This one is so long! But hey, at least I didn't have to break it up. And you guys get lots to read.

Another conglomeration! This time it's a mix between Mysteryfan17's request (two of them, actually) and a prompt from Shinku. Enjoy!

Heh Drawn to Life reference XD

Disclaimer: I disclaim.

...

Retaliation

...

"Gah!" Jack jumped, leaping out from the shade of the tree he'd been leaning against.

"What's your problem?" Bunny asked, looking up at him from where he'd been tending to one of his flowerbeds.

"I thought something touched me," Jack replied absently, scanning the spot he'd been sitting in and then his clothes for any bugs or creepy crawlies.

Bunny raised a brow but returned to what he'd been doing.

Jack shrugged off the feeling and sat down again; under a different tree this time. He watched Bunny gently lift the petals of a flower like he was trying to coax it out of the ground for a moment before curiosity got the better of him.

"What are you doing?"

Bunny paused again to look at him. "Gardening."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yes, thank you for that."

"It's earth magic," Bunny smirked, returning to the flower. "Like how you use ice magic, I use earth magic to keep the garden in here alive."

"Oh." That was kind of cool, actually. But there was no way he was going to say that to the rabbit's face. "Can you do other stuff besides growing flowers?"

"Like what?"

"Like throwing rocks around like they do in that show–" Jack cut himself off as something cold (and not the good kind) grabbed his arm. He flung himself forward with a cry, gripping his arm where whatever it was had touched him.

Bunny was staring at him again, but Jack paid him no mind as he cautiously returned to the spot and poked around with his staff. But there was nothing there.

"You alright, mate?" Bunny asked, a frown in his tone.

"I felt it again."

"You're prob'ly just imagining things."

"…" he checked behind the tree and even scanned the branches, but in the end he was forced to conclude there really was nothing to be found. "Yeah, maybe you're right." That didn't stop him from sitting over by Bunny this time, though.

"Don't freeze my flowers," Bunny said without looking up.

"Not intending to."

They sat in silence for a good while, Jack enjoying the warmth of the light in the Warren without overheating and Bunny's company, even if they didn't talk. In all honesty he should have been huddled up at one of the Poles but there was only so long he could stay inside the Workshop and as much as he loved the penguins, he didn't particularly feel up to dealing with their antics today. Sometimes he just wanted some silent company and Bunny was the perfect candidate. The Pooka never said anything, but Jack had a feeling he liked the companionship, too.

When he could no longer contain his fidgety self in one place, Jack hopped up from his cross-legged position and strolled over to one of the sentinel eggs with his staff slung across his shoulders.

"So did you make these guys?" he asked, inspecting the happy face closely.

"Earth magic."

"Should've guessed." He paused. "Wait, does that mean I could make stuff like this out of ice?"

"I don't see why not," Bunny said cautiously. It sounded like he was envisioning all the horrible things Jack would get up to with snow/ice minions in tow. Jack was envisioning it, too, except with far more enthusiasm.

With a grin on his face, Jack let a small breeze lift him up so he was perched atop one of the sentinel eggs. The Warren really was a beautiful place. He bet May would love to spend a few hours in it; maybe she had some tips for Bunny. Or vice versa.

"Whoa!" he cried as the egg beneath him shifted its face to the angry expression. Jack leaned over a little to confirm, before calling out, "Hey, Bunny?"

"What, mate?"

"Your egg giant isn't looking very happy anymore."

"What did ya do to it?" Bunny huffed, looking back over his shoulder at the winter spirit.

"Nothing!"

"You're sitting on its head."

"So?"

"So maybe it doesn't like that."

"They've never had a problem with it before!"

"If ya get smooshed I'm not going to help ya," Bunny told him firmly, apparently losing interest and returning to his gardening.

Jack scowled at his back before looking worriedly down at the sentinel egg as it shifted slightly. "What's up with you?" he muttered, glancing over at another one on the other side of the clearing just as its own face spun around to the angry one. It couldn't have been because of him, then… right?

"No, really, Bunny, I think–" he was cut off as something latched around his head, completely covering his mouth and nose. He thrashed, trying to break free. In an act of desperation he brought up his staff and whacked his assailant with the end of it. It vanished before it could freeze, making him coat himself in an extra layer of frost.

"You think what?" Bunny sighed, crossing his arms as he pivoted his body just enough that he could see Jack.

Jack didn't answer, too busy taking in deep breaths with his hand on his chest as if to calm his racing heart.

"Jack?"

Jack snapped to attention, hastily jumping down from the sentinel and walking backwards towards Bunny, still trying to catch sight of what had attacked him. All of the sentinel eggs had switched to their angry faces by now; they too could sense what Jack had already experienced. But the fact that Bunny hadn't realised it yet was suspicious.

"There's something else down here," he told the Pooka in a hushed, but worried tone. "Look, they know it," he gestured to the stone golems. "It's already tried to get me three times now. Can't you sense it?"

Bunny frowned, ears trying to detect any sound besides the natural noises of the Warren. "I don't… Oh. I get it. Nice try, mate; almost got me."

"I- what?" Jack frowned at him, forgetting about being quiet.

"I don't know how ya managed to get the sentinels in on it, but–"

"You think I'm trying to prank you?!" Jack gaped. "Bunny, something just attacked me."

"I'm not fallin' for it, mate."

Jack glared and gritted his teeth, storming back over to where he'd been attacked and gesturing with his staff. "I swear to you, something was here and AAARGH!" Jack could only panic as a wave of black surged over him from the shadows, obstructing his view of Bunny and the Warren completely as it engulfed him. He was vaguely aware of Bunny shouting something and his staff being torn from his grip before his body was tugged through shadows and the warm light of the Warren vanished.

...

...

"Well, well, well," a familiar silky voice reached his ears even before sight returned to him. "Look what the cat dragged in. Or, in this case, Nightmare."

The black sand that had overwhelmed him slid off and formed itself into a Nightmare beside its equally creepy master, who stroked its snout lovingly.

"Pitch," Jack stated. "What do you want?"

"Ah, how lovely, you haven't forgotten me. Although, I suspect this," he accentuated the words by hurling a piece of plastic to the ground in front of where Jack sat in a heap, "would certainly prohibit any forgetfulness."

Jack stared at the twisted and destroyed thing, trying to figure out why it looked so familiar. It was almost like a… like an mp4 player. Oh no.

"Or perhaps that blasted music you tortured me with? Hmm?" Pitch continued. "Ringing any bells? What about that stupid bird that attacked me in my own home? Did you honestly think I wouldn't realise you were the one behind it all?"

Jack finally tore his eyes away from the Boogieman, taking the time to figure out where, exactly, he was. There was very little light, like they were in a cave of some kind with the entrance around a corner. The rocks were polished smooth and while the air inside was cool, it held promise that outside was a different case.

Oh, and he was sitting in a cage similar to the ones the tooth fairies had been kept in. Wonderful.

"Ah, I see you're finally coming to understand the situation you're in," Pitch said, enjoying the very worried look on the winter spirit's face. "You must have known I would retaliate in some way. Or are you really that daft?"

"What," Jack said slowly, urgently, "do you want?"

"I thought that much was clear," Pitch turned away from him and back towards the darkest shadows. "In an hour or so the tide will start to come in."

Jack's eyes widened in horror. The rocks were smooth from thousands of years of water coursing over them, wearing them down.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about dying," Pitch reassured him. "We're immortal, remember?" his words echoed through the cavern as he disappeared into darkness, taking his Nightmare with him. "Have fun, Jack Frost."

Everything fell to silence except for Jack's breathing, the thudding of his heart and the distant lapping of the ocean against rocks.

...

...

He knew he should have been panicking. He was trapped who knew where in a cage in a cavern that would soon start filling with water; in all rights he should have been terrified. But he wasn't. He was just bored.

After Pitch had left he'd tried to find a way to break out of the cage, but the most he could do without his staff was coat the bars in a pretty layer of frost. So now he was stuck in a further-reinforced cell with nothing to do to pass the time except think and draw pictures in ice on the floor of the cage.

He'd just finished a silhouette of Baby Tooth when a small stream of water spilled over it, breaking it up and carrying it away. Jack looked up sharply in the direction the minimal light was coming from. Sure enough, water was starting to trickle in. It was only a small amount at the moment, but it would pick up soon.

"Okay, not bored anymore," Jack said to no one. The wind ruffled his hair gently but urgently, as if trying to coax him into getting out faster. "I'd love to, but how do you expect me to do that without my staff? And even if I do manage to figure out a way out of here, I'm still likely going to be stranded in the middle of nowhere."

It blew on him again, whispering and nudging him into action.

"I guess being stranded is better than being drowned. Again."

Jack placed both hands on one of the cage bars, tugging it in hopes that it might be loose. No such luck. Maybe I can freeze it solid and then break it? He doubted he could use that kind of power staff-less but it was worth a shot.

"C'mon, come on," he muttered under his breath, feeling the ice continuing to build beneath his fingers. But all he was doing was coating it, not freezing it. With a tired huff he let his hands drop. "There has to be a way out of here." But there wasn't even a keyhole or a door. "If I had one those sentinel eggs it could just sit on– That's it!"

Sparked with an idea, Jack repositioned himself so he was leaning against the bars with plenty of room in front of him. "Okay, Jack, it's just like what you did in Jamie's room. Except bigger. And more solid."

He started with a large silhouette in the shape of a dragon – may as well get something that could fly him out of there, too (and if he was going to do it, he was going to do it awesomely). But the second it came into being the warm water from the ocean outside wiped it away. Swallowing the irritated growl that formed in his throat, Jack swivelled so that his body would block most of the incoming water long enough for him to try again.

Creating the frost outline was one thing, but making it solid and moveable was another. Jack cupped his hands around the frost picture, shutting his eyes in concentration and mentally willing the dragon to corporeality. He felt his magic work and when he opened his eyes once more, a delicate frost dragon larger than he was sat silently before him.

"Yes!" he laughed. "Now just have to make you more solid," he told it, enjoying the way the wind howled a cheer of its own and ignoring the fact that it was now so cramped in the cage he could barely move.

At his urging, the dragon lifted one giant wing and he proceeded to run his hand along it, adding layer after layer of ice until it was more solid than the delicate being it had once been. By this point the water was at least a centimetre deep, and was starting to creep around him to where the dragon was.

"Okay, time to become a fan," he said, taking a deep breath and blowing on the ice he had formed to keep it solid.

He was more than tired by the time he was done, but it was a proud tired. The dragon wasn't perfect – he wasn't the greatest drawer in the world – but it would do. Hopefully.

"Okay, dragon," he told it, using the bars of the cage to haul himself to his feet. "I need you to bust us out of here."

The dragon roared a sound like the wind and turned to face the bars of the cage. With one talon and its jaws wrapped around a bar, it tugged sharply, trying to at least bend the frost-coated metal. A loud crack temporarily drowned out the sound of the waves and Jack started, watching as one of the dragon's ice claws snapped off. The bars weren't even scratched.

"Oh dear," Jack bit his lip, lifting the claw and pressing it back into place on the dragon's talon and sealing the crack with more ice. "That's probably the best I can do for now," he told it sadly. "Doesn't look like we can force our way out, either." He looked down bitterly at the water that now almost completely covered his feet. "If we could get you out, do you think you'd be strong enough to carry the cage?"

The dragon cried its ghostly sound again, and somehow he knew it was an affirmative. At Jack's mental urging, it exploded into a puff of snowflakes, which the wind then gently carried out of the cage. He'd seen Pitch do something similar with his Nightmares, once; reforming the sand back into shape. So he should be able to do it, too. Right?

He had to push his arms between the bars as far as he possibly could, using his hands to guide each individual snowflake where it needed to go, but he somehow managed to get the dragon back in one piece, except it looked as delicate as it had when he'd first created it.

Jack sighed, resting his forehead against the cool metal. "Come here," he said in mild annoyance. "Let's make you solid again."

He was ready to take a nap by the time he was done, but with the water midway up his thighs, he knew he didn't have the time.

"Ready… Frostwind?" he asked the dragon (it was as good a name as any). "Let's get out of here before we sleep with the fishes. Literally."

Frostwind flapped its wings, barely an inch on either side short of hitting the walls of the cavern. It gripped the top of the cage with all four talons and shot off towards the entrance of the cave. Jack laughed, enjoying himself despite the fact that the cage was dragging on the ground and he was being splashed in lukewarm salt water. It was working! And it could fly! Part of him had expected it to be too heavy to take off with all the ice holding it together, but his worries were for naught.

A huge wave shot up just as they reached the entrance, drenching both Jack and his creation, but the ice was holding and the winter spirit was too overjoyed that they were out to care. But when the rock supporting the cage disappeared, they suddenly plummeted towards the raging waves below and Jack's laughter morphed into a cry of fear.

"Up! Up, Frostwind!"

The ice dragon flapped its wings as hard as it could, barely managing to keep the cage from falling into the water. It strained against the weight, but it was unable to lift the cage any higher.

"Okay, it's okay," Jack cried over the sound of the crashing waves, hands gripping the bars of his prison. "Just focus on getting us somewhere cold! And don't let go!" The last thing he wanted was to go for a dip when there would be no way to get back to the surface. As it was he was too close for comfort, but Frostwind was doing its best and that would just have to be enough.

They'd barely flown for five minutes and already Jack could feel the perspiration settling on his brow and his back. They had to be close to the equator; in spring at the very least. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to tolerate it. With weak arms he tugged off his hoodie, tying it around his waist. The white of his shirt would absorb less of the sun's heat, at least.

Frostwind looked like it was feeling the heat, too. The outermost layer of ice was starting to melt and the wind keeping them in the air wasn't doing much to help matters. It would only be a matter of time, Jack knew, before too much of the ice was gone and Frostwind would no longer be able to lift the combined weight of cage and him. And there weren't any islands or rock formations as far as the eye could see.

"Hang in there, Frostwind," he whispered, climbing up as far as he could and reaching for one of the dragon's claws. It wasn't much, but he could send new frost patterns dancing across its surface to try and reinforce the ice that was being lost. Maybe it would be enough to get them to safety. He had to have hope.

It was all he could do.

...

...

Jack didn't realise he'd fallen asleep until he woke with a jolt to the feeling of weightlessness. The sky had turned dark during his nap and he could barely see anything more than a few metres ahead.

And, oh, they were falling out of the sky.

Jack cried out at the realisation, straining his eyes to make out Frostwind above him. The dragon was still in one piece, but it was a lot smaller and less distinct than it had been and was no longer able to support the weight of the metal cage. It was still flapping, still trying to keep them airborne, but without success.

With a loud splash the cage struck water and started to sink.

Jack gasped, manoeuvring himself as high as he could to keep his head above water, but it was no use. He was vaguely aware of Frostwind desperately trying to fish him out and the wind howling in distress, and only just managed to inhale one final gulp of air before the top of the cage slipped under the pounding waves.

The water wasn't the biting cold of his lake, but the feeling of drowning, can't breathe, sinking, dying was the same and he struggled to move upwards through the water, only to strike metal. A dead end. No way up. All the time he'd spent with Bunny overcoming his fear of water came to naught as he desperately pounded on the iron roof of the cage.

Got to get out. Have to get out. Drowning. Burning. Air. Gotta get out.

The whole structure was suddenly lurched upwards and his floating body struck the bottom of the cage as it broke the surface. Jack coughed up a lungful of water, gasping for fresh, beautiful air as soon as his passageway was clear.

Frostwind hovered beside him, moaning in concern alongside the wind, their twin cries like a ghostly undertone. Jack frowned. If Frostwind wasn't the one who'd pulled him up, then who…? He let his gaze drift upwards, not bothering to shift from his lying position. Tendrils of glowing gold were wrapped around the top of the cage.

Tears blurred Jack's vision, but he was still able to follow the gold to its source; a worried Sandman. He let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob, his body shaking from the adrenalin as Sandy carried him away from the ocean.

...

...

"-y, can you hear me?"

Jack opened groggy eyes as a soft voice called out to him. Blurred images slowly came back into focus and he found himself staring up at a worried looking Toothianna.

"Tooth?"

She beamed at him, moving back a bit to let him sit up. "How are you feeling, Sweet Tooth?"

Jack leaned against the armrest of the couch he was seated on, rubbing an eye with the heel of his hand. "I'm okay. Tired, maybe?" he let his eyes rove around the room, but they didn't get far before he spotted the other Guardians, each looking as relieved as Tooth. The cage he'd been in was behind them, several bars cut away. He levelled Bunny with a glare. "Still think I was trying to trick you?"

The Pooka shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "I was so sure you were tryin' to pull a fast one on me I didn't check prop'ly." He held out Jack's staff like a peace offering.

"Thanks," Jack accepted the stick, happily noting the frost patterns that sprung to life as soon as he touched it. "And you're forgiven." He turned his attention to Sandy. "Thanks, little man; for saving me back there. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up; Fro–" his eyes widened. "Where's Frostwind?!" He frantically searched the room they were in (the Globe Room, he absently noted) but the frost dragon was nowhere to be seen. In the back of his mind he could still feel the magic that kept the dragon in one piece, but he couldn't pin point where, exactly, it was except 'close'.

"Who?" North frowned.

"Frostwind; the dragon!"

Sandy waved his hands in Jack's face to get his attention before pointing out a window.

"Outside?" Jack guessed. Sandy nodded. "Is he okay?"

Sandy bit his lip, waving his hand in a so-so gesture. Ignoring the others' protests, Jack pushed himself to his feet and hurried outside, the Guardians hot on his tail.

Frostwind was curled up right outside the door in a pile of snow, but sat up as soon as Jack stepped outside. It was looking a little worse for wear, but Jack was sure he could repair the damage – especially now that he had his staff back.

"Sweet Tooth, did you make that?" Tooth's voice alerted him to the fact that the others had caught up.

"Yeah," Jack replied absently, creating a new layer of ice over the dragon's back where a lot of it had melted and worn away. "He looks better when he's not melted, though." He peered over his shoulder to face Bunny. "Turns out I can make things out of ice." Then, more quietly, "I'd probably be trapped underwater right now if I couldn't."

North stepped forward with a wondrous glint in his eyes, admiring the craftsmanship even despite Frostwind's sad state. "Is very well made," he nodded, hand on his chin. "I should get you to help me with toy prototypes."

Jack smiled at him. "I'd be happy to; just let me fix him first."

"Of course."

"Not bad for a first try," Bunny said, moving to stand beside the winter spirit.

Sandy gave two thumbs up, grinning in agreement.

Bunny reached up a paw and ruffled the boy's hair. "I'm glad you're alright, Frostbite."

"I think we should call a truce on the pranking for a while," Jack said lightly. "Or at least come up with a code word so we'll know when it's really not a prank."

"I think that's a jolly good idea, mate."

Guest Review Responses:

WEast: I know right? They need to always have one with them XD (58:) I wish it was on YouTube :P Someone should make it XD

SonYukiGoku'sSis: Oooh yeah. Don't upset protective mothers lol

Shamangirl1: Hahaha glad you liked it XD

Shttrd Glas: I'm really excited for this. Yet so bummed it's number 11 on the list. But hey, there are so many other great requests to get through :)