Welcome back everyone! I know that you guys are going stir crazy for the next installation of Pooka Jack and have all been practically begging for me to return to the story, which I am. I only wanted to write a few one shots and think up more in terms of the plotline for it before I attempted part 4, but that is now past, so here we go!

As always…I do not own ROTG…

Not too far away from Jack's lake near Burgess, a hole in the ground with the twisted remains of a wooden bed frame sat in the middle of the forest. The weather was cold, and snow covered the ground, but none dared fall near the ominous tunnel leading deep into the earth. No flowers grew, brown grass surrounded the place, and even sunlight shunned the area. It was here that the trickster Chikashi was seen, his light footsteps carrying him ever closer to the point of entry to the lair of the Nightmare King.

Creeping up slowly, the Native American spirit gave a heavy gulp of apprehension at the foreboding darkness permeating the hole, and for a split second, he almost decided to abandon his mission. But a firm headshake and a mental kick in the pants quickly cured him of said urge, and without further ado, the spirit jumped into the hole feet first. He tumbled and bumped, until sliding on his rear to a stop in a tunnel with long stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Once again a shiver shook the spirit to his core as he examined the passageway in front of him, the fact that it looked very much like the gaping maw of a hungry animal ready to chew him up and spit him out was not lost on him.

"Gah!" Chikashi groaned with a frustrated punch to the floor "Get yourself together, you came here with a purpose, and no scary front door is going to deter you from that!"

"Interesting little pep talk you have there…" a silky smooth voice commented from the shadows soon accompanied by the appearance of a tall man in a black trench coat "but very few people make into my home, and much less make it out alive. I suggest you leave while you still have a head."

"I think you mean 'leave, while I'm ahead'" the Native American spirit corrected through lips trembling in fear.

"No," the man replied with lips curled in a distinct sneer "I didn't."

Chikashi gulped, one hand unconsciously rubbing his neck "I can't leave," he began tremulously "I have a proposition for you."

"Not another thrill seeker," Pitch groaned "if you're considering partnering up with me in the hopes of world domination, stop right there. I don't do partnerships, the last time I considered one turned out…badly, to say the least."

"Actually I merely want your help on one thing," Chikashi spoke, leaning against the wall in feigned casual conversation "revenge."

Pitch rolled his eyes at the spirit's attempt to seem cool and in control "Oh," he snorted sarcastically "and whom do you wish revenge against?"

"Jack Frost"

All sarcasm left the Boogeyman's face, and his eyes sparked with genuine interest "Jack, you say? And what business do you have with Frost?"

"Well not just Frost," Chikashi gave a petulant grin his arms crossing across his chest in self satisfaction at making Pitch interested in hearing him out "MiM as well, but it will mostly deal with Jack."

"Saying that your proposition sounds interesting would be giving you too much credit," Pitch smirked "but if you impress me in the next five minutes, I might help you; so why the interest in Jack?"

"I was the original Trickster!" Chikashi snarled "I'm older and far more qualified to have been the Guardian of Fun, plus I've been invisible for far longer, Jack has no right being chosen as a guardian!"

"Boring…" Pitch sighed "…Four minutes…"

"Last month I turned Jack into a baby Pooka," the older trickster said his voice speeding up in desperation "and I was going to kidnap him in order to make him suffer, but my plan failed!"

"Snore…" the Boogeyman picked at his nails "…Three minutes…"

"Now I need your help!" Chikashi practically shrieked "I want to make MiM suffer by forcing him to watch his pet project fail!"

"And you do you plan on doing that?" Pitch asked in a monotone voice "…Two minutes…"

"One of my informants, the South Wind, informed me that Jack somehow got turned into a Pooka again, and he has no access to his powers, now is the perfect time to attack and take revenge for the wrongs committed against us!"

Chikashi braced himself against the wall, his chest heaving as he panted to catch his breath, desperately hoping that luck was on his side and Pitch would decide to help him, and it would seem that luck was. Pitch felt a slow smile light his face, twisting his features to resemble that of a hungry shark eyeing his prey, and then turned to the Native American spirit.

"Now that," he whispered maliciously "is interesting."

"If we move now," Chikashi gasped "we would have a better chance of defeating the winter spirit once and for all. He's as good as mortal, and without his ice powers, he's helpless!"

"I like it…" the Boogeyman nodded.

"So…" the trickster gulped "we have a deal?"

"Yes."

….

"A'right Snowball,"

"Jack…"

"Jack… One last time, this is how ya make a tunnel."

Back in the warren, Bunny was attempting Jack a few of the most basic sorcery tips that all Pooka's needed to know, the first being tunnel manipulation. For well over an hour Aster has had Jack tap dancing all over the grass, stomping, stepping, and tapping as he tried to open his first true blue tunnel. But the winter child was having more than a few problems with the concept.

"Remember," Bunny said patiently "you need to focus on where you are, and where you're goin'. Think about ya tunnel, and picture it in ya mind, and when all of those thoughts squish together, tap the ground…like so."

Once again Bunny demonstrated a perfect tunnel, and once again, Jack sighed in hopeless defeat. Glaring at the perfectly round rabbit hole created by his caretaker, the boy gave a shrug and closed his eyes, thinking about Aster's words and trying his best to put them into practice. Breathing in and out, the boy squished his thoughts together, and then with a hesitant foot, tapped the ground.

Of course since his eyes were closed, Jack didn't see his hole form itself, though the sound of Bunny's scream as he fell down it was enough to have Jack's eyes flying open just in time to see grey ears disappear underground. The former winter spirit froze, his wide eyes staring at the impossible hole, and suddenly a scream bellowed out from his mouth.

"BUNNY!" he cried as he hopped to the edge of the hole and peered in, his nose twitching in anxiety "I'm SO sorry! Bunny? Cottontail? ...Aster?"

No answer and Jack plopped onto the grass, his paws clutching his ears as if they were the hood of his sweatshirt "Oh God…." He hooted "I killed him…I KILLED the EASTER BUNNY!"

Right before the teen could melt into a round of hysterics, a chuckling guffaw echoed from a new hole forming behind him, and with a long bound, Bunny popped out of it, his face wreathed in an amused smile "Nah mate," he laughed "I'm not dead, but I think we should take a break from hole manipulation for a bit."

Jack promptly tackled the larger Pooka, his ears dropping to the back of his head in guilt as he rubbed his head and chin against Bunny. "I'm so happy you're not dead!" Jack wailed ecstatically touching noses with his caretaker.

Bunny just sat there, his face an amused smirk as he waited for Jack to realize that he was once again being influenced by Pooka instincts, he didn't have to wait long. Jack stopped mid rub, and quickly stepped away, his ears turning pink as he casually scratched his cheek with a hind paw.

"I mean," he amended with a quick clearing of his throat "I'm glad that you weren't hurt, it wouldn't be good if the Easter Bunny died just a few months away from Easter."

Bunny laughed at the boy's discomfort, knowing that to most humans showing affection through physical touch was already strange, but for Jack is was entirely foreign. The kid spent three hundred years in complete isolation, used to being walked through by the general populace, and thereby found it difficult to accept hugs from even the guardians. But the instincts of a rabbit are clearly programmed towards such shows of affection, and Bunny knew that Jack was probably struggling to understand that. At any rate, the Pooka was just happy to have another one of his kind back, even if it was just for a little time.

"Uh…" Bunny was jolted out of his reverie by Jack's hesitant voice "So, what do we do now?"

"Hmm…" Aster made a show of thinking, one finger tapping his chin as he pondered Jack's question "Well…"

Slinking forward, Bunny leapt into the air, and slammed his feet into Jack's side "You're it!"

The former winter spirit picked himself off of the ground, and shook his head, a delighted grin lighting his face "Aw, it's on Cottontail!"

I know…It's short…But I have a crazy horrible headache from spending too much time around people who smoke, and the fumes really got to me. I promise to update with an uber cute scene that is coming up in the next installment of Pooka Jack, but until then, I'm going to go to sleep and pray that this headache goes away.

We are currently at 266 reviews, which means that if you guys try hard, you can make it to 300, and the 300th reviewer gets a one shot. I have a new rule, and that is;

I have noticed that there are many new people who are posting more than one review per day with each chapter that they read, and so in light of that fact, everyone is allowed to post at least two reviews per day. I give you permission to review and then pace yourself to see if you can make it as the lucky winner. Let's see some action out there!