A/N: Oh shit, a chapter that's on time? Gasp! Another meeting in this chapter, I never imagined I'd have to write so many meetings. Anyway, if you need cheat sheets for the Muses I reblogged my character sheets again over on my RotG tumblr (link in bio) so it should be on the front page.
Luminesyra, I don't think anyone's a fan of Apollo right now, ha. I was glad to bring in Euterpe, too, there should be more of her in this story than the last. AkariWolfPrincess, Yeah, Apollo is definitely not showing his best side right now. Hope this chapter holds you over! gossamermouse101, I haven't seen or read Percy Jackson but I can see how they could interpret Apollo in a more positive light. I have to say I am enjoying writing him as a jerk, though, haha. ForeverACharmedOne, Yeah, I couldn't help myself with the Chris Pine and Leonardo DiCaprio references. As soon as I sort of had an opportunity, I had to take it. But yeah, poor everyone, basically, it's all so angsty. VampireSiren, yeah, most people would rather have Apollo on their side than not. dinohuntsmen, thank you for your review!
Even Jack had never been punched in the face for one of his screw ups.
Chapter Eight: Underground
Jack had skipped out on the last few meetings, too tired, too sad, and therefore unable to focus. There was no point in attending when he was going to be useful to no one and retain nothing that was said.
He was still tired, but hadn't hallucinated in about a week.
He was still sad, but not so overwhelmingly sad that he could not bring himself to leave his bed.
He was able to focus enough to at least get himself to the North Pole in a timely manner for this meeting that Sandy had told him about the previous night.
That was progress, right? Or, something resembling it, at least.
"Jack, what are you doing here?" Erato asked as soon as the boy landed. Jack glanced around the platform, finding none of the other Guardians, nor the other Muses.
"The meeting is today, right?" Jack asked, suddenly doubting his previous assumption that he was completely capable of focusing and getting through a meeting.
Maybe he had misunderstood Sandy and missed it entirely.
"Yes, but didn't Urania tell you that it's at the Warren?" Erato said, speaking in hushed tones for reasons Jack didn't know. She looked tired, her meticulously lined eyes slightly puffy.
"No, Urania didn't tell me anything, Sandy mentioned it last night," Jack said, relieved at least that he hadn't missed the meeting.
"She probably assumed you weren't going. North and I are heading out in a minute, you can come with us through the portal," the blonde said.
"Thanks," Jack said. "Why isn't the meeting here?"
"Um… change of scenery," Erato said, unconvincing, as she attempted to rub her eye without smearing her eye shadow. Jack cocked a brow.
"O…kay," he said skeptically.
"Jack! Are you coming to meeting?" North asked as he approached, snow globe in hand. He hadn't been as pushy about Jack's attendance recently, which Jack had mixed feelings about.
On one hand, it was sort of nice to not be pressured into trying to work when he didn't feel like he was up for it. On the other, it did make Jack feel at least somewhat needed if his presence was so important that it was necessary for a yeti to drag him there.
"Yeah, figured it was about time," Jack shrugged.
"How have you been sleeping?" the older man asked.
"You mean since you forced me?" Jack said, eyes narrowed.
"It was for your own good," North reasoned.
"Hmph. Well, I'm not hallucinating," Jack said, neglecting to elaborate further. The truth was that his sleeping habits had barely improved, as he was still afraid of dreaming about Rowan. He would sleep only for an hour or two at a time, his mind unable to rest any longer than that.
He didn't need to tell North this and end up knocked out again.
"Well, I mean, that's good to hear," Erato said with a nod, forcing a smile.
"Yes, I suppose so," North said, before whispering their destination to the snow globe and tossing it forward. The glowing, twisting portal appeared immediately.
The three stepped through, finding themselves in the Warren, most of the others already present.
Many of the Muses were settled near the dye river's edge, watching it flow as they chattered among themselves. Tooth was speaking to Polyhymnia, who was holding a handkerchief and sneezed every couple of moments.
"I swear, I don't know what it is, but I'm allergic to something here…"
Sandy had settled himself comfortably in the center of a large flower, looking content as Calliope paced nearby, mumbling to herself about something.
Thalia's eyes lit up when she spied Erato and waved frantically at the other Muse. "Era! Hey! C'mere! Are you okay?"
Erato, still wearing that forced smile, made her way over to Thalia. Thalia was seated beside a very bored looking Melpomene who was plucking petals from nearby flowers.
Jack barely spared Melpomene a brief glance, his stomach turning as he considered the last time he saw her. Between showing up at her place of death without meaning to and hallucinating her before, Jack was beginning to worry about his state of mind.
What if he was on his way to that sad, lonely, rock bottom place he had been in so long ago, with her?
He couldn't go there again, he just couldn't.
"Who are we waiting on?" North asked Bunny.
"Just Clio and Urania," Bunny said. North nodded.
"Why's the meeting here this time?" Jack asked, hoping to get a clear answer now that he was asking someone besides Erato. Focusing on something that wasn't Melpomene would be nice, too.
"Well! Look who decided to show up for once. It's almost like you're a Guardian or something," Bunny said, paws to his hips. He shook his head disapprovingly at Jack, but a smile was twitching at the corners of his mouth.
"Almost," Jack shrugged.
"We're here today because we're discussing Apollo and Artemis, maybe even Manny. It's delicate and we don't want them eavesdropping," Bunny said in hushed tones. While the Warren was bright as though it were a lovely spring afternoon, it was entirely underground and out of their leaders' prying eyes.
"They're not gonna be happy about that, are they?" Jack said.
"Well, not as unhappy as Apollo was with Cupid," Bunny said.
"He found out? What happened?" Jack asked, glancing back Erato's way. Her face was buried in her hands and Thalia was hugging her warmly. His stomach sank.
Apollo wouldn't do anything too bad to Cupid… would he?
"Apollo beat 'im black and blue. You should see his face, one of the worst shiners I've ever seen," Bunny said. "Almost broke his wing again, too. He'll be fine, but the kid heals slow."
"And I thought I was upset with him," North said, eyes on Erato as well, frowning.
"Don't get me wrong, I wanted to punch Cupid too, but I wouldn't have worn rings while I did it," Bunny said, shaking his head. Jack winced at the thought.
Echoed swears could be heard from the nearby tunnel, drawing everyone's attention before Urania and Clio came tumbling through. They were tangled in Clio's mechanical wings, which twitched and sparked, whining mechanically.
"Why would you set off your rockets and open your wings in the tunnel?" Urania groaned, rubbing her arm that had collided with one of the wings upon landing.
"I didn't do it on purpose! This thing's been buggy ever since I tried to dig all the glass out of it after the bomb went off," Clio said, hastily pecking away at the buttons on her wristband until her wings clumsily folded themselves into the compartment on her back again.
"Then maybe don't wear it until it's working again," Urania said.
"I feel weird without it, I've been wearing it for the past fifty years," Clio said.
"Are you two okay?" Calliope asked at last.
"Just some bruises," Urania sighed. She and Clio made their way over to the group, attempting to readjust their clothing and brush off dirt as they went.
"Good," Calliope said. "Then, let's get started, everyone, come on."
The others came in closer to better communicate, Sandy still content in the large flower. Thalia plopped down in one next to him, seeming delighted at the concept and sending pollen every which way as she did. Polyhymnia immediately began to sneeze once more.
Jack settled himself atop one of the nearby egg statues, still close enough to hear what was happening and be heard if he was so inclined to speak. Euterpe caught his eye from her place beside Terpsichore and she offered him a smile.
Independence Day with her had actually gone all right. They had stolen snow cones, talked about music, and watched fireworks from beside Rowan's grave. It had been almost normal, almost as fun as Independence Day usually was, although he was still reminded every few minutes of Rowan without fail.
It was the closest to thing to "okay" that had happened ever since Rowan had died.
Jack returned Euterpe's smile before returning his attention to Calliope, who was speaking again.
"As you should all be aware, we are gathered here to discuss the information Cupid gave us about Apollo and Artemis, and what exactly we should do about it," Calliope said.
"Maybe we should start with Cupid," Melpomene said, rolling her eyes as Thalia attempted to tickle her with one of the large petals of the flower she was sitting in.
Melpomene took a step to the side, out of the petal's range. Thalia pouted.
"Right, so just to recap, Cupid has been feeding information to Artemis because he thought Artemis could help us. In addition, he's informed us that Artemis picks the Mortal Muse, something that Apollo has been keeping from us," Clio said, seeming more than a bit bitter at the last part.
Jack could certainly sympathize with being left in the dark.
"Originally, we sought to discuss appropriate punishment for Cupid at this time," Calliope said.
"But Apollo beat us to it," Thalia winced.
Erato's lips were pressed into a thin line, and she was doing whatever possible to avoid eye contact with everyone that kept looking her way.
"Well, obviously he's out of the alliance now, right? He wasn't ever officially included in the first place," Bunny said.
"I'm not sure it's that easy, he was trying to help, and he did come to us with the information," Tooth pointed out.
"His entire reasoning is Apollo being a terrible leader, and I think the fact that Apollo beat the shit out of him sort of supports that point," Terpsichore said.
"But he went about it in a sneaky, underhanded way that put other people in this alliance at risk," Bunny said.
"I agree with Bunny," North said. "I like Cupid, I sympathize with him and what he was trying to do, but we should not rush to bring him back into the alliance."
"Bringing him back in right now would just piss Apollo off more, I think," Euterpe said.
"So what? Apollo was out of line beating Cupid like he did; he should have let us handle it. It was a total power play. He can't be assed to help us when we need him but he'll show up to assert his dominance and kick Cupid around?" Terpsichore said. Her irritation seemed to be making her fidget.
"So what, we let him back in to send a message to Apollo? That will end well," said Thalia.
"Still don't think we should let him back in at all," said Bunny. "In fact I was against him joining up in the first place, if you recall."
"Everything Cupid did was out of love for us," Polyhymnia said, pausing to sneeze into her handkerchief again. She sniffled for a moment before continuing. "I do not agree with the secrets and lies that came along with it, but everything is out in the open now. Anyone that speaks with him can see how truly remorseful he is for the harm he's caused and I personally have full confidence that he will not do anything like this again."
Was being sorry enough? Jack still wasn't sure. All Cupid had been doing was trying to help, true, and it wasn't as though he had any control over what Artemis did.
Hadn't Jack just been trying to help when he voted to bring Pitch in? When he talked to North about getting Cupid involved? Was Cupid's situation with Artemis really that different?
Even Jack had never been punched in the face for one of his screw ups.
(Tasing was a different story).
"I think we should let him back in, it's not as though he's the only one that's kept secrets," Melpomene said.
"Yeah, well, not too many of us are crazy about you still being here either," Bunny said to the dark-haired Muse. "It wasn't just his secrets that put others in harm's way, after all."
"Jamie Bennett is alive because of my secrets," Melpomene said.
"And Rowan Sawyer is dead," Bunny said coldly. The others glanced toward Jack, who did his best to keep a blank expression.
This was another reason he hadn't been attending these meetings recently. It always came back to that full moon in January or that new moon before it. It always came back to the Shadow People.
It always came back to Rowan's death and try as he might, he couldn't stop the image of her lifeless body in the snow from flashing in his mind.
Pale flesh, blue lips, snowflakes clinging to her eyelashes. The way he moved her hair away from her face and fully expected her to open her eyes or swat his hand away. The way she hadn't.
He took a deep breath, trying to will the image away.
"Rowan Sawyer is dead for a number of reasons and you could point fingers at several people, not just me," Melpomene said. "But I suppose blaming me is the easiest option, isn't it?"
"Listen!" Calliope said, cutting Bunny off before he could respond and no doubt start a full-fledged argument with Melpomene. "If the entire ordeal with the Shadow People and everyone involved has taught us anything, it's this: we need to trust each other. We need to stop trying to undermine each other. We need to stop keeping secrets and do what's best for each other. Especially us Muses. We failed. We shut our sister out to try and spare our own feelings. We gave her no one to trust but Jack Frost and then when we needed her to trust us, she couldn't. We failed her, and when we fail one of us, we fail all of us and we should know better."
The others fell silent, shifting uncomfortably for a moment.
Calliope was so protective and proud of the Muses. Actually hearing her say so blatantly that they had all failed was eerie.
"Calliope's right, and if Apollo and Artemis are going to start fighting over who's going to be in charge of us, we're going to need to stick together more than ever," Clio said finally.
"Cupid is my son," Erato said, her voice small. The others turned to her, straining to hear. It was clear she was trying to keep her composure as she spoke. "I hate to think that I can't trust him now. It breaks my heart. All I can say is that I hope, as he is a part of this family as much as any of us are, that one day he will be allowed back into this alliance. I did not support him fighting before, but it's in his blood, and his motivation has always been love. He doesn't need to come back today, or any time very soon… but he can't be removed entirely. He's a part of me that isn't going away, and as his powers are a product of both the sun and the moon, the decisions we make affect him, too."
"Why don't we put him on probation?" Jack asked, finally speaking up, glad that if anything the topic had moved away from Rowan for now. "Give him a chance to prove himself. Tell him that he has to cut off contact with Artemis and just keep a close eye on him. After a while we can give him tasks to do and maybe consider letting him back in on meetings."
"I agree, particularly when it comes to cutting off contact with Artemis. He can't be taking sides, none of us should be taking sides yet," Clio said.
"If he should be on any side, should be your side: the Muse side," North said with a nod.
"Agreed," Calliope said. "All in favor of probation?"
Each of the Muses raised a hand, along with Jack, Sandy, Tooth, and North. Bunny, the only one left not in agreement, sighed dramatically before raising his paw as well.
"It's unanimous, then, we'll tell Cupid to cut all ties with Artemis and give him information only on the strictest need-to-know basis," Calliope said. She sighed. "This brings us to Artemis."
"Okay, why didn't she just come to us if she was so interested in helping us?" Terpsichore said.
"She wanted us to go to her," Melpomene said.
"If the Muses went to Artemis, Apollo would have been upset. But if Artemis went to the Muses, he would have stomped his feet and put an end to it immediately," Tooth said.
"He doesn't want us talking to her at all," Calliope said. "I mean, he didn't even tell us that Artemis would know who the Mortal Muse was when he knew we needed to find her quickly because he just didn't want us talking to her."
Golden images appeared above Sandy's head, including two figures that were fighting each other.
"True, Artemis and Apollo's rivalry has been going on for ages," North said with a nod. "He probably sees the Muses as some kind of leverage she does not have."
"Or a toy he doesn't want to share," Jack said, remembering the unsettling way Apollo had spoken about Rowan and the Muses in general at the ball.
"He would have definitely thrown a fit and accused her of manipulating us if she had just offered to help us," Urania said.
"That still might have been a better option in the long run," Clio said. "But there's nothing we can do about all of that now. Now we have to deal with the fact that half the people we need to ally ourselves with are taking her side and the other half are taking Apollo's."
"Maybe I should seek her out, talk to her about what she wants to do," Calliope said.
"We already know she wants you to join up with her instead," Bunny said.
"Would that be a terrible option? After what Apollo did to Cupid?" Erato said. "I always believed that Apollo was working in our best interests but I'm not so sure that's true anymore."
"Both Apollo and Artemis have been deceptive recently, but both have been so good to us in the past. We owe Apollo so much for all he's given us, but Artemis has always been kind to us as well," Polyhymnia said. "I do wish there was a way to remain neutral. I do not want us to become a piece of territory for them to fight over."
"We've been with Apollo since… forever," Euterpe said, turning around to show the astrological symbol for the sun sewn to the back of her vest. "It's not like this is the first time he's been a complete ass, I mean, where do we draw the line?"
"But Apollo is absent most of the time; what if Artemis is around more? What if she's actually, you know, active and useful as a leader?" Terpsichore said.
"So, hypothetically, we switch sides and join up with Artemis," Thalia said. She gestured to the Guardians. "Where does that leave them?"
"What do you mean?" Bunny asked.
"Well, Apollo and Tsar Lunar are allies," Thalia elaborated.
"That's true," Tooth said.
"They didn't start the alliance, though, Sanderson and I did," Calliope said. She turned to the Guardians. "But, I suppose Thalia's right. Our leadership is unclear for the first time ever, and so many have already said that they will only associate with us depending on Apollo or Artemis' involvement. I suppose, it's only appropriate that we ask, well, which side you're on."
What a question, Apollo or Artemis? Which of the two were the Guardians willing to put up with in order to continue this alliance?
Jack wasn't sure. He didn't like Apollo, that much was a no-brainer.
But he had never met Artemis, and only knew that she had caused him to be caught by Shadow People in Paris, and therefore put Rowan in danger.
Talk about a rock and a hard place.
"I cannot speak for all of the Guardians," North said, stepping closer to the Muses. He set a comforting hand to Erato's shoulder. "But I will always support the Muses, with or without Apollo. You all know how important you are to me, how important you were to Yelena. I truly believe that the work you do makes it possible for us to do the work we do, and that will still be true whoever you choose."
Sandy reached for Calliope's hand, images appearing above his head in rapid succession. "You're right," she said. "We never had leaders in mind when we formed this alliance, just the idea that the Muses and Guardians would always support one another."
Sandy nodded with a warm smile.
"My own history with Apollo and Artemis has been mostly positive on both sides," Tooth said. "I feel as though Artemis might be better suited as a leader, but that's not a call I can make for you. You're some of my dearest friends, though, and I'll support whatever you choose."
"Honestly? I think Apollo is the lesser of the two evils, but I won't be heartbroken if you kick him to the curb either," Bunny shrugged.
All eyes fell to Jack, the only Guardian yet to voice an opinion on the matter.
"I don't know," Jack said with a shrug. "I really don't. I don't like either of them at this point and I don't know enough to say who the better option is."
"Well, thank you all, for not outright taking sides. It's nice to know that it seems that this alliance will at least still be here," Polyhymnia said.
"But what about Tsar Lunar?" Clio asked. "I don't think he'll support this alliance continuing if for some reason we join up with Artemis."
"He would definitely prefer Apollo," Bunny said. "He and Artemis have never gotten along. I think she scares him a bit."
"Is this even an option? Switching sides?" Melpomene said. "I've considered what it would be like to be rid of Apollo too, don't get me wrong, but if he's gone through so much trouble to keep us out of contact with Artemis, surely he'll fight to keep us from joining up with her."
"Plus, what if it's not any better with her? And we have been with Apollo for so long," Urania said.
"Let me be clear, I don't like the idea of outright leaving Apollo. That would not end well. But I think we have to at least hear Artemis out, especially knowing that Apollo hasn't told us everything," Calliope said. "We need to know all the information before we can make any kind of decision about what's best for us."
"And in the meantime? Either way, Apollo or Artemis, people are refusing to ally with us," Tooth said.
"I honestly don't know," Calliope said, sounding defeated.
"We do not focus on either," North said. "We continue to speak to others, keep good PR, but focus only on Muses and Guardians, not our leaders. Make it clear that they are teaming up with us, not them."
"Easier said than done," Bunny said.
"We have to try," North said. "There is no telling what Pitch could be up to or when he will do something with those plans he stole. We must do what we can to have the best odds on our side when he finally shows his hand."
"Worst case scenario, even if no one takes our side, we've at least seemed to convince a lot of people not to take Pitch's," Erato said.
"I wouldn't underestimate the Boogey Man," Melpomene said. "He was regaining strength before he stole the plans, and while we all have our reasons not to trust him, he is well-spoken, persuasive."
"He knows your worst fears," Jack said, avoiding looking Melpomene's way. He thought back to the way Pitch had spoken to him in his lair last Easter, the way he had bargained with him in Antarctica. "He knows just what to say to make you second-guess everything."
"And in the long run, he has always failed," North said. "We must remember that, we must remember our strengths."
Pitch Black's lair was usually quiet; it relied on as much to compliment the eerie atmosphere that he prided himself in creating for anyone that happened upon it.
But for now this was not the case, as an old record player sat nearby, playing some recording of a piano, classical and melancholy. One of the Nightmares watched the device curiously, while another curled up on the floor beside the chair Pitch was seated in, blueprints spread about all around him.
A third Nightmare was looking over the man's shoulder, eying the plans as though it could make heads or tails of what was written there.
"It's unfortunate that I do not possess the knowledge to build upon or modify these plans in any way," Pitch commented to the Nightmare. "Bunny and Clio do possess a knack for machinery that I never did."
The Nightmare nudged the side of Pitch's head, whinnying softly. "Oh, no, no, I'm not concerned. You see, I don't have to do anything now. The fact that I even have these plans has sent them all into such a panic, I can just sit back and relax, let their steady stream of fear build me up again."
He gently stroked the Nightmare's head, eyes still on the plans. "It is nice to have a break without being weak and forgotten, isn't it, girl? They're trying so hard to stop us before we do anything that they're actually helping us by generating fear. It's my favorite kind of irony, personally."
The Nightmare whinnied again.
"Don't get me wrong, girl, we won't sit around forever. No, no, I have someone in mind that could help us, someone that could modify these plans to be better suited to our own use. All in due time. Let's let them panic a while longer," Pitch said with a smile.
He leaned back in his chair, humming softly along with the record as it played.