AN: Well! Here it is! The prequel to Winter Wonderland and the complete history of Alice and Bunny's relationship!

I knew that this would turn out to be long and I didn't want to spend two or three chapters in Winter Wonderland trying to incorporate all of this. Doing several long flashbacks in one chapter while also trying to move along WW's storyline would probably end up a confusing disaster, so I decided to do it this way. I hope you guys don't mind.

Anyways, this will be a small(ish) series of one-shots taking place before events of both Alice games and the ROTG movie.

RECENTLY RE-EDITED

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice: Madness Returns or Rise of the Guardians.

Bunnymund wasn't the kind of spirit that could easily admit that he had been wrong, nor was he the kind of spirit that could admit he had taken things too far, that he had been too callous or harsh, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of it when he was.

He remembered that Easter Sunday, two years ago, when he and the other guardians (sans Jack and Sandy) had failed to stop Pitch's nightmares from destroying the Easter eggs. He remembered seeing their brightly painted shells scattered in pieces along the tunnels of his domain. He remembered watching helplessly from the bushes as the children looked everywhere for his beautiful eggs only to be disappointed when they couldn't find a single one.

It had been absolutely heartbreaking.

And he remembered how one of the children walked straight through him like...like he didn't even exist. It was a sensation he hadn't felt since first becoming a spirit. It hurt both mentally, and physically. Immediately, Bunny felt his strong belief dwindle as the Easter Sunday sky grew dark with overcasting clouds, leaving him feeling weak and empty as his believers stopped believing in him and all their hope slowly disappeared.

At the time, he didn't even try to hold back his anger towards Jack for not being where he was supposed to. It enraged the gray pooka to hear that the white-haired teen had been with Pitch Black, instead of where he belonged; with them. It enraged him that Jack had chosen to go after his memories instead of helping the guardians fight off Pitch's nightmares, even though North promised the boy that after Pitch's defeat, they would get his memories back for him. The boy just couldn't control his impulses for one day. For one, single day. Bunny's day!

He had been so angry because he had been so hurt. He was hurt by what Jack did - and just when he was starting to like the annoying little show-off!

Bunny never liked getting hurt, regardless if it was physical or emotional, and because of that, he didn't always handle tenuous situations like he should. In fact, the Easter Bunny was the most insensitive spirit of them all. He didn't have Tooth's loving personality, or North's optimistic outlook on life, or even Sandy's sense of understanding. He was impatient and hot-tempered. That was just the way he was.

Looking back on that day, Bunny already realized that he had been too hard on the kid. Jack had made a mistake, albeit a huge mistake that nearly cost all the guardians their lives, but the winter spirit certainly hadn't meant for things to turn out the way they did. He was distracted and tricked by the infamous Nightmare King after all. Manipulation and mind games were Pitch's forte.

Bunny's reaction and anger had been completely justifiable, even in the opinions of the others, but to be perfectly honest, Jack's betrayal wasn't what pushed Bunny so far as to almost lash out physically against the boy. Truthfully, the more pessimistic side of him always expected Jack's carelessness to cause something like that. So even though he was still greatly disappointed in him, Bunny remained shamefully unsurprised.

But when that young boy walked through him like he wasn't even there...something inside Bunny's mind broke and he was thrown back through the years, back down the darkest road of memory lane, back to the last time a child passed through him because they didn't believe anymore. Memories of a horrible night, memories that he had worked so hard to bury, came flooding out all at once and Bunny's biggest failure and regret flashed in front of his eyes like a strobe light. He felt a horrible wave of Deja Vu wash over him and crush his lungs as he curled into his chest and sat heartbroken on the freshly cut grass of the park, and not even the comforting touch of Tooth's hand on his shoulder could ease the Easter Bunny's pain.

'They don't see me...they don't see me...'

Just like that cold November night when she didn't see him.

AN: So, what do you think? Fantastic or horrible? There is no in between. Just kidding, but seriously, let me know what you think! I'm horrible at introductions so hopefully this didn't turn out too badly.

Please review!

~Scorpiofreak~