Jamie didn't sleep, only because he couldn't. He was too worried about Jack, about what this spirit had planned for his best friend. He couldn't do anything, it wasn't like with Pitch and this only made him angry at his own helplessness. He wanted to help! He wanted to kick this spirit's butt and send them reeling... But he was just a boy... a human boy... Anything he'd tried in terms of taking out his anger on Death had amounted to nothing really. In fact, he'd gone right through the spirit when he'd tried to hit him... so yeah... that wasn't going to work. When Jack awoke he was sweat soaked and fear was rolling off him in waves, as he awoke from his nightmarish memories he lay back on the bed rubbing his eyes; glaring at the ceiling, he pushed off the blankets and stretched. Looking outside he saw it was morning, he yawned and floated downstairs still slightly out of it; he ignored the yetis and elves, North, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy as well and flew up to the rafters, staring outside. The group murmured quiet "good morning" to Jack though he seemed to ignore them. Each seemed a little tired, though mostly from worry over Jamie. They'd been working hard to find a solution all night, barely really stopping to sleep but then again as immortals they really didn't need it much. Jack breathed on the window making frost, he drew a stick figure of Jamie and the group, sighing.
"Why don't we just hunt the bastard down?" His eyes glowed that dark flame again.
"It's not like he can kill us all." The Guardians look uneasy at that.
"He can, actually. " North said after a moment. Jack shook his head anger at the spirit.
"What does he want? Why take Jamie?" He whispered only loud enough for Bunny to hear it. Bunny winces a little murmuring back.
"Death only can want one thing from you or any spirit. Your soul..." Jack shook his head.
"That bastard's been following me since day one... fine if he wants it I'll give it to him." He floated down, preparing to go find him.
" 'Cause I'm not letting anyone else get hurt 'cause of me." Bunny snagged Jack's arm.
"Can't let you do that mate. Much as ya might want to. You're too important to us... the world and what would he think if you went off and did something like that? If I were him I'd never forgive meself."
Jack shook his head.
"Let go, he'll let Jamie go if I let him have what he wants!" Jack growled. Bunny shook his head.
"Ain't that simple mate and... I know how close you are to him... but it's just one kid... I don't like this anymore than you. None of us do... but sometimes there ain't nothing we can do... It's just life." Jack's eyes went dark.
"YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT A BOND WITH A BELIEVER LIKE JAMIE IS IF IT LOOKED AT YOU IN THE FACE KANGAROO!" He screamed, looking at him with malice and anger at what he was saying. Bunny flinches but there's sorrow in his eyes... the others mirror him. They did know... He shook, anger, sadness and need to help Jamie... he wasn't backing down this time.
"Now I'm going to find Death."
"Be reasonable here mate... we just can't risk it." Bunny said. Glancing at the others. They had all known this loss... and the helplessness that came with it. Too many times had it happened to them... and that was why they didn't reach out to children. Didn't get close. Because it was inevitable.
"Mate... this was bound to happen sooner or later... Jamie isn't going to live forever even without Death doing this. " Jack shook his head.
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" He struggled with Bunny.
"LET GO!" Bunny did let go, but only after Sandy had tossed a ball of his sleep sand squarely at Jack to send him to sleep. They had all lost someone in the hundreds of years they had been protecting children. Each had a favorite that they would never forget. That had been lost to them. Jack fought to stay awake, he wasn't going down without a fight and they all knew it. "J-jamie" It was the last thing he said before falling asleep.
It would be a long time before Sandy's sand would wear off. His dreams were only memories and nightmares, the nightmares couldn't be helped since he'd had them since he'd started killing people and everything; his dreams were of the constant kills he made, most memories were within the past month with Jamie, the others were of his old life and the end of it. Sandy fought against the nightmares as best he could. The others, meanwhile, were mounting a rescue plan. They knew where Death had taken Jamie and had ONE shot at this... On some occasions Jack fought to wake up but an extra dose of sand put him under further. Sandy stayed behind to keep Jack under the sand's influence. Much as Sandy knew he'd regret doing this, it was for Jack's own good... and it would take the Guardians a few days to get past all the barriers Death had placed on the valley of his namesake. Even had Jack gone to rescue Jamie, he would have been half dead just by having to work through all the spells Death had on the place not to mention the heat... Then, of course, there was doing this without alerting Death they were even there... which was tricky in and of itself. Jack broke free of Sandy's sand at last, he breathed heavily; glaring at the Sandman.
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!" Sandy sighed and began explaining slowly what the others had plan and the reasons they didn't want him to go, most of it was for his safety as much as for Jamie's... and the fact that they only had one shot to ambush Death. They wouldn't get a second chance, because not only would he change the location he held the boy, but he'd be alert to possible follow ups. Jack shook his head.
"But I could help." He clenched his fists, wanting to help get Jamie so bad it hurt, and boy did it hurt... Sandy shook his head, saying it would be too hot for him. Detailing the area that the Guardians had gone into. They were not winter spirits and would be better suited for it... Tooth more than the other two, but the three could handle it. Sandy had opted to stay behind as much to inform Jack as to make sure he stayed put. Jack shook his head and layed back down breathing in and out trying not to blow up on the man.
15 miles outside Death Valley...
It was nighttime and the temperature was freezing cold, but Bunny didn't make a sound. Didn't complain one bit. Silence was needed. They'd not be able to use any form of magic or Death would know immediately they were close. Which meant that they had met up twenty miles away from their destination and they were still nowhere close to where they needed to be. That an unusual fog drifted from ahead in the night told them that they weren't wrong. It was a fog only other spirits could see and that fog followed Death like stench followed a skunk.
While they were saving Jamie, Jack felt like he'd explode from boredom and sadness' he did one thing though... he tried to escape, of course, through the window. Trying to escape had been a bad idea. Sandy had put him out again before he'd gone more than a few feet out the window. Sandy wasn't made he'd tried when Jack awoke again. Instead, the little man had a question above his head, pointing to a chess set he'd set up in the room. Asking Jack if he wanted to play. Jack sighed and nodded, so now there they were playing chess; he was trying to move the pieces though with his mind for fun, annoyed.
"THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS GAME!" He yelled sighing that was one of Jamie's favorite movies. Sandy snickered and had made a piece out of solid sand when Jack wasn't looking and had made it almost a perfect replica of a pawn Jack'd knocked out earlier. He made it move about the board without touching it. Crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at Jack as if saying 'If I can do it so can you...' He sighed and tried with all his might but it just wasn't going to happen today. Sandy chuckled a little then and made the piece float, revealing his trick by making the piece burst into sand. Then grinning a little at having fooled Jack with the little sand piece and said he wouldn't do it again, but that perhaps you should make something like that with his ice. Talking about the beauty he'd seen in ice sculptures before and how he thought there would be nothing more beautiful than what Jack could create with his. Jack smiled and created his half of ice in seconds. Sandy hadn't thought Jack would do so now and was caught off guard, delighted shock rippling across his features; he bounced a little happily at the display as he watched Jack create. He knew Jack had watched him work, but he had always secretly wanted to watch Jack do something, he often didn't have the time; this was a treat for him.
Jack smiled as he had control over the pieces without need to move them, he moved his knight over. Taking up the challenge, Sandy created his own from sand and they began a new game. Sandy grinning all the while. Eventually the game ended and Jack slyly made his way by the window, whistling as he unlatched it and looking at Sandy as he put away the game; before Sandy could blink Jack was out the window in seconds, gone into the wind flying away as fast as possible to find Jamie. Sandy was on to Jack though, he'd followed swiftly and easily caught up with Jack; knocking him out a second time. With a sigh he hefted the winter spirit on a cloud and back to the North Pole. This time Sandy took the precaution of sprinkling his sleep sand on the windows so that if Jack tried a third time he'd be put to sleep the moment he touched the window. He groaned, groggily rubbing his head.
"Why won't you let me go Sandy?" He turned, eyes big and wet with tears. He glared at Sandy like and old west song; he looked at the door than Sandy, ice ready to break it down. Sandy sighed and began to tell Jack the story of the little child he had come to love who was a lot like Jamie in some ways... The child had been bright, cheerful and had an imagination beyond anything he'd ever seen at the time. The more he talked though the more sad he became as he spoke of the fate of the young child... who while bright and so full of hope, wonder, dreams and imagination, had only a short time to live because their parents had passed to them one of the few diseases that humans could not cure then and still couldn't to this day... The child had AIDS... and one cold winter's night... had simply passed away from a simple cold. Jack's eyes softened at that.
"Sandy I... I didn't know. I'm sorry." Jack felt sympathy for Sandy at that, having his first believer taken from him like that. Sandy smiled a little at Jack. Replying that they all had such stories, some had known their believers longer, but that the other Guardians knew what it meant to have their hearts on the line. To know the loss that Jack feared and knew too well that, as Bunny had said... that day would eventually come and Death would claim all as Death always had since life had began on this planet.