Insincere - Sequel to "Heartfelt" (Bunnymund x Reader)

Chapter 24

You let out a gasp and looked down at your stomach, where the tip of the blade had made an appearance. Slowly, Phaedrus pulled it out, twisting it as he did. Shards of pain spiderwebbed through your body. You collapsed, covering the injury with your hand. You felt sticky liquid running down your back, staining your dress.

"Phaedrus," Bunny breathed.

Phaedrus snatched the boomerangs from your grasp. "Thank you, my dear. You did... Well, less efficient than expected."

"Give those back," you gasped.

"Oh, (Y/N). You came in here to take them. Don't try to blame this on me."  

Bunny put his hand on your shoulder and pulled you against him. You could feel his fear, his pain. He was without magic now. He was completely powerless. And when facing a character like Phaedrus, powerless was a bad thing to be. 

You tried to heal the wound. You pulled the injury up and out of yourself, but the pain that replaced it made you wonder if it was even worth it. On top of soreness all over, now you were stuck with a pounding ache in your stomach. 

You looked up to see Phaedrus forming another blade out of thin air. He smirked at Bunny. Alarm flared inside of you, pairing itself with the aching. That wasn't part of the deal. He'd promised not to hurt him. You shot a beam at Phaedrus's hand, knocking the dagger from his grasp. But he seemed pleased. With a thundering sensation, you realized that the beam hadn't been one of light, but one of shadow. 

"See, (Y/N)? It was never about the boomerangs, though they are an added bonus. You've gone dark. Just like Pitch... Just like me." 

"I will never be like you," you said, leaping to your feet. 

"Dear," he murmured, "You already are. Don't you see that? You were born for darkness. And now, you and I can be the most powerful creatures in the universe." 

"No," you said. "I won't be on your side for anything." 

He began to circle you. Bunny scrambled away from him, but Phaedrus wasn't interested in the Pooka anymore. His attention was fully consumed by his desire for your magic. 

"You're a fool, then, (Y/N). Think of everything." His fingers trailed across your shoulder. "I may not be the Man in the Moon, but I've only ever been honest with you. I've never kept you locked up, never hurt you. I'm your father." 

"And you almost killed my uncle! Now you're threatening to kill my brother." 

"Love is weakness, dear. You don't need love. Look where you've gotten by closing yourself off! Your powers are stronger, you have better control over them. You could have the world bow down to you!" 

You shoved him away from you. "The world would be shrouded in discord. I would never, ever want to rule over that." 

He smiled and leaned towards you. "You would." 

You shoved vines into his chest, sending him flying across the Warren. He fell down onto his back and laid still for a moment. It was the first time you could remember that he'd ever shown any weakness. You flew over to him and swooped down, reaching for the boomerangs, but as your fingers brushed the polished wood, he was on his feet and sending beams of darkness at you. You did your best to dodge them, but two hit your chest and sunk into your skin. 

"You can't have these, (Y/N). I can't let you give them back." 

You lunged for him again, this time using a vine covered in thorns to draw him close to you. You wrapped them around his wrists and pulled tightly, but he just laughed. Nothing was happening. There was no blood, no injuries. 

"You can't hurt me, daughter. We're too similar now." 

"I'm not similar to you!" you yelled. 

"You are, (Y/N)! Whether you like it or not, you are similar to me. You will always be similar to me. We are family, kindred souls related... By... Blood." He leaned over you. "You're afraid of being alone. You're afraid of loosing everything. You want power. You want control. But most of all... You want to be loved." He looked over at Bunny. "If no one will love me, then no one will love you." 

He lifted his hand and aimed it at Bunny. You sprinted across the grass and dove into his line of fire, deflecting Phaedrus's blast of shadow. It absorbed into your skin, but you couldn't let Bunny die, or even get hurt. If he did, there would be no reviving him, for he was no longer immortal. 

"You're not going to kill him," you declared. "You can do what you want to me, but you will not hurt Bunnymund." 

Bunny's paws wrapped around your waist. "(Y/N), don't worry about me anymore." 

Phaedrus lifted his hand and pushed darkness towards you again. You clutched Bunny's strong arms and closed your eyes, holding on tight to the thing that loved you most. You could feel the darkness getting closer, the coldness sprinting towards and around you. Around...? 

You opened your eyes and a gasp escaped your lips. A thin covering surrounded you and Bunny, made of thin threads of darkness all woven together. 

"You!" Phaedrus screamed. "You're spoiling my plans!" 

"Get out!" you demanded. 

"You can't hold your damn forcefield forever!" he yelled in return. 

"I can very well try!" 

He began bombarding the covering with blasts of shadows. The sound was like a jet flying overhead. At first, the blasts did nothing but make sound, and then you began to feel it. It was like rocks toppling down on top of you, one by one. The loud rush of wind, then another. Every blow rattled your bones and crushed your chest. Noise again, screaming. You flinched every time, and it got more intense with every blow. 

"Don't you know?" he yelled over the roaring. Even though he looked scared, he was smiling. "You can't fight darkness with darkness!" 

Bunny couldn't stay here any longer. He would die. You looked over your shoulder. "Bunny, you trust me?" you choked out. 

"More than anything." 

"I'm sending you to North's. Step through the portal as soon as I make it." 

"I'm not leaving you." 

"Yes, you are. You have to do it fast because I can't hold the forcefield and make a portal." 

"(Y/N), wait - " 

"One the count of three. Ready? One..." 

His grip around your waist tightened. You tightened your fingers in an attempt to continue to keep the forcefield. 

"Two..." 

Why wasn't Phaedrus tiring? How much power did he have, when it seemed like it would last forever. Certainly longer than you could hold the forcefield, that was for sure. 

You looked up at Bunny. "Bunny, help me by finding his weakness. That's my best hope." 

He stared at you for a moment, then nodded. "I'll start looking immediately." 

"Three." 

You took the forcefield's magic and pulled it into a pillar, then pushed Bunny into it. He stumbled into the pillar and looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide. Phaedrus sent another beam of shadow at you, and it burst though your chest. The shadows began to twirl around you, and your eyes remained locked on Bunny's as his figure disappeared for a length of time that you could only hope was short. 

k crap chapter but i'm working on it ok