So here is the next chapter of Human Bunny, and I decided to make it a bit fluffy, with mostly filler and brotherly love. So enjoy, and let the fluff-mobile roll!
Frostfan- Believe it or not, I am planning on an arc after Human Bunny that is going to be a tad dark and SUPER angsty! It features Pitch as an ally(eventually anyways), and it is titled Visions. So you have something to look forward to ;-)
Riz- You are so funny…I am actually the youngest of three girls, and we actually had fun scaring eachother. We were good at it too LOL The Ghost Town, and all the ideas for the theme park is based on the Ghost Town I walked through at Six Flags Great America near Chicago. Was pretty epic that year.
Cayran- You gave me a great idea, and I will work on that hurt/comfort fic with Bunny, Sabine, and Jack
Lovepuppy- Now you know you need to write a chapter with Jack chasing Bunny around dressed like a clown, right?
Night-Fury1- I will consider it, lol I'm sure it will tickle my muse eventually, and I will keep it in my file of future chapter ideas.
Synk- Definitely! That sounds fun!
No, I do not own ROTG…*sigh* but it'd be nice if I did.
Bunny and Jack walked back inside, the newly turned human teen shivering as he reentered the warmth of the workshop. Jack looked up at the much taller boy, his face solemn and pensive.
"So…" he began slowly "You were technically eighteen when you were chosen as a Guardian?"
"Technically," Aster bobbed his head in a nod still rubbing the feeling back into his arms "I mean, I was over three hundred years old, but to a Pooka that is still really young. So in human terms I would be about in my twenties, but in spirit terms I'm even younger. Like, you've been around for three hundred years, but we still think of you as a kid, because we've been around at least double that, and I was about four hundred when I became a Guardian. So to the man in the moon, I'm about eighteen years old."
"Cool!" Jack grinned brightly his face glowing with mischief "So that means when you try to act all mature and try to make me feel like a dumb little kid, you're actually not much more than a kid yourself!"
"I-I wouldn't say that," Bunny grumped not liking where Jack was going with that particular train of thought "I'm still older than you."
"You may be older," Jack snickered flying up to hover in front of Bunny as they walked "but you're still a kid."
"Am not," Bunny growled irritated at the winter child's conclusion.
"Are too," Jack replied sticking out his tongue.
"Are not!" Bunny reached forward and grabbed the pale tongue and yanked on it causing Jack to give a small yelp.
"Are TOO!" Jack said pouting at the abuse of his poor appendage.
"I am NOT a kid!" Aster finally snarled.
"Then prove it by not acting like one!" Jack yelled before stepping back and smugly crossing his arms.
Aster stood, his hands clenched into fists on either side of him before turning his smoldering green eyes to the child determined to act out the part of the obnoxious younger brother "Fine," he hissed "ya wanna play that game, let's play. Meet ya on the court Brain Freeze, and I suggest ya bring yer A game."
Jack's face lit up one thousand watts at the mention of basketball in the gym "Oh yeah," he whooped punching the air and flying at top speed towards the gym, "It is ON Kangaroo!" he yelled over his shoulder.
Aster gave a devilish grin to the retreating form of the winter sprite, and popped his knuckles "Ya bet it is Snowflake."
"Ok!" North bellowed in the gym as he stood between Jack and Bunny holding a basketball in one hand "The rules are simple, no powers, and no dirty tricks. This is fair game, and I will make sure that everyone follows rules."
"Sounds good ta me," Aster said with an evil laugh "just as long as Brain freeze over there understands that he can't use his powers, the game will be a piece o' cake."
"Whatever Kangaroo," Jack smirked "I don't need my powers to beat you in good old one on one basketball."
"Begin!" with that North threw the ball up into the air and watched the two boys jump after it.
Bunny being taller and having longer arms reached the ball with ease and tucked it protectively under his arm until he landed back on the court. Feinting right, Bunny quickly dodged back left and blasted past Jack, dribbling down the court stopping only to leap and slam dunk the ball into Jack's net. The winter spirit stood in slack jawed silence before his face contorted in vengeful fury. Gritting his teeth, Jack ran up to Bunny ducking low, and slapping the ball from his hands. Scooping it up with his hand, he dribbled down the court, doing a jump shot from the foul line to make a basket. Bunny snarled as he stomped the ground in frustration, glaring at his clunky uncoordinated feet, cursing the fact that he was human and not his usual agile self.
"What's wrong Kangaroo?" Jack whooped gleefully "I thought you wanted me to bring my A game?"
"Very funny Frost," Bunny snarled as his anger began to rise.
The game continued and North found himself actually starting to worry from the sheer amount of physical force that was being used on the court. Bunny and Jack just couldn't seem to work together. Suddenly an idea struck the large man, his mouth suddenly stretching into a wide grin of mischief, and delight. Oh yes, this might work, North began to chuckle, this might turn out fine. Raising his hands, North called out to the boys, waving his arms wildly.
"Boys, boys," he shouted over the sounds of play "stop and come over here!"
Bunny and Jack paused long enough to send confused looks over to North, before once again facing each other. Whatever brotherly bonding time they had had on the roof, was all but forgotten when they got on the court, and somehow both had allowed their overly competitive natures get the better of them. Now the duo was angry at the other for seemingly petty reasons, at least from North's point of view, and the large man could already see that if Bunny wanted to survive as a human he needed to learn how to stop being a loner and rely on the help of others. The large rabbit had always been protective, and worked well with the team as they fought, but no one could deny that part of the reason that Jack and Bunny clashed so badly was because they saw themselves in the other and it rankled their nerves. Both were loners, both were confident in their own strength, and neither would ever admit to needing help. Thus the reason for North's master plan.
"Ok," he said in a jolly voice "Phil, come over here, we are going to be playing two on two!"
"Wait…" Aster drawled slowly "You wanna play us…"
"Versus YOU?" Jack finished.
"Yes," North nodded enthusiastically "is good idea, no?"
"No…"Bunny shook his head before face palming "I mean…" he amended quickly "Why?"
"Because," the large man shrugged with a purely innocent smile "you look like you are having so much fun, and I want to join. So, Phil will play as my partner, and you two will team up to try and defeat us!"
Phil nodded happily, liking the idea, and the two teen boys stood in slack jawed silence.
"Oh" was the unanimous reply as they struggled to comprehend the hoodwink pulled on them.
"So," North clapped his hands as he rolled up his sleeves "let's play some basketball!"
"Uh…" Jack stammered.
"O-Ok," Aster supplied.
Soon all four were on the court and Jack was eying their opponents with unease, one eyebrow rising towards his hairline as he pondered what kind of players they would be. "Uh, Bunny," he said softly "I don't know if I can take him, either of them."
"Whattaya talkin' about Frostbite," Aster said sarcastically "We're against an old man, and an overgrown throw rug, it'll be a cakewalk…unless you're not man enough for the job?"
Jack grit his teeth, his blue eyes hardening to chipped ice "Fine then," he growled "let's see who can get the most shots."
"Sounds fun," Aster grinned.
North sent a secret smile towards Phil, the yeti merely nodding and speaking gibberish towards the man, and soon the game had begun. Both boys darted forward, Aster's face wide with the grin currently decorating it, but they both soon discovered that they were not as skilled as they thought. Phil bounded towards the boys, his massive hand swiping the ball from Jack, and then turning, he threw the ball between Aster's legs and into North's waiting hands. The large man let out a jolly laugh, and then sprinted down the court, dribbling the ball until he reached the foul line and executed a perfect jump shot. Aster stomped his foot in irritation, and Jack groaned, his head tilted back as he sent waves of aggravated energy towards the ceiling.
"What brain freeze," Aster snapped "couldn't keep a hold of the ball?"
"Whoa," Jack retorted raising his hands defensively "speak for yourself Kangaroo, at least I didn't get schooled by a yeti and couldn't block the shot he made between your legs."
The former rabbit grit his teeth as a low growl rumbled in the base of his throat "Oh it's on now frosty."
"Bring it, kid!" Jack spat.
For over an hour, Aster and Jack fought to keep even with North and Phil, but by the end of the third quarter, they had realized that they were being beaten to a broken bloody pulp by an old man, and an overgrown throw rug. Aster stood, bent over with his hands resting on trembling knees, his shoulders heaving as he panted for air. Jack stood nearby, his arms crossed, and a pout firmly stuck on his face. Angry blue eyes glared accusingly at Bunny, and an impatient foot tapped the floor with furious slaps. Aster finally straightened, and turned towards the winter child, his face serious and solemn.
"This isn't working," he practically whispered.
"Ya THINK?!" Jack exploded.
Bunny pinched the bridge of his nose before muttering "I've been acting like an idiotic teenager, both of us are acting like children, we have been so intent on beating each other we can't even focus on beating those two."
Jack shuffled his feet in ashamed silence, he didn't want to admit it, but he knew that he had been acting pretty petulant. Finally heaving a sigh, Jack stepped forward and stuck out his hand "Truce?" he asked blue eyes shimmering with hope.
"Truce," Bunny slapped his larger hand into Jack's more delicate one and shook hard "let's get 'em Frostbite."
North gave a loud laugh "NOW," he bellowed excitedly "let's REALLY play basketball!"
The game began anew, only this time Aster and Jack were new people altogether, playing as teammates and not as rivals. In no time, the duo had not only regained the points they had lost, but they had claimed a one point lead which gradually grew as time passed. North watched the boys play as a team, a proud smile lighting his features at how quickly they adapted to each other's moves, and planned accordingly, making plays that looked perfectly seamless as if they had been practiced hundreds of times. The game finally ended with a twenty point lead in Jack and Bunny's favor, and the boys stood in the middle of the court, drenched in sweat and wearing deliriously happy smiles. Bunny strode forward, his green eyes glowing with pride and happiness.
"That was a good game Jackie," he said warmly raising his hand for a high five "ya did good out there."
"So did you, Bunny," Jack grinned swinging his hand up to connect with his.
…Neither of them expected him to go through Aster…..
Jack flinched, recoiling his hand as if he had been burned, his face screwed into a sharp wince of pain "W-What?" he stammered.
Bunny however was not doing any better. The former rabbit gazed down, his eyes wide as he stared at the space Jack should have been occupying, and then looked around at a sight that made his heart seize in fear. He was no longer in the gym at Santa's workshop, but merely a large gloomy cavern with long stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Stumbling back, Bunny cast his gaze around, searching for an exit, but saw none. It was as if the workshop had disappeared, had never been built, and this room had never been carved out for North's personal use. Running from one end of the cavern to the other, Bunny screamed out, his chest heaving as panic set in.
"JACK!" he bellowed "NORTH, PHIL, GUYS…!"
Walking backwards, his face twitching as he tried to suppress the fear that was tilting him closer and closer to a meltdown, the former Pooka finally fell on the floor his face broken and eyes filling quickly with tears. He shivered as the chill of the North Pole seeped through his clothing and iced his very bones. Rubbing his arms, the boy watched his breath crystallize in front of him, and his mind reeled in terror and confusion. Trembling hands reached up and gripped his hair, and as Aster once again gazed on his surroundings, he began to wonder if he had dreamed it all; if Santa, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and the Easter Bunny were all real. What if he were just some stupid kid that had gotten lost, and whacked his head, and dreamed it all? Was it possible that that whole beautiful world full of magic, Wonder, Hope, Dreams, and Fun was just simply an illusion in order to handle being lost and abandoned in an endless wasteland? Aster quickly gave his head a furious shake, no, he would not think like that.
"They're real, they're real," he whispered as he rocked back and forth "they have to be."
Jack stood, gaping at Bunny, switching between staring at his friend and sending looks of terrified shock at his own hand. Hesitantly, the child walked up behind Bunny, and tried to tap his shoulder, but once again his hand went through and Jack leapt back with a yelp of pain and fear. North also tried to touch him, but had the same results, and soon both were watching as Bunny ran back and forth in the court screaming their names and could only watch as he collapsed onto the floor and began to rock back and forth clutching his head. Jack was there as he began to mutter to himself that Santa was real, Jack Frost was real, the Tooth Fairy existed, and Sandman was a corporeal being. Jack sat next to him, his own blue eyes shimmering with tears.
"Bunny," he gasped hoarsely "Bunny, can you hear me? Kangaroo?"
The only reaction Jack received was Bunny curling into himself, rocking back and forth more furiously as he rubbed his arms as if he were beginning to feel cold. His breathing quickened and Jack noticed that his lips were turning blue, and soon his was becoming pale as his teeth began to chatter. Turning around, Jack cast pleading eyes to North.
"What's happening?" he begged.
"I-I don't know," North stammered softly "I have an idea, but it requires research, and I cannot be sure."
Any further conversation was interrupted by a broken whisper issued from the eighteen year old boy currently curled up on the floor "Guys," he gasped "where are you…?"
"I'm right HERE!" Jack screamed at the top of his lungs.
Aster gasped at the sudden sound, and as if he just resurfaced from nearly drowning, the gloomy cave interior melted away to reveal the cheerful gym, and the worried faces of Jack and North. Warmth flooded him, and Bunny was able to feel his fingertips again. Jack lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Bunny, tears streaming down his face as he squeezed him in a tight embrace. After a minute or so, Jack leaned back and gave Bunny a hard punch on the shoulder, his face set in an angry pout.
"Don't you EVER do that again," he shouted "what was that anyway?"
"I-I don't kn-know," Bunny answered in a broken sob "I was here, th-then I wasn't…and I was c-cold, and…I…I was…I was so cold and sc-scared…you were all…g-gone…and I was al-alone…Oh God, I was s-s-so scared."
Using both hands to clamp his mouth shut against the sobs threatening to overtake him, the former Pooka shook and jerked with every hitch that wracked his frame, fighting for all he was worth not to give in to the urge to have a second huge meltdown in the same day. North however could sense how distraught the teen was, and merely leant down, wrapping his large arms around his old friend.
"We are still here Bunny," he murmured comfortingly "and so are you, you are not alone, and we won't ever leave you."
At those words, the walls crumbled, and Aster clenched his eyes shut as hot tears squeezed out from between his eyes. Hands gripping his hair, he allowed himself to lean into Santa's hug, but not fully give himself up to the embrace. His breath coming in erratic bursts, the rabbit turned teen boy cast tear filled emerald eyes up at Father Christmas.
"W-what," he gasped as if in pain "what is happening to me?"
Well…What do ya think of THAT plot twist? Anyone have any ideas of what might be happening to our poor Bunny?
Once again, read and REVIEW we are at 651, and I know that if you guys try really hard, you can make it to 700! So get REVIEWING PEOPLE!