So because NorthernMage is a huge sadist, there is an alternate ending to the previous chapter (Retaliation). I hope it satisfies you :P This ending is almost as long as the original fic XD

Disclaimer: I disclaim

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Retaliation (Alternate Ending)

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

But he couldn't; there literally was no way out. No cage door to bang against. No keyhole or latch to fight. There was just metal on all sides. Metal and water.

He was running out of air; his lungs were burning, begging him for oxygen that he couldn't reach. He couldn't hold it anymore and cried out in a silent plea for someone, anyone to help him. Seawater flooded into his lungs and darkness crept at the edges of his vision.

Got to get out… Can't get out…

Consciousness fled him like water slipping through his fingers (and oh the irony of that), his final thoughts lingering on the fact that no matter how long he stayed lost within the ocean's depths, he would never be able to die.

...

...

As soon as Bunny had realised Jack wasn't trying to trick him he was on the move. The black sand that had taken him had obviously been the work of Pitch, but that revelation hadn't done much to indicate where to find the wayward winter spirit and so Bunny had opted instead for heading to the Pole and alerting the others.

That had led him to where he was now, sitting in the back of the sleigh and trying not to be sick as he and the other Guardians flew to each and every place they could think of that Pitch might be or go. The list was unsettlingly short and so far they'd come up with diddly-squat.

"Two premolars in Jabalpur," Tooth directed the small swarm of fairies that continuously came and went even as they flew from place to place. Sandy was likewise directing his dream sand while they searched; it allowed them to help and still be with the other two at the same time. And the fairies were all told to keep an eye out for their youngest member and report back immediately if they found him or Pitch.

"He has to be somewhere," North muttered, scanning the skies and the land below.

"I should've believed 'im," Bunny cursed himself, ears flat against his head.

"There is no point in dwelling in past, Bunny. We must stay focused on finding him. That is what's important now."

Bunny nodded, but still he felt like it was his fault.

After hours of fruitless searching, they were forced to retire to the Pole for a break. They wouldn't do Jack any good if they were too tired to keep their eyes open and the reindeer needed a rest. Bunny could see the logic behind the decision, even if he didn't agree with it, and conceded to a half-hour break before slipping down one of his tunnels to search on his own.

...

...

Three days. It had been three days and still there was no sign of their winter spirit. They hadn't even been able to locate Pitch. There was no sign of either of them and with each passing moment the Guardians grew more and more worried.

They'd stared searching separately to cover more ground; Tooth and her fairies always kept looking on duty, as did Sandy as he drifted above the world. Whenever North had a free moment he would take out the sleigh to scan the earth from the air and Bunny, restricted to his tunnels, searched each and every country in succession. But even their combined forces stretched to the limits had revealed nothing.

"We really need to get a tracking device for this kid," Bunny sighed, running a paw down his tired face. He hadn't stopped for more than half an hour at a time since Jack had disappeared, and while it was wearing him down, he refused to give up. He was the Guardian of Hope for a reason, after all.

...

...

In the end it was one of Tooth's fairies that found the first clue when she'd been flying over the tropical areas of the Pacific Ocean. She'd zoomed off back home, tooth collecting temporarily forgotten, as fast as her little wings could carry her and reported to her mother.

"Whoa, slow down," Tooth appeased her. "Now start again."

And so the tiny fairy retold the story of how she'd gotten caught up in an unnatural wind storm and the strange thing she'd seen hovering in the air.

"You three," Tooth singled out a few of her fairies. "I want you to each find one of the others and direct them to us. As for you," she turned to the one who had given her the information, "please take me to the exact spot you saw."

All four Mini-Tooths nodded and hurried to do her bidding.

...

...

The wind was the first thing she noticed. Her little helper hadn't been wrong about the unnatural feel to it. It was circling around a single spot above the waves, churning them up like it wanted to dive down into the depths but couldn't. The gale wasn't strong enough to summon a storm or a hurricane, but it was enough that she had to fight to stay airborne.

The strange thing in the sky was the next thing she noticed. It looked like a large piece of melting ice that may have once held a proper form but was now just a vague outline of what had once been. It continued to dive down into the water again and again, as though in search of something, each time it came up a little more of its surface trickled away. But it was ice. And the first name to spring to mind when someone mentioned ice and the wind was Jack Frost.

Suddenly hopeful, Tooth frantically searched all around the surrounding area, but there was no sign of the winter spirit, nor any place that he could have landed, except… Her gaze settled once more on the way the wind angrily struck the ocean's surface again and again.

"Oh no," she breathed.

"Tooth!"

Tooth spun at the sound of her name, easily spying North heading towards her in his sleigh, paying no mind to the buffeting wind. It seemed he had picked up Bunny and Sandy on his way, as the two of them were seated behind him.

"North, I think he's down there!" she cried, pointing animatedly at the ocean beneath her.

The others looked as horrified as she felt at the declaration; they all knew of Jack's relationship with water (or lack thereof) and, while they knew being immortal meant he would never be able to die from drowning, it certainly didn't change the fact that it wasn't a pleasant experience and was one that could still leave damage – physical or emotional.

"How do we get to 'im?" Bunny asked, standing up despite the way air travel upset his stomach. "The water's gotta be pretty deep and who's to say the current hasn't drifted 'im away by now?"

"Bunny, we must have hope!" North bellowed.

"The only thing I can think of is for one of us to dive down and look for him," Tooth fretted. "Who's the best swimmer?"

"If he is at bottom, none of us will be able to reach him without sharing his fate."

"Then what're we supposed to do?!" Bunny cried.

Sandy wrapped them all in dream sand ropes, the look on his face indicating that he'd been trying to get their attention for some time now. Above his head he created a sand-version of a mermaid.

"Are there any near here?" Tooth asked.

Sandy shrugged, but told them that he knew where some were. He sent out a dream sand manta that sped off knowingly. It will bring them, he conveyed to his friends.

"Great, more waiting," Bunny huffed, plonking himself back down in his seat.

A particularly large splash drew their attention and they all watched as the flying ice thing dove again into the water, only to come back up again a little more worn.

"What is that?" North frowned.

"I don't know," Tooth shook her head. "But judging from the fact that it's made of ice, I'd take a guess and say Jack made it."

Bunny narrowed his eyes in thought. "Ice magic," he muttered.

"What?"

"When he was in my Warren," Bunny explained. "He was asking 'bout the sentinel eggs; wanted to know if he could do somethin' similar with ice. Looks like he managed it, though I have no idea what it's supposed to be."

Sandy showed a block of ice slowly wearing and melting away.

"I think he's right," Tooth looked between Sandy and Bunny. "It's been doing this for a while now and its warm enough out here for the ice to melt; it probably had a proper form when it was made."

"Well, let's hope we'll get to see that proper form when we save Frostbite."

"Sandman, ahoy!"

The Guardians looked down as two heads poked out from beneath the waves, both with hair like seaweed. At Sandy's urging they got as close as they could without being drenched by the spray.

"You sent for us?" one asked.

Sandy nodded and looked to Tooth to explain; it would be quicker than the mermaids trying to figure out his pictures.

"We think Jack Frost might be down there," the Tooth Fairy told them worriedly.

"And you would like for us to check?" the other tilted her head. "Very well." Without another word they slipped back beneath the waves and out of sight.

It was a painful ten minutes before they returned.

"Well?" Bunny asked, making no attempt to be patient.

"He is down there," they confirmed. "But we cannot bring him here."

"Why not?!"

"He is trapped," the round faced one explained. "In a cage of metal. It has no door and is too heavy for us to lift."

The four Guardians shared horrified looks.

"So what can we do?" North asked.

"Perhaps if we had something to tie it to, we could haul it out," the other mermaid suggested.

"Rope?" Tooth supplied. "How long does it need to be?"

"You are lucky; the cage has gotten caught on a craggy ledge and not sunken to the bottom. The rope will need to be roughly 2000 metres."

"Where the hell are we going to get a rope that long?!" Bunny gaped.

"Unless you come down and lift the cage yourselves there is not much that can be done."

"We can go that deep," Tooth said. "With some diving gear it shouldn't be a problem."

"Diving gear?" the round faced one tilted her head. "If it is breathing that troubles you, then this should suffice," she disappeared momentarily before resurfacing with a single glistening scale in hand. "Place it in your mouth and it should allow you to breathe beneath the waves."

"Then what're we waitin' for?" Bunny asked, accepting the scale and doing as instructed before diving in, for once not complaining about the way water drenched his fur.

"Sandy, take care of sleigh, yes?" North handed the Sandman the reigns, who nodded in acceptance. He wouldn't be able to join them.

Tooth and North were quick to follow after Bunnymund, letting the mermaids lead them to where Jack was waiting.

They weren't ready for the sight that greeted them. The cage, as the mermaids had said, was caught on a rock wall. Jack was lying unconscious on the bottom of it, his face slightly blue-tinged and his clothes being tugged by the gentle ebb and flow of the current.

They didn't waste a single second. Bunny and North were quick to get a grip on the bars of the cage, Tooth supplying her own, albeit lesser strength. With one firm tug and the mermaids focusing on dislodging the rocks the cage had caught on, they managed to pull it free.

It was heavier than they'd been expecting and it was a struggle to stop it from slipping free from their grasps and further down into the water. The mermaids quickly abandoned the rocks in favour of getting Jack back to the surface.

"We need to open cage," North said the moment his head broke the surface. The cage was too heavy for them to lift into the sleigh, especially with them in such a position.

"How? The thing is solid iron," Bunny asked, trying to hold the cage and drag Jack up to the surface at the same time.

A sound like howling wind snapped their gazes upward as the ice thing shot down towards them, aided by the increasingly distressed wind itself. Before anyone could react it latched onto the roof of the cage and flapped what remained of its wings furiously, managing to get the cage a little further out of the water, but not enough for them to push it out completely. It didn't give up though, continuing to struggle despite its failing body.

"Idea!" North suddenly shouted. "But we will have to be quick. Sandy, do you think you can take sleigh back to Workshop? Reindeer know the way."

Sandy hesitated for a moment before nodding, gently guiding the deer around and heading back northwards.

"What's your plan, North?" Tooth asked.

"I will use snow globe to open portal back to Workshop."

"Won't that send a lot of water, as well?"

"Yes, which is why we must be quick to limit amount," he turned to the mermaids. "When I release snow globe it would be best for you to move back; we would not want you to get caught up as well. Thank you for all your help."

"It was no trouble," one smiled sadly.

"We hope your winter spirit will be alright," the other added.

North kept one hand on the cage as he reached into the pocket of his water logged coat, searching for a snow globe.

"North Pole," he told it gruffly before tossing it just ahead of them. The moment the portal opened water started gushing in full-force. "Quickly!" North bellowed, using all of his strength to get them all through.

"Thank you!" Tooth called back over her shoulder at the mermaids, who waved before heading on their way.

...

...

The Globe Room needed more than a little mopping by the time the portal closed. There was almost enough water to make a wading pool. The elves, who were clearly confused by the development, were enjoying it nonetheless, splashing themselves and each other.

The Guardians ignored them and the water, focussing instead on finding a way to get Jack out of the cage.

"Bring me saw to cut through bars!" North ordered the closest yeti, who garbled something in reply before hurrying off.

The yeti was back in moments, a large circular saw in hand. North didn't waste a moment, powering it up and telling the others to step back as he began slicing through the bars. While he was occupied, Tooth turned her gaze to the ice thing that had followed them through. The water they were standing in was doing nothing to help keep it in one piece and she had a feeling Jack would want to salvage it if he could, so she walked over to it, her wings too wet to fly.

"Come on," she coaxed it. "Let's get you outside where you won't melt."

The ice sculpture was reluctant to leave but eventually she somehow managed to convince it to follow her out of the Workshop.

As the third bar was successfully removed, Bunny launched forwards, ducking beneath North and his saw to reach Jack who had yet to stir.

"C'mon, Frostbite, wake up," he muttered anxiously, gently shaking the kid's shoulder.

"Is he breathing?" Tooth gasped, hurrying back into the room with Sandy who had just arrived.

Bunny held his ears to attention, watching Jack's chest carefully. "I… I don't think so," he managed.

"Hurry, we take him to first aid yetis," North announced, easily lifting Jack into his arms and storming through the halls of his home.

...

...

Jack awoke to white. It was a cold white, so he assumed he was in the snow somewhere, but that only served to make him more confused. Hadn't he been in the ocean a moment ago? His whole body felt heavy like that time he'd gotten sick with pneumonia, and if he were to take a guess, he would say that he was recovering from something similar. But that didn't explain the scenery change.

What Jack really wanted to do was sit up and take in his surroundings but he had a feeling if he did that he would regret it. So instead he opted for slowly turning his head to the left. The movement attracted the attention of a snowy lump beside him and an icy blob poked out of the slush like a daisy. Jack frowned in confusion for a long moment, staring at it, before his sluggish thoughts caught up with him.

"Frostwind?" his voice croaked from dryness and disuse.

The ice dragon (who currently looked more like a deformed ice blob, if truth be told) responded to the name, making a quiet huffing noise in conjunction with the wind which blew gently on him in relief.

"Jack?"

Jack let his eyes move away from his creation to where he assumed the voice was coming from but the owner was out of his line of sight.

"Bunny?" he guessed, withholding a wince at how pathetic he sounded.

"Yeah, it's me," the Pooka shifted so that he was on Jack's other side and within the winter spirit's view. His fur was covered in frost and he looked a little more than cold but he said nothing about it.

"Where are we?" Jack forced himself to ask, although he had his suspicions.

"North Pole," Bunny replied. "After we… after we found ya we brought ya back 'ere."

"Oh."

"You… you gave us a real scare for a while there, mate."

"How long… have I been asleep?"

"About a week 'n a half."

Jack stared at him a moment before shutting his eyes and letting his head fall back.

"You alright, mate?"

If he were to answer truthfully it would be an easy 'no'. He felt like he'd been through hell and back and merely thinking about the drowning experience made him queasy and start shivering again, though not from the cold. He forced his mind not to dwell on those things. The snow he was lying in was doing wonders to heal him and with time he would heal. He was just going to avoid all bodies of unfrozen water for a while. A year sounded good.

"I will be," he said in the end, if only to appease Bunny. Blindly he reached out a hand until he found the lump of ice he was looking for. "I'm glad you're okay, Frostwind," he told the dragon quietly. "When I no longer feel like I'm going to hurl I'll fix you up, okay?"

Frostwind huffed reassuringly, resting what was left of its head on the winter spirit's chest.

"Looks like ya managed that ice magic, hey?" Bunny muttered, watching the ice dragon carefully.

Jack hummed. "He looks better when he has definable features."

"Get some rest, Frostbite," Bunny stood, brushing some of the ice from his fur. "I'll let the others know ya woke up; they've been workin' themselves into a tizzy these last coupl'o weeks."

I'm sure that includes you, Jack thought, but he didn't have the energy to voice it. Instead, he rested his hand over Frostwind's neck and let the sound of the wind block out all else except the soft crunch of rabbit feet on snow.