A/N: Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? And I'm so grateful to be back! Thanks to everyone who continued to support this endeavor! I really do apologize that it's been such a while since I last updated, I'm in my first year of college, and it is crazy!

So, first things first, something I need to cover:

New updates will not be as long as older ones. Usually, in the past, I would compile about two or even three chapters worth of material into one chapter, but since things have gotten so busy, I will only be writing no more than 2,000 words for each chapter now (unless there's an exception like a major battle in which I will write a little more, of course).

So, without further ado, please enjoy!

Chapter 9: Color Him Captured

He woke up, grogginess clouding his senses while his whole body ached. He wanted to lay where he was and forget the world again, but something was off. Jack couldn't tell exactly what it was, but he knew something was wrong.

The world was quiet and distant, the usual murmuring of Wind and nature replaced with the strange mumbling, clanging, and mechanical whirring that was reminiscent of…a factory?

Jack's crystal eyes shot wide open as he sat upright in alarm, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest. His frantic gaze darted in every direction as his mind raced. Where was he? What happened?

He froze.

The Guardians.

He'd been captured by the Guardians.

His breathing hitched at the realization, the room growing far colder than it already was as frost began to creep along the dark floor at a rapid pace.

"No, no, no," he whispered in a panic, reaching up to run his hands through his silvery white hair as a way to alleviate the ensuing storm of dread. However, he stopped short when he noticed that both of his hands, one still bloodied no thanks to a certain enlarged rabbit and his boomerang, were bound together by bulky metal cuffs. The winter spirit's breath stilled, his icy-blue eyes staring at the chains for a moment before closing them shut and deflating. What was he going to do?

Other than the possibility of torture, the wintry teen didn't have the slightest idea on why the Guardians decided to keep him alive. He opened his eyes, terror yet again filling them at the full realization. Oh, God, what would they do to him?

An image flashed in his mind, one of fire, making his cold skin crawl. Another one came involving being beaten black and blue, and he, a Winter Spirit shivered. It's all happened to him before, and he was not looking forward to it happening to him again. However, if he ever wanted to escape from the room that they were holding him in, he knew that he had to remain calm, cool, and collected. So, he simply closed his eyes.

Minutes flew by before Jack was able to open them again. The frost that once covered the floor had disappeared, but his worries were far from gone. He calmly exhaled as he gathered his thoughts.

First things first, his staff. Where was his staff?

After finally wiping the sleep from his icy-blue eyes with the palms of his bound hands, he scanned the dim somber room he was currently situated in for the conduit. The room itself, he noted, was quite plain. The only decoration visible seemed to be the accents carved into the dark wooden rafters above that strangely reminded him of Russian origin, the floor and walls made of cold stone. It was like an attic.

Where exactly did they take him? On the ceiling, there was a barred skylight which was the only source of light that filled the room. Wind sent breezes through the gaps, but Jack couldn't understand her. Out of everything in the room, though, the thing that grabbed his attention the most was the cell-like bars that were separating him from the closed door on the far side of the room. Nevertheless, there was still no sign of the familiar piece of wood that he knew as his staff. Jack scowled. They must've hidden it from him.

The conduit-less wintry teen began to think about what to do next. Without his staff, his abilities were limited to just freezing things if he concentrated hard enough so what could he do? After a few more thoughts, the winter spirit suddenly beamed mischievously as an idea graced his mind.

With as much power as he could muster, he grabbed the metal cuffs around his wrists and let the cold surge from his fingertips until the metal was completely covered in ice.

Jack promptly stood up, wobbling a bit in the process, and walked towards the metal bars. Outside of the room, there was some sort of clanging that repeated over and over among the other factory-esque sounds. Deciding it was not a very smart idea to let anyone know he was awake, he synchronized throwing the manacles against the bars of the cell with the clangs, each time growing harder.

...CLANG!

...CLANG!

...CLANG!

...CLANG!

...CLANG!

Jack then stopped to look for any damage on the cuffs and there wasn't even a scratch! Instead, the ice on them strangely began to melt and a sheen swept across the surface as if the metal itself was protected by something. The winter spirit tried again a few more times, hoping the metal would shatter, but it was a fruitless attempt. If anything, the impacts just made his wrists hurt, which did not help his already injured hand. Jack stepped away from the bars sighing and slumped down to the frigid floor.

Almost as soon as he did so, the door to the room creaked open just a little bit, and Jack tensed, his heart pounding at the conclusion that they must've heard him.

And just when he thought he was going to have to stand up to one of the Guardians, a little creature wobbled into the room with a jingling hat on; it was an elf.

Wait a second.

Jack was being held captive in a place that sounded like a factory and had elves roaming around in it. Not to mention, Santa was one of the stupid Guardians that is probably still involved in the "Kidnap Jack Club."

He was in Santa's Workshop.

So much for vowing to never go near the Workshop again.

Jack would've felt giddy inside (although a part of him still did anyway) at the fact that he was finally in the yeti-fortified Workshop, that is if he wasn't in a life-threatening situation. He wondered if Phil knew he was there. Jack shook his head. He needed to focus on somehow taking advantage of the elf that was still in the room. And who knew, maybe the creature didn't even know who the infamous Jack Frost was.

The winter spirit observed the little elf wander around for a moment, almost as if it was looking for something. It hadn't noticed Jack yet so with a friendly smile, the winter spirit stood and stepped closer to the bars...And the elf still hadn't noticed his presence.

So, Jack softly cleared his throat. This caused the small awkward creature to face the noise, and when the elf saw the winter spirit before it, it began to tremble in fear, causing the bell on its hat to jingle rather loudly. Quickly, not wanting to draw attention to the room, Jack reassured the elf.

"Shhh, shhh, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

With that, the elf relaxed, staring shyly up at the winter spirit. Jack continued.

"I really need your help. You see, I'm locked in here, and I don't know where the key is. Could you help me find it and bring it to me?"

To Jack's unexpressed annoyance, the elf tilted its head in confusion and blinked.

"Or maybe you can find a long stick…It kind of looks like a shepherd's crook."

The elf continued to stare uncomprehendingly. Jack deflated.

"You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?"

In response, the little elf nodded fervently, causing the bell to ring out again.

"No! Shhh, shhh!"

Suddenly, the door to the room opened wide, causing Jack to stumble backwards into the shadows of his cell, the room flooding with new light. The elf frantically ran into the cell with him just as a towering silhouette stood in the doorway. Jack narrowed his eyes, anger filling his heart.

"Ah, Jack Frost, what nice surprise."

A/N:

So, that's all folks (for now)! What did you think about this chapter? Let me know in a review! I didn't like the title all that much...but next up is me responding to some reviews from Chapter 8!

-WinterCrystal1009, in the hierarchy of Seasons, Jack and Sarila both currently are considered regular ol' seasonals (the majority). They are just below Heads/Superintendents of the Seasons. Thank you for asking!

-OrangeWolf4, thank you for your continuous support! I'm so glad you love my story! :)

-Pokibal2001, wow! What a wonderful review, thank you! Also, about Jack and Sarila, friendship is for certain but I'm still debating on having a romance in this story. Maybe if I ever get around to creating a sequel or a series of short stories...

-Dragongirlie, there will be more chills down your spine if you continue reading, I can guarantee you that! Thanks for your review!

And thanks to all the other users who reviewed for Chapter 8! I don't know when I will be able to update next, but it will be this year for sure (next chapter is already a work in progress)! If you get bored without my story, check out one of my favorite RotG stories called Running for Life by sapphire316 and also give her ongoing sequel some well-deserved love (tell her I sent you, haha)!

Anyways, thank you all so much for reading and until next time, bye!