Revenge on Frost - Rise of the Guardians Fanfiction

Easter of '68

It was quiet in Burgess. Everyone seemed to be asleep as Bunny leaped through the forest towards Jamie's house. To avoid being spotted, he avoided the streets. Good news, the woods were right near Jamie's house. Bad news was that last time he was here, Jack was attacked.

Maybe he was just imagining that someone was watching him. Maybe it was just in his head that the shadows on the trees stretched out longer than normal and seemed to whisper behind his back when he was just out of earshot.

And maybe it was just in his head that the whispers got louder the closer he got to the lake.

When it finally came into view, Bunny saw it frozen over. Only in the spring did it fully melt, but he would remember seeing bits of frost decorate the edges despite the warm weather. Bunny hadn't noticed before that Jack seemed to always be at the lake. Always near Burgess.

In the dark, the lake looked deserted. Trees surrounded the edges and a thin sheet of snow covered the top. Winter was coming soon, the trees had dead leaves from the consequence of autumn. A few still held the color of yellow from the changing colors.

The entire scene seemed...dead. Lifeless, more like it.

There was a cry near the lake.

Bunny leaped into his defensive stance, both boomerangs unsheathed from their covers on his back and they were both in front of him.

The crying continued, they sounded muffled by something and Bunny slowly put down his guard. How could someone that sad be a threat. It took Bunny a second to see who was crying. He found them at the edge of the lake furthest away from where he stood on solid ground.

It was Jack.

"Jack!" Bunny cried out and ran onto the lake, almost slipping, to get to him.

Jack Frost paid no attention to Bunny. The hood on his blue hoodie was pulled up over his white hair and he leaned against a tree right on the edge of the lake. A shaking hand was placed over the young Spirit's mouth and he sobbed into it.

"Why are you here? What happened?" Bunny asked and reached out to Jack, only to have his hand pass right through him. For a second, Jack's figure turned to black sand before flickering back into his normal self. The crying Jack remained unfazed and crying on the ground.

Bunny looked around to see that the scene had changed. He was still at the lake, but it was day now. There was snow everywhere and heavy flakes fell down from the sky swirling around. But for some reason, it wasn't cold. And Bunny didn't leave any footprints.

"Why won't you just tell me..?" Jack said through his cries. Bunny turned to him, somehow understanding where he was.

He was in a memory of some sort. And because of the way Jack flickered to appear as Nightmare sand, it was Pitch who was showing him it. And Bunny had a feeling he remembered what day it was...

"Why can't you just tell me I'm a mistake?" Jack asked and looked up at the sky. He clutched his staff in one hand tightly. Bunny realized he was looking at the moon. Manny. He was talking to Manny.

"What am I doing here? Why am I here?" Jack asked, pleading. The snow fell thicker around them and Jack broke into more sobs.

"What happened here!?" A new voice shouted.

Bunny spun around to the other side of the lake to see himself. At least, it looked like him. But he could tell he was angry. He knew his own tone.

Suddenly, Bunny understood where he was. But more precisely, when.

"Frost, it's Easter! What do you think you're doing covering everything up with snow! How will the kids find the eggs in this mess!" Memory-Bunny yelled, throwing his hands above his head and stomping angrily over to Jack.

Jack, surprised to see Bunny, stood up quickly and whipped the frosted tears off of his face but Bunny saw his eyes were still red and puffy. The hood still covered move of his features.

"I can explain!" Jack yelled in fear. "It-It was an accident!" Both hands were stretched in front of him.

"Easter of '68," Bunny said out loud as he watched the scene unfold.

"Today is Easter!" The Bunny in the memory shouted angrily. "New beginnings and hope! The kids are supposed to find the eggs that I had to hide! How will they find it now, you bloody show-pony!"

Bunny winced at his own tone as he watched the memory. Had he really been that harsh on him?

The Jack in the memory glanced around at the thickly falling snow and whipped his face again with the back of his hand. There were still tears flowing down but memory Bunny didn't seem to notice.

"I don't want your excuses!" Bunny yelled and pushed Jack down. The Winter Spirit fell backwards and landed hard on the ice, staff still landing a foot away from him. Bunny really wanted to punch his jerk-of-a-self.

The flurries of snow thickened around them and the Bunny in the memory looked angrily at Jack who was on the ground. "Stop the snow, Frost!" Bunny yelled. "We don't need a blizzard!"

But from the looks of it, Jack couldn't stop it. And by the looks of his face, he was afraid. How had Bunny missed this much on that day? How had he missed Jack had been crying and that the snow was connected to his mood?

Realization hit Bunny hard. That was him making Jack feel that way. That was him who pushed Jack. The pooka had been so angry at the snow he didn't even realize what was happening right in front of him.

And now it was back to haunt him.

With an angry huff, the Bunny in the memory turned around and stomped off the ice. He tapped his foot in the snow and a tunnel appeared. "All you're good at is making mistakes, Frost. You shouldn't be here anyway."

And just like that, the memory Bunny was gone. Bunny looked to see Jack, still on the ground. He wanted to apologize so badly. Wanted to tell Jack he didn't really mean it.

But the one time he actually could, he couldn't.

And just as the memory around him began to fade back into what it really was, Jack started to break down again. His shoulders rising and falling with his shuddering breaths. His body then turned into black sand and swirled around on the ground, forming the figure of Pitch.

"Jack wasn't truly alone those 300 years," Pitch mocked, his voice filling the air. "Without even realizing it, he had me. He had fear."

Before Bunny could punch Pitch, he was gone and the pooka was left standing alone on the dark lake. His memory self, Jack, nor Pitch were in sight.

"This time we'll be by his side," Bunny hissed as if Pitch was still there to hear him. Maybe he was. Lurking in the shadows where he belonged. "This time we'll help him. And he won't have to be afraid." Bunny turned around and continued to Jamie's house, Pitch's laughs never fully leaving his ears. And no matter how far he went, the guilt also remind.