It was late in the afternoon as Bonnie finished preparations for dinner. Things would have gone faster if a certain shadow keeper hadn't been trying to distract her. She had to banished Pitch to the other side of the kitchen so she could prepare their food.
"Isn't Roxy supposed to be coming over?" Pitch asked, glancing at the clock.
"Oh yeah! We were gonna practice today, weren't we?" Looking up from the stove, Bonnie noticed the time. Roxy was late. "I'm gonna call her!"
"No need." Pitch smirked. There was a loud thud heard from upstairs.
"Ouch! Wait, what… PITCH!"
"Sounds like Roxy's here," Bonnie said. She looked back at Pitch with an accusing smile. "How'd you do that?"
"That, my love, is my little secret." He grinned and winked at her.
The sound of stomping shoes came down the stairs. Soon, Roxy appeared in the kitchen. She glared daggers at Pitch. He chuckled.
"'Bout time you got here, Roxana. We were waiting."
"Darn it, Pitch! You try that again and Bonnie's gonna have an icicle for a boyfriend!"
"Seriously, what did he do?" Bonnie asked, attention more focused on the fight than the food.
Roxy turned to face her. "I was running late and I couldn't find my shoe. I found it under my bed, so I went to grab it, and the next thing I know, I'm pulled in and falling till my head hits your bed frame."
Bonnie laughed at her friend glaring at her boyfriend. "Let me pull this from the oven, then we can go, alright?" she said, taking the food from the hot oven and shutting it off.
"Fine!" Roxy sat down at the counter, keeping a good distance from the Nightmare King. "I have never been happier to have training session."
"I have a feeling you are in for it, sir," Bonnie said softly to Pitch as the trio ascended the stairs.
"Strange, so do I." Pitch gulped. Roxy stood in front of Bonnie's bed, her eyes still hard. Brushing it off, Pitch tapped his foot in a very Bunnymund fashion. A hole opened in the center of the room and Bonnie hopped down, shifting her forms as she did. Pitch paused and bowed to Roxy.
"Ladies first," he said, making his voice smooth and soft.
Roxy smirked. "Why? Afraid I'll pull a sneak attack if I'm behind you?"
"Better safe than sorry. Besides, you've been hanging around with Frost far too much for me to not be careful," Pitch replied.
"Well, you have a point. Lucky for you, I find it cowardly to attack from behind." She jumped into the hole and shifted to her Guardian form just as Bonnie had done.
Pitch shivered. He recognized the underlying meaning behind the girl's words. He recalled how he had fired an arrow at the Sandman while his hoard of Nightmares had kept the little man distracted. As if the other Guardians didn't already give him enough grief for his transgressions the previous year. Allowing himself a few minutes to make sure Roxy was far enough ahead, Pitch descended into the tunnel, closing the portal behind him. He landed silently next to Bonnie, already having transformed into her Guardian form.
"Well, since Roxy seems on edge, why don't you and I start, Pitch?" Bonnie said, summoning her ninja stars and making her other fist light up.
"I don't think I can actually attack you," Pitch said, summoning a Nightmare.
The Nightmare looked from Pitch to Bonnie and back again, shaking her head in 'No way ever' fashion. "See?" he said, letting the Nightmare disappear.
Bonnie sighed and shot a ball of light at Pitch, making him dodge. "WHOA!" Another ball went for his head. "HEY!" he shouted, dropping to the ground.
"Pitch, if you're not going to attack, I'm coming after you!" Bonnie said, throwing some stars at him.
He grimaced and took off, turning the practice into a deadly game of tag. Pitch responded by firing black sand balls at her, making her move. But, Bonnie moving seemed to make her aim more accurate. She started laughing when he had gathered his robe and was running around with it gathered in his arms. She laughed so hard that she fell onto her back and kept laughing.
"Oh ha ha, very funny," Pitch said sarcastically.
"Oh yes, yes it was," Roxy said, making Pitch gulp. She also couldn't resist laughing at Pitch's expense. "Now, if you're done prancing about like a woman chased by a mouse, I would like to say… My turn!"
Pitch readied himself as Rosy transformed, drawing her rapier. She grasped the weapon tightly before lunging. He managed to counter, but Roxy landed a few blows, tearing Pitch's robes.
"Hey, cutting it a bit too close!" Bonnie shouted.
"Sorry." Though Pitch could tell she was apologizing to Bonnie, not him. Using the distraction, he knocked the blade from her hands. But Roxy had prepared for this. She ducked back as Pitch threw a black sand blast at her head. She did a free fall and came back with an ice rapier in hand. Pitch countered with his scythe axe. It seemed to be a deadlock.
"You're getting better at creating weapons and your defense response is much faster," Pitch commented. "Last time I managed to disarm you twice."
"Well, you always pull this move in practice, so it was predictable. Not to mention I have some venting to do." She took a deep breath blew into his face. Ice formed on his skin, the cold burning his flesh. Pitch pushed her off. Roxy did a backflip before using her wings to land next to Bonnie. Meanwhile, Pitch was doing his best to remove the icicles from his face without ripping out his hair.
"Roxy!" Bonnie shouted, flying to her friend. "You could have frozen his eyes!"
Roxy laughed. "Sorry Brave Bunny, but I had to try it. It works great for close encounter combat. And stop worrying, will you? I made sure not to hit your boyfriend's ethereal eyes." She couldn't resist teasing her friend a little, batting her eyelashes for emphasis.
Finally getting the ice of his face, Pitch turned toward the girls with an unamused frown. "Rather like that Hercules movie Bonnie is so fond out. Rather childish, don't you think? Haven't you got anything original, or just cheap knockoffs?" he asked, smirking playfully.
"I…uh…"
"Well?" He was practically purring with delight.
"I'm still having trouble, okay!" Roxy turned her back, folding her wings behind her. "I need to be out in the open to channel any snow or ice, not some dank and muddy cave. No offense."
"Sure," Pitch muttered, clearly taking offense.
"Let's head back to my house," Bonnie suggested. "Pitch, you can work with Roxy in the backyard, and I'll get us a snack or something."
"Very well." Pitch headed into the tunnel that would take them back to Bonnie's house.
The girls followed, Bonnie satisfied she'd eased the tension. They arrived back at the house and headed straight to the backyard. There, Pitch had Roxy use her powers to create snow. She seemed to struggle, but then the whole backyard was covered in a white blanket. Pitch seemed impressed, until a rather large snowball hit him in the back of the head. The forced caused him to stumble and he tripped over a hidden tree root, falling face-first into a snowdrift. As he pushed himself onto his elbows, Pitch could clearly hear laughter behind him. He knew who'd hit him.
"Now that's for earlier!" Roxy smirked, tossing another snowball in her hand. "Oh, by the way… I have been practicing creating snow anywhere I'd like. You were the one who said I need to get my opponent to let his guard down."
Pitch frowned, then began to smile devilishly. He reached out and scooped a fair amount of snow into his hand. He waited for just the right moment before he threw it at Roxy. However, his aim was a little off and it hit Bonnie instead, right in her nose.
"Bonnie, I swear, I wasn't aiming for you!" Pitch apologized.
Bonnie blinked as the remaining snow slid off her face. She seemed stunned before retaliating. "FREE FOR ALL!"
Soon, the three were engaged in a snowball war. At some points, the girls would gang up on Pitch, only to have Bonnie strike Roxy when her back was turned. To make it more interesting, they used their powers to aid in the game. Pitch would create buckets out of black sand and dump large amounts of snow on their heads. Bonnie would attack Pitch, then hide behind Roxy before shoving snow down her shirt. She would use Pitch as a shield when Roxy sought revenge. Meanwhile, Roxy used her powers to create icy winds, redirecting Pitch and Bonnie's snowballs back at them. The only rule was no flying, wings or by black sand.
The fun was just getting started. Roxy had just grabbed another snowball to throw at Pitch. She remembered how Jack would blow on his snowballs to make them extra cold. She did the same. Spotting her target, Roxy aimed her snowball and threw it right at Pitch. He managed to avoid the attack.
However, none of them noticed the back door opening.
"Bonita, darling, are you home?" As Mrs. Clyde stepped out she was hit by the very snowball Roxy threw. She fell to the ground.
"Crud!"
"Mama! Are you alright?" Bonnie asked, rushing to her fallen mother's side. She reverted to her human self so she could tend to her mother.
Roxy pointed at Pitch. "His fault!"
"What?!" Pitch exclaimed.
"Well, if you hadn't ducked, then I wouldn't have hit her mom, now would I?" Roxy retorted.
"Maybe we should call it a day guys…" Bonnie said softly, wiping some snow from her mother's face. She was starting to come to.
"I couldn't agree more, darli–" Pitch said but was promptly cut off.
"Oh Dios mío!" Mrs. Clyde exclaimed, getting to her feet.
"Oh, uh, hi Mrs. C," Roxy said, waving. "Sorry about the snowball. Totally an accident, I swear!"
"What are you apologizing for?" Pitch said. "She can neither see nor hear you in this state, remember?"
"Oops! Forgot."
"Que sucede?" Mrs. Clyde stuttered. She began muttering in her native tongue, her gaze seeming focused on the yard.
"Uh, Bon, is she okay?" Roxy asked. "I never understand when she switches to Spanish, but it doesn't sound good. I swear, I did not mean to hit her that hard."
"No, you just meant to hit Pitch," Bonnie said. "Mama, what's wrong?"
Mrs. Clyde seemed stunned. She rubbed her eyes and continued staring into the backyard. "¿Qué es este que veo? Fantasmas ?!"
Bonnie frowned. "Uh, Mama, what do you mean you see ghosts?"
"¿Estás ciego, Bonita? Hay dos figuras a la derecha allí!" Mrs. Clyde pointed into the yard, directly at Pitch and Bonnie. Her whole form was trembling.
Bonnie… She couldn't believe it. Her mother was telling her she could see two beings, but that was impossible. "Mama, try to calm down. Are you sure you see someone there?" Bonnie prayed her mother was just imagining things.
"Sí, estoy seguro," Mrs. Clyde said. She first pointed at Pitch. "Que nadie allí, él es como una sombra siniestra oscuridad." Then, her gaze shifted to Roxy. "Y que uno allí! Ella parece ser una especie de ángel ... ¡Espera! Es que Roxanne ?!"
"Okay, I didn't understand half of that, but I recognized my own name," Roxy pointed out. "What the heck is happening?"
"Uh, guys, I'm not sure how but... I think my mom can see you," Bonnie said, still shocked at what she was saying.
"That is impossible!" Pitch stated, taking a step forward. "No one can see us, unless–" He was stopped when a potted plant hit him in the forehead.
"Vuelve, Monster!" Mrs. Clyde shouted, pushing Bonnie behind her. "Stay away from my daughter!"
Pitch blinked. Roxy's jaw dropped. Bonnie moved to stand before her mother.
Roxy flew to Pitch's side, making sure he wasn't harmed too badly. There was a large dark mark on his forehead. "Okay, I'm lost," she said when Pitch appeared more focused. "How is Bonnie's mom able to see us? I didn't think she believed in this stuff."
"Perhaps you have unlocked some new talent, though now would appear to be not the best time to explore that," Pitch theorized. "Also, perhaps you should stop hovering about as it appears to be upsetting the woman even more."
"Whoa, really?" Roxy smiled, then she heard the continued shouts of Mrs. Clyde. "Okay, how bout we look more into that later. I'm thinking maybe you and I should split before she grabs Mr. Clyde's gun. We can talk later about what just happened." Roxy flew over to Bonnie's side and tapped her on the shoulder. Mrs. Clyde stopped speaking when she approached and seemed only able to stare.
"Bonnie, I think we're gonna take this as a cue that practice is over," Roxy whispered, hoping Bonnie's mother would be alright. "It cool if me and Pitch split? Might help your mom calm down."
"Yeah, you guys had better go…like now," Bonnie said. "I'll call you later, Roxy."
"Later Bon." Roxy shifted back to her regular form, and slipped past mother and daughter on foot. Bonnie then turned her attention to Pitch. She winced at the sight of the bruise on his forehead. He only smiled and nodded at her before disappearing, leaving Bonnie to attend to her mother.
"So Mama… H-How are you feeling?" she asked, hoping there was a chance she could write this whole thing off as some crazy misunderstanding.
However, Bonnie felt herself jump when she met her mother's gaze. Instead of shock, the older woman was practically seething with rage.
"Bonita Clyde, usted tiene que dar algunas explicaciones."