Another Big Four Story
Chapter 10: The Golden Man of Dreams
Summary: Jack finally meets The Sandman and finds out just what could be the cause of the Night Terrors.

The winter spirit stood on the roof of the Haddock house and waited silently as everyone inside one by one went to sleep. He looked out to see candles get blown out and torches too. Fires inside the houses eventually died out and Berk was soon quiet and dark. It was hard to see anything down the hill, but he tried to concentrate hard in case he would notice anything out of the ordinary. He ended up flying more into town and standing in the middle of the road to watch where they'd most likely appear.

Though he saw nothing, heard nothing, and felt nothing. The sky hadn't even begun to glow with the golden lights of the sands the tiny Guardian brought about with him. Jack leaned on his staff and looked over to Hiccup's house to make sure nothing snuck in while he was away. It seemed fine, and if something like that got in there, surely one of them would wake up and say something. Right?

There was a rustling behind him and Jack spun around quickly with his staff raised. His cold heart was racing uncontrollably as he found himself staring straight into a dark corner between two of the Viking homes. Whatever it was that was torturing Odd, his daughter and other vikings, it freaked Jack out and he wasn't afraid to admit that he didn't want to get involved with it at all. Albeit, because of whatever it is, Hiccup's feelings were hurt, and he wasn't going to let it get away with that. So he had to suck it up, take a deep breath, a large gulp, and a big step forward to confront the darkness on his own.

Fortunately for his nerves, the shadows had nothing to throw at him. There was no sign of anything having been there and his shoulders dropped. "What the..." His eyebrows knit together in irritation and he turned to fly back out where the moonlight hit him. He felt more at ease there, but at the same time, something about that empty corner was eerie.

It was then when Jack finally saw the refreshing light of the sands of dreams. His eyes shot up into the sky and his lips spread wide into a grin while his pupils glowed against the light like a magical golden flower. "Right on time!" He gasped, noting that no matter what, there was always that one time of night he would catch the Guardian doing his work. This time, however, he was finally going to speak to the mute man.

The Winter Spirit tossed away his nerves-there was no room for that in this situation-and he shot up into the sky with urgency. He didn't stop until he was at the same level as the Sandman's floating sand platform that hovered silently in the sky just above the clouds. Then he shouted with a voice that lacked the proper breath of air. "Sandman!" He nearly choked on his own voice, having not rested before trying to get the small man's attention. "I-I need...I gotta talk to you."

Before him was a person he'd never expected to be so...small. He'd never met the sandman in person before, so this came to a shock to him at first. He himself looked as if he was made of sand, and his face was plump and round. His arms were short and his hands were so small he thought that he could fit his entire hand just in one of Jack's palms. He seemed quiet too, despite the surprised expression and the slight jump he had in response to Jack's sudden appearance.

After a few seconds of staring at the Guardian, Jack finally found his voice again. "I-I'm Jack. Jack Frost. Maybe you've heard of me? From the Easter Bunny possibly?" He chuckled a little, knowing full well he'd only be talked about in a bad way when it came to the Bunnymund. "Something strange is going on here, Sandman, something really weird is messing with the people here." The glowing strands of sand moved about around the two of them as the floating man turned his body to face Jack more. A question mark materialized above his head as it tilted curiously and Jack smiled in slight relief. He was afraid that the golden man wouldn't listen to him because he wasn't as important as a Guardian.

"Okay so! You've been here a million times obviously, so you would know that they have dragons, yeah?" Jack held his free hand out, his body rocking with the winds that carried him. He couldn't exactly stay in one place without moving about like that. "They think this dragon called a Night Terror is breaking into their homes and giving them nightmares about the dragons here. There's also something in DunBroch that's similar but it isn't the shape of a dragon...its the shape of a Will o' The Wisp, so obviously what this thing can't be a dragon, right?" Jack hoped The Sandman was able to follow along. From the expression on the other spirit's face, it seemed as if he was lost. "One of the villagers says its skin looks like sand..." Jack continued. "...black sand." The Sandman was quiet as usual, but he didn't even make a symbol in response to this; he just stared. "I thought...maybe you would know if there's some other Guardian, or spirit, or ghost, or thing that does that. You are the Sandman...you deal with dreams. This thing, it turns these dreams into nightmares! It's so similar to your powers...so I thought..."

An explanation point of some sort appeared above the Sandman's head and he held a finger up in the air. He looked less confused and more like he had an idea. Jack watched closely as the sands shaped into a figure of a person. His eyes narrowed and he leaned a little forward to see if he could tell who it was. "...I don't know." He mumbled. "The only other Guardians I've met in person are Bunny and Santa...I don't recognize this guy."

Sandman's picture disappeared and he nodded his head slowly before bringing up more shapes. They were letters this time, spelling out the name of the person who he had tried to show to him instead. P-I-T-C-H. After spelling it out to himself, his eyes finally widened again. "You mean the Boogeyman? I thought he just...I thought all he did was scare kids from under their beds, not disrupt their dreams."

The golden man shrugged his shoulders before letting the letters fall out of place and change into something else. The sand was shaped into another note, saying, 'He is my only guess' and by that time, Pitch had become Jack's one and only guess as well. How Pitch was doing it, he wouldn't know, but he would have to get to the bottom of this and find out for sure if the Boogeyman really was behind it. If he was.. well...he would have to cross that bridge when he got it.

"...Thank you." He let the winds carry him away from the Guardian as he bowed his head in thanks. "Sorry for keeping you." However, before he could fly back down to Earth, he noticed that the Sandman wanted to ask him one more thing. In a mess of shapes and symbols, he was able to make out the question 'why are you so worried about these people anyway?' and he smiled softly back at the golden man. "I finally have believers. I just want to keep them happy...and this thing has managed to hurt one of them. I'm not going to let it keep happening." Then, he was gone.

That next chilly winter morning was more disappointing than Jack thought it would be. Hiccup was woken up early and pulled outside by his Father, and since he never slept, the Spirit was right there when it happened. Why was he pulled outside? Well, there were more complaints about the Night Terror and this time it wasn't just Odd yelling in Hiccup's face, there were many others who had the same terrible dreams who had come by to speak their minds.

Stoick was trying his best to have his Villagers back off in hopes that it would help Hiccup feel better about the situation but unfortunately Jack could see him getting more and more crushed by their words. They were blaming him for this. They were being so cruel and for what reasons, because they had a few nightmares? Jack gripped his staff tightly and tried not to bring a hailstorm to these people. They deserved it for how they were treating his friend, but he wouldn't do it out of respect towards Hiccup's family and friends.

But he was angry. Jack Frost was furious...and confused, and lost, and sorry. He had stayed in the Village all night, patrolling Berk's frosted roads and bridges. He stood on every watch tower, he looked around every corner, and he certainly made sure he listened for anything and everything. He was a hall monitor for a night and saw nothing and yet, they got passed him? As each person spoke, Jack shot them a stare that was so sharp he might as well have been throwing daggers into their faces..

"Why haven't you done anything about this Hiccup?" One of them yelled.

"Now I'm having these nightmares!" Said another.

"Do something about this!" It went on and on.

"Weren't you supposed to stop them last night?"

"I've been having these dreams for a month now, and I'm tired of it!"

How could they easily lose their trust in their dragons like that? Jack wasn't a huge fan of the creatures himself but at least he understood the bond between Hiccup and Toothless enough to know that dragons could be the good guy. Toothless was Hiccup's best friend...and they were the very couple who brought the Vikings and Dragons together. They've been together for almost a year and they've found it that easy to throw it all away like it never even happened? What was it all for? Nothing? Now, because of something that Pitch may have done...no...because of Jack's mistake... Hiccup was getting crushed, and still, Jack couldn't do a single thing about it.

No one could see him, no one could hear him, and the only way for him to get them all to shut up and stop blaming the chief's son for everything could prove to be a danger to their lives. This was all of his fault. Jack was the one who needed to get pointed at, he was the one who let the Night Terrors slip by... so why...why did his friend have to be punished?

After Stoick finally managed to push everyone away, Hiccup turned and stumbled back into the house. His Father stayed outside to make sure no one followed, so Jack quickly slipped by to speak with the young viking. "Hic, I swear I would have done something if I saw them." He leaned his staff against the wall and reached out to grip Hiccup's shoulders. "I...I-I don't understand, I didn't see anything last night. I made sure to keep a good eye on it, I'm sorry-"

Hiccup shook his head and moved around the Spirit to head over to the stairs. "This isn't your responsibility Jack." He then said quietly, reaching up to run his fingers through his brown hair. "You don't need to get involved anymore..." Jack had taken his staff and followed him up to the top of the stairs before he finally came to a stop in response to the Viking's words. What? "I'm going to search the island with Toothless and see if we can find these Night Terrors anywhere." He went over to the stone slab and pat his hand against the dragon's head a few times. It was so early in the morning that even the Night Fury was still sleeping. "I'll be back soon."

'No...' For once, the winter spirit himself had been frozen stiff and he wasn't sure how to move again. It was as if he forgot how to talk, as if he forgot how to move, how to breathe, how to even think. Everything about this situation was stressful. All he wanted was to help Hiccup. He was his first believer, and his first friend...he was the first person he ever felt like he needed to help for real, but Hiccup had refused him. Hiccup's words proved to be much more of a shock to him than he probably meant it to be. Not his responsibility...? It didn't matter if it was or not, did it? What happened to asking him if he could help the night before? All Jack wanted to do was help Hiccup and being turned down was frustrating as hell!

Jack was silent as he watched Toothless rise and yawn before greeting his sad rider with a warm lick to his cheek. He noticed Hiccup smile but it faded quickly as he mounted the beast and hooked himself up to the controls. Then they were flying out the window on the other side of the room and the winds from his wings were strong enough to move his bed. The shift of the wooden supports were loud enough on their own to wake the Princess and Rapunzel from their slumber. They both shot up from their spots on the floor at the same time-one from under blankets and the other from a cocoon of hair-and they both looked as dazed and drowsy as ever.

They both exchanged looks before glancing over to where Jack stood at the top of the stairs near the bed. "...Jack?" Rapunzel asked quietly, Pascal peeking out from under her golden locks. "...What happened, what's wrong?" He ignored her as a large exaggerated sigh escaped his lips. He finally found his strength to move his arms again as his shoulders began to loosen up. He then raised his staff high, took it with two hands, and angrily swung it down on Hiccup's bed with a loud, unexpected and pained yell.

Writer notes:
It's short but painful ouch
cries
Jack baby
jack stahp crying baby

also look more plot

PITCH WHAT?! OOOooooOoOOoOOooOooOOooh

im updating fast do you like it?

ShadowHawq35: I'm sorry if you think every things starting to lean that way but i honestly dont mean it. :/ the story isn't about the ships anyway, and there's definitely a difference between friend bonding and hints of shipping, am I right? plus, the moment Jack and Merida were bonding, he showed a sign of jealousy when Rapunzel got Hiccup tea. That counts doesn't it? it was subtle but it was there. Also thank you very much im glad you like the story v.v

Daniella Violet Moon: SERIOUSLY PITCH WHAT IN THE EVEN HECK ARE YOU DOING? also you're very welcome i knew that would come in handy :P

SusanaLovesRowling: I'm sorry to hear that. I honestly didn't know I was leaving her out so much...i thought I had a good balance going on. I do think of her as a strong person, don't worry so she wont turn out to be the weak one in the background that gives the others a pat on the back when they're sad. I'll make sure her role is much more visibly important.

Crescenta: HICCUP JUST CAN'T GET A BREAK AM I RIGHT? also yes that was jealousy there's no way jack's just gonna let punzie bond with some other guy without feeling a bit left out like juST WAIT UNTIL SHE MEETS SNOTLOUT HAHAHAHAHAHAHODJBFVUIGHG

sealaustinallyheart: well considering this isn't based when Jack is 300+ years old, he wouldn't know anything at all about Pitch because he hasn't met him yet. He only knows him by name and legend and as a young spirit, he'd rather avoid him than confront him.

ANIMEMUSIC-CHAN: IM SORRY OOPS THIS CHAPTER WONT HELP YOUR HEART AT ALL NOOOOOO

Juwelz2: YAY DID YOU LIKE IT? DID I IMPRESS YOU?! also thank you very much :D

brooklynnmeyer9: yeah Mildew wasn't my favorite either and he just got worse and worse ugh what a jerk gheriught also i hop you liked sandyyy

Alsarnia: (regarding chapter 6) hehe at least you liked it and at least it was in a good way agh im glad you like it