Chapter 9 – Never Too Late!

Bunny had this perception that he was crippled and he hated every moment of it. A numbing pain crept drudgingly from his feet, reaching up to his knees as he hopped. His injured paws supported him defiantly, threatening to trip him with each step. Wobbly and unstable, he felt as though his legs were made of jelly. What seemed to be a short journey had turned to a painstakingly slow one. Nevertheless, he struggled against the pain and hopped on.

Upon reaching the door of Jack's room, Bunnymund stopped to catch his breath. Cursing, he could not believe how quickly he had fallen into the brink of exhaustion. He must have beaten up himself pretty bad the night before; his priorities for the moment lie elsewhere. All he had in mind was to look for Jack, and to bring him back to safe hands.

But, something was wrong… An uneasy feeling stirred within him as he felt the arctic breeze that whizzed its way gently through the tiny opening.

Slamming the door wide open, Bunny was taken aback by what he saw… or more like what he could not see. Billowing mercilessly through the gaping casement, the gelid air of the North Pole ghosted the bright, but empty room. Jack was missing.

Panic struck him and his thoughts went wild – did the creeping Shadows take Jack? No it couldn't be, the Shadows were all bark and no bite; it couldn't have taken Jack away.

Did Jack run away from them then? Of late, he has been acting weirdly, avoiding contact with any of them whenever he could. It didn't make any sense to him, although Bunny felt that the young Guardian was not to be blamed. The Voice, it must be behind all that was happening. He must warn the other Guardians of this, but he could already hear them approaching him.

Tooth and Sandy glided swiftly in the air while lagging behind was the giant of a man, treading his way in a brute-like manner across the hallway. They had tried to follow Bunny the moment he fled from the globe room.

"Jack's missing!" Bunny stared at them, anxiety stricken his eyes.

Tooth faltered in her flight. "Oh no, we're too late…" She was disheartened. She knew that she should have checked on him earlier or even stayed with him from the start.

Sandy hopped out of his sand cloud, clearly disappointed as he peered silently onto the floor.

North scrambled towards them. He heard something in the line of 'too late' but he was never someone to give in easily.

"No! Never too late…" North exclaimed in between breaths. He exchanged glances with his fellow Guardians who were looking at him expectantly, waiting for a plan. "What are we talking about?" He asked, confusion apparent on his face.

Bunny shot him a look of disbelief. "Not funny, mate. The boy's gone! And now I've to start searchin' again. Who knows where he had gone to?!" He jabbed accusingly at North. "And what's your plan? Ya better don't tell me your belly says he's at the South Pole." The snarky rabbit snapped impatiently at North.

North blinked at him, startled by Bunny's sudden outrage. Since when did Bunny get edged so easily? It was strange that he cared so much about Jack too, but he decided to calm him down first. "Ha! You know my belly is never wrong," giving a playful grin at Bunny. "We know Jack! Maybe we can start search at the lake?"

"Hold-hold it! The lake?" Bunny threw his arms exasperatedly in the air. "The only time I bloody caught him there was when he had a nightmare. And returned with this too," he pointed at his trembling feet.

North frowned, he was just trying to keep things under control. "Bunny, calm down. We will look for him together," his voice was calm but stern. "Right Tooth? Sandy?" The two nodded in agreement.

But Bunny was aggravated instead by his reassurance, strangely. "Sure. Just like how the rest of you left him alone in his room… together?" He replied, sarcastically.

Frustrated as his patience was running thin, North retorted. "What's the matter with you?! You have any better idea where to look for him?" He stared imposingly at Bunny. "And last I know you're the one who tried to chase him away!"

Guilt burned within Bunnymund. If he had known what the boy was going through, he wouldn't have been so harsh with him. "But none of them believed in you, mate," the words swirled like a caustic stream in his head. Bunny remembered the look of defeat on Jack when he belittled him, and the smugly smile that he wore to taunt the boy with. He should never have done that.

But North has no rights to rub in his past mistakes, it was between him and Jack. Clenching his fist in anger, Bunny took a bold step forward to meet his stare, determined to tell him off and to mind his own business.

Tooth hovered around them restlessly, begging them to hold their horses as they have a pressing matter to attend to while Sandy bounced around the floor waving golden flags in both hands, hoping that they will surrender the unnecessary squabble.

Straining, veins were noticeably popping out from both Guardians; neither was willing to give up. The growing disagreements from both sides brew together, tensing the hallway and the air that filled it. A fight was about to erupt between them, both ready to strike at one another. But suddenly, Tooth let out a gasp, drawing their attention away from each other.

Her eyes strained in concentration as she tried to pick up the noise that rang in her ears. Telepathically, she could hear the chirping of her fairies, bright and cheerful as the morning sun. They told her that Jack had paid them a visit. Their stories were filled enthusiasm and joy, but what was this dark and ominous feeling that gripped her? Tooth panicked as possibilities sprouted like wild grass in her mind.

"M-my fairies told me that Jack is at my palace. I-I'm not sure why…" She declared with uncertainty. "I must find out!" She flew away without waiting for an answer, going as fast as her mystical wings could carry her. Worried, Sandy decided to follow suit and dashed after her with his dream cloud, waving a farewell to the ones behind.

"What are you waiting for? We have lead now," North motioned for Bunny to follow, forgetting everything that had happened. "Let us hurry to the sleigh," he started stomping down the hallway enthusiastically.

Bunny cringed at the word, but he knew that the way to Tooth's Palace through his magical tunnels were inefficient as it was all the way up in the sky. He wanted to get there fast as Jack was acting strangely - he felt as though he was under some form of control. Bunny thought over his travelling options.

An idea came to his mind, but it was going to be a long shot. Hoping that North would not shower him with questions, he decided to give it a go. Grabbing onto North's long, red coat, he asked with a tone of urgency in his voice. "Can I use one of your Snow Globes, North?"

Bewildered, North thought that Bunny had gone mad. He hated his portals with a passion – even more than his sleigh. In confusion, he cocked his eyebrow. "Globe you say?" He touched Bunny's forehead with the back of his hand. "Are you down with fever?"

Bunny brushed his hand away, agitated. "My tunnels aren't fast enough, I just need-", Bunny cut himself off half way through. He did not want to explain, he just had this imperative need to get to Jack at this very moment. To be honest, he wasn't being quite himself as well. Looking away from North with his ears drooping down, he appealed. "Please?"

Stroking his flowing beard, North looked at Bunny, totally bewildered. Growing fond of the young Guardian was another thing, but to ask for a Snow Globe? He seemed to have changed. The Bunny he knew was a proud and arrogant rabbit; he would never ask for help or expressed his concerns. But North thought over about it and decided to oblige his request. "You owe much explanation to me," he warned.

Pulling out the Snow Globe from his coat, he shook it lightly and whispered 'Tooth Palace' before he flung it onto the floor.

The empty space tore apart as a whirling portal emerged out of thin air, bearing the distorted image of the said place. "In you go," he said simply as he pushed the Bunny towards the portal. "I'll be right there, I cannot hop like you do," North wriggled his gigantic foot at him.

Nodding appreciatively, Bunny leapt into the portal, swirling in and gone out of sight. North let out a breath of exasperation, uncertain of his old fellow comrade's motive.


Bunny scrunched his eyes shut as he swirled violently into another dimension. He hated the sensation of flight and decided to just focus his attention onto something else. An inquiring curiosity pricked his mind as he thought about Jack. Why has he grown so concerned about him out of the blue? He had no definite answer for it, so he decided to think about the time he had spent with Jack instead.

In that short period of time when they were helping each other and fighting together back to back, he noticed something unnerving about the young Guardian. Much like himself, Jack would never show his emotions in front of others. He hid them all, his disappointments and feelings of rejection; behind his smiles, his mischievous blue eyes, his laughter… He would do anything to keep his distance from them, hoping that they would not see the real him. But Bunny could understand his feelings, somehow.

Isolated in his cold world, Jack had to endure the painful truth that no one believed in him nor appreciated his presence. Winter is the season of death they say. People cursed the sleet storms and blizzards for the mishap and dormancy it brings. Though some of them do relish in his creations, they took him for granted as he was just so insignificant in their lives.

As much as Jack tried to look independent, the child in him would never leave him. Jack, like any other teenagers, yearned for understanding and someone to be there for him. He never felt friendship or love with anyone he could relate to. The solitary centuries had taken its toll on him, stripping off his sense of self-worth, making him feel that he did not belonged anywhere. Having fun was the only thing he could do, to keep his freezing heart going on…

Bunny could feel himself slowing down; he was reaching the end of the portal. Landing on all fours, he threw quick glances around the majestic palace. Twitching, his ears caught hold of a swishing sound from behind him. He caught a glimpse of a white spherical object flashing across in the open air just as he turned towards the source. Jack was still around.


First and foremost, I AM TRULY HAPPY BECAUSE I MANAGED TO GET A BUNCH OF PRINTS AND BADGES FROM COMIC FIESTA TODAY xD. Though I had to scale the exhibition hall for a good 3 hours with my crutches lol. But it was still worth it!

Another chapter is up and ready! Thank you very much to those of you have reviewed (Though it wasn't many T_T). It meant a lot to me and I'm really glad that you took some of your time off to do so :D. (To AgentBugs: I can't thank you personally by PM haha. But I'm glad you liked it! And you're most welcome! I love Baby Tooth too xD, she's just so... adorable!)

To avoid a barrage of rotten eggs, I think I should explain myself... (Headcanon was it?). But anyway! The reason I made Bunnymund not being able to use his tunnels to get to Tooth's Palace was because I find it really strange if he could get to her place directly through a series of tunnel... You get what I mean! I know he could have somehow hopped over the mountains or something, but yah, portal seemed like a better idea for me xD.

So anyway, thanks again for reading my fan fiction! Merry Christmas to all of you out there (Soon lol xD) and happy reading!