PLEASE READ THE NOTE IN BOLD BEFORE STARTING, IMPORTANT STUFF HERE:
Wow, it's been ages, hasn't it? Like, ages and ages. Sorry about that.
I haven't written here in so long because I was embarrassed by the work here – I was very young at the time, not even a full teen, and so most of this makes me cringe at how bad it was.
If you don't remember, I created a new one shots book for Rise Of The Guardians a few years ago too, hoping to improve and start new. I didn't want to be associated with this work, but I realised that some of you may prefer to read here, or didn't get the note for whatever reason. So I've decided to also post the newest chapter here – but rest assured, I also haven't posted in that newer one shots book for years as well, as life has become very difficult as of late.
Truth is, I kinda fell out of the fandom for a bit, and got busy with other stories. However, after watching the movie again, I would like to continue – but at my own, slower pace, and try and experiment with my work a bit to try and find an identity for it. So sorry if you no longer like the stuff being posted (if I choose to commit and keep doing this again), I will try and improve for you.
But please, if you haven't already, go check out my newer one shots book, that has also got rewritten oneshots from this one. It's called Something Entirely New.
I hope that you enjoy whatever the hell I'm trying to write here, I'm not too sure myself to be honest. Again, sorry for the long wait, I know it's frustrating. I have chosen to upload new oneshots on both oneshot fics in case you (for some reason) like this one.
Anyway, let's get on, shall we? You guys deserve it at this point.
Summary:
North and Bunny, due to an accident with potions, get turned into a less powerful form of themselves. To Bunny's dismay, the only person that could possibly change them back is Jack Frost.
Upon searching for him, however, they find that their entire beliefs and assumptions of Jack Frost are far from the truth.
Not a child of winter, and possibly not a true ally of the Guardians.
Bunny knew it was going to be an awful day when he found himself suddenly the size of a football.
First, there was confusion – because Jack Frost was far away from him, and this kind of shit only ever happened with him in close proximity – but then his senses gathered, and he opened his mouth to speak.
Only to let out a squeak, instead.
And that's when the anger set in, washing over him and making his blood boil. Because there was no way he was now just a regular rabbit. But, as he looked over his body and saw that there was a concerning lack of his signature markings and paint, he realised this was exactly what had happened within the span of three minutes.
And, strangely enough, his death threats immediately began at North rather than Jack Frost.
North, who was standing up unsteadily – and who was now far younger than Bunny had ever seen him, only a teen. If it wasn't for the oversized coat hanging off his shoulders, he would've mistaken him for a kid that had managed to sneak into the Pole.
"Err…there has been mistake." North began sheepishly, his accent thicker than what it had been. Dark hair curled around his ears as he turned his head, surveying the damage around them.
He had found North experimenting with potions in the back of the Pole, apparently working on a new, more advanced teleportation travel. Bunny had only wanted to find Jack, seeing as the younger had decided to take a few of his eggs again (he claimed he liked some of the designs, and therefore took them – biggest kleptomaniac he had met).
"It seems…potion went wrong…exploded?" North stopped looking around the broken rafters and flooring, flinching as he met Bunny's hard glare. "I did not know! I thought it work!"
Well it clearly hadn't, seeing as he was trapped being a completely regular, helpless rabbit.
North carefully made his way over, stumbling over his coat, until he managed to scoop Bunny in his arms.
Bunny immediately bit him.
"Hey! I am sorry!" North yelped, almost dropping him. Bunny rolled his eyes.
The Cossack dug in his coat, grabbing a loose snow globe before shrugging it off completely.
"It seems we have reverted to no powers, or," North pointed to himself, "in my case, before Man In Moon even met me."
Bunny thumped his leg on North's arm, because anyone could have guessed that, all he wanted to know was what was going to be done about it. There was no way he would be able to create Easter like this, especially when it was so important.
It had been almost forty years since the day Pitch almost destroyed them all, but it still hadn't been enough time to reproduce the same faith they had before. Some children just stopped believing, despite their efforts.
When he looked up at North, he could tell the same thought crossed his mind. With a quick movement, he muttered something low into the snow globe before tossing it onto the ground, where it shattered and opened a portal.
Bunny immediately backed up, because there was no way in hell he was going to go near another one of North's pieces of magic after what it had done to him. He attempted to leap right out of the man's grip, but was caught by his scruff.
"Where are you going? We get help, yes?" North explained.
From who? Bunny thought accusingly. Sure, they could always go to the higher spirits, but that would also destroy whatever self dignity he had left. And as for the other guardians – Tooth and Sandy were busy right now (it was the middle of the night in many places), and they also didn't have much magic expertise. And he was fairly sure Jack Frost, though powerful enough to beat them all at once (especially with his believer following growing), didn't know much about magic either.
Besides, who knew where he was right now.
North seemingly understood his question, as he gestured to the portal.
"This take us close to where Jack is." North explained. Bunny gave him a disbelieving look, because seriously? There was no way –
"Jack knows magic, or at least things like this." North shrugged. "When he was first guardian, he watched me work. I taught him a bit about it, which is enough to fix us."
Well, that was unexpected. And probably why Jack could seemingly pop up from nowhere half the time. Usually, to take some of his eggs.
And trust North to enable him.
At the glare Bunny shot at him, North shrugged with a boyish grin.
"I taught him how to make his snowflakes like my snow globes." At the words, Bunny let out a growl. North quickly looked away guiltily, readjusting the Pooka in his grip.
"Look, I told him to be good." Which was the equivalent of doing nothing when referring to Jack Frost.
The portal flowed brightly, showing a glimmer of snow and ice. Without even waiting for Bunny's approval, North stepped through.
They promptly found themselves standing in what seemed to be an endless stretch of snow, but it was hard to spot anything over the thick flakes that swarmed their vision, encasing their surroundings like a dense fog. Bunny felt himself shiver deeply, his ears already numbing in the harsh winds.
This wasn't an unpleasant type of cold that Bunny would find himself complaining about each time Jack decided to stop into his Warren, but rather a dangerous, consuming cold that rooted itself into each corner of the body.
Bunny hauntingly realised that this could get bad, quickly.
North was fairing no better, having abandoned his coat at the Pole earlier. He was only wearing an oversized shirt, and was trying to huddle into it as he looked around.
"I have no snow globe left!" North confirmed his fears over the roaring wind. "But Jack is nearby!"
The Cossack pressed Bunny close to his chest in a way that would be horribly embarrassing if it weren't for the very real possibility of him freezing on the spot. Together, they began to shuffle forward, North's calls for the guardian getting carried away by the wind.
Jack Frost, despite being a guardian for decades, still remained very enclosed with his personal life. He and Bunny were on friendly terms, sure – but whereas Jack knew where Bunny lived, what he did in his free time, Bunny knew nothing beyond Jack's mischievous exterior. It bothered him, but tried not to dwell on it too much; but those thoughts were coming back into full force at the bleak abyss around them.
Slowly, North's stumbling footsteps lead them onto a road, it's tarmac mostly shrouded by the glistening snow. North didn't notice, only searching for Jack. Bunny, however, managed to pick out the scenery around them that changed as they drew closer.
At first, it was walls. Trees. Fences. Fences turned to gardens, walls joined to make houses, and trees gathered to make parks – all individually moulding a small civilisation. A town.
And with a town, Bunny suddenly realised, came people. People who, judging by the scenery – no, destruction – around them, had succumb to the icy temperatures.
North finally noticed what they were walking into, and stopped dead in his tracks despite the snow swirling around them.
Bunny had seen such destruction before. He had seen worse during the Dark Ages. And yet, the scene before him struck a cord deep into his chest, because Jack Frost was evidently to blame. Even through the mess, Jack's signature was scrawled over every wall and window, frost patterns far too intricate to be natural spiralling and twisting over the ice and snow.
And god, Bunny withdrew towards North as much as possible, his more fragile body being taken over by trembles at the sight of it all. He wasn't even ashamed, his mind screaming that they should get out of here quickly, before they were taken by the ice entirely.
Regroup. Come up with a new plan. Surely, Jack Frost wasn't that integral to their recovery, because right now it didn't look like he would be in the mood to help a seemingly regular human and their pet rabbit. Because that's all they were, right now.
"How?" North murmured from above him. "Jack…why?"
"Oh…another human? I thought they were gone."
The voice was sharp, yet barely a whisper. Bunny heard it, and so did North – but it certainly wasn't the voice of who they had been initially searching for.
Through the vortex of snowflakes, a dark, slender figure was silhouetted, amber eyes flashing as it made its way further towards them. Features became defined, revealing a sharp smile as he leered at them.
As if the situation wasn't bad enough – now Bunny wasn't sure whether they would freeze to death, or be kidnapped by the Boogeyman.
"I suppose I was foolish to think any human had the intelligence to keep themselves alive for too long." Pitch drawled, curling around them. North's grip tightened on Bunny as he stared up at the enemy.
"Boogeyman?" He breathed through chattering teeth. Bunny watched as Pitch suddenly stopped. His gaze, which had been focused on the houses around them, snapped towards the younger Cossack.
Never would he have thought that Pitch would ever be as surprised as he looked now, his carefully guarded glare replaced by apparent confusion.
"You…see me?" Pitch asked quietly, catching Bunny off guard. "But you are just a human…how strange…"
He came to the same realisation North did almost instantly, twitching his ear as he did so. Apparently, the news of their transformation hadn't spread at all – Pitch Black, their sworn enemy, was completely unaware that he was standing in front of two Guardians, but rather a human and his pet rabbit. It was bizarre (and a little disturbing) to see the Nightmare King's face show not hate, but curiosity.
"Well?" Pitch asked a now silent North, snapping his fingers in his face. "Do you actually see me?"
North had no other choice but to nod.
"Well, that's a first in a long, long time." The Boogeyman hummed for a second, beginning to circle around them again.
Yep, Bunny was really getting tired of it.
"I'll tell you what." Pitch said suddenly, stopping once more. "I'm about to meet with an…acquaintance of mine, so I'm going to ignore you, for now." The Nightmare King silently leant forward with a small chuckle, flashing a small, deadly smile. "But rest assured, we can arrange a get together later, yes?"
With that, Pitch did something Bunny thought he would never see.
He left them alone.
Back turned, waving a hand in dismissal, Pitch began to walk away, further into the snow storm. Leaving them behind, without a care. Bunny had a feeling, if he knew who they truly were, things would be a lot different. And violent.
"We should follow, yes?" North tilted his head downward, showing Bunny how pale he had become in the unrelenting elements. However, his face was set in determination and worry. "He might hurt Jack, and I do not like the sound of team up. And we should find shelter, too." He added as an afterthought.
Really, the last thing Bunny wanted to do was to follow the Pitch Black in the cold and dark. However, his chest let out a rare flutter of worry at the thought of Jack potentially colliding with the Nightmare King in a fight that he may not fare well in. Unlikely, seeing as the kid was stupidly powerful and had already beaten him, but his rationality didn't stop the worry blossoming in his mind.
Bunny gave a short nod, huddling in on himself as they stepped forward once more, further into the storm.
It only took a few steps, but they soon caught up again, slowing at the sound of voices. North crept forward until two figures could be made out in the snow.
The first, of course, was Pitch. He was staring up at another, more slender figure, who seemed to be perched on a long stick or pole.
Bunny couldn't make out much – features and colours were blurred, masked under the blinding white of snow. However, he could make out that the figure was humanoid mostly in shape, the only outstanding feature being the long antlers coming from each side of their head.
The air stilled; an unnatural, powerful aura pulsed in the air, making his ears twitch frequently. Bunny supposed that this had to be a new, or reclusive spirit – and most importantly, Pitch's supposed "acquaintance".
"Spiritual form, I see…" Pitch began, rolling his eyes. "Should have known you would show off…"
"Well I probably shouldn't say that this isn't technically my spiritual form then? More of a…half way there thing." A new voice answered, it's light tone capturing Bunny's attention at its familiarity. It sounded young, yet hardened with maturity and experience.
North took a few hesitant steps closer, and Bunny squinted to try and get any more defining details of the newcomer.
"You know, you really achieved quite the beacon for me today." Pitch waved his hand, and two chairs materialised out of dark sand, along with a small chess table. Silently, the Boogeyman claimed a seat for his own, and gestured the other spirit to do the same.
"Lots of fear. Delicious." Pitch didn't smile as Bunny had been expecting him to do, but rather eyed the spirit with a look of respect, and less hostility. He pointed at the board. "The usual, I suppose?"
As the new spirit began to move from his perch, North took a final step towards the pair. The snowflakes gave way, finally revealing the spirit clearly.
And as Bunny finally caught sight of glowing blue eyes, he found himself physically reeling back in shock at the sight.
There, sitting opposite the Boogeyman with a small smile, was Jack Frost. Jack Frost, who had sworn to be a Guardian, a companion, decades ago.
"I'll let you go first." The Spirit of Winter said quietly to the Nightmare King, leaning back casually.
"The trickster, the riddler, the keeper of balance, he of the many faces who finds life in death and who fears no evil; he who walks through doors."