Greetings to all! Recently, I have rediscovered ROTG and was reminded how much I really love this movie! Then somewhere along the line, I find out there is a book series the movie is based from.
So after some research here and there and looking for the books, I eventually found 3 of the 5 novels! Let me tell you, the movie robbed us from so much content. But at the very same time, the movie was great!
This is where this fic comes in! You see, the books and the movies DO NOT AT ALL match up or line up ANYWHERE except for the character names. Like I kid you not, the books are like a completely different universe entirely! But that's the fun part! Actually making a functioning story by mixing books and movie and that's what I did! However, for this fic to work I threw away more than half the book lore.
NOW, MAJOR SPOILER WARNING IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS!!! This fic closely follows the events of the first book because time travel. Now, without further a-do! On with the story!
The ordeal was over.
The Guardians had won the fight against Pitch Black and his nightmares.
There was a party at the North Pole for everyone to enjoy and relax for the day before they all returned to their duties as well as to properly welcome their new member. No one was left behind, yetis, elves, fairies. They all gathered to enjoy the celebration.
Well, all but one.
Sandy, The Sandman, watched the group with a small smile. Though it never did reach his eyes. While everyone around him cheered and celebrated, he couldn't bring himself to join in. How could he when his heart ached so?
Truly, Sandy's heart was aching something painful. Why? You might ask. Well, wouldn't you if you were in the Sandman's shoes? No, it wasn't a physical ache, though his back was still sore from the arrow he had received a couple of days ago that turned all his sand as black as the midnight sky on a starless night.
Not willing for the Guardians to see him shed the tears that had started to form in his eyes from the pain that gripped onto his heart, Sandy made a quiet retreat up towards the open skylight, hoping to find solace in the quiet arctic night air and moonlight.
The golden man sat down on the roof, staring up at the moon, his face holding nothing but hurt as he carried out a silent rant in his head. Why? Why is it like this? It hurt so much more every time, but every time he would pull through. Not this time. How could he this time? His eyes… they held so much fear… a silent plea for help that only the Sandman could pick up on. Oh why did the moon make it so it was he who had to face the husk that was once an honourable man, a wonderful father, a caring brother? It wasn't fair! It just wasn't…
Silent tears fell from golden hazel eyes, no longer able to hold in the pain, the sadness. It hurt. It hurt so much, yet he knew he had to keep going, he had to keep hoping. But what hope is there if there are only the shadows that remain. He was so mad, oh, so mad at his predicament. But he could not bring himself to blame anyone, least of all the Man in the moon. After all, if it weren't for the silent observer's interference, he would be completely lost.
A gentle hand reached up and gently wiped away a tear from one of the Sandman's cheeks, causing the stout man to look over to his right where Golden hazel met electric blue. Sandy blinked a couple of times, sniffling silently as he took in the sudden appearance of the white haired boy in the blue hoodie.
A shaky question mark appeared above the Sandman's head, a silent question, wondering what the matter was for the Winter teen to leave his own welcoming party.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked instead, worry creasing his brows as he took a seat next to the stout golden man.
Sandy looked away, not wanting to face the winter teen, knowing that if he looked at his caring expression then he would break and tell him everything. And he didn't want to tell anyone if he could prevent it. So, he tried to brush it off with a tired shrug.
"Come on, Sandy… you can tell me…" the teen tried again, his voice a quiet whisper.
Unable to resist the worried tone in his voice, Sandy turned to look at Jack, his eyes once again filling up with tears, his face etched with an uncharacteristically pained frown.
It hurt the frozen teen to see the cheeriest of the Guardians like this. True he was new to the group, but Sandy was one of the very few spirits he knew well enough to actually call a friend. His only friend outside of the wind, if he was being honest. To Jack, Sandy was practically a brother, having been there for the teen for the three centuries he had been reanimated.
With a defeated sigh, Sandy formed blurry images above his head, obviously too exhausted to use his magic dream sand, so instead he started to sign with his hands, knowing that Jack had learned it for him years ago in case something happened to the Sandman's sand.
"Please, don't tell the others." he pleaded, tears once again flowing, being gently wiped away by a blue frosted sleeve.
"Promise…"
"I'm worried… about Pitch…" the stout man signed hesitantly, his gaze dropping down to his feet, hands slightly shaking, and breath hitched with held back sobs.
"Pitch is gone for now, Sandy. I won't let him hurt you again…" Jack reassured,gently placing a hand on his friend's shoulder only to get a head shake from the stout golden man, his face set in sorrow.
"No, I'm worried about Pitch…" he tried to clarify, which thankfully Jack understood almost instantly as his gaze softened. Silence soon followed the two for a couple of minutes.
"You're worried about him even after what he did to you…?" Jack asked after a while, fidgeting slightly with his staff, earning a stiff nod from the golden man.
"Do you want to pay him a visit?" Sandy's head shot up to look at the winter teen at his question, making him think about it for a couple of seconds before hesitantly nodding.
Without another word, Jack stood up and offered a hand for the stout man to help him up. "Let's go then…" the Guardian of Fun said with a small genuinely caring smile, as he motioned his head to move towards the horizon of the North Pole, presumably towards the direction of where Pitch's lair was.
It wasn't long until they reached the forest where the old bed frame used to stand. Standing by the sealed up hole of Pitch's lair, both Guardians stayed silent. Sandy would have preferred it if he could have been alone there, but he knew that Jack would most likely go into a panic.
With a silent sigh, the Sandman sat down, Jack not far behind him, wanting to make sure his little friend would stay safe. The air around them was still. No sound was made nor heard, leaving the duo in an eerie silence.
They sat there- for how long? They didn't care to keep count. But eventually, a horrifying screech sounded around them and in an instant they had their weapons drawn and ready to strike.
From the darkened patch of dirt, tainted by stray grains of black sand, came a pale hand, attempting to grasp at anything it could in a desperate attempt to escape as horrifying screams of agony, muffled by the dirt, calling out for help sounded.
Jack had frozen on the spot, unsure of what to do. This was Pitch, after all. He had hurt them all. Yet, something deep down made him want to move- save him.
Sandy, however, did not hesitate one bit. In an instant, the stout golden man abandoned his golden whips in favour of grabbing hold of the reaching hand, managing to hold on just in time before the shadows started to pull the hand back down.
Seeing his friend struggle against the pull of the shadows, Jack joined, dropping his staff to pull with Sandy. It felt like a game of tug-of-war, a back and forth struggle against the darkness that started to spill out from the small opening. Eventually, though, the two Guardians pulled free the hand that had held on tight to them like a lifeline, and with the final tug did the person come through, making all three of them topple over.
Jack groaned, having felt the full force of the other two falling on top of him. His blue eyes fluttered open as he took a peek at the new party member. He looked much the same as the last he had seen of the Nightmare king, if not a little scratched up. Silver teary eyes opened and stared wide eyed into electric blue.
"Frost…?" His voice was hoarse, shaky even, as if he had been screaming for hours. "Why are you here…?" he said, attempting to sneer.
Before Jack could say anything back, the cracking of whips caught their attention, Pitch's eyes growing as wide as dinner plates at the sight of the Sandman, facing against an entire horde of nightmares.
In an instant, Jack made his way over to his small friend, staff in hand and ready to blast away any and all nightmares that got close. They were ready to fight back to back if they had to, and by the look on the Sandman's face, he was determined to get out of this encounter alive.
It came as a surprise when a third person joined their defensive stance, making Jack turn to see the Nightmare King himself touching backs with both Guardians. His hands were shaking, Jack noticed. Was he afraid? The embodiment of fear itself?
Once again did the cracking of whips catch the winter teen's attention as a nightmare came charging towards them. But unlike before, the nightmare did not turn into golden dream sand, no, instead it shrivelled back and rejoined the growing storm, red eyes watching them like predators looking at their next meal.
"Something tells me these aren't your regular run-of-the-mill nightmares…" Jack whispered, keeping a close eye on the circling mass of darkness.
"No… they're worse… much worse…" Pitch managed to hoarsely whisper out urgently. "They are Fearlings."
As if told to attack, the horde came crashing down on the three immortals, forcing them to fight against the shadows that never seemed to get hit, reforming and swirling around as if unphased by their weapons.
They fought, all three of them against the ever growing darkness. But what was one recovering glowing figure, a shepherd of winter, and a severely weakened shadow master to do? Nothing but bid for time. The three fought a fruitless battle, one by one weakening under the never ending brutality of the Fearlings.
Multiple times had they attempted to escape, though the darkness had other plans and trapped them in its dark hold. There wasn't anything for them to do, not in their current states with no one to bear witness to the horror that would befall the three.
No one but the moon, or well, the Man in the Moon. The one entity who always watched, unable to do anything but watch as the shadows slowly devour two of his beloved Guardians.
He wished he could do something, wished and wished he knew what to do, if he could do anything at all. In desperation, he looked away from the fight that he observed from his large golden telescope and instead allowed his tear filled vision to find the collection of stars that formed the very last remnants of his parents, feeling an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time, save for the night before that year's Easter.
Fear.
"Oh, what do I do, Mother? Father?" He whispered out, allowing tears to flow from his eyes. "I can not bear to see them disappear…"
No response came to the stout man sitting by the large telescope, the moon mice gathering around him in comfort, trying their best to reassure their friend.
Just then a memory flashed through his mind of an old friend, telling him about the shooting stars. No, not the asteroids that came hurtling down towards planets, but of actual stars ridden by pilots that rode around the galaxies, Granting whoever wished on it a dream that fulfilled that wish, and pushed them to make it a reality.
No, there were none now flying close by to hear his wish, but there was a pilot that he knew was listening, a pilot that was strong enough to dream a reality with the right wish. So hurriedly, the stout moon man rushed outside of his observatory, looking down upon the earth, so very far away, and cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted into the vastness of space.
"I wish you well! I wish all of you well!" He yelled, over and over, hoping with all his heart that his pleas could be heard by the little golden man in the midst of his battle.
Sandy did, in fact, hear the wish. Glowing brighter just as the shadows finally overtook the dream weaver, the frost child, and the shade.
And then there was nothing… but darkness…