A/N This takes place a few weeks after The Game of Sandy.

Sorry for the super long wait. I wrote this awhile ago, but wasn't sure about it so I kind of put off editing it. Oops :)

This was inspired by 3DPhantom's suggestions(Thank you by the way! I included some of the points you mentioned in your suggestion, but it kind of took me to a bit of a different route than you probably had in mind. Hope you like it, anyway!). And to the Guest who asked for more sad-focused stories, hopefully they'll be coming. This one might be. We'll see haha:)

A special thanks to Mshushu22 for pre-reading my chapters and helping with the editing process!

And thank you to everyone else who reviewed, followed, favorited, and read! You all rock!

Jack watched Sophie sleep.

Okay, that sounded creepy. Pitch would be proud, Jack mused.

It was more like, Jack was checking in on the Bennetts to make sure everything was, quote, 'snowballs and fun times.' Or at least in their dreams. Jack didn't actually expect them to be outside at this time of night.

Jamie was tucked safely under his covers, snuggling with a stuffed bunny-rabbit that he would never admit he slept with. A quiet snore rang out steadily in what would have been silence.

Yep. A peaceful night.

Better get going on that snowstorm due up North (The North Pole, to be specific. Santa needed a bit of Jack Frost magic to brighten his workshop, after all). He flew out Jamie's window with quick check on Sophie from outside her own window.

But what he saw gave him pause.

Above Sophie's head was not the golden dancing figures he expected, but dark, gloomy creatures. Sharp teeth and claws were distinct amongst otherwise nebulous bodies. Sophie tossed and turned, moaning quietly.

Jack lifted the window, but it wouldn't budge.

Tears pooled out Sophie's closed eyes.

Ugh! Jack froze the lock on the window, throwing it open and storming inside, prepared to face any nightmare sand there might be. Spying some, he swiped with his staff. As the black sand simply dispersed before reforming, Jack let out a snarl that only made an appearance when something threatened his friends. His family.

"Get away from her!" Jack growled, his eyes narrowing. But the figures were not swayed, and Sophie's whimpers continued. He tried freezing them, but soon realized the figures weren't tangible at all. No matter what he tried, they would return, and the nightmare lived on.

Jack ran his hands through his hair, muttering under his breath. His eyes searched the room, hoping for something, anything, to help the girl.

Okay, okay. This is going to be fine. It's a nightmare; kids have those. I just need to wake her up. Yeah, I'll just wake her. Everything will be fine.

He had difficulty steadying his breathing, but did so long enough to carefully place a hand on the crying girl's shoulder.

"Sophie," Jack whispered. The girl covered her ears with her hands, sniffling. "Sophie, wake up." The boy shook her gently, but Sophie's eyes remained closed.

If Jack wasn't panicking before, he was now. It's just a nightmare, isn't it? She won't wake! What am I going to— How am I going to— The winter spirit once again attempted to steady his breathing.

Calm down. Think. You're a guardian now. Just think up a solution. Jack racked his brain. Come on, Jack. It's like thinking up a game— a solution to helping a scared little girl. His sister popped into his mind, leaving a dull ache in his stomach. No time for that now. Focus on what's in front of you. Think!

Sandy.

The boy nodded, as if trying to reassure himself. Jack grasped his staff and turned on his heels, leaping toward and out the window. Sandy will know what to do!

He could have hit himself for not thinking of it sooner.

Of all the places he could have been, it had to be here.

Jack had searched the entire globe for the Sandman, and—-of course—-he had been on the last continent the winter spirit had bothered to look: Africa.

He debated whether or not it was worth all the trouble to— no. Think of Sophie. Jack scowled at himself for even considering the thought. Of course Sophie is worth it. Any child would be, but Sophie is especially worth it.

The Sahara Desert was not Jack's favorite vacation spot. Jack may even go as far as to say he hated the place. During the night, it was fine, fun even, as it was cool enough for him to be comfortable, and a new enough environment compared to Burgess that it was interesting. The camels, specifically, delighted the boy. Jack was glad that the timezone was only a few hours later than that of Burgess, so it was still night, but sunrise was just around the corner and he swore he would be long gone by then.

Winter did a quick take on the desert landscape. He had noticed the dreamsand from a few miles back, but it was difficult to make out amongst the dense hills of Saharan sand. Though, he had to admit, the fact that the sand he was looking for glowed and floated did make his search immensely easier. Finding a trail of Sandy's work, he followed it to its source.

"Sandy!" Jack yelled, causing the man to turn toward him from… whatever he was doing. Jack wasn't quite sure.

Dreams grinned on seeing the boy, motioning him over. He excitedly began forming symbols, but faltered when he noticed Jack's expression, which the boy assumed portrayed his worry and fear.

"Look, we don't have much time. It's Sophie. She— "

The wind tugged at his hood.

"Not now wind, we need to— "

An unnatural sound caused him pause. If Jack hadn't been in the middle of the desert, he would have thought it was the waves of the ocean crashing into each other. Sandy widened his eyes at something over Jack's shoulder, but before he could turn to see what caught Dream's attention, the Sandman grabbed the boy's sleeve, dragging him away from the sound. Jack was about to protest, but a glance behind him caused him to submit, as long as it got him away from the looming cloud of darkness that threatened to envelop every star in the sky; and much more worrying, the moon.

Sandy and Jack raced at their top speed, but the storm that chased them wasn't giving up. The roaring winds and burning sand caught up to them, stinging Jack's skin and blinding his view. At this point, instead of Sandy leading Jack by his sleeve, the boy hung onto Sandy's forearm like a lifeline.

Though Jack couldn't see, he felt them begin to descend. What are you doing, Sandy? We need to get out of here! He was unable to say what was on his mind with sand pelting him, but he hoped the thoughts he sent the man were getting through.

They weren't, and as they continued to lose altitude, Jack knew his telepathic voice went unheard.

His feet hit ground.

The first thing Jack noticed, was that he no longer felt the bombardment of sand against his face, though his skin still felt raw. The second, was that the sound of false ocean waves was muffled. Slowly, Jack opened one eye, then the other.

They were surrounded by cavern walls and tunnels, illuminated by Sandy's dreamsand. The cool air and hard rock suggested that they were deep underground, far below the loose sand that had attacked them only moments earlier. Tracks lined the ground, but they were weathered and faulty.

"Is this an abandoned mine?" Jack wondered aloud, peering about the area.

Sandy nodded.

"So you brought us here to avoid the sandstorm?"

Another nod. Dreams circled the boy like a vulture, poking him in the arms and back.

"What are you doing?" Winter drew away from the Sandman, rubbing his arm.

A hand of dreamsand appeared over the Sandman's head. It pointed toward Jack, then changed into an O.K. sign, followed by a question mark.

"I'm fine." Jack replied, softly. "Just not used to sand attacking me."

Sandy smirked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

On second thought, I think 'being attacked by sand' is becoming a habit.

Jack pointed his staff at Sandy. "You know, before I met you guardians, sand has always been perfectly polite to me."

He was responded with a shrug and amused smile.

Wait.

Sand.

Nightmare sand.

Sophie!

Jack gasped, wildly searching about. "We have to get out of here." He drifted up toward where he thought the exit might be.

Where is it? He flew, desperately trying to find a way out, but not daring to venture too far into the tunnels.

Sandy remained in his spot on the mine floor, eyebrows scrunched and a question mark above him.

"We need to— We have to—" Jack began banging his fists on the ceiling. No, no, no, no. I have to get out. We have to get out. I can't—

A hand on his shoulder. Jack tried to shrug it off, but the grip was firm. He turned to see Sandy's calm expression, "Do you know how to get us out of here?"

Sandy closed his eyes and shook his head. He produced a few symbols that Jack interpreted as, 'We'll have to wait out the storm.'

Jack returned Sandy's head shake, but far more vigorously. He swung his arms up to continue banging on solid rock, but the Sandman pulled back his arm.

Winter pulled away. "You don't understand! We have to get out of here! Sophie. She's having a nightmare, and not the normal kind, either. I couldn't wake her up! I tried, but I couldn't do anything! And now she's alone— "

Sandy widened his eyes at Jack's outburst, but immediately narrowed them when the boy returned to trying to break out with his bare hands.

Sandy gripped Jack's arm, more tightly than previously. "Look, I'm just… " He trailed off when he saw the Guardian of Dream's tight lips and glare.

"You don't understand." He repeated quietly.

Sandy's eyes softened. He wrapped his hands around Jack's wrists, bringing the boy's red and blue hands into view. Jack stared for a moment before pulling back, curling his fingers around his staff.

The Guardian of Fun slowly fell toward the floor, sitting with his knees to his chest. Sandy landed in front of him, studying Jack before seating himself next to him.

"I can't do anything." Jack whispered. "She needs me, and I let her down."

Sandy created a few symbols roughly translating to, 'tell me the whole story.'

And so, Jack did.

"You see now? We have to get out of here. We have to figure out what's wrong. We have to… have to help her." But with each sentence, Jack's voice faded out into hopelessness.

Sandy wrapped an arm around Jack, trying to reassure him.

"Heh. Some guardian I am. I can't even keep one girl from having nightmares."

This time, Sandy didn't even try with the symbols. This was too important for a guessing game.

'You can't protect them from everything,' he spelled out.

"But she was c-crying. I couldn't stand to see her so upset. I just want her to be happy, but I was so helpless. And now we're trapped by a stupid dust storm. How am I supposed to help her when I'm on a completely different continent?"

'You do more for the children than any of us would ever expect of you.'

Jack scooted away from Sandy's side so that they faced each other. "I don't want to do what's expected of me! I'm Jack Frost, remember? Jack Frost: the trouble-maker. Jack Frost? Oh! You mean the one that makes a mess wherever he goes."

Sandy held up a hand. 'No. You are Jack Frost: the one who brings fun and joy. You're the one who understands the children. You're the one who makes everyone else smile, even when you don't feel like you can do so yourself.'

Jack opened his mouth.

'Don't think I haven't noticed how hard you work to lift the spirits of others. I'm sure all of the guardians have noticed.'

Jack still looked dubious, but didn't argue. "Yeah… Sorry for the rant there. I'm starting to sound like a Disney character."

A question mark.

"You know, like Mickey Mouse? The Little Mermaid? Elsa and Anna, more recently?"

'Are these people you are acquainted with?'

"Nevermind. I think I just have too much time on my hands. Thanks for the pep-talk, but Sophie's what's important right now."

'You are not leaving until the sandstorm clears.'

Jack was silent for a moment.

"Fine, but as soon as it stops— " The Sandman nodded, but as he did so, his eyes drooped. The boy watched as Sandy fell asleep, hunched over in a sitting position.

Jack sighed. You can sleep anywhere, can't you? I might as well get some shut-eye as well while we're waiting.

Jack leaned onto his back, wishing for the comfort of stars watching over him as they usually did. Facing the Sandman, he remembered that Dreams, himself, was from space. Sandy had shown him the tales from when he was a Star Pilot, back in a time when he had traveled with Mother Nature, herself.

Reaching for some dreamsand that floated around them, Jack smiled at the glowing sand.

They aren't stars, but I guess the pixie dust will have to do.

Darkness.

He couldn't see anything. He didn't know where he was.

Cold.

It was the kind of cold that penetrated the entire body. It was the kind where a person knew they would never be warm again.

The unknown.

Jack opened his mouth to shout for help, but water quickly filled it. The surprise caused him to intake a breath, leaving him choking.

Trapped.

He reached out in front of him, clawing at oblivion, only to hit a solid, impenetrable force.

Nobody's coming, a voice said in the back of Jack's mind.

Crying.

It was a little girl's cries. He recognized it, but couldn't quite place who it was.

"Jack."

His name echoed.

But it wasn't one voice.

It was two.

"Jack, I'm scared," Said the voice he believed to be the first one he heard.

"Scary, Jack!" The second—-a younger voice than the first, Jack concluded—-rang out.

He was no longer surrounded by water, but stood suspended in the air, above an iced-over lake.

Two girls shivered on the ice, about ten feet apart. The brown-haired one looked on at him with terrified eyes. The blonde, messy-haired girl had her eyes clenched shut. Both seemed vaguely familiar.

Crack.

No! Not again! He wasn't exactly aware that a similar situation had occurred before, but he didn't give his thought much assessment and pinpointed the crack to be under the brown-haired girl.

He dived down and swooped her into his arms, carrying the girl away from danger and landing on solid ground at the side of the lake.

"Thanks, Jack!" She beamed.

Splash.

Jack turned, only to find the blonde girl absent, and a small hole in the ice.

No! He made to go after her, but felt a hand on his arm.

"You can't protect them from everything." The girl softly sang.

"Let go. She needs my help." Jack replied firmly.

The girl gave an eerie smile.

"You're too late, Jack. You can't protect them from everything." She repeated, her voice sincere, but her facial expression mocking.

He yanked his arm away, rushing toward the hole in the ice, but it was gone. The lake was replaced by darkness. Nothingness. Jack turned back to the girl he had saved, only to see the same scene, or lack thereof.

Jack curled up into a ball, closing his eyes. Only one word played through his mind. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Jack sat up, short of breath.

Eyes rapidly moving about, he sighed.

Sandy sat beside him, in an apparent deep slumber.

That's right. We were caught in a sandstorm. Now we're taking shelter in an old mine.

Jack pulled up his knees and buried his face into his arms.

It was just a dream. Just a nightmare.

"If only things were that simple, Jack." A deep voice echoed throughout the tunnels.

Pitch.

"That's right, boy. Did you miss me? I seem to recall you being quite happy to see me overwhelmed by my own fears."

The venom in the voice was difficult to miss. Pitch Black formed from the shadows, wariness in his eyes, but a confident smirk displayed.

"W-what are you doing here?" Jack held up his staff.

"Tut, tut, tut. Now, Jack. Is that any way to treat someone who only tried to befriend you?"

"You tried to get me to help you bring fear to the world."

Pitch laughed hollowly. "Fear was already in the world. I simply desired to use it so that I would no longer have to live in hiding. Is there something wrong with that?"

"When it threatens the children, yes."

"Oh no. You're beginning to sound like those dreadful guardians." Pitch tilted his head. "And before you say anything, I assure you, that was an insult."

Remembering Sandy, Jack turned to wake him, but the Guardian of Dreams was gone.

"Where is he?" He began backing away from Pitch, but kept his staff pointed.

"Where is who?" Pitch chuckled. "Oh? You mean the Sandman? Don't fret, he's safe under my care."

"G-give him back."

"And ruin all the fun? No, no. I don't think so. Besides, you enjoy good fun, don't you?" Pitch prowled closer.

"What do you want?" Jack stumbled a bit as he backed away.

Pitches smile grew wider. "Now you're asking the important questions. Let's see. I want power, revenge… " A nightmare horse formed next to Pitch. He stroked its head gingerly, seeming lost in thought. "But for the moment, I'll settle for making you disappear."

The nightmare horse charged. Jack dodged, barely keeping the horse from skimming his side.

I can fight Pitch. He's weak, and I've beat him before, Jack told himself.

But I've never been able to do it alone.

The nightmare went for a second go at Jack, and this time the boy tripped when he dove, his staff rolling out of reach. Every time I need you! Jack glared at the staff, as if the situation was its fault.

"Don't worry. You won't be needing this shabby old thing anymore." Pitch lingered over the boy before picking up his staff. "Oh, well." He taunted. The Boogieman swung his staff against the wall, splitting it into several pieces.

Jack gasped, pain ripping into his chest.

"Hmm. It doesn't seem like you'll be guarding anyone anymore, will you?" Jack closed his eyes and covered his ears, but the words still reached him.

"You couldn't protect your family after you died. You couldn't bother yourself to remember them, after all. You hurt people with your cold on a rather regular basis. You've let Sandy get taken by my nightmares… twice now. It's pathetic, really. You couldn't even protect a little girl from a nightmare, and had to rush back to find a real guardian to do the work for you. And now, you've abandoned her. You've left her to deal with the unforgiving night on her own. The trouble you cause in this world gives even the incarnation of terror itself a run for his money." Jack felt a cold hand grip his hair, forcing him to stand up. "Terror refers to myself, if you couldn't guess." The boy opened his eyes to meet the two golden orbs before him, and a set of grinning, sharp teeth.

He's right. I can't protect anyone. I can't do this, not alone.

Jack shut his eyes, feeling the tears run down his cheeks.

Hands shook Jack's shoulders.

Pitch!

Winter scrambled away. His hands finding a rock, he raised it over his head to throw it at the Boogieman…

Only, it wasn't the Boogieman. Sanderson stood before Jack, his eyes wide with worry.

Sandy! Jack barrelled into the man, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I was— you were—" He hiccuped.

Sandy patted the boys back.

Jack pulled back sharply, swiftly wiping tears from his face. He grinned lopsidedly. "Sorry, that was a bit weird. I didn't mean to— " He stopped to read the words that Sandy was spelling out with his dreamsand.

'It was just a nightmare. You're okay, now.'

— be a burden. He finished his previous sentence privately

"Yeah, it was pretty dumb of me to get freaked out like that."

'No. It's okay to be scared sometimes, Jack. It's my fault for falling asleep before I could give you good dreams.'

Jack Sandy, poking him in a similar manner to when Dreams had checked on him after they had reached the mine. "Wait you are real right? This isn't some inception dream within a dream within a dream deal, is it?"

'I don't believe so.'

"I'll accept that then." He listened for the sound of wind. Hearing none, he asked, "Has the sandstorm stopped?"

Sandy nodded, pointing toward a tunnel.

"You lead, then." Jack followed Sandy down the tunnel, keeping an eye on him in case he suddenly disappeared, like he had in the dream.

"Out of curiosity, what were you doing out here? We're miles away from any towns, so you couldn't be spreading dreams."

'I was cultivating sand for those dreams.'

"You get your sand from the Sahara?"

'Sometimes.'

Well that was… vague.

Jack followed Sandy to a square door, or, what used to be a door. Now it was just splintered wood that had aged from little-use.

"You know, it's a lot easier to communicate with you when you spell things out like you have been. Maybe you should try that from now on."

'I did that today so that I could make sure to get my point across to you.'

"I still don't see why you can't just do that all the time."

Sandy grinned. 'It's more fun to see people guess.'

Jack tilted his head. "Is that why you don't speak?"

'I do not speak because I do not want to awake those who are sleeping.' That makes sense, I guess. In a way. As Jack tried to wrap his mind around the logic of not waking people when there was nobody around, they ascended out of the mine. Jack squinted as the sun glared down at them.

The sun, oh no.

"Come on, Sandy! We need to go check on Sophie." He allowed the wind to carry him, but the wind was hot. Burning. Jack returned to the ground, the heat giving him a massive headache.

Sandy placed a hand on his shoulder, wearing a worried expression.

"I'm good. Let's just go." Jack did his best to ignore the heat as they headed for Burgess.

Jack couldn't get to Burgess fast enough. As soon as they left Africa's scorching temperatures and the boy regained his strength, one could say he flew like the wind. Upon reaching the mainland after some time crossing over the ocean, Jack maneuvered around buildings quickly, to the point where Sandy was having trouble keeping up.

All the way, Jack's mind created scenarios of why the girl wouldn't wake up on his previous visit. None were very reassuring to him. The nightmare sand may have been crafted to keep the victim from waking, but there's no way Pitch could have gotten powerful enough to pull that off. Maybe it's a medical thing. Was she in a coma?

Distracted, Jack almost crashed into a chimney.

Alright, pessimism and overthinking is getting me nowhere. Sophie's just a heavy sleeper. She's fine, and I should have tried harder to wake her up. Sandy is just here as a precaution in case something is wrong.

Jack winced at the sun that indicated how late he was in returning. The girl's house in sight, Jack swooped down, throwing open the same window for the second time in the past few hours.

"Sophie!"

Sophie sat on her bed, bright onesies standing out against a dark comforter, and hair hanging down in her face. She had a unicorn stuffed animal in one hand, and a bunny rabbit in the other. "Jack!" She stumbled off the bed and engulfed him in a hug.

Thank goodness she's okay.

"Jack Jack Jack!" She released him and grabbed his hand, dragging him toward her toys.

He glanced behind him toward Sandy, who smiled and shrugged, probably wondering why Jack had dragged him out here, as Sophie appeared perfectly fine.

"You be Bunny!" Sophie thrusted the toy toward the winter spirit.

I guess I worried so much for nothing. "Umm… Would it be okay if I'm the unicorn, instead?" Sophie considered for a moment, before trading him stuffed animals.

"Hop, hop, hop." She giggled.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Sophie, before we play, can I ask you a question?"

Sophie nodded, but kept playing with the bunny.

"Did you have a bad dream last night?"

Sophie paused, thinking. "I don't 'member."

Sandy approached Jack, sporting an expression that seemed to say, 'You see? Everything's fine.'

Jack looked down. "I don't know, Sandy. I still feel uneasy. I know it seems I jumped the gun a bit, but something was off about her dreams last night. I even had my own dream about Pitch while we were in Africa."

Sandy frowned when Jack mentioned Pitch. Again, he elected to spell out his thoughts instead of using symbols. 'I know the situation last Easter was hard on you. Pitch Black can make a lasting impression on people, especially those whose fears he knows. However, not all nightmares are the workings of Pitch, but of our own subconscious, haunting us with our own fears and insecurities. I'll look into it, but I believe in both Sophie's case and yours… sometimes a nightmare is just a nightmare.'

Jack laughed humorlessly. "You're probably right— just a nightmare."

But as Sandy smiled and gave Jack a pat on the shoulder, turning to leave, and the boy returned to playing with Sophie, Pitch's words from his nightmare echoed in his mind.

If only things were that simple, Jack.