Okay… so late as heck.

To all of you who may be following my other stories, I have decided that, unless a sudden strike of inspiration hits me, I'm going to work solely on finishing this story before moving on. No, I am not giving up ANY of my stories for those who know I haven't updated in quite some time. But I need to prioritize my stories and this one is the closest I have to being done and the one that I have most planned out.

Thank you!

Also, to make up for the latenessosity of this update, I have extended it by over a thousand words of what I usually write!

Eden was angry, she was tired, and most of all, she was scared. Scared for Jack, scared for herself. The Bogeyman was growing more and more impatient and the black horses reflecting his emotions were only becoming restless, blowing out dark sand from their noses as their master paced angrily below them.

The girl crossed her arms over her chest, the anticipation was killing her. If the black dragon didn't get to her first, the suspense surely would. Her knees were shaking uncontrollably now and despite her efforts to appear unfazed and controlled, she sat down, wrapping her arms around her legs as the cold of the Bogeyman's lair made her shiver.

Her head fell back against the back of the cage as she took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from falling. Her head was aching from her concussion and the stress was only making the head splitting pain that much worse. "Oh, we're not frightened, are we?" Eden's eyes snapped open and she jolted back in the hanging cage at Pitch's voice, his figure having appeared not three feet away from her quaking form.

Eden pursed her lips angrily, she was most certainly not in the mood to answer any question this man had for her. Seeing as though the Bogeyman wasn't planning on leaving, she looked away angrily, trying to block him from her line of sight.

Upon turning her head, something else caught her eye. Eden sat up a bit and leaned forward, trying to get a better look at whatever it was. Her wavering headache made her vision slightly blurred and of course the darkness of the drafty lair wasn't doing any good in helping.

The figure had disappeared somewhere behind one of the many entrances. Eden furrowed her thin brow, looking about as though it might come back. Seeing as though the girl had no intent of listening to him, Pitch decided he was best off waiting for the black dragon to return with his prize, turning from the distracted girl as she searched fruitlessly for the mysterious being in the depths of his lair.

Eden had just about given up hope that there had been anything at all, shrugging it off as merely an illusion when something moved. Her head turned quickly back to the source as she scooted as far as she could toward the edge of the hanging cage, trying to identify the creature.

She almost fell back in the cage when two large ears presented themselves as the guardian of hope peered around the corner again, waving his arms violently, trying to grasp her attention.

Eden drew back confused. Why was he here? She had put them in danger, she had put Jack in danger. And now he was acting as her rescuer?

She looked back at the large rabbit, eyeing the Bogeyman to make sure their silent conversation was left unnoticed, and shook her head in confusion.

Why was he here? He was supposed to be helping Jack. The black dragon was after him, and if he got caught, it would only be yet another mess that she had caused among the guardians.

She waved her arms in a 'go' motion, trying to get the Pooka to leave before he was caught.

Bunny bit his lip, poking his furry head around the corner just enough to get a glance at the man in black as he worked expertly with his own nightmare warriors, shifting them into larger shapes in boredom. He turned back to Eden, a determined look on his face and shook his head.

Before the girl could even try to piece together what was happening, the rabbit was crouched down in a stance of attack. "Oh no." She whispered to herself, but it was too late. The Pooka launched himself out of his hiding place, eliminating any chances of turning back, leaping straight for the platform below her hanging cage.

The room was built like one of those elaborate puzzles created by masters of visual effects, meaning that the stairs on the wall had actually found themselves a good use one the rabbit had silently leapt up onto them.

Bunny turned from his new position towards the nightmare king. Sure he was a master of tai chi, but the moment he was spotted by either the bogeyman or his minions was the moment his plans were ruined in getting Eden out alive.

Seeing that Pitch had failed to notice as the guardian infiltrated his lair, Bunny stood taller upon his perch, searching for another place to launch himself. Unfortunately, the gravity defying decoration of the room only proved itself useful for the Nightmare King himself as the rabbit leapt up upon a second case of stairs, almost toppling in a heap of grey fur to the dark flooring when it refused to hold his weight.

He turned back to Eden's swaying cage, furrowing his brow when seeing her panicked expression. Of course she was scared, who wouldn't be in the bogeyman's lair. What really struck him as wrong was when she waved her arms back in a pushing motion, trying to get him to stop his mission as he determinedly leapt up another set of stairs so that he was almost level with her.

"Don't worry, Imma get ya out of here." He whispered quietly peering at Pitch from the corner of his eye as he spoke.

"No." Eden whispered back harshly, running her hands through her red curls.

"What do you mean no?" Bunny scoffed, making sure to keep his voice down.

"You have to get out of here, Jack's in trouble. The other dragon, she-"

"Jack's fine." Bunny interrupted, taking his chance to reach for the cage.

"What?"

"North took 'im to the Pole. Jack's fine, because of you. But right now, we need to get you out of here. 'Kay?" Bunny pleaded, giving Pitch one last glance before lunging at the cage again, this time missing it by mere inches.

"Why? I'm only going to end up back here again."

Bunny stopped his efforts at the girl's last comment. "No you're not, we'll make sure of it. Now come on, I know you can get yourself out of there like you did with Jack."

"Why do you care anyway?" She asked, her voice raised a bit as tears began to brim her bright green eyes.

Bunny pulled his paw back. "What?"

"Listen, I know you're supposed to protect kids and everything, but right now, all I'm doing is putting them in more danger. Jack was hurt because of me and I'm making sure that doesn't happen again. Now please, leave."

Bunny was taken aback. She hadn't burst at any of the guardians for as long as they've known her despite the awful ways they had treated her… the ways he had treated her. But now that her own life was in danger with one golden opportunity to escape what would otherwise be certain death, she refuses.

She was blaming herself because of what he had said. The rabbit's large ears flopped down. This was his fault. He had caused a child to lose hope.

"Listen Sheila." He began, his voice still in a hushed whisper as he stole another glance toward the nightmare king who was staring impatiently down the corridor, waiting for the black dragon to return with his prize, Jack. "What I said, before, I didn't mean any of it." He said, staring at the girl intently, she was still sitting, facing away from the large rabbit and refusing to meet his eyes despite how much she was tempted to.

"You didn't have to, it doesn't mean it's not true." She whispered back, pressing her aching head back against the cool metal bars. She raised a shaky hand to rub her temple as the pain began to invade her system again, clouding her thoughts and making her vision blur.

"I got Jack in trouble and I got Jack out, he needs you now." She finished, wincing at the pain. Bunny frowned looking the girl over worriedly as she clutched her head in her hands and closed her eyes tight as a wave of nausea began to take hold of the young redhead.

"So do you." Bunny observed, reaching out again in a failed attempt to grasp the cage's bars. "I'm not leaving until I get you out of here Eden."

Eden's eyes opened at this as she turned around slowly. Her eyes met his and she smiled a little despite her aching head. "Really?" She asked tentatively. She hated the feeling of needing somebody to save her, especially when she had done absolutely nothing to deserve it, but the truth of the matter was, despite the fact that she only wanted for Jack to be safe from both Pitch and the Dragon, she was terrified of her own demise.

Bunny stared back with a look of determination. "Would I have come all the way here if I didn't mean it?" He smiled. Eden chuckled and shook her head, wiping away the tears that brimmed her eyes.

"Alright then." He declared. "Let's get you out of here okay?" The dragon-girl nodded, turning all the way around in her cage so that she was fully facing him. "How did you get Jackie out of here? Can you do that again?" He asked, knowing that the girl's concussion was limiting her abilities greatly. But Eden pressed forward anyway, holding her hands tightly against the lock on her metal imprisonment and closing her eyes to focus her energy.

She felt the heat begin to build up under her pale shaking hands as exhaustion began to drain away her consciousness. Focus she told herself as a raging headache began to rack her brain.

"Eden."

Her hands dropped and she looked up tiredly at the rabbit who was staring worriedly at her. He knew the concussion had been bad, but he hadn't known her condition had gone to this extent. She swayed a bit, holding herself against the bars to keep herself from slipping unconscious. Sweat was beginning to glisten on the girl's forehead despite her shivering figure as the energy drained from her with every second.

Bunny sighed in exasperation, clueless of what to do next. He could always have picked the lock, but without his boomerangs, there was nothing to pick it with. Pitch had the keys, he could hear them jingling as Pitch paced across the floor in anticipation, waiting for his ally to return.

He gritted his teeth in defeat, knowing that if he were to get the keys away from the shadowed man, it would mean giving away his position which, at this moment, was their only advantage against him. The Pooka rubbed the back of his neck nervously before looking up. Maybe there was a way to break the chain. It wouldn't free the caged girl entirely, but at least it was a start.

Upon inspection, the chain holding up the swinging prison was thick and strong, the rabbit knew that even with the right tools, the chain wouldn't break fast enough for the two to escape. He trailed the chain back to the top of the cage where the metals connected with a hook. Bunny's ears perked up as a rush of hope filled his chest.

"Eden." He whispered, looking over to Pitch to make sure his plans were not interrupted. "I need you to grab my hand." He said, holding out his paw towards the cage, not taking his eyes off of the bogeyman or his minions which were all positioned at the side of their master, leaving their prisoner unattended.

He felt a shockingly cold hand brush his as he realized just how little energy the dragon-girl still had in her. He turned away from Pitch , his eyes flickering back nervously as one of the nightmares shifted in is vision. Eden was paler than what could possibly have been healthy (this coming from someone who had spent the past year with Jack Frost.) The arm she had outstretched towards him was shaking with weakness as it threatened to drop. Bunny caught it before it could, pulling her arm slightly toward him.

The girl caught on to his plan and wrapped her other hand around his as to keep herself from falling back as the rabbit struggled to pull the swinging cage closer as to get ahold of the bars.

"Alright." He said once the black cage was in his grasp. He knew that if the next step of his plan worked, the element of surprise would be lot to them the moment the cage came unhooked. He eyed the closest exit wearily, knowing how quick the nightmares really were.

He was atop he cage now, cringing as it swung rustily back into position. Seeing as the impatient nightmare king had yet to notice the guardian or prisoner in attempt escape, Bunny turned back to the task at hand. Gripping the top of the cage with one hand and the hooked end of the chain with the other, the rabbit began to pull, trying to loosen the clasp just enough to unhook the swinging prison.

A sudden pain shot through his shoulders as the strain was too much for even him. The weight of the cage pulled too hard against the metal chain. He took a deep breath, knowing the next option would be more risky than he could have hoped for.

"Eden." He whispered. The girl looked up at him, standing shakily. "I need some help 'ere, do you think you have enough energy to get this piece melted? It's not as thick as those bars but-" He was beginning to realize how horrible his idea really was. Overstraining herself in this kind of crisis was much too dangerous. She could knock herself out or even put her in a coma with her concussion already becoming more of a problem than ever before.

"I can do that."

Bunny snapped out of his thoughts. "What? No, it's too dangerous, you could seriously injure yourself, we'll find another way."

"What? You just told me to-"

"I wasn't thinking right, please, I'll think of something else." Bunny assured her, reaching through the bars towards the girl's shoulders, trying to guide her into a more stable sitting position.

But she pulled back, pursing her lips in frustration. "If you think I'm just going to sit here and do absolutely nothing with both of our lives on the line then you are incredibly wrong." She whispered harshly, pushing the rabbit's outstretched paw away as she reached up to grasp the hooked end of the chain through the top of the cage.

Bunny grabbed her hand before she could even try to melt the piece. "You aren't doing nothing, ya got Jack outta here and now I need to get you. Is there something you can twist in there? Maybe this thing is screwed into the top."

The dragon-girl shook her head. "It's welded. Now move your hand, I don't want to burn you." She said, refusing to look into his pleading eyes. The Pooka hesitated, trying desperately to find a second option, but none came. It was better to get out injured than not get out at all. Finally, he moved his hand.

Eden smiled and bit her lip in determination before reaching through shakily for the hook again. Once the cool metal was in her grasp, she closed her eyes, focusing the remaining energy into her hand. Just like how she had blown the bars off of Jack's cage. She could feel her hand growing warmer as she guided all warmth left in her internal flame toward the chain.

Bunny's gaze flickered nervously from the girl to the chain and to the nightmare king. Eden's skin was beginning to lose more and more color as she forced the heat onto the metal was red and steaming at this point. It wasn't until her breaths seemed to hitch in her throat that she finally collapsed under the stress.

'Oh no." He whispered as the girl continued to struggle for breath. "Eden, are you-"

"M'fine." She managed through a gasping breath. "See if you can break it."

Bunny bit his lower lip as he gave the child one last look before leaping back to the top of the cage where the metal was beginning to cool.

Seeing as though his boomerangs were gone, Bunny took his wrist gauntlet to the metal, twisting his wrist to get the proper leverage. The sound of metal on metal was loud. The red hot metal dented in, bending the hook enough to make the cage jolt lower a couple of inches.

The nightmares had turned around by now and Pitch was shouting angrily at someone, probably him, but Bunny ignored it all as he kept on pounding against the metal.

"Bunny!" The voice caught him off guard as the rabbit looked down at Eden's terrified face. "You need to go." She said, inching from the edge of the cage as an enraged Pitch approached the pair. "I'll be fine."

Bunny was about to retort when a wave of black sand was thrust t him, pushing him from the cage and onto the hard ground. "Bunny!" Eden cried weakly, trying to pull herself up into a sitting position again when the cage rocked violently. A loud creaking filled the air as the metal hook began to loosen its grip to the weight of the cage.

"What!" Pitch demanded as the cage jolted again.

Eden gripped the cage's edge, bracing herself for the drop before crying out in alarm at what he saw behind Bunny, who was still recovering from the blow. The hook broke.

The cage fell instantly, crashing as it hit the ground and snapping the bars apart like glass. Eden landed harshly on one shoulder, hissing in pain as her head throbbed violently, black spots invading her vision and clouding her mind. She cringed as someone wrapped their arms around her protectively. Eden struggled to open her mouth. She had to warn Bunny about the dragon she had seen, but judging by how fast the rabbit was running, something told her that he already knew.

PLEEEAAAASSEEEEE REEEEEVIIIIIIEEEEEEWWWWWWW!