A/N: Hooray for plot development! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter and have a great weekend and all sorts of wonderful things. :) I have to go get a passport and study for a chemistry test. Not as much fun... Yet again, my wondered and astonished thanks to all the people who favorited (I've got FAVORITES) and followed and reviewed. You are all amazing. Not like Hate, who is a total douche. ^-^


Jack woke up stiff and sore from his fall to see Hate watching him from the doorway. He gave the closest he could to a laugh. "I won- I didn't sit down." Somehow Jack didn't think Hate would count the victory for his side, though. Hate's face twitched and Jack decided to press his momentum- probably (no, definitely) a bad decision, but it wasn't like his situation could get any worse.

"Thought it'd be easier than this, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not planning on breaking any time soon." The scathing tone in his voice left no question as to what he thought about that idea.

"Oh really?" Jack smiled to himself- could tell he'd hit a nerve by the tone of Hate's voice. "And just what do you think is going to happen? That you'll be rescued? The Guardians managed before you came along and they'll manage after. Why risk their lives for you?"

Jack flinched a little, but his tone remained defiant. "We'll see who's right, won't we?" Hate smiled sadistically. He'd seen Jack flinch and noticed the nearly invisible spark of pain in his eyes.

"We will; but until then, you are mine. I would try to get some sleep if I were you. You've got a long few days ahead of you." He turned and swept out the door. It slammed shut behind him, jarring the winter spirit slightly.

In his solitude, Jack's mind turned over what Hate had said. He's just trying to get a rise out of you, he reminded himself sternly; you know he's lying to you. He could feel Hate's pull on his mind. It was like when he'd gone into Pitch's lair, but worse. He didn't know what his mind was going to turn against, and he didn't want to, but he knew it would be something. It was just a question of what. And how long he could resist the pull.

He curled up on the floor, trying in vain to get some rest. His captor was right- he did have a long few days ahead of him.


Love hadn't even been back for ten seconds before the other Guardians were up. "Did you find him?" North asked. She nodded.

"It took me a while; he's harder to detect where there are no people for him to influence. I tracked him to an island about a hundred miles south of the Aleutians. There're a few small buildings there, but it couldn't be more than a mile wide in any direction."

"How can we get there?" Bunny asked.

"Don't rush," Love warned. "Hate is bound to find out you're coming. Do you know how to destroy a Fireling?" They all shook their heads. "That's because no one has ever managed it before. You can't just splash them with water; that will get rid of them for a brief time but not nearly forever."

"A brief time is all we need to get Jack," North rumbled.

"But what happens when they come after you again?" she reproached him. "Because they will. Hate has a plan, I can guarantee that. He wouldn't have taken Jack if he didn't. I'm not saying don't go after him, but I am saying be careful. Don't assume anything."

The Guardians nodded in agreement. Love was right; they had to tread carefully or they would all be in trouble.

"What do you think Hate is planning?" Tooth asked to no one in particular.

"I don't know," Bunny answered. "Chaos, despair, and destruction are usually his M.O."

"Yes, but there is something different about this," North responded. "Why take Jack? He must be up to something bigger." They were interrupted by Sandy, who flashed a clock over his head. We don't have the time. "Sandy is right," North said. "We will find out what Hate's plan is eventually, but first we will get Jack back."

"So how are we going to attack Hate?" Tooth asked. "Love has already said no one's ever managed to destroy a Fireling before, and he'll have all of them guarding his island."

"True, but we can get rid of them for a while- long enough to get Jack and leave," Bunny responded. "Although how we're gonna get enough water to put out every Fireling on the island is a bit of a mystery." North smiled.

"Ah, but that is what this is for," he said, pointing to the pack that Bunny and the others had spotted earlier. "It carries water, like a portable fire hydrant. A lot of water." The group fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. They knew they were at a serious disadvantage- outnumbered and unable to get rid of their enemy permanently.

But if you were to ask them, not one would have said they would think about turning back. Jack was one of them, and more than that, he was their friend. They weren't going to leave him, no matter what. They could deal with Hate's plan when it came. Right now, they had better things to do.


Hate did know they were coming, in fact; he had sensed it when Love came looking for him and he knew that she wasn't after a friendly chat. She was looking for him to draw the Guardians. His eyes narrowed. He had to get more time. He needed to delay them, and he knew just how to do it. With a quick, imperious gesture, he summoned one of the Firelings to his side.

"I want you to find a town," he told it quietly, "any town, really. And then I want you to destroy it." He knew that would distract them, and that was all he needed. The Fireling left obediently, not really caring where it headed, and Hate leaned back, confidence growing. Apart from this one small flaw, his plan was working perfectly. He wouldn't run from the Guardians, no; that was never what he had intended to do.

He wanted the Guardians to come to him. In his domain, with one of their own as his prisoner, there would be no way they could win the fight. The only thing that still worried him was the time factor. The winter spirit had proved harder to crack than Hate had anticipated, and the Guardians were already on their way. He would have to work fast if he wanted his plan to succeed.

He nodded to himself and put the matter out of his mind. His powerful magic was beginning to pull on the boy's mind, and soon the evidence would be tangible. There were other ways to break someone. He would find one that would work on Jack Frost, he just had to be patient. After all, it wasn't as though the boy was going anywhere. No, his plan would work out just fine.