Hey, there! It's me, with another random fic for you guys! I haven't had any interest in anything here for an incredibly long time, I know, and I apologize, but this is something that happened in my head, so I decided to write it down while it's there. Lack of sleep might make this sound really weird, but that is how I is! Thank you to those of you who cared enough to read this!

Disclaimer: As per the usual, none of this is mine, nor will it ever be, which is probably good.

Basic sum-up: Sandy decides to bring his old friend a gift on the birthday she hates. No romance being implied here, that would be weird. Also, this takes place in the book universe rather than the movie, so if you are confused about events being mentioned, don't be alarmed, they just... left a whole bunch of stuff out of the movie, to put it simply. Enjoy!

A Gift For Emily

Emily Jane hated her birthday. Her father had never come to get her on her birthday. Sandy had tried to explain the situation to her once he found out the whole story once and only once. She would not hear it again, and was too far gone now to care, especially since the incident with Katherine. Why she had had to react in such a way he didn't like to think... He couldn't remember her at all, he had told her and told her...

Sandy sat now with his chin in his hands, staring out at the sky as the sun set. He had taken to putting himself on a sort of watch since they had lost Pitch once again, and was inclined to do so frequently. He was even able to grant some of the idle wishes he could hear from his perch on his floating island tonight. This meant that it was clear for a very long way. Emily must not be particularly angry today. Or she could could be working up a huge storm to conjure when her birthday hit tomorrow. Oh, dear, he hoped she wouldn't do too much damage... Yes... Tomorrow was Emily Jane's birthday.

He realized something, and sat up straight. A sudden idea struck him with the force of an asteroid. What if he could think of a birthday present? What if, just what if, he could at least make her happy for once, if only once? He knew where she stayed, now, she hadn't bothered to change that. Seeing her again after all that time wondering if she was well had made him happy, even though "well" was not exactly the proper term for how she was. She was insane, after all, that had unfortunately not changed since the incident which had caused their crash. But what could he get for her? Something small, and shiny, he supposed. Not jewelry, he had poor taste in it, and she still had plenty left from her collection in the comet... He decided to ask the others, and promptly left his guard duties to do so.

This turned out not to be the best idea, however, because if he had remained, he might have caught wind of the army of Nightmare Men and Shadow Beasts slowly making their way out of their caves...

Pitch Black was readying his armies.

After some time speaking with all of the Guardians, including Katherine and Nightlight, Sandy decided he should make her something. Something which reminded her of better times. Stars. He would make her stars.

He borrowed some magic potions from Ombric and North and set to work. It took him a very long time, indeed, but when he was finished, he felt he had made an accomplishment. Then, carefully tucking it away in a box Tooth had made for him, he took it up and flew off to see his old friend. He hadn't told them where he was going, or what he had been making, for fear it may worry them, as Mother Nature hadn't been particularly kind to them in the little time they had known her for. But they had not known her as long as he had. They didn't know what she had been like when a semblance of sanity had been present for so long, only to have been ripped away again when it was just about to stay, when she had been just about to be permanently better. Remembering that made him shudder, and he found himself instinctively looking at the stars from which they had come, half expecting to see thousands of wretched and angry Dream Pirates bearing down on him from their starships. But they wouldn't be doing that, of course not. For all he knew they were gone for good. Pitch was still a problem, but as far as he knew, they were not, and he couldn't be leading them any longer if they were not there. Briefly, he wondered where they may have gone to, if that was the case, but shrugged it off for now, reminding himself to perhaps ask Tsar Lunar about it when next they spoke. They had things here to worry about, after all.

It took him only an hour to reach Emily's home, going at very high speeds. He landed softly, and had a very short battle with a sudden feeling of doubt at the result of this escapade. Shaking himself and putting on a determined expression, though, he moved forward and entered her grove. If he had a voice outside of dreams, he would have called out, but as he was mute when awake, he could only carefully look around and hope he didn't startle her. Perhaps she would recognize his presence?

She did. Of course she did.

"Sanderson?" Her voice was soft, and it came to him from around a bend. She sounded as though she had been just about to go on a fit, but he had interrupted her. Good, he guessed. At least there would be no thunder storms in the area. He sent out a thin tendril of sand as a response, and shortly thereafter Emily came out to him with a tired smile. "Hello, Sandy. What is it you wish to see me about? You know I hate these few days before my birthday."

Smiling happily at her, he produced from behind his back the box with his gift. She took it gingerly and raised an eyebrow. "A present?"

He nodded.

"I see. You came to give me... a present." There was a thoughtful pause, and then she said, "No one has given me a present since before the war sent me to the Storm Titan..." Sandy shrugged awkwardly, and encouraged her to open it to make himself less nervous. He did not know how she would react to this, but he hoped it would be enough to make her happy, even for a little while. And he had used some of the magic he had been given to make it indestructible, so...

He held his breath as she slowly lifted the lid. Her eyes widened, and a stump sprouted out of the ground behind her for a seat she dropped into. As she did so, the star system he had made floated up and out of it's box, and spread to it's proper form, shining a warm, pleasant shimmer of light around the grove. She was speechless for quite some time, and simply stared at it in wonder. "This... This is the star system where we met. We... traveled for so long through it..."

He nodded, feeling a lot better now that she sounded happy for the first time in a very long time. Did she even remember all of that? Suddenly, she became like a child again, the way she had been when he had first seen her blasting along inside her comet. She pointed to a section near the edge of it. "This is the Titan's cluster, here, where all the ships wrecked... And here, this is where we ran with the fish, and raced them through that asteroid belt... And here, here is where we fought our first battle together as comet and rider... And this, this was where I first let you know I was inside it, let you hear my voice... Sandy, this... This is beautiful! Thank you."

It was the first time she had spoken in such a lucid manner to him in a very long time, and he nearly wept with the joy of it. He had expected her to be pleased, certainly, but not as much as this. No, never as much as this. He thought he would never hear a smile in her voice again. But then, her face grew dark. Had he done something wrong? What had he done wrong? He followed her eyes to the spot where the moon hovered, a slightly larger spark of light among specks. And of Earth, the planet they had been forced to crash onto. He had put them there without thinking, without even once considering it may upset her...

"Sandy?" He started, and looked at her worriedly, only to be horrified to see that there were tears in her eyes. "Do you think... Father will ever remember?"

What?

"Do you think he will ever remember me? Or himself? Or even, maybe... Mother?"

He didn't know how to respond to that question. How would one possibly respond to a question they themselves had been asking, and knew nothing of the answer to? He had even asked Aster on the rare occasion when they were both asleep, his being the time traveler and all, but he had said that he could not reveal the future to anyone, no matter what the cost. He could only ensure the correct turn of events took place, whether or not those events were the right ones. It was out of his paws. He bowed his head when she looked at him, and did his best to convey that he didn't know. With her it didn't need to be difficult. They had been in sync with each others minds for so long it was second nature to them when in one another's presence. Now, though, he felt as though he were loosing her again. False hope, he supposed, had to come with such a friendship.

As he looked at his feet, he felt a gentle hand on his cheek, and looked up in confusion. Wasn't she upset with him? "It's alright. I expected as much. What happened wasn't your fault. Far from it. How could it have been? You weren't the one who unlocked that cell. You weren't the one who tricked Father into doing it. I shouldn't have expected you to know. I'm sorry."

There was nothing to be sorry about, of course there wasn't. And she was smiling again, though this one was once again rather sad. "I adore this gift, and will treasure it as long as I live. It's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me, Sandy. I only wish I knew your birthday so I could repay you. Thank you for remembering. Even if I would rather not."

Just then, they were interrupted by a strange light which reflected from outside. Confused, the two of them went to the doorway of the grotto, and Sandy's heart first leaped into his throat and then sunk to his stomach. The Northern signal. Pitch was attacking. He looked at Emily, and saw darkness clouding her face, and anger flashed in her eyes. "What is that?"

Desperately, Sandy tried to calm her, to tell her that it was nothing, to try and convey anything other that what it was. That her father was attacking again. But she knew it right away. Of course she did, he had told her what the signal was for, though he had thought he had made it vague enough for her not to have guessed the danger it warned of. But it was too late. She was angry, and the wind started billowing. He flew to her face, and made the best attempt at begging her to stop as he could with no voice. She glared at him for some time, and then, abruptly, the wind and clouds stopped, but the sky remained darkened. "Fine. Go and have your war. I will not interfere. But know this. I will neither hinder nor help either side. I will only keep the weather clear. But if that man tries to make that little brat his new daughter again, you will not like what occurs. Tell him that from me. In fact, tell them all that. I am his only daughter, whether he remembers me or not, and I will not be replaced!" With this outburst, Sandy, frightened for the first time in a long time, and defeated, backed away from her, his feelings of hurt plain to see. She faltered for a moment, her face changing from one of anger and hate to one of confusion and shock. It was the first time she was aware of her own outbursts in either of their memories.

She looked at the ground, brow furrowed. After a pause, Sandy reached a tentative hand toward one of hers, and it touched it briefly before it was yanked away. She glared again, but her heart wasn't in it. "You had best leave, Sanderson. Have your wretched war over this wretched planet. I do not care either way of the outcome. Live through it, and I shall accept it. Go. Aid your friends. They will need you."

Sandy didn't know whether or not she meant all of what she said, but he didn't have time to ask her, as she quickly retreated into her grotto and grew trees of thick, strong thorns to cover the doorway behind her. He couldn't get in if he tried. He stood there in misery for as long as he dared, not being able to look away from the place she had been. Another pulse of brightness shot out from the lights above, and he looked up just in time to see them snuffed out abruptly. Newfound determination drove him to rise and return to the castle in the snow as fast as he could go.

From behind the doors of thorns, however, came the sound of Mother Nature weeping as she sat among her stars.

End.

Alright, everyone, so that's that! Not the happiest of endings, I know, but the last book of the series hasn't been written yet that I've heard, so I don't know where it's going, other than that the final war takes place on the dark side of the moon... Which sounds metal a f, but I dunno... Anyways, thanks so much for reading, and I will try to get other things done if I can find the time, so... Until then, good readers, I wish you well!