Kenobi: *dragging R2D2 behind him in one hand and the doctor in the other as he enters the room* Found these two on Coruscant…
Me: Oh, thank Moon. I was just about to leave and search myself…
Kenobi: No Problem… They only painted a giant Tardis on the side of the Jedi Temple, then went into the future and did the same with the imperial palace, then made all of the clones dress up as various versions of the doctor, then flicked back in time and I caught them about to talk to Owen Lars about getting Luke a droid for his fifth birthday. Tell you what, these timejumpy wristband thingies work wonders… And Vader! Deal with your droid, would you?
Luke Skywalker: Hey, My droid!
Vader: Nope, it was mine.
Luke: Oh, and next I suppose you'll say you built C3PO?
Vader: … Actually…
Luke: *facepalm* Whatever… Come on R2… *Leaves with the droid trailing behind him, whistling*
Me: Anyway… Now that the family Drama has been concluded… Back to the actual fic! I'll be selling Pitchforks at the end of this chapter, you'll see why…
Vader: Pitchforks?
Me: Yes. More effective than Lightsabers when you are in a mob.
Vader: Ah.
Me: Ah? That's it?
Vader: Well the readers are going to end up hunting you down after this anyway, so I'm just gonna sit back and relax…
Tony: Now, I still think this chapter was evil, even for you-
Vader: *uses the force and levitates him, before throwing him into Hulk and starting a fight between the two, thus distracting Tony from trying to make me nice*
Me: Oh… Thanks Vader. That was... Nice of you…?
Vader: *charming smile, though it is only with Author powers that I can see it beneath the mask.*
Me: (completely thrown off course) Right… Well, erm… Thanks to 12rp, trimonter bluedog10 and Fluffy3314 for following and/or faving and err… Enjoy? Oh, and be warned, this is very fast paced… No room for dilly-dallying!
_
Jamie sighed as his mother played the same song over again.
"Mum! That's the third time!"
She smiled, keeping her eyes on the road in front of them, but laughing.
"Because it is a great song! Isn't it sweetie?"
Sophie laughed, nodding, and Jamie sighed again, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, sure. Team up on me why don't you, I- LOOK OUT!"
A trail of ice had just covered the road, where a few moments before there had been nothing, and Jamie's mother was unable to avoid it.
The car flew into a spin, before tumbling over once... twice... three times, before finally coming to a rest on its side.
Jamie groaned, and managed to undo his seatbelt, falling to the floor.
He blearily looked around, and gasped as he caught sight of his mum and sister.
His mother was barely breathing, looking trapped beneath the mess that had been the dashboard, and Sophie didn't look to be moving.
Jamie found he was frozen, horror struck, and something in the back of his mind told him he was going into shock.
He barely registered when help arrived, or the noise, or the gentle handling and quiet words...
And he welcomed the darkness that embraced him when he finally felt the pain he was in, sinking into it gratefully.
On the side of the road, out of sight, Ice Black smirked at the scene, taking small pride in his plan.
And this way, he knew the guardian would come to him, saving him the trouble.
That power would be in his grasp before they knew what hit them...
_
Jack sighed as the North, Bunny and Tooth stared at him.
"Yes, I've been hacking into the weather office's main computer, and tweaking their updates to incorporate the Avalanche warnings. It's really not all that surprising…"
"Err… Yeah it is mate." Bunny said. "We had no idea."
"Well, now ya know. And anyway, it's not like it's too difficult… Get a computer, charge it up at Jamie's and move it somewhere else, then reroute the signal over various states in America and log off before they can trace it. Then leave it with Shady again. And it turns out to be a good enough idea. Less people have been visiting the different mountains, and people are being more careful on the roads. They've even started gritting them…"
Tooth laughed, giving him a hug.
"Great idea, Sweet Tooth."
Just then, Sandy flew in, clearly out of breath, and started signing urgently to Jack.
All the winter spirit needed were the words orphanage and Ice, before he had grabbed an orb, called a portal and leapt through. The others immediately followed, and gasped as they landed just outside the orphanage, which was slowly but surely getting buried in a snowdrift and freezing over.
Jack cursed, raising his staff.
Within a matter of minutes, the snowstorm had stopped, the ice had started to melt and the snow was being whipped away from the walls.
It was only a few more moments before the area was almost completely cleared, and Jack lowered the staff.
Then he turned, and spoke, his voice calmer than the guardians had expected.
"Looks like Ice Black finally got bored…"
Sandy signed something, and Jack blinked.
"Nightmares about avalanches? Where…?"
More signing.
"The Alps? Shady said he heard something about that… Pitch involved?"
Sandy shook his head and Jack blinked.
"The caves… The old caves that the Yeti's used to use… In the Alps?"
North blinked.
"Have been out of use for many years."
"Perfect for Ice Black then…"
North nodded.
"Very much so… We should head back to Pole."
Jack shook his head.
"I'll meet you there. I just want to make sure everyone here's okay. Should be back in an hour or so."
A sudden burst of sparkles had Jack falling over, and he smiled when he realised who it was.
"Hey BT, what you doing here?"
She chirped and Jack smiled.
"A girl here lost a Tooth? Laura? Yeah… She's a friend."
More chirping, and Jack nodded.
"Sure, I'll meet you up there."
_
Jack landed in the dormitory, after reassuring the others that he would be at the Pole within the hour, and grinned, mostly from relief, as he got mobbed by a hoard of children.
"Hey guys... How ya doing?"
"Good." That was Laura. "Was that you with the snow?"
"No… Someone bad was trying to make it very cold, so I had to stop him. Now then, is everyone okay?"
Laura nodded, and gestured wildly to Baby Tooth.
"Is that the Tooth Fairy?"
Jack smiled, not really surprised that the presence of the children was managing to calm him down slightly.
"Actually, it's one of her mini fairies. She's called Baby Tooth."
It was several more minutes before Jack could disentangle Baby Tooth from the children, and she nestled into his hair.
Jack sighed, as he grinned.
"Okay guys, I've gotta go. But I'll come visit soon okay? And tell Ruth I said hello…"
Laura said she would, giving him a hug, and he waited till they were all safely in bed before leaving.
"Okay BT, where you off to next?"
She chirped, and Jack grinned.
"That was one of your last calls? How many more?"
Two… Both in this city…
"Well then, I can spare a few minutes…"
Call him paranoid, but he was worried right now…
And it was only a few minutes till she was done, and Jack started towards the Pole.
Then he blinked as the wind started nudging him in another direction, and he followed it.
"Sorry BT… Not quite sure what it wants-"
She nestled more snuggly into his hair, and Jack grinned, but it morphed to a frown when he landed outside Shady's place.
"What did you bring me here for…?" Jack muttered to the wind, before heading in.
"Shady!"
"Jack? Oh thank Moon… I was just about to head to the Pole, when a very adamant gust of wind stopped me…"
"What's the matter?"
"Iceman got fed up of hearing about Ice Black… Then he heard about Jamie and Sophie and their mother-"
"Jamie and Sophie and- wait, what?"
"You… You haven't heard?"
"Heard what?" Now Jack was seriously worried.
Shady took a deep breath, and spoke, quickly and clearly.
"You need to get back to the Pole. I won't tell you why, because I get the feeling that the guardians will soon need you back at the Pole, as you're likely to have a visitor which will most likely be Jamie. But I wanted to let you know. Iceman's head up to the range we figured Ice Black was likely to be on and-"
"Alone?!"
"Yes-"
"What was he thinking!?" Jack asked, panic making his anger rear up again.
Shady shook his head.
"He was thinking that maybe he could give you a hand."
"But that's… That's…" Jack took a deep breath, and sighed, getting everything straight in his head. "I need to get to the Pole, then I'm going to head straight there. Can you try to find him? Tell him to wait for me…"
Shady nodded.
"I was just waiting to let you know before I did. Gale and Flow pretty much had to hold Clover down to stop her going after him. It's far too cold up there for her…"
"Yeah… Thanks Shady."
"No Problem. Now get moving!"
He shoved Jack towards the entrance of the cave, and started to get himself dressed for the colder weather.
Moon knows, he was going to need it…
_
Jamie opened his eyes to a melee of voices, beeping, and questions.
Yes, he felt okay…
Yes he remembered what had happened…
Why couldn't he see his mother or sister?
But they would be okay?
Confusion, then relief as he realised his mother and sister would be fine, then more confusion as he tried to remember where the ice had come from.
He knew it was important…
Spreading out from… it had looked like a person… Dressed in black and white…
It all came together, and he blinked. Ice Black?
He waited until later in the night, when it had all quietened slightly and he was left with the rest of the sleeping children in the ward, before he quickly got out of the bed, reaching for the jacket that they had left on the side.
He reached inside the pocket, grabbing the orb Jack had given them, and hesitated slightly… Should he leave his family…? But he had to… he had to let the guardians know about Ice Black…
And he wanted to see Jack.
He threw the orb, muttering the winter spirits name, and stepped through the portal, blinking as he realised he was in the workshop, more specifically, right in front of North and Tooth.
The two guardians started at his sudden appearance, and Tooth quickly flew over.
"Hey, are you okay Jamie?"
He started to nod, then changed it to a shake of his head.
"I-Is Jack here?"
Tooth blinked, and looked to North, who shook his head.
"No, but will be back soon. What is matter, Jamie?"
"He… I… He…"
Tooth quickly guided him into a chair, starting to get seriously worried about the, normally cheerful, boy's attitude.
Eventually, she managed to get him to tell them what had happened…
North was pacing, after Jamie had told them what had happened, but turned as Bunny spoke up.
"This ain't gonna go down well with Jack…" He gestured for Tooth to stop, as she went to butt in, and sighed again. "Ya know what I mean. Ya know we all feel the same way Tooth, but Jack was already angry about the orphanage, and if he goes after Ice Black now, he'll be headin' into a trap."
Tooth nodded, and Sandy started gesturing, making Tooth nod again.
"Yeah, we know Sandy… It's not like we can't tell him. We'll just have to make sure he doesn't go flying off and getting himself hurt…"
North snorted at that.
"And we could stop him?"
Tooth bit her lip.
North sighed again, as they waited for Jack. Normally, when he said an hour, he was there in half. Now it was just over and they were all starting to worry.
"Where could he be?" Tooth suddenly blurted out. "He should have been here by n-"
"Sorry! Wind was adamant that I went to Shady's…"
They all span as Jack landed just inside the window, frowning at the atmosphere in the room.
"And he said something about Jamie and Sophie and-"
"Jack!"
Jack blinked, and nearly got knocked over as Jamie barrelled into him, before throwing his staff on the desk and returning the hug. He sent the other two a questioning look, and they shared a look before sighing.
Jack was now even more confused than before, and crouched down to Jamie's height.
"Hey, what's up Kiddo?"
_
North was rocking backwards and forwards, mimicking Bunny in his nervous movements, even as Tooth was clearly only being restrained from going and hugging Jamie and Jack by Sandy's arm, and they were watching as Jack tried to keep his escalating anger in check. Jack sent North and Tooth a quick look, before he spoke, the fact that his voice was strained only apparent to the guardians because they knew him so well.
"Okay Jamie, is it okay if North and Tooth take you back? I have some important stuff to do…"
Plus he didn't want to end up losing it in the middle of a hospital. It was hard enough keeping it all under control as it was…
North quickly head over as Jamie nodded, catching the secondary meaning, and grabbed another orb as Jack gave Jamie a hug.
"Okay, now I'll come and see you as soon as I can okay?"
"You're going after Ice Black?"
Jack sighed as he remembered how easily Jamie picked up on things.
"Yes."
"Be careful…"
"Sure thing Kiddo. Now you go get better okay? And tell Sophie I said Hi…"
They vanished, and Jack turned to Sandy.
"Could you get him to sleep? I don't want him feeling worse, or worrying all night…"
Sandy nodded, following the other three through the portal.
Jack managed to keep up the appearance of being calm until the portal closed again, then he felt his anger start to creep in.
Bunny cursed as the room started to get colder, the wind whipping around, and leapt over to Jack, grabbing his arm.
Damn, the spirit was cold as ice!
"Frostbite?"
"What?"
"Ya need to calm down mate-"
"Don't you think I'm trying to!? He nearly killed them! HE COULD HAVE KILLED THEM!"
Then he froze, taking deep breaths, and the cold in the room receded, causing Bunny to blink.
"You okay?"
"No."
"We'll find him-"
"No need. He's in a series of caves, on one of the mountains in the Alps. And we can't wait, because Iceman has already left to go and confront him. Plus, not only did he just try and hurt the kids at the orphanage, but he nearly killed my family. No-one. Touches. My. Family."
Bunny just had time to reflect that he was lucky not to be on Jack's bad side right now, when a portal suddenly burst open next to them, and the three guardians stepped back through.
"Jamie's fine. His father arrived earlier this evening, and his mother and Sophie will be out of the hospital in a few days."
"How bad."
Statement, not a question, and North sighed, his fists clenching the only sign of his own anger.
"A few cuts and bruises, Sophie has a broken arm, and his mother has a severe concussion with some internal bleeding that they managed to fix up. It could have been a lot worse-"
"He's baiting me. Trying to make a point."
"Most likely, Da."
"Then he won't be expecting me to walk right into, what I'm sure he thinks is, a perfect trap."
North was about to complain, when Jack filled him in on Iceman and Shady.
North nodded.
Problem was, he couldn't use the portals, because he didn't know the exact location of the caves on the ground. But he could find them from the air.
For once, Bunny didn't complain about taking the sleigh, and they all quickly set off, none of them noticing Baby Tooth smuggling herself away in one of North's pockets, after they had all adamantly said that it was too cold and dangerous for her.
After a while, Jack managed to catch a much faster stream of wind, and wouldn't take no for an answer as he flew on ahead. He'd only arrive about ten minutes before the guardians, but ten minutes could make all the difference…
As they were going to find out…
Me: *Cries* PITCHFORKS! GET YOUR PITCHFORKS HERE! BUY TWO, GET A FREE MAP OF WHERE TO FIND ICE BLACK! *Twirls my own red pitchfork demonically*
Anyone feel like mobbing his place? I'm free on Tuesday? (I know, not my best chapter... But the next ones will be better as I won't be completely winging it...)
Vader: Hello Readers. Yes, I am once again, and without the authors permission this time, might I add, speaking to you all directly. I just wish to inform you all that Raven is looking slightly nervous, and hoping everyone will be too focused on getting to Ice Black to remember that she is the one who actually wrote him and his actions-
Me: Vader! I'm going to get you for this!
Vader: With a Pitchfork?
Me: *jabs him*
Vader: Ow!
Me: Yeah. With a Pitchfork… And I thought you were being nice!
Vader: *glares* If you would let me finish? I was going to say, that I'm afraid, due to some weird sense of loyalty that I can't really explain, I'm kinda feeling like I should be acting as Raven's personal bodyguard. Seeing as I may as well do something useful in these footnotes, other than be the filer…ey character.
Me: Oh… Erm… I have a question?
Vader: Yes?
Me: How the hell have you managed to hijack the authors notes? And ya know, do stuff without me saying so?
Vader: Well, I think it might be partly down to the force, and partly down to the fact that you don't seem to mind.
Me: *scoffs, but taps foot awkwardly, knowing that it seems to get even more chaotic when Vader is in charge, and I kinda like things that way* Err, right… Whatever. Anyway, *turning back to readers*
Please review and let me know what you think! I know, it was quite fast paced, but hope you all enjoyed it anyway…? And no, this series is not reaching its end with this particular arc, I can assure you of that…
*shoots Vader a suspicious look as I leave the room, still twirling the pitchfork…*
After I've Left…
Pitch Black: *appears* Do those newer chapters, after that bumbling moron has been dealt with, include me?
Vader: I don't know.
Pitch: Well, can you ask? Please?
After ten minutes of constant blathering on Pitch's part…
Vader: *now at breaking point*Damn you to the Dark Side, YES! I'LL ASK HER!