I watched Aladdin the pantomime the other day, and I was thinking about what would happen if Jack was Aladdin, and Bunny was the chief of police. I was imagining the moment Bunny sees Jack peeking at the princess, and then all the elves with their pointy hats converge on him, all brandishing squeaky batons... Then Jack could bribe them with cookies! Did anyone else think that the elves were absolutely hilarious in the movie? We will play the trumpet!

Chapter Six- Control

Jack shut the window with a slam.

"Well that went well." The guardians met his eyes guiltily.

"Jack..." he held up his hand, silencing Tooth who had heard the commotion and rushed into the room.

"Save it." He snapped. He was angry, it was true, and they had left him alone for 300 years. But until Adrianne had her outburst, he thought he had put it behind him. Obviously not, he thought, and he looked down to his shaking fists. But he could deal with that later.

"I need my staff. And we need to find Adrianne. She's confused and angry, and Pitch is still looking for her." He strode over to his ice staff, scooped it up, and made towards the window.

"Listen mate." Jack stopped, but didn't turn.

"It's true, we did leave you, and we didn't look out for you like we should have. We are more sorry than we can ever say, mate, but we've got the rest of eternity to make it up to you."

Of all the people Jack hadn't expected the kind words to come from the australian. He knew that Bunny was often exasperated and irritated with him, but even Bunny had a soft spot for him. He face the others, and he saw the truth in their eyes as they nodded so vigorously that their heads would surely fall off. Taking advantage of the distraction, a plate of cookies shuffled out of the room accompanied by the sounds of bells and giggling.

"It's true Jack. We are so sorry." Tooth's face was stained with tears as she smiled weakly at him. Jack offered them a small smile.

"I do believe you, and I have forgiven you. It's just a sore subject for me, that's all." He put one foot on the window ledge, before remembering he couldn't fly, and made towards the front door.

"See you later."

...

It didn't take long to find Adrianne. She was still at the pole, kicking up snowdrifts. He had heard her yelling to the heavens, but she'd stopped now. Instead she was pacing in a tight circle and muttering under her breath. Jack waited until he was a few meters away, and called out.

"Adrianne?" She huffed, and moved in the opposite direction to where he was standing. He decided to try the nickname he'd given her, it had triggered the outburst...

"Ree?" She turned and walked towards him albeit reluctantly.

"You're not leaving are you?" Jack could hear the hope and sadness in his own voice as his breath caught in his throat.

"No." She looked down, looking forlorn. He breathed, reassured. "I just wanted to get out before I damaged anything. I didn't want to lose control." Jack was impressed by her maturity. And he understood. When his powers took over him, when he lost control and was just a device to wreak havoc it felt horrible, because he felt insignificant, and it didn't matter how much he wanted to stop because he couldn't. He hated it. He knew how she felt.

"I'm fine Jack. Just leave me alone." She faltered and lost her footing, luckily Jack managed to sweep her up and lay her on the snow. She looked tired. More than that, she looked exhausted.

"You're not fine, it's plain to see." She exhaled loudly, and inhaled. Jack jumped as she buried her head in his chest, and wrapped her arms around him. He was stiff at first, but soon relaxed into the embrace.

"I just can't believe they left you alone for 300 years." She whispered. Jack nodded, he understood far better than her. He still had trouble with the void of bitter thoughts that still swirled around his mind. And he wasn't ashamed to say that not all those thoughts had been planted by Pitch.

She twisted round to look at him. Jack immediately became worried at her frost covered lips, before remembering that she was of winter- it wouldn't bother her.

"How old were you when you died?" Jack was slightly startled, but racked his brains for the answer none the less.

"Um... 16 or 17... I think 17." Adrianne nodded.

"So you're a minor. Even as an immortal, it was their duty to protect you, and they failed. And they have the nerve to ask me if I want to be a guardian." She shook her head, and laughed without humour.

"Well when you're a guardian, you can make sure it never happens again." Adrianne pushed away from him, incensed. Jack missed the cold that she brought.

"You're siding with them?" Jack leapt up and held his hands up in a placating gesture. She had taken his remark the wrong way.

"No! But I've forgiven them so... even if you can't can you just put up with them? They're not that bad."

"No."

"Til we get my staff back?" Jack saw hesitation and uncertainty flit across her face before it set again in stony denial.

"No."

"Not even for me?" Adrianne gave Jack a pained expression, before jerking her head in a curt nod. He hadn't even had to say the magic word.

"Fine. But I'm not becoming a guardian."
Jack knew the attitude she was giving him, he had been the same when they asked him. He couldn't rush her, she had to decide on her own. He'd give her the time he needed. Guardianship wasn't something that could be forced on you.

He held out his arm, just like a gentleman. Adrianne took his arm, and together they flew into the air. A sudden thought struck his mind, and he was worried suddenly.

"You don't mind the name Ree do you?"
Adrianne burst into peals of delighted laughter, which left Jack staring awkwardly at the ground below them, wishing he hadn't asked the question.

...

Even though it pained them to admit it, and it was approaching 9 in the morning, everybody agreed there really wasn't much they could do while they were walking zombies. They all needed to recuperate their strength for the inevitable fight that would follow, and there was a limit to how long cocoa and coffee could keep them awake for. So when they woke up about 12 hours later, they were ready to strike back.

Adrianne didn't think it was possible for the elves to be anymore unhelpful than they already were. They ran around, crashing into each other, and everyone else, laughing madly before stealing a cookie and running out before electrocuting each other, as they made 'toys'. They were always 'underboot' as North said.

Ah North. The very thought made her scowl.

Adrianne didn't hate the guardians. She's been around them long enough to realise that they were not bad people, they had just made a huge mistake. So while she didn't hate them, she was wary. For her and for Jack. She was fiercely protective of him, and him of her, and she would not allow him to be abandoned again. Not while she had breath in her body.

"The first thing we need to know, is where is Pitch." North began the meeting once everybody had a cup of hot cocoa. Adrianne took a sip. It was heavenly.

"Burgess." Jack said, without skipping a beat. Everybody turned towards him curiously. Adrianne didn't really know anything about Pitch Black, so she couldn't help in this discussion.

"Nah mate, he would have moved from last time." The others nodded, except for Adrianne who was observing Jack carefully. He must have had good reason to be so sure.

"Why?" She watched as Jack straightened his spine,and his eyes almost sparkled with conviction. When no-one replied, he continued.

"Think about it. Both me and Adrianne were born there, so we're likely to wander around there. If he's close, then there's more chance he could catch us unawares. Plus, he wants us to bring the fight to him, so he can fight in an area that he's familiar with. What better place to fight us than in shadows he's used to?"

His face clouded over, and his voice was filled with terror. Everyone in the room stiffened at the change.

"And it's close to Jaime. We have to check Jaime's okay, warn him..."

Adrianne interrupted.

"Who's Jaime?"

"His first believer, and friend." North replied. "He lives in Burgess."

"So lets go." Jack urged. North reached for a glittering sphere.

"What's that?" She whispered to Jack, as she took his hand and grabbed her staff.

"Portal." Despite everything, he grinned endearingly. "Get ready for a bumpy ride!"

By now North had chucked the snow globe , and it had exploded into a vortex of swirling colors, and both Tooth and Bunny had stepped through, their figures dissolving into light.

"Your turn." North nudged them forward. As they stepped through the portal, Adrianne felt herself fade into nothingness and dizzily spin. Energy pulsed through her, Jack and the surroundings as they surged forward to the destination.

...

As soon as they landed on the white ground outside Jaime's house, Jack rushed forward to the window, dragging Adrianne with him. He could apologize for that later. His touch caused the window to frost over, and he tapped on the glass frantically. It wasn't that late, Jaime should still be awake... His taps turned to thumps, and soon yells as well as he banged the window, fully prepared to break it.

"Uh Jack?" Jack turned to Adrianne expectantly. She grinned, and hooked her finger in a gap between the window and window ledge, and pulled the window upward, allowing Jack entry. Jack smiled sheepishly, thinking about how stupid he was not to even check that the window was already open, then scrambled into the room, followed swiftly by the other guardians. His head darted towards the bed, and he let out a breath he'd been holding for a very long time, when he saw the lump under the duvet. He walked over, and prodded the lump, trying to wake Jaime.

"Thank goodness we weren't too late!" Tooth gushed while Sandy nodded energetically. Jack pulled the covers back and gasped.

It wasn't Jaime. It was a life-size replica, made completely out of black sand, which dissolved, and blew hypnotically in the wind before disappearing out of the window. He heard the low gasps as the others noticed. How dare he take Jaime to get to him? Jaime was a child, and innocent child... and he supposed that's where the entertainment lay for such a black-hearted spirit. Jaime didn't deserve to be in danger because of him. This was Jack's fault, if he had just got there sooner, it wouldn't have happened.

This was a message from Pitch.