( This story is a canon sequel to Rise of The Guardians, taking place 1 year after the events in the film. North isn't here, nor is several of the film's locations, but the other Guardians are. This is also a non~OC zone. )

 

 

It was another tiring day at Toothiana's palace in the mountains, fairies swooping through the early morning air like escaped sun beams, putting teeth in the thousands of holders covering the walls.

Toothiana herself was watching Jack Frost, who lounged on a small sofa, long limbs splayed out, idly drawing patterns on the floor in frost. 

"All good here, then?" Jack guessed. Since Sandy didn't speak per se, figuring out what he meant was an endless series of charades, but it looked like he meant the street was clear. The bird was back, and Jack finally gave in, letting the thing roost on his shoulder. 

Sandy nodded at Jack's question and smiled as Jack gave up on the bird. Suddenly a kid's soft cry could be heard from one of the nearby open window. Sandy gave Jack a confused look, and then followed the sound. He followed it to a little boy, who couldn't be older then five, his face buried in his pillow that he hugged. But something around the boy is what disturbed Sandy. Black lining of dust was what blocked his golden dust to reach the child. Sandy turned around to Jack wide-eyed and the golden dust above his head made a silhouette of Pitch, then it transformed to a question mark.

"Couldn't be.... he's long gone." Jack strode forwards, and swung his staff down, figuring it'd dissolve the black sand.

With a crash, he went flying into the night, the remains of the window scattering on the lawn. Jack flew into a snowdrift, face down, as the sand deepened, shadowing the frightened child. 

Sandy dodged Jack's flying body as he flew out the window. This was something that has never happened before. The black sand seemed to have been growing around the child, and Sandy couldn't bear to let the young child face his nightmare's alone. Sandy made his signature whips and swung towards the black dust. Part of the black dust seemed to have been removed, but it wanted to grow. So Sandy whipped both of his (well) whips and the both of them wrapped around the black dust. He pulled back and then suddenly the black dust dismantled and completely disappeared.

 

The child looked up and smiled. Sandy smiled at the kid who had finally noticed him, then just as the kid went to get up. Sandy blew a little dust on him to have the boy sleep happy dreams for the rest of the night. Now it's time to go check on Jack who just flew out the window.

Jack was dreaming of home: he watched the kids running around the plot of land between cabins, his mother roasting wild pig on a spit. The air felt cold... too cold. His whole body was cold... 

He sat up, reality shocking back to him, covered in snow. His memories often decided to pop up on the fly now, so who knows where that tid bit was from. He glanced up, seeing the moon cover over with clouds. Despite his nature, and general cold body type, he shivered at the sight. 

Sandy saw Jack in a pile of snow, looking dazed and somehow he looked like he was shivering. Sandy can never recall Jack shivering like that. He flew down to his aid to give Jack a hand up, he frowned at Jack and made a question mark over his head, then a thumbs up, asking if Jack was okay.

"Yeah...fine..." He shook his head. "What a head rush..." He got up, shakily, clinging to his staff. "Have you ever seen anything like that before?"

Sandy shook his head, giving Jack a worried look. It terrified Sandy that this even remotely happened. He hopes this is an end to something that just begun, but has a sick feeling it isn't the end. Sandy made a phone with his dust, then made a silhouette of North, Bunny and then Tooth and finalized it with a question. Asking if they should include the other Guardians on this matter.

"Not just yet.... you know how North is..." Jack put on a phony accent "To war with these!" he cried, shaking a fist. "And Tooth is...Tooth... you know how she is."

Sandy laughed at Jack's phony accent and impersonation of North, it was almost flawless. Then suddenly Jack asked how Tooth was and Sandy gave him a smirk and cocked a brow. He folded his arms, and then above his head the golden dust made a heart shape and then question mark next to it.

"Oh, don't even!" Jack cried, red cheeked. "I do not..." He stood up, brushing off his sweater. 

Sandy rolled his eyes with a wide smile and gave Jack a playful tap on Jack's shoulder. When Jack looked over, Sandy made a cupid then had it act as if it shot Jack on the chest, then it turned to dust, glittering Jack's entire torso with the golden dust.

"Ughh..." Jack groaned, flopping back into the snowdrift. He looked up. "Hey...where'd Manny go?"

The sky was dark, the Moon completely covered by something. But it wasn't clouds. 

Sandy stopped his teasing on Jack and looked up at the sky. Jack's question makes so much more sense now. The moon was completely gone, covered by a black mass. Maybe an eclipse? But that was never mentioned to happen tonight. Sandy exchanged looks with Jack. He let out a long sigh and frowned. There's no way North, Tooth or Bunny doesn't notice this.

"They have to know about this," Jack said, echoing Sandy's though. "There's not an eclipse or anything tonight, is there?"

Sandy shook his head. Sandy figured they should talk to the other Guardians about it, because Jack and himself can't just sit here and try to figure it out on their own. An egg was made with dust above his head then a question mark, then a tooth with a question mark, then a compass the pointed north with a question mark. Asking Jack who they should see first.

"I suppose Bunny.... he'd be less likely to wig out. Tooth would just go into freak out mode, and North would just want to fight something..." 

Sandy nodded with definite agreement. At least Bunny would be a bit calm, well kinda. Anything's better than North's automatic take to do war. Sandy gestured Jack to follow so they can go see Bunny, hoping one of the entrances were open to the Warren.

"There's on off the gazebo in town," Jack said, walking along behind Sandy. The dark moon worried him, somewhere at a primal level. 

Sandy nods and leads the way to a secret entrance to the Warren. It looks a manhole in a patch of grass, but it has an egg pattern on it. Only Guardians can see this entrance, for safety measures. Sandy opened the manhole and looked at Jack.

"Me first? Okay!" He jumped in, one of the only Guardians besides Bunnymund himself to enjoy the slid like entrances to the Warren. His laughter echoed up to Sandy. 

Sandy smiled as he heard Jack's laughter and jumped in after him. (just before he jumped, he used a rope made from his sand to pull he manhole lid back over the hole.) He slid down the tunnels, hearing Jack's laughter all the way down. The end of the tunnel got brighter and with a jump up from the end of the tunnel, Sandy landed on a patch of grass and dirt.

Jack had skidded, and was sitting in a now frozen pond. "I'm okay!" he called. 

Sandy heard Jack and slowly got up, dusting the dirt off himself and picking grass out of his hair. The Warren nice to go to and all, he just preferred a more cushioned landing.

"Where's Bun?" Jack said aloud, purposefully using a nickname Bunnymund despised. "See anything, Sandy?"