This is considered the 12th chapter mark where the edited version of KudaKano's story ends here. And next chapter would signify that I would officially take over. I already had the fourteenth chapter ready to be uploaded on the AO3 version soon so to those who are following the unedited version, please look forward to that. Until then, let's start off the New Year (despite being three weeks already) with a bang.

Warning: the upcoming scene in the third act might not be suitable for certain readers, please skip ahead a bit if it was deemed uncomfortable.

Flicker Chapter 12: Once Burned

This was quite the predicament that they have on their hands.

North let out a deep sigh as he ran a hand over his beard. He sank into a comfy chair- that was relocated to the Globe Room, thanks to some yetis that regained some of their strength- before examining the scene in front of him.

The elves were running around with sponges strapped to their bodies in an attempt to clean the tarnished floors and the interior of the workshop. Although most of them were still traumatized from the attack earlier and weren't making much progress. The yetis were discarding rubble from Flicker's broken warriors as well as quickly making repairs to the Globe and any toys that were destroyed in the chaos.

But despite all this destruction, North couldn't hold back a smile as he heard a wonderful sound…Jack's laughter.

He turned his head and watched as the winter spirit gracefully floated above a wooden chair adorned with all sorts of chains to keep a certain rabbit-like creature in place. Jack darted in a circle above his target, flicking his staff playfully as he observed the Pooka beneath him with a smile.

Bunny was a pitiful sight.

Normally simple wooden chairs would not be able hold a feisty Pooka down, especially when one is ranked guardian. North had to reinforce the wood with magic that he picked up from hi youth while Sandy's dream sand held the chains and kept Bunny's feet from kicking. Although none of that seemed to distract him as his wide, hungry eyes followed Jack's every movement. His ears were pointed high above his head and his whiskers an nose were constantly twitching to pick up every scent Jack left in his wake. Bunny's pupils were swollen, leaving only a thin line of green on each iris. North would say that he appeared to be in a completely natural state run by instinct alone, if it wasn't for the obvious desire and want that was practically written on his face.

"How's it coming, Sandy?" North spoke up.

The said guardian was currently seated on the floor behind Bunny and Jack as he skimmed the pages of a random book before setting it aside to a pile to pick up another one from a large mountain that was surrounding him, his ancient honey brown eyes scanned the text of each page. He acknowledged North with a frustrated shake of his head, not once coming across something that was written about a demonic flower that can cause lust.

North let out a sigh once more before turning his attention back to Bunny, who ignored his entire surroundings and set all of his attention on his target above. Jack, on the other hand, was having a hay day as he teased the poor thing relentlessly. He would get so close that Bunny could barely reach out to lick him or nip at his sweater before flying away with a chuckle.

"Jack! Don't get too close!" Tooth warned him from the ceiling. The frantic fairy was attempting to help clean the wreckage, speak with her mini-fairies, and mend her burned feathers all at the same time. She was doing a magnificent job at multi-tasking, considering that she was the Tooth Fairy and all. Jack rolled his eyes at her and gently hovered to the ground in front of Bunny, being mindful of the distance between them.

"Don't you guys think this is a little extreme?" he asked, gesturing to the chained Pooka before him. "I mean…this is Bunny."

North chuckled and stretched out his massive legs out in front of him. "Oh yes, but dat is exactly the reason we must take these precautions, yes?"

Jack frowned at his answer before looking into Bunny's wide eyes that made him more like a wild animal than before. The flower had affected his friend and caused the Pooka to lust over him, even going as far as touching him. Light violet dusted his cheeks as he remembered how intimately Bunny had run his large hands over his body. If he had been the one to swallow that flower, would he have acted that way towards Flicker?

I mean, the flower must make you react to the first person you see right? Why else would Bunny react to me?

Bunny had eaten that flower to protect him, he sacrificed himself and Jack was determined to make him well again. He had to find out how to make the effects of the flower wear off.

The said Pooka leaned forward against his bindings, his eyes glued to Jack. He opened his mouth and let out a gruff sound, something in between a growl and a cough. The white-haired guardian acknowledged his friend with pity as he rested his chin upon the crook of his staff before looking up to North with a slight puppy dog pout.

"North, look at him," There was a pleading tone in his voice as he looked up to him. "Just let him loose, you know he won't hurt me."

The Guardian of Wonder simply munched on a cookie that he snagged from the offering plate and blatantly ignored his pleading eyes.

"Hurt you, no. But result would still be bad." It was simple and straight to the point.

Jack frowned at this as he sighed, his shoulders sagged sorrowfully. Tooth fluttered down from the ceiling, now that she mended her feathers and sent her mini-fairies back to their assignments, before placing a gentle hand upon his shoulder.

"Don't worry," she reassured him. "Once we figure out how to fix Bunny, he won't need to be tied up, but for now, let's be on the safe side, ok?"

Jack didn't respond and his eyes were downcast as he let out a heavy sigh.

Tooth hugged him and ruffled his hair affectionately. "It's getting dark, you should go up to one of the rooms and rest up," She suggested before glancing down at the burns on his neck, gently brushed her fingers along them. "Your body still needs a bit of healing as well."

Jack mumbled a bit but complied nonetheless. He flicked his staff over his shoulder and gave Bunny one last look before floating off in the direction of a spare room with a comfy bed. Tooth hovered in the same place, smiling until he left. Then she flew over to North and gave him a good smack over the head.

"Aye!" North exclaimed in surprise and hobbled out of his chair, staring up at Tooth as he gingerly rubbed his head. The fairy queen just glared at him as she hovered a few feet to make herself taller.

"You, get up and help Sandy! We need to find something on that flower!"

"It's no use…no use…no use…" North chanted as he tossed the books and documents over his head one by one. The three of them were huddled in North's office, examining all of the best information that they could find from the Dark Ages. Sandy caught each book with his dream sand formed as hands from the air and double checked them, making sure their content could be of any use in their current situation. But so far, he hadn't come across anything that North might have overlooked.

"Bah! What is this!? These books do nothing for me!" North bellowed out in frustration as he shoved everything from his desk onto the floor obnoxiously.

Tooth let out a huff as her feathers bristled in annoyance. "Think, North! What about the book we used when we found out about the flowers the first time?"

North ran a hand down his face as he fell back on the desk chair. "No, no, no, I check that book three times!" He held three large fingers in front of Tooth's face to emphasize the number of times that he read the book.

Tooth narrowed her eyes as she pushed them away from her face. "Well, check it again! Maybe Sandy can decipher the part that was worn down." Her patience was reaching its limit due to stress, frustration, and emotional fatigue, and North wasn't really helping. It took all of her willpower not to snap at him. The combination of the fight, the fact that Bunny was under enchantment that they never heard and North's possible incompetence was weighing down on her.

North shook his head but retrieved the old book from the drawer of his desk anyway. A trail of sand snatched it from his hands and Sandy quickly flipped over to the page that they had marked with the ribbon bookmarker.

"You see? Nothing new, I already checked." He stated. However, when Sandy flipped the page over, he paused before smacking a palm to his forehead. North blinked as he sat up straighter from his seat. "What? What is it?"

Tooth fluttered over Sandy's shoulder and examined the page. "North….did you happen to check the back of the page we were looking at?"

North blinked. "Back? It has a back?"

"Yes, it has a back!" Tooth barked, losing her patience.

Sandy waved a hand to silence them before spreading the book open on North's desk. Tooth and North were having trouble reading the text due to them being worn down from age, so dream sand started to form around them to decipher what lines Sandy was reading via symbols.

"The Burning One's flowers each possess three gifts of the Sun: The Heat of Fire, the Heat of Passion, and the Heat of Rage." Tooth spoke out loud as she watched the symbols form above Sandy's head. "The Heat of Fire awakens the body in flames that…uh…" Then she paused as the sand faltered while Sandy skipped ahead in reading. The symbols started to form and Tooth resumed speaking once more. "The Heat of Passion transforms the host's internal feelings into acts of lust…"

"Ah!" North interrupted them. "Heat of Passion…that is the flower Bunny must have swallowed!"

"And it only affects internal feelings." Tooth added. "That's why he only acts that way towards Jack."

Sandy nodded in agreement and North blinked in confusion, gazing back and forth between the two of them.

"How do you two know of Bunny's feelings?" it was a genuine question.

Tooth smiled as she shook her head. It would seem that he's the last to know. "Oh, we'll talk about that later," she said before turning to Sandy. "So, Sandy, does it say how to wear off the flower's effects?"

The small golden man skimmed before his face hardened and he deciphered the next sentence for Tooth to read.

"…Transforms the Host's internal feelings into acts of lust that can only be quenched when those desires are met…"

Tooth gasped before looking at North in a panic, who was also shocked at the implication as well. Then he shook his head, willing the thoughts away.

"No…." he said. "Jack is too young, there must be another way."

It was silent in the Globe Room.

The only sounds were murmuring of two bored yetis that were stationed on either side of Bunny's chair. The said Pooka was sitting chained in the same spot he had been for the past three hours. Right now, however, his body was limp and his eyes were closed. His ears were lying limply against the back of his head as it hung forward as though he were asleep. It was rather uneventful, as the yetis tried to pass the time by talking but ran out of topics to say. Honestly, he had calm down and there was the Sandman's dream sand, what more security does North possibly need?

Suddenly a crash was heard somewhere within the workshop and both yetis jumped in surprise.

"Argablargha!" One of them exclaimed.

They both exchanged looks before bounded out of the room towards the direction where the noise came from, abandoning their post by Bunny. As soon as they left, Jack poked his head out and chuckled while examining the room.

Getting rid of the yetis was way too easy.

He looked around once more to make sure that the other three guardians were nowhere in sight before tiptoeing quietly towards the sleeping Pooka.

"Bunny…hey," Jack whispered. A cold hand rested gently on top of his bowed head and almost instantly, Bunny's eyes snapped open and shot up from the touch. Jack took a step back in surprise then chuckled as he observed his friend. "Hey, Sleepy Head, feel like stretching your legs?"

Bunny didn't reply. He simply stared at Jack as his ears and whiskers began twitching anxiously.

"I'll take that as a yes, but you gotta be good, ok? You gotta be quiet!" Jack stepped closer, being careful to avoid any of Sandy's dream sand, in case it alerted him. He held his staff up to the bundle of chains around Bunny's body and worked his winter magic into the metal from the inside out. After a moment, he simply tapped the bundle with the end of his staff and all of the chains shattered into frozen metal bits.

"Ah, there we-"

Jack wasn't expecting to be tackled to the floor that quickly. It was merely a second after he freed Bunny without a chance for him to float out of reach. His staff went flying off before clanking to a stop on the floor, and he would have reached for it if his hands weren't currently pinned above his head. Jack froze under the Pooka's body and looked into his eyes. He searched past the blown pupils for the grassy green orbs that usually made him feel grounded and safe.

But all he could see was desire.

Jack started struggling, trying to twist out of Bunny's grasp but his body was heavy and it kept him glued to the floor. He was about cry out for help but was immediately silenced as Bunny pressed his lips down forcefully onto his own.

"Mmmmph!" He could feel Bunny's rough tongue exploring the cavern of his mouth, feeling everything from his gums to his teeth. When he felt it wrapped around his own tongue, he felt his heart went into overdrive. He tried to kick his legs free but as soon as they parted, Bunny's waist came between them and pressed straight onto his crotch. Jack let out a gasp as the Pooka's kisses turned into frantic sniffs and licking.

"B-Bunny, stop it!" he begged him, trying to pull away from Bunny's nose and tongue. His breath hitched when he felt a paw slipped underneath his sweater and began feeling him everywhere, tracing his waist and groping at his chest and muscles. Bunny continued to venture down Jack's neck until he found a spot above the collarbone. He licked a few times before opening his mouth wide, ready to bite down into the supple flesh.

"…! BUNNY!"

WHAM

Wind gusted over Jack's body as Bunny was flown backwards by a large cloud of sand which was followed by Sandy. He settled on the ground in between Jack and the fallen Pooka, who quickly got back up on his feet and started to charge at him. He rolled his eyes as he let out a silent sigh. This is not going to be fun…

"Jack!" Tooth exclaimed as she rushed over to his side and looked him over for any injuries. But Jack didn't move, he simply deeply in an attempt to get his body to stop trembling. North quickly ran up to Jack's other side from where they appeared from the hallway. He glanced over to see Sandy practically wrestling with Bunny before kneeling down and helped Jack to sit up.

"Jack, I told you not to free him!" He yelled, sounding frustrated and worried. North had given him a warning but does he ever listen? He was about to give him another scolding, but when Jack looked up to him, his wide, heartbroken eyes stopped him. He noticed that his body was shaking twice as hard. Instantly North felt guilty for yelling at him, he wanted to let him know how worried he was, not to make him feel worse.

What he said next almost broke his heart.

"N-North…I didn't think he would…h-he's not..."

North let out a deep sigh before lifting Jack up like he was a small child and pulled him to his chest. Jack buried his face into the fur of North's coat as he tried to collect his bearings. The older man allowed him to seek comfort before looking up to Tooth who looked concern.

"Tooth, please help Sandy to restrain Bunny," he told her. "I need to speak with Jack." She showed reluctance to leave Jack's side but she did as instructed, fluttering over to Sandy who had to resort to hogtie him with dream sand ropes but having trouble maintaining form due to the Pooka's strength. It took him a moment to calm down a bit, but Jack finally pulled away from North and looked up to him questioningly as the Russian picked himself off the ground and onto his feet.

"Jack, walk with me." North spoke to him in a tone that told him that he was in serious mode now. The statement alone filled Jack with a sense of déjà vu, reminding him of his "invitation" to Guardianship. "There is something you must understand about Bunny."

"…Pardon?" Jack asked in a tiny voice.

He stood next to North, looking out of the big gapping windows inside of his office. It was quiet in there and it was always the place North brought him when they needed to discuss something important. And this conversation…well, it might be considered important, if it involves Bunny.

"You heard me." North replied, sighing.

Instantly, and partially out of habit, Jack placed his guard up as a result. This conversation was definitely crossing over a barrier that he wasn't prepared for yet.

"I…you want to run that by me again?"

North met his eyes, he could see that all the usual jolliness were void on his face. No jest or merriment, just stone-cold seriousness.

"Bunny loves you."

That's what I thought you said. Jack thought to himself. But I have to be sure…

"I love him too, I love all of y-"

"Let me rephrase that." North interrupted him, though Jack was pretty sure he already knew what he had meant. "Bunny…is in love with you."

Jack turned away quickly and blinked. It was different to hear stuff like that out loud. Recent events ran through his head, remembering how strange Bunny was acting. He remembered thinking how oddly close they had become, compared to the other guardians. He remembered thinking that it almost looked like Bunny had tried to kiss him when he was healing at the Warren. But three centuries of building up barriers and defenses to protect these kinds of thoughts and feelings were hard to break down.

"You…you don't know that." He spoke quietly. "Did he tell you?"

North shook his head in response before stroking his beard. "No, but we discovered the effects of the flower. Apparently, it could only work if one has feelings for someone."

"Did you learn how to fix it?" Jack was quick to ask. He didn't want to deal with the evidence before him. He didn't know how he should react to this knowledge of Bunny's feelings so soon. Jack needed some time to think about it later. But right now, his mind wasn't in the right place at the moment. If North and the others haven't intervened…then he mentally shook his head.

No…he can't see him as that.

North stared at him in surprise and paused to registered in what Jack had said. He looked back on what he and the others have come across, and the meaning behind the said flowers. He wanted to tell him but he doesn't have the heart to tell him yet. After all, despite his true age, Jack is still a child.

And Bunny almost violated him…

He took a deep breath and exhaled before giving Jack an answer.

"We…are still looking into that."

Jack would have picked up North's voice lacking its usual confidence but his mind was swimming with too many emotions to focus on that at the moment. "I…I'm gonna get some air." He spoke up as he pushed against the glass window.

"Aye, take your time."

North allowed him to float outside and step carefully onto the highest rooftop. He took a deep, shuddering breath and exhaled slowly. Once he was calm and collected all his thoughts, he stared out of the vast icy tundra with determination as he sat down cross-legged with his staff rested upon his lap. He wasn't sure if Bunny really loved him, but that doesn't matter right now. He needed to save his best friend, and there was only one person who knew how these flowers worked.

Jack placed one hand on his chest and the other on his staff, closing his eyes as he focused on his magic. He needed to awaken his Icelings again, but only the certain ones. He needed eyes all over the globe if he wanted to find Flicker.

"You're a real asshole, ya know that?"

Flicker sat on the peak of a mountain as he watched the Sun set against the horizon. The colors blazed a little brighter than before, causing the fire demon to held his hands up defensively.

"Hey, don't get angry. I'm just saying, I can't exactly meet you on the other side of the planet right now. I'm a little scratched up if you hadn't notice." He gestured to where the stupid fairy had sliced into his side. Although he had already seared his wound shut, it had cut a lot deeper than he was expecting and the soreness was making it difficult to fly. Flicker took a deep breath and exhaled, bracing his hands on his knees as he stared at his Lord. "Now I said I wouldn't complain about your hours or anything, I know you have a job to do…" then his nails bit into the rough fabric of his jeans as he tried his best to act civil. "But did you really have to take off right then? I mean, I almost had them!"

But the Sun didn't answer.

He simply disappeared under the mountain and left his pupil sitting in the darkness.

"Jerk." Flicker muttered, sulking.

Then a sound of a twig snapping caught his attention, he turned around to gaze down into the mountainous forest. Something bright caught his eye and he leaped off his perch and landed in the middle of a clearing. A pair of bright eyes stared at him, but they weren't just any eyes that he has seen. They have familiar clearness to them and they belonged to the face of a mountain lion…that made completely out of ice.

"Well, well…" Flicker grinned and sauntered sideways, watching as the beast tracked his movements and growled defensively. "I thought all of you had disappeared." He held his wrist and conjured up a small fireball, tossing it up and down like an actual ball.

"I'll give Jackie-Boy a little reminder that I'm still alive." He was about to aim for the creature's head before a familiar voice spoke up behind him.

"Thanks for reminding me."

Flicker turned but didn't have time to move as a bright streak of blue collided with his lower body and left everything but his head and shoulders encased in thick ice. Jack walked slowly down from the peak of the mountain, gripping his staff as he stared at him with a face void of any emotion. But his eyes held such calm yet chilling fury when he got closer to him; Flicker practically beaming at the sight of Jack, licking his lips as he got closer.

"Jack! You finally decided to join me?"

Jack didn't falter when he stood in front of him. His blue eyes were bright with focus and rage as he stared the fire demon down.

"You think I would have frozen you to the ground if I was here to join you?" It was a rhetorical question, though it does have a challenging tone to it.

Flicker's smile disappeared and turned into a lazy smirk. "Are you angry about the whole breaking into the North Pole thing and-"

"Shut up!" Jack snapped, almost losing his composure. He wanted nothing more than to freeze him further but he couldn't. Not before he would get some answers that he sought out.

Flicker chuckled at his reaction. "You know, you're sexy when you're angry."

Jack narrowed his eyes before slamming his staff to the ground, causing the ice to creep up even further up the glacier around Flicker's body. "Tell me how to undo that what flower did to my friend." he demanded.

Flicker's eyes widened as he looked back on how that damned rabbit swallowed his flower and ruined his chances as a result. He bit back a snarl but the frustration could be heard in the tone of his voice when he spoke.

"That flower was meant for you, Jack…"

Jack let out a snort and subconsciously allowed the temperature to drop.

"I tried it once, but I wasn't a big fan of the taste." He retorted back sarcastically. Flicker simply started at him as Jack rested his staff across his shoulders.

"Tell me how to fix it…now!" he pressed, showing that he doesn't want to be jerked around more than he has.

Flicker rolled his eyes, despite his current situation. "Why don't you kill him? That'll fix it."

TWHACK!

Jack smacked Flicker hard in the face with his staff, causing him to taste something coppery in his mouth. He spat out some blood and grinned at Jack, the trail of blood trickling down his lip made him look more insane as he looked up at him.

"He wanted to ravish you, did he?" Flicker let out a wicked chuckle. "That's why you want to fix him." Jack remained silent and took a defensive pose, ready to fight him as necessary. "You don't want that nasty thing touching you, so you need me to help, huh? Well, I'll help you, Jack…but only if you stop being such a tease."

Jack tightened his grip, feeling the wood creak in his hand a bit. Figures that he thinks that he would bargain with him, still thinking that the both of them will be together once this was all over. But with his constant harassment escalating to kidnapping Jamie and attacking his friends, he had to consider his options. He returned the demon's nasty grin with a cruel one of his own.

"I'd rather be raped and torn to shreds by him, than to have to look at your ugly face any longer."

Flicker's face melted into a neutral expression, leaving behind a moment of silence as the demon took in what Jack had said. Then a piercing screech erupted from his throat, making Jack jump back as ice exploded from Flicker with a sudden burst of fire. Flicker charged right at him but the wind barely snatched him up to safety into the air. He flew over the clearing but the demon appeared right in front of him in a puff of smoke, with a fireball in hand. Jack managed to dodge it but a flaming leg axe-kicked him back down to earth.

His back met the ground roughly, knocking the wind out of him and he could have sworn that he felt saliva by his chin. Flicker was about to leap on top of him but his Iceling lion leaped from the trees and onto the fire spirit's back. He cried out as he felt icy claws racked down his spine and flew upwards to try and shake it off. Jack managed to push himself off the ground, wiping his face before watching in horror as Flicker twisted and grabbed ahold of the lion's neck.

One of the very few Icelings that held huge amount of Jack's magic within it.

"Not aga-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!" He cried out as the creature exploded into a burst of flames. His knees were the first to go, buckling underneath him and felt his body go limp as it fell back to the ground, helpless as the pain shot from his head and down his entire body. Jack held a hand to his head as a streak of blue flew out of the shattered and half-melted ice and back into his chest. The sharpness of the pain slowly turned into a numbing ache as he let out a groan.

Flicker allowed himself fall to the ground in a three-point landing, breathing in deeply before pushing himself back onto his feet with an exhale as smoke escaped from his mouth. He held a hand to his ripped up back, feeling the hot blood upon his fingers and the sensation of flesh searing as he staggered in front of Jack. As much as seeing him helpless and at his mercy turned him on, Jack Frost still needed to know whom he was trying to fuck around with.

"Enough…" Flicker growled out.

The flames ignite stronger and brighter in his other hand and was raised above him, ready to strike Jack with all of his power. Jack was too weak to get away, the combination of his Iceling being destroyed and that kick had done a number on him. All he could do was to stare up at him helplessly as he felt something prick at the corners of his eyes.

Is this…is this how he is going to die?

How could he be so stupid?

Why did he think that it was a good idea to go to face Flicker on his own?

The guardians didn't know where he is right now, even if they did, they still don't know how to help Bunny.

Bunny…

No! I still have to help Bunny!

Just as he was about to slam his fist into Jack's face, the air above them suddenly shifted ever so slightly, everything becoming still for the fire around Flicker. He hesitated for a mid-second in question before a force slammed him hard in the front and sent him flying back into the dirt a good twenty feet away.

Jack blinked in surprise and strained his ears to listen the night air. He expected to hear voices of North or Tooth, or maybe to get a glimpse of the familiar golden sand or the chirping of Baby Tooth. The darkness and shadows weren't helping much, even though there was a smidge of light from the Moon, who was hidden behind the clouds. All Jack could hear was the deafening silence, and the only sound that he could hear was his own breathing. Sensing a presence behind him, he craned his neck back to look up at his savior who stared down at him.

What he saw made his breath hitch in shock.

No…it couldn't be…

"Pitch…"