A/N: With the Second in my "First Introductions" series, I had more of a story outside of their first meeting then in my first fic. I have never written with an accent before, so if it just sounds/looks stupid, sorry. I'll try to get better. I think I only used it like half the time... Read, and enjoy. Review if you so feel it.
Sandy looked around him, and nodded his head as he positioned himself in preparation to send out the dreams for the children around the world. With Easter Morning the next day, Sandy knew his dreams would be centered around one thing. Eggs. He raised his hands and was about to shoot forth his sand when he felt a familiar chill in the air. The Sandman turned and waved at the incoming figure of Jack Frost.
"Hey, Sandy. Mind if I join you tonight?" Jack asked as he flew up beside the small man.
Sandy shook his head, and made a spot for the other guardian on his sand cloud. Creating a comfortable chair, the Sandman patted next to him. Jack took the invitation and relaxed as he watched Sandy start his nightly routine.
Jack watched as rivers of dreams spilled from the cloud, and headed towards the children down below. He caught a glance at a specific dream, and his eyes followed it as it went to a house near the two of them. Suddenly his vision was blocked by a golden hand waving in front of him.
"Whoa" Jack exclaimed as he pushed it away from his face. "Sorry, Sandy." He looked at his friend. "What do you need?" He said with a small smirk.
Sandy made a series of signs above his head, some of which included Bunnymund, Easter eggs, frustration marks, and one of Jack's blizzards.
Jack laughed. "Nope. Not this year."
Immediately an exclamation point and a question mark formed above Sandy's head, his face full of surprise.
"I've been making it snow on Easter Morning for a few years-" Jack stopped as Sandy just gave him a look. "Alright," Jack laughed again. "Almost every year since 89, though none as powerful.. mostly just little flakes in some place around the world... anyways, I've decided to give our old rabbit friend a break." He finished with a grin.
The Sandman just gave him a look. No signals made of sand were needed to know what Sandy was saying. Really?
Jack shrugged it off. "Really. Besides, he's expecting it every year now. What's the fun in doing something he knows will happen? Anyways, he's probably worrying about me and waiting for a storm that will never happen, right now as we speak." He smiled at the thought of his fellow Guardian glancing uncertainly at the sky, and cursing Jack's name when nothing happens.
Sandy just rolled his eyes at the boy and continued his work. Suddenly, Jack noticed that the Sandman twitched, and saw him frown in concentration.
"What's up?" He asked, hoping nothing too big was happening.
Sandy shook his head with a small shrug. No idea.
He formed a miniature golden globe in his hands, and had the sand flow out around it, like it did on normal nights. Jack watched as it covered the world, but there was a small part where it just stopped.
"Your dreams can't get there?" Jack says, looking up from the globe.
Sandy nodded worriedly.
"I'll go check it out for you" The boy got to his feet and was about to head off when Sandy grabbed his hand.
"Relax, if it gets out of hand, or I can't handle it, I'll call you guys." Jack said, waving away the Sandman's concern.
Sandy gripped his hand tighter. Promise?
Still getting use to not being alone, the winter spirit gave a thankful smile to his friend. He placed his other hand on the Sandman's. "I promise." Jack than started to fly away. "Just hurry up and finish, so you can come check on me" He said, turning his head back and giving Sandy a wave goodbye.
Jack flew with all speed towards the area that Sandy had indicated. It was farther away than expected, and would take him most of the night. Jack didn't mind though. He loved feeling the wind against his face, and having such freedom, knowing that he could go anywhere. What made it better was that he had a mission. No flying around and trying to find things to occupy his mind, or get rid of the loneliness like before. Jack just hoped that this wasn't too big of a problem. He'd rather handle it on his own... although, working with Sandy is pretty fun.
He reached his destination, and immediately saw the problem.
"Nightmares." he breathed out.
Jack shot to the ground and took cover before the creatures saw him. He glanced at the three or four households that were surrounded by the black sand. He quickly went back into hiding. Okay, he could worry now. A few Nightmares around the world was fine, it was actually pretty normal. Having them all bunched in the same area... well, that was not so normal. Jack poked his head out again and tried to count how many of them there were.
"One, two, three..." he began mumbling to himself. "..eight.. no, wait, did I already count that one?"
He groaned in frustration and tried once more, only to lose count again. After a couple more attempts, he decided to give up. They were moving around too much, and dissipating into sand, or the sand was forming into the steeds. This was confusing. Jack looked at the Nightmares and began to feel doubt slipping in. He couldn't take on all of them. He silently wished Sandy was here with him, but then memories of the last time the two guardians fought Nightmares together came.
The Dark arrow flew towards the Sandman as he fought off the black stallions. Jack desperately tried to reach him in time. As the arrow hit, all time seemed to freeze. Sandy had a look of shock and pain in him that quickly changed to fear. His normal golden glow began to be corrupted by the dark sand. Jack tried to get to him, to save him, to do anything! As the blackness surrounded Sandy, Jack felt a sudden loss of something very special. All the children's dreams... gone. Some one he could consider a friend.. gone. Fear began to creep in him and-
"NO!" Jack cried out, trying to get that memory out of his head. Shaking his head in relief that the moment was gone, he was surprised to find black sand on him. He watched it fall out of his hands, and swirl around till it formed one of the horrific steeds that were riding through the town.
"Uh oh"
Jack quickly grabbed his staff, having dropped it during the flashback, and flew into the air, catching the attention of five or six other Nightmares. "Great..." He said as he looked behind him. Actually, this might not be so bad after all. I could lead them around, while picking off one or two at a time. I can do that, I'm faster than them... right?
Jack flew straight up into the sky. When he had gained enough of a lead in front of the mares, he suddenly turned and fell straight down. The steeds, taken by surprise at the frosty bullet coming at them, tried to move out of the way. Two of them were shot down by frozen spears as Jack passed them. The others turned and continued to follow the winter spirit. Upon reaching the ground, Jack quickly pulled up, and skimmed the ground. One steed crashed into the ground, unable to right itself. The others had pulled up in time, and were still hot on his trail.
Jack looked back and saw that his little stunt had grabbed the attention of more of the Nightmares. Most of them were following him, but some had broken off from the group. Jack sighed and hoped those others wouldn't be too much trouble.
A bright blur of color on the ground made Jack slow for a moment. He quickly passed it, but his mind stayed on the fact that he had forgotten one very important thing. It's Easter! He looked back at the Nightmares, and was pleased to see that most of them had their attention on him, instead of the easter eggs that were now scrambling around, trying to hide. Now I just need to keep them focused on me, so that Easter doesn't get ruined again. I'll just lead them away from town and- Jack's thoughts were interrupted as he saw a Nightmare heading straight for the egglettes. He turned and quickly sped towards them, praying he reached them in time. In the corner of his eyes, Jack thought he saw a blur of gray flash by, but he ignored it, and desperately reached for the eggs. Getting closer and closer, he saw the Nightmare's hooves raise up, and than came crashing down.
Jack bit back a cry of pain as the steed stomped down on him. One of the hooves hit his staff, causing it to fall from his grasp. His momentum carried him away from anymore attacks, but it also flung him into the ground. Momentarily stunned, Jack tried to stand up. His back and right arm stung with a throbbing pain, but the little egglettes in his hands and jacket pocket that were now giving him thanks helped Jack deal with it.
He got up and ran down the street, holding on to the little guys with all his might. Upon reaching a small ally way, he placed them down. "Go hide. Quick!" He whispered, shooing them away. Looking behind him, he saw the nightmares catching up. On foot, he was no match for their speed. As he stood and ran, he saw another blur of gray. This time, he knew exactly what it was.
No way! Yes! I can't believe he's here. This just got a lot more fun! Jack tried to locate the blur, but it was gone again. Deciding not to stand there and let the Nightmares come, Jack began running again. He felt his breathe coming in shorter gasps. Suddenly, a Nightmare was in front of him. Jack jumped a bit and did a sharp turn, leaping through some bushes connecting two yards. He immediately flung himself towards the ground, taking cover from another steed that flew above him. What he landed on was not the ground though. He found himself on top of a big furry thing that was now groaning from being pushed to the ground.
"Bunnymund!" Jack said, thrilled to see his fellow guardian.
Bunny, for his part, was not as pleased to see Jack. All night long, the rabbit's thoughts had turned towards the winter spirit and the winter flakes that seemed to come every year. He hated just waiting for it to happen, knowing Jack did it just to annoy him. In the end though, no snow came. Bunny had internally yelled at Jack, knowing that the little bugger had not done it just to make him mad. When he had finished hiding his eggs in this neighborhood, he was really surprised to see Nightmares starting to come. He had tried to fight them off, but they seemed to multiply. After getting them off his back, he returned and tried to come up with a plan of action. Needless to say, he was surprised when Jack Frost shot forth from nearby, grabbing a bunch of the horses' attention. Using Jack as a distraction, Bunny was able to bite off one or two, before Jack came shooting down from the skies. Bunny had looked around, making sure that his egglettes were getting somewhere safe. When he saw some in danger, he immediately headed for them, intent on saving them. When he saw Jack take the hit for them... he was...speechless. After everything Bunny and Jack have done to each other, and how he treated Jack when he was first called as a Guardian. To see Jack risk himself to save his little egglettes and his holiday... and even now, when Jack had crashed into him. He had called him by his real name, not some irritating nickname that the little frost spirit always seemed to use. He was relieved that Bunny was here. It was then that Bunny realized something he thought would never happen.
He considered Jack Frost...fr- an ally. Jack was an ally. A comrade, a companion. A good one at that...
Not that he would ever tell him that...
He opened his mouth to speak, but than saw that the two of them were surround by Nightmares. He quickly stood up, making Jack fall to the ground. Reaching for his boomerang, he was surprised to find it not there. He turned to face Jack, and saw his weapons in the boy's hands. Jack shook his head, giving Bunny a 'Tsk tsk' sound, than threw the ranged weapon into the oncoming Nightmares. Bunny just sighed and reached for his egg grenades, only to find two there.
"Wha' the?" He exclaimed.
Jack let out a laugh, causing Bunny to turn immediately. He was holding most of his bombs. After Jack had thrown one at another Nightmare, Bunny took a step forward and glared at the boy.
"Give 'um here, Frostbite." His voice low and dark.
Jack threw one more egg, destroying the last few Nightmares. He then returned the glare with a confused look.
"Uh... It's Easter... I'm supposed to find eggs."
Right when he had heard Bunny's demand, Jack had been ready. He had the perfect answer. He couldn't wait to see the big guy's face. Jack knew for sure it would be anger, frustration, annoyance, or something at least similar to that.
What Jack got instead was a mix between confused, surprised, and a bit taken back.
Jack mimicked those same expressions. What to heck? Whats wrong with him? The Kangaroo hadn't even yelled at him, or anything! All he did was stare... oh, and give Jack the strangest look.
"Uh, Kangaroo?"
Nothing.
"OH MY GOSH! YOUR EGGS!" Jack shouted.
That got Bunny's attention, and he immediately turned towards Jack, looking ready to ponce on him.
Jack stepped back at how effective that was. "Wow, you really like your little egglettes"
"Don't joke about that, Frostbite!" Bunny snarled. He stood up normally and snatched back his boomerang. "What are you doing here anyways?"
Jack scoffed. "I should be asking you that question."
Bunny looked back at him, "What do you mean? You should know what I'm doin' here." Bunny felt a bit odd after saying that, feeling a wave of DeJa'vu come over him.
Jack just looked at him with a 'oh really?' kind of face. "I know what you weren't doing. You were not hiding your eggs."
Bunny opened his mouth to reply but Jack cut him off. "You finished awhile ago, at least you should have if you were keeping on schedule."
Bunny seemed to hear a small echo of Jack's response. "...you were done awhile ago" A child's voice sang. He shook his head to get rid of the weird flashback, and pointed at Jack. "I was making sure the egglettes were safe from the Nightmares." His voice stern.
Jack shook his head and turned to face away from the bunny, hands behind his back. "Nope" He voice held a smile in it. "I already had that covered. You were going to help me."
Bunny looked up as he heard that. He saw a small snippet of the memory, just on the edge of his consciousness. 'The kid glanced back. Bunny could tell that the boy was pleased with the answer he gave. '
He rubbed his head as it began to ache from the mini flash backs. I'm going to have to ask Tooth for that memory after this... it's kinda getting' annoying.
"I didn't know you cared, Kangaroo" Jack joked. He rocked back on the balls of his feet as Bunny just stood there, rubbing his head.
Jack frowned. It's no fun to make fun of him if he's not listening...
Jack opened his mouth to make another remark, when his eyes grew wide and his speech changed into a cry of warning.
"WATCH OUT!"
Jack threw himself onto the rabbit, but instead of getting hit by the black sand of the final Nightmare, he felt a familiar tingle as golden sand hovered around him and his foe. The creature called out in defeat as it vanished, but Jack simply collapsed and fell asleep, a smile playing on his lips.
Bunny caught the sleeping form of Jack and he turned to find Sandy behind them. He had a look of worry on him and was glancing at his sleeping companion.
Bunny laid him down, then turned to face Sandy. "Why'd you go and hit him for?" He thought for a moment, "Then again, he is less annoying this way..." he mumbled. "Good job, Sandy" He said, throwing a grin towards the little man.
Sandy didn't return the smile. Instead he looked at Bunny with a question mark above him.
"What?" Bunny said defensively.
Sandy began making his sand symbols. He created a dazed person, then directed the question at Bunny.
Why were you just standing there? He also made a Nightmare that was charging, as well as a snowflake, both surrounded by golden sand.
Bunny gave an exasperated sigh, "You can't blame me for Jack getting hit by your dream sand."
Sandy created more symbols, but was forming them too quickly, trying to get it across to Bunny that if he hadn't been just standing there, Sandy wouldn't have needed to throw his sand, thus making it more Bunny's fault than his. Bunnymund, at that point though, was no longer paying attention, and was about to head towards his eggs to help them hide again for Easter.
Sandy flew in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. Bunny tried to move past him, but the little man was persistent. Sandy pointed back at Jack, who was still sleeping on the ground, and made a figure above his head, carrying another in his arms, than pointed towards Bunny.
"Why can't he just stay there till he wakes up? It's not like he's never slept on the ground before." The guardian of hope responded.
Sandy looked angry at that thought, and pointed around Jack. There were little bits of Nightmare Sand floating around still, trying to reach Jack and corrupt his dream.
Bunny let out another sigh. "Why can't you do it?" He asked.
Sandy turned towards the four houses the Nightmares had been at, and brought out a little sand, saying that he needed to bring them good dreams to replace the bad ones they had gotten earlier.
Bunny threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine!, But I'm only movin' him to the center of town, you can pick him up from there."
He began to carry Jack, but Sandy stopped him again. "What now, Sandy?" He gave the little man a small glare.
Sandy just returned the look with of his own. He showed another figure, gently carrying another. It was completely different from Bunny's rough handling of throwing Jack onto his back.
"Fine... Happy?" He asked, as he rearranged Jack in his hands in the princess style.
Sandy, finally satisfied with Bunny, started floating away, to bring dreams, while Bunny rolled his eyes at how picky the little man could be.
As he walked, he saw a strange bulge in Jack's pocket. Reaching his paw in there he brought out one of his grenades. He smirked as he realized Jack could no longer throw it in his face when Bunny tried to leave...
Bunny paused in his steps. Why did he think that was what Jack was going to do? He might have been keeping it for a souvenir...Another flash back came, but this one more clear... This was the full memory of what happened, many Easter Mornings ago...
: : FLASHBACK : :
A cool breeze blew though the forest leaves, making them whisper to each other of the children coming soon. Easter Morning had never looked so fine. Thought Bunnymund as he finished hiding his colorful eggs. The guardian than began walking back though the forest to a hiding spot he had picked out earlier, so he could watch the children find the hidden treasures. As he walked, he caught voices on the wind. Light childish voice. 'Hm... They should just be wakin' up now, barely getting their breakfast' He shrugged it off. 'Probably just some excited kids wantin' to get the first pick'. He took a few more steps, but stopped as he heard a loud THUD and an exclamation of pain.
"Hey! Stop him!" A different voice called out.
Bunnymund jumped to the side and hid in the bushes as a young boy quickly ran past him. Closely following behind him were four other boys, most of whom were yelling at the one ahead of them. Blimey, this doesn't look good. The Easter Bunny turned and started running in the direction the children had gone. He followed to the side of them, but he soon overcame the four boys and was now running along side the first boy. The boy looked about twelve, his brown hair blowing behind him. Even with his breath coming short, the boy kept running though the trees. He held in his hand a wooden staff. Ah, that explains the thud. Must a' hit one of the others with that thing. The boy started to slow down as he realized he couldn't hear his pursuers anymore. He let out a sigh of relief and leaned against a tree to rest. Bunny also stopped and turned around, checking to make sure the boy really was safe. The guardian took a few steps in the direction he had come from, and listened. Feeling like it was finally safe, Bunny straightened and started walking away. About a minute later though, Bunny turned towards a sound behind him, and soon found himself on the ground with a mouth full of dirt, and the kid on top of him. His boomerangs, grenade eggs, and the boy's wooden staff were flung to the ground.
Bunny sat up, and started to sputter out the dirt. "Oie! Watch it, kid." It was than that Bunny realized the boy had bruises and cuts on him. Probably from those other boys.
The boy looked at him for a moment then began to talk excitedly. "You... You're the Easter-" He stopped and turned to look back at where he had came from. The other four boys had come through the bushes and glared at him.
"Jack..." One said, stepping forward. "Gimme the stuff you took... NOW!" He yelled that last part as the other three boys continued to stand back.
He must be the leader of this little group... Bunny thought as he came up with a plan. Seeing as none of the others boys reacted to him, they obviously couldn't see him. He was planning on using that to his full advantage.
"Yeah right. They weren't yours in the first place. You stole them!" Jack accused the boy as he stood up from on top of Buunymund. He looked down, ready to grab his staff to fight, when he noticed some colorful eggs lying beside it. He glanced at the big rabbit, and caught his eye, giving him a mischievous smirk.
Bunny understood that look immediately. The little bugger's gonna use my eggs! Bunny reached out his hand to grab Jack, but the boy had already grabbed the eggs, and sent one flying before Bunny could stop him.
The four boys each stepped back as they saw the incoming projectile. They relaxed as they realized it was just an easter egg. The leader snickered and was about to attack when the egg landed with a small explosion of colorful dust.
Jack let out a laugh as he saw what his new toy had done. He threw two more at the boys before they began to run off. They didn't know where Jack had gotten his colored bombs, but none of them wanted to stick around to find out. Just as Jack was about to throw his last one, his hand was grabbed. He turned around with a small gasp as he found himself facing a 6ft tall, pissed off, Easter Bunny.
"Gimme that... Now." The rabbit's Australian accent made his voice sound harsher than it would have been without. Jack just looked at him with the strangest look.
"Uh... It's Easter... I'm supposed to find eggs." He said in a matter-of-fact tone, though he couldn't keep a small smile from escaping his lips. "What were you doing all the way out here?" Jack asked suddenly.
Bunny, caught off guard by the question, hesitated. He shook his head in frustration at the kid. "Doesn't matter, besides I thought you'd a' guessed what I was doin' today." He looked back at Jack.
"Yup, you were being lazy... I'll go tell Santa that you were lazying about on your holiday" The boy turned to go when Bunny called to him.
"What do ya' mean? He knows exactly what I'm doing," The guardian said, "Besides..." He shrugged. "Why should I care what that old guy thinks?"
Jack smiled with a face full of joy at hearing Bunny's remark.
Bunny realized what he just done. He had confirmed that the other guardians existed. "Ugh, never mind. Why do you think I was bein' lazy? I was hidin' the eggs."
"No you weren't" Jack said immediately.
"Yeah, I was. I've been doing it all morning" Bunny cut in.
"But you were done awhile ago" Jack continued, using a sing-song voice.
Bunny's ear twitched in frustration. "I'd just finished, and I was gonna watch the kids!" He almost yelled. Bunny than sighed, This kid was getting on his nerves.
Jack shook his head and turned to face away from the bunny, hands behind his back. "Nope" He voice held a smile in it. "You were going to help me."
Bunny looked up as he heard that. The kid glanced back. Bunny could tell that Jack was pleased with the answer he gave.
A rooster crowed, and Bunny looked at the fully risen sun. "You'd better get on home, kid." He said, giving the kid a shooing gesture, as he turned to return to his own place.
Jack snickered. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked, making his voice sound innocent.
Bunny stopped, and turned around to face the boy again."What are you talking abou-" His eyes widen in realization as Jack holds in front of him the last egg grenade. He stretches out his hand to swipe it from the boy, but Jack quickly drops it, engulfing both him and the Easter Bunny in a blue colored smoke. As it swirled around Bunny, he heard Jack run off, laughing at his little prank. When it finally cleared, Jack was gone, along with any sign that he had been there at all.
Bunnymund shrugged. He decided to forget about this little incident, and go watch the kids' reactions to Easter Morning. Aw, man, I probably missed the little ones' first reactions. He then started running towards his original hiding spot.
Hiding in the bushes, the Easter Bunny looked over the children who were scattering around, looking for the eggs. Their eyes filled with a hope and joy. Man, I love my job. He was about to sneak away and go check on other areas, when one of the younger girls gave a little shout of joy.
"Jack!" She cried out and ran to hug the boy as he emerged from the trees.
"Sorry I'm late." He said with a laugh, hugging the little girl back. He turned and looked around. Upon seeing Bunny's hiding place, he gave a little smirk and stuck his tongue out.
Bunny's ear twitched again. Dang, that kid bugs me! He watched as Jack took the girl's hand and headed off in the direction where, Bunny presumed, his home was. One by one the other children left as well, carrying all they eggs they had found.
Bunny stood up and was surprised to find that all the eggs had been found. Sometimes the kids miss some, but this year all the eggs had been located. "Well, thats good. The egglettes always feel bad when they don't get found." He looked at the sun shining down, making the small town bright and warm. "All things said and done, this has been a pretty good Easter."
: : FLASHBACK COMPLETE : :
Standing by the fountain in the center of town, Bunny looked at the sleeping figure in his hands and let a little sigh out. What were the chances that the li'tle tyke back then would become a hero. As he saw Sandy coming, he quickly got rid of the smile that had creped onto his face.
When Sandy got to the town square, he hurried over to Bunny, and was surprised to see that he was still carrying Jack. He floated up to the rabbit and gestured to Jack. A question mark above his head, along with a figure sleeping, with a cross through it.
Bunny instantly got the message, and looked down at Jack in frustration. The little...!
He immediately dropped the boy and turned away as he heard the guardian of fun give a cry of surprise. Stomping down on the ground he created a tunnel that would lead him home. He tried to keep his temper in check as he heard laughter from behind him . He decided to just jump, and ignore Jack. He turned around to give one last look at the two of them, when he heard Jack speak up.
"Aren't you forgetting something, Kangaroo?" Trying to make his voice sound innocent.
Bunny gave the winter spirit a smirk of his own. "Not this time, Snowflake." He held up an Egg Grenade he had gotten from Jack's pocket. Jack looked shocked at the sight of it, but searched his pocket anyways. Upon coming up empty handed he glared at the rabbit. Bunnymund gave a salute to both of them, and was in mid-air when he saw Jack's face.
He was smirking at Bunny, and stuck his tongue out as Bunny disappeared into his tunnel. As he fell, his final thoughts of Jack ran though his head. Dang that kid bugs me!
Jack turned to look at Sandy, a huge smirk on his face. "Did you see his face when he found out I was faking it?" He laughed.
Sandy just shook his head at the boy. He than formed a long slender sandy cylindrical shape, and gave it to Jack. The sand melted away, and it revealed a sturdy hooked staff, slightly covered in frost.
Jack grinned up at the Sandman. "My staff! Thanks" He noticed that Sandy was throwing a questioning glance at him, seeing if he was alright.
"I'm fine, Sandy. It was just your dream sand, its not like its going to hurt me." Jack paused for a moment, and looked at where Bunny had been. "Though, why he just stood there is beyond me."
Sandy nodded in agreement, and formed a series of sand shapes above his head, but soon stopped when he noticed Jack wasn't paying attention.
"It looked like he was having a flash back, or Deja'vu or something..." Jack shrugged off the thought, and flew into the air. He hovered there for a bit.
"Race you to the pole!" He shouted as he shot off towards the north. Sandy quickly followed, and the two spirits flew, with the rising dawn beating down on them.