Hi everyone! This story is for Midnight Lupus since they were the 100th reviewer, and got to ask for their own personal one shot. Remember, the next one shot could be YOURS but you have to keep REVIEWING!

I am not going to drop Pooka Jack, keep your daks on, but I wanted to keep my promise of a one shot to the 100th reviewer. So here ya go!

I do not own ROTG…

April is known for its thunderstorms, the loud thunder accompanied by arcs of lightning painting the sky. Many humans around the world reveled in sitting at home, listening to the rain pitter patter against the roof top, Jack was not one of those people. He couldn't remember much from his past, so he knew little about the time as a human or if he enjoyed rain storms, but he knew he did not like them now.

It was during such a storm in late April that Jack was rushing back to the Pole after visiting Jamie in Burgess. The boy's birthday was that day, and even though the weather was getting warm, Jack made the effort to see his first believer. It was after the party that the winter sprite noticed that he was getting light headed and feeling a little queasy, and that was when he knew he needed to get home to North's workshop. Before he became a guardian and for a small time afterwards, Jack would spend the summers in a cold climate, although once about a year after they had destroyed Pitch he had the misfortune of hibernating all summer, waking only to puke as he suffered from heatstroke. It was only because he had found a cool cave to sleep in that he survived, that and the fact that Toothiana had found him, but that summer was full of fever induced nightmares and Jack never wanted to repeat that experience again.

Flying up into the sky, Jack could smell that rain that was getting ready to drop on his favorite town. The air became thick with humidity, sapping the sprite of his strength. Normally spring rain cooled the air down, and was almost refreshing to fly through as the rain drops fell all around him. But it was days like today when the heat would put up a fight, and the air would grow heavy as humidity settled down on its haunches, refusing to rise until it was good and ready, that the winter spirit felt animosity towards the rain. Jack fought the gag crawling up his throat as he felt a wave of nausea afflict his sense, knocking his vision askew, and sending his equilibrium flying. He needed to leave now, or else he would suffer from another summer like the one just a few short years before.

Wiping sweat from his eyes, the sprite took off in the direction of the North Pole, flying high over the treetops at the fastest speed he could attain in his current condition. Sweat poured from his face, stinging his eyes, temporarily blinding him till he wiped it away. It was because of this that Jack never saw it coming, the arcing electric sword that could kill at a touch, not until it plunged through his back sending him tumbling towards the ground as screams of pain ripped from his mouth. Jack gripped his chest as his heartbeat went from erratic, to painfully slow, back to incredibly fast. His breath came in short painful bursts as he labored to breathe, and his staff was long forgotten, flung somewhere far away from him.

Jack hit the ground with an agonizing crash; his eyes clenched shut in pain as he felt his insides boil. Rolling onto his back, Jack's mouth stretched as a shriek of sheer torment ripped itself from within the writhing form on the grass. Another bead of sweat dripped from his hair, and hit skin, electricity crackling as the liquid was energized, which produced another pained cry to come from the winter spirit. Jack shuddered and gasped as his torso arched with each wave of burning agony that sparked across his nerve endings. He needed to cool off, if for no other reason than to keep himself from getting electrocuted by his own sweat. With slow pain filled movements, Jack stripped himself of his hoodie, and then removed his shirt. A cool breeze soothed the boy just enough to help him lift his head and register his location. Up ahead was a cave, and wouldn't you know it, it was the one that Jack had spent that horrid summer. But he couldn't afford to be picky, the cave was cooler than it was out in the open, and he needed cold.

Leaving his shirt and hoodie, Jack drug himself across the grass with weak trembling arms, rocks cut into the bare skin of his chest leaving pink and bleeding scrapes. But the sprite didn't feel it, his brain was shutting down the unnecessary functions such as eyesight, and numbing the feeling in his hands and feet in order to put his body on basic life support, he needed to hurry. With the last vestiges of his eyesight finally winking into darkness, Jack felt his way into the cave, his breath merely a labored wheeze until finally, his tired body touched the cool stone interior of the cave. Curling up, the boy finally allowed himself to be flung into unconsciousness, not knowing when or where a rescue might come, if it came at all.

…

"I do not understand," North grumbled, troubled blue eyes staring into the flames of the fireplace "He should be here by now."

"Frostbite is almost always late" Bunny shrugged "Besides, he's a big boy and survived without us for years, I doubt he all of a sudden needs us to watch over him now."

"I don't know," the large man shook his head slowly as he turned to face his friends "I have had bad feeling in my belly all day."

"Well where did he go?" Tooth asked softly her own lavender eyes tinged with concern.

North sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers "He said that today was Jamie's birthday, and that he wanted to be at his party to tell him happy birthday."

"Stop worrying" Bunnymund smiled "I'm sure that he is probably still at Jamie's house playing video games, and lost track of time."

North gave a weak smile at what he hoped was the truth, but as minutes ticked by, the guardians began to twitch, and shuffle. Tooth had taken up residence near one of the windows, one thumbnail firmly clenched between her teeth as her eyes stared unblinking out onto the frozen tundra. Sandman had created a sand man plus a table and was playing ping pong with it as he nervously glanced at the clock every few seconds. Bunny had sat in several different chairs, growing fidgety in each one within a matter of minutes and finally settled with pacing up and down the room. North had not moved a muscle from in front of the fireplace, but only stood with his arms crossed, staring into the flames waiting for their youngest member to arrive. Minutes turned into hours, and soon it was Bunnymund who broke the silence first.

"A'right North" He burst out, one foot giving an impatient stamp "I take back what I said, something's wrong, and we need to go find Frostbite."

"I agree" Tooth cried as she raised one hand in agreement.

Sandman gave two thumbs up, and North did not say anything. He merely nodded and headed straight for his sleigh. Phil, who had been watching the guardians pace, shuffle, and murmur from the beginning immediately yelled in Yetish for the other Yetis to begin preparation for departure. Bunny tapped the ground, nodding at Santa as the man passed him, both of them having a silent conversation acknowledging that Bunny will get to Burgess and begin the search while the others made their way to Burgess.

After diving into his tunnel, it took about thirty seconds before his ears were seen popping out of a hole nearby the lake that Jack favored so much. Slowly he hopped out, his nose wrinkling as he ears went back in discomfort due to the rain. Judging from the mess of fallen branches and the looks of the clouds, a pretty nasty storm had just passed overhead, but now was just the light rain after the thunder and lightning. Breathing deeply, Bunnymund felt his fur bristle as he choked and coughed from the humidity damp clinging to the inside of his lungs. Aster shook himself as he began to pant from the abnormal heat accompanying the storm. He hated strong humidity; it weighed him down, and made his limbs sluggish.

Hopping a few yards, Bunny cast his gaze around for any sign of the familiar white mop of hair, but what he eventually saw sent every protective instinct he had inside of him into hyper drive. Several yards away, stuck in the ground, was Jack's staff. The Pooka's heart clenched with fear as he hopped towards the wooden instrument, his nose twitching as he sniffed out the scent still clinging to the grain, hoping against hope that he was wrong; unfortunately he was not.

Taking the staff into his trembling paws, Bunny barely registered the shouts of the other Guardians as they gathered behind him, each growing quiet at the item being held by the warrior rabbit. Tooth put two hands on her mouth as she gave a small gasp before taking off into the sky, searching for any more clues. Bunny crouched low to the ground, sniffing for the winter sprite's scent, but he popped back up immediately as Toothiana gave a loud shout. Following the fairy, the group came to a stop as they gathered around their comrade. She knelt on the ground, her small hands picking up Jack's hoodie that lay forgotten on the ground. Lavender eyes filling with tears, she turned it around to show them the back of the shirt, only to reveal a hole that had been burned around the edges. North's eyes grew wide as his hand clenched and unclenched on the hilt of his sword.

Bunny sent his keen eyes across the grass, searching for clues that would explain why their snowflake was alone, without his staff, and shirtless, but the rain had washed much of it away, leaving the rabbit with nothing to go on. Sitting back on his haunches, the Pooka cast his gaze to the forest around him, green eyes analyzing every bush, and rock, and tree. Finally he settled on the cave, and his brain sparked as pieces clicked together.

"Oi, Tooth" Bunny said quickly as he rose to his full height his eyes never leaving the mouth of the cave "Where did ya say ya found the kid when he was having troubles a few summers back?"

"I found him in a cave…" Toothiana replied slowly before her lavender eyes widened with recognition as she looked around almost as if she were seeing her surroundings for the first time "Actually, I found him in that cave. I don't know if he would be there, but it's worth a look."

Bunny nodded, and all four guardians walked forward, praying that they would find their lost child, but none of them could have expected what they would find.

Walking into the cave, they paused as their eyes adjusted to the gloom of the cavern in comparison to the brightness of the outside. Finally, the interior became clearer, and they walked inside only to find Jack sitting against the wall, his face and hair damp with sweat from a fever raging through his thin frame, but the most striking thing about how they found him, was his eyes. They azure orbs, once soft and playful as they plotted an eternity's worth of mischief, were wide and wild. His pupils were the size of pinpricks in his state of fevered delirium, and the cerulean gaze cast itself around the interior in a frenzied paranoia known only to be possessed by feral animals.

"Wait" Bunny held up a paw, his own animalistic instincts kicking in as he scrutinized the small teen "I'm not getting a good feeling about this."

"What do you mean?" Tooth wailed in upset impatience "It's Jack, he needs our help!"

Without waiting for a reply from the warrior rabbit, Tooth flung herself forward, flying towards the young boy who had claimed such a large part of their hearts. In the fog of pain and fever, Jack only recognized one thing, another animal was coming into his territory, and he was not happy. Just as Tooth opened her arms to try and wrap the boy in what she wanted to be a comforting hug, Jack lunged forward, his lip curled as he bared his teeth and snarled at her. Toothiana paused, her eyes growing large as she took in Jack's appearance. He was now on all fours, his back arched as if he were trying to fluff fur and make himself appear to be larger, his fingers were curved into claws, and his face strongly resembled that of a wolf's before it attacked. Snapping his teeth at the shadowy figure in front of him, Jack sent the strong message across the gap that he would bite should they come any closer.

Tooth retreated, her hands covering her mouth as she struggled to process just what was happening "What" she began in a shocked tone "What's wrong with him?"

Bunny sighed, he had been suspicious of this for years, but this little display only helped to prove him right "Think about it" the rabbit said as he turned to the fairy "Jack had been alone for how many years before he became a guardian? Do you really think that the solitude had no effect on him?"

"But…" Toothiana's voice cracked as she practically whispered her reply "But that doesn't explain why…"

"Yes Tooth, it does" North interrupted his blue eyes filling with sorrow and guilt "When you are in supreme isolation for a long period of time, even the most civilized of men can become animals in their struggle to survive. I had seen it in my time before I was chosen by MiM, and I assure you, it is very real. Jack had been alone for three hundred years, to say that he was not affected by that isolation would be naïve, and I'm sure that Jack had his moments where he needed to cast aside his humanity, just to survive that state of loneliness."

Sandy nodded sadly, he wanted to help, but in this state of delirium Jack was unreachable. Too much adrenaline was rushing through his system, and to throw a dream sand baseball would only aggravate the boy and solidify the thought that they were a threat. Turning towards North, the Golden man made a picture of them leaving, and allowing Jack to calm down before trying to help him.

"What are you CRAZY?!" Tooth screamed before she was quickly shushed by Bunny.

Jack was startled by the cry, and now was backed against the wall, snarling and growling, his wild blue eyes glared untrustingly at his friends. Bunny lowered his ears, fighting against the rabbit instincts urging him to run from the predator in front of him, instead he turned to tooth and spoke in a tone as low and calming voice that he could muster.

"Sandy's right Sheila" the Pooka said "It is best to leave Jack alone until he's calm."

"But…but…" Tooth looked back and forth between Jack and Bunny "Look at him, he needs medical help now, I mean…just look at his back!"

Bunny had indeed seen the boy's back, it was hard not to see what with his pale skin. Arcing from the small of his back, up across his shoulders, was a burn that looked very much like someone had taken a pencil and drawn a lightning bolt. It was phenomenon known to happen amongst those who had been struck by lightning, it was both beautiful and agonizing to see, and it answered everyone's questions on what had happened to the child. The knowledge only proved to make the urgency to help the sprite only more powerful, but this was a delicate situation, one that could not be rushed, and so Bunny stood up and did something he had not done in a very long time. He reminded the guardians just what he was.

"Yeah Tooth," Aster said sternly his green eyes glinting in fierce determination "but the kid's mind has fallen into a state similar to a wild animal, as long as a bunch of people stand here deliberating, he is going to keep feeling threatened, and he will continue to bite and struggle until it is too late to save his life."

"But I don't want to leave him alone." The fairy said softly, a sob riding on her words.

"He won't be" Bunny reassured "because I'm staying with him."

"Wait" North blustered "but you just said…"

"I said a bunch of people" The Pooka felt himself almost growl as he stood to his full height and glared at North with icy green eyes "But I am not people, I am an animal, and am the only person qualified to deal with Jack in his current state."

North felt his jaw drop as he tried to collect himself, he had forgotten, they had all forgotten that Bunny was in truth an animal. A magical being yes, but first and foremost, a wild creature of nature that was not similar to humans at all. Jack, North, Sandy, and Tooth had all started out as humans, but Bunny was different; he had been a warrior rabbit from the beginning. Finally with a sigh of resignation, North nodded his head, and gestured for everyone to file out of the cave, except for Bunny of course.

"Wait" Bunny said quickly, lowering his voice even further "Have a stream of sand ready, and when I tap the ground with my foot, that's your cue to knock him out."

Sandy nodded, already creating a ribbon thin as a strand of hair and gently coaxing it through the shadows towards the boy. North clapped Bunny on the shoulder, giving him a confident nod as a symbol that he trusted the Pooka to take care of business. And as Tooth gave one last long look of fear and grief, she finally flew out of the cave, her hands trembling as she wrung them out of the anxiety on whether or not, she would get her Sweet Tooth back. Bunny turned back towards the child still snarling at him, and then hopped down onto all fours. This would take time, and patience, two things he hoped they had. Lowering his ears, and curling in his tail, the Pooka did his best to make himself as small and nonthreatening as possible. Jack continued to pace and snarl, occasionally snapping his teeth, and Bunny found the similarities between his actions and a wolf almost uncanny. If he could hazard a guess, then Bunny would almost say that Jack must had been cornered by wolves, and held in one position unable to escape for a long enough time that the experience had traumatized the boy. Either way though, the only way to get through to him was by speaking his language, which meant imitating what he knew about wolf communication.

After a good twenty minutes, Jack finally calmed down, his guttural snarls replaced by soft woofing growls. He sat by the wall, his fingers still curled and battle ready, but his body was no longer tensed or bunched up as if he would leap into action and attack at the slightest provocation. Wary blue eyes glowed in the dim light as the winter sprite watched the strange creature who had invaded his territory. Slowly, Bunny shuffled inch by inch closer to Jack, making sure that his head was low, and his tail was down. In wolf lingo, this meant that he was submitting to the dominant animal, which was something that went against every ounce of pride within the rabbit. But it was either sacrifice his ego, or challenge Jack to a fight in order to find the dominant alpha, and the Pooka wasn't sure that Jack would be able to make it out of such a tussle unharmed, especially in his current state.

And so, Bunny made his slow journey, bit by bit, towards the youngest guardian, until finally he stood just a foot away. By this time Jack's entire body was no longer tense, his fingers relaxed, and he was staring at him with an expression that almost spoke of boredom. With one hand, Bunny reached out, attempting to touch Jack, but that was a bad idea. Immediately the hackles went up, and Jack snapped at Bunny, biting his paw almost to the point of bleeding. Aster snatched his paw back, fighting the urge to start yelling, and immediately lay on his back. This was the ultimate sign that he meant no harm, and if Jack accepted it, then things would turn out all right.

Jack stared at him, his lips pulled back in a savage snarl of distrust and anger, and Bunny cursed himself for thinking that he could simply reach out and touch the kid. Finally, after five minutes of growling and snapping, Jack backed up and lay on the stone, his blue eyes never leaving the strange intruder. Bunny once again slowly made it to his feet, and began his trek to the child. His green eyes scrutinized Jack, noting how his breathing was becoming labored, and his once brilliant eyes were becoming dull, his pale skin was covered by a sheen of sweat from the fever the rabbit could already feel coming off of him.

Only after a good ten to fifteen minutes of cautious crawls, the rabbit finally was within a few inches of the boy. Jack stared at him, his blue eyes becoming angry, but the weakness of his body keeping him from attacking. Thinking that was either now, or never, Bunny tapped the ground with his foot, and the ribbon of dream sand encircled Jack's head, instantly lulling him into sleep. Bunny let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding as he caught the boy in his arms. Soon the other guardians had filed back inside, and they were carrying Jack to the sleigh.

…

Jack slowly came to, his head throbbing, and his chest aching from each breath he was able to drag into his battered body. One pale hand slowly reaching up to run slender fingers through his hair, the winter sprite gave a small groan of discomfort as he tried to remember just how he had made it back to his room at the North Pole. That sound, quiet as it was, was enough to bring Bunny running from his spot on a chair on the other side of the room. Bending over the ill child, Aster smoothed the white hair away from his forehead, his eyes taking in every detail as he searched for any proof that might show Jack to be in any kind of distress, and finding none the rabbit let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey Frostbite" he drawled slowly "How ya feelin'?"

"Ok, I think" Jack rasped back in a hoarse voice "but I don't remember how I got here."

Aster sat on the edge of the bed, reaching over to dunk a rag in a bowl of cold water before applying it to the sprite's face. "Well we found ya after the storm, and brought ya home."

Jack hissed, even though the cold water felt marvelous, the burns on his face flared up with angry stinging the minute the liquid made contact. Bunny winced, his ears lowering in guilt, before once again applying the cold water to the fevered skin.

"Do ya remember what happened?" The Pooka asked softly.

"I remember a storm…" Jack said slowly "and then pain, and then…nothing."

"Ya were struck by lightning" Bunny informed gently "but we got you here in time to give ya the proper medical help for your burns."

Jack nodded, closing his eyes as he surrendered to Bunny's ministrations. The rabbit bit his bottom lip, unsure how to continue, but knowing that he needed to ask before charging on to the next topic of conversation.

"Jack…"

"Hm?" the boy hummed absently.

"Were you ever attacked by wolves?"

Blue eyes shot open, and his frail body tensed at the question, causing yet another gasp of pain as injuries were irritated "Why do you want to know?"

Bunny sighed, dragging one paw down his face as he considered how to broach this particular subject "Well" he began slowly "when we found ya, you were snarlin' and snappin', acting like you were some kind of wild animal, I'm just wonderin' how that came about."

Pale cheeks blushed as he considered telling one of his deepest secrets to the Pooka, and finally the boy opened his mouth "It was during my first hundred years alone" He began.

"I didn't know what I was doing, I had no clue how to survive, and all of a sudden a group of wolves move into the territory. I was barely twenty years into my new life, and I had never seen a wolf before, and didn't know what to do. They began to attack and gang up on me whenever they had the chance, thinking me a rival to their territory, and I had no idea how to defend my rights of living in the forest. Then it happened…"

Bunny leaned in closer "What happened?"

"It was dark" Jack began his eyes blank as if he were no longer in the room but was watching what had happened all over again "and I was attacked…the last time. Wolves are smart, they knew that I used my staff as my main weapon and it helped me ride the winds, so one of the smaller wolves stole it away, and then I was cornered. It was a fight or die kind of situation, they wanted to know who was alpha and who had to leave Burgess."

"You fought the leader of the pack…didn't you?" Aster asked in quiet awe.

"Yeah" Jack nodded "I fought him, and I have never had to become so savage or animalistic since. I remember that night, the moon reflecting on the snow, and eventually our blood mingling on the ice. I was messed up pretty badly, but I won, I beat him."

"Jack" Bunny said softly, his eyes filling with concern "The only way to win a battle is either through surrender or to the death…which was it?"

Jack looked down at blankets in shame "I don't have fangs or claws, and so I did what I could to stay alive. That wolf…he wouldn't stay down, he kept getting up, and nothing I did would make him surrender. Our battle ended with both of us on the lake, and I… I made him fall in…I used my powers and made the wolf fall in and…and… drown."

The last word in his explanation was said so softly, Bunny had to strain his ears to hear it, and immediately the Pooka felt his head bow in grief at the experience Jack was forced to endure. Leaning forward, Aster gathered the boy up in his arms, one hand stroking the white head.

"I'm so sorry Jackie" he said softly "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

"I didn't want to kill him" Jack's voice wobbled "I didn't want him to die… But I couldn't control myself, and next thing I knew we were fighting and snarling, and I was acting like some kind of monster as I tried to tear at him with my teeth and nails, but it wasn't enough, and I…It's my fault…I murdered him!"

Aster held the boy in a tighter embrace as pale fingers clung to his fur "It wasn't your fault, and don't kick yourself for it. That wolf picked the fight with ya, and he knew what the challenge meant. It is animal instinct to defend your territory or die trying, and I'm sorry that you had to experience that when you were so young, if anything it is my fault. We, I should have been there for you so you never would have had to fight for your life like that. I'm sorry mate, I truly am."

Sobs muffled by fur and muscle began to vibrate through Bunny's shoulder and the Pooka could only sit, hoping that Jack would someday forgive them their neglect. Jack wept, wept for the piece of humanity he had given up in order to just survive his first twenty years of being, wept for the life he had taken in order to keep his home and his life, he wept for the loneliness he was forced to endure every time he came in contact with that pack and had to snarl at them in order to remind them of how merciless and savage he was when in reality his heart broke and his dreams were haunted by the yellow eyes of the alpha who had challenged him. Bunny just sat through it all, murmuring soft reassurances, and stroking the head of hair buried in his chest and shoulder.

Finally, Jack pulled himself from Bunny's arms, wiping his eyes and nose with one hand "Um…" he mumbled "Did North and everyone see?"

Bunny sighed "Yeah snowflake, they did."

Jack head immediately hung as his shoulders deflated in shame, but Bunny gave him a gentle shake, forcing him to straighten up "But they understand, I told them that lightning has strange affects on a person's brain chemistry, and they are just leaving it at that. Don't worry you're hair off, I won't tell 'em about the wolf pack or your fight."

A grateful smile lit the sprite's features, and Bunny breathed a sigh of relief. The next few hours passed in silence, much to the Pooka's surprise, with Jack just lying in his bed one hand tightly clenching Bunny's paw. But soon his eyes drooped, and the teen drifted off into a deep sleep. Bunny heaved a relieved sigh, and then fondly ruffled the white head. He hadn't been expecting that story to come from the snowflake, but he had learned a long time ago not to underestimate the kid. Tucking the blankets tight around the exhausted form, Bunny considered creeping out of the room in order to leave the sprite to dream, but quickly changed his mind. Scooting down, the rabbit made himself comfortable on the bed, ready should Jack need him. The child immediately reacted, flinging one arm around the Pooka and snuggling into his fur. Bunny smiled at the sprite who had affectively become his kid brother, then he too eventually drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

WHOO! That was harder to write than I thought it would be! Well here it is Midnight Lupus, my interpretation of your request, I hope it is everything you wanted, and it makes your inner fangirl squeal like no tomorrow. See you next time!