Infected Chapter 3. Part b.

Around the same time, in another place.

Green. Some purple. Then a bit yellow, to paint some flowers underneath the green circles......furry, nimble fingers moved the brush quickly, but with great care, creating a beautiful egg. “There you go, all pretty ya little one”, Bunny mumbled, gently putting the egg down which immediately ran over to it's friends, running around happily. The big rabbit watched the group of little eggs he had painted for fun- but somehow the joy and satisfaction he normally felt when trying out new patterns didn't come.

“Dammit”, Bunny growled and briskly stood up, wanting to practice a bit. Maybe training with his boomerangs would help him feel a little better. His eyes, sweeping over everything in his surroundings, fell on a little blue egg among the others, making him freeze immediately, memories rushing through his mind. Blue. Brilliant icy blue eyes, staring at him wide open, so vulnerable, breaking, cracking like a mirror-

“Stop it!!”, he hissed, holding his head before he angrily stood up and punched a tree, making it tremble with the force. He didn't want to remember what he had done- it hurt so much, to know what he had done, overwhelming guilt and deep pain burning underneath his skin, making him feel sick. How could he have done this? To the one he had fallen for? To Jack?

There had been no excuse for what he done to him. No excuse could have made up for that. He could still remember it so vividly, like it had just happened yesterday. Well, how could he, when he had driven the other one away so cruelly, more cruelly then he had wanted. But he had been so desperate......The heat had hurt so much, driving him crazy, making him loose his mind. He had been on the verge of snapping, of completely loosing himself to that wild and animal side inside him. All he had wanted was to be left alone, to endure this days of torture, not only filled with the painful, clamoring need to mate but also with the knowledge that Jack would never really love him.

  And because he had been careless Jack had been able to invade the warren. He hadn't wanted him to see him like that- especially like that. He could still remember the way his body had shook with the heat, the painful desire, the need to mate- with Jack. Jack, who had been so close, close enough to fill the air around him with his smell. Jack who hadn't had a clue what effect his presence had on Bunny at that time. He had been so close, so close to completely loose control and simply throw the winter spirit onto the ground and to take him until he couldn't even scream anymore.

He had been so close, so close to hurt Jack in way he would have never forgiven himself. And in his desperate, half insane state of mind he had done the only thing he had been able to do. He had used his painful,  deep feelings of love for the younger male, the sharp, suffocating desire to take him - to lash out at him, yell at him. Shaping them into hurtful, cruel words, the only weapon, the only defense he had had left to push Jack away. To chase him away instead of raping him, instead of then having to see the hate and disgust in those blue eyes. He would have rather died then to do something unforgivable and then deal once more with losing the one he loved.

Only to regret these words the moment they were spit out, realizing too late what damage they would do. Bunny had said everything, everything Jack should have never heard, hitting every single, most tender point inside him. But it had been too late, too late to change that- all he had been able to do was to watch Jack's back who had practically fled from the warren. He had never hated himself more than at this moment. He had spent the next four days locked up in his house, curled up in a corner while trying not to rut against his own hands, desperate and disgusted with himself and denying himself any sort of sexual relief as a punishment.

After the heat had finally been over, leaving him still feeling uncomfortable and tense he had mostly stayed in his warren. The big rabbit had rarely left at all, just a few times to send an egg to North, that he had taken a break- he hadn't wanted to meet any of the other guardians at all. Especially not if that meant to be face to face with Jack again, after what had happened in the warren.

He had decided to stay away, to let grass 'grow' over it and hope the winter spirit would have recovered until the next guardian meeting he knew North would force everyone to go for sure. Instead of going to the surface and maybe wander a bit through his home Australia he had busied himself with painting new patterns, training his fighting skills, mediating and cleaning up.

But nothing had been able to really take his mind off that scene between Jack and him, not more then a few minutes at all. And even then, there had been a strange pressure in his mind, a bad....feeling. Like something wasn't right, like something had gone horrible wrong. A pressure on both his mind and heart, pulling and stinging, making him all tensed and uneasy, making his instincts run wild.

And once, this giant outburst of pure...power, far away from him and yet so strong that it left a trembling aftermath in the air even after having vanished as fast as it had come. What had that been? And why had it happened? What was this pressure which made him feel so strangely uneasy and nervous, almost in panic? Nothing was wrong down here in the warren- and if there had been something wrong with the children he would have immediately felt it.

Bunny stared, watching how his little eggs played with each other, playing catch or simply tumbling over each other. A few of them came over to him, scurrying around his feet, one particular determined to climb up his legs which was kind of impossible with only two little legs. He had to snort involuntarily at that, one corner of his mouth twitching up while he picked it up, holding it close to his face and letting it walk over his hand. It was the small blue one, the one with a blue which reminded him so much of a certain spirit's eyes. Gently he nudged it, watching it march back and forth on his hand.

“What do you think I should do, hmm?”, he murmured.

“Do you think I should try to find him and...apologize? He is pretty stubborn. I bet he is still totally pissed off and angry, not to mention hurt. Would he......even listen to what I'd try and say? But then he'll want to know why I even treated him that way- and I don't know how to tell him without saying everything......”.

Bunny sighed softly, eyes looking at the egg, but his mind was far away.

“Isn't it ironic? After all these years I spent heartbroken, after her I thought I would never be able to love someone that much. And then it happens, I fall in love again, knowing he will never love me back- and what do I do? I  hurt him, chased him away like a bad person. I'm so stupid....why did I even let these feelings form......I can still smell him here....”.

It was still there, that smell- Jack's unique, own smell, sometimes softer, sometimes stronger when he walked through his warren- but always there. That smell of ice, snow and frozen sugar, with a weird tone of peppermint creaminess, mixed with the smell of...freedom and wildness. His smell. Why was it still here? It had been over two weeks ago when he had been here, but it was still here. Or was he just going mad? Had he lost his mind? Did he just imagine -

Something next to him rustled and he looked down, seeing one of his eggs carrying a paper tied with a ribbon on it. “North”, Bunny mumbled and picked it up, taking the paper of it before he set the little egg free. “What does he want this time...”. He read the message which was against all odds, very short this time, the message clipped and clear: “ Bunny. Come to my place. Guardian meeting, is very important. It is about Jack. North.”

The paper fell down with a soft rustling, Bunny staring at it before he shook himself and catapulted himself forward, his long, strong legs carrying him through one of his tunnels in mere seconds, faster then ever before. All the way through his tunnel he cursed himself for not having acted on his feelings. His instincts had been right after all. He just hadn't thought it would be about the winter spirit. About two minutes later, breathing only slightly heavier then usually he arrived at North's place, not even a bit surprised to see that North was already awaiting him. A few minutes later Sandy sailed through the open window, wearing a deeply worried expression, shortly followed by Toothiana who looked equally worried.

“Well, I think you all know why I called you here- I did wrote it into your message, so I won't beat around bush much longer. It's about Jack.....he-”,

at that North hesitated a bit, looking very worried,

“ Has...anyone heard anything from him lately? I think he somehow went...missing...”  

“ But- no, I haven't heard anything of him lately, but that doesn't mean he's gone missing!”, Toothiana immediately said wide eyed, fluttering through the air to approach North.

“I don't really know either, my dear. But something...must be wrong. Aside from not having met any of us in the past two weeks- I haven't heard even once that it has snowed anywhere. Anywhere. I wasn't that worried about him not meeting any of us- he is young guardian after all and young spirit. Must be strange for him to suddenly have family like us, so I do not wonder he needs to be away from us sometimes, to catch breather you know? But then, after four days yetis noticed that it hasn't snowed anywhere, not at all. Jack has duty to bring snow and ice, and he has always done good that. Maybe not every day- but over two weeks now? Not to mention this strange...outburst I felt some time before-”

“So you felt it as well?”, Toothiana asked, looking first at North then at Sandy who nodded, followed by a short nod from Bunny who inwardly felt his stomach turning.

“Well, was hard to miss, eh? Was pretty strong- I wanted to take a look, but was gone too fast to find source......”

Sandy, using his golden sand, first formed a ball of golden sand which exploded, followed by a tired looking, tiny figure showing Jack, both connected with a string, ending with a big question mark about his head.

“ You think too it is maybe connected to him?”, North asked, looking down at Sandy who nodded in reply, looking thoughtful, before turning his head to stare at Bunny.

“And what do you think, Bunny? You think our Jack is connected to that outburst? That he maybe has gotten himself in trouble again?”

The rabbit looked aside, not daring to look at North while he shortly thought, before hesitantly replying:

“I don't know. I haven't heard anything from him lately, too....but, I have this feeling...”

- he unconsciously rubbed over his chest at that part-

“ That he really is in trouble this time-”

“Wait, you have feeling that Jack is in trouble?”, the white haired old man said wide eyed, eying him with both surprise and confusion.

“Normally you never have feeling like me-”, he patted his stomach,

“But if you do.......”. He stared more closely at Bunny who growled, staring back at him, his eyes narrowing slightly:

“Bunny, is there something you know-”

One second later everybody froze, all thoughts wiped aside for later, Bunny's ears perking up on alert. There was something in the air again, the faint hint of something clustering......In the next moment Bunny, like all, hissed in surprise and shock, feeling a powerful wave of that again. It had been just like the same time when he had felt this eruption of something going on a rampage- only that this time it was even stronger, shaking him to his core and leaving him unable to move for a short time.

Toothiana was the first to speak, her purple eyes wide: “Guys, that...that came from a city a few kilometers away from...Burgess. And...it felt like...snow.....”.

North stared at her before looking back at Sandy and Bunny, the same thought reflected in their eyes. A city not far away from Burgess, that snow ? outburst and Jack been missing for over two weeks now.......it could only mean one thing.

“To the sleigh. NOW”, North ordered sharply, everyone immediately followed. Within minutes they were all seated in the sleigh, the reindeer setting off the minute everyone was in. the tunnel of ice was crossed fast before they were in the air, North taking out a snow globe, saying: “Purgiston”. The portal swallowed them, whirling them through a tunnel with dozens of colors before they landed.

“Quick, it is over there!”, North impatiently called, only to get passed by Bunny immediately, the four guardians rushing to the edge of the cliff they had landed on. Only to be faced with a terrible sight. The city was covered in snow, thick and...gray, with darker sprinkles, ice glittered thick and heavy on everything where it had been able to get a hold. It didn't look right. This was not the beautiful snow scenery Jack always painted over a city like he always did. This...felt wrong, terrible......twisted in a strange way - a way which had never been part of Jack.

But, what was worse then the wrongness of this sight was the smoke which was rising up in a few parts of the city. “We have to get closer”, North murmured and went down, followed by the others. It was even worse from close. They hadn't expected to see things like that. The city was in chaos, everywhere were people running through, injured or not, wrecked cars which had crashed into each other or were destroyed through other things. Ambulances were trying to get through, their helpers having to go on feet, firefighters trying to get bleeding people out of their smashed cars. And the snow was still falling over everything, silent and strange, accompanied by the deep cold and the wind howling through the streets.

“That...”, Toothiana held a hand in front of her mouth, looking totally shocked, “That is...terrible! Just what did happen here?”

She whirled around to North who was about to open his mouth, interrupting him:

“North, I don't think Jack would have done this! He would never do something like this, to purposely hurt people by creating this!”

“I agree with you Tooth, Jack is kind young spirit, he'd never do this! But, then....why? How else did this happen? Because no matter how you look at it, this snow looks like it came from him...”,

the red coated man murmured, kneeling down to scoop up a bit of it, examining it.

Sandy did the same, staring at the snow before his eyes narrowed.

“But, North....this snow....if it comes from Jack, then why is it that...gray? And with these strange black sprinkles?”,
Toothiana said hesitantly, staring down at the mass covering everything.

// It smells......unclean- but there is still a part of Jack inside...//, a voice inside Bunny's head whispered while he stared at the turmoil in the city, feeling numb.

Sandy looked up at North, his expression dark and his eyes worried, his golden sand slowly forming Jack, trembling and breaking down.

“You think....”, North replied, voice sounding even more worried now, then he straightened up and looked at the others sharply.

“We don't know what exactly caused this to happen and why Jack did this- only thing I can come up with is loss of control. For something like this to happen, one must be so deeply disturbed and cracked open - emotionally, that is......”.

The older guardian went silent, staring at the others who looked back equally worried before noticing that Bunny had been the only one that hadn't said anything at all. And that the look in his eyes was not only worry- there was something...else running far deeper then that.

“Bunny, why haven't you said anything? Do you have any idea what could have happened-”

The coat wearing guardian stopped, fully taking in the look in Bunny's eyes who twitched back slightly, continuing much slower, suspicious:

“Bunny. There something you are NOT telling us? Something important?”

The big rabbit twitched back at the stares of all three directed at him, yelling out impulsively:

“Goddammit, NO! It wasn't on purpose, I didn't do it to really hurt him, I would never do that! But he came down that day, and fuck, I couldn't bear it!! He just smelt so, so - I had no other choice, I had to say these things -”.

He immediately shut his mouth, realizing with utter horror that he had just been spitting out everything he had never wanted to tell. Oh hell. In the next second he turned around, racing away to quickly open a tunnel down to his safe warren. Only to be grabbed by two big hands and get slammed against a tree, an angry looking North right in front of him, with Sandy and Toothiana peeking over his shoulders confused and frightened with wide eyes.

“What did you do to Jack?!” the old man hissed, looking very angry.

“Let go off me!!!”, Bunny hissed, trying to get his hands off, but North was strong, holding him in place.

“No, only if you tell us what you did. What did happen? Tell us EVERYTHING!”

“NO!”

“Then I should-”  

“Shut up and let go off me!!”

“NO! Tell us what you did to him first!”

“I did nothing!!!”  

“You MUST have done something, said something! Look how city looks like!! What have you done to him?! Did you even think about his feelings before you shot out one of your snark replies, huh?!”

“Feelings? FEELINGS?! Shit, you don't even know a bit about this!! You don't know how I FEEL at all about this!!! You know NOTHING about what I FEEL about THIS!!!”, Bunny yelled back, totally furious now.

North wanted to spit out another sharp reply at that before he stopped, his eyes staring at the Easter Bunny while something clicked in his mind. North's eyes widened and he let go of the green eyed guardian who bristled at him with narrowed eyes.

“You...Bunny, are you saying that Jack...he is...you....he is your-”

“No! NO! Don't say this word! Please.....”, the gray rabbit interrupted him, ears dropping on his head while he looked away.

“It...it hurts too much....”. Sandy and Toothiana exchanged slightly confused looks while North stared at Bunny, his expression no longer furious but caught off guard, worried and apologetic.

“Bunny, I didn't know that- I'd never thought that Jack......that he is.....to you...since when?”

“Since....shortly after everything had calmed down after Pitch's defeat”, the guardian of hope replied slowly, head low.

“But what does it matter now? It is not like he could ever feel that way for me, y'know......it would've been just like with her.....”.

He paused, shortly closing his green eyes before opening them, continuing:

“You must believe me, I never wanted to hurt him like that! I would've never, I swear. But.....it was just that...he came into my warren at that time....when I was....in heat....I didn't know what else to do! I was reacting so strongly to him, and I didn't know what else to do- I didn't want to, but I was so close to simply- so I spit out these- these things, these words......and hurt him........I'm so sorry. Never have I regretted anything more than this....”.

North stared at him, thinking, before he put a warm, big hand on Bunny's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly while staring intensive at him.

“Bunny, I believe you. I know you would have never purposely hurt him like that- especially with him being your...... S' was because of your heat, you aren't to blame for that, friend- it must have been terrible for you.....but, Bunny.....Are you sure about that? Are you sure that he would- could- never feel the same way for you?”

The rabbit laughed shortly, sounding bitter and hurt:

“Oh, please North. Don't try and give me hope for this, it is useless. You wanna know why I'm so damn sure about that, mate? Well, maybe because I'm a fucking, giant bunny! He is a human- immortal- but still a human. It would be the same as with her! He would see me as disgusting, he would hate me and don't want to ever see me again in his life. He could never fall in love with me, a pookah, it is simply impossible.”  

“But, Bunny, you forgot one thing: Jack isn't like her. He is an immortal, having lived much longer and having experienced things no ordinary human could have. His personality isn't like hers, isn't made to hate someone, he is too cheerful, too mischievous, too warm...... And he really likes you a lot. Why else would he visit you that often? You know, sometimes, when I watched you two.....The way he looked at you sometimes........have you never noticed it? Why should he hate you for your honest feelings? “

The other male twitched back at these words, eyes widening at their truth.

“Let me guess: you never gave this love a chance, right? Instead of trying it, trying to see if he might feel the same you locked these feelings away and denied them, hurting yourself- and hurting him in the end, as a result. You didn't even dare to think about it! Sometimes, you know, you are really stupid, no? Vy glupyy krolik !”

The guardian of joy shook his head, sighing, then his face turned serious again.

“I'm not finished talking with you, friend. But, right now, we must find Jack, is most important now! I feel no good thing....” he stared at the gray snow, eyes narrowing before he turned to the others, saying:

“Is best if we split up as four. Now, go, search for him! Hurry- I fear for him...”

Everyone nodded, and in the next moment they jumped apart, racing in four different directions, with only one thing in mind: to find Jack. // I'm so sorry Jack. But I will find you, and then I will apologize for everything and explain everything. Just wait // Bunny thought grimly, racing through the forest at high speed. Somehow, he would find him, even if it meant to search at every goddamn place in the world- he would find him. No matter how.

Three days later.

Desperate. He felt so desperate. Three days had passed since they had met and had talked about Jack maybe having trouble. Three days since they had felt that big outburst of magic, only to find a city in a terrible state, with no winter spirit in sight. Three days since they had been searching for him frantically. He hadn't been able to find him yet, even though they had searched all kind of places. Places where he might appear because he went there often, like their own guardian homes, but of course he hadn't been there.

Or cities he had frequently visited, like Burgess where Jamie lived, but nothing. Even in the Antarctica they had found nothing, North had volunteered to go there because he was most used to that weather, but nothing. No sign of him, no foot steps, no strange snow falls. Nothing. Bunny breathed in deeply, trembling while everything built up in him before he let out a loud scream, scaring away the birds in the trees close by while he punched a tree with all his might, making it tremble with the force.

“Damn it, where are you?!”, he whispered, fear and utter guilt gripping his heart, making him tremble while he cursed himself again and again.

It was all his fault. Even if North had said there might be a.......chance......but now? If he hadn't fallen in love with Jack, if he hadn't desired him that much, then this would have never happened. Jack would have never gone missing like that. It would have been better if he had never fallen for him. Maybe he should have never let him that close, letting him visit that often. Giving him the unwanted opportunity to fall for the white haired guardian. Letting him wander around in the warren, letting him close enough to smell him- his goddamn, strange, alluring smell.

That smell he could still smell all over his place, although- his train of thoughts stopped midway. Frozen in his angry steps he stood there for a few seconds, re- thinking what he had just remembered. In the next second he thumped onto the ground, creating a tunnel to race through immediately, arriving in his warren a few seconds later, shortly out of breath. But he recovered quickly, already looking around strained, ears up while he closed his eyes to concentrate, his nose sniffing the air.

It should be here somewhere, just not far- there! His nose, having sniffed intensive, searching while filtering through the myriad of other smells, had caught something, the smell of ice, snow, frozen sugar.....Bunny raced after it, his heart beating wildly inside is chest while he followed the trail of that familiar smell which slowly grew stronger and stronger until he reached it's source. The big rabbit stopped, his green eyes frantically wandering over where he now stood.

It wasn't that far away from his house, a bit further away which was why he didn't went here often, leaving it to his eggs though they rarely had went there lately. It was like a little valley, a small, grassy place with a small water fall ending in a pond. He had often mediated here to calm down, with the soothing sound of the water fall next to him, but he hadn't done it lately, too worked up over what had happened in his heat period with Jack.

“Where is it, where is it-”, he hissed, searching for the source of that smell, in the grass, close to the water fall, even in the water fall, until his search brought him closer to the rocks standing aside. A soft wind gust stroked his nose, carrying a strong whiff of that smell and he froze, racing over to hectically search next to the rocks. He dug through the grass, already wanting to give up- when suddenly his hands touched something cold. Bunny twitched back, his green eyes widening before he leaned forward and grabbed the thing, pulling it out of it's grass hide away. He stared, stunned and speechless while his heart started to beat faster. It was an ice egg.

It was as big as two fists together, but just in the right size to hold it in both hands. He had never seen an egg that beautiful. It was made of the clearest ice he had ever seen, shining and glowing with a bluish tint. The shape was perfectly even, and the surface...it was decorated with a captivating pattern which vague reminded him of a pattern he knew. Every detail was carved in with the utmost care, not one flaw, not one mistake was visible. Every detail was beautifully made, in harmony with each other and he took a closer look, mesmerized. The middle of the egg itself was completely free of any decorating and completely see through.

He looked inside, first thinking he was just imaging it. But, no, it was still there. The inside of the egg was - alive. Flowers of purest ice bloomed, beautiful and fascinating, fading after a while, only to be reborn again in new forms. He watched, captivated, seeing how the flowers bloomed and faded.

Wanting to get a better look he tilted it a little, twitching in surprise when he saw how the flowers faded into thousand tiny snow flakes, forming a new scenery. Instead of the flower field now was a grassy hill, softly moving with an invisible breeze and – one of the corners of his mouth went up unwillingly- two little bunnies hopping over it, playing.

Another tilt, another scenery. This time it was the forest Jack lived in, with the lake, a constant shower of snow flakes over it, making it look like from a fairy tale, a sight which was strangely calming.

The pattern themselves entwined around the bottom part and the tip of the egg- he then realized why they felt familiar. They looked like his fur signs, only much more elaborated and complex, merging with other patterns which reminded him of snow flakes and their weightless dance in the sky.

Oh god. Bunny had to actually sit down, feeling shocked to his core, yet strangely numb at the same time. A memory floated up to the surface of his mind, Jack with his feelings hidden behind a blank mask, turning away from after he had yelled at him. Something glittery, which had slipped through his fingers and- it was like a slap right across his face. Jack had had the egg with him, to.....give it to Bunny. It had been a present.

But what a present! Why should Jack put so much effort into a present for him, just like that? He could tell just by looking at it that it must have taken days, if not weeks to make it, to create something like this. It wasn't just some ordinary egg- if that wasn't already visible with this ever changing scenery inside. This egg was filled to the brim with magic - Jack's magic.

He didn't know why he knew this- the white haired spirit could have very well just asked North or someone else to help with the magic part. It was his own, that very wild, icy and free magic which filled him, ran through him like his blood. He could feel the flow of it like a heartbeat underneath the surface, the sound of it on that other, invisible level of magic he was able to sense.

With trembling fingers he lifted the egg, turning it and seeing a fine, delicate sentence, actually only two words: “ For Bunny”. For a moment he just sat there, trying to come to terms with Jack having made a present like that for him- for him! But why? Why?

“You know, sometimes, when I watched you two.....The way he looked at you sometimes........have you never noticed it?”

North's words echoed through his head and he twitched back, ears flattening against his head. The egg rolled through his fingers and fell onto the ground with a soft thud while he stood up stiffly, shaking. No. No, that couldn't be. The present, North's words- they all pointed at only one, possible explanation. Oh god. His stomach lurched and he bent over, pressing his hands against his aching temples. He had been so stupid, so blind. That day, when he had been in his heat, when Jack had come into the warren he had wanted to-

“What did I do? Just what did I do?!”, he whispered, standing up slowly.

He had to tell North all about this. Had to show him the egg, and the two words on it. Only two words, and yet....And yet they said so much. Every single detail on it spoke to him, telling him what Jack had never been able to say on that day, when he had so cruelly chased him away. But now, first he had to take the egg and- The egg. Wait, where was it? Looking around frightened he noticed it laying not far away in the grass, it had rolled away a bit after having been dropped. Quickly he picked it up, immediately looking if it had gotten a crack.

His hands touched the smooth surface, checking- only to stop when they felt a gap. Bunny turned the egg, eyes widening when he saw a crack in the egg's beautiful surface, staining it. Oh no. one of his fingers slipped a little, suddenly feeling another gap- another crack. Two cracks? Why hadn't he heard it crack when the egg had dropped?

The rabbit looked more closely, green eyes narrowed. Only to twitch back, feeling his heart pick up the pace while a bad feeling crept up. There were even more then those two, smaller ones, crisscrossing from the biggest, first crack like a fine spider web. But that wasn't what made his heart beat faster in nervousness.

The cracks weren't clean. The ice was.....stained, the clearness tainted with black which seemed to slowly spread further, looking unhealthy and...wrong. Twisted. Just like the snow on that city. Why hadn't he noticed it immediately? He stared at the egg, realizing that the flow of the magic inside also seemed not right, almost........disturbed. It didn't feel right, didn't feel good. This was not like Jack's magic usually felt like.

In response to the strange magic flow the scenery inside it also started to waver, withering, the bunnies, the grass. Everything disappeared, just to be replaced by wild, fast swirls of those tiny snowflakes, flickering like a broken light and strangely colored. Even when he softly nudged against it it didn't change again.

The magic inside pulsed in irregular waves, fluttering occasionally like it was about to set out for a moment. Then it started to pulse again, in those disturbed, strange waves which swelled before getting suppressed. It almost felt like.....

”Jack?”, he whispered, voice full of longing and guilt.

He hadn't really expected a reply, it was an egg after all, even if it had magic inside- he almost dropped it when the the egg's magic started to flare up again wildly, similar to the feeling of that outburst at the city.

“What the - ”. He stared, eyes widening when he saw how the uncontrolled, fast swirls of tiny snowflakes froze for a second before rearranging, showing the blurred, unclear picture of a wide landscape completely white. The soft elevation of a...hill. Entirely made of snow. Bunny stared at it, trying to make out what place this was. His hands unconsciously gripped the egg tighter- and in the next second he stumbled backwards, overwhelmed by a flood of emotions which weren't his.

Pain. Fear. Panic. Tiredness. Pain. Pain. Loneliness. Exhaustion. Guilt. Fear. Exhaustion. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. -

The rabbit stumbled, sucking in a deep breath with wide eyes. That- what he had felt just now, those were- Green eyes took a second look at the blurred scenery inside the egg. And suddenly he knew were Jack was- he could somehow...feel it. The guardian of hope stood up, quickly thumping onto the ground to summon a tunnel, racing through towards where he believed the winter spirit was, the egg in one of his pouches.

It was cold, so cold. Freezing slightly Bunny hopped around a bit, trying to get used to the temperature before he stood up, eying his surrounding. The scenery he had been able to see inside the egg had lead him here. To the Antarctica. He knew North had already searched here before him, but somehow he knew he was right. The gray furred bunny wandered over the seeming endless soft hills and, sometimes, mountains of ice and snow, looking out for a certain one. At the same time he sniffed the air, trying to catch that one smell he now wanted to find more than anything else in the world-

There. He crouched, sniffing the air once more before he raced after the scent trail, vivid ice and snow, frozen sugar.....A few minutes later he stopped, staring. Right in front of him lay an opening, round and iced on the edges. There were no foot steps leading inside, but he knew- he knew Jack was here, inside, somewhere. With a last look around he slipped inside, finding him self in a big cave with holes on the ceiling, making it surprisingly bright. He wandered through it, finding himself in another, and another.

And although he was nervous, afraid and longing to finally find the younger male- he couldn't help but feel somehow mesmerized by the quiet beauty of this place. It wasn't like his warren, where everything was full of colors, this was more reserved, calmer but not any less captivating to see. The glittering of the white snow, the shining ice pillars.......

// This....is Jack's secret hideout // he thought //......he has never told us about this.....//.

The thought made him realize he was probably the first to ever see this, and both shame and guilt pulsed through him. He hadn't even asked and invaded a private place, probably the only place where Jack could be really alone if he wanted to be alone, thinking, dreaming in peace. Still thinking about it he reached the next cave- or hall, since they were all really big.

Only to froze.

Ice sculptures.

But not just of anything or anyone. He was face to face with....Sandy? Caught of guard he hastily took a few steps back, staring in wonder. There were four ice sculptures standing in the middle of the hall, carefully arranged. North. Toothiana, Sandy. And him. He stepped closer, examining them stunned. They were perfect mirror pictures of them, every detail, be it so little, was there. He could see every hair of North's beard, the fine, tiny and raw surface structure on Sandy to recreate his sand. Or the many feathers on Toothiana's lithe body. And, on him...he stepped towards his own sculpture, eying it from head to toe. It really looked exactly like him, the fur, the pattern on his forehead, arms and legs, even the arm covers and his pouches.

Everything had been made with a lot of patience, many hours spent on shaping the replicas of the guardians. He could almost see it himself how the blue eyed teenager worked on them, patiently and with loving care. He felt his heart aching and breathed out slowly.

// Oh Jack......// The thought of him reminded why he came to this place, immediately he shook himself and wandered further.

His anxiousness grew with every step he took while walking deeper and deeper, the light continuously weakened as well. Just where was he? After walking further for like fifteen minutes he entered another cave. This one was the darkest. Only one, long light ray illuminated it- it took him a few seconds to adjust. Thankfully it went rather quick- he could see damn good. The moment he could finally see enough was also the moment he realized the scent filling the air, stronger then at any other hole. He whirled around, towards it's source, finding himself caught by two brilliant blue eyes staring back at him equally shocked and wide eyed. He had found him.

 “Jack”, he breathed, feeling relief flooding his insides.

Only to freeze in the next moment when he took a closer look at the immortal male. Jack was in the furthest corner away from him, half curled up in the shadows and with his hoodie up. But even those couldn't hide the  shocking sight Bunny was faced with, making his stomach turn. Jack looked.......terrible. He had always been rather lean, but now he looked too thin, almost like......something was sucking out his powers, the dark blue hoodie hanging off his frame like it was three sizes too big. His whole, thin body was trembling constantly, like he was either freezing or in great pain, hands twitching and cramping again and again.

He could see his cheekbones protruding much more then before, the hollowness around his eyes. His skin which had always been pale- but a vivid, beautiful paleness- suiting his winter look, was now more gray than white. Making him look sick - really sick. The skin under his eyes was dark, visible circles under them, like he hadn't slept a day at all. The beautiful, white hair was tousled, messy and also looked strangely dirty, grayish. It stuck to his forehead with...sweat? That was definitely not a good sign- Jack had never sweated at all. Never.

His smell also wasn't like Bunny had grown used to sniff whenever he had visited him in his warren. His body still smelt of ice and snow, of frozen sugar and all these other things, but now....there was something else underneath it, tainting it, decaying it slowly. Like something was slowly eating him up alive from the inside, destroying him bit by bit. Creating that sick smell he had smelled at the city. But the worst...were his eyes. Those brilliant blue eyes he had thought more often about than anything else, dreamed about, haunting him.......They had always been so bright, shining with mischief and fun, so alive and wild.

But now......He felt like he was looking into the eyes of someone who was dying, having seen hell itself. That light inside them wasn't there anymore. They were dull, having lost their brilliance, darkness creeping up from the edges, giving him a twisted, wrong look. And that look.....they were empty, hollowed out with exhaustion- and yet, filled with so much pain and fear  that they were practically overflowing. He could almost taste them in the air, making his heart ache and his skin burn. Slowly stepping closer he took him in, noticing shocked that the walls around him were all messed up, half destroyed, colored with a strange, unhealthy blackish color. Just as the ice, blackish colored.

Just like the big snow pieces laying around, nerved with this strange black mass. Just what was that? He could see how the white haired male twitched back at the sound of his name, standing up quickly before he ran away. In the next moment he flew through the air, escaping through the round window. Fuck. Bunny immediately raced after him, trying to jump through the window, but it was too far away. His patience nearly ripping he opened a tunnel to the outside, popping up just in time to see Jack, crashing onto the ground with a terrible crushing sound.

“Frostbite?!” he yelled, shocked to see how he hadn't been able to fly properly.

“Wait, where are you going- goddammit, stop, we need to talk!!”

“GO AWAY!”, the teenager yelled, stumbling, yet he continued to run away from the big rabbit who was horrified to see that he wasn't even able to walk properly anymore.

“Like hell I will!”, he growled, determined, racing after the exhausted immortal who continued to run although it was visibly draining him of his energy.

Despite his obvious weakness Jack somehow still managed to keep a certain distance between them, making the bunny curse under his breath. He wouldn't let it go that way. Using his quickness he drove Jack into another direction, towards a v- shaped formation of big ice rocks, all the while wondering why the winter spirit didn't try to fly away. He would be cornered there, unable to escape him any longer. The moment Jack realized his plan it was already too late, Bunny was blocking his path, cutting any other possible path for him to escape.

“Stay away!”, he yelled, voice already way weaker then before while backing away, his trembling hands gripping his staff tightly.

“Like hell I will!!”, Bunny replied fiercely, staring at him.

“Look at you, what happened to you- what I did to you! I will take you back to North's place- and don't make me force you. Please, I don't want to hurt you again!”

He took another step closer, pain stinging his heart when he saw how the blue eyed spirit pressed himself even further into the corner.

“Stop running away, please! I....I just want to help you-”

“I d-don't care! I don't even want to hear you, see you!! Stay away from me!!”

“Frostbite-”

“No!! Stay away!!!”

“Jack-”

“Stay away from me!!!”, the white haired male yelled before he suddenly doubled over, falling to his knees while gasping, his hands cramping around the staff before it slipped through his grip.

“Jack!!”, Bunny yelled, racing towards him, ready to help him up.

“ I SAID STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!”, the teenager, crooking up on the floor, yelled before crying out in pain.

The bristling of his fur was the only warning Bunny got. In the next second everything around him exploded when magic, Jack's magic ripped through the air violently, completely out of control. The wind howled out loud, whipping against his body while grayish snowflakes whirled around, mixed with sharp ice splinters which cut through his fur and skin, making him hiss in pain. The force, the sheer pressure was so giant that he was pressed to the ground, struggling to get up only to get knocked back again. He could hear the terrible sound of ice plates simply being ripped apart like it was paper, the screeching, cracking sound of massive ice rocks being destroyed, turned into powder like it was nothing.

The ground was vibrating underneath him with the force of the snow storm rampaging over him- and all he could do was to brace himself against it and endure it until it was over. After, what seemed like an eternity it slowly, slowly calmed down before disappearing completely. Only then he dared to open his eyes, pushing off the mass of snow and ice blocks having fallen close to him. His eyes widened at the destroyed surrounding around him- it looked like a battlefield, only destruction and chaos left after the blizzard.

“Frostbite?”, he frantically yelled, standing up before he hissed. He was injured, though not too much it seemed. Several ice splinters had cut him badly, but not too deep, and his leg and hip hurt where a massive block of ice had crashed against him. But he could still walk, immediately going on a search for Jack, fearing that he got injured badly, picking his way through the destroyed field of ice and snow he spotted something dark and blue not far away from him. Oh thank god. “Frostbite? Frostbite!” There he was, alive and on his feet, dragging himself away from the destruction, visibly swaying from one side to the other and using his staff as a support.

Bunny's relief of seeing him unharmed and still halfway okay disappeared as quick as smoke when he saw how Jack doubled over again.

“Frostbite!!”, he panted, running over to him. Jack wasn't even able to voice any protest. In the next second he bend over and heavily vomited onto the ground, a disturbing, black, gooey mass, his body shaking with strain. Right after that his legs finally gave in, buckling before he fell over unconsciously, caught in time by Bunny. Easily the rabbit lifted him up, horrified at how light the teenager felt. He stared at the black mass at the ground, his heart pounding in his ears before he stared at Jack's face.

The hoodie had fallen off, letting the terrible change stand out even more. The winter spirit's face was grayish, flushed while sweat glistened on his forehead, whimpering slightly, his eyelids fluttered but didn't open. Carefully, slowly Bunny touched his forehead, twitching in shock. The white haired male was burning up practically- and yet, at the same time, he felt colder than ever before. He could feel, see it on himself, ice spread through his gray fur, clumping up before it started to melt after a few seconds. In the next second Bunny turned, creating a tunnel to jump in, clutching the unconscious teenager tight to his chest, his heart racing with an unbearable, overwhelming fear. He needed to bring him to North's place. Fast.

A few minutes later he arrived at the workshop, gently laying the unconscious teenager onto one of the big couches. It didn't took him long to find one of Toothiana's mini fairies she had let stay here as a precaution- in case someone needed to send messages fast. “I found Jack. I'm at North's place with him now”. All he now had to do now was to wait till the others arrived. He sat down, right next to the unconscious male, looking at his grayish colored face and the hollowness.

“I'm so sorry”, he whispered, stroking his cheek with one hand, listening to the heavy breathing.

He didn't dare to move away, in case something happened to Jack, who was still trembling, occasionally arching up and writhing in pain. Luckily it didn't take the others long to arrive, North first, having used his magical orb, Sandy and Toothiana arriving almost only seconds apart. As soon as they spotted Bunny sitting next to the couch, with a small figure laying there they ran over to the two.

“Where did you find him?! What happened? Have you talked-”

“Is Jack alright?! Why is he unconscious?!”

North and Toothiana both talked at the same time, fast and excited before they took a closer look at the immortal male. Toothiana twitched back, purples eyes widening while she covered her mouth, whispering:

“Oh god....”

North's eyes darkened before he turned around, ordering clipped and sharp:

“To the infirmary. Now”.

Bunny immediately scooped Jack up, carefully, quickly carrying him into the infirmary where he laid him down onto the bed. “What's wrong with him?!” North asked sharply, staring at the winter spirit's grayish face with horror, reaching out to feel his forehead.

“ Chert vozʹmi “, he murmured “He's burning up. That not good. Toothiana! Quick, bring me cloth and water to cool him down!”

The tooth fairy immediately obeyed, fluttering to the cupboards along the wall, rummaging while Sandy slowly flowed over to Jack. The golden little man stared at the pale figure, eyes worried before he reached out, one small hand touching the blue eyed spirit's cheek. Bunny, having worried stroking back the younger male's sweaty hair, looked up, twitching in surprise when Sandy's eyes widened and he ripped his hand away.

“Sandy?!”

The white bearded man asked sharply, hands gripping the sheets on the bed tightly. The sandman shook his head, his sand forming signs which said to take off Jack's sweater. Bunny did as what Sandy told them, jerking his head at North who stepped closer, helping him to pull off Jack's hoodie.

“Dear god”, he heard North whisper next to him, followed by a loud gasp from Toothiana behind them, the sound of glass breaking onto the floor. But neither of the guardians moved, too horrified with the sight in front of them. Without his hoodie concealing it it was visible how thin he had gotten- not to the point his ribs were visible, but it wouldn't take much more. The skin was the same as with the face, still pale like it used to be, but now with that sickly grayish tint. But that wasn't what made them stare in horror.

Not even the sight of the small scars crisscrossing his left arm and part of his upper body, already halfway healed. It was his right arm. Thin, black lines were writhing underneath the skin- his veins- looking like the winter spirit had ink pulsing through him instead of blood. They were spreading from his right hand, up his arm and already partly over his chest, right over his heart and creeping up his neck. For one, long minute nobody said a thing, then, North moved, touching the arm before he carefully forced one of Jack's eyes open, staring at the blue which was now nerved with black. Then he looked up, staring Sandy, slowly asking:

“Sandy....what is this?!”

The sandman looked terrible pained, eyes full of sadness before he formed another row of signs, letting them read it. Bunny, heart pounding in his ears, read them, sucking in a deep breath in horror while North and Toothiana gasped both next to him. The white haired man repeated, looking both horrified and  debilitated:

“He got infected by nightmare......and is in coma now......he won't wake up anymore.....”

No. the gray furred rabbit could feel his heart breaking, a terrible, ripping sensation while his inside cried out in pure pain. No, that couldn't be true.

“No. No! That can't be true, it can't be!! There must be a way to stop this!!”, Bunny yelled, breaking the terrible silence in the room. North, his blue eyes full of pain, replied slowly.

“Bunny, you know is no way to stop this. You know we can't stop it from spreading inside him- that must been what has caused him to loose control. It must have been inside him all that time, laying dormant inside him....something...must have triggered this, something severe....”

The guardian of hope felt his heart getting stabbed by those words, knowing exactly the answer. It had been his fault. All his fault. Just like he had known. North, having seen how something inside Bunny's eyes broke, looked frightened, quickly saying:

“No! No Bunny! Was not your fault! You couldn't have known that! How should you known he was infected? Me didn't know, neither Sandy nor Toothiana sensed anything! What happened back then at day of heat is not your fault!”

“It is”, Bunny clunky replied, ears hanging down while he stared at Jack's trembling form,

“And with this I practically killed the one I care the most for. The one I fell in love with. Isn't that hilarious? The first one after centuries I fell for rejected me and never wanted to see me again. And then, after another couple of centuries I fall in love again, with him.

Only to ruin it all by first trying to push him away, hurting him, pushing him into this state and then hearing he had feelings for me as well. After all these years, these goddamn long, lonely years, the chance of a partner, a mate, and of course I destroyed it! And now, all I can do is to watch him die slowly, right in front of my eyes.”

North straightened up fully, eyes blazing with both pain and annoyance.

“Bunny”, he sharply said, “This is not your fault! You didn't know it! I understand how you must have felt like, but this is not your fault! You were hurt before, so you afraid of another rejection. But don't blame yourself for this-”

“Oh yes, I do! It is my fault!!”, Bunny hissed back, ears laying flat back in anger.

“No, is not! Vy glupyy krolik!! Why are you so blind?!”

“I'm not blind!! I can see exactly this is all my fault!! I should have never fallen for him, fuck, I should have never allowed feelings like this at all!!”  

“Use brain you imbecile ublyudok ! Is not your fault, dammit!!”

“It is!! So shut the fuck up now, okay?!”
 
“Do I have to smash your head against wall until you get it?! Is not your fault!!”

“Oh yes, it is-”

“GUYS!!!”

In the next moment both males yowled out when two small, but very hard fists hit their head with force, making them stumble backwards before both turned, angrily staring at Toothiana. The humming bird like female stared back with an equal icy glare, not in the least intimidated before she said clipped, sharp annoyance in her normally sweet voice:

“ Sandy is trying to tell us something important! If you guys are finished with trying to bash your heads over stupid things who's fault it was- not like anyone could be blamed for this- we can all listen to him now, right?!”

Bunny, sniffing shortly, nodded shortly, throwing one, last sour look at North who glared back before they all turned to Sandy. The golden colored man had an equally icy glare in his normally warm gold eyes, tapping his foot impatiently in the air. When he was sure all eyes were on him he sighed silently, starting to form his sand signs. His words were followed by another, stunned silence, everyone was staring at him with wide eyes. Bunny was the first to recover, slowly saying:

“There...is a way?”

North jumped up, grabbing Sandy who twitched in surprise:

“Quick! You must tell us!!”

The sandman freed himself gently, stepping back a little before he continued to tell them. It was true that the infection inside Jack couldn't be broken- but that didn't mean he couldn't stop it in another way. The coma the winter spirit was in wasn't normal, it was forced onto him, after he hadn't been able to resist any longer. But that coma could be broken- because it was a nightmare. The young immortal was caught inside it, being suppressed and attacked.

And Sandy, as the guardians of dreams could form a connection to let another one enter this nightmare and pull Jack out. He may not be able to control the nightmares like Pitch could, but that connection was possible for him. But, whoever would go......might not come back.

“Sandy, I don't want to sound offending, but...since you're the dream master and have a lot more experience with nightmares...why can't you enter the nightmare?”, the tooth fairy asked, looking at him worried.

Sandy sighed soundlessly, looking unhappy before he made signs again. He couldn't- that meant, he could very well, but to stop the infection it was needed to be 'treated' from both sides. He would suppress and heal the infection on the outside of Jack's body- but to completely erase it someone had to enter Jack's nightmare. The nightmare would have never been able to start spreading if Jack's inner shields hadn't been weakened by an big, emotional turmoil. And to destroy it, to save Jack from getting completely infected someone had to do this.

“I'll do it”, Bunny said shortly, staring at Sandy and the others with a hard expression, dead serious.

North, shortly after he recovered from his words, said quickly with worry:

“Bunny, are you sure this is a good idea?! You don't know what will await you, and since you are so emotionally bond to him it might affect you more than one of us-”

“I don't care. I will go, no matter what you'll say”, the guardian of hope replied unfazed, staring at North.

“I put him through all of this, I will pull him out of this mess I created. I hurt him, North. All  what I want is to save the him, my.......mate. Even if he still might reject me after all of this....”.

North sighed, looking at Toothiana and Sandy who both nodded.

“Oh, fine. Sandy?”

The golden man ordered them to come all to Jack's bedside, telling them to hold him down- he would first start with the healing measures. The moment the golden sand touched the black veined arm, Jack, although unconscious, cried out terribly, voice breaking with pain while his eyes, having been closed before, snapped open, rolling back until only the white part was visible. His whole body bucked up wildly, arms and legs trashing around violently while North, Bunny and Toothiana struggled to keep him down.

After what seemed like an eternity his cries and struggling weakened until he went slack again, though he was still trembling and whimpering occasionally in pain, face scrunched up. Exhausted the guardians let go of him, Bunny immediately looked at Jack's arm. Around it there now was a shimmering, golden layer of dream sand, wrapped around like a second skin, up to the infected chest part and neck, covering them as well.

Sandy leaned back, sighing before he concentrated, eyes closing while he moved his hands. On his hands grew a golden ball of dream sand, whirling and moving softly, sounding like the whispers of the universe itself. Bunny stood up and walked over to a second bed in the infirmary, dragging it after him until it was right next to Jack's on the right side.

“I want to be next to him”, was all he said at the questioning looks from Toothiana and North.

Slowly he sat down onto the bed, the soft mattress giving in under his weigh a bit before he full laid down, stretching out. The green eyed rabbit turned his head, staring at the outline of Jack's pale face, feeling his heart ache with pain. Slowly, very slowly he reached out, moving without looking, until his hand hit something smooth which felt both too hot and too cold. Carefully he took Jack's hand into his own, holding it gently but firm, ignoring the hissing sound and the short, stinging pain when his hand made contact with the infected hand.

He could feel the unsteady pulse of his heartbeat, the twisted, strange pattern of his magic pulsing deep inside him.

“I'm ready”, he said aloud, staring at the ceiling, trying to relax.

North's and Toothiana's faces appeared right next to him, both looking incredible worried and nervous.

“Are you really sure about this, Bunny?”, North asked.

“I can go, too- maybe this is better, like I told you-”

“No. I won't discuss with you about this. I made my decision”, Bunny replied sternly but not too sharp.

The humming bird like female next to him looked at him with wet, purple eyes, quietly saying:

“Please...bring him back. Bring both of you back safely.”

North nodded, stepping back a bit:

“I ask the same. Please...be careful. Stay safe”.

Bunny nodded, looking up to Sandy who had watched them with a sad, but determined expression before turning his eyes onto the rabbit under him.

“Ready?”, his sand signs silently asked.

Another nod. In the next moment Bunny could feel how the dream sand hit him and his consciousness slowly  blacked out. One, last thought crept through his mind, clear in the mist of dreaming taking over:

// Wait for me Jack. I'm coming for you. Just hold on //.

His dream consciousness awakened in the next moment, shortly seeing a table full of delicious looking carrots, a cake made of carrots, beautiful painted eggs.

It only lasted for three seconds. In the next moment he felt himself get grabbed, pulled out before he was thrown into another direction, feeling how he passed an invisible wall- he was entering Jack's mind- when something dark, twisted.....evil grazed him....

Then he was falling, falling into the thick darkness.

Falling and falling and falling -