Wow! I think that's the fastest I've EVER written a chapter!

I guess I'm just SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS STORY!

I had a bit of trouble writing Bunnymund, and so I'd really appreciate some feedback on my characterization!

I hope you all enjoy, and if you want more...

PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 2: Eggs and Icicles

The bunny seemed shocked for a moment, but soon was smirking, his ears flicking in her direction as he moved closer. Brilliant green eyes were sharp and aware, reminding her that while he wasn't fully human, he was no ordinary bunny either. He was the freaking Easter Bunny! Sophie had to discreetly pinch herself on the arm, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Now you've got a smart mouth on ya, eh? It really has been a long time…fifteen years, am I right?" he asked, reaching out his paw to accept the little egg. The egg jumped up and down in delight, nuzzling up against the bunny's furry forearm. Sophie let both of her hands cradle the glass ball, and slowly nodded.

"I think so. I'm surprised you remember me…I was just a little kid, wasn't I?"

The bunny nodded, his free paw coming out to hover near the middle of his calf – or was that his knee? Sophie shook her head, and focused on the bunny's words instead.

"You were quite the little thing, you barely came past my ankles. But you didn't let that stop you, as I recall. You just picked up my eggs and marched in here like you owned the place."

Sophie looked down, nudging the grass with her toes. She knew that she had been an adventurous toddler – her mother never got tired of reminding her and everyone else in town – but facing off against the Easter Bunny himself? That was just obnoxious…

Sophie looked up to see the bunny staring at her curiously, his eyes sweeping from her head to her toes, settling on her face. She tucked her hair behind her ears, frowning at his intense inspection. There was something hiding underneath the tough expression on his face. It was a sad, knowing look that made Sophie's hair stand on end.

In an effort to distract the bunny – as well as to satisfy her own curiosity – Sophie held out her hand. "I don't know if you already know this, but my name's Sophie. Do you have a name, or does everyone just call you the Easter Bunny?"

The bunny only hesitated for a second before he closed the distance in between them and grasped her hand in his. His fur was surprisingly soft, and Sophie was forced to look up to meet his eyes – he was quite tall.

"The name's Bunnymund."

Sophie frowned. "Wait, Bunnymud?"

"No, Bunnymund. It's like Bunny Monday, but without the 'ay' at the end."

"Oh, that makes more sense," Sophie exclaimed, and firmly shook the bunny's paw. "It's nice to meet you, Bunnymund. Now…can you maybe explain how I got here? I was walking in the street, and I almost got hit by a car. I was falling, and then I woke up here."

Bunnymund released her hand, and clicked a claw smartly against the surface of the glass orb. "Well, here's your answer. North just can't keep these in his pockets, can he? Ugh…" he scoffed, plucking the orb out of Sophie's hands and glaring at it.

"My niece found it underneath our Christmas tree. What is it?" she asked.

"North gave it a fancy name, but I can never remember it. So let's just call it a snow-globe. It's a transportation device; if you say the name of the Guardian you want to see and then throw it, a portal will take you to their realm. You must have activated it somehow…did you say my name?"

Sophie blinked. "I said 'Bunny', because there were little bunnies jumping around inside…"

Bunnymund nodded briskly. "That'll do it. I'll give this back to the old man; he really needs to keep a better hold on his magical items. Imagine if some children had gotten a hold of it!"

Sophie watched as Bunnymund tapped the ground with one of his powerful feet. The ground around his foot sunk downward, creating a small hole. Without a moment's hesitation, the bunny dropped the snow-globe into the opening. Sophie gasped; the moment the ball disappeared, the earth swirled upward to fill in the hole, leaving no sign that it had ever existed.

"Uh, did you bury it?" she couldn't help but ask, moving forward to prod the area with her bare toe. It was as solid as the rest of the ground, and she looked up at the sound of Bunnymund's huff of breath.

"I can't decide if I prefer you as a little one…you were a lot quieter, then," he muttered, but continued. "I sent it along one of my tunnels that leads to the North Pole. It'll pop up near the yeti huts…they'll know what to do with it."

"Yeti? What's a yeti?" Before Bunnymund could respond, another realization came to her. "Wait, wait wait…you have a tunnel that goes all the way to the North Pole? How far is that? How many tunnels do you have, anyway? I…"

Sophie staggered back as a terrible coldness sunk in her chest, trickling down until it seemed to radiate from her stomach. There was something she was missing, something very important. She spun around so she was facing away from Bunnymund, staring at the immense world around her.

"What happened to me?" she breathed, her eyes flickering around, searching for something – anything familiar. It was all a blur of beauty, but no, it wasn't…those were just her tears. She blinked them back, and clenched her fists.

Bunnymund laughed, a half-hearted sound. "Crikey, slow down, will ya?"

Sophie ran a hand through her hair, staring at her feet. "I'm sorry. I just…I don't like not knowing things. I don't know why this North guy left it in my house, I don't know why seeing that snow globe–" Sophie waved a hand at the spot in the ground where the glass orb had vanished. "–made me crazy enough to want to go take a walk outside at night, and I don't know why I'm not injured…I mean…I got hit by a car, didn't I? And my clothes…" she trailed off, reaching down to trace the delicate beading that adorned the fabric just underneath the bust.

Bunnymund let out a heavy sigh, and Sophie jumped, surprised, when his paw fell on her shoulder.

"I think it's time to get you home, Ankle-biter," he suggested. Sophie blinked rapidly, whirling around to face the solemn Guardian.

"But I shouldn't be feeling this way! I adored you when I was little – heck, I still do! I had dreams about those colored eggs for years; I couldn't wait for Easter because I knew that you made those eggs so special for each and every kid! I…I shouldn't be feeling so lost…I should be happy!"

Bunnymund stared at her, his green eyes locking on hers for several long moments. Then, he turned, letting his paw fall from her shoulder as he backed up a few steps. His foot tapped the ground, and a much larger hole appeared. He wordlessly held out his hand.

Sophie walked forward, and took it. She took one last look around at the beautiful sanctuary; her gaze lingering on the stone carved eggs and the colorful flowers. It might be the last time she ever saw it, and so she wanted to soak in as much as she could.

Bunnymund gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she nodded, reaching up to hastily wipe at her eyes. It was all going to be okay, she was going home.

"Okay, I'm ready," she murmured, and Bunnymund gestured for her other hand.

"You're gonna want to hold on to me, Ankle-biter."

Sophie cracked a smile through her tears. "Did you forget my name already?"

Bunnymund just shook his head, rolling his eyes. Sophie put her other hand in his, and on his count, they jumped into the hole together.

The journey only lasted a minute at most, but to Sophie it seemed much longer than that. The rich smell of mulch filled her nose as the walls of the tunnel blurred by, and the wind was rushing against her face with such force that she couldn't even look down to see if her feet were touching the ground. Bunny's grip was tight on her hands, and she could hear his easy, calm breathing as he pulled her along.

And then it was over.

Sophie was standing on firm snowy ground, and Bunnymund was letting go of her hands. They felt oddly warm, and she rubbed them together in an effort to get rid of the tingling sensation. They were behind a large arrangement of shrubs, and when Sophie looked around she saw that they were just behind the park across from her house. The familiar sight of her home sent a pang of relief through her, and with a smile she looked over at Bunnymund.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, and impulsively rushed forward to hug him. He stiffened in surprise, and she pulled back just as quickly, smiling widely at him. "Not just for this…for being so nice to me when I came the first time."

Bunnymund's ears drooped slightly, and he gave her an awkward pat on the head. "Don't mention it, Ankle-biter."

With that, he hopped back into his tunnel, and the hole disappeared with a whooshing sound. Sophie stared at the spot for a moment, and then shook her head. With a laugh, she pushed past the bushes and began running across the empty playground. Her house lights were on, her mother and father must be home. Jaime was most likely home as well – he lived an hour or so away – and Sophie made a mental note to call him later.

Wait until he heard that she had met the Easter Bunny for a second time!

Sophie grinned in anticipation, and stopped when she reached the sidewalk. The street was bereft of cars, but she still looked both ways before crossing. It wouldn't do to have a repeat of last night, would it?

The teenager darted across the street, dodging the patches of ice littering the asphalt. It occurred to her that she should be freezing cold, but she chalked her lack of cold up to being really, really eager to get home – she would probably feel it in her feet later, once she settled down.

There were two young girls walking down the street, sleds in hand, laughing loudly. Sophie paused before starting up the porch steps, and raised her hand in a wave. She babysat them sometimes, when their parents went out of town for business.

"Hey, guys!" she called.

They didn't respond, but they were still a distance away. They must not have heard her, and so Sophie waited until they were a few feet away before waving again, moving forward to greet them.

"Are you guys going sledd–"

Before she could finish, the two girls walked straight through her. It was like she was made of air, but she could still feel them, in a way. Their bodies passed through Sophie like it was nothing, and their expressions didn't change in the slightest. They continued laughing, and Sophie was left gasping for breath at the strange sensation.

"H-Hey!" she stammered, turning and running after the two girls. They didn't so much as flinch at the sound of her voice, and Sophie felt her chest clenching in fear. They had to be playing a trick on her; it was all a game, right?

"Ren, Jillian, it's me, Sophie! Okay, you can stop playing games now, just stop and look at me!"

She was yelling by the end, and she lunged forward to grab their shoulders. But her hands passed through them, and her knees cracked against the sidewalk, causing jolts of pressure to rush up her legs. The girls walked on, oblivious.

"They can't see me…why can't they…?" Sophie sobbed, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked up at her house, and scrambled to her feet, backing away from the place that just seconds ago had seemed so welcoming. She imagined walking inside, her parents' eyes blank and unseeing even if she stood right in front of them. She didn't want to find out, she didn't want to see it – if she saw it, then it would become real.

"No, no, NO!"

With that, she was running, faster than she could ever remember running. The cold air should have been penetrating her very bones, but she didn't even feel it. It was as if she herself was separated from the cold, alone in her own world of warmth. She wished she could feel it, just to know that she wasn't going insane.

Sophie ran down the sidewalk, passing through people as they went through their daily shopping routines. The same shivering sensation came every time it happened, and each time Sophie felt herself closer to tears.

Eventually, she saw a very reflective shop window, and stopped in front of it.

She saw a slender girl clad in an airy silver dress that shimmered against the whiteness of the snow. Her hair was long and blonde, falling in rough layers to her lower back. All of that was familiar, but the rest…it scared her.

What had once been tan skin was now pale; she looked like a lost ghost. No wonder Bunnymund had been looking at her so strangely. But the most jarring difference was her eyes.

Sophie had always liked the color of her eyes. Her father said that they were the color of freshly grown grass, and made him think of spring. As a fan of the Easter Bunny, Sophie had always taken it as a compliment, and always worked to accent that particular feature.

But those green eyes were gone.

Sophie's eyes were silver.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" she asked her reflection, and turned away. The world was so much brighter and more vibrant, and she wondered if this was what happened to everyone that died. Had her grandmother been this way, too? Forced to wander the Earth, invisible to everyone she knew and loved?

"You're much calmer than I thought you'd be," a husky voice sounded behind her, and Sophie turned, her dress flaring around her knees as she did so. A lanky teenager with white hair and ice-blue eyes was balanced in front of her, his hooked staff serving as his perch. The shoppers bustled around and through Sophie, and she saw that the same was happening to the Guardian.

"Jack Frost," she stated, her voice as empty as she felt. This was her brother's hero, his idol practically, and all she could feel was mild surprise.

Jack sent her a quick salute, and jumped down from his seat, the snow flurrying a bit where he landed. He wasn't outrageously tall – if Sophie had to wager a guess, she would say that he was an inch or so taller than she was.

"It's okay to feel scared, Sophie. You just–"

Jaime's stories came back, and she interrupted him. "I just need to make it a game?"

Jack's lips quirked in a lopsided smirk. "In most cases, I would say yes to that. But I think this is a bit different."

"A bit?" Sophie bit out, and Jack leaned on his staff, staring at her silently. She crossed her arms, defiant against the knowing look in his eyes.

"Come on, let's go for a ride. There's some important people who need to talk to you," Jack said casually, holding out his hand. Sophie stared at it, and was once again reminded of Jaime. Jaime wouldn't have hesitated for a second; Jaime would have been brave.

Her throat tight with tears, Sophie took his hand. It was very cold, but not unpleasantly so. It was a pleasant change from the lack of sensation she had been feeling up until that point.

Jack slowly began to float upward, and shifted her hand so it was holding onto his staff. It was the same temperature as Jack, pulsing with energy that was piercing and sharp. Sophie gripped it tightly, feeling her feet leave the snowy. She refused to look down, and swallowed her terror.

She wasn't a fan of heights.

"Close your eyes, and hold on tight. I won't let you fall," Jack said, as if sensing her fear. Or maybe he could just see the uneasiness on her face. She had always been an open book, after all.

Sophie obeyed him blindly. "Where are we going?"

"The North Pole," he replied, and Sophie was almost surprised enough to open her eyes.

"The North P–"

But the words were sucked out of her chest; the boy gave a quick command to the wind, and suddenly they were flying so fast that it was all Sophie could do to hold on to Jack's staff.