A/N: Chapter 20! A milestone that seemed so, so daunting and far away before. Thank you again to everyone who's come back after my long break, I'm so glad that we're here, finally, twenty chapters in and actually making progress with this story. As always, I love knowing your thoughts, so if you have time please leave me a review.

"We need a clean break."

"It's not a clean break."

Chapter Twenty: Damn Your Love, Damn Your Lies

Jack had expected dark and dreary tunnels, something like old mines, when he heard that Bunny would be helping the Muses move inside Mt. Parnassus. When he and the other Guardians emerged from a tunnel that Bunny had summoned, however, he found the room he was in to be pleasantly lit by floor-to-ceiling windows along one side.

Much of the view was made up of trees and more mountain, but in the distance some ruins could be seen as well. Bunny would later tell Jack that the glass was one-way, and from the outside still resembled the side of the mountain. It was a joint project with Clio that Bunny was clearly very proud of.

The ceiling, walls, and floor were all made of the limestone of the mountain, with elaborate columns and reliefs carved into the walls. A few walls were dedicated to representations of astrological maps, but the largest wall, opposite the windows, featured an elaborate depiction of the Muses themselves.

The room was largely bare, save for a round table in the center, decorated with ornate filigree carvings and surrounded by hand-crafted chairs. The chairs were intricately carved as well, with symbols representing each Muse.

It was all clearly a labor of love.

The table is where the Muses were seated when the Guardians arrived. Cupid was present as well, settled in his own seat, his wings obscuring the carvings bows, arrows, and torches.

Calliope was the first to notice them, to rise from her seat and ask what was wrong.

Before Jack had a chance to say anything, North began to explain. If it was perhaps any other instance, Jack might be annoyed to be spoken over, but the explanation had proven laborious for him when he was among friends. Elaborating all over again with the Muses had sounded daunting, regardless of how much he just wanted to get it all over-with.

North, it seemed, felt a bit guilty for convincing Jack that it was best not to take any action, including telling the Muses, when Apollo had initially visited him with a bribe. While the Muses and Cupid were frowning and quite serious, they did not seem particularly upset with North or Jack over this, simply urging North to continue.

Next came the threats, and thankfully the older Guardian didn't go into details about Jack and Melpomene's past relationship. Tooth had lingered nearby, a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder as North simply referenced that the relationship had once existed, in order to explain what Apollo had been holding against Jack.

There had always been the implication that all the other Muses already knew about it, and Jack had always assumed that part of their initial distaste for him was because of his status as "Melpomene's ex-something." Sure enough, at the mention of their relationship, the Muses and Cupid showed no sign of surprise, though a few glanced in Melpomene's direction. Jack couldn't help himself but look her way, briefly, as well.

Melpomene didn't say anything, though her gaze darkened when it became clear that their relationship had become ammunition for blackmail. She leaned back in her seat, tragedy masks, calla lilies, rue, cypress, and swords adorning it, silent and contemplative as North continued to disclose what exactly Apollo had been up to.

Jack didn't know what to make of that.

Maybe she was just upset that someone besides her was exploiting that part of their lives.

As soon as North was finished, the Muses were already whispering to one another, something that was once annoying but that Jack was largely used to now. It would be easy to shrug off as simple gossip, but there was a level of seriousness to the entire thing now.

It wasn't long before Calliope hushed the others and turned to Jack.

"Are you the only one he's targeted like this?" she asked.

"As far as I know," Jack replied.

"He's Apollo's best shot at using Rowan against someone," Bunny said.

"The thing is, Jack's relationship to Rowan, the way Apollo feels about Jack, it's all a moot point," Cupid said. The Muses murmured in agreement.

"You think Apollo will just do what he wants regardless of what Jack does?" Tooth said.

"That's not it. Apollo doesn't actually decide if she comes back or not, he just lets everyone believe that," Cupid said. "He's at the mercy of the mortals."

"Yes, we've been keeping under wraps that Cupid got that bit of information from his time working with Artemis. If the mortals don't keep her story alive, Apollo doesn't have the power to do anything," Calliope said. She addressed Jack specifically. "He's hoping you don't call his bluff."

What?

Jack wanted to sink to the floor, to hold his head in his hands and swear at the top of his lungs until nightfall.

He settled for turning away from the others, gazing out the window, his frown deepening, his grip on his staff tightening.

After all that, after Jack agonized over what Rowan wanted and what his grieving heart wanted in regards to Apollo's deal, it was for nothing.

Apollo didn't have any more of a say in the whole thing than Jack or Rowan did.

It felt so obvious in hindsight.

"Bastard," Bunny grumbled.

"If the mortals are still inspired by her, if he's bringing her back, he's already started, it's complicated magic," Erato agreed. "He's using Jack's feelings against him, to make him feel responsible and guilty about the whole thing."

"Well, I already do, so," Jack said, more as an aside than to anyone specifically.

"So, of course he'd pull you into it," Calliope said with a slight groan, pulling Jack's gaze back to the group. "I'm so sick of his schemes. Artemis too. They're not interested in leading us, they're interested in winning a game, in having what the other one doesn't have, and they'll drag in Cupid and the Guardians and anyone else if it gives them an edge."

"But what are we supposed to do about that? They've been using other people as pawns in their rivalry for millennia, and they've been fighting about us for as long as the Muses have existed," Urania said. At some point during the discussion, she had risen from her seat and taken a few paces away, to a less crowded part of the room.

"We need to do something, he's not going to just stop threatening Jack," Euterpe pointed out.

"Perhaps it would be best for Jack to stay elsewhere for a while, so Apollo doesn't take him by surprise again," Polyhymnia suggested. "I would hate for this to escalate further."

Most of the group couldn't help but look pointedly at Cupid, still recovering from Apollo's assault.

"You are welcome at the pole, of course," North said.

Jack frowned at the idea. As reluctant as he had been to get the cabin in the first place, he liked having his own place to get away to. Not to mention, the last time he had spent a significant amount of time at the North Pole was when Rowan was staying there. It would be hard to associate the guest rooms with anything else.

"You can't stay there forever," Cupid pointed out, seeming unfazed by the fact that he had become a visual representation of Apollo's rage. "If he intends to 'influence' you, he'll find you as soon as you leave."

"I think I just need to get a lock," Jack said. "So at least he's not barging in anymore."

"Oh! I can give you one of my doorknobs!" Clio said, jumping from her seat (adorned with scrolls, books, clocks, and gears) and seeming excited at the notion. "I've put them on all the bedroom doors here, it was tricky magic but I finally got it to work. Only welcome guests can turn the knob. Saves the trouble of keeping track of keys."

"That actually sounds great," Jack said. It was all so strange. Everyone was being helpful, understanding.

What was the catch?

"I'll be right back," Clio said, darting out of the room at once to retrieve the item in question. Calliope had barely had a chance to raise her hand to try and stop the other Muse, as the meeting was still technically ongoing, before she vanished.

"Hm," was all the eldest Muse managed to say as Clio's footsteps echoed down the hall.

"He'll find you somewhere else," Cupid said. "A magic doorknob won't stop him."

"Cupid's right," Erato said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he started tracking you down to keep tabs on how things are going, to remind you that he could still tell the Guardians everything."

"Do not let him know that you told them," Melpomene said, her hoarse input a surprise to everyone.

Was she really giving Jack advice?

"Let him believe that you're still terrified," Melpomene continued. "Or he'll find something worse than… than being with me to hold over your head."

Her gaze was fixed to the table.

"Yes, I think it's safest for everyone for Apollo to believe that he's got you under his thumb, Jack," Tooth said with a frown.

"No, it would be safest for everyone if somehow Apollo and Artemis both thought they already won," Cupid said.

Sandy had found his way to Calliope's side and was now discussing something with her, the images above his head flashing rather quickly before her. Jack made out a few chess pieces and not much else.

"Hmm… If they both thought they were winning," Calliope repeated, nodding along with what Sandy was saying.

"Here you are!" Clio said, rushing back into the room with an armful of items. She began handing them to Jack, one by one, and he struggled not to drop anything, "Doorknob, screwdriver, screws, and I know this is annoying but you have to actually replace the hinges on the door, too. So, I've got you three new hinges and screws for those as well. Before you install it, you have to hold the doorknob in your left hand as you walk across the threshold, and read the spell on this sticky note aloud, got it?"

"I think so?" Jack said as Clio set the sticky note on his chest, his hands clearly too full. He began sliding what he could into his hoodie pocket.

"I have an idea," Calliope said loudly in an attempt to regain the focus of the room. "But I need to discuss it with my sisters and with Cupid first."

"You sure?" Bunny said, nodding toward Cupid who, technically, was supposed to still be on probation. Cupid winced slightly at the notion.

"Yes," Calliope said. "This concerns him, too."

"Fair enough," North nodded. "Come, Jack! We install your new doorknob."

"Give us the rest of the night, you should hear from us again by morning," Calliope said. Her eyes fell to Jack, "Thank you for letting us know what was happening and… I'm sincerely sorry that you got dragged into this."

Jack didn't know what to say to that. He simply nodded in acknowledgement as North pulled a snow globe from his pocket.

Jack had tried to tell North that he could install the doorknob on his own, but North had insisted on helping, even if it just meant holding the door in place as Jack replaced the hinges.

It wasn't the first moment like this with North. Months earlier, when Jack had renovated the interior of his cabin and made it look far less abandoned, North had arrived early every morning, materials and lunchbox in hand, ready to get to work.

The elder Guardian had been the one to suggest the upgrades in the first place, as Jack had been in desperate need of a project to distract himself. He hadn't expected North to be so personally involved, but he had been in such high spirits at the idea that Jack couldn't turn him away.

Then, of course, there was the previous year when Jack pitched the idea of using a small amount of stardust to make a necklace, a Christmas gift for Rowan. North had explained the process with enthusiasm and Jack had spent hours in the workshop, working on his project as North worked on Christmas nearby.

It was nice, just being able to work silently next to a friend, also working silently. They would talk, sure, but when conversation came to a natural end, the silence was comfortable, and mostly filled with North's vast record collection.

They were mostly silent again through the work on the door, which Jack was grateful for, largely because he wasn't up to any real discussions after earlier.

When the new doorknob was successfully installed (or, successful as far as Jack could tell, anyway), Jack tossed the old one into a drawer, unsure what else to do with it.

"Thanks for your help," he said to North.

"Of course, Jack, I am here for anything," North said. Setting a hand to Jack's shoulder, he reiterated, "Anything."

It was a simple gesture, and not even a particularly special one. North was there for Jack, that was something that friends, that families, said to each other. It wasn't even the first time North had said it to Jack.

So, why were Jack's eyes welling up?

He cleared his throat and looked away. "Thanks," he said again.

"I will leave you be. But you know where to find me," North said. Jack nodded.

A flash of light from a portal, and North was gone. Jack collapsed onto his bed and groaned.

Why did he feel this way? Why was he upset? Hadn't everything gone exactly as he needed it to? Wasn't this the best case scenario?

Didn't he used to have his act together? Tears were blurring his vision again.

He should be happy about all of this. This was a good thing. His friends were supportive, they weren't mad at him! They weren't disappointed, nor weren't they questioning whether he should be a Guardian at all.

Why wasn't he happy?

Things really weren't any different now that Jack had made his confession about Melpomene. That was good!

Wasn't it?

But he felt cheated, almost, that he had worried so much only for it not to matter. Apollo trying to use it against him had only further validated that Jack should worry.

Was it all working out too easily? Should he be suspicious of the kindness?

Maybe not, these were the Guardians, after all. Bunny could be rough around the edges but "kindness" was a trait they could all sincerely express.

"Why are they being kind to me?" Jack said to himself before really realizing exactly what he had said.

Weren't they supposed to be?

No, no Bunny was supposed to lecture him, to tell him that he knew Jack wasn't like them. Tooth was supposed to be appalled at the details. North was supposed to turn his back on him, unsure of how to continue looking at Jack, knowing the sheer number of deaths he'd been involved in. Sandy's silence was supposed to suddenly become deafening.

That was what was supposed to happen.

That was what he deserved.

Instead, they made excuses for him, told him he wasn't at fault.

It didn't make any sense.

"I'm Jack Frost… I make a mess wherever I go," he whispered. Why didn't they remember that?

The room was quiet, a rare occasion when all the Muses were together.

Calliope had explained her idea, and after a few clarifications from the others: silence.

Some of them were staring at the carvings in the table. Others were giving each other meaningful glances. Erato was cradling her head in her hands.

"After all this time," she whispered, breaking the silence gently.

Melpomene's voice was sharp, a puncture in comparison as she declared, "Good riddance! They deserve it."

"Mel," Polyhymnia said, setting a hand to the other Muse's shoulder. "I know you're upset, but—"

"Yeah, I am!" Melpomene said. "I'm always upset! This is my life! He made this my life!"

"It's been a rough few months, emotions are high—" Polyhymnia said.

"It's been a rough few centuries," Melpomene practically spat. "Apollo doesn't care about us as people, Poly! He never has! We're just here to be useful to him. Artemis is just as conniving as he is! Wake up, your pacifist shit is getting old, you can't keep defending them!"

Polyhymnia took her hand from Melpomene's shoulder, looking pointedly down at the surface of the table as she folded her hands together.

"Don't be like that, Mel, we're on the same team," Clio said. "We can't start attacking each other. If we go through with Calliope's plan then we need to stick together."

"If we go through with it? If? Why is this even a discussion? It's the only option," said Melpomene.

Thalia, on the opposite side of Melpomene, gently held her hand without a word. Melpomene twitched as though she was about to tear her hand away, but stopped short.

"She's not wrong," Cupid said. "We need a clean break."

"It's not a clean break," Urania said. "Apollo and Artemis each come with allies that we need. We would be saying goodbye to all of that, and we still don't know what Pitch is planning."

"We still have the Guardians, and they come with Tsar Lunar," Euterpe pointed out. "And anyone else that isn't specifically there for Apollo or Artemis."

"Is it enough?" Erato said.

More glances exchanged.

"I think it's going to have to be," Calliope said. "Apollo, Artemis, they've made this whole thing about their rivalry. It's about the plans that Pitch could do anything with at any point. At this rate we'll be too busy dealing with them and Pitch will take us by surprise."

"If we try talking to Apollo and Artemis, if we try to appeal to them—" Polyhymnia started.

"You know it won't work," Terpsichore said, shaking her head.

"But there must be something," Polyhymnia said, tears rolling down her cheeks. Expressions on the others softened at this. "This can't… this can't all have been for nothing. We can't have served Apollo for this long for it all to mean nothing."

Silence again.

Everyone in the room had spent their immortal lifetimes, for better or worse, tethered to Apollo. An extension of his greatness. An example of his power.

He had shown them great kindness, but even greater wrath.

In his absences, they had to fumble about blindly, wishing for guidance. But when he made his presence known, they all teetered on eggshells.

And Artemis? She would do anything to win, even if it meant exposing secrets to enemies, destroying relationships.

She had been a supportive, invaluable resource at their disposal, but she had also been a reckless threat to their safety.

"You know, I thought that the Guardians had the bad deal with Tsar Lunar. I figured, at least Apollo knows he's jackass," Melpomene said after a beat.

Thalia sighed. "But that doesn't make him better, that still just makes him a jackass."

"He can be a jackass," Clio said. "And we can be grateful for what he's given us, but we can also be angry. We can be grateful for Artemis' help when we needed it, but we can also be angry for her schemes. I don't think our time serving Apollo or Artemis has been for nothing, but I'm with Calliope, I think it's time it's ended."

"Are we voting, then?" Terpsichore asked.

"Unless anyone has anything else to add," Calliope said.

No one spoke, though Melpomene seemed ready to start again. She stopped short when Thalia cast her a pleading look.

"All in favor?"

Melpomene's hand went up at once, followed shortly by Cupid's. The others were slower, some hesitant to lift their hand.

Polyhymnia met Melpomene's eyes, both wet with sorrow, before being the last to raise her hand.

A unanimous vote was nearly unheard of with this group.

"It's decided," Calliope said. "We double-cross Apollo and Artemis. Soon, we will follow neither."