Bunnymund's Baby Ch. 13

Chapter Thirteen: Free Jack

A huge gray bird landed next to them, revealing Berry on its back, along with the girl who'd helped abduct Joey - Little, right? They leapt off its back and ran into Olivia's waiting arms.

"Jack is being held in a prison near the edge of the Shadowlands," Berry said, looking up at her sister. "We tried to get him out, but they're getting help from Prince."

"Well, we'll just have to fix that, now won't we?" growled Olivia, eyes narrowing. She looked behind her, and then Bunnymund realized that in his rage he'd gone outside. "TIME!" The adult ran outside, followed by Nellie Ruth.

"What happened? Didja find J'ey?" he asked, slapping a hand over Green's mouth before another argument could start.

"Jack's being held in a prison on Shadowland's edge, Prince is assisting the guards," she explained. Anger lit a fuse in Time's eyes, and he seemed to grow.

"Well, n'w's high time we gave that pris'n a visit." Little pulled a whistle out of her pocket at her brother's statement and blew a deep note. A huge gray bird, identical to her earlier mount, landed next to the girl, dwarfing her. Another landed, and another, until there stood a small - in number, not size - army.

"'lr'ght!" she called. Olivia took the Pooka's wrist and pulled him towards him a bird. The Pooka was too entranced studying the gray birds to notice. "W'r' h'd'n t' th' 'dg' 'f th' Sh'd'wl'nds. Br'k d'wn th' w'lls 'nd fr' J'ck!" A cry rose up as the birds lifted their heads and yowled. Olivia said something to Bunnymund, but it was lost as the birds flapped enormous wings and took off.

~~XxX~~

Bunnymund was pulled off the bird before he was even aware of what was going on. His humanoid friend pulled him towards a pit, which on one edge stood a small house, surrounded by shifting shapes and an army of red eyes. The birds had already began attacking, and howls started echoing around them and into the pit. Diving into the action, Bunnymund dodged shadows and attempted to keep an eye on the Children. But something was wrong. Nothing he did, not boomerangs or egg bombs, was working on destroying the shadows. He flinched as something flashed in front of his face, and felt surprise dawn on him as blood trickled down his face from a new cut.

"Olivia!" he called, but there was no response. Come to think of it, he couldn't see any of the Children. "Berry! Little! Nellie Ruth!" Another shadow cut his chest,  and he growled instinctively. A shriek of pain caught his ears. Was that a demon or one of the Children? Another shriek, more human this time. A shadow caught his arm and he tried to pull away, but others caught on and held him down. A dark obsidian blade flashed above his head. Bunnymund squeezed his eyes shut. No one, least  of all him, wanted to see the end coming.

"SUHQ!" The air stilled. Opening one eye, the Pooka saw the blade hanging above his heart and heaved a sigh of relief. But why had the demons stopped? "Iquyj jkxy, zd jdbkyi! C ub qsz lehdl uyi qske isuhh pkx qk bd!" He felt someone pull him up and looked into glowing golden eyes. A gentle look danced in her eyes but Olivia's brows were furrowed. The other Children were gathered behind her. As the humanoid turned back to the demons, Berry ran up to him and allowed the gray rabbit to gather her into his arms. "Ykx iquyj jkxy, rkl qske isuhq ykq nddv bd rlkb bcyd iky!" Like water on a rock, the demons broke and formed a path straight to the cell. Their steps echoed. Little reached the door first and threw the door open, only to step back as amazement dawned on her face. Rushing over, Bunnymund felt Berry slip from his arms as they beheld the sight before them.