[Sunday, April 8th, 1743]

Normally Jack didn't like the warmth. He quickly learned a year ago that warm weather was very bad for his health. Not life threatening, of course. It just made Jack feel really uncomfortable and weaker; physically and mentally. Jack didn't know what would happen to him during the summer months. Pitch wisely instructed Jack to stay in the layer where he could keep himself cool during that time.

However, spring was a little different. It bordered that time of year where it both warm and cold. The temperature could change from day to day. Thankfully, today had been rather cool. Cool enough that Jack could float around freely and relax. But not cool enough that it warranted snow and ice, much to Jack's dismay. He wished he could make it snow all year long. But he obviously couldn't do that. People wouldn't be able to grow food and there'd be a food shortage. That'd hurt children and Jack didn't want that. And he could already hear Pitch warning him of the other seasonal spirits that would get mad at him if he ever attempted such a thing.

At the moment, with nothing much to do, Jack was relaxing back on his usual perch in Burgessön village; the roof of the bakery. He could see town square quite clearly. There weren't that many people walking around at the moment. Just a few coal miners heading out for the day and lumberjack heading out to the woods to gather up materials. Jack heard a few days earlier that they were going to start work on a watermill. Whatever that was.

A bored yawn left Jack's lips. He was laying on his side; his cheek resting on one hand while the other hand absently mindedly scratched at his stomach. There was a cool breeze wafting through the town. It was relaxing and mellow. So much so that it made Jack start to doze off.

However, before sleep could take him, the sound of cute laughter reached his ears. He cracked open one eye. Down the street, near the homes, a boy and his elder sister had come out with little wicker baskets.

"Huh...wonder what they're doing up so early…"

Jack's ear caught the sound of more laughter and giggles. More and more children were starting to roam the streets now, all of them with wicker baskets on their arms. That was...weird. Jack was fully awake now. He watched the children wander around aimlessly. They began looking inside of bushes, barrels, behind houses. Every now and then a child would came out of a bush or hiding spot with a big smile on their face. What the heck were they doing? Was it a game?

He smiled. If it was a game, Jack was always up for one, even if the kids couldn't see him!

"I found another one!"

"Lemme see!" A little girl and her sister were looking through bushes together. The smaller one came out with something in her hand and went go show her sibling. Jack quietly walked up behind the girl.

"An egg? What the hell…?" Jack muttered to himself. It wasn't just a plain white egg though. It was painted pink with yellow and white swirls with tiny stars and moons decorated in blue on top.

Okay this was a little strange. Jack knew kids could do weird things. Hell, Jack did weird things from time to time. Often just to get a rise out of Pitch. But who-or what-was leaving eggs laying around for kids to find? And what if the kids didn't find them? They were just gonna go bad and stink up the place afterwards!

Jack looked around. He noticed a blue and purple painted egg on the ground, hidden by a grouping of flowers. He went over and picked it up. Maybe it wasn't an egg. Maybe it was some kind of toy or weird treat that was shaped like an egg. That could be a possibility. Jack brought the egg closer.

"Huh...cracked…" There was a large crack going across the top and a little chip missing. Jack could just make out a bit of brown underneath. Huh. Maybe it was made of wood-

"Ah!"

Jack jumped slightly, startled by the tiny yelp next to him. There was a little girl standing next to him with the most frightened look on her face. "Hey...wha..what's the matter…"

Jack turned toward her slightly. She gasped again, taking a step back. Wait...could...could she see him? Is that why she was surprised? She was shocked to see a white haired boy just suddenly appear before her?

Jack stood up. And she gasped in fear again, this time taking several steps back.

"Th...that egg! It's floating! G-Gracie! There's a ghost! A ghost!"

She screamed again and ran away, dropping her basket of eggs. A ghost? So she couldn't see him? But if she couldn't see him…

Uh oh. Jack looked at his hand. She couldn't see him...but she could still see the egg! Ugh! How could he be so stupid. He went to put it down but it was too late. More children had heard her cry of a spectre in their midsts and looked in her direction. Sure enough, they saw the "floating egg" moving through the air by itself and got scared. Some dropped their baskets. Others didn't. But in a matter of moments, the small group of children had scattered back to their homes to tell their parents of the ghost in the street.

Great. Just great! Now the kids were scared of him! Well...not necessarily him. But they thought he was some haunting ghost and that was just as bad! Groaning, Jack rubbed his face with his hand before looking down at the offending object. Well, might as well take it with him, see what all the fuss was about later…

"Oy!"

"Gah!"

Something large and firm suddenly pushed Jack from behind, making him stumble. He managed to use his staff to catch himself before falling and quickly turn around. And what he saw made him start to think that he had eaten one too many cookies earlier..

A rabbit. A giant...walking...talking rabbit was standing in front of him. He was mostly a deep bluish-grey color with darker markings all over his arms and legs. He had one leather gauntlets, strapping and holsters all over; he looked ready for a fight. His face certainly said that as well. He was glaring down at Jack and had such a frown on his face. After looking him up and down, Jack looked him in the eyes. For such an intimidating creature, he had some of the greenest eyes he's ever seen.

"Those eggs are supposed to be for the kids, ya idiot! What do you think you're doing?!"

Jack snapped out of his shocked state and after giving him another quickly glance he answered.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?!"

The rabbit-man rolled his eyes and scowled at Jack. "Answer the question, ya daft bugger, before I take you over my knee."

Right. Clearly this thing spoke english but with such a weird accent, Jack could barely understand what it was saying!

"Wh-wait-you're gonna what?"

"Oh for…" The rabbitman rubbed his forehead before taking another aggressive step toward the boy. "Just tell me why you were messing with the egg hunt, you moron!"

Okay so not only did this thing barely speak english but he was insulting to boot!

"Hey, don't call me a moron, you stupid rabbit! And to answer your question, I was just curious! What kind a game involves looking for eggs that are just gonna rot in the sun if they're not found?"

The rabbit man groaned in annoyance again, taking his hand-er, paw-and rubbing the bridge of what Jack assumed was his nose. "Ugh...damn newbies, don't know left from right and day from night….kid how long you been here?"

"Uh...well...since this morning, I guess-"

"No you stupid…! I meant how long you been around in general? How are old are ya!?"

"Oh! Uh...umm…" Jack had to think about that. Being an immortal, keeping track of age wasn't really an important thing to keep track of. After thinking about it for a little while, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh...I guess if I had to put a number on it...30...40 years maybe?"

The rabbit looked at Jack for a moment. Then he laughed. He laughed as if Jack had just told him a funny joke.

"Oh jeez! Haha! You're not just a kid, you're a BABY compared to me!"

Okay, now Jack was getting annoyed. First he calls him an idiot, now he was calling him a baby? What was this guys problem?! Done laughing, The bunny man settled down before smirking at Jack.

"Listen, idiot-babe...you're lucky you caught me on the back end of me egg placing otherwise I'd be in a right more sour mood than I am now. And since you're just a wee little anklebiter yourself, I'll give ya a little advice: next time you see any of my goodies laying around, remember they're not for you. They're for the little kids in the towns and villages, you dumb bugger..."

Jack was getting really upset now. He stepped forward and shoved the bunny man away from him. "Don't call me stupid! And I'm not a baby and I'm not a bug! I've got a name, it's Jack Frost! So use it, you stupid rabbit!"

"Fine then, Frost...my names Bunnymund...E. Aster Bunnymund. And this is your first and last warning." The rabbit man, dubbed Bunnymund, stepped forward, glaring down at the boy and stared him right in the eyes.

"Stay away from my goodies. They're not for you. I catch you messing with my googies again and I'll really take you over my knee and give you a good spanking…"

Before Jack could back up, the bunny man stepped forward and flicked at Jack nose. The ice spirit let out a small and surprised yelp before stepping back as bunny continued, rubbing his nose.

"...So hands off…"

With that oh so intimidating threat given to him, Bunnymund turned away from Jack and began storming away. Leaving Jack to stew over what just happened. What the hell was HIS problem? It's not like Jack knew what was the point behind the eggs. And he still didn't! All he did was look at the thing and he was met with hostility!

Huffing, Jack glared at the back of the bunny man's head...then smirked. Hmph. This Bunnymund guy didn't look all that threatening. Sure he was taller...and older...and obviously had much more muscle than Jack did. But that didn't mean Jack couldn't take him! pitch taught him more than enough self defense moves to keep up with him in a fight. And Jack could fly!

Lifting a hand, Jack blew an icy cold breeze into his palm. A perfectly round snowball formed, just fitting in the palm of Jack's hand. In hindsight, this would probably come back to bite him. Jack just didn't care. He was too focused on how much fun there could be had. He took a step back...then tossed it, nailing Bunnymund right in the back of the head.

"Oy!" Bunnymund growled then turned to face Jack. The ice spirit, who was innocently leaning against his staff, smirked at Bunnymund.

"What?! Just having a little fun...heheheh…"

Bunny growled, glaring over at the boy over his shoulder….then scoffed. He knew better than to jump at the kid. Cause that's just what Jack was by magical standards; just a kid. Really, just a baby. He hadn't even been around for a century yet. Bunny's faced down hordes of enemies much more intimidating and nerve wracking than some skinny kid who felt like being a brat. Bunnymund had more patience than to be antagonized that easily.

"Tch...nice try, frostbite. But you're not worth the time or effort…"

Jack's smile fell into a deep frown as Bunnymund turned away. Okay, that stung. Not worth the time or effort?! Who did this guy think he was, treating Jack like a...like a...well, like a baby! He'd show him who's worth the time and effort…

Jack lifted his staff a bit higher in his grasp and, with a quickly flick of his wrist, a bolt of ice and cold shot out and hit Bunnymund right on his fluffy little tail.

"GAAH! G-GAAH! HAA! BLOODY HELL, THAT'S COLD! AAH!"

Jack burst out in a series of loud laughs. Bunny had jumped nearly 10 feet in the air, holding his bum in an effort to break off the ice that now encased his tail. It was so cold! It felt like a horde of children had just run up and stabbed him in the backside with forks all at once!

Jack was holding himself up with his staff, laughing and giggling at the sight. But when Bunny stepped on a patch of ice, scrambled to keep himself up right, then promptly fell on his now numb behind, Jack couldn't handle it. It felt like his ribs were going to burst out of his sides, he was laughing so hard!

Grunting, Bunny sat himself up. The ice had broken away from that fall but now he was left with a dull pain in his back from the fall. He glared down at the laughing spirit who happened to look back up at him.

"Hahahahah! Hahaha! Aww...what's the matter, Bunnyman? Still don't think I'm worth time and effort? Hehahahah!"

Bunnymund growled again. The last of his giggles left Jack lungs before he smirked down at him. "Come on, it was just joke! Maybe next time, I'll juggle your eggs in the center of town, that outta get some kids talking about your smelly eggs, hehehhe…"

Patience be damned.

"You're dead, Frost!"

"Uh-oh!" Jack knew he was in trouble. He launched into the air just in time to see Bunny jumped toward Jack with the aim to tackle him. Probably to make good on his spanking threat. Bunnymund looked up at Jack in surprised, sitting on his haunches where the boy once stood. Jack smirked down at the pooka.

"Hahaha! Bet you didn't know I could do that, huh, cottontail? Hahaha! Later!"

Jack heard Bunnymund curse at him in some unknown language before he flew off toward the woods.

The frost spirit was having a good chuckle at Bunny's expense. He had darted over the roofs of the village and straight into the trees before slowing down. He let out a little chuckle again, letting the wind take him through the woods a leisurely pace. Calmly swerving around the trunks and branches, Jack couldn't help but laugh and chuckle. The look on Bunnymund's face when he slipped on the ice. It was so great! He might've been a huge jerk toward Jack but at least he made for a real good laugh. Maybe Pitch would even get a good chuckle out of it too!

"Frost! You get back here!"

One eye cracked open, his eyes knitting in confusion. That was the bunny man's voice but where-

"OY!"

"WHAO!"

Bunnymund suddenly appeared in Jack's flight path, startling the boy into a stop before darting away. Where did he come from?! He just came out of no where. On now Jack was hearing a sound that was even more unsettling. Large thumping sound on the ground behind him. It was getting louder and faster. Jack looked behind him...and Bunnymund was right on his heels, running on all fours!

"Okay, that's not good!" Jack looked back, quickly dodging an oncoming branch. He looked back again, Bunny was still chasing him. Great, his little prank came back to bite him. He was pretty sure if Bunny caught him, he was gonna do a lot worse than just spank him. Still, Jack had the high ground in this fight. Both figuratively and literally.

"Hehehe...can't catch me, cotton tail! Hahahah!" Taunting Bunny, Jack made a sharp turned around a large oak tree. When Bunny turned the corner, it would appear the frost child had disappeared. Quite the opposite. As soon as Jack was hidden from Bunny's sight, he made a complete stop and shot upward toward the sky. Dodging branch after branch, he didn't stop climbing the air until he had broken through the tree tops and into the the light of the sun.

Jack smiled. He could hear another string of curses from Bunny down below. He was well out of Bunny's reach from up here. There was no way he can get Jack from up here. Smiling, Jack felt he could relax again. Instead of just being lazy while while the wind carried him, Jack reached into his little leather pouch and pulled a little pink egg. The ice spirit had managed to sneak it away before he flew away from Bunnymund. He chuckled again. Jack wondered what would happen if Bunnymund saw him stealing a few more eggs in plain sight. Would serve him right for being a jerk for no good reason.

Jack was just peeling away at the wrapper when he heard a strange sound. He heard Bunnymund shouting down below. Hahah. He was probably having a temper tantrum or something.

BOOM!

"WHAO!" Jack flew back. He was almost hit by an explosion of pink powder.

BOOM!

Another explosion of baby blue exploded behind him, making him duck down in the air. It wasn't long before Jack thought it best to start flying as fast as he can! More and more multi-colored powders exploded around him! What was going on?

Jack looked down at the forest below but all he could see were trees! He knew it was Bunnymund doing this but he just couldn't see him! Jack frowned again. He'd have to duck down and hide in the trees again. Better yet, Jack thought that it was time for him to head back home to Pitch's Dark Palace. At least THERE he knew Bunny would NEVER be able to find him.

Switching hands with his staff, he dive bombed the forest. If he could make it to the tree tops, he could try hiding in the leaves maybe. Then Bunny couldn't-

BOOM~!

Jack didn't have time to react. A large plume of rainbow powder suddenly exploded right in front of Jack's face. Jack went tumbling through the air. The powder got into his eyes, he couldn't see anything. His hands instinctively went to rub at his eyes. The action made his staff fall from his hands, and instead of tumbling forward, gravity took hold of him.

The ice spirit plummeted toward the ground like a stone. His hands finally left his eyes and his vision returned just in time to see the tree top a mere few feet away from him!

Branches snapped and stung against his skin as he fell through the trees, his heart racing and thumping in his chest. Jack had never fallen that far from the sky before! Jack reached out, trying to grab onto a branch but he was moving too fast! If he didn't stop soon, he was hit the ground!

Suddenly, something grey and fuzzy hit him. It nearly knocked the wind out of him with how fast the grey blur grabbed him. The forest was a blur of greens and browns, everything was moving so fast! He must've been hallucinating. That colored powder must've messed with his eyes or something! Jack flexed his fingers. There was soft grey fur under his hands. In his confusion, Jack first noticed how soft it was...then he saw the fluffy bunny tail further down. Uh-oh.

"Waah!" Everything came to a sudden stop at the forests edge, just outside of town. Bunnymund had brought him back to Burgessön. No time to think about the reason why as a huge hand grabbed Jack by the back of his collar and lifted him clear off of Bunny's shoulder, his feet left dangling just a foot from the ground.

"Ugh...h-hey! What's the big idea, you could've killed me!" Jack rubbed the remaining powder from his eyes. He looked up at Bunny's frowning face. But Jack wasn't concerned about that right now. In plain sight, in Bunny's other hand, there was his staff, slung over his other shoulder!

"Hey! My staff! Give it back-"

"Nu-uh! I warned you frost bite! Mess with the bull and you get the horns!" Bunny brought Jack closer, snarling right in his face. As Jack swallowed the lump in his throat, he looked down at Bunny in fear. Oh no. What was he gonna do with him? Was he one of those spirits Pitch warned him about? What he gonna try to snuff him out? Kill him? Eat him?!

"Uh...I-I...wait..!"

"No excuses, you little show pony! I gave you fair warning!" He lifted Jack up again. The ice spirit flinched, waiting for the pain or quicky death that might meet him!

He's getting stronger. It wasn't much, but little by little, Pitch could feel his powers returning. His illusions were getting more solid and real. But they lacked that bite, that kick that his old minions and fearlings had. He wasn't powerful enough to make fearlings of that caliber anymore. And if he forced himself to make a Fearling, it would just exhaust him. Sure, in the old days, his power was on par with gods! With a snap of his fingers he could break someone apart and reform them into dark monsters. It was quite amusing.

However, thanks to the damnable guardians, he didn't have that power anymore. He'd had to find a more "cost effective" solution. Maybe something akin to his illusions but more solid like Fearlings and Shadowmen. Perhaps he could find a solution in his library. He had many books he had "acquired" and had been searching through them. He had only gotten through ¼ of his collection and had yet to find anything of use.

He probably would've found something by now if it weren't for one particular distraction of his...

"Stupid...6 foot, fuzzy! Think he's so big and bad! Just got a huge stick up his ass, that's all! Who cares about some stupid egg holiday! They're just gonna go rotten anyway! Big..stupid...blocked head...JERK!"

Speaking of distractions. Jack's loud ranting and grumbled reached Pitch's ears. Oh great, what was wrong with the boy this time? Setting down his book, he stepped out of his study and was met with an eyeful.

In front of his was his young ward, there was a sour look on his face and his cheeks were red...and pink...and blue and purple and green! Jack was covered in various large splotches of what looked like powder and glittering paints. Head to toe, Jack was covered in a multitude of colors. They especially stuck out on Jack's hair which had a majority of pink and blue powders in them! Jack looked like he just gotten into a fight with a rainbow or something. Looking down, Pitch saw various partial foot prints and hand marks on the floor and wall; all of them colored with pink or purple. It was such an extreme contrast against the blackness of Pitch's lair. The hand and foot marks were especially offending to Pitch's eyes.

"Jack...what the hell-?!"

"I-It wasn't my fault! I got...jumped!"

"Jumped by what, a rainbow?"

"N-No…!" Jack's blush of embarrassment got worse as he looked away from Pitch, one hand rubbing his backside. Pitch was the last person Jack wanted to be seen by while covered in this stuff. Pitch huffed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Jack, just explain what happened?"

"Well...uh…" Huffing, Jack crossed his eyes, refusing to make eye contact with Pitch. "J-Just...promise you won't laugh at me!"

The ice sprite glanced up at his mentor and was met with an unwavering stoic face of unamusement. "Do I LOOK like I'm in a laughing mood, Jack? Just tell me!"

The boy brought his hands to the front, rubbing his right arm, still feeling a little sore.

"I...I got spanked by a giant bunny man…"

Silence met Jack's ears. And after a moment of stunned silence, Pitch smirked and started to chuckle, despite Jack's pouting and red face.

"Hey, you said you wouldn't laugh at me!"

[Later]

"Close your eyes…"

Jack, doing as he was told, covered his eyes with his hands as another mini-torrent of washed over him.

Pitch refused for Jack to set foot in the residential area of the lair while covered in those paints and powders. Instead, Pitch escorted Jack down to the lower levels where many enormous pools of water resided.

Pitch found this to be most annoyance and tedious. After Jack told him that dunking himself in a river didn't make the stuff wash away, it was clear the boy would have to be scrubbed down till it all got off. Pitch thought this was utterly ridiculous. He was giving the boy a BATH for godsake! Well, not literally. As if Pitch would lower himself to scrubbing down the skinny child by hand. No, he had a few of his solid illusion do the work for him. He had Jack strip down to just his boxers and dunk himself into the pool of water. The moment Jack's skin touched the water, it already started to get a bit murky with various colors. However, his skin and hair was still stained with the colors.

Sitting in the now shoulder deep water, Jack shook the excess water from his head as tendrils of black shadows rose from the waters. One had a soft bristle scrub brush, another had a bucket and the other was just there to move Jack's arms when needed.

Meanwhile, Pitch had summoned a chair from his study and was sitting comfortably away from the water, watching Jack being scrubbed and cleaned.

In Pitch's hands were the rest of Jack's clothing. His leather poncho, thankfully, was able to wash out most of the colors. A few more soaks and it would be fine. The rest of Jack's clothing, aside from being stained with color, was torn and ripped in a few places. Most likely from his fall. Thankfully, mending them would be no problem. Though thinking about it, Jack could use a new pair of pants.

Pitch was broken from his thoughts as he hear Jack sputtering water from his mouth. The ice sprite pouted and grumbled as the scrub brush attacked his shoulders and upper back. His hair looked cleaner now but the rest of him was still covered in the rainbow colored substance.

"Ugh...did Bunnymund dunk you into a vat of this stuff? You're absolutely filthy!"

Jack was about to say something but another bucket full of water was poured on his head. Sputtering and wiping away his eyes, the brush went to scrubbing at his shoulders again.

"It wasn't my fault! There were egg bombs going off all over the place! The only reason why that stupid rabbit caught was because one exploded in my face! And my eyes still sting because of it…ugh…"

Pitch smirked, leaning back on his chair. "Then he gave a well deserved spanking…"

Jack's cheeks turned red with embarrassment again. The black tendrils accidentally believed them to be paint and the brush went to scrubbing his cheeks, dodging as Jack tried to swat them away.

"D-Don't remind me! Stupid rabbit...next time I see him, I'm freezing him upside from a tree!"

This was quite amusing. Pitch had never seen Jack this upset since that argument they had about Jack going up top to the surface. Only this time, his anger was directed at a Guardian. And what kind of teacher would Pitch be if he didn't fan the flames of aggression in his student.

"And by all mean, I encourage you to do so Jack. Though, if you really want to hurt Bunnymund, I'd smash his eggs, if I were you. Hit him where it really hurts…"

Jack, had dunked himself under the water for a moment before coming up to leaned against the edge of the pool of water. His chest and stomach leaning against the cool rock, the shadow tendrils went to scrubbing down Jack's back and shoulder. Jack slicked back his wet hair and gave Pitch a curious look. He watched as Pitch pulled out a pink easter egg from the pouch he had on his person. When Bunnymund attacked him, he dropped the other one so only the pink one was left.

"Hey what the deal with that bunny guy and the eggs? I get that it's a holiday but it seems really stupid! If the kids don't find them, they're just gonna rot and stink up the place! And if I DID smash 'em, there'd be egg yolk everywhere…"

Pitch chuckled again. Distracted from his brooding, Jack watched as Pitch held up the remaining egg. "You didn't get a good look at this egg yet did you..?"

"No...too busy dealing with Bunny-jerk...why?"

Jack didn't get an answer. Pitch tossed Jack the egg and the boy easily caught it before it hit the water. He gave Pitch one more glance before chipping away at the shell..

"Wait...what…?" As more and more shell was chipped away, Jack saw more brown. But what he assumed was wood before, this wasn't the case. This egg was made of something much better. Something that Jack was currently in love with.

"Oh my gosh! This...this is a solid piece of chocolate?!" Caution damned, Jack tour away the rest of the shell and took a bite. This was, by far, the best chocolate Jack has ever tasted in his life! Jack was used to having chocolate chips in cookies but never as one big solid piece like this before!

"Oh wow...mmm! This is the best chocolate I've ever had! Mmm, it's so good! I see why the kids love them so much!"

"Hehehe...I wouldn't get too excited if I were you...the insides might be good but the outsides are much more dubious…"

Jack had taken a second bite of his chocolate when Pitch started talking, gaining his interest. "Mnn...what do you mean..?"

Pitch smiled. He was wondering when Jack would encounter Bunnymund. Ever since Jack had that incident with North, Pitch had concocted many different false stories about the Guardians. It was a perfect way to start Jack's indoctrination to his will. Fill his head with lies and eventually they become truth. Though, truth be told, he liked to tell Jack stories. The look of utter enthrallment on his young face, hanging on Pitch's every word, the reactions and exclamations of fear, excitement and wonder. Pitch might've had an ulterior motive behind his lies but at least he was enjoying himself. He was able to, in a way, verbally vent his frustration to a willing and very believing person. It made Pitch feel quite good about himself afterwards. Who knew having an eternal teenager in his home would be so therapeutic.

"Remember that story I told you about the Man in the Moon? And the "Lunatics" that serve him…"

"You mean...those guys that attacked you?"

"Yes...Bunnymund is one of them. He's the most fouled tempered and vicious of the group. Lives up to his specious quite well if you ask me. He has control over the holiday of Easter. A holiday that celebrates spring and new life. Like North, he lives off of the magic of belief that children give to the guardians. In exchange for that belief, Bunnymund leaves the children painted chocolate eggs."

Pitch ran his fingers through his hair, smirking as he continued. "But you saw first hand how Bunnymund was...he may stand on two feet like use, but he's nothing but a rabid animal underneath...you're just lucky you didn't make him REALLY mad...otherwise, he would've torn you to shreds…"

Jack cringed at the thought. Bunnymund may have the outer appearance of a walking rabbit but Jack could clearly see the fangs in Bunnymund's mouth as he snarled and frowned at Jack. Not the mention the boy had no doubts that there were some claws hidden away in those furry paws.

"Ugh...jeez...so, he's a lunatic rabid animal that leaves chocolate everywhere…? Does he eat souls like Santa Claus does?" Jack continued to munch on the rest of the chocolate egg in his hand, nearly finished. The black tendrils continued to scrub away at Jack's body. With his total focus on Pitch, his squirming no longer hindered the cleaning process. They had finished scrubbing his back and was now working on his arms and shoulders.

"No, he doesn't eat souls...he's technically immortal like us...however, he does use those chocolate eggs to make sure the children remain enamoured with him. Think about it: an abrasive animal like that? Stubborn and short tempered? The moment he really loses his temper on a child, there's no telling what he'd do to them. So...he subtly brainwashes the children to obey his every command...using the eggs…"

Jack's body with rigid. He had just finished swallowing the last of the chocolate right when Pitch said that. Pitch watched with amusement as Jack's face drained of all color. It looked as if the boy were about to puke! It was quite amusing.

"Heheheh….relax...he doesn't do anything to the chocolate itself. It's the shell itself that's the danger. Bunnymund uses special magically doused paints on the eggs. The children are instantly drawn to them and little magical subliminal messages are poured into their brains, compelling them to do Bunny's bidding whenever he asks of them…"

Jack leaned closer to Pitch from his pool of water, fascinated by the story. He couldn't believe this. That giant fur-covered jerk was brainwashing kids? That was devious! And unacceptable! Especially since Bunnymund was messing with the children of Burgessön. Jack had grown very protective of the children in the village, affectionately calling them "his kids".

"He's brainwashing people!? Seriously?! Does that mean he can read minds and stuff like that? Is he like, secretly supersmart?"

Pitch scoffed at that last one. "Ha! I would call Bunnymund anything but intelligent. To be honest, Jack, if you know what you're doing, it's both fairly difficult and fairly easy to brainwash someone into servitude. The eggs won't work on us, obviously. I'm too powerful and while you're under my protection, you're safe from it's magic as well. Other, weak willed beings, like children, will be more susceptible to it, obviously. Even adults can be brainwashed, given the right conditions…why, I once knew someone who brainwashed a man into obeying his every command by simply uttering the phrase 'would you kindly' in every sentence. It was both subtle and effective. Ended badly, but still, effective…"

Jack pouted. A deep frown appeared on his face as he pounded his fists on the rock side of the pools. "Ugh! That stupid...overgrown...! That's why he got so mad and said they were just for the kids! I can't believe he's brainwashing kids-MY kids! Ooohh! Next easter, I'm smashing every single egg in the village! There's not gonna be anything left by the time I'm done!"

Pitch's smirk grew even wider and malicious. Looks like Pitch was starting to rub off on the boy. Pitch didn't even have to make the suggestion and Jack was already contemplating smashing every Easter Egg he saw! But as excited as Pitch was, he knew better than to let Jack do something like this. Not unless he wanted Bunnymund knocking on his door. He and the other Guardians believe him to be dead and he wanted it to stay like that until further notice.

"Hehehahah...as much as I want to encourage that behaviour, Jack, I wouldn't if I were you. You were using every power at your disposal and still you weren't even able to outrun him. Imagine what he'll do to you if you smash his precious eggs…"

"But that's only because he got the jump on me! I'll be ready for him next time-"

Jack shut his mouth when Pitch rose his hand. "Enough Jack...you do not know Bunnymund like I do. Compared to him and I, you are an infant and wouldn't last 5 minutes in a fight against him, let alone defeat him. I warned you about other spirits wanting to snuff you out...and Bunnymund is one of those spirits very capable of doing such a thing…"

Jack pouted again, his fists going to rest on his cheeks now. This was frustrating. First he learns Santa is eating the souls of children...now there's some giant bunny man twisting the minds of children into being his little mini-slaves! And it was so irritating that Jack couldn't do anything about this!

"Don't fret too much, Jack...I'm planning something...something that will, hopefully, bring me back to peak power...before the Guardians defeated me...and when that happens...I'll finally be back on top again. THEN you can harass the Guardians all you want...alright?"

"Yeah...yeah, okay, fine...I'm still mad though…" Jack looked down at himself and noticed that he was almost clean. The last thing that needed scrubbing was his calfs feet and elbows. Deciding he was clean enough, he shoved the tendrils away from him and grabbed the large towel set aside for him. He draped the towel over his head, drying his hair first then working his way down. Pitch stood up and handed the boy his clothing once he had reached his waist and legs.

"...tell you what...when the time comes for me to put that irritating rabbit in his place, I'll make sure you have a front row seat...I might even let you help me do it….deal?"

Drying off his arms, Jack let the towel hang from his head as he smiled up at Pitch. "Deal...but can I ask one thing?"

Pitch looked down at the boy, a brow raised. "What is it?"

"Can I keep all the leftover chocolate eggs? The Easter Bunny's a jerk but that was the best chocolate I've ever eaten…"

And so the day ended with Jack grinning like an idiot and Pitch rubbing the bridge of his nose as how short an attention span his young ward had…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

HOLY. CRAP! This Chapter took WAY too long to write, I am SO sorry to all my watcher! To be honest, I literally struggled to rip this chapter from my brain! I was so horribly distracted by school work and to make things worse, FINALS are coming up! Ugh…

If this chapter seems sucky in anyway, I apologize for it right now. I've been lacking in muse and energy. And I made it my personal mission to get this chapter UP and POSTED by the time Thankgiving came around! I originally wanted to post it yesterday but I had to help my mom prepare since the family came to our house for Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, I'm gonna try and force my muse to get going. Once I get the "Jack meets the Guardians" chapters out of the way, I'm gonna start doing some of the more interesting yet minor stuff I wanted to do for this fanfiction. Specifically that Jack is going to meet two more OC spirits after the Guardians. One will play a major role later on in the story, the other will (if things go the way I plan) will play a role WAY later, just thought I'd intro him in this FanFic first.

I'd also like to mention something about my written style. I'm more used to writing things visually. To be specific, I see everything like a comic book. So trust me when I say that if I had the time to draw this as a comic, it'd probably be a bit better. As a matter of fact, I might make the sequel into a comic if I get THIS fic finished in time! Not sure if I could pull it off by myself but I'm gonna DAMN WELL TRY!

Anywho, again, forgive me for the lateness and potential suckiness of this chapter. Also, put in a little Bioshock reference for the fans of the game. I just discovered it myself and it actually played a role in fueling the muse for the 2nd half of this chapter.

Today's Letters Are:

O = U

P = X