Author's Note: I finally have the next chapter of this finished! I have to warn you that it does get pretty angsty. Turning all the robots human and having to deal with all the human emotions that go along with it really makes things seem so much darker in this. This chapter is a bit longer than the last one I believe. I was determined to not stop until we finally got to see Eve, but quickly realized that was out. Eve will most likely turn up in the next chapter. Sorry if you guys think the story is moving slowly, but I didn't want to speed through everything either. I promise the next chapter won't be so depressing as this one was.

Also, I realized I didn't have Wally come across the holographic ads that he comes across in the movies. That's because I purposely skipped him going over that big bridge. In the movie it's got debris and old WALL-E units on it, but in this fic.. Yeaah. Imagine all the robots as humans and you'd understand why I glossed over it. Anyway, I figure those sorts of ads are probably all over the place so I moved them a little. They are important to the story. If you're wondering about the billboard, it'll be seen later on.

Disclaimer: I don't own WALL-E or any of the characters in Rise of the Guardians. The ad text near the end of the chapter belongs to WALL-E.

Chapter Two: Do Dreams Come True?

Wally opened his eyes at the crack of dawn and yawned as he blearily sat up. He looked around for a moment, confused since he didn't remember falling asleep. He rubbed an eye sleepily as he looked at the dark corner, but the golden eyes had vanished.

With a sigh, Wally rewound his tape and popped it out of the VCR. He carried it over to his shelves and rotated them around until he could put it with his other tapes. Picking up "Hello Dolly," he took it back to his VCR and popped it in. It automatically began to play and Wally happily hummed along with the merry tune.

He went over to where he kept a stack of clothes in varying states of cleanliness and changed into another generic BnL shirt, this one red and another pair of blue jeans. That settled, he walked over to where he kept his food. Set up on a crate in another corner, he had a small stack of prepackaged food next to an ancient hot plate with a single pot on it. Wally looked into the pot to see that it was empty, but that he had a bottle of boiled rainwater all ready to go. Wally smiled at this and helped himself to a little water.

He then opened up a Kremie and ate the whole thing in two bites before he grabbed a very bland BnL type of food.

"Has all your required nutrients!" was written enticingly on the package, but Wally hardly noticed. He too ate that in only a few bites and found his stomach was still rumbling with hunger. He sighed, but looking at his meager food supply, he knew he wouldn't be able to eat anymore. At least, not for breakfast.

He wrinkled his nose at the thought of going out and looking for more supplies, since wandering the city was one of his least favorite things to do. He liked to look for hidden treasures when he compacted trash, but looking for other things wasn't really his forte and he wasn't a fan.

Once he was finished eating, he dusted his hands of the crumbs and searched his pockets. Looking embarrassed, he went back to his clothes and fished around in the pocket of the jeans he had previously been wearing. Finding the inhaler that the Boogeyman had thrown at him in the front pocket, he shook his head at himself and carried it over to his coveralls. He carefully put them back on and tucked his inhaler into a pocket on his toolbelt while "Hello Dolly" played in the background.

After zipping up his dark yellow coveralls and donning his brown steel-toed work boots, he double checked he had everything, and then rolled his eyes at himself as he wandered back over to his shelves. Once he had a pair of wraparound shades on, he grabbed an extra inhaler to tuck into another pouch - just in case.

He wouldn't always have Baby Tooth or even Pitch to save him and he'd rather not die because his inhaler ran out of medicine thank you very much. He checked his toolbelt yet again and found the cassette player he had clipped to it. He checked the batteries and found them still good. With a grin, he pressed play and a song from "Hello Dolly" played out of it, bright and cheerful.

Happily, he put the cassette player back on his belt while it still played and wandered over to the VCR. He quickly hit stop but left his precious tape in there, figuring it would be safe for now. Then he put his shovel back in his wagon with his miniature compacter and donned his work gloves. Certain that he had everything this time, he grabbed the handle of the wagon and after opening the back of the truck, he pulled the wagon down the ramp and slowly made his way into the heart of the city. There was a slight breeze today which caused it to kick up some dust that made him cough, but other than that he didn't have any troubles.

He heard an odd noise whenever he walked and looked down to see that the bottoms of his work boots were flapping when he walked. He frowned a little at them as he knew that he would have to go and scavenge some more and that meant he would have to borrow them from someone else. He hated that because it meant he would have to go to the once more populated areas of the city, and that was the stuff nightmares were made of.

He shivered a little as he remembered his nightmare from the other night. He really didn't want to get new boots. He was soon distracted by the upbeat song playing from his cassette player though and let himself get lost in the music as he hummed along to the merry tune. He let his mind think of happier things, as he pretended he had cleaned up all the garbage and could now live in a bright and cheerful world, just like in his movie. He felt his hope rise along with the cheerful beats of the music.

Back at the North Pole, Bunny couldn't help the small grin that flitted across his face as he felt someone's hope rise. He couldn't tell whose it was exactly, but he had a feeling that it was Wally's since it felt younger and newer. It was a ragged hope, one that a child shouldn't have, but it had endured so much and Bunny knew that little Wally would continue to hope and dream.

Sandy also couldn't help a smile from spreading across his face as he felt Wally's wish for a bright, clean world come to him. It was a fine wish for a child to have and Sandy could only hope that it would come true.

He was distracted from his thoughts, however, when he heard a crash from somewhere and a very disgruntled Phil's grumbling followed by the infectious laughter of one Winter Spirit.

Bunny rolled his eyes good-naturedly and shared a smile with Sandy as the pair sat out in the globe room. Bunny hardly ever left there since becoming a little pooka kit, so he could always keep an eye on the globe and on the very last two lights.

No matter what happened, some things just wouldn't change.

While Wally was humming merrily, he failed to notice the golden eyes that seemed to be following after him, flitting from shadow to shadow in his wake. There was a faint "tsking" sound as the eyes took in the state of the boy's boots. They really wouldn't do at all - and in a filthy world such as this, could be quite dangerous.

Wally stopped humming abruptly as he heard a strange noise up ahead. Tilting his head curiously he hurried on ahead but was soon slowed right down again as he began to cough. He patted his chest and after a few moments managed to calm down again. He drew in a ragged breath and looked at what lay in the road ahead of him, looking very perplexed.

In front of him lay a used pair of workboots, roughly the same size as the ones he had on. They were standing up and just sitting there as though waiting for him to come get them. It was very strange since most usable supplies like this were either hidden or else on someone. Wally shivered and hastily pushed that thought far away. He didn't want to think about it. He dropped the handle of his wagon and walked over to the boots curiously. He toed one with his foot and peered inside. He couldn't see anything wrong with it, so he happily exchanged the newer boots for his worn ones and tested them out by walking in a small circle, stomping as he went to get a feel for them.

They were perfect! And now that he had them, he wouldn't have to go scavenging for any. Now he wouldn't have to face the horrible parts of the city and could go about compacting trash right away instead.

As Wally continued to walk, he finally noticed that every once in a while he'd see a pair of golden eyes flashing out at him from a shadow. The first time he spotted them, he jumped a little and went into a small coughing fit. After that though, he wondered what the Boogeyman was doing, following him around. Maybe he was bored?

Pitch grumbled to himself as he saw the foolish boy start digging around in the trash. Didn't he realize how dangerous that was? And just what was he doing outside with asthma as bad as that? With the terrible air quality, it would be sure to kill him!

..Not that he cared or anything.

But with only two lights left on the globe, Pitch didn't feel like finding out what would happen if the only light left belonged to a spirit. Maybe a spirit's belief wouldn't be enough to keep him and the Guardians alive.

And so, with that cheery thought, Pitch continued to follow the boy with his golden eyes flitting from shadow to shadow.

When the sun had fully risen in the sky, Wally found himself sitting very high up in the air on a partially made trash skyscraper that he had made over the course of many days. His wagon sat well away from the edge, but Wally was sitting right on the edge with his feet dangling off. He kicked them idly as he looked out over the city, his eyes hidden behind a pair of wraparound shades.

He still didn't see any sign of his little companion yet, but that wasn't unusual. It usually took her a day or two to get back to him. He didn't know where she went, but wherever it was, it was very far away.

He glanced back to see a pair of golden eyes glaring at him angrily and he couldn't help but give them a small smile. Even if it was the Boogeyman, it was still comforting to know that he wasn't all by himself.

Meanwhile, Pitch was having a small heart attack. All it would take was an ill-placed wind or a small scare and the boy would fall to his death! Didn't he have any self-preservation?! Pitch wanted to start ranting at the boy but was afraid that the boy would become startled and fall. Pitch grumbled quietly to himself and almost sighed in relief when the boy stood up and began to pull his wagon back down the trash skyscraper.

The path was wide enough for his wagon to go down easily and the slope wasn't too steep so his wagon wouldn't roll too quickly. Wally was careful to take it slow while he went down the skyscraper and after a bit, he finally made it down to the bottom. He stopped to catch his breath and then continued pulling his wagon behind him as he wandered off to find more things to compact. A few hours later, Wally had made even more progress to the very tall trash skyscraper. He now stood at the bottom, wheezing as he panted after having just climbed back down. He patted his chest and looked up at it. It looked fairly tall to him, but he could tell it wasn't the tallest one he had ever made.

He frowned a little as he noticed that his more recent trash skyscrapers kept getting shorter and shorter. Was his breathing getting worse? He shook his head at himself in denial. He was being silly.

He sighed and went to look up at the sky, but was caught off guard by a coughing fit. When he realized it was getting hard to breathe, he frantically reached into a pocket, fumbling a little as he pulled his inhaler out. He hastily shook it and popped it into his mouth, pressing down on the trigger. He coughed a little more, but after that, his breathing seemed to be easier. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he put the inhaler back into the pocket on his toolbelt.

His stomach rumbled with hunger, but he ignored it. He looked up at the skyscraper and decided he had done enough for now. Making sure that his shovel was still in his red wagon, he tugged the handle and pulled it along after himself.

After digging around in the trash for a while, he found even more trinkets to add to his collection. He paused in front of an old refrigerator and dropped the handle of the wagon as he tried to get the door open, but it remained stubbornly stuck. Luckily for Wally, he was even more stubborn. He coughed as he took a moment to make sure his breathing would be fine and then went digging around in his toolbelt pockets. He eventually held up a small handheld laser and fired carefully at the hinges of the door.

As he did so, he heard a sharp intake of breath behind himself and figured he had an audience again in the form of some golden eyes. He glanced back to see that there were golden eyes glaring angrily at him, as though berating him for the stupidity of handling such a dangerous tool. Wally rolled his eyes at this, as he'd been handling such tools for forever and he hadn't yet managed to cut off anything. At least he had thrown his old boots away, so the Boogeyman wouldn't see the old burn mark on one of the toes where he had accidentally fired his laser into it. Thankfully he had only scorched the outside a little.

Once the hinges had been taken care of, Wally stepped aside and the door fell off as he tried to open it. He looked inside to see a small green thing sprouting up from the inside, through a rusted out hole in the floor. Wally tilted his head at it, as his world mostly consisted of shades of brown and gray. He had never in his whole life seen anything like this thing before. He gently knelt down in front of it and poked at a fragile leaf. Not finding it anything dangerous, Wally opened his pack and dug around in his recently acquired treasures until he found something that would make a suitable carrier.

It was a very worn, small brown boot. Wally scooped the thing up, dirt, roots and all and plunked it down into the boot. Satisfied with his work he straightened up and put his pack back on after making sure it was closed. Still holding the boot in his hands, he turned and walked over to where the golden eyes were.

"Look," he said very softly to the Boogeyman, his voice raspy from the dust.

Being all by himself most of the time, he didn't find much of a reason to speak very often and it showed in the quiet way he spoke and the way his voice sounded, raspy and a little wheezy from all the dust and the continual struggle to breathe.

As Wally spoke, he held out the boot for the golden eyes to see the green thing better. When Wally held it out, the golden eyes went impossibly wide and Pitch stared at it in utter disbelief.

No.

Way.

Pitch couldn't believe it! Was that actually..

Could it be..?

A living..!

It had been centuries since he had seen one.

As Pitch stared at the impossibility of a living plant, for the first time in a long, long time, he felt himself begin to hope.

Bunny jumped from his spot on the couch and looked over at Sandy, his silent partner in his neverending vigil on the globe. Bunny couldn't believe it, but he had just felt an old hope return. He could tell that it was very old and extremely worn, as though it had been almost battered beyond repair.

Sandy tilted his head from studying the globe, where he had observed that Wally's light seemed a little brighter today than it had earlier. He had been trying to figure out why that would be when he felt two wishes come to him in a rush.

One was a childish wish, full of awe.

I wish I could see more of them!

The other, was a quiet wish, whispered so softly as if the person wishing hardly dared to think it, in case it wouldn't come true.

Please, the wisher pleaded, almost desperately. Live.

Sandy and Bunny both exchanged a perplexed look. What could all this mean?

Before they could speculate too much, however, a cold winter breeze announced Jack's presence as he landed with a plop down on the couch by Bunny, courtesy of the Wind.

"Hey Cottontail!" Jack said as he gave Bunny's head a pat while holding his staff in his other hand.

Bunny grumbled at the nickname and at the pat since Jack wouldn't dare pet him like that if he were his full size.

"Still givin' Phil a hard time?" Bunny asked, a little disgruntled still from the pat.

Jack gave Bunny his infamous smirk.

"Nah, I thought I'd let him have a break," Jack said. "Besides, I don't want to make the Naughty List!"

Bunny's ears went back at the offhand remark, but he quickly forced them back up so Jack wouldn't see how much it affected him. It still hurt to think that there were only two children on the List, one of them an immortal Winter Spirit.

Wally, much to Jack's amusement, had his name on the Good List with his name permanently underlined in green. Jack's name, however, wasn't so permanent and it would often flit back and forth from Naughty to Nice, but it somehow always managed to make it over to Nice when Christmastime rolled around.

Jack figured it was because he would often pop in just to see where he was at, that North bothered to have his name move around so much.

"So what are ya up ta then?" Bunny asked, trying his hardest to sound normal.

"Well," Jack replied, then hesitated. He gave Bunny an almost nervous glance as he unconsciously hugged his staff a little, as a child might to their favorite stuffed toy.

"What is it?" Bunny asked, concern making his tone come out more sharply than he intended.

"I wanted to see if I could make a storm last beyond the Pole," Jack said. "I know North said I could make as many storms as I needed to around here, but.."

Sandy and Bunny both got it at the same time, as a golden exclamation point appeared above Sandy's head at the same time that Bunny spoke.

"It's not enough, is it?" Bunny said, more statement than question.

"No," Jack said, his voice sounding hushed and even a little.. scared.

Bunny and Sandy exchanged a worried look at that, wondering how bad it had been for the Winter Spirit, to have him afraid.

"Why didn't ya tell us?" Bunny asked, his tone gentle as Sandy nodded in agreement. They had, after all, been trapped together for years. They shouldn't have secrets between them.

Jack gave an almost hysterical laugh as he ran his hand through his hair.

"What would I have said? 'Oh, sorry guys, but I have to extend where I spread my snow or else I'll probably bring another Ice Age to the Pole!'"

"..Is it that bad?" Bunny asked quietly.

Jack didn't answer as he hugged his staff to himself, his normally clear blue eyes stormy with his emotions. He jumped when he felt Sandy's hand on his knee, as he hadn't realized that Sandy had made his way over to him.

Sandy gave him a smile and a thumbs up as he pat Jack's knee.

"Sandy's right," Bunny said. "It'll all work out. No use worryin' about it. Why dontcha ya go outside and work off some of the steam now, yeah?"

Jack's eyes darkened a little in worry, but another pat from Sandy had him nodding as he called for the Wind. Soon he was whisked off through an open window, although this time there was no carefree laughter to go along with it.

Bunny turned to Sandy, a serious look on his face.

"We gotta tell the others," he said as Sandy nodded in agreement, a look of determination on his face.

They had to help Jack before his powers got out of control.

Pitch nearly rolled his eyes when his happy revelation was cut short by the sheer panic he felt flooding into him from the annoying Winter Spirit.

Couldn't the boy go five minutes without having an internal freakout?

He suspected if the Guardians knew how much their Guardian of Fun was secretly afraid, they'd probably wrap him in bubble wrap and never let him go anywhere.

As it was, the panicked What if I bury them in snow?! hadn't been the first time Pitch had heard this fear, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. The fact that Jack kept repeating this fear more frequently told Pitch that Jack probably had the urge to spread snow to places other than the North Pole.

It was hardly surprising, considering that Jack used to spread snow across the world by himself and now he was contained to only the North Pole. Of course, he would be feeling a little.. trapped. Pitch paused to contemplate all the fear Jack had. If Jack kept this up, then perhaps he'd be able to leave the shadows much sooner than he had anticipated, which would be nice, as he didn't ever think he'd be able to ever again.

Wally eyed the golden eyes warily for a moment. He'd told the Boogeyman to look at the green thing, and the Boogeyman had seemed so surprised at it, and then he'd just kinda.. stared. A lot. Wally wasn't sure what that meant, but he hoped it was a good thing. When the eyes continued their silent perusal of the green thing, Wally pulled it away and gently set the boot down in the red wagon with his shovel.

He picked up the handle and pulled his wagon along, as he started to head back home. It would be a long walk and he knew that he wanted to make it home before any bad weather could crop up. After a moment, the golden eyes vanished from the shadow and soon Wally had the feeling that they were following him all the way home. He wondered if the Boogeyman would stay up and watch more movies with him again because that had been nice.

When Wally finally made it home, the sun was much farther along in the sky, but he didn't mind. He pulled the lever to open up his truck and then pulled his wagon inside. He paused to cough and then shot an annoyed look over at the golden eyes, as they had been saying things to him non-stop about the green thing and it was really getting annoying now. He didn't really understand the significance of the green thing, but the Boogeyman seemed very worried about it.

Wally kicked his boots off and then set his gloves down in the wagon and unzipped his coveralls and hung them on the hook like he did every day. He ignored the annoyed huff from the darkness in the corner. Wally rubbed his rumbling stomach and looked over at his meager supplies in the corner. To the golden eyes' annoyance, Wally left the green thing in the wagon in favor of going over to his food supplies.

Since Baby Tooth wasn't there to eat her favorite snack, Wally helped himself to one in her place and ate another Kremie. He also forced himself to eat a nutritional BnL snack, as he remembered being told when he was young that he needed all the nutrients he could get. He finished off his small meal with a little more rainwater from the water bottle. At Pitch's angry huff, Wally paused in his drinking and rolled his eyes.

Pitch almost growled in annoyance at the boy. The foolish child did the same things every day! Couldn't he deviate for one moment to, oh, he didn't know.. Save the planet?! Did he even understand what could happen if this plant died?! It could grow and help spread more plants and greenery throughout the planet. It could possibly end this horrid era of trash and bring things back to the way they used to be. But only if the boy watered the plant and helped nurture it! And the child had the audacity to roll his eyes at him! Cheeky brat!

Wally ignored the eyes that were glaring at him and walked back over to the wagon. He tipped the bottle and gave it a little bit of water, but only a little bit. He didn't have much rainwater left since while it rained more frequently than it used to, he could never be certain when it would rain.

Satisfied that the green thing would be happy for now, he put the cap back on the bottle and set it back with his other supplies. He was pleased when all the Boogeyman did was huff in annoyance, but the golden eyes didn't start their non-stop tirade, so Wally would take it. He had never thought he'd ask the eyes to leave since that would mean he'd be all alone again, but the thought had briefly crossed his mind to ask them to.. maybe go somewhere else for a short while.

Wally looked at his dwindling food supplies and his pleased look vanished. Even though he'd been saved a trip today by finding those mystery boots out in his path, he'd still have to go look for supplies soon. He poked around at them and grimaced a little. He'd maaaybe be able to stretch them out through a few more days, but that was only if he cut down to one meal a day instead of his usual two and only if his friend didn't return to eat her Kremies like usual. He guiltily thought about how he'd thoughtlessly eaten two while she had been gone. If he hadn't eaten those, then she'd have enough to last. As it stood, there was only one Kremie left and it was the only thing she seemed to want to eat while she was here.

Wally turned back to where he'd last seen the eyes only to find them not there anymore. Panicking just a little, Wally searched around inside his home but then paused when he finally found them to watch them in amusement. They were in a shadow near the little boot still in his red wagon and they were staring at the green thing again. Wally watched the Boogeyman for a minute, but the golden eyes didn't seem to be moving at all, so with a shrug, Wally turned back to his supplies.

He picked up a BnL cake and scarfed it down in a few short bites. He coughed as he swallowed the last bit of it and that cough turned into another and then another.. Hastily, Wally fumbled in his pocket for one of his inhalers. He triggered it in his mouth and then after a moment was relieved when his breathing eased. He stared down at it uneasily as he realized his attacks were getting more frequent. He didn't want to think of what that could mean.

Deciding he'd put it out of his mind, for now, he tucked the inhaler back into his jeans pocket carefully. He didn't want to make the same mistake he had made last night.

Wally visibly brightened a little when he saw the green thing since it reminded him of all the other treasures he had found that day. He grabbed his pack from where he had set it down and then wandered over to his shelves as he began digging around in it to put all his things away. As he did so, he purposely didn't think of what tomorrow would bring, since he knew if he was doing what he'd been thinking of doing, it would be the stuff of even more nightmares.

The next day dawned bright and early, with Wally waking up unusually early. He had already opened up the back of the truck to see that the sky was just starting to lighten. He noted with a small frown that a bunch of clouds had already moved in. In some ways, that would be good since it meant that the blazing hot sun wouldn't be continuously beating down on him. But in other ways, it was bad since clouds always meant that a storm was rolling in.

He stared at the clouds in consternation as he thought of what he should do. Some storms would come and be gone in a short period of time, but others would last for hours. He remembered one horrible time where storm after storm had come and gone for two days. He couldn't afford to wait that long. Not really.

Sure, he could if he had to, but he knew from experience that cutting down his rations that much would leave him feeling weak and without any energy. It was a dangerous state to be in since that could be when he'd get sick, or worse. His mind unwillingly flashed back to all that time ago, when he'd seen dozens of others in such a state. Weakly calling out for help, for food.

With a shudder, Wally's breathing picked up and he coughed. He patted his chest, willing his breathing to go back to normal, but of course, it wouldn't. It hardly ever did. He once again triggered his inhaler in his mouth and soon his breathing returned to normal. He looked over to where he had last seen the golden eyes, in a shadow by his mattress as they both watched "Hello Dolly!" together.

Wally had been surprised when the Boogeyman had spoken to him. He didn't really talk all that much, except for earlier when he had been scolding Wally about the green thing.

"You see those trees in the background?" the Boogeyman had said.

Wally tilted his head at the screen. He had been laying on his stomach on his mattress, his chin propped up on his hands as he watched his favorite movie.

"T-tree?" Wally's quiet voice rasped, stuttering over the unfamiliar word.

"You can see the tall trunks and their leaves at the top," the Boogeyman continued. "And the grass, see how wonderful and green it is?"

Wally nodded and then quietly told the Boogeyman "yes," in case he was watching the screen more than he was watching Wally.

"If you care for that plant that you found today, it could grow to be just as beautiful. If you plant the seeds it gives, then that beauty could spread and before you know it, the entire planet could look just like that," the Boogeyman told Wally.

Wally gasped at that and scrambled to sit up as he stared at the movie in wonder.

"R-really?!" Wally gasped, his voice squeaking a little in awe.

He had no idea that his dream could come true just from one green thing! No wonder the Boogeyman had been harping on him so much about it!

"If you take good care of it," the Boogeyman said simply to him.

A huge grin spread on Wally's face at that, the biggest smile he ever had in his life.

Wally shook his head as he cleared his mind, and went back inside the truck. He wandered over to where the last of his boiled rainwater was and took a small sip. He stared at the rest thoughtfully and then wandered over to the green thing. If he was going to look after it, he'd better get started. He poked at one of the green leaves and wondered if such a small little thing really could make his world so bright and colorful. Then he poked at the soil and noticed it felt a little dry so he carefully poured the rest of his rainwater onto the dirt.

It was only a little bit since there wasn't very much left in his bottle. He hadn't even hesitated in pouring out the last of it since with the way those clouds were looking, he'd be able to collect plenty more water later on. He just hoped that the storm held off until he got back home. Normally when the sky was looking like that, Wally didn't like to go out. He had only a few memories of times he'd been caught out in storms and he didn't care to have a repeat.

Wally got changed into fresh clothes, donning his trusty boots and looked over at his coveralls. Then he looked past the coveralls to a lone hook in the corner of the truck, where something that had once been bright yellow lay forgotten. Wally had found it after he had been stuck outside during a storm once before he had met his little hummingbird friend. It looked dingy and faded, much like everything else he owned, but it was waterproof and had a hood.

Wally pulled it off the hook and checked the pockets and hood, just in case. He breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw that they were empty. It had been hanging there so long that he was afraid that some sort of creepy crawly might have found its way in there. Not finding anything, he put it on and zipped it up. It was too big on him, of course, and the coat went down to his mid-thigh with the sleeves hanging down over his hands. He pushed the sleeves up and fished around in the pouches of his toolbelt that was still on his coveralls and took a few tools out along with his inhaler.

He filled up the pockets of the raincoat with all the things he thought he'd need and then picked up his pack, slinging it over one shoulder after making sure it was empty. He needed all the space he could get. Then he looked over at his little red wagon and hesitated. Wally never left home without it, but with him going to other areas today, he wasn't certain if it would be a hindrance or not. He walked over to it and gave his trusty trash compacter a guilty pat.

"Next time," he softly told it.

He couldn't risk taking it along and having something happen to it. He looked around his truck a little uneasily as he pushed the sleeves of his yellow raincoat up again, but he didn't spot any golden eyes lurking around in a dark corner. He wasn't really surprised since it had been the same yesterday as well. He did get up really early today though, much earlier than usual.

Wally glanced at the green thing that was still in his wagon and bit his lip. He'd had another nightmare last night, this one even more horrible than the others. He'd dreamt that he'd tried to take care of the green thing, to make his dream come true. Instead of helping it, however, the green thing had shriveled the more he tried to care for it. Wally had been frantic but there wasn't anything he could do for it. Before he knew it, the green thing had completely turned a hideous brown with its beauty forever lost.

The worst part had been when the golden eyes that had been watching all this in shock and horror turned to glare at him with such hatred. Wally's breaths had come in shorter and shorter gasps until he clutched his hand to his chest in panic. He tried to breathe, but the air couldn't make its way through his constricted airways. He wanted to find his inhaler, but he couldn't even move. All he could do was stare at the golden eyes in rising panic as his face turned redder from the lack of air.

"You deserve it," the golden eyes hissed at him with venom. "You destroyed our world."

Wally had woken up in the midst of one of his worst asthma attacks ever and he almost thought that his inhaler wouldn't work since it took much longer than normal for his breathing to settle down. He didn't realize that he'd also been having a panic attack at the same time. When he got up, the sun hadn't even been up yet and the golden eyes were long gone. He had hoped with himself being so frightened that they'd come back, but as the minutes ticked by, they hadn't.

Disappointed, Wally had opened his truck and gone outside to watch the sky turn lighter and lighter as the sun eventually rose. Now as he prepared to leave, he looked around once again and sighed softly to himself. It was better, he tried telling himself. He hated going to the once more populated areas of the city and he wouldn't wish it on anyone. Not his little friend, not even the Boogeyman. So it was better that this time he was alone.

He glanced over at his stash of food and then away again. His stomach felt just as uneasy as the rest of him and he knew that he wouldn't be able to eat anything just now. Taking as deep a breath as he could manage, Wally walked down the ramp that lead from his truck to outside and prepared himself for the worst shopping trip ever.

A few hours later, golden eyes appeared in the shadows by the plant. Pitch was a little annoyed by the fact that it was still in the wagon, but he saw the damp soil and knew it had been recently watered. He sighed in relief but then looked around as best he could. The golden eyes had flitted around from shadow to shadow, but clearly, the truck was empty. From a shadow on the opposite wall, the golden eyes observed the coveralls that were still in place and the red wagon that had yet to be moved.

Just where had that boy gone?!

With a huff, the golden eyes reappeared in a shadow outside and flitted from shadow to shadow in search of the little miscreant.

Pitch could swear that boy was taking years off his life.

"How is Jack doing?" North asked Bunny, as he joined Bunny and Sandy in the globe room. Tooth had disappeared into the kitchen to make them all some lunch, declaring that Jack would want something to eat after expending so much energy outside.

"Haven't heard a peep from him since he decided tryin' ta spread his snow further," Bunny said as he turned his worried emerald eyes on North. He and Sandy had told North and Tooth about Jack's worries as soon as they were able, and it hadn't gone over well. North had gone off to let off some steam of his own and Tooth had just about worried a path into the floor before Sandy suggested that he was hungry (not to mention Jack would be too) and she had jumped at the chance to make them lunch.

"Wally's light's been actin' strange too," Bunny added on as he gestured at the globe with a tiny paw.

"What!" North exclaimed in alarm as Sandy nodded frantically in agreement, golden symbols flying above his head at an alarming rate to explain that Wally's light had gone from being so bright to so very dim last night.

North looked over at Wally's light worriedly and saw that it was dimmer than usual.

"It always goes a bit dim when Baby comes ta visit us," Bunny explained, "but this time.. I.. I.. I coulda sworn it stared flickerin' a little. He must be havin' a hard time."

North stared at the light, feeling more helpess now than he ever had.

"It cannot be," he said softly. "Is what happens when.."

"I know," Bunny said sadly. "But it was just a little! It stopped after a minute. It's brighter now than when it was at night. It'll get back ta where it was when Baby Tooth gets back ta him."

The three Guardians stared at the globe silently in worry. None of them wanted to say it, but they all knew that when the lights on the globe started flickering, it meant that the light was close to going out. It meant that the child sat on the edge of disbelief.

It had been a few hours since Wally had left and the clouds had only grown more numerous. Wally glanced up at the sky uneasily and coughed once again. It was turning out to be a windy day and those were the days he hated going outside on since all the dust blowing around made it hard for him to breathe. He paused as he stood underneath an overhang on a building, that covered a doorway. He had wandered far in those few short hours, pushing himself a little harder than he probably should in order to get everything over with more quickly.

He patted his chest as his raspy breathing settled down a bit. His backpack, thankfully, was a little heavier than when he started out. He had gotten lucky and come across a few abandoned BnL vehicles tucked away in difficult to get to areas. He had always been reluctant to go to them in the past, but with his supplies getting more desperate he had finally caved and gone into them. He'd been surprised to find a bunch of BnL Nutritional Cakes in them and had even been lucky enough to find a lone box of Kremies for his friend.

He tried to turn his thoughts to much happier ones as he thought of his little friend. She had been gone for two nights now, so that meant that she would return soon. It was unusual for her to be gone longer than three nights. Anything more than that and Wally would be worried, she knew. Wally knew that she always tried to make her trips very quick and he was grateful for it. He never really asked her where she went (not that she'd be able to tell him anyway), but she always returned with little trinkets for him. Sometimes there were small gifts or one time she had turned up with Christmas cookies, of all things.

He tried to brighten as he thought of what she could be bringing him now, but he was in the middle of the city and it was hard to think of good things just then. All of his very worst memories took place not too far from the city. His eyes were unwillingly drawn over towards where he'd never wanted to go again. In the distance were tall bridges, where some of the worst of the riots had taken place.

He shivered and quickly looked away. He glanced up at the sky again and saw the clouds were getting darker. He had wanted to go look at more pharmacies to see if he could find any more inhalers, but with the way the sky was looking, he knew he couldn't afford to put it off. He bit his lip in worry since he knew he was so far away from home. He hadn't wanted it to be like those few times when he'd been caught outside in a storm, but it was starting to look a lot like that. Trying his best not to think of it, he hurried out from under the shade of the building.

It wasn't long before a strong gust of wind kicked up a lot of dust into his face, causing Wally to half-gasp/half-choke as he frantically rubbed at his eyes. He hadn't bothered to bring his sunglasses with him, which he knew was turning out to be a huge mistake. He had thought since it was so cloudy out that he wouldn't need them, but he hadn't counted on the wind. Wally coughed harshly and spit dirt out from his mouth while his poor eyes watered, trying to get the dust that had blown into them out.

Of course, that was when he felt the first raindrop land squarely on his head. He paused in mid-cough and looked up at the sky, only to have a raindrop fall right into his eye. He squealed in surprise and rubbed at his poor eye some more as that one raindrop turned into several more. He pulled up his hood and looked around. Even though he was currently surrounded by buildings, there wasn't any that he'd trust in a storm. Some of the buildings had collapsed, while others had holes in them. Many of them had their glass windows broken and none were really suitable as a shelter.

As the rain grew heavier, Wally pulled out his trusty inhaler and took a hit to help settle his breathing a little. He tried to ignore that the little of his pants that were exposed from the raincoat was getting wet and he especially tried not to think about what would happen if the storm grew even worse. He looked around desperately for a place to go, but there was only one place he could think of that was nearby.

Putting his head down and pulling the hood lower over his face, Wally trudged off into the storm.

Wally jumped a little as a holographic ad suddenly started up in front of himself. He normally avoided them or going anywhere near where they were, but this was the only area he knew of that he'd be able to wait out the storm in. At least until the worst of it had passed.

"Too much garbage in your face?" it said far too loudly in the mostly utter silence that was his world.

The BnL logo appeared over a large pile of trash in the hologram and to Wally, it felt like the ad was taunting him.

He eeped when he took another few steps and another ad popped up right away.

"There's plenty of space out in space!"

This hologram showed a starliner in outer space. Wally tried to ignore it as he trudged through the storm. It was raining steadily but it wasn't pouring yet. If he could just make it to the shelt -

"BnL Starliners leaving every day."

The sound of the starliners taking off in that ad was drowned out by the rain. All he had to do was avoid the last -

"We'll clean up the mess while you're away."

This last holographic ad showed a number of happy, smiling BnL workers waving to the ships that were leaving the planet. Some even had little shovels perched jauntily over their shoulders and all of them looked extraordinarily happy to be cleaning.

Wally paused to stare at the other workers in the hologram. It had been so long since he'd seen people, it was startling to see them so suddenly -

"Wally!"

Wally gave a huge gasp and spun around, but all he saw were the lingering ads that were shimmering in the rain, their pictures a little fuzzy from all the raindrops.

"Do you have to trigger those every time you go past?!"

Wally rubbed his chest as he stared at the rain with wide eyes. He knew that voice.. He'd heard that voice yell at him so often in the past. It was the man that had scolded him the first time he'd ever met the Easter Bunny. He bit his lip and turned back to where he'd been headed. Looming up ahead he could see the mostly intact structure that had once housed all the BnL cleanup workers.

It was actually pretty ugly. The outside was extremely faded now, but it had been painted to look like the outside of the trash compactors and the large BnL vehicles. It used to have lights on the inside at one time, but those had long since been dead. Wally paused again once he was not far from the outside of it. All he had to do was go a tiny bit inside to get out of the rain and then..

"Wally, get to work!"

"Are you reading those useless books again?!"

"I don't care if you lost a tooth, why are you putting it under - ugh! That's disgusting."

"Of course there's a Santa Claus. Can't you see all this wonderful trash he brought you?"

"Sandman? If you want a good dream, just dream of surviving until tomorrow, kid."

Wally shook his head to try and get the memories of his past to stop. He'd spent so much time here. He'd spent most of his life here, it was the one place he could remember always returning to every day after he was done compacting his trash. Some of the adults helped to look out for him while others outright ignored him. Most of them had been weary and defeated and none of them really had anything kind to say to Wally.

At first, Wally had thought that they were all really tired from compacting trash, so he accepted the lack of kindness as the norm. But now that he was a little older, he realized that a lot of the adults hadn't believed in his dream of cleaning up the world. That look they had.. He was sure it was the look he had that one time, the time when he'd first met his little friend. They had all thought they were going to die in this trash world, not having made any difference.

All of them did die.

That thought sent Wally to his knees. His sight was blurry with tears, as he stared at the worker complex that had once been brimming with life. Just the sight of it looking so abandoned and forgotten - it made him feel so empty.

"No!" Bunny loudly exclaimed from his perch on the couch as he stared frantically at the globe. "No, no, no!"

A golden question mark appeared above Sandy's head as he looked quizzically at his friend, but it soon turned into a golden exclamation point as North gasped in alarm.

"Wally's light..!" North cried out.

"He's losin' hope," Bunny's voice which had been so loud just a moment ago, now came out as barely a whisper.

All three of the Guardians stared at the globe in dismay as they stared at Wally's light on the globe.

It had started to flicker.