Guardian Apprentices
By: Lovely girl 10
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the dark versions of the guardians.
Chapter 4- Raising Hope (Sophie vs. Dark Bunnymund)
This chapter might be shorter than what I was going for from my other chapters, but I will be sure to make a longer chapter after this.
Cupcake and her friends gathered around the campfire that the twins made as she watched her guardian who was under her sleeping spell for a the time being. She looked around the campfire seeing Jamie who was trying his best to stay right by the flames without sweating. The twins, Claude and Caleb, were wrapping themselves in a blanket that they brought along for their journey. Monty and Pippa were looking at the sky and prayed to the Man in Moon, thanking him for helping them to rescue Sandy.
But where was Sophie in the scene? The last time Cupcake saw the young girl was when the group was helping out Pippa with her job. Curiosity got the better of the girl as she asked. "Where is Sophie?"
The others looked up as they met the tough girls gaze. None of them seemed to have the courage to tell her, until Monty answered. "Losing Easter, and losing the Easter Bunny, took its toll on Sophie, in more ways than we realized." They all turned to the bush where a figure of a young woman appeared in the same dress that Sophie wore. She had long blond hair that flowed down her back and her green eyes glowed in the darkness.
Jamie almost gaped at the sight of his little sister. "Oh no..." He muttered in disbelief. He remembered back to the time where Bunnymund turned into a small bunny when losing his holiday was too much for him to handle, and now seeing his little sister all grown up like that, it was too much for him to handle!
"What happen'd to me here, mates?" Sophie asked in her grown up voice, she was possibly going to panic when she looked at herself. "How come I am grownin' up?"
Jamie recalled. "Guys, remember when we saw Bunnymund in his small rabbit form before he transformed back to his original size in our battle against Pitch? I believe that Sophie possibly got the same predicament as him, only she grew up."
Monty nodded as he examined the young girl. "You are quite right, Jamie."
They heard Sandy moving in his sleep before the Sandman opened his eyes and stretched his arms out. Cupcake was the first to see if he was alright, to which when Sandy used his sand figures to ask what was going on, the tough girl knew that the original Sandman was back.
"Sandy, I brought you back to your senses when you were under Pitch's control." Cupcake explained. Seeing that he was back to normal, Sandy smiled softly at her before he looked around the area. The Guardian of Dreams then used some of his magic to bring the good dreams back to the children who needed them. The nightmares disappeared one by one as the good dreams overwhelmed them.
Jamie and the group decided to think through what they should do next. Since Sandy didn't have very much information about the other possessed guardians, they had to figure out who they should reawaken next.
Pippa thought that the memories are the next important thing that the children of the world will need just as much as their dreams, so she wanted to try to go to the Tooth Palace and free the Tooth Fairy. The twins decided on the North Pole where they think that the wonder and imagination should be more important than the memories. Although Jamie wanted to tell them that they should look for Jack Frost to free the Winter Spirit from his imprisonment, he ignored that idea because he was more worried for his sister.
"I think we should go to the Warren and free Bunnymund from Pitch's control." Jamie stated as he stood up. The other kids seemed to be a little bit hesitant into going to the Easter Bunny's Warren, however, Sandy seemed okay with the idea as he smiled to the boy. "I know that battling a very big bunny with exploding eggs and boomerangs as his weapons might be a little bit dangerous, but I think that as soon as we get Sophie back to her original size, the better!"
"Is that the only reason?" Pippa asked, teasingly. She knew that Jamie is sometimes picky, or enraged, if Sophie grew up earlier than him. Like one time when she and Sophie dressed up in their moms clothing for their dress up game, Jamie almost lost his cool when Sophie showed him her new dress and high heels.
Jamie blushed in embarrassment before he protested. "I just want my little sister back! I don't need a big sister!" Sandy covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing, or mute laughter as it is for him.
"My brother has a point, mates." Older Sophie stated. "Let's go over to the Warren and free my bunny!" She started to tap her foot on the ground before Cupcake interrupted her concentration.
"Did you all forget what Pitch said if we bump into the other guardians? He said that if we go anywhere near the evil guardians, they would know about us sneaking into their places! And who knows which of the guardians are more darker than the last! Dark Sandy was bad enough for me to handle, but I am worried if Dark Bunnymund is going to do more than threaten our Sophie." Cupcake noted as she looked back and forth from one kid in her group to the next.
Claude and Caleb nodded, clearly understanding what she was trying to say. "That is true." Claude said. "But we do know that if he battles against Sophie, the good Bunnymund would never do anything harmful to his 'Ankle-biter'."
"And since that we got Sandy back on our side, he might be able to get the big egg guards, and maybe the eggs that were possessed by Pitch's dark magic, to be put to sleep. That way, Sophie can go through the place without having trouble with the Easter Bunny's security system." Caleb mentioned. He then asked if Sandy was up for it, and the Sandman nodded.
Sophie then went back to what she was doing. She tapped her foot three times before she and her friends all fell down into the hole. Once inside of the hole, Sophie felt like she wanted to run all the time when she is underground, she turned her head sometimes to see if her friends, and her older brother, were doing okay as they slid all the way through the tunnel that she created.
Upon coming up to the end of the tunnel where the entrance to the Warren can be seen, Sandy quickly summoned up his dream sand, along with his apprentices, and shot them toward the big guard eggs that were potentially waiting to stop them. The giant eggs then laid down on the ground after they were hit, presumably to be asleep.
Sandy gave a sign that told Sophie the coast was clear. So the young blond girl nodded and began to walk slowly through the entrance. The Warren had changed from a bright, vibrant wonderland of Easter eggs, to a land that looked like it was deserted for centuries. The grass was dried up, the sky was cloudy, and the flowers were not as bright in their colors as they should.
Sophie took in a shaky breath as she walked on.
It didn't take long for the young girl to check through the whole place before she finally found the one place where Bunnymund might be hiding, waiting for her to save him from the Boogeyman's spell.
She remembered back to that time when she first met him, even though she didn't remember it all fully, she knew that it had to deal with the Easter Bunny. She remembered how he and the other guardians thought that she was a threat to bring hope to the other children, until Jack Frost magically changed the Bunny's mind with just a flick of his snowflake.
She smiled and that thought. If it wasn't for Jack Frost, she and Bunnymund wouldn't have been the best of friends. Now however, Pitch wants to ruin that friendship that she and Bunnymund hold dearly in their hearts. She was going to be sure that he never messes with her and her bunny!
As she took a few steps forward into the path where the rest of the tunnels were, Sophie held her breath as she wondered what would happen in her battle to regain the Hope that Bunnymund lost.
A few more steps in and Sophie heard a grunt of annoyance from afar. Bunnymund was close, very close. She took a little peek to see that her bunny had changed his appearance. His body tattoos were still the same, but darker than usual, and his fur was more dull grey as if it was about to die at any second. His eyes that were once green and full of life were now black as night.
She was thinking about going around him to get a better view of how she was going to bring him back to his senses, but she stepped on a twig and the bunny's ears perked up at the sound. The evil Easter Bunny turned around and spotted the young girl. He grunted. "I have been wonderin' if you were goin' to show up, mate. I half expected for ya to flee for yer life."
He hopped up to where the young girl stood and studied her appearance. "So you are goin' to be the one to stand in my way to bring despair to the children of the world? Some scrawny young lady with bright green eyes, and a few bangs that are hangin' in yer face." He chuckled darkly before he froze in his tracks, seeming to be checking her out again just to be sure that she was no illusion.
"Wait a second..." He slowly realized as his eyes narrowed. "Have I seen ya from somewhere before?"
The grown up Sophie narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. "Maybe you seen me from before, Bunny. You always called me your 'little Ankle-biter'." Her statement somehow made the Easter Bunny flinch in surprise before he spoke.
"My 'little Ankle-biter'?" Dark Bunny asked before he smiled devilishly and laughed. "Don't make me laugh! Ya never held a spot spot in my heart, mate. And now that I have ya where I want ya, I am going to make sure that ya do not mess with my plans." He brought out his boomerangs and twirled them before he shouted. "I hope you like carrots, because it will be the last thing you will ever have."
And then the battle of Hope and Despair had begun...
Dark Bunnymund threw his boomerangs right at the girl, but Sophie quickly jumped into the air to dodge them. The boomerangs followed her as she flew into the air. Sophie, seeing the boomerangs, wrapped herself into a ball shape and spun violently, stopping the boomerangs in their tracks and turned them against their owner. However, Dark Bunnymund tapped his foot and disappeared in his tunnel, the boomerangs were then stuck in the ground.
As Sophie landed on one of the hills, a hole appeared beneath her and trapped her inside. She could hear Dark Bunnymund laughing in his evil voice before she used her strength to break through the ground, grabbing the bunny's leg and pulled him in. Her hand fiercely tightened his neck as the bunny squirmed in her hold, trying to make her let him go.
Sophie looked at him with her innocent green eyes as she whispered to him. "Snap out of it please, Bunny. I want you back. I want to enjoy another Easter holiday with you."
Dark Bunnymund glared at her and growled. "Your old Bunny is gone forever. And there will be no more Easter for anybody." He leaned on the wall of the dirt and used his big feet to kick the girl off of him. He jumped out of the hole, intending to bury her alive before she escaped his deathtrap and pushed him down to the ground. The force of her push got Sophie and Dark Bunny to roll off of the huge hill, the grass was messing up the young girls hair as she and the bunny grunted.
At the end of the hill, Dark Bunny was the one that was on top of the girl before Sophie kicked him off of her. "Bunny, please." She begged. "Please remember me!"
Using some of his Tai Chi to knock the girl down to the ground, Dark Bunnymund sneered. "Your Bunny is dead and gone, mate. Now grow up and don't come back here!" He raised his hand up and slapped her in the face.
Sophie began to cry uncontrollably as she stared at the Dark Easter Bunny, her innocent eyes tried one more time to get him to remember. Getting herself back up slowly, Sophie then uttered the one word that only the Easter Bunny knows. "I will miss you... Easter Kangaroo."
As if on cue, the Dark Bunny twitched after hearing that odd nickname. And odd enough, she could hear the old Bunnymund speaking to her through his imprisonment, his green eyes looked at her. "The- the what? What did you call me? I am not a kangaroo!"
Sophie stood her ground as she asked. "If you aren't a kangaroo, mate, then who exactly are you, the Guardian of Despair? Hopes exact opposite?" It was surprising to know that that one word that Jack uses can actually bring the Easter Bunny back to his senses. A little too quickly, she believed.
The good Bunnymund countered. "I am not the Guardian of Despair, nor will I ever be!" He stood very close to her as he gritted his teeth. "I am a bunny. The Easter Bunny! I bring Hope to the children!"
He twitched again as the evil version of himself tried to take control again. "You will never bring hope ever again! You are meant to bring despair to the children!" Dark Bunny hissed.
"No I am not!" Bunnymund yelled. Sophie after seeing her old Bunny fighting his dark half, felt a odd sensation coming over her as her body shrank back to her two year old self. The two year old Sophie then giggled as she cheered in her usual, "Bunny, fight, fight!"
The good Bunnymund smiled as he yelled into his mind. "Nobody hurts my little ankle-biter!" Sophie didn't know what was going on in his head, but she knew that her Easter Bunny was winning as he commanded the shadow of Pitch to scram. "Get out of my body!"
As if he couldn't have control over Bunnymund any longer, the shadow of Pitch fled from the body and vanished in the sunlight. Light was returning to the Warren as the Easter Bunny returned to his former self, a fierce and determined expression was on his face.
He sighed in relief. "It feels good to have my old body back." He then looked around the Warren and seen that it was a big mess. It almost made him faint on the spot, but Bunnymund remained strong. He then felt something snuggling into his chest, he looked down to see his favorite person in the whole world; Sophie Bennett.
He smiled as he cradled the girl in his arms. "My little ankle-biter. My little ankle-biter." His eyes softened when he watched the girl who was sleeping in his arms, no doubt, exhausted from her big fight with his dark side.
Holding her in his arms, Bunnymund hopped over toward the entrance of his Warren and noticed the other apprentices that were just recently going to check up on the girl. He waved to them, telling them that they can come inside.
The children were surprised, yet shocked to know that Sophie actually did it. She brought Bunnymund back!
Now all they had to worry about was the other three guardians, who are still under Pitch's spell for the destruction of the children's faith and belief. Two guardians were free, only three to go. Over at a hill where the Easter bunny and the apprentices could not see them, three dark figures overlooked the area as they watched the scene. One of them had a feminine figure with bat-like wings on her back, another had a broad stature as he was about ready to draw his swords until a young teenager with a staff in his hands stopped him from going into battle by putting his hand in front of him.
It wasn't their time yet to reveal themselves. So they just disappeared back to where they came from so that they would be ready for their opponents.
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review whenever you want, and if you see any mistakes, please tell me and I will enhance the chapter better.