Sandy

You are a Guardian.

The words echoed in my mind. Yes… I am a Guardian.

I entwined my fingers with Aila's and squeezed. She felt solid… real. I had her back, and I would maintain the vow I had made to her. I would keep her safe. Because I was a protector. It was my nature, my duty… and nobody was going to keep me from it.

Thunder rumbled in the sky.

Aila and I exchanged a glance. I released her hand, but she still followed me outside of the gazebo.

There was a massive black cloud of swirling nightmares overtop of the city, nearly blocking out the entire sky and the moon. Lightning crackled through the dark sand, and I almost thought I could hear the echo of wicked laughter.

I drew in a deep breath. The familiar sense of duty settled over my shoulders. But there was something different now… There was no breathless, immobilizing nightmare, no phantom pain in my back, no plague of flashbacks. There was no fear.

I turned to Aila. She was so close, and her green eyes were glimmering in the light of the gazebo. She must have seen my expression, because she set her jaw and nodded earnestly.

"Go," she whispered. A small grin pulled at the corner of her lips. "Go show him who's the real Guardian of Dreams."

I faltered, a concerned expression on my face. I couldn't just leave her alone here.

"I'll be fine," Aila insisted. "Trust me." She hesitated for a moment. Then, she whispered in a low voice, almost as if she didn't dare believe it. "I'm not stranded anymore…"

Newfound courage bloomed in my heart. I could feel the dreamsand heating my palms. I patted Aila's hand and sent her one last faithful glance. Then, I took off into the sky.

Heavier snow was moving in, to the point where all I could see of the city were a few flashing lights.

The mass of nightmare sand loomed overhead, roiling and churning like a living creature. Lightning weaved in and out of the sky, striking the black sand and rippling sparks through the grains. Every once in a while, a shadowy tendril would branch down into the city. A nightmare inflicted upon a child.

I crossed my arms as I came face to face with one of the nightmares. It skidded to a halt and reared back, transforming into a horse. Before it had a chance to race back to Pitch, I placed my hand against its heart. The black sand surrendered to my touch, and I drew it closer, forming a gold sea turtle.

The turtle circled me for a moment, then glided into the city. I released more dreamsand from my hands. It dispersed, connecting with nightmares and transforming them into dreams of animals and Christmas presents. The wispy dreams drifted gently into the city.

By then, Pitch must have noticed what was going on, because the nightmares stopped coming.

I floated up to the dark cloud. Slowly, the Nightmare King came into view. He stalked toward me, the tips of his fingers drumming against each other impatiently. He smiled, but I could see the frustration in his face as I rose up in front of him, my arms crossed over my chest.

"I hate to break it to you, Sandman, but you no longer have a right to stop me from delivering nightmares. It's not your job," Pitch snarled beneath his fake smile.

I scrunched my brow.

"Now please," Pitch rolled his eyes. "I have work to do."

He turned his back, and I lunged. I hurled two whips with multiple strands, which lashed around his entire body. He tipped forward with a thud and a growl. I heaved him sideways, and he flew right off the side of the cloud, plummeting towards the city below.

I leaped onto the nightmare sand cloud and dipped my fingers into the gritty depths. In my wake, it turned gold and silky.

Pitch rose beside me, practically shivering in rage. He roared and lurched onto the cloud, thrusting his scythe in my direction. I just managed to duck under it. I reached to grab it out of his hands, but he veered back. I stumbled forward.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "I'm not falling for that one again."

He kicked me to the side. I rolled, just escaping the scythe's blade.

Everywhere I touched, the massive black cloud turned gold. There was not much black left by now, and Pitch must have noticed this. He screeched, "Get off!"

He threw up his arms, and a wave of nightmares barreled into me. I staggered backwards, rubbing my face. A familiar sound reached my ears. My blood ran cold. When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded by nightmares. There was a snap, and then a sharp pain in my back.

I sucked in a ragged breath. I searched my back, heart pounding, but there was no arrow.

I shook my head. It wasn't real.

Slowly, the darkness began to peel back. A scythe came down on my head. I threw up a shield. The black and gold sand collided inches above me. I fell to my knees.

Another wave of nightmares washed over my head. Before I could wipe the sand away, a familiar form caught my eye. My heart stopped.

It was Aila. There was an arrow in her stomach.

Her form around the puncture began to crack, and she crumbled to pieces as I watched helplessly. I stumbled forward, reaching for her.

Something slammed into my ribs. The image faded, and my vision reeled. I sprawled directly off of Pitch's cloud.

The whipping wind engulfed me, tossing me in circles. I finally caught myself just before colliding with a skyscraper, and lowered slowly onto the roof.

My entire body was trembling, but I anchored myself and rubbed the nightmare sand from my eyes.

I squinted through the storm. I could barely see what had become of Pitch's cloud. The only hint anything had even been there was a faint golden glow.

I clenched my fists, scanning the stormy skies surrounding me. At every sound, I reeled around, ready to fight.

But Pitch never appeared.


Aila

Sandy disappeared into the clouds.

For a moment, I just stood there, and I watched.

There was a cold gust of wind. The snow began to pick up. I tucked my arms underneath the dreamsand shawl and stepped back into the gazebo, which suddenly felt dark and empty. Maybe it was cold too… I couldn't really feel it anymore.

I released a sigh and stooped down to gather the pieces of my memory cylinder. I froze with a sharp gasp.

My fingers were fading. The knuckles just tapered into nothingness. I hesitantly reached out to touch them with my other hand, but those fingers had disappeared as well. There was nothing there. As I watched, my form flickered again.

"Aila."

I jumped, but recognized the voice without turning around.

Heeled boots thumped through the gazebo. "Aila," Queen Beckett murmured. "You are out of time."

I clenched my jaw, tucked my hands back under the shawl, and stood.

"I know."

"Aila," Jack hopped inside. "Why didn't you tell us you were fading?"

Before I could answer, he continued, "But you're ok now, right? You told Sandy you're not stranded anymore."

My mouth fell open wordlessly. Beckett fixed me with a hesitant stare. "You don't actually remember anything. You watched someone else's memories. Aila, you are still stranded... you know that, right?"

I pursed my lips. When I spoke, my voice came out hoarse. "I know."

Jack's face fell. "You…You lied to Sandy. Why did you lie to him? We could've done something. We could save you!"

Finally, I broke, "Jack, it's impossible!"

"Impossible?" Jack questioned indignantly.

Beckett scrunched her brow, and I almost thought I could see sympathy in her eyes. "The only way Aila could ever truly have her memories back is if the one who took them away returned them."

"The Man in the Moon…" Jack filled in the blanks.

"I have to leave..." I insisted. "Sandy… Sandy already gave up so much for me. And being a Guardian means everything to him… I couldn't take that away from him. If I leave, you can convince the Man in the Moon to return him to his position. But as for me... there is nothing he or anyone else can do for me."

"Aila—"

"Jack, this is how it has to be!" I exclaimed.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "You know how much this is going to hurt him?"

"It's going to hurt either way."

"Aila," Queen Beckett stepped in. "Are you saying you're ready to return to the Isle?"

I sighed. "Yes… I am. I may not actually have my memories back, but I know who I am now… and I know who I was. Maybe someday that will be the start to finally being free." Even as I spoke, the words felt dry and empty.

The sound of snapping branches interrupted us, followed by a familiar voice shouting, "Woah!"

A giant, red sleigh pulled by reindeer smashed to the ground, followed by a shower of tree branches. Relief flooded me. The rest of the Guardians had arrived.

The Tooth Fairy leaped from the sleigh, and Bunnymund and North followed more slowly, Bunnymund grumbling and plucking sticks from his fur.

I brushed past Beckett. "Thank goodness you're here!"

"Where's Sandy?" the Tooth Fairy asked as she fluttered inside the gazebo.

"He's already gone up to—" I trailed off as I noticed something. She was holding a memory cylinder. "Whose memories are those?"

The Tooth Fairy exchanged a glance with Jack, and then she touched down in front of me. She held out a memory cylinder. I immediately recognised Pitch's face painted on the side.

"We know what happened," North replied. "Sandy was tricked."

"If we can find a memory of Pitch planning to trick him, we can prove to the Man in the Moon Sandy is innocent," Jack explained.

I narrowed my eyes. "You have to get this to Sandy right away."

"Where is he?" Jack asked.

"You might wanna look at this, mates," Bunnymund butted in. He was pointing up at the sky.

I gasped, nearly dropping Pitch's memories when I saw a little golden speck plummeting from the clouds. I could just barely see him through the storm, but I watched as he caught himself, then lowered down behind the buildings.

"Come on!" the Tooth Fairy cried. She shot into the air, but Jack hesitated.

North let out a guffaw. "That's our Guardian of Dreams! Come on, Bunny, to the sleigh!"

Bunnymund sprung from the gazebo, and North hopped into the front of the sleigh. I automatically started after them, but a hand clenched my shoulder.

I turned, and Queen Beckett was standing there, her eyes dark with displeasure. "Aila…It's time to go home." She pulled a portal globe from her skirts.

I pursed my lips and glanced up at the sky. Sandy was nowhere to be seen, but I knew he was up there now, fighting… potecting. My eyes connected with Jack's for a moment. He opened his mouth like he would say something, but then shook his head. He leaped into the air.

Behind him, North cracked the reins and shouted, "Yah!" The reindeer reered, then heaved the sleigh into the sky. They disappeared over the gazebo's ceiling.

Beckett must've seen the expression on my face, because she squeezed my shoulder threateningly. "Aila, don't make me do this the hard way."

Something caught my eye, and I clenched my fists. Sandy's memory cylinder was still laying on the seat.

I ripped myself from Beckett's grip and managed to grab the cylinder even with half my fingers gone. "They need this… they could use it to prove he is worthy of being a Guardian." I trailed off as realization settled over me. "I could use this to prove he is worthy."

"Aila—" Beckett snapped, but I had already opened the door, allowing a gust of snowy wind to billow inside and drown out her voice.

"I'll tell the Man in the Moon everything," I rambled, rushing down the steps. "I'll testify for Sandy! And I'll even tell him I'll go back to the Isle if it means Sandy—"

"Aila!" Queen Beckett stomped her heel against the floorboards.

There was just a slight movement in the bushes, but it was enough to draw my attention. My heart began to ram against my chest.

Beckett made her way down the steps, speaking again in a quieter tone, "You don't have time. Look at your hands!"

I refused to remove my hands from under the shawl, but she drew closer still. "It could be a matter of minutes. And once you're gone… there is no way back from that place."

The words rattled in the cold air, bouncing around my head. My entire body had become frozen. Until I sent a glance up to the sky.

Behind the veil of clouds, I could just barely see a tender, golden glow. My fear began to melt.

I took a step away, gripping Sandy's memory cylinder. "I'm sorry, but some things are worth the risk."

Before she had a chance to react, I whipped around and began to run.

A black streak leaped in front of me. A solid blow to my chest sent me reeling onto my back.

My head cracked against the dirt, and stars burst in my vision. Sandy's memories rolled from my grasp. When my sight cleared, there was a nightmare inches away, snorting and huffing warm air into my face.

Pitch appeared above, stalking across the gazebo with his hands folded behind his back.

"You are very correct, my dear," he chuckled as he stooped down to lift Sandy's memories from the ground. I tried to reach them before he could, but the nightmare had me firmly pinned.

"These memories are a very powerful tool," the Boogeyman replied as he admired Sandy's memories. "Why, I daresay I have some irresistible leverage between these memories and you."

I barely had the chance to consider what he meant. The nightmare in front of me melted down into black ropes, mummifying my entire body from the bottom up.

"Get him!" Beckett cried.

Bushes rustled behind me, and I just caught a glimpse of soldiers from the Isle bursting from the forest.

I started to scream, but the sand covered my mouth, crawling all the way up my face and over my eyes. Everything turned dark.