Bunnymund's POV
Bunnymund had been listening to all Lauren's stories and answering any questions she threw at him. 'She really knows how to talk for hours. Sugar has a bad effect on her. No more chocolate on Easter. And no candy canes for Christmas. I'll make sure of it.'
"-I know I was always cheering for Jack and Sky to get together, but it's so sad the way Brandon gave her up. Even being a total jerk he's still such a nice guy."
'Not more of this. Is she really on Jack's side? No, I guess she ain't. She's on Skyla's.'
"I was thinking that I should call him. Make sure he's okay. I mean, someone has to. He won't talk to Skyla, I know that much. I can read people, you know?"
"Lauren, go to bed!" he pleaded, "I wanna spend my night at the Warren while Skyla's getting some rest. There's nothing for me to do here." Just as he said the words, his ears twitched, "Wait. Something's happening." he stood up, listening for any other sounds.
The Guardian of Hope was bounding up the stairs not a second after Skyla started screaming. Running into the room, he quickly took in the scene before him. Sky was clawing at the bracelet, her brown hair wildly thrown around her. Frost climbed up her arm, stretching across her shoulder. Grey eyes shooting open as the rabbit ran to her side.
"Skyla?! Skyla! What's happening?" He tried to help her with the bracelet but it wouldn't budge. Brushing hair out of her face, he pulled her close. She buried her face in his fur and muffled the screams.
"Bunnymund?!" Lauren ran in behind him, "Is she okay?"
"I don't know!" he yelled in frustration, "What do I do?!"
The red-head thought quickly "Wait until she's calmed down, then take her to the Pole! If she's unconscious, you get bonus points! I have to go make sure the neighbors don't call the police. Can you handle it?" He nodded. "Take care of her, Bunnymund" she told him, and ran off again.
"Skyla, calm down! The connection is a part of you, isn't it? Control it!" he pleaded with her, "Don't let it hurt you!" He waited a long while, brushing her hair back and reassuring her that everything was going to be okay.
Skyla gripped his fur tightly and her screams started to die down, turning into pained sobs. Her whole arm was freezing cold, making him have to fight against pushing it away. Noticing the coat the yeti had grabbed for her the previous night, Bunnymund grabbed it off the end of the bed and put it around her shoulders. Coaxing her arms into the sleeves, he made sure the buttons were done up.
Sirens wailed in the distance, coming closer to the house, "Skyla, we have to go. Lauren must not have calmed down your neighbors." She nodded against him, gripping his fur again. "It'll be slow going with you hanging on like that." he mentioned.
Her grip loosened, and he turned around, gesturing for her to climb onto his back. 'The things I have to do for her. If I wasn't so damn concerned, I would never-' The sirens stopped outside the house. Making sure Skyla was holding on tightly, Bunnymund opened a tunnel in the floor and hopped through it, going as fast as he could to reach North's Workshop.
When they arrived, the other Guardians were nowhere in sight. Some yetis greeted them with surprised garbles. He ordered them, "Call the Guardians! Tell them to meet us in the infirmary. I need some of your help with her, too! It might be frostbite!"
The yetis snapped into action and Bunnymund hurried down corridors with two of the yetis following him. Skyla started slipping so he quickened his pace. 'Don't you fall off. Just keep holding on'
Finally making it to their destination, he let one of the yetis take her and place her on one of the four beds that must have just been large enough for a yeti. It made her look small and vulnerable. Skyla tried to voice a complaint but Bunnymund shushed her. They placed a few blankets over her, tucking her body under them, "Just stay warm."
"Fur is warm" she mentioned, voice barely above a whisper. The Easter Bunny smiled at her and made sure the blankets were covering her shoulders. Skyla grimaced and he pulled his paws back, concerned. "I'm okay," she told him, smiling weakly, "It's not that bad. It's..." She sat up quickly, "Bunnymund-"
"Hey, hold it!" he tried to gently push her back against the pillow but she fought against him. Exhausted, she soon gave in and let her head fall back. "Rest." he told her, pulling the blankets back around her, "You need it."
"Bunnymund," she urged, "something's happened to Jack"
"..." pulling a chair closer to the bed, he sat in it and breathed out a puff of air, "Yeah, I figured as much. Let's get you taken care of now."
Skyla's eyes held the ceiling as a yeti examined her. 'I guess that's what Jack means. Whatever's hurting her, she's not bringing it up. Can she just care about herself for a while?! This is dangerous!'
The doors slammed open behind him, and he turned to see North and Sandy enter the room. Not bothering to stand up or greet them he went straight to the point, "Something's happened to Jack, she says. It's affected her, too"
North hurried to the bed opposite the side Bunnymund was on and told the yeti to get out of his way. Peeking under the blankets first, he pulled her arm out from under them. Before the rabbit could complain, the large Russian man glanced up, silently asking to be trusted with her.
Signalling to the yetis, North asked them to bring some supplies over from one of the cupboards along the front wall. Watching as the Guardian of Wonder worked, Bunnymund barely held his concern back. The Sandman floated above Skyla, asking with his sand if she was okay, "Yeah, Sandy." her voice came out faulty after all her screaming and sobbing, "I'm fine. Really."
"She's not" the pooka told them. Skyla said nothing and he continued, "Whatever's happened to Jack, she felt it, too."
The other Guardians looked at him, trying not to show their shock. "What?" North asked, "Bunny, start from the beginning. What happened?"
Almost unsteadily, he told them "I heard her scream. When I got to her room, she had frost all up her arm and she was obviously in pain! She wouldn't stop screaming! I tried to calm her down-"
"Bunny" North interrupted. Sandy floated over and put a hand on the rabbits shoulder. North looked back at Skyla, "Can you tell us what happened? At least tell us what's hurting."
All eyes in the room turned to her, and she still stared at the ceiling. Her voice was weak when she told them all, "It's my heart. I think that witch- or whatever it was; attacked him again. The bracelet... started acting up. And then all at once I could feel his pain; his fear. Please, leave me! Find him, make sure he's safe!"
The room went silent. 'This is serious.' Bunnymund thought to himself, 'Dammit, I want to find Jack! I want to, but I can't leave her like this!'
"What are you waiting for?" she asked, looking around at them, "Go!"
"Skyla, stop!" Bunny told her strictly, "We're not just going to leave you and go find him. We don't know where he is or who we're going up against. Word has been sent to Tooth, right?" North nodded in confirmation and the rabbit continued, "Then we wait until she gets here. Skyla, you have no say in matters right now. Unless you can tell us something important; shut up."
She sobbed quietly, turning her face away from him. The others looked at him sadly. Standing up, Bunnymund left the room without another word. 'I've said my part. Hopefully Sandy'll know to put her to sleep. Give her some good dreams. So it's not frostbite? Her arm is still frozen. And that heart thing is hurting her badly. Why did we ever let her get involved?'
Passing by some elves making a mess of a plate of cookies, he turned down a corridor, 'I was against this whole thing from the start! I wasn't about to tell Jack to go against what Manny said, but I should have warned him more seriously. I should have watched more closely.
'Dammit, and I should have done something the first time I saw that bloody bracelet! The thing's brought us nothing good! It's hurt Skyla, and it's- Wait. When did I start caring so much? I don't want her to be hurt or anything, but this is different than protecting children. It's like she's... One of us? One of the Guardians.'
The thought hit him and he stopped in his tracks. "She ain't a Guardian, Bunny." he scolded himself, "And she won't be. Ever. Manny would have told us if he had a plan like that. It's not going to happen" The rabbit was still unconvinced, 'Is it? Not her, Manny. Not her'
Bunnymund wandered around for a while, sorting out his thoughts. Eventually, one of the yetis walked up to him and garbled something at him. He stared at it oddly before it gestured in the direction of the infirmary.
Within minutes he was back in the room. Tooth had arrived and was watching over Skyla. North approached him, "Bunnymund. Don't argue; we are leaving Skyla here. We will find Jack."
"But-"
"We may need our full forces. She is safe, you know that."
Bunnymund went to the side of the bed and brushed her hair back "You're okay with this?" She nodded. "Of course you are. We'll find him, Skyla. I promise"
"I'm sick of promises." she told him sadly, "Just find him. Bring him back. Kick the ass of whoever hurt him. And grab me something to eat while you're at it." she added, smiling.
"Got it. I'll roll Jack in here with a silver platter full of your favorite foods. Would you like that?" he grinned
"Yes, I would. Now get out of here so I can sleep" Sandy floated up and formed a question mark, pointing to himself. "Thanks, but no. I'll be okay falling asleep on my own." Sandy shrugged and kissed her cheek.
"Let's go, everyone" North called. They filed out, Bunnymund leaving last. With one last glance at Skyla; he followed the others.
They started in Burgess, searching the forest Jack had made his home in. With no sign of him, they asked some of the children. None had seen him. Using all their resources, finding Jack was still difficult. When they started searching at the South Pole, they started fearing there'd been another incident like what got the Winter Spirit into that mess.
'His heart's already been stolen! What more could be done to him! If he's in a state like that when we find him I'll-'
"Over here! Sandy's found him!" Toothiana called out, waving her arms frantically from above a mountain of ice. North flicked the reigns and the sleigh lurched forwards, pulling the two non-flying Guardians towards the others.
They flew up and over where Tooth was, and Bunnymund could see Sandy holding onto Jack, trying to shake him awake. Without a moment of hesitation, the rabbit jumped out of the sleigh and slid down the ice.
It would take a minute for North to park the reindeer, and he wasn't patient enough to wait. His friend was down there and probably hurt. Glancing at Tooth, he saw her eyes filling with tears as she picked up the curved staff that must have fallen away from its owner.
Sandy backed away slightly as the pooka rushed to Jack's side, "Jack? Jack!?" Bunnymund gripped Jack's shoulders, looking him over to see if anything was bloody or sticking at odd angles. Over all, he looked the same as he always did. Brown pants, blue sweater, the hood fallen back and his hair wild. The Winter Spirits eyelids fluttered open and his lips trembled trying to say something. "Shh, take it easy." Bunnymund told him.
"Bunny, get him into the sleigh!" North called out.
"Alright, Jack, we've got to move you." the Guardian of Hope picked up his friend, grimacing at the whimper that came from the boys lips. "I'm sorry, mate. We'll get you to the Pole. Then you can rest." The sleigh was close by, and he soon placed Jack down, taking a seat beside him.
"Is he okay?" Toothiana asked, gripping the staff and settling down in front of them.
"He's alive, Tooth. That's okay enough." he replied, not really knowing. "Let's just get him back."
Jack stirred at his side, and Bunnymund looked over, making sure he was okay. "Skyla..?" he questioned weakly.
"She's fine, mate. You'll see her soon." Jack relaxed at the words. Signalling for North to go, the pooka kept an eye on Jack. 'You're both fine. You're safe. And there is no way we're letting either of you out of our sights again. Why did things have to happen like this? Why did they have to get hurt? They've done nothing wrong!'
Looking around at his fellow Guardians, he promised to himself 'I will protect them. All of them. Nothing like this will ever happen again! Not while I'm still kicking'
Not long after, they were back at North's Workshop. Bunnymund carried Jack in his arms, and the yetis and elves moved out of the way as the five Guardians passed. 'Almost there, Jack. Hold on.' The spirit stirred, clutching weakly at his chest. 'Is Skyla still hurting like that, too?'
Ahead of him, North opened the doors to the infirmary. As he entered, the rabbit glanced over to where Skyla lay, glad she was asleep. North signalled for Jack to be put in the bed opposite the one Sky occupied.
Jack noticed her and tried to scramble from Bunnymuds grasp. "Hey, hey! Jack, calm down. She's asleep!" Bunnymund threw him onto the bed, "You can check on her later! Tell us what happened!"
Jack glared but didn't argue, propping his back against the pillows so he could see Skyla. The other Guardians gathered around, making sure not to block his view.
"Jack" Toothiana handed him his staff and he took it gratefully. "Before you tell us, is there anything you need? Medicine? Eggnog? Something to eat?"
He shook his head, "No, I don't need anything..." The Guardians watched him, patiently waiting for him to tell his story. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts, staring blankly in front of him, "When I left Skyla... I had every intention of going to Burgess.
"I don't know why I did it, but I took the long way. I got close enough to the South Pole that I decided to stop for a while. I hadn't been back there since... What happened. Believe it or not, it hasn't changed much" he joked, smiling at himself.
The Guardian of Hope fought against rolling his eyes 'At least he can still joke. It's the wrong time for it, though.'
No one laughed, but Jack didn't notice, "It was relaxing to be back there. I stayed longer then I meant to and couldn't make it to Burgess without breaking my promise to Sky. One last look around and I was ready to leave.
"The whole time I never even thought that anyone could be around. I didn't think that anyone would be ready to attack me again..." He stopped for a minute, looking down at his staff. "I couldn't get away"
The Guardians looked at each other quickly, then back at their friend in concern. "Go on, mate" Bunnymund urged, "You're safe now, you can tell us."
"I don't know what happened" Jack continued, "I started falling and I lost my staff. It didn't even hurt. I just fell. It was like my body shut down and my mind followed it."
The Guardian closest to him, Sandy, put a hand on his shoulder. Jack looked over at him and tried to smile.
"What happened next?" North asked.
"He blacked out" Bunnymund offered, "I'm guessing he only woke up around the time when Skyla-" He cut off, not wanting to tell Jack what happened. Not wanting to worry him more. Clearing his throat, he glanced over to the girls sleeping form.
"When Skyla what?" Jack asked, and the rabbit looked back at him. "What happened to Skyla?!"
Tooth interupted, "Tell us what happened on your end, then we'll tell you our part. What happened to you is what's important right now. She's fine now, so you don't have to worry."
"...I'm always worried about her, Tooth." he said, narrowing his eyes at Bunnymund. Sighing, he looked back at the others, "Yeah. I blacked out. I woke up and everything was wrong. I was alone, in pain, and afraid." His tone was serious, voice just faltering from the memory.
He continued, "I have no idea who it was, but it was like they wanted me to wake up with the pain. For it all to hit me at once and... It worked. Again, I couldn't move. I couldn't scream." his voice faltered and his hand gripped the staff tightly.
When he didn't talk for several moments, North spoke up, "Is there anything else, Jack? Anything you can remember?"
Bunnymunds ear twitched and he turned to look at Skyla. No one else noticed, but she stirred in her sleep 'Don't wake up. Not yet. Just wait a little while longer.'
"No... I didn't see who did it, and I didn't get any clues or anything. It happened pretty much the same as it did last time."
"Except this time, you're not the only one who got hurt." Bunnymund started, capturing everyone's attention. "It was wrong to get her so involved."
"What happened, Bunnymund?" the Winter Spirit questioned, like he was guilty.
Bunnymund retold the story, starting from when he first tunneled into Skyla's room. The others listened intently, hearing parts they hadn't known before. He told them everything that had happened, ending with a light, "And now you're here, and we're telling each other about our day."
Jack curled his legs up, holding them against his chest, "Did you take the bracelet off?"
"We did" North answered.
"Good. Let her sleep. She needs it. I'll stay here and watch her. You should all get some rest, too. Thank you. For finding me"
"We wouldn't have found you without her" Tooth told him, "I'm sorry, Jack. We wouldn't have even known if Bunnymund hadn't been with Skyla. He took good care of her."
Jack nodded, glancing at the rabbit, "Thank you. If you hadn't been there-"
"I was there" he interrupted, "I'm staying, too. I've grown attached to her. And I'm not letting either of you out of my sight."
Jack didn't argue. He nodded slightly and hugged his knees closer. The other Guardians stuck around for a few minutes, making sure Jack was okay. North eventually reminded them that they had work to do and they filed out one by one. Sandy left last, after checking up on Skyla.
Bunnymund walked over to her bed and sat in the chair that he'd left there, "She's tough, isn't she?"
"Yeah" Jack agreed from his own bed, "And she's not very open about, well, anything. I don't understand her, but I'm trying."
"She's still young, Jack. Still trying to find her way. She probably knows it, too, and the pressure gets to her. There's more to her than we see, definitely." He glanced at the bracelet that was left on the small table beside her bed, 'If only it wasn't so dangerous. Knowing her emotions would help us out a lot'
"Bunnymund?" Jack asked, and he looked over at the Winter Spirit who was still watching Sky, "Is it all my fault?"
The bunny knew the question would come up. He'd hoped it wouldn't be so soon, but it was going to be asked anyway. "You can't blame yourself, Jack. Not for being hurt, not for her being hurt. You fell in love. You made some mistakes, as we all have... But there's no one to blame except whoever attacked you. They will pay for what they've done to you, and now; to her."
Jack looked over to Bunnymund. He suddenly looked determined. Giving a curt nod, he agreed, "We're going to end this, Bunnymund."
NOTES:
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