It's all fun and games till…Where's Sandy?

"Ve shall have dressed herring, and suckling duck, Solyanka, Ukha, vinegret, Olivier salad..."

"solyanka? Ukha?" Jack started in bewilderment as he turned to the others. "I'm guessing they're dishes for the feast?"

Tooth smiled kindly. "I believe some of them are classic Russian dishes. They're actually very good!"

"Good!" Bunny cried indignantly. "Ya gumbi, don' ya know how ta compliment an artist! Each dish is loaded with flava. It is an artful act a' true perfection. The Yetis are mastas a' balancin' herbs and spices! They neva prepare a dish the same way twice and each bite is more fantastic than the last. If ya vegetarian, like Tooth 'ere, they do prepare vegan dishes. Me, I eat everythin'. Ya may look at me and think rabbit or bunny" He smiled. "Or in your case kangaroo, but I'm a Pooka and we're omnivorous." Bunny paused suddenly in sorrow. "Or were… At any rate!" He said brushing it off and continuing. "They're the real reason Santa Claus here has gotten to be so big and jolly. A course, when et comes ta chocolate, their skills 'ave nothin' on me." He said with a wink before roughing a paw lightly through Jack's snow white hair. "Ya really came through fer us. I neva shoulda doubted ya and I'm…" He voce softened in uncertainty. "I'm sorry for almos' hittin' ya afta the failed Easta incident. I'm…glad ya joined us."

"Aw Cotton tail, it was nothing." Jack said with a smile. "And well, I really did screw up Easter for you this time. The blizzard of '68 didn't hold a candle to this."

Bunny's nose twitched as he looked at the boy. "Ya sorry? From where I stand now, ya didn' do anythin' wrong. Yeah ya shouldn' have run off to find ya memories, and when ya returned withou' Baby Tooth we jumped to conclusions and I..." He paused, his ears drooping in sorrow as he stared forlornly at the floor. "I almost hit ya. We thought ya made a deal with Pitch and I...I...was sure of it." He took a deep breath and released a heavy sigh. "It's a good thing I wasn' 'eavily loaded up on chocolate. I woulda pummeled ya fer sure. I... I honestly thought ya betrayed us. An fer tha', I'm sorry. So wha' ya say? Shall we, as North says, wipe clean the slate?" Bunny lifted his head with the intention of looking Jack in the eye, before a soft ball of snowy fun hit him square in the face. "Oi that does it Frost!" Bunny cried, wiping the snow from his whiskers and nose. "I'm gonna ge' ya fer sure!" With that he made a lunge for Jack but the child of ice evaded him.

"Missed me!" Jack cried taking to the air. "And I thought it was perfect payback for what you didn't do. Besides, you were standing there looking too serious for your own good! And where I'm concerned, I've already wiped clean the slate and you needed to lighten up!" He turned to the others. "Last one to the globe room is a rotten egg!" He cried teasingly.

That only riled Bunny up more. "Eh! Don't ya be bringin' my googies inta this! I don't let 'em rot!" He cried jovially leaping into the chase.

Though Jack would normally have had an advantage in the air, the Pole's corridors proved to be quite the handicap for him as Bunny's speed allowed him to run up the walls and onto the ceiling above him. To outmaneuver him, Jack took a sharp turn down a different hallway and just as Bunny took the turn, he reversed and sped back into the main hall, stunning Bunny for a moment who fell back to the floor. "This is not ova yet Frost!" He cried leaping back to the walls and using his tunnels to gain an edge. Just as the group neared the globe room, Bunny burst forth and tackled Jack. The young man of winter fun let out a whoop of delight as they both landed in a laughing heap.

"Game over mate. I win this round!" Bunny crowed leaping off the boy and offering him a paw up.

Laughing uncontrollably, Jack graciously accepted the proffered paw.

"Looks like ve have dwo vrotten eggs!" North bellowed laughing boisterously as Tooth covered her mouth to suppress a chuckle.

Jack looked up at the two and grinned. "I wouldn't say that. Looks like we're still waiting on Sandy."

Bunny looked at the two of them in turn. "Eh yeah, ya rate mate. Looks like e'll be coming in last."

"But, that's odd." Tooth said fluttering her wings. "I could have sworn he was right behind me!"

"…And 'e knows vorkshop doo vell do come in last. He vould have taken short cut." North mused, his eyes flickering around the vast open space. "He's probably already here, somewhere…" Quickly he cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed out Sandy's name. The whole workshop shook with his call, and the other guardians slapped their hands over their ears to deaden the intense sound as the yetis paused in their work to look up at North before shrugging in response and resuming their activities.

Jack looked at North as the big man chuckled. "What's going on?"

"He is playing game...unless..." North's smile suddenly faded as he slowly raised his hands in surrender. "Now Sandy, I know I've been up for three days in row...I know I need sleep but...can't it vait till after ve finish making arrangements for ze feast? You know I sleep better on full belly."

"So... Sandy does this kind of thing often?" Jack asked looking over at Tooth and Bunny.

"Well," Tooth began uneasily. "Sandy is the sweetest most caring person you'll ever meet, and as you've seen, a fierce warrior. But sometimes, he does pull a harmless prank or two." She lifted her eyes to the rafters. "He does enjoy sneaking up behind you and slipping you some dream sand when you're not watching. My fairies and I actually love it. But Bunny...well, it kind of stirred up a sand storm."

"Sand storm?" Jack asked cocking a brow.

"Oi! That glowing bludga promised 'e'd neva tell!" Bunny growled, his paws curling into tight fists as his sharp eyes scanned the walls of the room looking for any sign of Sandy's telltale golden light. "I swear when he comes outta hidin' I'm gonna… "

"He didn't tell us." North cried jovially slapping Bunny's shoulder. "Humans are funny dat vay no? Seems a child found you knocked out beneath some furniture fully covered in dreamdust. Ze little tyke started running around ze house crying 'dust bunneh, dust bunneh hop, hop, snore'. Out of curiosity, ze parents checked under ze furniture but saw only clumps of debris. Dey shrugged their shoulders but indulgently fetched the broom and dust pan. Ze little one continued running around ze room excitedly jabbering about the bunny under the couch. 'Yes, ve know!' dey chuckled in response. 'Dere are dust bunnies under all ze furniture, ve shall quickly fetch dem out.'

Jack burst into laughter while Bunny cringed in embarrassment. "I was late gettin' ta bed because I was workin' so hard on a new recipe. 'E jus' wouldn' leme finish." Bunny grumbled. "It was the only time I was late gettin' ta bed! And the bludga jus' wouldn' le' et pass."

Tooth crossed her arms. "And exactly how late were you getting to bed?"

Bunny's ears drooped and his nose twitched in embarrassment. "Ten years…" He admitted sheepishly.

Jack burst into laughter. "Ten years?! You're joking right?"

Bunny cocked a brow at the kid. "I only dream one night in every thousand! And as I told Sandy, I was headin' ta bed, I jus needed ta put the finishin' touches on that recipe!"

Jack stared at him. "A…a thousand years!? You only sleep one night in every thousand years!"

"Dream! But I suppose it's the same dif."

North just shrugged his shoulders. "Bunny's a Pooka, first time sleeping pattern vas mentioned, vas vhen Sandy officially joined team.

"Officially... officially joined your team? So wait, who was the last one to join before me? And…" he turned and stared at Bunny again, still unable to believe his ears. "You…you really only sleep once every thousand years?"

Bunny rolled his eyes in slight annoyance. "Why does every one think it's so strange? But yes mate, I only sleep one nigh' every thousand years!"

Jack just stared at him, his mouth opening and closing in shock. "Dust…dust Bunnies…just because you were…ten ...ten years late getting to bed!?" A strange thought hit him and he started to laugh.

"Oi! It's not funny! And don' ya go blurtin' it all ova the place eitha!"

But Jack couldn't stop. "Well…well someone definitely looks better than Yoda did at nine-hundred!" He cried clutching at his sides.

Bunny, North and Tooth just stared at him in confusion. "Uh, Yoda?"

"Oh come on!" He gasped. "You guys have to at least know about Star Wars!?"

Tooth gasped in worry. Her hands flew to cover her mouth in horror. "There...there was another war… in outer space! We were under the impression that with the loss of the Golden Age travel between the stars was now impossible! Even the great Moon Clipper can no longer leave Earth's orbit. How many constellations have been lost in this new war!?"

Jack laughed harder. "You guys have to be joking! You…you haven't heard about it!?"

"Oi! War isn't funny mate! My entire race was destroyed in what we thought was the last Star War!"

Jack shook his head and struggled to regain his breath. "It's not a history, it's…it's a story." He hiccupped. "It's a mythical, science fiction story created by a man named Ron Lucas. You… you do know about movies. Don't you?"

The other two guardians looked up at North in confusion but he just scratched at his beard in thought. "Movies…movies" He mumbled. "Ah! Yes! I know dese items. It vas sometime in the 1970's that they began appearing on Christmas lists. But, dey are created by the efforts of many, dey are not something I can replicate! Vell, I could, but not vithout causing economic problems." His eyes returned to scanning the rafters, searching for any indication of the surprise attack he earnestly hoped Sandy would pull soon but the bad feeling in his belly was growing and it wasn't good. "Vere es he?"

Jack gaped at them before shaking his head in bewilderment. "After the feast, I demand a movie night! You all have some serious catching up to do! But getting back to the topic of Dust Bunnies…are all the weird names people come up with based on actual, mythical events, they just can't explain?"

"Well Jack, some are names, some are sayings." Tooth said placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. "And…and what about your own phrase… Jack Frost nipping at your nose. How did that one come to be? Did you…I mean you didn't actually… bite someone, did you?"

"No, no I didn't. And... and even if I tried, I would have just passed right through them. The truth is, I just heard the saying myself a few days ago. Jamie's mom said it when she was telling him to bundle up. But now that I think about it, it's also in a Christmas Carol. Oh…what was the name of that song again?"

Jack didn't get a chance to try and recall before he was interrupted by North releasing another ground shaking call that was taken up by Bunny. Bunny's additional voice assisted in penetrating the very fabric of the place. But there was still no response.

"Dis not normal." North said eyes wide with worry as he again scanned the rafters. "He should have appeared by now. Somezing's very vrong..."

"I wish ya would show yaself!" Bunny suddenly cried causing both North and Tooth to flinch before staring at him in horror. Bunny stood still as a statue. His nose twitched and his ears swiveled in all directions before he turned and stared back down the hall. But there was still no response. Bunny wasted no more time and immediately raced off back towards the sleigh.

"Dis not good." North said staring after Bunny. "Sandy 'as to be here, he vould never leave vithout saying goodbye and he can' possibly have gotten lost. Ve need to find him. Now!"

Tooth immediately turned back to her miniature fairies. "All right girls, fan out. We're going to do a thorough sweep of the Pole, leave no rafter un-brushed or cranny un-flossed until he's found!" Her miniature fairies raised their hands in solute before diving off in different directions.

Jack gave North an awkward little smile and a shrug of his shoulders before chasing off after Bunny. North shook his head and slumped forward onto the globe's console. Worry gnawed at him before an idea finally occurred to him. "Yaloo, Tashi, check surveillance imagery of vorkshop. Ve have to find Sandy!" Without a word, the warrior leader of the yeti's and his second in command headed out to follow his orders. "Oh scat of reindeer and piles of stardust." North muttered under his breath. "Vhy didn't any of us notice he'd stopped following? Despite vhat he said in ze sleigh, my belly vas delling me somezing vas vrong. I should have listened." He lifted his eyes to the shining stars above and waited for news of Sandy's location. "Please, let my belly be vrong, just dis vone time." He whispered as a single tear, drifted down a rosy cheek.

Authors Notes:

(1) For those of you wondering about Bunny's sleeping habits…it is book cannon though it's only mentioned once in William Joyce's Guardian's of Childhood series. The occasion can be found on page 216 of the 4th book: The Sandman and the War of Dreams.

(2) Tashi and Yaloo are also book cannon. According to Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core Yaloo is "the fierce and friendly leader of the Yetis (pg. 55)". Tashi is just one of Yaloo's many lieutenants (pg.56) though we have no names or indication of how many other lieutenants there are. These two Yetis are the only ones given names and they are also, only mentioned once in William Joyce's books.