Chapter 7: In Which Hope Gives Up and Wonder Casts a Spell

Summary: Bunny may finally be at the Pole, but he's not yet out of the woods. What will it take to bring him back from the brink? Can North combat his symptoms before it's too late for the last of the Pooka?... Can two simple words save a life?

Notes:

- The spell used in this chapter is cannon, from the Guardians of Childhood books. You will find that we include several elements from William Joyce's book series along with what we use from the movie. Hopefully we have done a good job of tying the two together.

- Again, I am issuing a warning for blood and descriptions of medical procedures, this time involving needles.

North was shouting orders to the yetis the instant they were within hearing range, not waiting for the sleigh to stop. There was a sudden flurry of activity as several yetis made their way quickly to the workshop infirmary to prepare the room for Bunny's arrival. When the sleigh finally came to a sliding halt, Santa immediately turned to Jack. "Is too much to explain. You just keep him breathing, Jack. You are doing good job." He then turned away again and bellowed a few more things at the yetis in Russian. One yeti rushed off to announce their arrival and explain Bunny's condition to Tooth and Sandy, while Phil came up to take charge of the reindeer and the two yetis on the sleigh assisted with unloading Bunny.

Jack was no longer sitting still, but dodging around obstacles and the like to try and keep up with the yetis moving the stretcher. He somehow managed to keep the same pace with the bellows in spite of all the distractions, the words of encouragement North gave the only thing he had to go on that perhaps he was doing this right. With a glance over his shoulder he realized that he was leaving his staff and his hoodie behind in the sleigh. He found that fact somewhat distressing. That crook held his power. It was physically draining to be away from it. Without that and his hoodie he simply didn't feel like Jack Frost. He hoped they'd be safe…

Soon the group piled into the lift, careful not to jostle Bunny as they did so. It was rather crowded, and Jack was pinned against the side, but they managed it alright. Carting him up the ramp and past the globe, they made their way into the infirmary, two more yetis taking up sentry positions outside the door as they entered.

The infirmary didn't actually look like an infirmary. More like a lounge, really, only there weren't enough seats to actually classify as such. It wasn't all that large and was shaped almost like an angular fan someone had cut a large portion of the bottom off of. On the wall in which the door was set was a series of three oak cabinets, stained a beautiful mahogany, presumably for the storage of medical supplies and linens.

The back wall, which bent around so that it was both across from, and to the left of, the door, was virtually made of tall windows, save for the left hand corner. This corner was paneled in more mahogany and in it a very comfortable looking bed was positioned. Next to the bed was a couch that looked soft enough to sink into and a small wooden stool that looked the stark opposite of the couch in comfort level.

The right-hand wall sported a few plush chairs which matched the couch, more cabinets and a desk - as well as what appeared to be some sort of chem-lab. That and a waist-high med table, wooden cart - which was already laid out with supplies - and large metal tub at its center were the only items in the room that really made the its true purpose obvious. The tub was filled about halfway with water that was cold, but not freezing. They wanted to cool Bunny down, but not too fast. It wouldn't do to put him into shock on top of everything else.

The yetis did not immediately put Bunny in the tub, depositing their charge with haste on the nearby medical table instead. One of them, a grey with a white mustache and brown eyes, used a rather odd-looking thermometer, which would have been right at home in a steampunk setting, to check his internal temperature. He shook his head in disbelief as the resulting readout of 112` flashed in orange on the screen.

Another yeti, this one light tan with white arms speckled in brown, set about placing ice packs in strategic points on Bunny's body - armpits, inner elbows, either side of his neck... - wherever there were a large amount of blood vessels close to the skin.

As the yeti did this, there was a commotion outside the door. The sentry yetis, who had been told not to let anyone in were presently having a rather heated argument that, at times, seemed to be one sided, while the rest of the time they were countered by an obviously panicked and clearly female voice. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Sandy and Tooth had arrived, apparently expecting to be let in and were affronted by the yetis' rebuff. North let the sentries handle it. He had no time to deal with explaining why they could not be present as he was treating Bunny. He briefly considered asking Jack to leave as well, but thought better of it. Jack was clearly much better off where he was and his abilities, while weakened without his staff, could prove useful in helping Bunny.

Ignoring the noise in the hall, North reached into a drawer in the table and pulled out a set of electric shears, to which he attached a 1/8" blade guide. The guide would hold the blades away from the skin so that it would not make Bunny naked, but his fur would be trimmed short enough so as to make his skin easier to see and his body easier to cool, and to dry when they were done. Flipping the switch to the on position, he said to the comatose Pooka, "You will not like me very much when you wake up, Old Friend, but better to have angry Bunny than dead Bunny, da?"

As he proceeded to shave Bunny's fur to about the length of a young kit's, North revealed more and more skin covered in red dots and, even more disturbing, widespread bruising. This proved what Jack had feared - Bunny was most definitely bleeding internally. It meant that he was in more danger than North had originally thought. Were we too late? St. Nicholas wondered. Shaking off the gloom, he thought, No! No such thing! You are not going anywhere, my friend. We are too stubborn, you and I. He continued to shear off much of the blood encrusted fur, completing his work as quickly as he could. His haste resulted in a rather sloppy clip loaded with thin bands of uncut fur that gave Bunny the appearance of a zebra, but it didn't matter. He could neaten it up after he was out of danger.

Jack tried not to smile a little at the choppy shave job. Had they not just talked about how Bunny didn't want to be shaved? His smile faded a bit as he considered Bunny's reaction at the time. There had been true terror in his eyes when he'd dared suggest it. Fear so much stronger than you would find in one who was just afraid of being embarrassed. He couldn't have looked more scared if Jack had been actively trying to drown him - a feeling he knew first hand. Why the Pooka had been so afraid of being shaved, he didn't know, but it was too late now. However he reacted when he opened his eyes, Bunny would get over it, Jack was sure.

As the two yetis helped North to slowly lower Bunnymund into the bath, Jack began shaking... no, shivering. Jack Frost was no longer familiar with the sensation of shivering. He was a frost sprite. Frost sprites don't shiver - not from cold anyway.., but then, this had nothing to do with being cold... This was fear. The water in the tub had almost immediately taken on a pink hue as Bunny's blood spread out from his body and combined with the bathwater, quickly darkening to a deep, translucent red.

North gaped at the swirling color. He is losing too much blood! he realized. He called the grey yeti over and told him, "Prepare two IVs. One for fluids, other for blood transfusion."

Upon hearing the words 'blood transfusion', dizziness crept up on Jack. He found his knees giving out, and he stumbled forward and gripped onto the side of the tub with one hand. He didn't have time for this, he didn't want to pass out or something… Bunny needed his help to breathe. The tan yeti looked up at him from his work, and Jack shook his head at the furry man. "Fine. I'm fine. Just tripped," he assured him, if only because he did not want to be a distraction. The yeti grunted in response whilst his fellow did as North had instructed, going to one of the oak cabinets, which actually turned out to be a refrigerator, and removing two bags - One filled with a clear liquid, the other red.

Meanwhile, the tan yeti lifted one of Bunny's arms and strapped it to the wall of the tub so that it was out of the water, then did the same with the opposing arm. He shaved away what little fur was left on the insides of the Pooka's elbows and then cleaned the skin with an alcohol wipe in preparation for the grey yeti to set up the IVs.

North stayed by Bunny's head, hands cupping it and keeping it above water. In this position, he was also able to monitor Bunny's heart rate, which he was alarmed to feel was dangerously low. With his current ailment, his heart should be racing, but it wasn't. This was bad. This meant that his heart was giving up. The Russian kept it to himself for now, in order to avoid needlessly scaring Jack, and prayed that Bunny would hold out until they could get his blood level back up.

All of this had Jack Frost nauseated, light headed, and scared. When the baggie of blood carried by the grey yeti came into view, his vision became speckled with black fuzziness. Eyes dodging downwards, he stared intently at the bellows in his hands. He didn't know how a blood transfusion was performed or exactly what was going to happen with that blood, but he knew it involved needles and if Jack saw a needle he would surely faint. As it was he felt like he might anyway. He made a gurgled noise in the back of his throat, fighting back the urge to vomit, then asked, "W-Why do you need the blood?" even though he was pretty certain he already knew.

Observing closely to make certain everything went smoothly while one IV was carefully inserted into each of Bunny's arms, the Guardian of Wonder did not look at Jack as he told him, "Blood is for transfusion. He has lost too much. Without transfusion, he will die." It was a rather simple answer and one that didn't tell Jack anything he didn't already know. Well, except for the 'Bunny dying' part. He knew Bunny was in bad shape, but he hadn't known he had lost enough blood to kill him! Just how many times in one day could a person nearly die anyway? Jack was pretty certain he didn't want to know the answer to that question. Counting now, the three times they'd almost lost Bunny already were more than enough for him.

Jack didn't join North in watching, of course. Not when the needles were inserted into Bunny's arms, not when the bags were hung on the IV poles, or when they were attached to the IV lines. He didn't look up until North said, "Is ok, Jack. Is safe to look now. Dimitri has finished."

When he did at last gather the courage to lift his eyes, the winter sprite saw that two lines were now feeding into Bunny's arms, one clear the other... he had to look away from. His gaze instead followed the clear line to its attached bag, which was labeled 'Lactated Ringers Solution'. Jack had no idea what that was, but he assumed it had something to do with cooling Bunny down. He was only partly right. It was cool and would help to lower his temperature, but it was primarily to combat dehydration. In spite of having heatstroke, Bunny had not had a single drink since before leaving his warren. It was a fact that was compromising his condition further and so needed to be addressed.

Jack tried not to glance at the other bag, but it was as if someone had told him not to look down, he just couldn't avoid it. He had intended to immediately look away again but, when his eyes fell on the label, something about it gave him pause. It was labeled as blood, however, where one would normally write in a blood type such as 'A positive' or 'O', it instead read simply 'Bunny'. This was Bunny's own blood. Not blood from some donor, but from Bunny himself.

"Where did you even get some of Bunny's blood?" Jack asked incredulously, "I mean, he's not human… Obviously human b-blood won't work… But that's actually Bunny's blood?"

Even though the situation was dire, having nothing better to do considering he was just preventing Bunny from going under, North elected to humor Jack with an explanation, if only to distract him from his distress. "You are right, Jack," he agreed, "Human blood would not do. We could not use rabbit blood either, because he is not really a rabbit. He is a Pooka." He looked down at his weakened friend, a determined look on his face that was touched with worry and just a bit of sadness. "Bunny… is last of his kind. We know this. We Guardians get hurt... we can die. We know this as well."

Santa shifted his position as his legs and back began to get stiff from bending over the tub, but continued his explanation while he searched for a way to relieve the discomfort. "So we take precaution. Bunny's idea." Looking around, he spotted a stool behind him. He passed his gaze from one yeti to the next, but none were available to get it for him. While hooking the leg of the stool with his foot, he continued, "We take a little here, little there from him. Keep it for later, in case of emergencies." He settled onto the stool with a sigh and returned his attention to Jack, saying, "I believe this qualifies as emergency, da?"

The IVs were now in place and North watched it for a moment, willing them to keep his friend alive even as his heart slowed further. He leaned down, rested his forehead against Bunny's and murmured, "Vse budet khorosho , moy droog. Vy ne odinoki . YA ne budu teryat' nadezhdu," which was Russian for, "Everything is going to be alright, my friend. You are not alone. I will not give up hope." Then, remembering the old magic taught to him by Ombric, North began to softly chant the words, "I believe, I believe, I believe…" over and over, it became his mantra as the long minutes passed.

Perhaps North had not given up hope, but its Guardian had. Deep within the darkest recesses of himself to which his consciousness had retreated, Bunny waited for the end. He saw Jack's face in his mind. So much fear and hurt and all because of him! Jack had been crying when last he'd looked at him through fading vision. As blackness came to claim him, he felt the hot tears that dropped onto his face and ears. It had all been too much to bear. He knew he was dying, knew Jack could not save him this time and he couldn't stand to see the effect it was having on him, so he had escaped.

As time dragged on and he was still somehow breathing, Bunny thought of his friends. How would his death effect them? He knew already that Jack would cry. North and Sandy probably would as well. Perhaps even Toothiana, though she would most likely wait until she could be alone. Ever the proud Queen, she would not want her friends to see her tears.

And how would the Guardians fair in battle now? Could they fight off Pitch without his help? He had been instrumental many a time, powered by his gourmet chocolates which gave him abilities and physical prowess well beyond his natural skill-set. He also held one of the Lunar Relics, an egg-shaped stone, affixed to his long-neglected staff. Would they be able to find its hiding place should it be needed? Then there was the light of the universe, which Pitch so feared, also in his possession. Would they be able to find their way back to his gallery of eggs where it waited within its special egg-shaped container for a time of great darkness to return light to the world.

As he pondered these things, he became aware of a presence. Something else was there with him. A black and terrible specter, laughing cruelly in his ear. I win… a cold voice crooned to him, I said I would destroy every last one of your damnable brotherhood and now I have. How does it feel, Guardian of Hope, to give up at last? Bunny curled in on himself, trying to block out the words. Only one person would say such things to him. He knew that voice. It was Pitch - and he was right. Bunny could do nothing to stop what was happening. But don't worry, rabbit. Your friends will be along soon enough. You are only the first. One by one, the Guardians will fall to my plans.

In his mind, the Pooka leapt to his feet and launched a phantom boomerang at the shadows. "Ya'll never win, Pitch!" he shouted, catching the useless item as it returned, "The Guardians'll knock yer block off and drag yer ass back ta Manny fer this!" Bunny peered into the obscurity around him, trying to find the source of the voice, but it was no use. There was nothing there to see. Only Pitch's voice was present to torture him as it saw fit.

Going to tattle on me, are they? Oh, I'm so frightened! Pitch mocked on, You know as well as I that losing you will weaken them all! The Nightmare King's voice took on a phony note of concern as he needled Bunny with, Oh! But the heat is still rising, Rabbit. I wonder what will happen when the fairies begin to follow your stunning lead? Or North's reindeer? You know they are not meant for warmer climates. It won't be long before they become ill as well. And poor Sandy! It's so very hard to give children sweet dreams when they can't sleep because of the heat!

The dream-Bunny's eyes went wide as he realized that Pitch was again right. If they couldn't stop the heat wave somehow, every one of the Guardians would eventually die or fade away. He fell to his knees, then onto his side, and again curled into a tight ball. It felt like hours before Pitch eventually gave up on tormenting him and left him there to die.

While hiding in his own mind, Bunny had missed North's arrival and their journey to the pole, been blissfully unaware of going through the portal, of being shaved and submerged in cold water and of IVs puncturing his arms. All of these things had been inconsequential to him while Pitch had invaded his consciousness, but now his body was beginning to cool. Now he was beginning to come back to himself. Now he heard the Russian's words. He still could not feel what was happening to him, but North's concern came through loud and clear and it brought him comfort, however small. It awakened something within him. Something that remembered the living world. Something that wanted to return. That told him he could. Hope had found him once again. So, in his mind, he joined the chant. I believe… I believe… I believe…

Sandy and Tooth were anxious, to say the least. North had arrived with Bunny and sent a yeti to talk to them. What the yeti had said was very concerning. Heatstroke? Profuse bleeding? Unconscious and unresponsive? These did not paint a very bright prognosis. Then the yeti had told them they were to stay put and wait for news. They had gone to see Bunny right away, of course. Who was that yeti to tell them they couldn't? However, they found room was under guard! They reasoned with the yetis guarding the door, then they demanded entry and finally pleaded to be let in.

Eventually it became clear that no amount of arguing would get them through that door and they resigned themselves to waiting in the Globe Hall. They focused on their jobs as best they could, but ended up pacing as they worked. Tooth absently commanding her fairies as they returned for orders every few minutes and Sandy sending out mass-dreams to whole clusters of people. In between, they spoke worriedly about what was going on with Bunny. This was what they had been doing for the better part of an hour.

"What could be taking so long?" Tooth asked of the air for perhaps the hundredth time. No one would answer of course, save for the Sandman's non-committal shrug, which had been his response for the past twenty or so times she had said it. One could only try to answer the same hypothetical question so many times before it became frustrating.

Sandy's face took on a devious look and a yeti of sand standing guard appeared over his head. Then sand representations of himself and Tooth snuck quietly past the yetis. This was Sandy's way of suggesting that they try to sneak in.

Toothiana shook her head rapidly, "No, Sandy. North wants us to wait, so we're going to wait," she sighed, "We'd never get past the ye..." and then she suddenly got very quiet. The words 'I believe' had begun to tickle at the back of her mind and, if the look on his face was anything to go by, Sandy had felt it too. Somehow, they always knew when one of their number was casting this spell. The sand figure of North chanting that floated over Sandy's head was clear confirmation that she had felt right. "It's North," Tooth whispered fearfully, tears filling her eyes. "He's losing Bunny."

Sandy shook his head forcefully and showed her an image of them chanting as well. He needn't have bothered, as she had already joined in and so he took up the chant, if only within his head - I believe... I believe... I believe...

All anyone could really do now was to check Bunny's temperature at regular intervals, continue the chant and pray to MiM that it worked. At one point a yeti changed out the empty blood bag for another and North occasionally asked Jack to cool the water down as Bunny's overheated body warmed it up. The rest was just waiting. It went on like this for quite some time and, much to everyone's vast relief, his temperature was steadily dropping.

Jack tried his hardest to be helpful… He had to cool the water by touching it, dipping his hand into essentially a pool of diluted blood, while continuing to pump the bellows with his other hand. His hands were getting tired, it was difficult to use his powers without his staff, and it forced him to face his own fears, making him both uncomfortable and braver, but he managed. Luckily for everyone, he avoided fainting. For a moment there he thought he might, and just fall face first into the tub and drown. The irony in that would have been tragically beautiful.

Eventually the bleeding stopped, as evidenced by the blood on Bunny's face and ears beginning to dry with no fresh blood rewetting it, and North decided it was time to remove the tube. Passing off the duty of holding Bunny's head above water to one of the yetis, he relieved Jack of his burden. He then withdrew the tube very slowly so as not to damage the delicate tissues of Bunny's throat. It wasn't a pretty sight as it emerged, all covered in partially coagulated blood and saliva. Bunny twitched, one hand coming up on reflex to swipe feebly at the offending tube, but he reacted no more than that.

Now that his hands were free, Jack absently traced one up Bunny's arm, a soft smile coming to his face. He was so proud that Bunny was breathing on his own that the ooze on the tube hadn't even fazed him. He was just glad it was out of him. Something about all the tubes had made Bunny appear rather pathetic and one less improved that appearance immensely.

North was still doing that 'I believe' chant. It intrigued Jack. It seemed to be important, North looking like he was counting on it to help somehow. Though the teen didn't know that it was a spell, he leaned forward to whisper into the Pooka's big, droopy ear. "I believe in you too. I believe... I believe... I believe..."

Whether Jack's support had been the catalyst, or the timing was just dumb luck, no one would ever know, but it was then that one of the yeti, who had been performing the latest temperature check, grinned at North and said, "Fadaka pawoota!" holding the thermometer out for North to see.

"One hundred and three point four… He is out of woods!" the Russian whooped, capturing Jack in a crushing bear hug and, unfortunately, causing him to miss the tiniest flick of a smile that twitched the corners of Bunny's mouth, as the Pooka heard his whispered words.

To Bunny, it was like a promise for future days. A promise that there would be future days. Jack and North were there and they believed in him. If they were certain he was going to live, then perchance he would. It buoyed his rekindled hope and helped it to grow stronger which, in turn, helped him to grow stronger. Ombric had always said, "Magic's real power is in belief." I believe… I believe… I believe… The simplest magic spell and maybe the most powerful of all.

Even the crushing grip of North's hug made Jack smile and relax. He was comfortable there. North was happy, Bunny was going to be okay and Jack was more relieved than he'd ever been. "He's okay?" he asked, just for good measure. To know for certain.

North set Jack back on his feet and beamed at him. "Da, Jack. He will be alright now. Much thanks to you."

So much relief washed over Jack, but it was backed by more distress and discomfort. He knew that, even though Bunny was out of the woods, he still had to recover. He knew that not all was well. The weather hadn't changed, it was still beyond hot in Burgess and much of the rest of the world. It was still far too hot for Bunny to work in, and it was still going to ruin Easter. Jack was about sick of Easter being ruined. Maybe it was time for Valentine's Day to get messed up or something.

North's smile faltered a bit as he got a good look at the frost sprite. Now that Bunny was out of danger and he was not so focused on caring for him, he was really seeing the teen for the first time in hours. He was thrilled to know that his friend would live, but it did not blind him to how haggard poor Jack appeared. "Jack, you do not look so good. I think it best you go rest. Is okay. Danger is past."

"He can't possibly deliver eggs on Easter, like this," Jack pointed out, looking up at North. "It's too hot for him. Maybe even too hot for us. If there's no Easter, Bunny will fade… We've got to figure this out."

With a shake of his head, North told him, "I will send yetis for you when Bunny is waking up. Then we will talk about Easter and reason I summoned you."

Jack studied the Pooka for a moment, trying to assess his condition, despite the fact that he knew nothing about medicine. Even to his untrained eye, Bunny seemed to be doing better and North had said he would be alright. Supposing he had no choice but to trust in North's instincts, with an exhausted sigh, Jack said simply, "Thanks," then took the advice to heart and left the infirmary in search of a bed.

As Jack went in search of a bed, a part of Bunny was already waking up. Tentatively, he began to reconnect to his body. Awareness slowly returning to him, he began to feel again and he felt… wet? Oh, right. Ah was in the pond. But something was wrong with that thought… he could feel water all around him. Was he back in the pond? As he explored his senses further he noted that he also felt hot inside, but cold on the outside. That didn't make any sense either. With all these mixed signals, his confused body began to shiver...

North watched Jack leave, then turned back to Bunny. His brow furrowed as he noticed something had changed. Bunny was shivering! Quickly, he touched a wrist to his head and discovered that he was still on the hot side, which meant he wasn't actually cold. If he was shivering and he wasn't cold, it meant he was losing heat too fast now and they needed to change tactics. Shivering would counteract their efforts and cause him to get hotter again. He could also go into shock and if that happened... No. That wouldn't happen. North wouldn't let it.

North commanded the yetis, "Alright. Time to get Bunny out of water!" They rushed over and removed Bunny from the tub, lifting him easily. "Put him here," North told the yetis with a gesture to the recovery bed, while he procured some dry towels from a cabinet on the far wall. The yetis did as ordered, one of them also moving the IV pole.

Laying limp on the bed with IVs attached to his arms, E. Aster Bunnymund had never looked so wretched in all his extremely long life. He was sopping wet and sloppily shaved, what fur North had left to him was stained an appalling shade of red, he was absolutely covered in bruises and those little red blister-like spots and he was wrinkled up like an old prune. North intended to fix that part.

Nicholas tossed a towel to the yetis and they began to rub Bunnymund dry. "No rubbing!" Santa warned, "If we rub, it will make him hotter. Pat gently. Only take off worst of wet." His intent was to keep just enough water on the rabbit for him to still cool off, but not so fast that he shivered. When they had finished, North laid a light sheet over him.

After a while, Bunny's shivering subsided and he lay quiet. Breathing now at a normal rhythm and face placid, he seemed for all the world to simply be taking a nap, which wasn't too far from true. While the Pooka had been somewhat aware of being lifted out of the tub and had felt the patting as he was dried - and a part of him did want to know what was happening to him - he was beyond exhausted. Right now he wanted nothing more than to rest and so he did, much to North's relief.

Bunny stabilized, Nicholas took the opportunity to leave the infirmary to find Sandy and Tooth. On his way out, he instructed the yetis to inform him immediately if there were any changes in their patient.

It was very peaceful in the infirmary now. One would never guess the chaos there had been here just a short while ago. In all the tranquility, one might not have thought it unusual when a sparrow alighted on the windowsill. One might have thought it was simply the birds returning from their winter homes. Nothing strange about that... but this was the North Pole and, had they seen it, the yetis would have found it very strange.