Iced Hope

Summary: E. Aster Bunnymund hid 'hope' and guarded it as the last Pooka. But what if he lost 'hope' during the Blizzard of '68? Is that why he holds such a grudge against Jack? And what happens when Bunny finds out that 'hope'is inside of Jack? Sacrifices must be made, but will duty get in the way of a budding friendship?

Settings: The Warren

Rating: T (for future injuries and hurt and angst)

Genre: Friendship/Family, Hurt/Comfort, Angst

Chapter I
Conduit of Power

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Trust, promise, expectation, the feeling you get when you want things to turn out for the best. Hope was what kept human beings alive.

To trust in the future.

To promise a better day.

To expect for a brighter tomorrow.

Hope was important and precious, and without it, the results and consequences would be dire. A person without hope barely lived another day. Hope and Life were closely interwoven, which is why E. Aster Bunnymund took his duty very seriously.

He brought hope and new beginnings, Jack may laugh at the fact that he was a giant rabbit handing out glittered eggs to boys and girls despite being a so-called 'warrior' and master of tai-chi, but to Bunny spreading little treats like these were important.

He was tied to the planet as was the planet tied to him. Their life sources were tied to a single source and a single light that left to Bunnymund eons ago when there used to be other humanoid shape-shifting creatures such as him.

Hope.

Hope which was the last memento he ever had of his clan.

Hope which he was entrusted to guard with his life.

Hope, which he lost decades ago.

And Bunny had never felt more hopeless without it.

North had Wonder.

Tooth had Memories.

Sandy had Dreams.

And now, Jack had Joy.

"All the guardians have the solid objects or the vessels tha' represent their centers." Bunny told a curious Jack who had dropped by his warren one day. The eternal teen had wanted to know more about the guardians and their centers. Deciding that Bunny was the least busy of them all, he began to annoy the pooka until he relented. "Said objects or vessels are literally their centers. If they are destroyed in any way, the guardian in charge of tha' particular object will vanish and cease to exist."

"Objects? Vessels? Do you mean I get to have some object that represents Joy?" Jack wondered as he settled on top of the staff looking down at the Easter rabbit who was busy planting some new type of flowers.

Bunny rolled his eyes at the question and his ears inclined towards the staff Jack was on. "Ya' already have yer vessel mate. That staff of yers create those 'happy' snowflakes right?"

"Well, sorta… I guess, yeah."

"Well then there's yer object of protection. Yer conduit of power or whatever…" Bunny said as he waved a dirty paw.

Jack jumped down and took a good look at the thin stick. "Oh. No wonder why it hurt when it broke." He murmured and Bunny's ears twitched.

"What?"

Jack jumped, forgetting that Bunny had the sharpest ears around. He grinned sheepishly and said, "Nothing! Just wondering if a guardian can put back their vessels if it, you know, broke."

Bunny's eyes narrowed, feeling there was more to what Jack murmured back then but the teen was obviously avoiding the subject, so he dropped it with a sigh. "As long as it's fixable, then yes, a guardian can fix their vessel. If it's only broken it can easily be put back together."

Jack let out a laugh as he flew in the air. "I knew it!" Jack said in a cheerful tone and Bunny turned to give him a curious look but Jack ignored it in favor of asking another question. "So what's North's vessel? And Tooth? Oh, what about Sandy?"

The guardian of Hope snorted as he hopped towards another patch of dirt to work on, Jack following him closely. "Yah didn't notice?" Jack shook his head and Bunny continued, "Well can't blame ya', we never really say what our vessels are, in fear that other spirits might target them to erase us… But since yer a guardian now, I guess it can't hurt to tell ya'."

If Bunny had turned as he spoke, he would've seen the shocked but grateful expression on Jack's face at those words. He was being trusted! Trusted by the guardians' life objects! Trusted by the Kangaroo no less!

Jack held on tightly to his staff, a small smile playing on his lips. He'd keep this a secret no matter what and maybe even help the guardians in protecting their centers, he thought in determination.

Bunnymund shivered when he felt a fierce prickling on his fur that signified an intense hope being born from his words. It was strange, the first time Bunny encountered such a strong emotion that held so many possibilities was eons ago. It was almost identical to-

No.

Bunny shook his head. He won't go thinking about that again. Not now when Jack was with him. The boy didn't need to know that the rabbit still held a grudge for Blizzard of '68. The pooka blamed Jack for what happened, but Bunny blamed himself more.

Jack had suffered enough, he didn't need to add guilt unto those narrow shoulders.

"North's Wonder used to be in of 'em elves he had. The one called Kringle. But he recently switched his wonder out into a different object, one he found precious. A certain object that gave Wonder to a certain little ankle-biter with no memories…" Bunny looked at Jack in the corner of his eyes, watching as blue eyes widened in understanding.

"The matryoshka doll…" Jack said as he placed a hand into his pocket. A small blue doll rolled on Jack's palm as Bunny looked back down on the soil he gathered for his flowers. "B-But I-I dropped it and-"

"North repainted it and poured his remaining Wonder into it. He trusted you until the end, mate. He did it just in case…" Just in case he wouldn't be able to make it through the last fight with Pitch. The quiet implication hung in the air as Jack swallowed thickly, blinking rapidly.

"A-And Tooth's?" The voice was hoarse as Bunny leaned down to spread the seeds in his pouch evenly.

"It used to be spread out among her mini fairies. It made sense since all of them were a part of her. It's why they have the ability to open those memory boxes." Bunny explained. "But from what I heard, she recently switched vessels too, focusing her center on one certain fairy more than others lately."

"What?" Jack asked in confusion.

Bunny sniffed the air and nodded his head. "The one you have on your hood, right now." Jack raised an eyebrow but reached for his hood anyway. A familiar and small sleeping figure rolled out of it and into his hands.

Jack let out a breath of disbelief. "Baby Tooth."

Bunny reached out a paw for a watering can nearby. Jack was too stunned to comment on the silly sight. "She figured her center would be safer with you."

Jack looked down at Baby Tooth then at Bunny. "I-" But he shook his head and continued his questions. "And Sandy?"

The pooka snorted again. "That's easy. His sand brings dreams to the kids. They are his center, technically a part of him." Almost automatically, Jack grabbed a small pouch tied to his belt and Bunny gave a soft smile down at the healthy soil below him. "He gave you some too, huh? That's rare even for Sandy."

"I don't- I don't understand." Jack said, shaking his head and he looked up, his blue eyes alight with confusion and slight fear. "Why? I mean, if it's so important why did they-?"

Bunny grunted as he got up from his kneeling position and looked down at Jack who shrunk slightly at the earnest gaze. "That's something you have to ask them yerself Frostbite. I ain't got all the answers."

Jack nodded as Bunny began to turn away quickly, before Jack could think up of another-

"Wait." Jack called out once more and Bunny stopped and froze because he didn't have an excuse to ignore the teen when he called. "Bunny, what about you? Where's your center?"

It's gone. It's not here. I don't even know where it is.

Bunny could have said any of those things easily, but all he felt at that moment when Jack asked him with a tiny voice and unknowing eyes, was anger and frustration as he was reminded once more of the only momentum he had left of his clan.

Gone, it disappeared.

All because of you.

"It's gone." Bunny said in a gruff tone. And he knew that he should've left it at that, shouldn't have said anything more… But-

"You lost it."

And Bunny pretended not to feel the crushing feeling of hope that followed his words as he walked away.

Notes: I actually wanted someone to do this for me but then I decided 'Ah, I'll do it myself!' So yes! A very short prologue for what promises to be a very long story! A few people have been requesting this in ice cubes ever since I revealed the plot and so I put it up! Another one of ROTG stories that begins with the words 'ice', I should call it an Ice Trilogy or Ice Generation or something cool like that!

Also, don't you just love the fact that all of the guardians' centers are with Jack? I like it! XD

The cover for this fanfic is temporary, still looking for an appropriate one and if my hand be forced, I'm gonna draw one XD

So please leave a review of your thoughts. Should I continue it or not? It's all up to you! Thank you!