Author's Notes:

Sorry this chapter took so long to post. I was busy writing other stories and busy with finishing up the school year.

Last we saw Jack and Bunnymund, Bunny had just revealed to Jack that he was El-ahrairah. How will things go from there? Please R&R and enjoy...

Jack stared at Bunnymund in shock. "You mean, you're the Prince of Rabbits?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," Bunny replied sagely.

"The guy who tried to bargain with the Black Rabbit of Inlé to save his people?"

"Yes."

"And tricked Rowsby Woof into thinking you were the Fairy Wogdog so you could get something called 'flayrah?'"

Bunny raised a suspicious eyebrow at Jack. "How do you know about all that, mite? North didn't tell you, did he?"

Frost shot Bunny a dirty look. "If he did tell me I wouldn't be so shocked about you being the famous El-ahrairah, now would I?"

The large rabbit thought it over before sighing. "You're right. Continue."

"I went to a rabbit warren on Watership Down just last winter," the winter spirit explained. "I overheard some rabbits telling stories about you and your adventures." He grinned roguishly. "Fairy Wogdog?" he teased. "Really? What kind of stupid name is that?"

"A name to fool stupid guard dogs, of course," the Easter bunny said defensively. His eyes went wide with realization. "Did you say 'Watership Down?'"

"Yeah," Jack answered. "Why?"

"That's the place where Pitch was last night, attacking the rabbits there." Aster sighed. "I don't know what to do, Jack. If I leave to help them, I'll risk losing Easter like I did last year and risk leaving our fellow Guardians unaided if Pitch tries to defeat us all again. If I stay here, my people will all die."

Jack and Bunny were overwhelmed by an eerie silence that lasted for several minutes. Jack, after thinking over what all Bunny had said, finally broke the silence. "Come on, Bunny: Easter's not for another month! You should help the rabbits: they need you. Besides, Tooth, North and Sandy can take care of themselves."

El-ahrairah looked at Frost curiously. "What about you? What are you plannin' to do?"

The winter spirit grinned at his ally. "I know you're not gonna like this, but- -"

Bunny immediately caught on to what Jack was saying. "Oh, no you're not!" he said seriously. "You're stayin' here with the others!"

"That's not really up to you, now is it?" Jack said slyly. "You know very well that I do what I please and nothing can hold me back. Besides, if Pitch really is attacking the rabbits there- -"

"- -which he is," the Prince of Rabbits threw in.

"- -then you'll need my help. Sandy and I are the two he can't immediately beat."

"He feeds off fear, mite," Bunny pointed out, "and you have a lot of it for him. Don't you remember what happened last year? He was ready to kill you, but your fear stopped you from reacting in time. You were lucky Sandy arrived when he did: the rest of us were powerless to stop Pitch from killing you."

Jack frowned, obviously recalling the incident Bunny was referring to. "That is true," he said quietly. He remembered something. "You have fear for him too, you know."

"I do not!" Bunny protested.

"Is that so? You're afraid for the safety of your people. Also: that same night Pitch almost killed me you showed it when a shadow of his hand went to stroke you when you were- -" Jack could not help but smile- -"a cute little guy," he said in such a way someone would talk to a baby.

"Oh, shut up!" the Guardian of Hope said irritably. He let out a sigh of despair. "Alright, I'm going. And yes, you can come along. Just don't mention when I was little!"

"Okay, I won't. Am I allowed to ask questions?"

Bunnymund looked at him dangerously. "As long as they don't have to do with when I was little." He turned and stamped before jumping into the hole that opened.

Frost jumped in after his friend. "Here's my first question," he called as they fell: "what's 'flayrah?'"

"Food wild rabbits don't usually have that they find tasty," El-ahrairah answered. "You know, like carrots, radishes and lettuce."

Jack wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Why would anyone think vegetables are tasty?" he wondered aloud.

"Depends on what your taste buds like, mite."

The Guardian of Fun glared at Bunny. "I didn't direct that question to you!"

"Then don't ask anythin' that's not directed to me!" Bunny countered. "Otherwise you'll probably get an answer you don't like!"

~!~

A silvery-gray rabbit walked to where Bigwig was standing watch at the top of the hill. "Any sight of that odd black fellow?" the rabbit asked the Owsla officer.

"Not yet, Silver," Bigwig answered gruffly. "You'll know if we see him when we give the warning signal."

Silver knew better than to ask Bigwig what the warning signal was: he could tell the officer was rather peeved about it all. He nodded respectfully. "Alright, I'll leave you to it then," he said politely. He turned around to go back to where he and several others had been grazing.

Bigwig stopped him with his voice. "Everyone, underground!" he bellowed.

Hazel, Fiver and Silver were instantly at the larger rabbit's side. "What's the matter?" Hazel asked urgently.

"Something just popped up at the bottom of the down," Bigwig replied, gesturing down the big hill with his right paw.

Fiver followed his friend's gaze and gasped. "There's two of them!" he said in a quiet yet excited voice.

"What are you talking about?" Silver asked. "I only see one."

A young rabbit rushed to where the four bucks were sitting. He saw exactly whom Fiver was talking about and smiled happily. "It's Jack Frost, and he brought El-ahrairah with him!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Upon hearing their names, the two Guardians looked up. Jack could not help but grin as he and Bunnymund ran up the hill. "It's mostly the other way around, Pipkin!" he called up to the young buck.

Bunny looked at Jack in confusion. "How did you get acquainted with the little mite?" he asked quietly.

"He was sniffing at the snow last season," the winter spirit explained. "I could tell it was his first time seeing it, so I lightly threw a small snowball at him to show him how fun it could be. He caught on fairly quickly for a rabbit his age, he, a male named Fiver, and a female named Hyzenthlay." He looked up and saw the bewildered faces of Silver and Bigwig looking at the excited Pipkin. "I guess they're the only ones that believe in me so far."

El-ahrairah winked at him. "Nothin' a talk from a well-known rabbit can't fix."

Jack grinned roguishly. "You mean a well-known kangaroo?" he asked playfully.

The Easter Bunny rolled his eyes in irritation. "Not gonna answer that."

~!~

Deep beneath the surface, Pitch sat watching a small screen-like device, which was showing a bird's-eye view of Watership Down. He grinned and chuckled darkly at the sight of several rabbits standing guard outside of the warren. "Fearful fools!" he muttered.

Two new figures came up the hill, causing a few rabbits to gather to see who they were. The Boogeyman grinned when he saw one of them was Bunnymund, but his grin suddenly faded when he realized who the second newcomer was. "Frost!" he growled, his voice a mix of fear and anger. That boy's presence there ruins my plan completely! he thought. So much for ambushing the rabbit. Why did he let Frost come along with him, anyway?

Pitch forced himself to relax when some of his nightmare sand came at him, sensing his fear. "This changes nothing," he told himself. "Jack is just another victim." He watched the screen once more, his mind focusing on how his plan needed to be fixed. I cannot let some immature spirit ruin my plans again!

I know Pipkin was a kid in the TV series and not in the book, but I thought that having Pipkin being a kid in this story would be a good dynamic, considering that only children can really see Jack Frost. As for Fiver and Hyzenthlay seeing him as well, they are seers after all. Why not let them be able to see Jack?

10/7/13: I decided to add in the sequence with Pitch to show a glimpse at how he's keeping an eye on things, and to show his discomfort at the knowledge of Jack's presence. Also: Chapter 4 will be posted (at long last) within the hour.

Please leave a review in the box below- -reviews are greatly appreciated!

See you next time!