Bunny heard Catherine, heard her mumble Gorgyra's name, as if she could sense her. When he turned she was there, looming over Catherine with such a gleeful face, so keen to inflict pain on Catherine.
Sandy turned, already bringing his hands up along with a wall of sand.
"No."
There is was, it flickered in Catherine's eyes just like it had before, in that moment right before she struck Gorgyra. Magic. Dark, evil magic.
"No. More. Monsters."
The golden sand Sandy was bringing up in defence burst into darkness, not in the way that Pitches nightmares did, not in the way Gorgyra's shadows moved. It was like ink, spilling out from Catherine and latching onto Gorgyra's outstretched arms.
Sandy moved away, all the guardians did but not Bunny. Catherine didn't scare Bunny, even with that darkness she didn't scare him.
"Catherine, that's enough." He called over, walking towards her as he did so.
Her eyes snapped up to him, now a dark shade of cobalt and he stared back.
"Ya know tha's enough." Bunny continued and he knelt in front of her, ignoring Gorgyra's twisted cries from behind Catherine.
"No. More. Monsters." Catherine hissed, but it sounded like her voice ten times over.
Her voice, talking over voice, talking over her voice, talking over her voice.
"Don't ya rememba? I said, I'd protect ya din't I?" He chuckled and she nodded, albeit slowly, and he watched the cobalt in her eyes lighten, gleam in the light until it returned to sky blue.
The inky blackness behind her poured back into her and Gorgyra fell writhing to the ground.
"Ya okay?" Bunny asked gently, reaching forwards and resting a large furred paw on her knee and she nodded.
"C'mon, let's get you back home ey?" Bunny asked her gently, taking her hand and helping her stand on shaky legs.
"I'm going ta take Catherine home, Sandy, can you come watch over her?" Bunny asked and Sandy nodded with a smile, and Bunny paused to address the other guardians.
"I'll be back soon, stay here."
Bunny didn't acknowledge the writhing form of Gorgyra as she sunk into the Earth, he knew she'd be back, but he was at least hopeful that he wouldn't go after Catherine again. Heck, he didn't think anything would come after Catherine after that, but you really never knew. Power like that, was tempting.
Catherine was vaguely aware of arriving home, of being laid in the double bed in the spare room. It was funny, how she know thought of it as Bunny's room. She knew that Bunny was going, heard him mutter something in her ear, she also knew he was angry. His already thick accent laced his words even further, and then he was replaced by something different. It sounded like bells chiming, and Catherine recognised the golden sand of the sandman.
She welcomed sleep, her body ached, it felt like it was tearing itself apart and sewing itself back together. She'd felt this before, in what she thought was a dream. A nightmare.
But now, the memory resurfaced, of herself as a child.
Of a time when the monsters had come, lead by a woman made of shadows. This woman had told her something, but Catherine couldn't hear the words. She just recalled the feeling of fear, these words frightened her, and she wanted the woman made of darkness to leave her, take the words away.
Then it was gone, and the Sandman's golden dream sand washed away the darkness. Catherine had never been happier to escape a nightmare before in her life.
Bunny left Catherine, promising her that he would come back soon and nodded to Sandman. If anyone could protect her, it was him. He then shot back to the forest clearing in a matter of seconds, feeling only the slightest tug from his previous injury.
The guardians were stood there, Jack was watching as North wrapped up that thin slice on Tooth's arm. The one that Catherine had dealt with North's own swords, which were safely back in their scabbards.
"Bunny." North began, but cut himself short, they were in the wrong here, and North knew it.
"You attacked her! An innocent kid!" Bunny bellowed at them, and they remained silent.
"What were ya thinkin?!"
"We are sorry Bunny," North apologised but it didn't satiate Bunny in the slightest, so North continued "it was not our intention to attack a child, but…we did not see a child."
Bunny paused, frowning. That…made more sense than it should have.
"Have you seen her fight?" Tooth asked gently, rubbing the bandages on her arm and keeping one of her feet tucked in closely, and Bunny knew Catherine had caught that as well.
"I saw her save me from Gorgyra." Bunny admitted slowly, and Jack nodded.
"What did you see, in her center?" North asked gently, and Bunny turned his head.
He knew what they meant, that darkness in her eyes when she fought. Dark magic. But Bunny knew it wasn't evil, because Catherine wasn't evil. Hell, Catherine was willing to bet that Catherine hadn't even known what she could do until just then.
"Magic." Bunny answered after several silent moments, but Jack just scoffed.
"Magic? That wasn't magic Bunny! That was pure darkness! Even Pitch wasn't-"
"Jack. Be. Quiet."
Jack had never really been afraid of Bunny before, but in that moment, he was very afraid of him. He hid it, of course, under his bravado but the feeling lingered.
"She isn't evil, ya hear me?" Bunny told them, voice low and dangerous, and both North and Tooth knew this tone, knew this was not the Bunny you should aggravate.
"Bunny, you can understand why we did it though, can't you?" Tooth asked lightly, and Bunny nodded stiffly.
"I understand it, but that doesn't mean I like it."
With that, Bunny turned on his heel and started back to Catherine's. He'd promised her he'd return, that he'd protect her and he sure as hell was going to keep her promise.
He stepped over the burnt patch of ground where Gorgyra had been, not even glancing back as he left.
REVIEWER NUMBER ONE HUNDRED GETS A SPECIAL ONSHOT ALL TO THEMSELVES.
That is all.
Tulip Out.
Mwahahaha…
