Author's note: I completed this like a mofo yassssssss. Added that new sequence just like I promised, with a considerable amount of word count too after taking out 70% of the original stuff... I hope I got Jack right, I haven't seen ROTG in a long while now XDD Anyway! Shout out to worldwideheroine1, Wolfgirl354, and Shira2676! Thanks so much for following my story guys!

But when the stars silhouette me,

I'm scared they'll forget me

And flicker out

No words can express the joy I feel at this moment.

My hands. They don't look any different, and neither do my skin. Except, of course, the residue of shimmering sand here and there. And yet, I feel so different. Like a shell that is filled in with sand. I am actually whole. I am no longer air, but there is something now beneath my skin that weighs me down. Ties me to the earth. And now suddenly, I feel like I am part of something, despite not being in anything at all. There is a pleasant joy that shines through my gray eyes. But my face cannot express it.

No. I look to Sandy and I search for any sign of confirmation from him. But he only smiles at me like a proud father. I pull up to my feet and I am unfamiliar with the extra weight in my body. It is hard to move. I suddenly feel like a newborn again. Swaying, tumbling, on my hands and knees. Sandy comes to my side and places a hand on my back. I flinch again because it is such an unfamiliar sensation. But I let out a sound that is close to a laugh, though it sounds more like a cough. I don't realize how raw my throat is from all the screaming I'd done earlier. "Don't do that." I say it with a small grin. Something rare to see upon my face.

I can hear Sandy's soft laughter. The jingling bells. He helps me stand again, and I hold on to his hands, trying to keep my knees straight. The grin doesn't leave my face, and small grunts occasionally leave me because I have trouble balancing. My mind feels light and empty. Something surprisingly pleasant. I can't recall or think of anything. And this does not make me afraid.

But I'll tell you what does.

The wind picks up outside and blows inside. Like a frail leaf, I am shaken by this, but Sandy's hold keeps me steady. A blur of blue, white, and brown. The smell of winter. My stomach drops. I am frozen in place. Sandy must have noticed, because he squeezes my hands gently and moves in front of me. Then comes a deep, smooth voice;

"Who?"

I have trouble breathing. So I hand my head and stare at my feet. I hear footsteps approach and I glance up only slightly to gaze into blue eyes. My right hand clutches my left arm and squeezes. Sandy conjures the four letter words above his head, 'DAYDREAM'.

Finally I manage to swallow, soak my throat. I stare at Jack closely, awaiting his reaction. And he stares at me as if Sandy had smuggled a human with him. This is then accompanied by the pleasant shock of being able to be seen. Aside from my paler than pale skin, and the flashes of light that fly across my eyes, there really is nothing that blatantly shows I am a spirit. So I don't blame him. I anxiously rap my fingers on my arm. Waiting, waiting. For what? I'm not very sure myself. A moment later, Jack repeats himself, making his presence known, "Who are you?"

Ah, right, that's what I am waiting for.

I squeeze my arm tighter and withdraw into myself, backing away into the shadows; the last place I want to be, in truth. The happiness I've felt not ten seconds ago is a distant memory now. Everything is cold and bitter again, and I remember just how terribly anti-social I am. "…Daydream."

My voice is very quiet. It would have been easily drowned out by the wind. But in a blink of an eye, Jack is right in front of my face. I shove myself into the cave wall. Which is very painful, to be honest. "Are you a spirit?" He moves closer, but Sandy grabs his sleeve and keeps him in place. He almost doesn't notice. "Why hadn't I seen you before?" He looks at Sandy. "Why hadn't I seen her before?" And he looks back at me. "Are you new? How do you know Sandy?"

His voice isn't hostile, or harsh. It is bright, curious, and full of excitement. He asks each question with a grin. A cocked eye brow. A curious little squint. It looks so boyishly charming on his alabaster face. But there is an odd mix of emotion inside of me that I can only classify as fear. I open my mouth but only a stutter comes out. Sandy looks at me with concern and a new resolve takes on Jack's handsome face. He pulls his arm gently away from the sandman and walks closer towards me, peering into my soul. His eyes are aglow in the shadows and I feel my throat close up again. So I do the only thing I know how to do.

I escape.

As fast as I can, I push past him. I push past Sandy, and I sprint to the cave's mouth. I don't know where all this energy came from, but I remember experiencing such an invigoration before. Right before I died. I hear exclaims behind me and tapping footsteps, but I trudge forward and onwards. The cliff edge is coming up and I know I will have to fly. On my own.

I take a deep breath and push off the ledge. There is a brief moment of suspension before the sensation of plummeting hit me hard. I can hear a yell and an exclaim of bells, but my feet successfully catches air and glides. I am battered by the heavy winds, but I push on because I can't handle the confusing emotions that have risen in me all of a sudden. I don't know where I'm going. But my feet do. I am running on auto-pilot and I can feel my head throbbing already. I clutch it and shake it, but all I hear is the deafening roar of winds. Everywhere I look, everything is white, and I feel a compelling urge to burst into laughter.

Dear God, what is happening to me?

There is a menacing sensation in my head. A stabbing. As if my brain is being assaulted by a knife each passing minute. My senses are lost to me, and all I see is white. I can no longer tell if I am mobile or plummeting. But the next thing I know is that my vision winks into blackness like a TV screen with no power. I can feel something leak from my chest, where my heart should be. That too, has been happening frequently. It's as if there is a gaping hole in my chest and when it subsides, all my emotions have gone.

"I don't want it to go anymore…"

It feels like a hollow echo in a chamber that contains nothing. I let out an exhale and it feels like another century has passed before my eyes open again.

The first thing I see, is blue.

Blue, as in blue orbs. Two of them. Full of worry and confusion, and I realize they are eyes. Above them are creased brows and snow white hair that sticks up in all directions. And I also realize that it is Jack Frost who is staring down at me.

"Are you okay? That was an... Impressive fall you had..."

My eyes squint in an attempt to see past him, but it doesn't work. I expected more erratic emotions to come bubbling up. But instead, it is a resounding knock on the empty shell that is my soul. Well, it's not so empty now. It's full of sand.

A grunt leaves my throat, and then a cough. I hear Jack shift his stance, and suddenly he is sitting in his usual cross-legged position. He looks at me with an amused expression. A half smile on his face, if not in confusion, and eyebrow cocked. I stare back in an almost blank expression to him. Almost, because my brows are knitted together in thought, as if he'd asked me to answer to a long math equation. And out of the billions and billions things to say, I say the stupidest option; "I… Fell?"

He bursts into laughter, tossing his head back as he satisfies his amusement. I only watch with mild interest. Jack shakes his head and furrows his brows more, lips stretching into an even wider smirk. "Uh, yeah you fell. You fell pretty good, missy." He swings up his staff and plants it into the dirt. He leans his head on it. "I mean, it's definitely an interesting reaction. Most girls don't run away when I meet them. As you can tell, obviously." He grins cheekily. "I'm pretty easy on the eyes."

But I only sit up, and I hear the rustle of fallen leaves when I do. I look down. Moist soil, tree roots. I look up. A canopy of green. And I realize where I am. There is a dull sense of dread and bitter-sweetness in this situation.

"So, uh." Jack starts again, and I look back at him. I feel extremely inappropriate and out of place with him. So place my hands on the dirt behind me, lean back on it, pull one leg up towards my chest, and act as cool as I can.

"Hm?"

"You never answered my question."

"Which one? There were so many that… I lost count."

"Ohhh, so the mysterious lady has a sense of humor." He smirks and now tilts his head, resting it upon the palm of his hand, while the other free one holds onto his staff, which he rests against his broad shoulders. "Alright then, how about you start with telling me who you are, where we are, and what we're doing here."

"I didn't know this was a job interview." I deadpan and he laughs again, shrugging his shoulders.

"So is that a no on the opportunity to be an unpaid intern for the guardians?" He's grinning now, but soon shakes his head. "Seriously though."

"Fine." I sigh and pull both my legs up to my chest. "I must've told you who I am twice by now. I'm Daydream. This is… My home… And I come here sometimes." This is half a lie because I never come here and I do not feel at home when I am. But this is where I am born. Thus, whether I like it or not, this is supposed to be home. I can't say it is the most beautiful forest in the world to be in. It is very poorly protected and trees have been chopped down here and there. It is barricaded by suburban life and aside from the pristine river brook, there truly is nothing special about it.

The crack I've died in is still there, however, but it is overgrown with ferns and covered by tree roots. Occasionally I wonder if my bones are still down there. Jack's voice pulls me back. "Okay, so, Daydrea-"

"Daze."

He raises an eyebrow, and even from the corner of my eyes I can see how drastically his facial expressions change. Yet there isn't a single face of his that is any less handsome than the other. I am almost jealous because I'm sure half of the faces I pull could make a baby cry. "Alright, Daze." Jack makes an emphasis on my nickname, but there is nothing harsh behind it. "Are you new?"

"No. I might be older than you."

Jack chokes up on his spit. "Liar!" I look at him this time, but he has an awed expression on with his disbelief so I forget to be angry. "I would've known about you!" Then he pauses, and furrows his brows again. "What is it that you do anyway?"

"Pretty much… What the name implies." I say flatly. The more I talk to him, the more I sense my confidence building and my fears melt away. Perhaps this is the day I conquer my fear. Well, one of them. "I make daydreams and fantasies."

"So, it's not Sandy's work?" His brows keep furrowing each time I speak. I assume it's because he's noticing my pauses and soft, slurred tones of my voice.

"No... Daydreams are... Well, they're life." She began again. "They're... The wonder that colors a child's eyes... The hope that drives the kids on... They... Are the memory of the all the things they've achieved... They help kids find fun in even the smallest of things... And an escape... To a happier world. A fantasy. Even adults have it, you know."

His eyes light up, brighter than I could've ever imagined them to be. "So... So why couldn't I, North, Bunny, Tooth, and the other spirits see you? How come only Sandy knows you?"

"Well, I don't know..." My eyes dart away from him, but my face remains flat. "I mean... Maybe it's because I don't need belief to live." I see him freeze up, and I feel good because I've got him on the edge for once. "As long as there are open minds in the world... I would still live. You could say I create belief." And it's safe to say that I blew his mind.

"Wait, you? You make belief?" There is a tone of disbelief in his voice, but he is also trying not to make it sound obvious. I don't blame him. Why should he trust some random girl that'd just appeared out of the blue? I try my best anyway.

"Yes... I cast your images into the imagination of children. That's how they know you exist... How they can see you." I tell him calmly, nearly monotonously. "The man who leaves them presents every Christmas... The fairy who collects their fallen tooth from under their pillow... I made them visible." I let out a sigh. "But you, you didn't know who you were... You didn't know what you were supposed to be doing. You haven't... Found yourself yet. Which was why you were invisible."

There is a realization in his eyes, and still a hint of doubt. Or maybe it is annoyance. I imagine he might be blaming me for being unrecognized for so long. But I don't really mind. Jack's eyes are furrowed together, and in truth I've never seen him so serious. It is unfitting on him, so I snort and change the subject. "How did you find me anyway? …Were you stalking?"

And then that familiar, cheeky look returned to his face. "Naw, I just followed the random streaks of color in the sky."

I'm the one who is surprised this time. "Colors?"

"Yeah." He raised an eyebrow again and smirked. It's such a well-practiced smirk. "What? You don't realize that you have paint on the bottom of your boots?"

I look at my feet and find nothing. But I never knew… I truly never realized. "Yeah… Must've missed that." I slowly look at him again, and his eyes are fixed on me with his cheek pressed against his staff. I just know he is preparing to ask another question.

"So, what happened to you when Pitch was causing trouble?" I am right.

I twitch at the mention of the boogeyman's name. But it is quickly replaced with a devoid look, my eyelids drooping down slightly. Shrugging, I say to him with a bitter smile, "You ask too many questions."

I don't want to tell him that I almost died.

The cave is empty once more. Sandy had taken his dust cloud and resumed his duties as the Sandman a long while ago. Darkness once again encloses its insides and a dark, everlasting cackle bounces off the cave walls. A neigh echoes through the distance. From there, galloped a nightmare. Its nostrils flaring, its eyes ever filled with the glowing red of children's darkest fears. It let out one last neigh before stomping into the cave. Hooves clacked against the stone ground. It turned its head around. Searching

A shadow glides up from the ground, soaring on the ceiling walls before pulling to the ground, where it formed itself into a figure. "My, my... Sandy's learned a new trick..."

The familiar voice of the Boogeyman emanates from the figure. A wind blew by, blowing off the access sand, revealing Pitch Black and his ever dark grin. He lifts his hand up and strokes the snout of his nightmare, to which it lowers its head in respect. "But then, so have I."

With a triumphant grin, he leads his nightmare toward to mouth of the cave, just away from the moonlight, away from the Man in the Moon's watchful eye. His grin grows as his nightmare disintegrates into its original form of black sand, wrapping itself around Pitch, and transforms him. A pale light bursts from his sand cocoon, and soon the grains are blown away, revealing not Pitch there, but North. He smiles evilly. "And the fool has revealed my key..."

The devious yellow eyes of Pitch stares out from North's body, drifting towards the moon. A cackle reverberates from him. How unfitting it is, coming from North's form. He now turns away and pulls out one of North's snowglobes from his coat. Pitch brings the globe up to North's lips- his lips, and whispers a destination. Within a second he has shattered the glass on the ground, where a vortex of black sand rips open. And just as soon as he appeared, he is gone.

Warning, romance will be slow. :3