Chapter 19: Whoops!

"Cottontail!" Both the rabbit and the girl perked up at the familiar voice. "Frozone!" "Frostie!" Gemma began to laugh, running past Bunnymund and down the hill. "Race ya!" He paused, grinning. "Oh, you don't want to race a rabbit, mate." He took off after her, only to watch as she formed a cloud beneath her feet. She was flying low, only about five feet off the ground, but had a lot of speed.

She twisted and turned, dodging rollers and Bunnymund, who was trying to get ahead. He had just caught up to Gemma and was running alongside her when he heard a loud groan. He glanced to his right just in time to see the cloud disappear, making the girl fall to the ground. At the same moment, fog appeared, encompassing the Warren again. Bunny screeched to a halt, looking and listening for the Scott.

He heard her mumbling and trying to get up a few yards behind him and to his right. He found her with bruises on her arms and a bump on her forehead, confused about what had just happened. "Bunny! You alright?" Jack called out. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be there in a minute, mate!" he called back, looking Gemma over for more injuries. He helped her sit up.

"What happened there, Scotty?" "I, I don't know. I was feeling perfectly fine when my stomach began to hurt. It must've made my powers short out." "Has this happened before?" "Yeah, a few times after I ate something really bad or maybe I got too cold or hot. I'll be fine." Gemma tried to get up, but fell to her knee, grunting again.

"Well I don't think you should be trying to fly anytime soon. Here, hop on my back. I can give ya a lift." Gemma looked worried for a second. "Don't worry I'll try and make it as smooth as I can." "It's not that. I'm just worried what everyone else would think if they found out you were carrying me around." Bunny tried hard not to chuckle. Gemma certainly had a sense of pride.

"Don't worry your secret's safe with me. Now, hop on. Your boyfriend's waiting." Gemma glared at him. "For the last time, Springy, he is not my boyfriend!" Despite this, she climbed onto his back, gripping tightly to his fur. Bunnymund gave her a teasing smile, he couldn't help it. "Yeah, and Easter isn't a holiday!" Then he took off into the thickening fog.

They bounced off of roller to roller, sprinting down the trail. Bunny was surprised to find out that Gemma was an experienced rider. "Did you ride horses before you died?" he yelled, glancing back at Gemma. "Yeah, my horse was about as wild as you!" He felt her knees tighten to his sides, keeping herself on, and the gentle yet firm grip she had of his fur on his neck.

He felt her leaning into him, trying to keep the wind off. Yes, of course she was experienced, he realized. She was the daughter of Merida, the world-renowned queen, famous for her bravery and skill both with a bow and a horse. Gemma had been taught by the best, and was in line to be one of the best. Bunny made himself not say once again: 'you've got somethin', Shelia.' They were nearly at the tunnels.

Bunny stopped, letting Gemma off of his back. He knew she wouldn't want Jack to see her like that, it ruined her pride and would make him jealous. There was no doubt about the spark between them. Oh, was Tooth going to be mad. Perfect blackmail for her. His musing was broken by the odd look on Gemma's face, and Bunny realized that he had a funny smile on his. "What?" she asked. "Oh, nothing."

Bunny let out a quiet sigh of relief when a cold wind blew past them, clearing the fog. The girl and rabbit turned to see Jack Frost and Sandy standing a few yards away, a smile spreading across their faces. Or, at least, Sandy standing in place. "Gemma!" Jack was already running at them, or at Gemma, really. The look on his face was a mix of happiness and relief, and he couldn't help but hug her when he approached.

Jack literally swept Gemma off her feet, spinning as they flew into the air with laughter. Sandy floated next to Bunny, a wide grin on his face. Bunnymund realized that Sandy had never met Gemma, and glanced back at the couple. He cleared his throat, getting their attention and breaking them apart from each other, awkwardly. Gemma rubbed her arms, Jack was freezing and she obviously missed her green sweatshirt.

"Gemma," Bunny motioned to Sandy, who waved, "this is the Sandman, also known as Sandy." Gemma's eyes widened as she gasped. "You, you can see me?" The short man nodded his silent reply. Gemma laughed, the familiar sparkle showing off the gold flecks in her dark green eyes. "This is great! The only Guardian who hasn't seen me yet is Tooth! I can't wait to meet her!"

Bunny frowned at this remark, knowing how Tooth felt about Jack. He hoped she wouldn't be too jealous when they met. Then he noticed the fog creeping in, and glanced at Gemma. "Hey, Scotty?" He nodded to the fog, and it soon vaporized. "So, did you guys find the wisps?" "The wisps?" Jack looked confused. "I sent one of those bloody things after you, did you see any?"

Jack and Sandy shook their heads. "No, we didn't see anything except for a Nightmare, some black sand, and a couple flowers that you left." Gemma glanced at Bunnymund. "Flowers?" "Whenever Bunny goes through a tunnel," Jack explained, "he leaves a flower where it was." Jack snickered. "Manly, I know." Gemma laughed, Sandy joining in with his silent laughter.

Bunny was fuming, but remembered he still had some blackmail for Jack. He couldn't wait to tell North and Tooth about the Winter Guardian literally sweeping a girl off of her feet in an embrace. He began to laugh with them, making Jack very uncomfortable. The boy knew Bunny always had something up his sleeve, but didn't bother to ask. Bunny liked that.

The Easter Bunny needed to get Jack and Gemma away. He wanted to talk to Sandy alone, and was glad to notice Gemma's sweatshirt wasn't tied around her waist anymore. "Hey, Scotty, where's you sweatshirt?" Gemma put her hand on her side, feeling for it. She glanced around. "I don't know. I must've lost it when we were racing."

Then Jack seemed to notice the bruises on Gemma's arms for the first time. "What happened to you?" "Oh, Springy I were racing here and I fell." She waved it off. "It's fine." Bunny took his chance. "Well, you two haven't seen each other in a while. Why don't you two lovebirds look for it?" Their faces said what they had always repeated, but their cheeks said otherwise. Sandy nodded to them, pushing them on.

Then the mischievous look came into Jack's eyes again. He grinned at Gemma. "Race ya!" he shouted, taking off into the air. "Hey, no fair!" She ran after him, remembering what had happened earlier. Jack spun around, watching her from a ways away. "Come on, Foggy! Keep up!" Gemma stopped, watching Jack show off. With his great ears, Bunny heard Gemma mumble something. "Oh, you want me to keep up, huh?"

Suddenly, the wind that was holding Jack stopped. SPLASH! He crashed into a river of pink egg dye. Bunny and Sandy burst out laughing as Jack stumbled out of the colored water, his face showing a mix of lost pride and confusion. He was covered head to toe in hot pink: sweatshirt, hair, and all. Gemma glanced back at the older Guardians, a sheepish grin on her face. "Whoops."

Sandy didn't hear Gemma because he and Bunny were laughing, but Bunny did. This made him laugh even harder, and he was soon laying on the ground, hitting the grass with his fist. Gasping for breath, Bunny sat up. "She got you good, mate!" Jack used the wind to blow the majority of the dye off.

He glared at Gemma, but was surprised to see her running past him. "Race ya!" she yelled, laughing. Jack glanced back at Sandy, Bunny noticed, and the pair shared a smile. Jack had always looked up to the oldest Guardian for advice, and this was no exception. Then the Winter Guardian turned and ran after the Mistress of Fog, his laughter filling the air.

Bunny, who was now standing, let out a little laugh, smiling at the couple. "They're adorable." Sandy nodded his agreement, pondering in his quiet ways. Then Bunnymund got serious, he had to tell Sandy what had happened. "Hey, Sandy, we've got a problem." Sandy glanced at him, obviously thinking the same thing. He made a question mark over his head.

"Well, I was actually trying to find the overgrown Snowflake when I found them." Another questioning look from Sandy. "She was with Pitch." Sandy shook his head, asking why he was looking for Jack. "North sent me after him. You heard about Jamie, right?" The look he gave him said no at first, but then he quickly realized what had happened. "Yeah. North tried to find you but couldn't, so he found me instead."

Bunny continued. "I must've taken a wrong turn or something, because I hopped into a tight forest. I could see Pitch standing in front of her, his sand crawling up her body like a shadow. I couldn't get there in time with my tunnels, so I threw my boomerang instead. The sand got over Gemma's head, but I was able to knock Pitch out before it could completely absorb her."

Sandy's faces had shown stress, especially when Bunny mentioned the sand going over Gemma's head. He let out a silent sigh of relief when Bunny told him what happened to the Boogeyman. He hated to worry the Sandman, but the yellow man needed to know about the race. "Thing is, mate, I think it took effect." The look on Sandy's face turned to worry.

"See, the fog was her powers shortening out. We had been racing to see you and Frozone and she got really sick. She was flying on one of her clouds and crashed to the ground when it disappeared. That's why she has a ton of bruises." Sandy frowned, looking in the direction where Jack and Gemma had run off. Bunny didn't bother to look, he had heard them coming a while ago.

"I think Pitch might have succeeded." "What?" Jack asked, Gemma by his side. Drat! He had said it a little loud. Bunny turned to the couple, standing alongside the Guardian of Dreams. The older Guardians shared a glance, then stared back at Gemma. She was just as confused as Jack, and she stared back at them, worry starting to shine in her eyes.

"What? This isn't about Pitch, right?"

Yes, rather boring. Sorry guys! I kinda had a block. It will get better, I've just gotta figure out how it all comes together.

Anyways, please review! It helps and I enjoy it!

:)