Almighty Therianthropy

Chapter 8

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The Guardians and July (in half-eagle form) stood before the wide plain leading to St. George's church. The were-creatures were expecting them, ready to guard their home. There were fewer beasts than they fought last time, either because the rest were in other countries, or because these were the strong ones that didn't need any back-up. July figured it to be the latter. Some of the creatures were bigger and stronger, but they also had intelligent eyes that shined in the nighttime.

"Where is Betzalel?" North shouted across the plain. "Show us your leader!"

"No need to shout, I'm here." Betzalel stood on the church's rooftop.

"Where's Bunny?" Jack didn't waste any more time. "What have you done with him?!"

"I'm so glad that we can get to the point with you people." He smirked. "Your friend is here… in body, not in mind."

"No…" Jack's beautiful eyes widened in horror. "Please tell me you didn't…"

"Brothers!" Betzalel called. "Please bring out my new disciple." The doors of the church opened and a loud roar could be heard from inside the dark building. The Guardians held their breath as two were-creatures came out of the door with big chains in their hands, struggling to drag something with them. The creature emerged, dragged out of the darkness with heavy chains around its neck, and it roared again. Its eyes were that of a pure, bloodthirsty beast, glowing bright fiery green. It was 8'4" tall, sans the foot-long pointed ears. Its muscles bulged under the skin, ready to rip apart anything that got in its way. Its dark gray fur was overgrown and messy. It had claws on its hands and feet, and they were as sharp and hard as a diamond dagger. Its teeth were also jagged and sharp, and its two front teeth were longer than the others. Its mouth drooled, hungry for flesh.

"B-Bunny…" Jack dropped to his knees, wrecked by the truth of his love being turned into a monster.

"Jack." July tried not to lose it herself. "I told you we would save him. And we will. So get up and get your shit together."

"What could we possibly do?" He whined, holding back tears.

"I don't know." She said honestly. "But I know we can do something. I know our friend is still in there."

"Try all you like to save him." Betzalel said. "But my thoughts pushing into his head are stronger than his own."

"So, we have to kill you first? No problem." July pulled out her dual handguns. Let's fuckin' destroy him."

"My Brothers!" Betzalel ordered. "Get rid of the ones who cause the non-believers once and for all!" Everyone let out their battle cries as they charged into battle. July shot holes into all the weaker ones to get them out of the way. She and the Guardians decided to work more as a team this time, staying relatively close and helping each other out when needed. It was still a similar battle to the last one; they were winning.

However, mid-way in, the more challenging opponents decided to step in, splitting them up so they could fight them one-on-one. North fought a were-leopard that was so much faster than he was. Tooth was against a were-hawk that was as agile as she was. Sandy was having trouble trying to put a were-gorilla to sleep. July fought a fierce werewolf that knocked the guns out of her hands, and were now wrestling. Jack tousled around with a were-crocodile, whose teeth tore at his loose-fitting hoodie.

They eventually won these one-on-ones, but they were pretty worn-down and cut up. And it was far from over. There were still many more were-beasts and of course… Bunnymund…

The creatures that held Bunny's chains let go and unhooked the collar from his neck. The monstrous rabbit roared, enjoying his freedom. Betzalel had come down from the roof and stood next to his new pet, coaxing thoughts into his mind. Kill them. They want to hurt you, and me, your master. I care about you… God cares about you… they don't believe in God… we must cleanse the Earth… As these thoughts grew louder in his head, his breathing became feral until he let out a loud howl into the sky, shaking the Moon. He ran to his former friends on all fours and tried to attack them.

"No, Bunny please! We're your friends!" They tried reasoning with him as they dodged, not wanting to hurt him.

"He's just not listening!" July shouted. The other were-creatures attacked too, making the situation even more difficult. "I gotta stop him somehow." She flew down to him, trying to scratch him with her talons. However, his martial arts skills now translated into this monster form ten-fold, grabbing her legs and tossing her to the ground. They wrestled for a good long while, both parties dealing some serious blows. Bunny scratched her deeply across her stomach, the smell of blood exciting him. She screamed in pain and flew away, looking for her guns. She found one and turned it on her friend. He stopped and shook his head, not liking the smell of silver.

"JULY!" Jack had been watching the whole time, killing any were-beasts that came his way. "Don't do it! Have you lost your mind?!"

"I won't!" She quickly pointed the gun at Betzalel, trying to shoot him, but he dodged it in a flash, somehow ending up on the roof again. "FUCK!"

"Such pretty ladies shouldn't use foul language." The cult leader said in a snotty tone. Bunny saw that July was distracted and tackled her again. She pushed against him with all her might, the fight becoming one of strength.

"Shit, what are we gonna do?!" Jack kept asking himself. He looked around at the others, seeing that they were becoming more fatigued than he was. He also had fewer wounds; July's wounds were the worst, and she was actually having trouble keeping the wolf-Pooka off of her even though her strength was that of Wonder Woman's. Maybe that kind of strength isn't gonna cut it. He thought back to when he fought Pitch, and when he helped the rabbit with Easter. He threw his gun away and made a snowball in his hand, throwing it right at Bunny's head. Bunny stopped attacking and straightened up, turning his attention to the wily teen. This greatly angered the rabbit and he charged towards him.

"What's he thinking?" July dusted herself off, watching Jack dodge the Pooka's attack. He hit him with another hard snowball and the large rabbit started chasing him.

"You're moving really slowly, Cottontail!" Jack taunted, making his way through the church doors. He wanted to isolate Bunny from the rest of the battle. When Bunny came through the doors, he shut them with the wind. He took a quick look around to make sure no one was around. When he was sure, he looked back at the wolf-rabbit as it stalked slowly towards him, letting out a deep growl. Jack wouldn't lie to himself; he was scared right now. He was scared of Bunny, scared of being killed, scared that they would lose this war, but mostly scared that the Bunny he knew would be gone forever. But, like July said, there had to be a way. He had an idea, and he really hoped it was going to work. "Are those muscles just for show? Come at me!"

Bunny did just that. He jumped high and long, trying to knock Jack out of the sky. He dodged (barely) and moved to the other side of the room. They repeated that dance several times, like monkey in the middle. However, the rabbit was smarter than Jack thought he was under this state, and he was able to get behind the boy and swat him into the pews, stopping the incessant chase. Bunny landed on all fours, glaring at Jack with monstrous eyes.

It's not working. Jack thought, looking into those eyes. He had hoped that acting like this and pissing off the rabbit with his ice and snow would remind him of old times and make him come to his senses. The winter spirit had learned over the years that his powers caused people to laugh and smile, and it had worked on Bunny once, but it wasn't working now. He decided to keep trying, anyway.

"You look even more like a kangaroo now than you did before!" Jack stepped up his teasing, flipping the Pooka off. Bunny tried pouncing on him, but he slipped and fell comically on the icy floor that Jack just made. The kid laughed at him as he tried getting up, but he just kept falling, sprawling out over the ice. Finally the Pooka had enough games, and he smashed the ice away with his fists.

Come on, please Bunny… Jack thought. Say something! Anything! Say, 'Goddammit, Frostbite, rack the fuck off!' The only sound the wolf-rabbit made was a deadly howl. Jack scrambled to get up and started flying away, but Bunnymund wasn't having that. He pounced on Jack, knocking the staff out of his hand. Bunny had the teen pinned, his long claws stabbing deep into the boy's sides. He cried in pain, and the rabbit grunted victoriously, loving Jack's fear.

"Bunny…" Jack didn't know what to say. He tried reaching for his weapon but it was just out of reach, and the wolf-rabbit's claws just dug deeper into his hips. I can't do my plan without my staff! Jack sighed. Like it was working anyway. "Bunny, please! Don't let that guy control you!" He pleaded. "Come back to us! Come back to me! Remember me? Frostbite?" Bunny just roared in his face. Jack closed his eyes, tears escaping from them. Once again, he was at a loss of what to do. Bunny's not… so scared… gotta get away… my staff… my powers…

Can you use your powers without the staff? The memory of his conversation with July went through his head. Maybe with a little practice.

Maybe… He thought. The last time he tried he could only make a few snowflakes, but maybe that would be enough. He focused and was able to make some snowflakes. He blew one onto Bunnymund's nose. Amazingly, the wolf-rabbit stopped his animal-like panting and he blinked a few times, his green eyes looking like normal again. Jack blinked a few times; he thought he was just hallucinating.

"F-Frostbite…?" He heard the Pooka say in a gentle voice. Jack stared into those calm eyes and nodded, letting out some nervous laughter.

"Yeah, Bunny, it's me!" He smiled, putting his hand on Bunny's fluffy cheek.

Kill him. Bunny shut his eyes and winced in pain, hearing Betzalel's voice in his head. Kill him. He hates you. He hates God. God is the Almighty! He does not believe in you! He does not believe in the Almighty!

"Bunny? No, please, fight it!" Jack cried. Bunny heard his friend, but the sinister voice was winning. The rabbit's eyes changed to that monstrous glow yet again and he roared before pulling Jack up with his claws and biting into his shoulder. "AAAAAAGGHHHH!" He screamed in pain, his small body shivering and convulsing as the Pooka's fangs ripped through his flesh. No, it worked, it worked! But I gotta… try harder… The boy struggled, yanking on Bunny's fur to try to get him to stop biting. It worked for a second, and he needed to think fast before the wolf-rabbit started biting him again. He put his arms around Bunny's neck and pressed his nose against his, focusing all his power into this move. Come on… please… please… "BUNNY!"

VVVWWWOOOOSH

A bright light flashed in between them and soon lit the whole church. The wind swirled around and it became very cold, and snow started falling from nowhere. The two of them were holding their breath as Jack's magic went through Bunny's mind, erasing all the thoughts that Betzalel put in it. After a minute the wave ceased, both panting in exhaustion. The winter spirit opened his eyes, praying to see beautiful and strong emerald ones looking back at him. He smiled brightly, happy that his wish came true. Bunnymund had returned to normal size, his fur color back to a light gray with the tribal markings, and his teeth were normal again, too.

"Jack…" Bunny looked into lovely but tear-stained blue eyes. "What the bloody hell happened?" The last thing he remembered was Betzalel's creepy stare after he… he looked down, seeing the gruesome bite mark on the boy's shoulder and deep lacerations in his sides. He inwardly gasped when he tasted blood in his mouth. "Shit… did-did I…?!"

"No, Bunny, it's okay, I'm fine…" Jack put his hands on the Pooka's cheeks.

"Oh, Jack… I'm so… I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright, Bunny, really." The teen smiled. "I'm not immortal for nothing." He repeated what Bunny said when he was wounded. The rabbit couldn't help but laugh at that. He laughed, too, both of them enjoying this carefree moment. "I'm so glad you're normal again."

"And I'm glad you're alive, mate." The Pooka hugged Jack gently, much to the boy's surprise and joy. Bunny found himself reluctantly pulling away, looking into icy blue eyes again. He wiped the frozen tears away with his thumb; the eternal teen blushing and smiling nervously. They slowly realized that their faces were really close to one another's, but they didn't seem to mind, not even Bunny. He unconsciously moved closer, and so did Jack. The winter spirit wanted this for a long time, and he was finally going to…

"Homosexuality is forbidden in the church, and forsaken in the eyes of the Almighty." Betzalel shouted from the church entrance, the two looking at him with utter hate. "You will pay for destroying my new disciple, boy." Their glares turned from hatred to surprise as Betzalel started to transform into a giant werewolf so tall he could no longer fit in the doorway. "And you will pay for disobeying me, pet."

"Stand back, Frostbite." Bunnymund stood up, cracking his neck and knuckles. "I've had enough of this Goddamn bitzer."

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A/N: I'm really knocking these out! I had to keep rewriting this scene in my head cuz it never made sense, and finally I came up with something better, though not perfect. But who is, amirite? I tried so hard to not make this similar to my other story, Kokoro no Ecchi, and I didn't quite succeed. Oh well, I'm sure nobody will notice! Wait…