, this ain't gonna be pretty. There will be torture, both physical and psychological, and non-explicit long term sexual abuse. It's M for a reason. Ye've been warned.