Disclaimer: obviously I do not own anything to do with Rise of the Guardians, or the books that inspired the movie.
Cupid's Strike
Chapter Seven - A Visit in the Shadows
Two days.
Cupid had just two days to get Jack out of Aster Bunnymound's underground habitat before Pitch took over and did things his way. He was still amazed that he had been able to convince the Nightmare King that he should be given a chance at all, let alone be given two whole days. But he supposed it was simply a mark of Pitch's love for Jack, though he was a creature of fear he obviously didn't prefer to start his and Jack's relationship that way.
On the third day, which would also be the last day Cupid would get to shoot Jack with one of his arrows as according to the deal he'd made with the Guardians, Pitch would overwhelm the underground world with his shadows. Kill Aster. Take Jack away as his prize. And whatever else, Cupid did not dare to imagine.
It was that unimaginable bit that worried Cupid the most. For the first time since making the deal with the Guardians, he regretted agreeing to limit the time when he could finish the job. If Jack was not shot, if he did not love Pitch, then the war between the Guardians and Pitch would become deadly, like it had been a millenia ago. So in an effort to avoid such a war, Cupid had pressed Pitch into the deal to let him take care of finding and taking back Jack. While he did, Pitch would be growing his army of nightmares and fearlings for his attack on the tunneled world of his nemesis, Aster.
It worried Cupid.
It worried Cupid enough to rush back to North's factory and beg for the other three Guardians to help him. Of course, Tooth pointed out that it was against the rules for North or Sandy to get involved.
"Would you rather that your friend's world is invaded? Or that he dies? Because that is was is going to happen in Pitch finds Jack still in the rabbit's hole three days from now," Cupid snapped. "Look, it's not a game anymore. And I regret telling any of you my plan in the first place. It would have been so much easier had I done things the way I always do, quietly."
"And you still be thinking that Pitch is best suited to Jack?" North questioned while getting between the female fairy and himself, guarding her from his rage.
"I know so. Notice, it was a Guardian who raised the stakes to kidnapping, not Pitch. Even without his affection being returned yet, Pitch has been tamed by the promise of Jack being his."
"Do not let boogieman hear you say that!" North laughed. "We will help you, for sake of Bunny. Now come, we go!"
"No, no, I don't do underground," Cupid said, slowly backing away and hoping that they wouldn't notice. "And I don't think Aster would appreciate seeing me anywhere within his..."
Cupid didn't get to finish his defence, not that he could later say he was terribly surprised by that. As he spoke, North had used one of his snowglobe a doorway to the Warren, and Sandy had pushed Cupid himself through it. At first, Cupid had screamed like a child Pitch was giving nightmares to. It simply was not in his nature to be underground, to not feel the movement of air in the sensitive feathers on his wings. Not to have the light of the sun or stars above him. Not to be free and indiscriminate.
His screaming was stopped, however, when the cold, wet, shock of a snow ball hit him in the face. Shaking the ice away he looked to see Jack standing not too far from him, a wicked grin on his face.
"'Family thing' huh?" Jack teased, reminding Cupid of his usual excuse for not going underground.
"Oh! Shut up!" Cupid quipped, standing up from where he'd fallen into the Warren and shaking the snow from his face and body. When sufficiently free of the evidence of Jack's attack, he let himself look about at the underground world. It wasn't nearly as bad as he had imagined. In fact it was very like the world above ground, with an unending spring that charmed him. Still there was no breeze to play with his feathers, and the light seemed oddly unnatural. So it wasn't perfect. It was just good enough not to make him afraid. For now.
"What the bloody hell are you doin' here?" Cupid heard before he saw Aster come at him, boomerang at the ready.
"I've come for Jack," Cupid answered, pulling out his unstrung bow.
"Don't even think about it! You shoot one arrow and I'll break them all. And that bow of yours too!"
Undeterred, Cupid looked straight into the large eyes of the creature before him. For the second time the large rabbit stretched himself up, trying to look bigger and meet his eyes straight on. Silently challenging each other, he and Aster stood like that for some minutes before Jack interrupted them.
"Okay guys, cool it. What are you guys doing here?"
Turning to the boy, Cupid answered him; "well, if you haven't noticed Jack, your friend here kidnapped you. How you doin' by the way? He treating you well?"
Seeing that he was being ignored anyway, Aster let himself relax enough so that he wasn't stretched to an uncomfortable height and moved so that Jack and Cupid could better talk, though not far enough away to not have either within reach if he needed to.
"Yeah, actually since we got here he's been avoiding me," Jack answered.
"Probably trying to keep control of himself," Cupid noted before he turned back to Aster. "I'll bet you're feeling that scratch I gave you. You're trying to not let your instincts take over, aren't you?"
"Will this ever go away?" Aster asked as he rubbed the place on his arm where Cupid noticed for the first time that he still bled from the scratch made days ago.
"Not likely in this case. But it'll scar over and heal, and the strength of your love for Jack right now will become only a memory. You will always love him, just not quite so strongly."
"Then why don't you finish the job? Shot me now and then the kid, only with my name on his arrow instead of that blighter's," Aster demanded, again getting into Cupids face. "That's the only kind of arrow I'll let you shoot at the kid while he here, or anywhere!"
"Bunny!" the booming voice on North interrupted, throwing his strong naughty arm around Aster's shoulder before Cupid could respond. "Come. I think we must talk. I bring vodka to calm your nerves!"
Cupid watched Aster's expression change from anger at him to being annoyed at North; "I can't leave him..."
"Sandy and Tooth keep eye on Cupid!" North promised as he started to pull Aster away. "Come Bunny, we talk! We drink!"
Watching North lead the alien rabbit down one of the tunnels to another part of the Warren, Cupid sighed in relief. Then turning back to Jack he became intent of getting the truth from him. "So how are you? Really?"
Jack signed also, though instead of relief his revealed stress. "Alright for now. But I can't stay here for long. And I won't make it until the end of the week down here."
"What do you mean Jack?" Tooth asked gently, as she and Sandy flew over to join the conversation.
"I mean that I've been holding back. Hell, I've only been here a few hours and already I can feel the Warren get a bit colder, though I don't think Bunny's noticed."
A golden question mark appeared over Sandy's head.
"The snow, Sandy, you should know that," Cupid chided. "He can't keep the ice and snow out of the Warren for long while he's here."
"It follows me Sandy. And it's not going to take long for me to lose control and cover this whole place with more snow than it can handle."
"Then you should get out of here! Bunny will never forgive you if you bury this place!" Tooth announced obviously.
"Don't you think I've tried? But Bunny's put up some kind of barrier; I can't even enter any to the tunnels that go up to the surface without somehow losing my way. And I've told him about what's going to happen to the Warren if I do stay, but he keeps saying that I can control it. But I can't! Not for that long!" Jack complained, his voice growing more and more desperate as he spoke.
Cupid put his hand on Jack's shoulder to calm his nerves; "a confusion spell it sounds like. I didn't know Aster could use magic."
"He can't," Tooth corrected. "It's probably a drug or something instead."
Cupid felt a flush of anger at the idea of the pooka drugging Jack. And then panic at the idea of Pitch learning the same information.
"Just to be sure, Jack, why don't you show us the way to the nearest tunnel up," Tooth suggested.
Jack noded and then led the three other spirits across the field to a far wall; "I know there's one around here."
They watched Jack then with growing concern, as he randomly wandered past two tunnel ways, hesitated at a third without seeming to see it, and then continued on to the next. They weren't sure, just from watching if he could actually sense them, or if he hesitated because he remembered that there should be one where he stood. So talking amongst themselves about the possible origin on Jack's confused state, they continued to follow from far enough away that he would not hear them.
"This way Jack," came the smooth, coy voice of Pitch from the next tunnel. Following the sound Jack came to the doorway, finding Pitch just inside of it, hiding in its shade.
"I thought you couldn't come until three days from now!" Jack said, standing as close to Pitch as he dare without stepping into the tunnelway.
"I cannot attack, but I did not say that I wouldn't visit," Pitch answered, putting out his hand to cup Jack's pretty face. "Know this though, I will destroy this place in three days if you do not come to me."
"I can't," Jack hesitated, looking away as he did. But the hand Pitch had on his cheek tightened and pulled him back to facing its owner.
"You've been drugged," Pitch said matter of factly as he looked deeply into Jack's unfocusing eyes. Then suddenly, Jack felt as though he needed to retch, and he tried to pull way so that he could vomit away from Pitch. "It's alright Jack, just spit it out," the Nightmare King gently ordered. So Jack did, his body not caring if he was acting like he was the type to take orders from anyone, which he wasn't, it just wanted something out.
The 'something' turned out to be the black sand of Pitch's power. When the vomit hit the floor between them, Jack could see that the sand was wrapped around what looked like a somewhat digested flowerpod. He recognised it as the pretty thing that Aster had insisted he eat with the rest of the salad he had made for Jack and himself earlier.
"There now, that's better," Pitch comforted, pulling Jack back upright. "The rabbit will pay for that, no matter what. But remember Jack, if you come to me before Cupid's time is up, then his domaine and him will survive." Pitch then bent, letting his face come into the light of the Warren, taking Jack's lips in a deep kiss. "You are mine, Jack, and you always will be," he whispered before kissing Jack again.
From the distance Cupid, Tooth, and Sandy still quietly watched, as they had through the whole interaction. The Guardians had been surprised with how gently Pitch treated Jack. While Cupid himself, was shocked at the poison that had been fished from Jack's body.
"That is why I chose Pitch," Cupid pointed out as the three of them watched the second kiss progress into a kind of passion that showed both Pitch and Jack's true affection for one another.
