Hello peoples! My mind has been busy lately, constantly coming up with more stories, and sadly (*sigh*) my computer has not been revived yet. My dad told me that when the "blue screen of death" showed up, that we were screwed and would have to get a technician out. Gratefully, my dad took pity on me and let me use his laptop for the time being (yes!). Anyways….enough about my life, on with the story! So, this is more of a filler chapter, containing a lot of woody banter between Heat and Jack. But don't worry, it's not completely pointless.

Chapter 6: Monologues and Smart-mouths

The flaring burns jolted me awake, followed by the throbbing pain of the cuts and bruises that covered my body. Stifling a groan, I pulled myself into a sitting position, leaning against a wall. I looked around to see that there was nothing here; I was in a gray, stone room, with no windows, no doors, and, well, nothing at all.

Instinctively, I reached for my staff, but the hollow pain in my chest reminded me of my current situation, and that my staff was broken. As the memories came crawling back, I struggled to scramble up and flee. I was yanked back, and I unfortunately discovered that I was chained to the wall by my wrists and my ankles.

"Smooth, Jack," I muttered to myself, "Way to go get yourself beat up and captured by a madman." Without warning, the temperature shot up another fifty degrees and the chains got red hot, burning into the skin that was forced into contact.

A fiery portal appeared in the middle of the room, and the Heat Miser strolled out, obviously amused. The portal closed, and Heat loomed over me. "Hmm, the little Snowflake is awake. It took long enough, I wanted to see the look on your face when I ended you," he sneered.

"What did I ever do to you, Heat pack?" I questioned, honestly confused about his motives.

Heat rolled his eyes, like I was supposed to know the answer. "You made winter fun," he simply stated. "You see-."

Great. He was a monologuer.

"Summer used to be a great time," he continued, bitterness rising in his throat. "Kids used to look forward for summer, when they were off from school and free from the coldness of winter. Then you came. Slowly but surely, you made winter more exciting than summer, and the days became colder and colder, pushing me out. I'm not the only one that feels like this, you know. May and April are pretty upset too." Heat finished off by glaring out me, his gaze practically burning into my skin as well.

I laughed weakly, ignoring the weariness washing over me from the heat. "It's not my fault that kids prefer winter over summer," I shrugged.

At that, Heat growled kicked my chest, knocking me to the ground. "Yes, it is. You've poisoned the children to think that it is good to freeze their butts of in the snow," he snapped.

"Someone didn't have a good childhood," I teased, cocking my head up at him. That probably wasn't the best move, I admit, since he kicked my hard in the side. I hissed in pain as the point of his sword slid across my back.

Heat gripped my hood and pulled me up, squatting so he could look at me at eye level. "Lucky for you, I promised my girl April that she could see you die, so enjoy your last hour of life, winter boy," he whispered, before dropping me.

How was I going to get out of this one?

The Guardians stared in horror at Jack's broken staff. What would happen to the young Guardian if his item of power was shattered? Tooth, who was now feeling better, flitting around like a maniac while trying to explain what she saw.

"It looked a bit like the Heat Miser now that I think about it," she thought, "but different out the same time. Of course, I haven't seen him in a hundred years or so."

"If the bloke did take him," Bunny wondered, "then where are they?"

Sandy waved his arms and pointed to the images of sand whirling above his head.

"Yes Sandy," North acknowledged, "You can bury him in sand once we find him." Sandy more urgently gestured to the sand. "Fine, lot of sand."

"Wait," Bunny interrupted, "Doesn't Heat have a place in the Sahara?"

North stroked his beard. "I believe he does… Everyone in sleigh!" he announced, before adding, "Sandy, how come you not know that he lies within so much sand?"

Sandy shook his head in defeat. He had tried to tell them that earlier, but they didn't understand. It was times like this where Sandy wished he could talk.

They all hopped in the sleigh and flew off (much to Bunny's dismay…), eager to find their missing Guardian.

Okay, so it wasn't much, but I hoped it was at least somewhat enjoyed. I'll try to be back soon, and I promise to put more action in the next chapter. Oh, and I recently discovered that my line breaks weren't working, so I'm going to try to fix that in the previous chapters.

PS. Remember that the Guardians don't know that Jack's staff has been broken before.

PPS. Review!