First off, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and liked this story. *grabs readers into a group hug* I love you guys!

In this chapter, Hiccup and Toothless are more than a bit overwhelmed by the world of today. And they have there first encounter with a guardian, but unfortunately things get off on the wrong foot.

Update: now beta-ed thanks to happywanderer2


New Horizons

A pale blue light shone in Hiccup's eyes. But when he opened them, the light was gone. There was a white crystal layer right in front of him. Curious, he touched it. It crumbled underneath his touch and he realized it was snow. The protective blanket gone, he looked around. The full moon shone so bright he had to squint at first. Thousands of stars were scattered across the night sky. Like someone had thrown a fist full of glitter into the heaven and it stayed there. "Welcome." A voice resonated in his head.
He turned around, but there was nothing but white. As far as the eye could see was snow. The whole world was different. Not just because of the snow, but because it actually was. Berk was gone, and where once was sea, a mountain range stretched. Toothless had woken up as well and stared, confused by this strange new place. It didn't smell like like Berk. "Come on Toothless. Let's go find out what's going on here."

They were flying through a thick blanket of clouds, when Toothless heard something. "What is it boy?" Hiccup asked. Then he heard it too. A low rumbling sound, echoing through the clouds. Toothless bared his teeth and growled back. The sound was getting louder and heavier.
Suddenly, a great dragon came bursting through the clouds with a deafening roar. It was no kind of dragon they had ever seen before. It didn't have a mouth, or any legs. It had eyes all over its body in a straight line. Its wings were stiff and unmoving, with strange lumps that made the earsplitting rumble. Toothless folded his wings and dive-bombed toward the earth, away from the terrible noise and the strange dragon.

The landing was a little rough. Toothless was getting really worked up. He walked up and down, made strange cries and gave Hiccup a worried look. "Toothless calm down. It's ok. It isn't coming after us see?" He pointed up toward the strange dragon, which disappeared into the clouds. It was like it hadn't even seen them. The rumbling faded completely and Toothless calmed down. He looked at Hiccup and tilted his head slightly. "Sorry buddy, I've got no idea were we are either."
Toothless heard another unfamiliar sound and growled while lowering his head. Together they crept up a hill. They would never forget what they saw next.

There was a town right in front of them. It was the biggest and strangest town they had ever seen. It was practically drowning in light. Tall structures rose into the sky. The tallest ones had reflective patches arranged in an orderly fashion. And such strange fires they had. They were upside down, yet they didn't fall out. Nor did they flicker like a fire.
And then there were these strange shiny cocoons. Like huge rocks, they were strewn all over the place. They came in all colors imaginable and some even moved. One of them stopped and a human got out. 'Must be some sort of horse-less carriage.' Hiccup thought. 'Maybe that strange dragon was too.' "Alright Toothless, you wait here, I'll go see where we are." Toothless grabbed his jacket to stop him. "I'm sorry I didn't come back before. But this time I will. I'll just ask someone where we are, maybe even find the way back to Berk. I might even get you some food." Toothless pondered the prospect of food and let Hiccup go. "Okay, I'll be right back." The dragon gently nudged his back. "Don't worry, I will be." Hiccup said and gave his best friend a quick hug.

The town was strange from a distance, but up close he saw its people were even more unusual. They were dressed in strange outfits, and no one wore fur or hide. Their hair was often stuck up in weird fashions. He even saw a woman with hair in all the colors of the rainbow. Hardly any of the men had facial hair, and if they did, it was short and maintained. He would stand out like a sore thumb. But he couldn't back down now. Too much depended on this. Toothless was counting on him.

Oh well, at least he was used to getting funny looks. Though no one seemed to have noticed him yet. "Excuse me Miss?" No answer. "Uhm, sir?" He just kept walking like he wasn't there. Hiccup stepped in front of someone. "Can you tell me..." The man walked straight through him. Shocked, he took a few steps back. 'W-what is going on? Why can't they see me? Why can't I touch them?' He bumped against a parked car and stumbled onto the street. He heard a screeching sound and saw one of those metal carriages whooshing around the corner. He wouldn't be able to evade it in time. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.

But just before it him, a fireball threw the carriage off course. It slipped and crashed into a pole. A man stumbled out of the metal container and walked into a wall. He smelled like Gobber's home-made 'Dragon Beer'. Toothless quickly ran to Hiccup. He hugged the dragon. "Oh Toothless, thank you. I thought I was gonna..." Toothless uttered a high-pitched screech when a pedestrian walked straight through him, followed by another one.
"Hey it's okay buddy, it's okay. They just can't see us." Hiccup said in an attempt to calm down his dragon companion. Toothless cocked his head to the side. What was that supposed to mean? How could they not see him? He is huge!

"It's ok, I don't understand either. I guess we don't belong here either." He sighed and leaned against a metal carriage. The loud blaring sound it made and the flashing lights startled them both. Toothless quickly shut the strange thing up. Hiccup stared at the smoking remains and molten metal behind him before he realized people were crowding and looking out their windows – that's what those shiny patches were. It was a good thing nobody could see them now.
A different blaring drew their attention. Toothless growled and prepared another fireball in the back of his throat. "No Toothless don't! You might hurt somebody! Let's go!" Toothless growled when a metal carriage with flashing light came around the corner, but made no attempt to silence it. They flew back to the woods.

The moment they landed Hiccup let himself fall into the soft snow, clutching his head. Toothless shot him a worried look, but then Hiccup let his arms fall with a heavy sigh. "What in Odin's name is going on here? Berk is gone, we end up in some messed-up, over populated town with a bunch of freaks, and they can't even see us." Toothless was sniffing around his new surroundings. "You don't think we're dead do you? That we're ghosts?" Toothless snorted in response. There was no way they were dead. He was alive, Hiccup was alive, the world around them was alive as well. He could sense that much. Though he didn't understand why everything was suddenly so different.

He left his friend to his thoughts and continued to explore this new world. It was so much more alive than Helheim's Gate had been. It looked a little like the woods near Berk, but it wasn't. The trees that grew here were also different. When he made a really interesting discovery, he called out to Hiccup. "What is it Toothless?" He asked. His best friend had discovered a small secluded spot, hidden from the winds. He scorched it to make himself a warm little nest. He called for Hiccup to join him. Maybe he would feel better after some sleep. Toothless knew he would.
"Thanks buddy. But I don't think I can sleep just yet. You get some rest, I'll be out here a bit longer." Toothless was tired from the long flight and the confusion that seemed to make up this strange new world and quickly fell asleep. Hiccup sat down at the edge of an ice-covered little lake, tucked away between the trees. Ever so faintly, he could hear the town's ceaseless antics. It wasn't long before he was asleep too.

The sandman was almost finished with his rounds. He sent his sand all over the world, but some places he liked to visit in person. Burgess was definitely one of those places. Every time he floated overhead, he was reminded of the great battle that taken place there. It had only been 20 years, but the people had already forgotten. Of course, they hadn't even seen the guardians fend off the terrible nightmares that Pitch had created. And of the few that had witnessed, only one still believed. Sandy chuckled to himself when he thought about it. A part of him would always be that little kid that kept believing. He still told his children, and boy did they dream. They had certainly inherited their father's imagination. And of course, it was the home town of one his best friends and fellow guardian. The thought of the mischievous youth brought a smile to his face.
But he couldn't float about all night. He had dreams to deliver. The golden sand swirled and twirled as it descended towards the children of Burgess. It took on the forms of dolphins, tigers, dogs, cars, planes, dinosaurs, unicorns, dragons and everything else a child could possibly imagine. But one tendril seemed hesitant, floating in its place. Like it was searching for its dreamer.
Sandy wanted to take a closer look, when it suddenly shot off. Much to Sandy's surprise, it was headed for the forest next to the town. Who could possibly be out there in this cold?

Sandy followed his dream-sand and found a young boy curled up in the snow. Brown hair, freckles on his face. He wore a a green shirt under a sleeveless fur vest. His clothes looked home-made and Sandy wondered if there were actually people in Burgess who didn't have the money to buy clothes. But more interesting than the boy's attire, was the youngster's dream. He poured a little extra sand in it get a better look.
The gold swirled around and became an island between the waves. On the island was a village with... Vikings? Interesting. Not many still dreamed about vikings in this day and age. Most preferred sci-fi dreams these days. Looking at the boy, he did kind of look like a viking. A rather scrawny one, but still a viking. And sure enough, there he was, in the village. He was running towards the woods. He came to a beautiful lake and a dragon. The sand gave the beast a magnificent glow. And even though it was only one golden color, its eyes glowed with warmth and vitality. 'The dragon must represent something very important to him.' Sandy thought.

The boy and the dragon lifted into the air. Even through the dream-sand, Sandy could feel the thrill of flying. Something he quite enjoyed himself. Suddenly, the sand began to shake. Like a storm brewing in the boy's mind. Then, from the golden thunderclouds, came another dragon, so big and so ferocious, Sandy fell. He quickly lifted himself up and saw the boy and his dragon running from the monstrous beast. It kept following them, then suddenly disappeared.
The duo hurried back to their village, or what was left of it. Sandy didn't like this dream anymore. The sand was getting darker and he realized it had become a nightmare. He couldn't do anything about it now. At least not until the boy woke and it would try to escape. That was when he could destroy it.

The boy was now shifting uncomfortably. His dream self walked through the remains of the village. 'At least he isn't alone.' Sandy thought. But he didn't realize how wrong he was. The boy threw his arms around a burly man whose beard was even thicker than North's. But the man just shoved him away. The boy fell to the ground and the people around him turned their backs on him and walked away. The sand had now become pitch black. The boy struggled to his feet and tried to reach out to them. But everyone faded, one by one, always evading his grasp.
The boy was now all alone, the darkness swirling around him. The ground gave way underneath him and he fell. He fell into an endless pit of swirling madness of cars, planes and dragons. He had to wake him up and fast! Sandy shook him like a rag doll and even slapped him. With as gasp he woke up, freeing the nightmare. It didn't get far before a streak of golden sand pierced it and returned it to its normal form.

"Wha-what happened? Where am I?" The boy stumbled to his feat, still panting and disorientated from the nightmare. He looked around and, much to his regret, found he was still in this mad land. "Who are you?" He asked when he saw Sandy. He was different from the people he had seen so far. He was no taller than a child. His clothes were the same golden color as his hair, and both seemed to be made of sand. And most importantly, he was floating 2 feet above the ground!

Hiccup was about to make a run for it, but Sandy waved his hand enthusiastically. It wasn't often that children his age still believed in the guardians. Sandy's happy antics put Hiccup at ease. He didn't seem to be dangerous. "Can you tell me where we are?" He asked. Sandy nodded and formed the word 'Burgess' above his head with golden letters. "Wow!" Hiccup exclaimed. "That's a neat trick! But you can't speak?" Sandy shook his head. "I'm sorry." Sandy shook his head harder. He had nothing to apologize for. "Ok, ok. So, we're in Burgess?" Sandy nodded in agreement.
"How did I get here?" The boy asked. The sandman cocked his head to the side and looked at the boy. "So you don't know either. That's okay. This place is just really confusing." Hiccup sighed.

"What are you anyway? Some sort of troll?" Sandy shot him a slightly insulted look but let it pass. He shook his head. Sand swirled from him, creating a miniature version of himself, granting dreams to sleeping children. "Are you trying to tell me you're the sandman? I thought that was just a story." 'So you believe in trolls but not in the sandman?' Sandy thought. Then he realized that the boy shouldn't have been able to see him. If one didn't believe with all their heart, the world of legend and myth would be closed to them. So why could he see him then?

Sandy started frantically bopping up and down. "I- I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry," Hiccup said. But Sandy wasn't angry. This was big news! He had to take the boy to North. He would know what to do. He should gather the other Guardians as well, but first he needed to get this boy up north. He grabbed the kid's arm and pulled him toward a golden airplane. "What are you doing?" The boy said and pulled loose. Sandy saw the boy's confusion and tried to explain to him with symbols flashing rapidly above his head. The boy didn't understand any of it. When Sandy tried to grab his arm again, he jumped away.
"What do you want from me?! Leave me alone!" The boy was now shouting, his voice shaking with fear. What was this unknown and magical creature and where did he want to take him? There was no time for this. Sandy made a huge pair of sand-hands and tried to grab the boy. Suddenly something shot from behind the boy and his sand shattered. Glass? He looked at the source of the shot and saw a pair of yellow-green eyes gleaming in the darkness. The dark mass rose to its feet.

What kind of nightmare was this? Black as the night, wings, a tail. Nightmares always took the form of, well, nightmares. But this one was a dragon! And a fierce one by the look of it. He had to stop it before it took the boy. Sandy grabbed its tail with a sand-whip as the beast clawed at him. He wrapped his paws in chains of golden sand in order to immobilize it, but it was stronger than he had imagined. It tore the chains apart and shot another fireball. He shielded himself, but every time the blazing projectiles hit his defenses, they were turned to glass. When the firing stopped, the dragon was already flying away, the boy on its back. He went after it on a golden tornado. Toothless turned around and charged one last fiery breath. Hiccup realized what his friend was doing. He was charging a compressed ball of solid fire. It was hot enough turn the sea half a mile around to steam. "Toothless the town!" He cried out above the roaring wind. Toothless had not forgotten the strange town and its strange people.
He shot his fire. Sandy avoided it with ease, but couldn't prevent it from going inside his tornado. Then it detonated. The shock wave send Sandy plummeting to the ground. His tornado turned to glass.

Just before he hit the ground, he remembered he could fly. He straightened himself and looked up toward the beast and the boy, flying of into the distance.
The light of the rising sun hit the glass, sending a beautiful wave of light over Burgess. Like a golden version of the northern lights. It only lasted a moment, as the light of the sun undid the sand's magic. Just like it did every morning, the sand turned into a golden light. The light of hope that floated on the winds of fate. The light that shone in people's hearts.

Sandy was too short on sand now to go after the boy. He was too far gone anyway. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a snowglobe. A present from his old friend North. He shook it and thought of the place he needed to be. He threw it and a swirling portal appeared before him. When he stepped through, the cold hit his face and he had to blink to keep the snow out of his eyes. He gazed up the enormous gates that were the main entrance to North's castle. If he wanted to safe the boy from that nightmare, he would need some back-up.
Pitch was back!


Next chapter introduces Babytooth and the one-and-only Jack Frost. (insert epic fan-girl squeal here)
But will he be able to keep his cool when faced with an actual dragon?

By the way, did you know dream-sand is made from reviews?
Now who wants to help Sandy power up? XD

See you soon my dears!