**YAAAAAAAAAY! Hope you all enjoyed the epicness of the last chapter! HERE COMES CHAPTER FOUR WOOHOO! Hope you alllll are excited! I have some fun, romantical stuff happening so hold on tight for the awesome ride! I want to take time and send a DEEP THANK YOU to all who have reviewed the story this far, it means a lot. Any who on with the story**

Chapter Four: Little Bunny Foo Foo and Frozen Toes

The rising of a new day had all the guardians dragging their feet. With the massive destruction that had taken place, left behind a long night for them all, and to start the day so early, was proving to be more than a bit of a challenge. North was most certainly, not his usual jolly self. He had been sleeping peacefully, when his door had practically been thrown from its hinges by his Yeti. They came in, arms fanning around as they held many mugs for hot chocolate. From what he could make out from his two favorite Yeti, he apparently had all the guardians there, and Valeria was demanding hot coco for everyone. North felt like he needed to start hiding and stashing his hot chocolate somewhere safe, where the bloodhound Valeria could not find it!

With a groan, North was out of his comfortable bed and shuffling into his robes and clothes, feet dragging all the way. It felt like an eternity, but he would soon move into the grand foyer, looking at the other guardians who looked about how he felt. They looked run over by a large transit truck, the wheels swerving to cause more damage. He did not dare chuckle, since he knew he had to look just the same. The only guardians that looked perfectly fine were Delilah and Valeria. They were both smiling and talking amongst themselves, hands flying rapidly as Valeria told Delilah something, which had Delilah throwing a laughing face above her head sharing her merriment with her sister. North was baffled at how… chipper the two ladies seemed to be. They looked like they had slept for days with how lovely they both looked… which was just simply not fair!

Finally, North diverted his gaze back to the other guardians all leaning around the large center table. Bunnymund even had his head buried in his arms, a soft snore rising from his dozing body. North found himself sliding within a chair before his body jerked suddenly at the pair of hands that slammed upon the table. It alerted everyone, and caused various jerks to circulate from them being startled. Valeria was standing over the others, a bright, cheerful look swirling within her eyes as she beamed a large smile. From her standing position, she could see how tired and worn the others looked, but knew that now was no time to rest, since the most rest would delay anything getting accomplished. They needed to work hard to try and make sure the World would be safe in case of another attack from the Night Shadows.

"Alright, I know you are all tired from everything yesterday, but we must keep pushing onwards if the people of the world are going to have a chance. We need to create something to fight the Night Shadows…..Delilah and I have our help, but you all need to craft something to help assist you in case you are on your own and come face to face with one. I also suggest having two teams go out and check to make sure everything is quiet and calm…. The ones left here can start working on an idea for a fighting aide. Anyone have any questions?"

"I'LL GO WITH DELILAH!"

The sudden outburst shocked everyone within the room as all eyes turned to pin Bunnymund with such a stare. The staring began to slowly cause him to fidget where he stood, arm having been pumping into the air as he had called out like he had. Bunnymund was a dark red beneath his fur, and his ears lowered quickly from their normal upright position, showing his embarrassment. He finally cleared his throat and sat back fully on the chair, his hands suddenly finding the table and his boomerang to be very intriguing. He was still mentally slapping himself even as a gentle hand landed upon his shoulder. The hand was attached to Delilah, who smiled kindly and nodded her head, letting him know she would fine going with him… after all, he might need her help.

Bunnymund felt like his soul was preparing for takeoff at the simple touch upon his shoulder. His fur ruffled up as his ears suddenly stood straight up as his eyes traveled up the hand and along the arm. Onwards his eyes traveled until he paused on the very kind face of Delilah. He felt like his heart had fallen between his toes as he stared, mouth slightly falling open in his shock at the nod she gave him. He was absolutely stoked! She wanted to go with HIM! Him of all the guardians! If Bunnymund could let out a squeal of joy he would have, but he knew better and held himself back as he simply nodded his head, ears twitching gently as he glanced away from her to clear his throat.

"That settles it then… I'll go with Delilah."

"And I'll go with Valeria!" Jack spoke with a shrug.

"Fine by me I suppose."

When Valeria had agreed to go with Jack, he felt like doing a happy dance on ice, but he made sure to not let it show. He had been wishing to spend more time with her ever since their last moment together. He had been greatly affected by the simple kiss, even though it had been accidental. It kept swirling within his mind and he could not get it out, not even when he gave the children a snow day! Jack felt like she was a very enchanting woman, and she fought without any fears and so nobly. He had also noticed how loyal she was to Delilah, even though they were not true sisters, their bond to Jack was by far greater. He tilted his head as he stayed still, perched upon a rail off in the corner of the large meeting room. As he surveyed the room he felt an eyebrow quirking slowly as he landed upon Sandy. Sandy looked like he could shoot Nightmares from his ears which were steaming rapidly.

Sandy was most definitely NOT a happy camper. He could not believe how the rabbit was behaving around HIS LITTLE DANDELION! He felt like sending the fluffy rabbit bad dreams for the rest of his immortal life. His usual bright, cheerful features were changed to a firm angry scowl. If one looked close enough they would notice that Sandy's hair was a bit more spiked out at the tips, making them seem rather sharp and pointy. His mood only darkened as he watched that cottontail move and begin to leave with Delilah. He moved, preparing to march right after them, but North pulled him back with mutterings of getting to work and no time to play. He had huffed, the anger sign clearly visible above his head showing his irritation. He had turned to start on work, sending Jack quite the fearsome glare as well for taking his Valeria away. He knew Valeria could stomp him into place, so he was more lenient to her dancing with frozen twinkle toes, but his preciously sweet and innocent Dandelion was in DANGER from a furry, little bunny foo foo!

Being left alone with North and Toothy, Sandy heaved a great mighty sigh before getting to work on their discussions. They talked and worked on various things that could help fight against the army of Nightmares and Night Terrors, hoping that by ridding them, they would cut down the amount of Night Shadows. After going through many mugs of hot chocolate, North stood up and jumped around the table, doing his Russian dance in pure joy as his hands pumped within the air in pure excitement. He had gotten such a grand idea and knew it would allow them to fight the beasts of darkness while staying true to them. He was so happy and pleased with his brain on thinking of such a solution!

"Why don't we make our own fighters! Something that yells tis us! I want train with caboose!" North said happily.

"Oh sounds like a wonderful plan North! I'll create something birdlike to better fit me…. And I am sure Sandy will have something awesome to add to the pile. When the others get back we must share with them, but until then… LET US GET TO WORK!" Toothy loved the idea, and already was thinking on a creature.

While they worked up in the northern lands, Bunnymund and Delilah were heading over towards the East, surveying the lands and cities they passed and came to. Jack and Valeria had taken up patrolling the West, making sure everything was as it should be. Once they finished, they knew to meet up with each other in the South to search around together and then would head back up North to see if anything had been chosen to help aide them when the large fight broke out. All though was quiet upon the earth. No darkness lurked within the corners and cracks, suffocating like it usually did. It was as though the darkness was taking a nap, off doing better things for the moment, when in fact Pitch and Amaya were delving deeper into making the Night Shadows more terrifying.

Far to the East, Bunnymund and Delilah reached the outskirts of Europe. They had moved over the large waters and found themselves touching down within a city. The city was not a large one, and seemed to have a small population. In the middle of the city stood a large plaque in bronze, golden letters carved within the plate. The plaque was placed in loving memory to honor the people who had fallen back in World War I. Many casualties had died from that war, and this city had taken a far greater hit then most. Listed within the names on the plaque was the name of the resident orphanage that had been attacked by the opposing side, having been burned to the ground with nothing left but ash and stone. Luckily back when the war happened, the children had been saved, but just barely and the plaque was there to let everyone know they would never forget the World War.

Once both landed within the city, Bunnymund noticed how Delilah's demeanor changed and she was more quiet than usual, which was saying something since he had never heard her speak. He could easily tell that something was troubling the young beautiful woman, but he had no idea just what it was. He found himself looking around the nearly abandoned streets, his eyes careful to observe every nook and cranny. He could not find anything that would be causing her distress, so he continued to walk behind her slowly, not realizing when she had stopped at the plaque. With her sudden lack of motion, he bumped right into her back and quickly apologized as his ears lowered and he hid his smile at their closeness. He paused though as he watched her, noticing how her color was slowly fading and becoming as white as a sheet it seemed.

"Delilah?"

She never seemed to acknowledge that Bunnymund had even spoken to her as her eyes slowly became unfocused, her mind seeming to drift away to a past she would not soon forget.

~Flashback~

The loud crack of a gun going off filled the deafening silence as smoke rose from a shiny black pistol. With the sound of the bullet being fired a loud scream filled the air of pure pain. The pain was followed by ten more rounds of bullets filling the air before a pool of blood would lie upon the wooden floors of the building, a body limp and lifeless.

~End Flashback~

Suddenly Delilah jerked back to herself, tears rimming her eyes as she turned and took off as fast as she could go. She needed to run, to hide and get away. While she ran, she seemed to be like ashes, parts billowing off behind her to flutter to the ground. She was blind with panic, and her fears were peaked as the tears slowly began to spill from her eyes and roll down her pale face to land upon the ground. Where her tears fell, withered dandelions grew from the ground, weeping along with their creator as her feet carried her to the woods, which she soon disappeared within to curl up, her body looking so different now from her amount of anguish and pain.

Bunnymund had been completely shocked when Delilah had jumped and then bolted off into the falling darkness. His ears stood straight within the air as he pulled out his boomerang and took off in the direction she disappeared off to. He ran as fast as he could and yet he could not see her. He found himself stopping outside the forest, trying to listen as he glanced down and plucked one of the withered dandelions from the ground before he held it close and took off into the woods, following the trail of weeping dandelions as he went. He moved deep into the forest, the tall, thick trees surrounding him as he heard faint sobbing from somewhere close…extremely close. He was about to take another step when his head tilted to the side, his eyes focused on something upon the ground. There upon the ground was a tiny, miniature version of Delilah. She was a solid white in color; her skin looking like it was flaking from her body and falling to the ground like wisps of dandelion petals. She sobbed where she was curled up, her body only around six inches at the moment. Bunnymund bent over and being as gentle as he could, he scooped her up within his hands, holding her close to him to offer her support.

As he held Delilah, his mind was a circle of questions. He had no idea what to do nor why she was like this. He knew she was upset, but he had no idea from what and it was making him worry for her safety. With his thoughts jumping all over the place, he took off, tapping his foot a couple times before leaping into his rabbit hole. He needed to get to Valleria; since he did not even dare to return Delilah to Sandy with her condition like this…he knew if he did, he would not be making it out of the room in one piece. As he traveled underground in his tunnels he made sure to hold her tightly against him, whispering softly to her as he darted, searching for Frost and Valleria.

"It'll be okay Dandy… I'll protect you."

Bunnymund would come upon Jack and Valleria as he popped from the ground, nearly giving Valleria heart failure. She had been sitting upon a rock, a thoughtful expression upon her features as her brows were knitted slowly together. She had been so concentrated that when the ground opened up and a large rabbit jumped from the darkness, she had not known what to think and fell over backwards on her rock seat. Once she regained her sensibility she sent a murderous glare over the boulder at Bunnymund, her expression soon changing as she noticed Delilah curled within the furred hands. She moved to him, scooping Delilah from his hands as she lifted her gently, eyes peering at her tiny sister sadly. She leaned forwards and placed a gentle kiss to Delilah's head, speaking in a soft, gentle language to help soothe and calm her sister. While she turned away from the two she moved over to her large horse and gently placed Delilah on the horse's back. She knew Delilah needed some time to herself to sort it out, but she had told her she was with people who loved her and she would never suffer again. With a talk to her trusty steed to carry Delilah home, she let the horse go, her eyes watching intently until the horse was out of view.

Jack found himself watching the entire event curiously. He did not know what had happened, and he was not getting anything out of Bunnymund, so he felt he would wait and see what Valleria would say. Had they gotten attacked? What had caused the silent flower to seem so… beaten and drug through the mud. Finally, Valleria turned and made her way back to where Bunnymund and Jack stood, eagerly awaiting some kind of updated news on Delilah. Valleria sighed gently as she took a seat back on her rock she had been on moments before and looked up at Bunnymund.

"I take it you were in Europe?"

"Yea, we had just really got there and she spooked in the town square and took off. She was like that when I found her. W..What happened to her?"

"She has slipped into a distant memory… of her time before she became reborn to protect humans. It is not my place to tell you her whole story, but I will tell you a bit. You see, she use to be in charge of an orphanage way back before World War I even started and during the war, she saved all the children by sacrificing her very life as she was gunned down and left in cold blood. Later on the orphanage was burned to the ground, her body; lifeless at the time was burned until only ash remained. It was a very traumatizing time for her, and yet she showed her love and courage, so the Man in the Moon revived her and after that she found Sandy."

Valleria finally finished speaking as she looked away from Bunnymund and Jack to glance off to the side, a look of revenge on her features. She had longed to go back to that time and murder the bastards that had shot her down like she were some animal, but she knew it would not accomplish anything. Finally she glanced back to the two and could see how saddened they looked. Bunnymund looked about ready to lay a couple dozen eggs and Jack looked down at the ground, his eyebrows furrowed as she felt sorry that Delilah had gone through something so horrendous. He was beginning to see why they were the top of the line. Both had gone through such trials that lead to their deaths, that it made them very strong guardians to fight and never give up. Jack found both women to be very amazing in their line of work and felt like he knew Delilah a bit better. He could tell that seeing Delilah in such a manner, had greatly upset Valleria for the moment, and felt it best to get her mind off of everything.

"I'm going to head back up north and see what the others are up to; I'll catch you two later and keep me posted on Delilah…please." Bunnymund muttered before he was gone very much like how he came.

Once Bunnymund had gone, Jack inched closer to Valleria, his heart suddenly pounding within his chest rapidly. As he got close enough, he slowly wrapped his arms around her slender body to pull her against his chest in a tight, comforting hug. He had been slightly shocked when he felt the hug returned, Valleria's face burrowing against his chest. He felt her shoulders gently shaking and knew she was shedding tears for her beloved sister. Jack just let her, rocking her gently from side to side as his hand gently rubbed over her back in a soothing manner, letting her know he was here and it would be alright. It felt like an eternity of him holding her, but soon he felt her shift a bit within his arms. He soon felt soft; gently breathe upon his neck before he let his eyes fall upon her face, her eyes watching him curiously. She pulled back slightly from him, her body still within his arms as she offered a small sheepish smile. Slowly she leaned in and pressed her lips very lightly against Jack's own in a soft kiss. Valleria would pull back from the feather light kiss after a few moments before she sat up a bit more.

"Thank you Jack." She whispered.

"Anything for you Valleria. I'm always here if you ever need me." Jack replied gently with a small smile of his own.

It would not be long before Jack stood and gently took Valleria's hand. They would lift into the air, Jack carrying her into the air as the clouds brushed against them in his flight. She looked in awe at the surroundings around them as she was carried like a snow flake in the wind. Jack flew with her for hours, taking her mind off of her saddened heart before he would carry her to the northern lands, where they would make their way to see North and catch up and report their own findings. Jack slowly moved, lowering Valleria to the porch before joining her as he held open the door for her to enter. Once they were both inside, they moved to meet up with North who explained what they had come up with. Valleria already knew just what she would use and felt giddy and excited to create it, though in the back of her mind, she was still worried for her dear Delilah. She would go to check up on her once she gave her report, and hopefully by the next morning lights, Delilah would be back to herself for the most part, so she would not be as vulnerable.

~END CHAPTER FOUR~

Author's Note: SOOOO SORRY this has taken sooo long to get out. I have a lot going on and the whole shingles and everything going on at once it's amazing I am still coherent enough to write! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and enjoyed the small tid bit of information about Delilah. Stay tuned since I plan to post the next chapter in a couple days time ^^ THANK YOU ALL FOR READING! YOU ALL ROCK!