Hope you're in the mood for a funeral.

As always, I don't own Rise of the Guardians or any of it's characters.

"I'm not leaving."

Bunny was standing with his arms crossed inside the cabin of their newest location. This time it was in a forest of pine trees. After arriving, Jack expected them to go back to the pole. That was when Bunny made his declaration.

"What? You can't be serious!" Jack looked at North for support. The Guardian of wonder stayed silent. "Bunny! You can't do that!"

"Why not, Frostbite?" Jack seemed to be close to panicking.

"What if Cashlin attacks the pole again?! If Christmas is ruined because you were here looking out for me I will… I wouldn't be able to…" North face softened. He was about to say something comforting when Bunny cut in. Opposite from North, Jack's words had made him angry.

"Why don't you get it!" The pooka took hold of Jack's shoulders. "You are what matters here! The witch is only attacking the pole to distract us from you! The only reason it works is because we can't afford to risk Christmas even thought we know she couldn't care less!" Bunny's face was only an inch away from Jack's. "Tooth, Sandy, and North can handle it. I am staying right here, you got that?"

The two Guardians stared into each other's eyes, more being said through them than a million words could.

"Ok." Jack finally whispered.

Bunny let him go with a deep sigh. He turned to face North, who had watched the scene with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me know if anything happens, eh mate? And don't worry about the little snowflake, I won't let him out of my sight."

"Hey! I'm right here!"

North gave a small chuckle before leaving for the pole.

Jack smirked and turned to face Bunny.

"Well, since you have decided to stay, that means you have to…" He pointer over his shoulder, where the elves were still outside, climbing pine trees, "play with us!"

"What?" Bunny asked startled.

"Yep. That's the deal. If you're here you need to entertain me. That means playing with the elves." The moment he said that, the elves stopped what they were doing and got off the trees. They ran into the cabin and towards Bunny excitedly while the pooka in question recoiled from them as if they were the plague.

"You can't be serious, Frostbite."

"Oh, you bet I am."

They spend hours playing every single game Jack could think of. Being the Guardian of fun, Jack could think of quite a lot.

Although Bunny didn't like playing with the elves he enjoyed making Jack smile. If that was what it took, then so be it.

At one point they were all playing tag. Bunny was it. He tackled Jack onto the ground, and in the spur of the moment, began to tickle him.

Cashlin watched the scene in distaste from her mirror.

"That rabbit will be a problem, I must get rid of him." The mirror focused on Jack's laughing face. Cashlin felt a flare of anger rise inside her and she slammed the pocket mirror shut.

"What to do…" she muttered. Cashlin made her way to her castle's balcony. She leaned causally against it as she watched her army ready and waiting for orders. A smirk appeared on her face.

She was about to sent her greatest attack on the pole yet. She knew the Guardians would defeat them, the point was to keep them busy while she dealt with the real problem. But now Bunnymund was with him. She had to do something more. Something that would force the Guardian of hope to leave the boy's side. What to do…

Suddenly the answer came to her and she gave a little laugh.

She stretched her arm and black smoke began to form next to her. The smoke began to take shape until and identical image of herself stood by her side.

Cashlin gasped.

"Oh! Am I really that beautiful?" She moved her head from side to side and her duplicate did the same. They both gave a blood-chilling laugh.

"This will get their attention quite well."

Tooth sighed tiredly as she watched out for shadows.

That's what they had called Cashlin's creations. Every time they hit or slice them they would turn to smoke.

The Guardian of memories was a bit upset. She thought it wasn't fair that Bunny got to stay with Jack while the 3 of them where here being bored. She had almost gotten North to let her and Sandy go visit Jack, but MiM suddenly told them to stay put.

That's how she had ended here, flying over Santoff Clousen, waiting for an attack.

Tooth was wondering how long this would go on. All the attacks were the same. The shadows would come and the Guardians would finish them off before they were even near the entrance to Santoff Clousen. They had noticed that there were more shadows in every attack, but that was it. The entire thing seemed like a waste of time.

That was her train of thought when she caught side of the advancing army.

"Finally." She muttered. Tooth flew inside to alert her fellow Guardians. Soon the 3 of them where deep in the fight. With one single slice of North's sword, a hit from Tooth, or a whip from Sandy the shadows became smoke.

Tooth noticed that no matter how many they defeated, more seemed to appear. This was definitely the greatest attack they had been under yet.

That was when she saw her.

She was standing behind her army with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face.

Tooth gasped as she turned another shadow to smoke.

"North! North!" The Guardian of wonder looked at Tooth, who pointed at Cashlin.

North's eyes widened.

"It's her! It's the witch!" Sandy also turned to look at her. As he lashed out with his whips at the surrounding enemies, an image of a golden egg formed over his head.

North nodded.

"We must call Bunny. He would want to be here to deal with her."

Tooth felt a sudden joy fill her. They could end this. Here and now.

"How do we contact him? There are too many shadows for any of us to leave."

North sliced another enemy. "Go send note through snow globe. Sandy and I will hold them off but don't take long."

Tooth nodded and with a few last hits, flew towards Santoff Clousen. Inside she quickly found a piece of paper and scribbled a note. She scrolled it up and took a bell from one of the elf's hats. She tied the bell the note and sent it through the snow globe portal.

"Hurry, Bunny." She muttered as she made her way back to the fight. "This can finally be the end."

It was the elves that noticed the note. For them, each bell had a singular sound that belonged to each elf. When they heard the ringing of a bell that did not belong to any of the 7 present, they knew something was up. They went towards the note with curiosity. One took it and began to shake it. The one next to him hit him and took the note away. He made his way to Jack and Bunny, who had been in the middle of their tickling war. Jack's laughter made it impossible for either of them to hear the frustrated jingles of the elf trying to get their attention. It was not until he began to pull at one of Bunny's ears that they noticed him.

"Cut that out!" The pooka said angrily. He pulled his head away and finally stopped tickling the winter spirit. Instead, he switched positions and sat on Jack's stomach.

"Humph!" Jack gasped. "You gotta lay off the carrots, cottontail!" Bunny decided not to grace that comment with an answer. Jack looked up from his position on the floor, which made the elf look upside down. "Hey little guy!" he said between laughs. That's when Jack noticed the note. "What is that you are holding?" The elf gave it to Jack who gave it to Bunny. "I would read it but I'm upside down and you are still on top of me." Instead of moving, Bunny took the note and opened it.

There was a silence while Bunny read. Jack saw the pooka tense up. He suddenly jumped to his feet.

"The witch! She's at the pole! I need to go!" Jack sat up, startled and a little bit dazed.

"What?" He had almost been able to forget the situation they were in. He had simply been having too much fun, and Bunny…

"She's there, Jack! Do you know what that means!?" He took hold of the winter spirits shoulders. "It means that if we catch her, this is over!"

That hit Jack hard. They actually had the chance to make everything go back to normal. He nodded.

"I would ask if I can go with you, but I know you'll say no so just…" Jack smirked. "kick her ass for me." Bunny nodded with something that almost looked like excitement.

"You bet, mate." Suddenly Bunny gave him a quick kiss on the cheek that left Jack frozen on the floor. With that, the pooka got up and left through one of his tunnels.

Jack placed a hand over his check and smiled.

This could be it. This ridiculous ordeal could finally be over.

It took him a few seconds to realize that the 7 elves were outside and staring at him. He blushed.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Quit it!" He stood up and leaned on his staff. "Who wants to play freeze tag!?" Those words made the elves run into the cabin with panic. Jack laughed. The best thing about being a winter spirit was that it made the "freeze" in freeze tag literal. The last time they had played that, it took over an hour for the ice over the elves to melt.

He made his way into the cabin (after promising the elves that they would play something not ice related).

They played a few indoor for a while. They build a city made out of cans until one of the elves pretended to be a monster and destroyed it (he got a few punches form some of the other elves).

There was a sudden knock on the door. Jack looked up, startled. He made his way to the door, wondering if he should be suspicious of another attempt at his life. Then he remembered that Cashlin was at the pole, fighting his fellow Guardians.

Jack looked through the little window the door had. It was an old woman with a basket full of apples. The moment his eyes landed on them an intense desire filled him. The reasonable part of his brain thought it was very strange considering he had never been crazy over fruit before, but the rest of his brain was screaming for him to open the door and get one of those apples.

Jack opened the door, a bit hesitant. He wondered if he was being paranoid for being suspicious of an old lady with a fruit basket.

"Hello, pretty!" Said the old lady. "I am giving away these apples! I have no use for them. Would you like one?"

If Jack thought the apples looked good through the window, he had no idea how appetizing they would look in person. They were the reddest and sweetest looking apples he had ever seen. The woman took an apple out of the basket and extended her wrinkled arm towards Jack. He stared at the fruit, longing for it but not daring to take it.

"What is it?" She asked. "Are you afraid it is poisoned?" He had not even thought of that. "Look, I will take a bite so you see it is fine." She bit the right side of the apple.

When Jack watched the woman eat part of the apple he could not resist any longer. He took the apple from the old woman and bit the left side of it.

The moment he swallowed the bite, he fell down dead.

The old woman cackled loudly and took her real form. "Oh, poor sweet little Jack. The apple's magic was too strong to resist was it?" Cashlin bend to pick up the bitten apple. "It was incredibly smart of me to only poison one side of it wasn't it?" She put it back in the basket. Her smile suddenly became a cold and hateful glare as she stared at his unmoving form. "The other Guardians won't be able to wake you now." With that, she left.

The elves had been snapped out of their game by the sound of a blood chilling cackle. They walked towards Jack's pale and unmoving form. They surrounded him with concerned looks on their faces. They all tried poking him and shaking him but he did not respond. Scared, they all looked at each other, hopping the other Guardians would be there soon.

Bunny was getting frustrated. Neither he nor his fellow Guardians had been able to reach the witch. Every time they defeated some of her shadows she would create more. She was standing at the back, watching with an amused smile that made his blood boil. Oh, how he wanted to wipe that look off her face.

He wondered how his friends were doing. The battle had been going on for a long time and it did not seem to be ending soon. He feared that the witch was trying to tire them. Whenever Bunny began to feel exhausted, he would look back at Cashlin and remember how she had killed Jack twice. That thought fuelled him with refound anger and energy.

It was in the middle of this fighting that Cashlin suddenly gasped.

"It's done!"

With a flick of her wrist, all the shadows become smoke. The four Guardians had all been mid attack at the moment when they were suddenly alone in the snow. They moved together as they faced Cashlin in confusion.

"You fools." She said with a shake of her head. The Guardians were about to charge at her when she gave a little spin and disappeared in a cloud of grey smoke.

"No!" They all cried. North threw his swords on the ground in frustration. Tooth flew up and gave an angered screech. Sandy let some sand steam out of his ears. Bunny stood still, trying to calm the incredible amount of rage that he was feeling.

He had never felt that way so strongly before and it scared him. He was too afraid of doing something to blow off steam because he felt he might end up doing something he would regret.

He felt a sudden sadness when he realized he wasn't able to keep his promise to Jack. They hadn't even gotten close to Cashlin. Jack would be waiting in the cabin for good news just for them to tell him that she got away. Who knew when they would get another chance like that?

Tooth flew back down with a tired sigh.

"Can Sandy and I go see Jack? I really need to get away from here." North nodded numbly.

"Go, and… tell him I'm sorry." Tooth was too tired to tell North that it hadn't been his fault. She just nodded and pulled Sandy away with her.

She did not suspect anything when she saw the elves outside.

The door was open. They were standing under the doorway. Although their backs were facing Sandy and her, the moment the 2 Guardians were on sight, the elves saw them. Tooth had a feeling they had been expecting them.

"Sandy?" She muttered with confusion. The Guardian of dreams just shrugged as they made their way to the elves.

The 7 creatures suddenly ran towards them, jumping up and down in what Tooth considered panic. "Whoa, whoa! Take it easy there! What's wrong?" Those words made the elves freeze. Their faces turned grim. They moved away from Tooth, which confused the fairy until she realized they were moving out of the way.

When her eyes landed on Jack's form on the ground she could have sworn her heart stopped. It was as if, for a moment, the world simply stopped. No birds sang, no wind blew, no sun shined, no kids laughed.

Then everything moved too fast.

Tooth and Sandy flew to Jack's side.

He wasn't breathing. He wasn't moving.

There was a moment of blinding panic when Tooth and Sandy tried to shake Jack awake.

That was when it hit her.

Truly hit her.

"Sandy… he's asleep right?"

Denial

It was the only thing she could hold on to.

A pained look filled Sandy's face as he looked at Tooth.

She swallowed hard.

"Sandy please tell me he's just asleep."

She covered her mouth with her hands, forcing herself to not let any sobs escape. They both sat like that. Confused and in pain but no longer scared.

They couldn't be afraid of something that had already happened.

"Sandy…" Tooth murmured. "C-can you please go get North and Bunny?"

The Guardian of dreams nodded slowly. He placed a hand on Jack's cheek and left it there for a second before leaving.

Once he was gone, Tooth let herself fall.

She laid her head on Jack's chest with a heart wrenching sob.

Tooth knew that when the rest of the Guardians got there she would have to be strong. This would be hard on everyone. She decided that she would keep the others from falling apart. They would not see her cry.

So she would cry now.

When the 3 Guardians arrived, Tooth had already cried her heart out. She had cried so much and so hard that she thought she might never cry again.

She did not move to greet them. She did not make a sound. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see their reactions.

The sounds would be bad enough.

Bunny did not allow himself to fall into panic.

This was the third time North and he arrived to find Jack's dead form.

It did not make it any less painful.

He tried to keep calm and convince himself that all he had to do was find the source of Jack's condition and the winter spirit would be up and about, apologizing for letting his guard down again. Bunny would scowl at him but inside he would be filled with relief and joy.

And anger. Always anger.

Anger at the witch that had dared to touch his snowflake.

Yes. That was exactly what was going to happen. Tooth and Sandy had never been through this before. Bunny and North had not told them about the last 2 times. That's why they were reacting so badly, why Sandy had a look of finality on his face while Tooth had the air of someone who had already grieved for days.

They didn't know.

Everything would be fine.

Hope.

It was the only thing he could hold on to.

"Alright, Frostbite. What happened this time?" He says. Or at least he thinks he does. He might have lost his voice.

Both he and North began to search. They brushed through the boy's hair, looked for anything poisonous shook him, talked to him, yelled at him, but it was no use.

Jack was dead, and remained dead.

Every sound made Tooth wince. She wanted them to stop. There was nothing they could do.

Bunny was panicking now. He could see defeat filling North's face and he could not take that.

"North. Don't. Remember last time! You can't!" That gave North a bit more spirit and he helped Bunny to keep looking.

It was Sandy's hand on his shoulder that made him realize he was shaking.

"I know what you're thinking, Sandy." He began. "But I wont give up on him. I can't."

"I don't understand…" The 3 Guardians stopped what they were doing and turned to face Tooth, who had spoken for the first time. "How could she…. When? She was in front of us the whole time. Bunny was here. It must have been between the time he left him and the time the witch left the pole because I came here right after that and he was already…" Her voice sounded empty and the look in her eyes was distant.

Bunny could not understand how she could be saying that.

"Stop. He's not…" He wouldn't accept it. He wouldn't accept that they had failed. That the witch had won. That Jack truly was gone.

"Bunny…" It was North. Bunny found himself yelling.

"No, North! No! I am the Guardian of hope! What kind of Guardian would I be if I gave up?!"

Bunny held North's gaze. North was not crying like he had been the last times they had found Jack like this. This time Bunny felt it was worse. The Guardian of wonder's eyes were empty. That spark of joy that was always present, even in the worst of moments, was gone.

"Bunny," Said Tooth, her voice gentle. "Let him go." Bunny was still holding Jack tightly. He realized he couldn't let go of him. He felt that the moment he put him down, it would become real.

Bunny looked at each Guardian's face. It was not until his eyes landed on Sandy's that defeat set in.

Sandy had little golden tears running down his face.

He had never seen Sandy cry.

Now Bunny looked down at the boy in his arms. He couldn't believe that only an hour or so ago he had been playing with him. He had been laughing with him. He had kissed his cheek.

Now he was dead.

He felt a sudden anger. Anger at himself for letting this happen. Anger at North for not sending yetis to guard Jack. Anger at Tooth for calling him away from the winter spirit. Anger at Sandy for…

There was nothing he could remotely blame Sandy for.

That just made him angrier.

With trembling paws, he put Jack down on the ground.

The 4 Guardians stared at their youngest member, all thinking the same thing.

We failed you. We were your family and we failed you.

Then there was this moment of silence where none of them knew what to do.

How to go on.

A funeral. They all knew that was the next step. Before thinking of Cashlin. Before thinking of justice or revenge. Jack came first.

3 of them couldn't help thinking back to Sandy's funeral. There had been no body. They also knew that lighting candles was not the way to say goodbye to their winter spirit.

North was the one to voice the question.

"What do we do?"

Bunny stared at Jack's face. His face was still as beautiful as it had been when he was living. That's when the thought hit him.

"If it is his beauty she fears," Bunny muttered with anger and decision, "then it will be displayed for the world to see." He gave North a meaningful look, which the Guardian of wonder understood with a heavy heart.

"I will work on it right away." He said emotionless.

All production in Santoff Clousen stopped on Jack Frost's funeral day.

Every yeti and every elf was outside of Santoff clousen standing around the 4 guardians and the ice coffin of the winter spirit himself.

It took North less than a day to make it. The yetis offered to help but he insisted he had to make it on his own.

The ice was thin and transparent. There were delicate and beautiful patterns carved all around it. It was opened at the moment. They would not seal it until the service was over.

Jack lay there, looking as peaceful as ever. They had thought of changing him into the clothes he wore at the Christmas ball but they thought he would have preferred his good old blue hoodie.

The 4 Guardians stared, feeling all but lost.

"I can't remember." Tooth said to Bunny suddenly. Lately all Tooth talked about was of things she "couldn't".

"What?" Bunny managed.

"I'm the Guardian of memories," she said with a humorless laugh. "and I can't remember how we lived without him." There was a pause as they looked at Jack and remembered all the moments they had had with him. Every smile and every laugh because that is what Jack loved to do: make you laugh.

Bunny didn't think he would be able to laugh ever again.

The pooka looked over at North who was standing to his right. He was staring at a photograph in his hand; he had hardily looked at Jack himself.

"What is that, North?" Tooth asked, which surprised Bunny.

North swallowed.

"It is picture from Christmas ball. The one we're all in." Bunny looked at it. They were all dressed in their formal suits. Jack was in the middle smiling brightly, surrounded by the others. Their little family, now broken.

"I meant to give it to Jack, but… I can't…" North seemed close to tears. Bunny had seen the Guardian of wonder holding in his grief. He knew it wouldn't last long.

"Keep it, North." Said Tooth softly, "It is a good memory."

Bunny sighed.

"Are we going to…?" He asked. Tooth nodded.

"Yes I think we should." They had all decided to give something to Jack. Sort of a goodbye gift. Bunny would rather think of it as a thank you gift.

Thank you for being part of our lives, even if it was so briefly.

The pain in Bunny's chest was so deep he felt almost numb. Like those days when it is so cold that you don't even feel it anymore.

"Mine is not here." Bunny says. "I'll be right back." He glances once more at the ice coffin before opening a tunnel to his warren. The change of temperature is drastic, but he does not feel it. All he thinks about is his gift.

When he arrives, he makes his way to the flower covered bank under the highest hill of the warren.

He can remember perfectly how Jack pulled him to that place first thing in the morning on that dreadful day. The day everything started.

He could remember perfectly the sound of his laughter as he rolled down the hill.

He could remember perfectly how beautiful he looked as he lay on the flowers.

Bunny bent down and cut plenty of flowers from the bank.

He made his way back. Again, not feeling the sudden chill. He wordlessly walked towards the ice coffin and began to place the flowers inside Jack's hood.

He looked just as beautiful as he did on that day. Bunny found himself, for a second, wishing that Jack was ugly. If he was then he would still be alive.

With the hatred towards himself rising, Bunny went back to standing next to Tooth and North.

Sandy went next. He gave Jack the golden heart he had made for him the first time they left him. They had found it in Jack's hoodie and Sandy had decided that was what he wanted to give him. Sandy placed it under the palm of Jack's hands, which were resting over his stomach.

In his hoodie they had also found the little matryoshka doll North had made of Jack. North decided to keep it.

Tooth went next. She fluttered lightly next to the coffin.

"I haven't told the baby teeth." She tells Jack. "I couldn't."

There is a pause. She takes a deep breath.

"Here," she placed his memory box next to the little gold heart, "they're yours." She stares fondly at him for a few seconds before flying back to Bunny and Sandy's side.

It's North's turn. He walks slowly to Jack's side. His back is hunched and his eyes are wet. He takes out of his pocket the little matryoshka doll of North's center.

"I will keep yours and you will keep mine." He says, his voice quivering. He places it next to the memory box. North sets a hand lightly on Jack's hair and says something in Russian that the others don't understand, but can guess.

North walks back to Bunny's side.

Suddenly they hear the bells of approaching elves. The 7 elves that were with Jack in these last few days make their way to the other Guardians. They are all tearful.

The 4 gasp as they watch the elves take the bells off their hats and turn to the Guardians.

They want to give a gift too.

The 4 of them help the elves deliver their gift. Soon there were 3 bells at Jack's left, 3 bells at Jack's right, and one bell under his palms next to the other gifts.

Bunny looks away from Jack's face and instead looks at the coffin itself.

"You did great, mate. It's beautiful." He says to North. The Guardian of wonder stares at the coffin as well.

"I have never made something that was not toy in my workshop," he says, "never thought I would have to make my son's coffin."

Finally, North cracks. Sobs wrack his body. His knees buckle and he covers his face with his hands. In a second the 3 of them are around him. They hold him and try to provide some comfort but they know they cannot lessen the pain.

They were not sure how long they stayed that way. Until North stopped crying, which was a long time later.

Once North got back on his feet, the ceremony was over. He wordlessly motioned for the yetis to seal the coffin. As they were about to do it, Bunny felt a sudden dread fill him.

It was his turn to crack.

"Wait!" The desperation in his voice was enough to stop the yetis in their tracks.

Bunny's heart was beating fast. The pain had stopped being numb. It was now hitting him in waves over and over. They couldn't do this. He couldn't loose him. They had to…

"Bunny…" North began with a miserable look.

"No! There must have been something we didn't do! Something we didn't see! We have to try again!"

"Bunny, we did everything. Please. Stop." Begs Tooth. Sandy nods.

Bunny looks around him to see hopelessness everywhere. He was outnumbered. There was nothing he could do.

The thought of the yetis sealing Jack away scared Bunny to no end.

"Please just…" he sighed, defeated, "just let me say goodbye."

They could not say no to that. The other Guardians nodded and the yetis put the coffin's lid down.

Bunny slowly moved to Jack's side. He stared at him and felt tears roll down his face.

"Frostbite, what are you doing?" he murmured, "Wake up. I need you to wake up." He gave a humorless laugh, "I have never needed anything so badly in my entire life. I need to see you open your eyes. I need to hear you laugh. I need to see you smile. I need you because… I love you." Bunny leans on the coffin as he bends down to kiss Jack.

Everything happened fast.

The coffin cracked under Bunny's weight and before he can reach Jack, the ice shattered.

Bunny suddenly falls, lands on top of Jack, and then lands on the ground.

The force of the impact forces the piece of apple out of Jack's throat.

There is a silence after the breaking of the coffin where everyone is just staring, shocked.

The silence is broken by the sound of coughing.

Jack's coughing.

Bunny looks up, slightly dazed, and sees Jack spitting out onto the snow.

"Gross." Says the winter spirit. It's the sweetest sound Bunny has ever heard.

Jack blinks and looks around. They are outside Santoff Clousen, that he can tell. He is surrounded by what appears to be every elf and yeti that work with North and he is lying on top of broken ice. He sees North, Tooth, and Sandy staring at him with wide eyes. He then turns and sees Bunny right next to him.

"Um… hey. What happened?" he feels something in his hood but when he raises his hands to check he feels something in them. His golden heart, North's center doll, his memory box, and a bell.

What in the world?

He raised a hand to his hood and pulls something out.

A flower.

That was when it hit him. This was his funeral.

Oh.

Oh.

He looked back at Bunny with a guilty look.

"I'm so-mh!" Bunny suddenly pulled him in and kissed him.

Before Jack could react, Bunny pulls away.

"I love you." The Guardian of hope says. Jack's eyes open wide and a smile appeared on his face.

"I had to die 3 times for you to tell me that?" With a laugh Jack bent foreword and kissed him back.

There was sudden cheering from all around them. Jack felt himself being hugged by his fellow Guardians. He was suddenly in a tight group hug. He closed his eyes and basked himself in the affection.

"Noooo!" The sudden scream was so loud and so violent that it startled everyone to their feet.

Cashlin appeared out of a cloud of grey smoke. Her face distorted with rage and hatred.

"I've had it! You will die and you will stay dead!" The 4 Guardians placed themselves infront of Jack in fighting positions.

Jack was suddenly filled with anger and frustration.

He had had enough as well.

"That's it." He murmured as he pushed his way through the other Guardians. This startled them almost as much as Cashlin's scream.

"Jack!" They all called out.

Before either they or Cashlin could do anything, Jack pointed his staff at her and froze her solid.

There was another shocked silence as everyone stared at the witch, now trapped in an ice cube, and at the suddenly exhausted winter spirit.

Bunny is the first to speak.

"We should have let you done that sooner." Those words make the tension break. Everyone begins to laugh and Jack smiles tiredly. He opens his arms and Bunny immediately carries him.

"Guys," Jack tells his family, "take me home."

They begin to walk to Santoff Clousen and North tells the yetis to clean up the mess.

In Bunny's arms Jack looks at the broken ice on the ground, the frozen witch, and the jumping elves. He gave a tired laugh.

"Do I put the fun back in funeral or what?"

There you go. The power of love saved Jack... not really.

Thanks for reading!

For the JackRabbit shippers reading this, I want to inform you that I am going to write a new story called "Overcoming Shadows". It's a human AU and it is all JackRabbit. If you're interested, stay in tune.

Hope you enjoyed this story!