Chapter 17: Gone
Bunnymund ran through a tunnel, launching himself off the sides to gain ground. He was coming back from the Pole after a yeti had dragged him there through a portal. When he had come through, North didn't bother to turn from the work he was doing. Bunny had glared daggers at the Russian, but didn't get a chance to speak. "Bunny! We have serious situation!" "Yeah it'd better be. You know I hate those portals!" North stood up and turned, making his chair screech against the floor. The rabbit cringed.
"Bunny! This is serious! Jack was here earlier and-" "Oh it's about his girl again, isn't it? If you ask me I'm glad she got away. We have enough trouble with Snowballs already." "Bunny!" North gave him a look that only came with bad news. The Pooka immediately understood. "Oh, don't tell me that happened." "Unfortunately, it did." North sighed, leaning against his desk. "I told him to go and talk with the others. I couldn't get a hold of Tooth and Sandy, so that left me with you."
Bunny looked at the ground, a frown crossing his face. "Bunny, you know that he is closer to you than anyone. You've got to talk to him." "What, me?" Bunnymund didn't want to admit it, but Santa was right. The little show pony and he had become pretty close since Pitch's attack. North stepped towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know you two never had the best relationship, but you struck him. You will be the big influence on him. He will listen to you."
Bunny frowned at North, obviously not too excited about his new assignment. "You have a better memory than any of us, even Tooth. You give him good advice." North patted his shoulder. "It will be good for you. It will be, what do they call it? Bonding time." "Alright I'll talk to him. But I'm not going to bond with that headache. I'd rather spend all day with Pitch." North grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Great. Whatever you say." "Hold up, what did you just say?" "Nothing! Now go!"
So now the Easter Bunny was running through his tunnels trying to find Jack Frost. He had made a pit stop in Burgess to say goodbye to Jamie, Jack's first believer. It shouldn't have shocked him so much, he knew, but it did. The pain from losing his first believer still stung inside him. Bunny pushed the thought away as he hopped into the cool night air of an oak forest, the trees so close together he could barely stand.
"What?" Bunny stared around him, confused. "Did I take a wrong left at Albuquerque?" he asked himself. He put his paw to his head. "I must be getting old." Suddenly, his ears twitched. Someone was nearby. Bunny turned in the direction of the voice, half hopping and half stepping since the trees were so close. He peeked through the greenery, his eyes opening wide when they saw the familiar figure that stood no less than 20 feet away. It was Pitch.
The skinny man was standing in front of a teenage girl with long, red hair. Bunny watched as black sand began to encompass her body, immobilizing her. He reached his paw out from the trees, as if he could reach the girl and save her. The Guardian of Hope watched as the sand rose up the girl's body, Pitch grinning at her. The Boogeyman said something to the girl. There! Was that her name?
"Gemma?" Bunny reeled in surprise when he heard the name. Could it be the annoying little Scottish teenager? At the moment, he didn't care. He needed to get to whoever it was and fast. There was no way to get there in time with a tunnel. He grabbed one of his boomerangs. The trees were only two feet apart, so a good throw would be hard to make. This one needed to be perfect. Bunny glanced at the Moon for guidance, and let the piece of wood fly.
The girl was now totally encompassed by black sand, with Pitch lording over her. The Boogeyman grinned at his success, unaware of the deadly weapon coming at him. "Oof!" Pitch fell down, knocked out by the signature Australian relic. The boomerang flew back to its master and was caught, the rabbit grinning at his success. "G'day, mate." He rubbed his boomerang. "I still got it." He slipped the weapon back in its holder, tapping his foot at the same time. A hole appeared, and Bunnymund hopped inside.
Moments later, the rabbit was standing by Pitch, who was still unconscious. He looked down at the girl in front of him, crumpled on the ground. It was Gemma. Shock had taken over and she, like Pitch, was out cold. The Nightmare Sand wasn't on her anymore, and had fallen to the ground when Pitch blacked (pun intended) out. Bunny stepped forward and squatted next to her, gently brushing his paw against her face.
When she didn't move, the Easter Bunny gently picked the Mistress of Fog up. At his touch, she was freezing; her clothes were soaked in water. "I've gotta get you somewhere warm." He turned around and looked at the lake, the moonlight bathing it with a silver glow. It was peaceful and calm, unlike the skyline in the north, which was covered in black thunderheads. "Some fight must've happened over there." Bunny said. He glanced down at the girl. "You've got something, Shelia."
Bunny was about to call on a tunnel when he looked at Pitch again. He frowned, then tapped his foot, making a hole appear below the man. The Nightmare King fell through, heading to the Himalayas. Bunny scoffed, imagining the man's face when he woke in the freezing mountains. He turned his attention back to the lake, and jumped when a he noticed a wisp. Bunny glanced around, wondering if there were more. When none appeared, he looked down at Gemma.
He immediately realized why the wisp was there. He was holding its master in his arms. Bunny glanced at the wisp, and then squatted down. "Listen," he said awkwardly, "I know Foggie here is your master, but she's really sick. She needs to get warm, so I'm gonna take her to my Warren, alright?" The wisp didn't seem to give an answer, making Bunny frown. "I'm afraid there's nothing you can do. I-" Bunny cut himself off. An idea had come to mind. "Actually, do you know Jack Frost?"
LATER
Bunny hopped into the Warren, a huge group of eggs behind him. Gemma was lying on them as Sophie had when the blonde girl had gotten in, making life a little easier for the rabbit. He hoped that the wisps would find Jack, and soon. He knew he couldn't handle this alone, and the other Guardians were way too busy at the moment to help. He turned as the eggs came next to him, picking the redhead up and carrying her to a patch of thick grass. He laid her down, hoping the warmth of the air would warm her.
He straightened himself, watching the girl for a few moments. He had to admit, Jack was annoying, but had good taste. Bunny shook his head, trying to get the thought out of his mind. Instead, he contemplated on whether or not he should leave Gemma here and go work. Work never stopped for him, since he had millions of plants to take care of along with painting billions of eggs.
He decided she would be alright for now, but didn't get her out of his sight. He was growing fond of the 18-year-old, despite everything that she had done in the past. He was surprised that he had never met her before, she was pretty hard to miss with her red hair and big personality. Then another thought came to him: how could Jack see her before the others? He said they had just met when she was picked. His puzzling thoughts left him distracted, and when he looked up again three hours had passed.
Bunny's ears twitched, he could hear Gemma waking up. He hopped over to her, being careful to stay in her sight as he came up. She glanced up at him when he stopped, towering over her. "Bunny? What, what happened? Where am I? How did I get here?" "Hold it, Shelia." Bunny squatted down to her level. "I found you with Pitch. He was using his black sand and almost killed you. I knocked him out and brought you here to the Warren. You were freezing, so I thought I'd bring you to the warmest place on earth." He smiled and spread his arm around him. "Welcome to the Warren."
Gemma stared at him in surprise. "So…how long was I out?" "Oh, about three hours." Bunny noted the look of shock on her face. "Don't worry you'll be fine. Now, tell me something. Do you remember anything?" Gemma thought for a moment. "Yeah, I remember being with Bloody Mary and escaping through a window. Then I went back to my forest and-" A look of worry came across her face. "Wait, where's Pitch? Is he still with my wisps?" The worry in her voice was obvious.
"Oh, don't worry I sent him to the Himalayas. He should be waking up right about now, wondering how the heck he got there." Gemma grinned. "Wait, waking up?" Bunny pulled out his boomerangs, and Gemma's eyes widened. "Oh." She looked up at him. "Can I hold one?" He flipped one and handed it to her, watching her eyes absorb every mark in the wood. She may be 18, but she had the curiosity of a 5-year-old.
"Thank you." Gemma handed him the weapon. "Did you make them?" Bunny paused, trying to hide the sadness in his voice. "Actually, no. My dad made them for me." Gemma noted the slight depression and apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry. If I would've known I wouldn't have asked." "No, it's fine." Bunny turned his head away, just in case his face contradicted his words. It still hurt, thinking about his father. Soon the thoughts forced himself into a trance-like state, and Gemma disappeared in his mind.
After Bunnymund was picked to be a Guardian, one by one his family passed away. Each one hurt more than the other, and finally only he and his dad were left. His old man was a tough guy, and his solid black fur made him intimidating, but he had a soft heart. He made Bunny who he was. His dad was his biggest inspiration. Near the end of his life, the Pooka would stay in his little shop for hours at a time, not letting Bunny in. After months of working, he gave the handcrafted boomerangs to his son as a gift.
Unless he fought with them, they had never left Bunny since. The carvings and artwork on the sides showed his life, from his birth up to being picked to be a Guardian. The painstaking detail had shocked Bunny, everything was realistic and breathtaking. There was even one of his favorite sayings painted on them, it was: 'there is a time for everything and everything in its time.' It confused most, but Bunnymund understood, and that's all that mattered.
After his father died, the Guardian of Hope soon found a note left by his dad. In it, he told Bunny how proud he was of him, and that he had a bright future ahead. He reminded him that if he wanted to stay happy, he had to keep the children happy. The thought never left his mind. Also written in the note was something his dad hadn't told him: the boomerangs were indestructible. That fact relived him, knowing that he would always have a piece of his father with him. Included with the note was a book of spells, which Bunny had gobbled up eagerly.
He had never told the other Guardians about the secret of his indestructible boomerangs and the spell book, but they knew everything else. That was excluding Jack and Gemma, of course. Bunny was so encompassed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Gemma was hugging him. He had been in thought so long that she decided he needed one, despite the air of awkwardness. When he finally shook away his thoughts, Bunny returned the hug gratefully after a moment of shock.
After a few moments, Bunny let go. "Uh, thanks." He stood up. "How ya feeling?" "Fine." "Do you feel dizzy? Or lightheaded?" Gemma shook her head no, then held it. "Ugh. I have a headache." "That's probably because that sand got over your head. You should be fine, it'll go away soon enough." Gemma decided to try and stand, nearly toppling over in the process. Bunny caught and gave her some support with his arm.
"Hey, take it easy there, feisty. Don't get too excited." Gemma shot him a glare, then turned her attention to the Warren. Her big green eyes widened when she noticed how beautiful it was. "Wow. This is beautiful." It was true, the lush green grass and plants encompassed the area, sending out a pleasant aroma. The flowers that the eggs grew in and the eggs themselves were scattered throughout, popping out of the grass every now and then. The rocks and rivers contrasted the green beautifully, making the scene uniquely beautiful and stunning.
Bunny grinned, proud of himself. "Thanks. It's not easy keeping this place like this, but I manage." Gemma, who was now sitting on a nearby rock, looked at him. "I can imagine. I've been trying to get in here for ages." Bunny straightened himself in surprise. "What?" Gemma looked down at the grass. "I've always heard about this place." She turned to him. "You see, I love plants. When I heard about this place I had to find it somehow." She smiled at him. "I didn't expect any of this, though."
Bunny frowned, lost in thought again. He didn't like that Gemma had been trying to get into his Warren. He was very protective of it, especially since Pitch's attack in the tunnels. Albeit he found it a little creepy that a teenage girl had been trying to break into his home. It was bad enough when Jack did it, and that happened at least twice a year.
A yell of joy made Bunny jump out of his thoughts again. Gemma had climbed a nearby tree and was hanging upside down from a branch by her legs. "Gemma, don't do that!" He ran towards her. Bloody show pony. She was about as bad as Frostbite. "What?" she asked, "Keep the heid! I can take care of myself." "Gemma, Pitch almost killed you three hours ago. You shouldn't be hanging upside down like a possum!"
Gemma's eyes flashed at him, the hood of her sweatshirt outlining her face. "Fine." She put down her hands and let go of the tree, pulling off a summersault. When she got up, she was facing away from the rabbit and began to walk away. She glanced back at him, her hood still on her head. "Why are you so protective? I'm immortal, like you. Why do you care?" She grinned. "I thought you hated me."
Gemma's sudden change in attitude shocked Bunnymund, and left him speechless. Gemma continued to walk, taking off her dark green sweatshirt and tying it around her waist. She put out her hand when a butterfly flew near her, and smiled thoughtfully when it landed on her fingers. "Hey, OPB!" she called. "How do you water all of these plants?" Bunny hopped next to her as the insect flew away.
"What did you just call me?" Bunny made himself tower over Gemma. She turned and grinned at his serious face. "OPB. Over Protective Bunny." "I am not overprotective!" "Yes you are!" "Are not!" "Are to!" "Are not!" Gemma rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Anyways," she turned and looked at the Warren again, "how do you water all these plants?"
Again, Bunny was surprised. Curiosity must be this girl's middle name. "Well, actually I was going to start when you woke up. I usually water them at least once a week, early in the morning." Gemma glanced at him. "How long does it take?" "Ah, about a couple hours." She frowned, then her eyes lit up. "What?" Bunny said, curious. A grin came across the redhead's face, then suddenly a thick fog appeared. Gemma was gone. Again.
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