"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Was the twin reply that came from their mouths as the two fell onto Bunny, then further down the tunnel. They hit a slope, tumbling chaotically down it before landing in a painful heap at the entrance of another tunnel. An entrance that was fifty feet up, so only the barest amount of light filtered through.
"Would you two knock it off? Blimey, my ears feel like they're bloody bleedin'!" Bunny checked his ears, just to make sure they weren't. "Where are we anyway?" They all began climbing the steep slope, Snow and Jack floating more often than climbing.
"You don't know?"
The winter siblings exchanged worried and panicked looks. "No. I wasn't expecting ya to fall on me. Tunnel took us to a random place. Probably so-" He popped his head out of the mouth of the tunnel and stopped when he looked around. This wasn't right. He instinctually dubbed this place a mile outside of Burgess, but he didn't recognize the place. He had never hidden eggs here, so they weren't by any children nearby. They were at the edge of a large pond.
"I-I know where we are!" Snow and Jack proclaimed together.
"You do?" They said, again together, giving each other surprised looks.
"How?" Still together. Bunny would have laughed if the situation hadn't been potentially dangerous
"I grew up around here." It almost seemed like they were using telepathy, saying it at the same time. Now that he thought about it, Blaze knew where they were, half a world away. Maybe they were using telepathy.
"My home burned down about two hundred feet from the pond."
"My home was two hundred feet from the pond, too."
"Down a narrow winding path, with twist and turns that made it take a lot longer than it should have to get to the pond, so I always went through the woods, even though Mother always told me not to." They said together again, before they both collapsed, clutching their heads, groaning in pain.
~~~~~ Snow Angels ~~~~~
Snow felt like crying. Memories were rushing through her head like a tornado. She stumbled and crumpled to the ground with a groan, holding her head as a strong memory overtook her.
"Rosy? Rosy? Are you okay, Snowflake?" That voice, she knew that voice. But from where? Her memory self opened her eyes, but weren't focused.
"Yeah, mommy. I'm okay. Can I go play with Chrissy now?"
"No Rosy, your brother has a fever. He can't go play with anyone, because we don't want the whole village to be sick, now do we?"
"No, mommy."
"Mom! Chris threw up!" Her mom rushed into a different room. Snow's family hadn't been rich, but they hadn't been poor. In the middle, more like. Leaning towards well off. But they hadn't flaunted it around. They saved it up for winter, and only buying necessities, and a house that could fit the family comfortably. The house had two bedrooms, a kitchen/dining room, and a living room with a giant fireplace, where they gathered around in the winter, telling stories of wonder and hope, dreams and memories.
Of the magical Santa, who presented each child a gift once a year as a reward for being good, and coal to children who were bad. Of the beautiful Tooth Fairy, running around each night to collect the teeth, leaving coins as payment for the memories. Of the brave Easter Bunny, hiding eggs full of rare chocolate for children to rejoice in. Then there was noble Sandman, bringer of good dreams to children all over the world, guarding them from the monstrous Boogeyman, who fed off of fear, and spread the bad dreams.
Her eldest brother always told the best stories. Last night he had told them of the magical white stag, where if you caught it, it would give you your heart's greatest desire. Even you wouldn't know what it was, because if it does grant your wish, you won't remember it.
Her memory passed in front of a mirror, and she gasped. She was only three, maybe four! She had brown hair, brown eyes, and caramel skin from being outside. She looked outside then, there was snow everywhere! Her memory self thought in her head just then, It's Christmas Eve! Tomorrow's Christmas! I wonder if Santa will come all the way down to our house, it's so far away from the town!
A door opened and slammed in a different room, the sound of wind exploding into the house. It swirled around her, almost playfully. Happy. Promising good times. But her memory self ran and hid in her and her brothers' room. What was wrong? Present day Snow thought. "Mommy! Mommy! Daddy's home!" The tone was not happy, but scared. Too scared to belong to a three year old. An image of a broad man in a blacksmith smock came to the front of her vision, then a broken, but beautiful sculpture. Oh! I must have broken that sculpture! That's why I'm so scared! I don't want Daddy mad at me! Present day Snow remembered.
"Well, you had better go tell him. It'll be better than if he found out himself."
Slowly, little Rosy made her way to where her father was. He greeted her with a big smile that slipped slightly when he saw the guilty look on her face.
"What you do this time, Rosybelle?"
Present Snow giggled at her father's accent. Her daddy had been Russian, just like North! And they both created beautiful things that brought wonder to the world. What a coinkidink!
"I'msosorryDaddy,Ididn'tmeanto!Itwasanaccident,Isw ear!IbrokethesculptureyoumadeMommywhenyouguysgotma rried!Pleasedon'tbemad!"
"Eh, sorry, Snowflake. I didn't catch dat. Slowly, so Daddy can understand, da?"
Rosy nodded and said, "I'm so sorry Daddy, I didn't mean to! It was an accident, I swear! I broke the sculpture you made Mommy when you guys got married! Please don't be mad!"
To her great surprise, he laughed! Laughed! "Do not worry, Belle! Happen all da time! Let me tell secret, da? Daddy have extras! No need to cry, Snowflake. All is good now, no?" He gave a great, hearty bellow of a laugh again, then scooped her up and began tickling her.
"Daddy! Mercy, mercy! Please stop! Daddy!" She squealed in childish delight. Present day Snow was laughing, too. Her father and North were soooo similar! She wondered if they knew each other?
Her father replaced the broken figurine, then gave her a piggyback ride to her and her brothers' room. "How is Christopher?"
"Better, love. He threw up, but his fever finally broke. He should be better in about a day."
"Where is Jackson and Christopher, anyway?"
"Jack is helping Chris eat some solids to see if he can keep them down." The memory faded.
Present day Snow's heart seemed to stop. It wasn't true! How could it be true? On the ground, back in the woods, she let out a gasp before being whisked into another memory.
~~~~~ Snow Angels ~~~~~
Present day Jack frowned as he was pulled into the memory. It was a lot like the memory of him saving his sister. Crystal clear, with stunning detail.
Past Jack sighed as he carefully positioned his brother over the basin, rubbing his back to soothe the tyke. He looked like he was about 3 or 4. Jack looked in the mirror that was hanging over on the far wall. He himself looked to be about five or six. Too young to be caring for a younger sibling. "Come on, Chris. You're going to be okay. Just let it all out."
"Mom! Chris threw up!" Quick footsteps sounded to the room.
"Ohh, baby. My poor petite-fils!"
"Mommy! I just got a cold! I'm feeling a tons better! Can I go play with Rosy now?"
"Not right now, petite Flame. You can play with her tomorrow if your fever has gone."
"Mom. I think his fever is gone."
"You are right, You will be all better for Christmas tomorrow!"
"Can I stay up and see Santa?"
His mother seemed to tense up a little bit with the name but was replaced with a totally motherly smile. "No, petite. He will not come if you do not sleep! You will just have to believe."
"Mommy! Mommy! Daddy's home!" His little sister, Rosy, came rushing into the room, fear on her face. Memory Jack smiled, knowing her fear wasn't justified.
"Well, you had better go tell him. It'll be better than if he found out himself." The little girl slowly made her way to the room where their father was currently occupying. He listened with his mother to the big booming laugh, the tinkling shrieks, then finally booming footsteps into the room. Jack took Chris to the kitchen to see if he could keep down some solids. But Present Jack's heart practically stopped. The little girl's voice was Snow! How?
He gasped as the memory faded to be replaced with a new one.
~~~~~ Snow Angels ~~~~~
Bunny didn't know what to do. The two kids were comatose from what he assumed were memories. He finally decided to call the Guardians, make them as comfortable as possible, then hope with all of his heart that they would be okay. So that is what he did. He hoped.
~~~~~ Snow Angels ~~~~~
It appeared to be the next that the memory started at, early morning, if she had to guess. IT'S CHRISTMAS! The thought rebounded through her skull, and a smile spread over the present day Snow's face. So cute, if she did have to admit it.
Past her jumped up and began bouncing on the bed to wake her still sleeping siblings.
"WAKE UP! UP! UP! UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" She yelled loudly in their ears.
That got them up fast enough. "Rosy, it's what, three in the morning?" Jack grumbled, taking in the dark room. "Go back to sleep."
"UP UP UP! JACKIE UP!"
"Okay, okay! But if we don't get present, I'm blaming you!"
With that, the three of them rushed into the living room, where a huge tree occupied one of the corners. It had little lanterns in it, lighting up the tree like stars. But underneath it was empty. The plate of cookies untouched. The three sat down on the floor, facing the empty fireplace where their stockings were hung.
Nothing happened for a while, then a slight tremor went through the house, and a large man in red came down their chimney. The three children held their breath, waiting for his reaction.
"What are children doing out of bed, hmm?"
"Santa! You came! And ya didn't get lost! Thank you!"
"For what?"
"For coming! You made my Christmas wish come true!"
"And what was that, Rosybelle?"
Past her giggled at that. "You sound like Daddy! My wish was that I could do the impossible! I did, too! I got to see Santa!"
"Please, call me North!"
"Okay, Mr. North!"
"Oh! We made you cookies! And celery for your reindeer!"
"Ah, Christopher! Why no carrots? Normally children leave carrots for reindeer!"
"Daddy says that it's not good for them, and that the Easter Bunny gets them after you're done delivering presents. We have some carrots for him, too, though!" Present Snow was surprised at how well they all spoke, before remembering briefly long boring grammar and language lessons. They were able to speak the same way in Russian and French.
"Hey! What are you doing here! They are supposed to be asleep when visit comes!"
"Er… Right." North took out a small bag full of golden dust, which he sprinkled over the children. The memory faded again.
~~~~~ Snow Angels ~~~~~
Jack had just gone through the same memory, and now it seem that years had passed. Rosy and Chris looked to be about 8, so that made Jack 10.
"Rosy! Do you want to go Easter Egg Hunting, or are ya going to stand there all day admiring your hair?" Chris teased. Jack had begun to recognize it as Blaze's voice.
"Humph. North says that Easter isn't as good as Christmas, but I told him that it was, and that he should tell the Easter Bunny that, so he said that he would send Bunny to meet us so we could tell him that ourselves, because he would never say that himself."
They now saw North every Christmas, and every few months, so they knew quite well how North felt about Easter.
"Yes, and he said that while we were waiting, we should look for eggs, so we don't cause trouble."
Jack shrugged in the memory. Present Jack was wondering if the Kangaroo would actually show. Little Rosabelle finally shrugged her shoulders, picked up her basket, and began searching the bushes. When the boys didn't immediately follow her example, she turned. "Well, what are you waiting for? You were the ones SOOO eager to begin hunting." Memory Jack and Chris began to gather the eggs that they found, losing what maturity they had been showing earlier. Present Jack was thinking that, four a six year old, she sure was bossy. Of course, most kids were when they were planning on meeting someone important, especially back in colonial times.
"Jackie! Look! This one has red, brown, and blue on it! It has my favorite colors on it!" She was hopping up and down in excitement, and they egg slipped out of her small hands. "My egg! No!" But the egg did something miraculous. suddenly the regular old egg had legs and feet, which it used to land, then quickly role, keeping it completely intact, not a crack on it.
The egg ran away from the group, towards the woods that under no circumstances were they to go into. Not following the rule, they all chased after it, finding it difficult to find it through all the undergrowth. Soon they ended up in a clearing, with the egg no where in sight.
"Where did it go?" Past Jack asked.
"Don't know." Chris said.
Rosy looked like she was ready to cry, her bottom lip quivering pitifully. Then her eyes lit up as she spotted the egg hiding under a bush. A smile lit up her face as she slowly made her way towards it as one would a frightened puppy.
"Hey little egg. Could you come over here? You are a very handsome egg. Best I've seen all day! And you are soooooo cute! Cute! Cute! Cute!"
The egg crept back a little bit more. Rosy spotted a thing in the bushes, and cried out. "No, little egg!"
She reached out and grabbed the egg just as the bear trap srang. She pulled her arm back quickly, as present Jack gasped, sure the trap had gotten her arm. Past Jack thought the same thing as he rushed forward. Simultaneously they let out a sigh of relief, seeing that it was only closed around her dress sleeve, and not her. The fabric hadn't even been ripped.
"Jack! Is she okay?!" Chris's worried voice sounded throughout the clearing.
"Yeah! Just got her sleeve!" Jack tried to open the trap, but it was too strong for his eight year old self. "Chris, a little help would be nice."
Chris came over and tried to help him open it, but even together they couldn't open it. The little egg that Rosy had saved was snuggling close to the girl, while she giggled and laughed. They soon were all laughing.
A rustling nearby made them all stop. A black horse made of sand stalked towards them, followed by a shadowy figure.
"What are three little children doing out in the big, bad, dark forest? Shouldn't you be finding the eggs that that ridiculous rabbit hid for you?"
"We ARE looking for eggs. See?" Rosy's voice didn't waver in the slightest when she spoke, nor did her hand as she held up the egg.
"Who are you, anyway?" Jack asked, but his voice was trembling. Past Jack had a feeling that he knew who he was, and present Jack DEFINITELY knew who he was.
"Who? Me? I am Pitch Black, The Boogeyman!"
He got muffled gasps from Chris and Jack, but Rosy just rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease. You don't look that scary. I'm more afraid of this egg than of you. I mean, how are kids even scared of you? You're wearing a DRESS, for crying out loud! An ugly one at that!"
Pitch looked extremely surprised that she was not shaking with fear, and so was all others watching. "I think you need a lesson of respect. And I will be the one who will give it to you! Feel fear!" He said, and with that, his nightmare companion charged at her. It made it halfway across the clearing when it was dissipated by a flying wooden object.
They all tracked it as it made its way back to its could see the children's eyes grow cartoonishly bigger as they took in the rabbit. "Picking on a coupla ankle biters, Pitch?" Pitch scowled, but slunk away into the shadows, disappearing into the darkness.
"Now what do you three think yer doin' in these woods? It's not safe ta be out here!"
"I dropped the egg, and it ran off, so we followed it. It went into the bear trap, and I grabbed it before it got crushed."
"Well thank ya for saving my googy, but now I have ta getcha back to yer parents!"
He started hopping away, until he realized that they weren't following him. "Problem back there?"
"Her sleeve got caught in the bear trap when she pulled the egg out. We can't get it back open." Jack said, looking sadly at Rosy.
The giant rabbit hopped back and looked closely at the trap. "I'm not going to be able to get it off here, the thing is jammed. I would leave ya here ta go get some tools from my Warren, but I don't want Pitch coming back and tryin' ta scare ya again. Brace yourselves!" The bunny tapped his foot.
"Brace ourselves for whAHHHHHH!" They said together, as the ground beneath them formed a tunnel, taking the kids, eggs, trap and all. The memory stayed above just enough to Bunny chuckle in amusement before hopping in after the.
~~~~~ Snow Angels ~~~~~
Tooth was frantic as she arrived, maybe the only people who were more frantic were Merida, Blaze and Rapunzel, who were determined that they could be getting hurt, or they were scared, or they were dying!
"No, no, no, they're stuck in their memories! They must have recognized this place! Blaze looked around.
"H-hey, I n-know this place!" And with that, he too collapsed.
"Uh, oh. I guess we should have thought of that."
"Sheila, Snow and Jack seemed to have grown up in the exact same place. In a house about two hundred feet from the pond that they were talking about. This one, I assume."
"But that can't be right. Only children that lived here were 300 years ago, de Overland children."
"North. J-jack's last name from his human life was Overland, and he died three hundred years ago. Snow and Blaze don't remember their last names. They died 300 years ago too! I think these ARE the Overland kids!" Tooth reasoned.
"Well, there's only one way to find out. We have to go into their memories!" Bunny stated, and Tooth nodded determinedly.
"Grab hands." They did. Tooth made it so Jack, Snow, and Blaze were holding hands too, before completing the circle by grabbing Bunny's and North's hands. There was a flash as they were whisked into the memories of their family. Because the Guardians were no longer exclusive to Jack, Sandy, North, Tooth, and Bunny. Just as the Seasons were no longer just Jack, Snow, Blaze, Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel. Now they were one big, huge, a little dysfunctional family.
~~~~~ Snow Angels ~~~~~
Jack, Snow, and Blaze knew immediately that they were in the same memory, seeing each other as the memory solidified. They had actually been expecting it. But they had not been expecting the rest of them.
"What are you guys doing here!"
"Makin' sure yer okay, Frostbite. You have been out for a while. What memory are we in, anyways?"
"Um, past Snow has her sleeve caught in a bear trap, and Bunny is taking us to the Warren to get it back off. You missed us meeting North for the first time."
"So you guys ARE the Overland kids." Tooth declared. They nodded mutely.
Jack's going to be upset when he finds out that it got my arm a little. A voice seemed to echo around them.
"My thoughts. looks like we're seeing this memory from my point of view." Snow explained.
"Weeee!" This is sooooo much fuuuunnn!" She shouted out loud.
"I think I'm going to be siiiiiiick!" Chris argued. Chris didn't look any different than he did now, except for age.
"I'm going to kiiiiilllll Buuuuuunnnnyyyyy!" Past Jack said while he laughed. A figure shot past them, must have been past Bunny. He was laughing as he did.
Finally the came out of the tunnel, into eternal spring. There was a fangirl squeal as Rapunzel took it in. "It's so SPRINGY!"
"Ha ha! Bunny, meet Rapunzel, Spirit of Spring, Punzie, meet the Easter Kangaroo."
"I'm a bunny, Frostbite!"
"Whatever you say."
"Jack, Bunny, be quite! We want to see the memory!" Sandy exclaimed. Wait, Sandy? Sandy could talk? Apparently he could in memories. either way, it got everyone to shut up.
"Alrigh' ankle biter. Let's get this thing off of you." Bunny had gone and come back with some tools. It was slow work, but he finally got the blasted thing to open. He eased her arm out of the trap and pushed up the sleeve, everyone present gasped.
Okay, maybe more than a little bit. More like a lot. I wonder why it doesn't hurt. Rosy's thoughts echoed.
"Why doesn't it hurt?"
"Blimey kid! Half of your arm is gone, and you're wondering why it doesn't hurt!" Both past and present Bunny proclaimed, shocked.
"I was SIX! Give me a break! I had just met the Easter Bunny, and the Boogeyman in the same day."
Rosy looked scared at Bunny's outburst. He sighed and said, "It doesn't hurt because ya weren't paying attention to it."
THUNK* They turned to see both past and present Blaze sitting on the ground, looking ill. Snow shook her head. "He never could handle blood."
She let her arm fall, only to hurriedly bring it back up. OOOOOWWWWWEEEEEE! Ow! Ow! Ow! Tears started to form at her eyes. No! No! No! No crying ! It's not that bad! You can handle it! It is NOT going to be like the time you broke your ankle and didn't tell Mommy for a week.
Everyone turned to look at Snow with a raised eyebrow. Her face turned a deep blue, but she ignored them.
Now matter what she thought, the tears began to fall from her traitorous eyes. Bunny now had a wet rag, and he was holding it carefully over her arm. "Now I want you to hang on to your brother's arm and squeeze it when it hurts. Can ya do that?"
She nods and grabs her brother's arm. Bunny brings down the cloth and wipes away some blood. She flinches a little, but doesn't move her hand on her brother's arm. Bunny wipes away some more, closer to the actual wound, and she lets out squeak, fingers tightening a little. Bunny finally got to the actual wound, and Rosy squeezed hard and cried out. When the wound was clean, Bunny wrapped it in gauze, tying it off neatly.
"Um, Rosy, you can let go of my arm now."
"Oops!" Rosy let go of the arm that she had been hugging the life out of, and Jack gave a relieved gasp as the grip loosened.
"Next time, I am not going to be your teddy bear." He pouted.
"Aaawww!" The girls cooed. Now Jack was blue.
"Shut up."
"So what are yer names?" Bunny said, authority in his voice giving them no reservations that telling their names was voluntary.
"My name is Rosabelle Snowflake Overland. That is my brother Christopher Blaze Overland, and this is Jackson Alexander Overland. By the way, Easter is better than Christmas." She said, sweet as an angel.
Jack nodded in agreement. "It's our favorite holiday."
"Is it now?"
"Y-yeah! Easter is so much fun!" Chris said, finally recovering.
The memory faded, and they were left in grayness.
"Easter is better than Christmas. And you favorite holiday. And it's fun." Bunny said, raising an eyebrow. Jack glared at his adopted brother, silently wishing he could fly away. Bunny didn't get a chance to tease Jack because another memory was appearing in view.
A/N: Not what I thought was going to happen, but this is how it turned out. Glad it is mostly out, though. There will be more to this. I don't know how many, though. So if you don't like memory fics, I suggest you stop reading this, because it is kind of turning into one. Give me memories you want to see, and I'll see what I can do… Please R&R!
