Ugh you must all hate me. Can't say that I blame you, either. I recently discovered this fic (plus 2 of my other ones) have been added to communities =^w^= So happy!

This is a request from Mysterfan17: "I like Pitch out for revenge but now he knows not to mess with Ceres so Fall is out of the question and Jack is obviously able to fight a bit even with a broken staff. He may be bad but he's not that dumb. I'd think he could use the shadows to sneak attack Jack and bring him to a summer/hot area (not knowing Jack's 'odd' friendship) and hold him there, in the heat and keeping the staff away or leaving it behind... even at the lake. Rescue can be your choice. Whoever sees him first. Pitch knows fears and could even use the water against him."

I wanted to do this in one chapter but writer's block is killing me. If any of you have suggestions or anything that may help, please don't hesitate to tell me! I hope this meets our standards, Mysterfan17!

Alright, enough rambling. I disclaim rights to ROTG.

Revenge Served Hot Part I

...

There was no moon that night. The clouds floated ominously overhead, blocking out even the quiet twinkling of the stars. And yet Jack remained unafraid as he sat on a branch with his back to the tree trunk, watching light snow drift down around him.

Winter was well underway, and it was certainly keeping him busy. He hadn't had much free time at all over the last weeks and he found himself missing the company of his newfound family. At least he would see Jamie and Sophie and their friends tomorrow – he had promised them a snow day after all.

In all honesty he shouldn't have been relaxing the way he was; there was still a lot of work to do. But he was really comfortable; which wasn't an easy achievement in a tree. As if reading his thoughts, the wind blew gently against him, almost wrapping him in an icy embrace.

"Alright, alright, I'll take the night off!" Jack laughed, leaning back and shutting his eyes.

They opened again almost instantly as his staff was knocked out of his hand, something chilling clamping his mouth shut. The world span as darkness engulfed him, his vision only coming back into focus to find he was now on the ground, his unseen enemy still holding him firm.

"Oh, do stop squirming, will you?" the velvety voice sighed. "I wouldn't want to have to knock you out and have you miss all the excitement."

"Pwch!" Jack cried, his voice muffled by the Boogieman's hand.

"My, aren't we clever? Do you want a gold star?" Pitch mocked.

"Wh' oo mm w't?"

"What do I want?" Pitch echoed, raising his brow. Seemingly forgetting the question, he turned to his nightmares. "Bury it," he ordered, glancing over at the staff lying in the snow.

The nightmares hurried to do his bidding, one scooping up the conduit before disappearing between the trees.

Jack's struggles resumed with renewed fervour.

"What do I want…?" Pitch repeated, almost as if he were mulling it over. "What I want is to have a little fun." With a sinister laugh they were once more consumed by shadows. But this time the scenery where they appeared was completely different.

The sky was suddenly bright, the sun only just reaching its zenith with a few sparse clouds dotting the blue. They appeared to be in some sort of valley with high, unclimbable rock walls on all sides and dry-looking shrubs poking up here and there in the cracks. There was no grass to be seen.

A small expanse of water in the centre could well have been mistaken for a lake… if it weren't for the vast quantity of steam rising from its surface.

"Honestly you should thank me," Pitch continued, a smirk plastered on his face. "This is merely a hot spring; I could have taken you to the geysers around the corner."

The wind buffeted around them, only succeeding in spreading the heat. Already Jack could feel perspiration beading on his skin, the heat leaching all his energy. He struggled to catch his breath, Pitch's hand limiting his oxygen intake. He made one final attempt to pull away from the Boogieman but his strength had all but fled and he found himself unable to draw upon any ice. The humidity was too high. And that water looked deep.

Pitch suddenly broke out into a laugh of sadistic pleasure. "If this is the fear you give off now, I can't wait to find out what it'll be like when I throw you in!"

Jack's eyes widened. He wouldn't. Would he? Okay, yeah, he totally would. Too weak to even raise a fist in retaliation, Jack was passed over to one of the nightmares, dangling by his hood. He sent a pitiful glare Pitch's way as the nightmare carried him out over the centre of the spring.

"Oh, you thought I didn't know about your fear of drowning?" Pitch asked, almost innocently. "I told you, Jack, I know all your fears." He turned away, stepping into a shadow, tilting his head back to say one final thing before he disappeared.

"Have a little fun with him."

Jack gasped as the force holding him up vanished, leaving him to fall down, down into heated water. The heat reached him first, knocking the wind out of him and making his head spin. Then the fear struck. His limbs seized in paralysis, his heart beating so fast he thought it might jump right out of his chest. There was nothing he could do – no way to get himself out. No one even knew he was there! Darkness began to creep across the edges of his vision and he willed it to hurry up and take him. For even darkness would be better than this.

Jack coughed, gasping for breath as he was suddenly hauled out of the water. After experiencing the heat, the humid air was a huge relief, cooling him down, but only marginally. He tilted his gaze, ready to thank his rescuer.

His heart seized in his throat.

Jack wasn't sure it was possible, but the nightmare smirked, giving him only a split second warning before throwing him up into the air and letting him plummet back down into the water.

Pitch was probably having a field day.

...

...

Something was seriously wrong.

The winter was nowhere near as cold as it should have been and there hadn't been a single snow day in Burgess all season. That, coupled with the fact that no one had seen Jack Frost in two days, was more than enough cause for concern.

Sandy's attention was drawn away from the forest around Burgess, where he had been searching for a sign of the wayward youngest Guardian, upwards as familiar rainbow lights streaked across the sky. Had one of the others found Jack? Or was it just North checking in on progress? Or was there actually an emergency?

Face set in determination, Sandy morphed the dream-sand cloud he was drifting on into a plane and soared off towards the Pole.

...

...

Bunny paused in his egg painting, ears twitching as he took in every sound, every motion in the Warren. Something wasn't right. Slowly he placed his brush down on the grass and gestured for the googies to move back as he stood on his hind legs.

Silently he pulled out his boomerangs and focused on the large tunnel the low rumbling sound seemed to be coming from. The sound grew progressively louder with each passing second until it was like rolling thunder echoing off the rock faces.

Bunny crouched into a defensive position, ready to face this unknown enemy head-on.

A blur of black bolted out from the tunnel, swarming into the clearing. The googies fled, trying in vain to take cover.

Nothing could have prepared the Guardian of Hope for this.

...

...

The tooth fairies twittered in a panic, all talking over each other in an attempt to convey their fear to Tooth.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Tooth placated. "I can't understand if you all talk at once."

The fairies fell silent, until one fluttered forward to deliver the message.

Tooth gasped, eyes instantly trained on the sky in time to see an ever growing black smudge on the horizon. Learning from experience, she immediately sent out an order, rounding up all her fairies – each carrying a tooth casket – and flying north as quickly as her wings would carry her.

There was no point trying to fight a battle they couldn't win.

...

...

Bunny and Tooth were already in the Globe Room by the time Sandy arrived, talking anxiously with North. He looked at them quizzically as he landed, hoping to prompt his colleagues into an explanation.

"We have a problem, mate," Bunny began.

"The Tooth Palace and the Warren were attacked by nightmares," Tooth explained, ringing her hands together.

Sandy's mouth fell open in shock. Nightmares?! But Pitch hadn't been seen since the staff incident. Why would he suddenly make a move now? Unless… unless it had something to do with Jack's disappearance.

"What about fairies and teeth?" North asked.

"They spotted the nightmares before they attacked, so we were all able to get out in time," Tooth replied. "I left them in another room – I hope you don't mind."

"No problem, Toothie," North shrugged. "We are just glad you and the fairies are safe."

Sandy waved his hands around, trying to gain their attention.

"What is it, Sandy?" Bunny frowned, crossing his arms. North and Tooth likewise turned to him.

Sandy flickered pictures with his sand, silently willing them to understand. A snowflake exaggeratingly dissipating. Nightmares. A question mark.

"You think Pitch is taking advantage of Jack's disappearance?" North asked.

Sandy nodded eagerly.

"Has there been any sign of him?"

Sandy shook his head, Tooth and Bunny verbally announcing in the negative.

"You don't think Pitch had anything to do with Jack going missing?" Tooth glanced up through the window at the moon, as if expecting Manny to give them answers.

"If he did have anything to do with it, we'd better hurry up and find 'im," Bunny growled. "If Pitch is involved, it's definitely gonna be bad news for Frostbite."

"Leaving so soon?"

They all froze as the voice echoed around the Globe Room, sending their hair (or feathers) on edge.

"Pitch, you conniving ratbag! Show yourself!" Bunny raged, drawing his boomerangs and scanning the room for any and all signs of the Boogieman.

North had likewise drawn his swords, looking rather un-jolly. Sandy conjured his dream-sand whips while Tooth, who had no weapons, settled for tightening her fists.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," came Pitch's sarcastic remark as he appeared atop the globe.

"What do you want, Pitch?" North asked through gritted teeth.

"Honestly, you'd think we've gone over this enough times that you would already know the answer to that," Pitch said exasperatedly, rolling his eyes.

"Where's Jack?" Tooth deftly changed the subject back to more important matters. It was clear from her rigid posture that she was restraining herself from lashing out at the man.

"That is the million dollar question, isn't it?" Pitch smirked. "'Where's Jack?' Now let me think…" he brought a hand to his chin, looking for all the world to be seriously pondering over the question. "Let me see… Well, when I last saw him he was in, shall we say, a heated situation?" He proceeded to laugh uproariously like this was the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

But, while it may have been humorous for him, for the Guardians it sent a heavy stone of dread tumbling into the pits of their stomaches.

"Bunny," North whispered, being careful not to attract Pitch's attention. "You and Tooth go look for Jack. Sandy and I can handle things here."

Bunny hesitated for only a moment before nodding, tapping his foot against the ground to open a tunnel. This, of course, was spotted by Pitch, who sent a wave of nightmares out to stop them, but the Guardians of Hope and Memories were long gone before they had a chance.

...

...

Bunny grumbled a few choice words as something hit him over the head as he and Tooth exited the tunnel into the woods around Burgess.

"Are you okay?" Tooth asked, frowning slightly in concern.

"Something hit me," Bunny muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his head. They both looked around them, eyes falling on a very grubby, yet highly familiar stick.

"Is that…?" Tooth breathed as Bunny lifted the piece of wood off the ground.

"Frostbite's staff," Bunny replied absently. "This can't be good."

"Pitch said Jack was in a 'heated situation', right? You don't think that means he took him somewhere in summer?" she sounded horrified by her own suggestion, but it was the best lead they had.

"We'd better keep moving."

Guest Review Responses:

SaiyanPrincess: Hahaha Love conspiracies, eh? Have you heard the one about the lizardmen in government?