"Guys!" Jack called into the darkness, which now was not nearly as dark as he had initially thought. There was a new strength to his voice, a glitter in his eye, and determination in each step. When he came to an intersection he didn't waver, and went with his gut decision. "Guys it's me, Jack! Your friendly neighborhood Mischievous Spirit!" He knew Pitch was out there but he wasn't worried. Jack had broken the illusion, and that's all the power a nightmare had. Pitch no longer held any power over him without his illusions. He was clearly too weak to do anything else, most likely that was why he employed the Reaper.

Which was actually rather impressive, when Jack thought about it. He didn't even know the Reaper was a spirit. Of course, he also didn't know that Cupid was a spirit, and a few years ago he had to learn the hard way that Leprechauns were actually spirits too.

No, this was no time for remembering cringeful times, this was serious. Serious. Jack was really bad at serious. A dead end halted his thoughts and he let out a frustrated grunt. Okay, so this cave wasn't a labyrinth anymore, but that didn't make it any less annoying. He turned quickly and picked up his pace. His friends could really be in danger. It was a difficult thing to comprehend for the Guardian of Fun, but it wasn't impossible. The image of Cupid's scared face flashed through his mind. Cupid knew serious all too well, and that was enough for him. If only he could find his friends, they could kick Pitch's butt and get out of there. If only he could maneuver through this cave. Ugh! He had taken another wrong turn and almost smacked directly into a cold cave wall.

Cupid groggily woke from her nap. The darkness was back, surrounding her. For a moment she thought she was dead, but the scratching of the Easter Bunny brought her back to the present. He was still desperately clawing at the crack in the wall as if it would actually do anything. Cupid didn't particularly enjoy being the pessimist, but there was no denying that they'd be stuck there for a very long time.

"Well, well," a voice cooed. A voice everyone in the room knew all too well.

"Pitch…" North grunted, anger and hatred clear in his voice.

"Oi! Let us out of 'ere so I can give you the walloping you deserve!" Bunny was furious. He stopped his scratching so he could really emphasize his punching. Tooth sat near him, cold and tired, worried how the tiny teeth were making due back at the North pole.

"Just let us go, Pitch" Tooth urged, clearly pleading with his sense of reason. "You're not strong enough to hold us here forever."

"Oh, but aren't I?" Pitch laughed again, his voice filling their minds. "You see, in a mere 24 hours children all over the world will wake up to find, -gasp- no presents under their Christmas trees?" North let out a groan at Pitch's pretend shock. "And not only that, but come Easter there won't be any pretty painted eggs! And no quarters under their pillows, and no sweet dreams to go around." Sandy had balled his fists and gritted his teeth. It was a shame that they were in the dark, because if looks could kill the Sandman would have the Nightmare King by his throat.

"This is just wrong, Pitch, and you know it." Tooth coerced once more. She hoped for even an ounce of sympathy that she could use. It was a long-shot but she had no other choice.

"It is not wrong. I am the Boogieman, I was made to be feared." Such simple words had never had such venom laced through them as they did coming from the lips of Pitch Black. " I will not sit idly by waiting for my strength to be regained throughout the centuries, after all, this is such a faster method."

"You will not get away with this," North said, grinding his teeth as he reluctantly held back all the things he really wanted to say.

"You might be right…" Pitch let out a low chuckle, "But I'm pretty sure you're not. Already, children are waking up from nightmares with no little quarter under their pillow. It's a real shame that their faith is so fragile. Mine, however, will be everlasting." Suddenly, his voice no longer sounded as if it were coming from inside their heads. Rather, the voice emanated from inside the room. "By the way, I'm sure you all have met…"

"He's over 'ere!" Bunny yelled, leaping towards the deep English voice. He had his arm up and ready to pounce when he heard a light, feminine gasp. The light from the hole suddenly shown on Cupid's pale, frightened face. Her arms were raised defensively, her body cowering in the corner. Pitch had tried to sick the group on her, but they luckily stopped in time. "No…" Bunny whispered. His initial shock became disbelief before slowly melding into disappointment and anger. "Don't tell me you've gotten yourself involved with Pitch again."

"Oh no…" Tooth mumbled upon seeing Cupid's face. Cupid was clearly scared and broken, she couldn't even form any words to defend herself. She shook her head slightly, not looking up at any of the Guardians.

"Great, just great," North grunted. "As if Pitch was not enough to worry about." He stormed off to another portion of their confined area, grumbling and arguing with himself.

Bunny bent down, looking Cupid right in the eye. She had lowered her arms slightly, but still looked down at the flooring of the cave. He could see a purple bruise forming on the side of her head. It reminded him of when she had been with Pitch back when the Guardians had taken her in. "What 'ave you gotten yourself into now?" Anger was still present, but his words were caring. As much as he hated what Cupid had become, he was able to acknowledge that it was entirely Pitch's fault. Her green eyes flicked up to meet Bunny's. The words still would not form, but she couldn't cry either. She knew she let them down and they hated her for that.

"I-" Cupid wanted to say something to plead her innocence, but when the sentence started to form she was cut off. A deep voice cut through the eerie silence of the room. It was a voice none of the Guardians expected to hear.

"GUYS!" The voice yelled. "Let's GO we've got to save Christmas!"

Hey guys, so I only ask that if you enjoy the story, leave a review so that I know to update it. Even a few words just to let me know people exist out there. Otherwise, I'll probably lose motivation and do something else. I'm not really sure if anyone still reads RotG stories anymore, but I know I love them, so I'm starting mine up again. Have a nice day everyone!