Rise of the Guardians One-Shots

The Steps of Saying Goodbye

There will be a song listed in this chapter. Sorry if it's really sad. Have fun reading! The POV will alternate between Jack, Bunny, and Emma.

December 26, 1712: The Finale Fall

Jack and Emma Overland race out the door.

"Be Careful!" shouts their mother. "We will." says Jack. Emma steadily pulling Jack towards the Lake of Burgess. They got skates from Santa Clause! Jack promised to take Emma skating today. When they got there, Jack grabbed Emma before she could get on right away. "Em, you see the dark blue area over there? Don't go on that, it's thin ice." said Jack. Emma nodded, she went on the ice right away, listening to her brother and not going on the blue ice. Jack was just about to tie the knot on the skates, when a crack ran through the air. He looks up to see his sister in the middle of the lake, staring at her feet. The ice...it cracked. Jack takes off his skates and looks around for something to help them. There! He sees his staff his father gave him.

"It's okay. It's okay. Just don't look down. Look at me."

"Jack, I'm scared!."

"I know , I know. But you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in, we're gonna have a little fun instead."

"No we're not!"

"Would I trick you?"

"YES! You always play tricks!"

"Well no-not this time, I promise, I promise." Jack inwardly curses himself for studdering.

"You have to believe in me."

Jack plays hopscotch to his staff, he distracts Emma in the process.

"Alright now, your turn." Emma begins to move slowly, but not fast enough. Jack hooks his staff around her waist and brings her closer, but in the process puts him on the thin ice. They share a look of relief, but when Jack stands...the ice breaks.

"JACK!" screams Emma.

December 26, 2016: The Realization

After watching his memories, Jack doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know what to do about the nightmares of drowning, the horrifying face of his little sister. He doesn't even know where she is buried. The Guardians have sensed a change in their little snowflake, they just don't know what to do about it. While Jack sits at his favorite window seat, Bunny is trying to figure out what could make his little brother so upset, but then it clicks. It clicks because he had seen that look before...on himself. It was the face of missing someone you can never get back. Jack was missing his human family. He was missing his sister, and he couldn't let her go, he couldn't say goodbye to thought of her. Bunny knew this because if Jack had said goodbye, he wouldn't be curled up in a ball thinking about the What If's. Jack needed help, but wouldn't ask. So, Bunny was going to help, whether Jack wanted it or not.

All of the Guardians had books with every child in it, but in their holidays special way. North had his Naughty and Nice list, Tooth had her memory boxes, Sandy had his little dream clouds, but Bunny had something entirely different. He had a tree, a very big tree. It had the names of every child through out the years. He searched and searched until finally he found the branch with the Overland family on it. When you touched the branch of a deceased child, it would show the grave where the child was buried. Emma Overland was buried in a secluded cemetery in Burgess. Now all Bunny had to do was get Jack there to say his goodbye.

December 27, 2016: Here Comes Goodbye

"Where are you taking me Bunny?"Jack asks for the fifth time in the past two minutes, "Like I said last time Frostbite, it's a surprise." When they get there, Jack becomes wary, "Bunny, what are we doing a cemetery?". He has no response. Bunny moves behind Jack and puts his paw on Jack's shoulder so he couldn't fly away. That's when Jack sees it, the grave. It's worn, chipped, and broken in some places, but it can still be read. No, no, he doesn't want to see this! "Why would you bring me here?" he ask in an angry voice. "You need this Jackie, you need to say goodbye." That's when Jack tries to fly, to run, because he can't do this. He can't face this, but Bunny doesn't let him. "Let me go!" Jack screams, he is freaking out. Bunny turns him and puts both paws on Jack's face. "You need to let go Jack, I am not saying to forget her completely, but you need to quit remembering the bad part of y'alls past. Think of the good." Jack is shaking, he can't cry, not here, not in front of Bunny, not in front of Emma. "She is gone Jack." Bunny wishes there was another way to do this, Jack looks up with tear filled eyes, but Bunny can't break now...this needs to be done. "Please, stop. Let me go." says Jack. "I'm sorry Snowflake, but Emma is gone, she had moved on. Holding on to the past is only going to make things worse. She wouldn't want you to do this to yourself, and neither do I." Jack can't do it anymore, he breaks. He grabs Bunny's fur tight and cries. He cries about his sister. He cries about being alone. All of the pent up emotions he had kept in the past 300 years just comes out.

They were there for about 2 hours. Bunny held Jack while he cried, never loosing his grip on the youngest.

The Finale Song

"Can you give me a minute?" comes the small whisper. Bunny slowly lets go, "I'll be just in outside the gate if you need me.". As he walks away, Jack turns to the grave. He kneels in front of it. "Hey, Em. Um, I don't know what to say. I guess I should start with I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being there for you and Ma. I know we were not in a good place when I left, but I guess it was good right? I mean leaving you was horrible, but I have a new family. I want to say goodbye, but not in the original way, you know me. I'm never original. I remember you like my singing, so i'm going to sing to you." Jack didn't know, but Bunny stayed in hearing range. He may seem like a warrior, but listening to his little brother sob and say goodbye brought tears to his eyes. Then Jack started singing.

" It's been a long day without you my friend,

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began,
Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again, when I see you again.

How do I breathe without ya I'm feeling so cold,

I'll be waiting right here for ya, 'til the day you're home.
Carry on,
Give me all the strength I need to carry on.

So let the light guide your way, yeah,
Hold every memory as you go,
And every road you take will always lead you home, home

It's been a long day without you my friend,
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began,
Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again, when I see you again."

After Jack sang, Bunny was in tears. He never could have known that voice would come out of such a young spirit. He watched as Jack stood. He watched as Jack kissed his hand and laid it on the top of the grave. Then Jack did what Bunny had expected him to do, he straight into Bunny's arms. When they got back to the Warren, Jack was asleep already. Bunny put him in his room in Warren. That's when he saw it, a note on the kitchen table. Bunny frowned, no one could have came in, he put up wards so no one could.

"Thank You for helping Jack, he needed it. I can't be there for him anymore, so it's your turn. Take care of my brother. -Emma Overland"

Bunny smiled, a letter from the great beyond. He looked up to the sky out the window.

"I'll watch over our brother. That's a promise I intend to keep." he said, then he went to sleep. Neither of the two didn't see it, but a woman with bright brown eyes and beautiful long brown hair smiled. Her mission here was done.

"Goodbye Jack. Thanks for the song."