End of chapter 5:

Bunnymund decided his search for Jack Frost could wait. This kid needed care. Bringing him to North was probably the best decision, but with Christmas coming up, he didn't trust Santa Claus or the Yetis to nurse this guy back to health. Besides, what was another couple hours?

He covered his boomerang with soft dirt and used it as a pillow for the kid. It was warm underground, and he felt great. If only he had a carrot...

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It's so warm...

Jack's eyes flew open and he felt sweat fall from his forehead to his hair. He sat up and looked around, but it was too dark to see anything. The last thing he remembered was... being in the water, sinking deeper and deeper... From experience Jack knew that calling out would not result in any sort of response, but he did it anyway.

"H-hello?"

Jack groaned. He felt hot, like the sun. He coughed and searched the muddy floor for his staff. It wasn't there.

"Hello?" Jack repeated. "Helloooo?"

The sound was absorbed; it didn't echo like his own cave. It was like a cave... a really deep cave, only made of dirt, not ice. He got on all fours to feel the floors and they curved upward into the walls, and then the ceiling. Dirt fell into his white hair and onto his face- Jack had to spit out a bit of it. He sniffed. The air was musty and warm. He felt roots coming out of every surface, like little fingers reaching for the center. It was a tunnel.

"Is anyone here?" Jack crawled, feeling with his hands because the light was too dim for any other way of getting around. He had to wonder where the little light came from.

Jack froze when his hands touched something soft; something fluffy and warm. He fell back a good deal and looked forward with wide blue eyes, feeling naked and scared without his staff.

"Who's there?" he asked. Nothing responded in voice, but the thing he had touched was alive. It stood up and looked like a werewolf. Jack cowered.

"Who's there?" he repeated.

"Hey," said the voice. It had a strange accent. "Are you alright?"

Jack felt his heartbeat accelerate. Had the monster just spoken to him? Was that what he was- a monster, only able to communicate with other monsters? His fingers dug into the dirt. It was hard to think with all this heat. He coughed again, and pulled a hand out of the ground. His fingernails were full of mud.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you- are you cold? It's a little chilly. What's your name?"

"I'm burning up," said Jack. It was his imagination. It had to be his imagination.

The monster didn't answer for a second. "What? It- it's kind of cold, don't you think...?"

"You can't see me," Jack said, ignoring the question. "You can't actually see me."

"Well, granted, it's a little dark..."

"Stop."

"What? You're worrying me, mate."

"I need to get back to the snow. How do I get there?"

"...Were you attacked?"

"What? How do I get back to the top?"

"I said, were you attacked? About a week or two ago, did you hear anything... strange? Were you attacked by something? Someone?"

"You're crazy!"

"What's your name?"

"Jack."

"Jack, were you- wait. What did you just say?"

"You're crazy, that's what."

"No-" The monster sounded agitated. It cleared its throat and its tone of voice morphed into something akin to fear. "Your name. What was it?"

"Jack. Why am I still talking to you?"

Jack hesitated, as if waiting for an answer, but decided against it. He stood up and dug his fingers into the wall, ready to get himself out of this hole. The snow had to be above, right? The roots must have meant they were underground. He spit into each hand and started to claw his way into the top of the tunnel. But the monster put its paws on either side of him and pulled him away.

"Hey!" Jack yelled. "What are you doing? I need to-" he squirmed until he dropped to the ground. "Ow! I need to get back up there! You're crazy- leave me alone! I made you up. You can't see me."

He was beginning to doubt that. What kind of imaginative creation could lift him? That was impossible. But this monster had to be as real to Jack as Jack was to everyone. It wasn't allowed to exist.

"You didn't make me up, mate. And I'm just wonderin'- is your name Frost?"

"Jack Frost. You'd obviously know, being in my head and all."

Jack was walking down the tunnel one second and was on the ground next. He could feel himself being crushed by this massive fluffy something. It was a little bit painful and he realized that it had to be real. The weight and fur added to his problem with the high temperature.

"Get off!" Jack yelled. "Get-"

A paw was placed over his mouth. In a sickening swoop, light shone bright and they were in the snow, tackling like dogs. Jack mumbled through the fur and tried to bite it away, but not even the sudden coldness could help with his searing headache. He stopped struggling and waited for the worst.

The monster turned him round so they were face to face. It was a- a- a rabbit.

A rabbit?

Neither spoke for some time. The rabbit stared at Jack as if he had six eyes, and Jack gave the rabbit a look of strong contempt. The wind blew, and the rabbit shivered- it liked the heat, apparently, and not the cold. Jack smirked briefly.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, trying to get away.

"You're not- well- are you?"

Jack kicked at the snow in frustration. "Just let me go! Can't we talk like civilized- err, people?" It was a rabbit, but a giant talking rabbit, so...

"I'm a bunny. Name's the Easter Bunny- Bunnymund."

"Great. Why are you a giant talking rabbit?"

"I'm the Easter Bunny."

"What's Easter?"

It stopped moving long enough for Jack to get out of its hold. He stood up and brushed himself off of dirt and melting snow. The wind was strong, whistling and loud. Jack looked around, but there was no escape, and his staff was still hidden below them.

"Easter is a holiday, like... like Christmas." Bunnymund seemed a little reluctant to admit it had similarities to Christmas.

"What's Christmas?"

"What's Christmas?" His eyes were wide for such a mean-looking creature, but the effect of his astonishment was undermined when a flurry of wind seeped into his fur. "L-look, I don't have time to answer stupid questions. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I don't have time to answer stupid questions," Jack retorted. But he rather liked talking to someone. It'd been over a month since he was "born," and it was the first interaction he'd ever had. He'd only seen humans speak. He wished he had a human, just one, to talk to. Would a giant bunny be enough? It seemed insane.

"I need answers, kid. I'm not letting you g-go until you answer me."

"You're freezing your brains out!" Jack said. "I could leave at any time."

Bunnymund grinned- a humanoid face of fur and whiskers. It was rather menacing. "Your name is Jack Frost?" he asked, wanting to confirm it.

Jack nodded.

"And, ahh... is that your staff below us? In my, ahh, magical portal which only I can access?" Bunnymund asked.

He froze, unsure of what to say. Why not humor the rabbit? But he wanted to go have fun. What if Bunnymund wasn't true to his word? What if he kidnapped Jack? "Yeah, it's my staff, but I can just get another one."

"I've a feeling you're lying."

"Well, I'm not."

"What are your powers?"

"What? I don't... what are you- I'm leaving."

Jack turned around and began to walk away; Bunnymund did not stop him. He walked some more, slowing down with each step. He'd only gone a few feet before stopping completely and clenching his fists. Damn. Jack reluctantly looked back and let out a sigh of defeat. They stared at each other for a long while; Bunnymund shivered but Jack stood in the snow, barefoot, completely silent, completely still.

"Alright," he finally said. "ask away."

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A/N: Your reviews are simply lovely.