The Guardians had ganged up on the laughing Boogeyman, Bunnymund tossed egg bombs, yelling at him.
"Give Jack back you rat-bag!" North threw one of his swords at the shade, almost impaling him but a Nightmare blocked the blow.
"Why now that wasn't very nice." Pitch observed.
"GIVE HIM BACK PITCH!" North roared as Tooth came up from behind, Nightmares attacked her and Sandy turned them into dream sand. Shadow could see that the tide would soon turn and she stepped from the shadows nearby Pitch.
"He's not being held by Pitch... and I would appreciate it if you would stop killing my servants." Her tone was calm, as if talking about some every day thing like the weather. Bunny's ears flattened against his skull in anger as he turned first.
"Ya bloody traitor! Where's Frostbite? What have you done with 'im?!" The Guardians turned to look at Shadow with disgust, only Sandy seemed to look at her in sadness instead; Tooth flew towards Shadow with a war cry and swiped at her with her rapier as North moved forward. Bunny threw his boomerangs at the Nightmares surrounding him and Sandy. Shadow blocked Tooth's blow, sending her flying back with a whip of black sand that ensured she smacked one of the cages above, another sent North skidding back before she turned her attention and scowled at Bunny.
"And what have I done NOW to earn your ire KANGAROO? As for Jack, you don't need to worry about him, not like YOU of all the Guardians care." The last word was spoken so coldly that were it air the temperature around everyone would have dropped several degrees.
"I'm not blind, I know just how much you "care" about him. At least the other three are actually TRYING to make up for what they've done in the past, but what about YOU?! Hmmm? You wounded him the most and you haven't even attempted to make amends!" She crossed her arms, summoning many of the Nightmares from near Bunny back over to where she stood and out of the Pooka's range, even for his boomerangs.
"LEAVE. Before I make you, you insufferable, proud, miserable excuse for a spring spirit!" Bunny flinched beneath the truth of the words she spat at him. North didn't want to leave Jack there, but he could see that they'd have no chance in saving him as they were.
"We'll be back." North promised in a low voice as he grabbed Tooth and headed towards the lair's entrance to go back to the sleigh. Bunny growled and tossed a boomerang so hard it managed to destroy a Nightmare and a Fearling that were standing between Shadow and the Pooka, it also hit her in the arm. Sandy glanced over at Shadow, a deep sadness written in his eyes before he left with the other Guardians. Shadow caught the boomerang before it could arch back to its owner, as soon as her hand touches it the thing crumbled; a subtle warning to the Pooka to not push his luck. Meanwhile, Jack was fiddling with the "door" in his room.
"Come on... come on..." He was using an ice pick to try and pick the lock on the door. He flinched when a Nightmare came into the room and nipped at him to try and get him to stop picking at the door but Jack just waved it away. The Nightmare left the room only to appear next to Shadow, snorting and her scowl turned into something of a smirk.
"Oh he is, is he?" She chuckled softly.
"Thank you, pet. You may go feed now... but be subtle tonight. Do not attract the attention of the Guardians for I will not be there to protect you." The Nightmares scattered then and Shadow slipped into the shadows again to return to the room she'd left Jack in, coming from a shadow on the opposing side of the room this time. She watched a moment before speaking.
"You know... that wall doesn't lead anywhere... In fact, it'd take you several months to make even the smallest of progress considering there's other types of rocks in this cavern besides what you're digging at, harder types that won't crumble so easily beneath ice." Jack nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard your voice and whirled around, trying to hide the pick as if he wasn't just caught trying to pick the lock... or just getting no where with it.
"What? I wasn't lock picking... Who said I was? I'm powerless remember?" He felt a nervous shiver go through his spine as he realized he'd been caught red handed and he backed away from the "door." She chuckled.
"Jack, that isn't a real door. You can't pick it. Well... no... I suppose you COULD... but there's just more rock beyond it. Didn't I tell you before that Pitch was playing with your mind?" Jack growled.
"I don't want to stay here, you know I hate being cooped up in places."
"Yes, I know you don't like being cooped up." She became thoughtful at that.
"Tell you what... we can go out tonight. Just don't try anything funny, you won't enjoy the results if you try and escape." She motioned to the sand collar that still hung around his neck, the leash had dispersed earlier, but the collar had not and it was ice proof so Jack couldn't simply freeze it off.
"The pain won't kill you, but go too far from me and you'll wish it did." Jack sighed, he'd noticed the collar and had tried getting it off before but with no success. It wasn't really hurting him either and his attempts to get it off hadn't hurt him, but neither could he get it to leave no matter what he'd tried before he'd attempted to escape. He followed her through the shadows to the the outside, unable to keep from smiling as he breathed in the night's air as the wind blew his hair back in a 'where have you been' gesture.
"It's okay, I'm fine." He reassures the wind and it left him alone and seemed to sadly caress Shadow who watches as Jack whooped with joy as he runs about Shadow in a circle like an energetic child. A trace of a smile that tugs at her lips is hidden by the shadows of her cowl. She murmurs quietly to the wind, too quiet to be heard by Jack.
"Some lessons are not easily learned... for now... this is how it will be. The night is mine to reign..." Jack sat down by a cool looking climbing tree, until he noticed something shiny at the very top branch. He began to climb to go get it, curious as to what it could be and how it had gotten way up there. Shadow watched quietly, trying not to smile at his antics, but she couldn't help the small smile for this was one of the many things that she - as Mysterie - had come to love about him. She wasn't mad about what he had said before, but neither could she simply just go back to the way things had been after the melding of darkness that had occurred in the cage. She shifted her attention to two Nightmares about the size of ponies that were frolicking about like they were real horses. A deafening snap cuts through the night air as one of Jack's feet slipped on a branch and from the height he was at he could easily snap his neck from the fall... were he mortal anyway. He reached for the shiny thing as the tree's limbs groaned in protest; he was too focused on getting the shiny thing to care.
"Almost got it..." At the sound of the snap Shadow's head whipped around, sand shooting out to wrap around the groaning branches, reinforcing them before she can even think about what she'd done. When she realized it, a scowl crossed her face; she realized it was a foolish and unnecessary endeavor because while immortals like Jack weren't immune to death, they were notoriously hard to kill. A simple fall that would be fatal for a mortal would simply really hurt an immortal; the reflex to protect him was, she realized, a rather foolish one, but she didn't recall the sand back to her. Instead, she shifted her gaze back to the Nightmares who were prancing about a few feet away.
Jack finally reached the shiny object only to see that it was a message in a bottle from Sandy. Well, he knew it was from Sandy because there was dream sand in the bottle. He glanced down, hoping that Shadow hadn't seen it and jumped down from the height rather recklessly; something that might have scared her half to death had she been paying any attention to him. He put the message in his hoodie pocket before she could see it.
"It was only a streamer from a balloon." He said, hoping that she bought it. Had Shadow noticed the bottle she said nothing about it, her attention wasn't on Jack just then, but the two Nightmares who were play-fighting nearby. Jack thanked the gods that she hadn't seemed to notice the bottle; he looked at the playful Nightmares and thought to himself. That looks like fun... I wish Bunny were here. He sighed. Shadow turned slightly though when she heard a voice, someone else was in the forest besides them. A woman and she was singing. Her voice was harsh as she sang and the heartbreak could be heard in her tone even as her voice wavered a little; it wasn't professional sounding but she wasn't a bad singer either.
If I had just one tear running down your cheek
Maybe I could cope, maybe I'd get some sleep
If I had just one moment at your expense
Maybe all my misery would be well spent
Could you cry a little
Lie just a little
Pretend that you're feeling a little more pain?
I gave, now I'm wanting something in return
So cry just a little for me
If your love could be caged, honey I would hold the key
And conceal it underneath the pile of lies you handed me
And you'd hunt... and those lies... they'd be all you'd ever find
That'd be all you'd have to know for me to be fine... yeah...
And you'd cry a little
You'd die just a little
And baby I would feel just a little less pain
I gave, now I'm wanting something in return
So cry just a little for me
Give it up baby
I hear you're doing fine
Nothing's gonna save me
I can see it in your eyes
Some kind of heartache
Honey, give it a try
I don't want pity
I just want what is mine
Could you cry a little
Lie just a little
Pretend that you're feeling a little more pain
I gave, now I"m wanting something in return
So cry just a little for me
Yeah
Cry just a little for me
Whoa whoa
Could you cry a little for me?
She tilted her head a little, knowing the young woman who seemed to stumble into their little clearing couldn't see them or the Nightmares. She was clearly a teenager and the woman leaned against a nearby tree; sobbing her heart out while Shadow simply watched. She felt sorry for the youngster, but she didn't show it and the song... it had seemed like the girl had sang it as if she had known that Shadow was there and that she, too, was in pain. That while Mysterie was buried deep within her, beyond conscious thought, the feelings she felt for Jack were far from as buried and burned in her heart; that was why she wanted to protect Jack. Hearing the song, Jack turned his attention from Shadow and followed the sound of the song and started to follow it; he felt compelled to move towards the woman for some odd reason. Shadow followed him, but kept a distance of a few feet between them as the woman, not seeing either of them, wept; the Nightmares that were playing before trotted over to her, circling much like vultures waiting for the kill. Jack growled at them and they backed off, as they complied Jack moved to gently touch her shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay?" He looked towards Shadow before glaring at the formerly playful Nightmares. Seeing that Shadow wasn't snapping at them, the Nightmares resumed circling around the girl.
"She can't hear you Jack. She's not a believer." She watched as the girl shivered from the cold Jack's touch caused and curled up, sobbing harder.
"You can't help her... 300 years of loneliness and you're telling me you've never seen someone who's heartbroken?" She paused a moment in confusion then shook it away.
"Never mind... I suppose you have, you just don't understand it because you've never felt it. You don't know what it's like to have someone you love turn their back on you."