Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters and I do not want to make a profit from writing this story.

Author's Note: So, this is a story I've been working on for the past few months. It's probably my longest ROTG story so far. It's all written out and just needs editing, so expect to see a new chapter around every Friday-Saturday.

Chapter 1

Humming to himself, Frank swept the floor of his shop as he heard the door's bell jingle. Frank raised his head and saw the face of a familiar teen with brown hair wearing a worn t-shirt, pants, a magician hat and carrying an old duffel bag enter. "Morning, Jack!" Frank greeted with a wave. "You're here early."

Jack grinned. "You don't make money by being late," the boy replied. "You still okay if I set up outside?"

Frank chuckled. "As I tell you every morning, go ahead," he replied as he went back to sweeping. "You doing your little street show brings in good business for me." Jack was a nice kid. Even though Frank insisted he was fine with Jack performing his magic tricks in front of his shop, the boy had always came in like clockwork just to make certain Frank was still alright. Granted, Frank knew personally not a lot of shop owners would be thrilled with the idea of a street kid was trying to earn money at their establishment, however, Frank didn't care. Kids living on the street had it hard enough as is, if it didn't hurt to make their life easier, why shouldn't someone offer a hand?

Jack gave a grateful smile. "Thanks, Frank, I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem, Kiddo," Frank replied as Jack headed back outside. "Just stay warm, there's a chill in the air today."

Jack nodded as he shut the door and went to sit in front of the shop. Frank grinned amused as he set the broom aside to make fresh donuts. He felt very lucky to know Jack and he would admit it proudly. How many could say they were friends with a street magician?

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Pitch could feel the exhaustion slip into his bones as he crossed the threshold to his lab. It had been a long trip. While driving across the country, Pitch discovered that the 'cargo' had a whole list of swear words from every language. He was very tempted to sew the lips shut of the infuriating creature, but Pitch couldn't risk damaging him. Pitch was so close to his goal and he refused to take any chances he didn't have to take.

It may have been faster to take a plane home, but he doubted the airline would allow him to take a rabbit as carry on luggage and he refused to let it out of his sight for minute. Pitch had worked long and hard to capture him, Pitch wasn't going to jeopardize it by being foolish.

Pitch smiled as he reached his laboratory and grinned smugly at the glass beakers. Finally, his dream was within his grasp. He had awaited for this day for centuries and it was finally here. Pitch had spent years devising ways to track and capture the last Pooka, with no thanks to those Guardians.

Honestly, if Pitch had known placing that seal on the Pooka would have saved him so much time, he would have done it ages ago. Course, the seal itself had been quite costly, never mind the amount of work he had to put into setting up the runes and sealing circle to activate it.

Although, he thought. Once I can tap into my magic, I won't need to rely on such tiresome methods. He chuckled as Pitch selected a black cast box that contained his tools and potions he would be use to 'persuade' the Pooka to complete his request.

It was time for the fun to begin. "Onyx!" Pitch called as he cleared his lab table. "Fetch the hairball and bring him to me."

Pitch waited to hear a sharp "At once, Master!", but frowned when he was greeted with silence. "Onyx?"

He heard the shuffling of feet and a large man, with long black hair, and various stitch marks on his arms and neck appear in the doorway. "M-master, I am sorry, but I can't."

Pitch sighed as he rolled his eyes. He had built Onyx to be as strong as an ox, but also as dumb as one. Simple minds were far easier to control and less likely to rebel, but there were times Pitch wondered if a smart servant would have been worth the risk. "You just need to bring me the cage. It's not that hard-"

"N-no, Master," Onyx stammered. "I-I mean…." He gulped. "The Pooka's escaped."

"WHAT?!" Pitch shoved Onyx aside as he ran into the backroom where he had told Onyx to guard their guest until he had finished the preparations. He spotted the small cage and true to Onyx's word, the door to it was swinging open with no Pooka inside it.

Pitch sucked in air to control his rage, before he spun around and pinned Onyx to the wall. "Where is the Pooka?!"

"It wasn't my fault, Master!" Onyx cried as he cowered. "He tricked me! He laid still and said he was dying! So, I opened to check and when I turned my back, he was gone!"

Pitch's fingers tightened around Onyx's throat. "Fool! I should tear you apart and rebuild you to be a door stop!" He reached into his robe and yanked out a bottle. "Or perhaps I you should be the next test subject for one of my potions?!"

"N-no, Master!' Onyx pleaded as he shook. "Anything, but that!"

"Then, get that Pooka!" Pitch cried as he tossed Onyx to the floor and pointed to the door. "Find him!"

"Yes, Master!" Onyx jumped to his feet and gave a hasty vow before he charged out of the door.

Pitch cursed as he leaned against the wall and rubbed his eyes. "Of course, this wouldn't be this easy!" He shot a glare at the empty cage. "At least that seal I put on him won't be wearing off anytime soon." He gave a smirk as he thought about his advantage.

In the furball's current state and miles away from his friends, it was only a matter of time before they captured him again and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

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Jack grinned as he shuffled and fanned out the cards. "Pick a card, any card from the deck."

The little girl who sat across from him frowned and stared at the cards like she was deciding her fate. Jack stole a glance at the girl's mother who smiled amused.

"I pick," the girl said as her hand hovered. "This one!"

"Look in the card, but don't show me," Jack instructed as he piled the cards back together. "Once, you're done, slip it back into my deck."

The girl gave a nodded and placed it back into the deck. Jack grinned as he shuffled the cards. Now, was the time for the dramatic effect. He shut his eyes and waved his hands like he was casting a spell.

"Your card...was this one!" Jack yanked out the card he had marked and held out the Ace of Hearts.

The girl gasped. "How did you know?!"

"Magic!" Jack replied with a wink. "And a good magician never reveals his secrets."

"Do another trick!" the girl pleaded as she clasped her hands. "Please!"

"Now, Honey," the mother said as she laughed. "He's done four tricks for you already."

"It's fine, my dad always said to never deny an audience" Jack said as he reached into the top had he had set out for people to drop money in. "See this quarter?"

The girl nodded.

"Now you see it," Jack twirled the coin around his fingers and then held his palms opened. "Now you don't!"

The girl's jaw dropped. "Where's the coin?! It's gone!"

"No, it's not," Jack said as he reached behind her ear. "It's right here!" He held the quarter out.

The girl giggled and clapped. "That's amazing!"

"It is, but we need to get home for dinner," the mother said as Jack saw she slipped a ten dollar bill into his top hat.

It was Jack's turn to stare wide eye. He would be lucky if a person let a five dollars, but ten was a miracle. "Thank you!"

The mother gave a smile as the girl took her hand and waved at Jack. "Bye, Mister Magician! I'll see you later!"

Jack waved as he collected the money and stuffed it into his duffel. "Wow, I can actually afford a proper meal today."

He heard a chuckle behind him as Frank stepped out of his donut shop. "Having a successful day there, kid?"

Jack gave a smile back. "Yeah, got way more people than I did yesterday. I'll be sticking around another hour if that's okay."

"Fine with me, just as long as you're gone before I close." Frank wiped his hands onto his apron. "It'll be getting dark soon."

Jack nodded. He liked Frank, he was one of the few shop owners that didn't mind Jack performing his magic tricks in front of his store to earn money. Instead of yelling and screaming at Jack to get lost, Frank encouraged it. Granted, Frank had a tendency to be nice to every street kid that came his way.

"Before you leave," Frank continued. "I got some day old donuts you can have if you want."

"Really? Yeah, that be great!" Jack exclaimed.

Frank laughed. "I'm gathering up my donations for the food bank, so I'll have it ready for you soon."

Jack beamed as Frank ventured back into the shop. Yup! Today was a good day. Jack would actually have enough food for today, tomorrow and perhaps even the day after if he rationed it well.

Jack emptied the top hat and flipped it back onto his head. His dad may not have left him with much when he died, but Jack would always be grateful for the magic tricks he taught him. Without them, Jack wasn't sure how he would get by day to day for money.

Jack gave a half smile at the memory of his dad, before shaking his head. No, time to be sad about things he couldn't change. He had to get a couple more tricks set up.

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A few blocks away, a small grey rabbit panted to catch his breath as he ducked into an alley. Stupid Pitch! Stupid seal! He snarled as he once again caught his reflection in some broken glass. "North, would be laughin' his head off if he saw me...course, that is if I can get home."

Bunny shook his head as he tried to make a plan. He still had no clue on where exactly he was. Bunny could be halfway across the country for all he knew.

If that was the case, it was a huge problem in his current state. Normally, Bunny could open up a tunnel and be home within a few hours, but with his powers sealed-

"Hey, Mike, look!"

He jumped as he spun around and saw two scruffy teen boys stare at him.

"A rabbit!" the taller one said as he pointed right at him.

The shorter one grinned. "Bet we can sell it for some quick cash!"

Oh, bloody hell! Bunny thought as he wasted no time to dart right between the boys legs and ran down the street. This day just kept getting worse and worse.

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Jack hummed as he stuffed his cards and other travel magic tricks into his duffel bag. He only earned a couple of quarters in the last hour, but he'd take what he could get.

"Wonder if I should treat myself to a burger tonight-"

Suddenly, Jack fell back as something rammed straight into him. Jack sat up and stared into the eyes of a very dazed looking rabbit. "Where did you come from?"

The rabbit seemed to come shake himself back to his senses as Jack heard voices.

"Mike! There it is! Overland has it!"

Jack looked up and groaned. Mike and Tony, two thugs that would probably sell their right arm for cash. No wonder the rabbit was running for his life.

The rabbit looked ready to run off again, but Jack acted promptly. He dropped his top hat over the rabbit to trap it while he brought his duffel bag closer. He'd have to do this fast.

Jack barely managed to finish his trick before Mike and Tony halted and glared at him. "All right, Houdini!" Tony snapped. "Hand over the rabbit!"

Jack shrugged as he pulled the hat towards himself. "What rabbit?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Don't blame games, runt! The one you just stashed under your hat."

"Did I?" Jack smirked as he lifted his hat and reveal nothing there. "Cause unless it's invisible, I'm seeing no rabbit here."

Tony scratched his head confused as Mike fumed and grabbed Jack by his shirt. "I don't have time for your stupid tricks! Where's the rabbit?!" He formed a fist. "Or do you want me to perform my trick of making black eyes appear!"

"Go ahead," Jack replied. "I'd still look better than you two gorillas."

"Why, you little-"

"Ahem!"

Mike and Tony froze as Frank finished clearing his throat and tapped his fingers against the doorknob. "There a problem, boys? Or do I need to call the cops to straighten this out?"

Mike fumed, but cursed as he let go of Jack and shoved him. "You're lucky today, brat."

"Yeah," Tony agreed as they started to walk back where they came. "We'll catch you when your bodyguard isn't around."

Jack stuck out his tongue as he watched the pair leave. "Those two are a pain in a the butt."

"Yes, but you need to learn not to pick fights with people twice your size." Frank frowned. "What were they angry about? Something about a rabbit?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Jack replied as he swung the duffel bag over his shoulder and tried to ignore the added weight he had just stuffed into it. "I should get going."

Frank nodded as he handed Jack a paper bag. "Here, it's mostly glazed, but there are a couple of chocolate and jelly-filled in there."

"Thanks," Jack said as he stole a peek into the bag, "been ages since I had a good sugar high."

Frank chuckled as headed back inside. "Don't make yourself sick, Jack. Stay safe!"

Jack waved as he headed down the street and went into the nearest alley. He set the bag of donuts down so he had both hands to unzip his bag.

"You okay in there little guy?" Jack asked as two long ears and a pair of bright green eyes peeked out. He frowned as he glanced under the rabbit's chin. "No collar, so guess you're wild?" he muttered aloud. "Weird, we don't get many rabbits in the city."

Part of Jack wondered if he should let the rabbit loose, but there were plenty of other creeps like Mike and Tony around and that wasn't including the stray dogs that would love to make a meal out of him.

The rabbit stared at him and Jack gave a smile back. "Guess, I'll take you home with me for tonight." The rabbit made a grunt like noise as Jack zipped the duffel bag up, but left the very end open for the rabbit to have air.

Jack laughed as he picked up his bag of donuts. "Been ages since I've had company for the night, it'll be a nice change." He carefully carried the bag and he headed back down the street, not noticing the thoughtful look the rabbit had on his face.