"I wish you would help…"
The first thing he saw were the stars above.
The second? Golden sand that surrounded him like a warm blanket that swirled all around him, forming a stunning island.
Instantly, Sandy shot up from his sleeping position to look all around him. His body ached, his head felt heavy. What happened? Where was he?
He sat there for a minute trying to recall what had happened to him, only to remember Jack, Pitch, and himself fighting against a horde of out of control Fearlings and hearing a wish just before he woke up on the golden sand Island.
To say he was confused was an understatement. He knew where he was now, though it was just slightly different… his sand castle home was gone, just like when he had first woken up from his thousands of years of slumber after crashing to Earth…
"Pitch Black has awoken and now prowls the night. So I ask you, when the moon's not full and bright, would you keep the children safe at night?"A familiar voice called, bringing Sandy's eyes up to the bright, full moon, knowing that the one who spoke was the very man he had served for millennia.
Sandy nodded, for if a wish was made to him, he still felt bound to answer it. Just like those many aeons ago.
The golden man already knew what to do and tried to conjure up his dream sand cloud, only for the sand to not respond to it. Why? Why was this happening? He wondered.
Frowning, the golden man marched around his island, his thoughts wild and restless. Tugging at his golden hair, he sat down, trying to organise his thoughts.
Somehow, he was back in the past. Did anyone else remember or was he alone? Maybe he should find Bunny, the Pooka always did say it was his duty to make sure the timestream continued to flow without interruptions, maybe he could take him back? But what about this time stream? Would he be leaving it without a Sandman? Or was that all just a strange dream he had? He didn't know.
Stars above, his head hurt more and more the more he thought. Oh, how he wished he could sleep, but he couldn't. Not now. He had to help Manny and figure out a way to get home.
Help Manny… he remembered a memory… the very first night he flew up on his sand cloud, the very first time he wove dreams to the children of Earth. Oh, how they were all filled with fear… well, he couldn't just leave them like that… he could find a way to get back later, for now he had to find a way to restore his dream cloud, a way to travel through the sky once again.
He knew he did something that very first night. He knew he didn't always have control of the dream sand. Oh, what was he forgetting? What was it that made him able to use his sand? It wasn't his imagination, he already had that.
Sandy then caught sight of shimmering scales by the water- mermaids, he realised. They watched, along with the shells and the turtles, the stout golden man with curiosity, as if seeing him move for the first time.
Sandy gave them a small smile, now remembering what he had done the first night. Quietly, he beckoned over the turtles and the shells, knowing that they too heard the man in the Moon speak, and held information about the children they wanted to tell him.
He would listen, not wanting to disrupt the timestream. So one by one, Sandy listened to the turtles tell him how the children were afraid of the dark, and the shells who told him of the secret joys and sorrows of children before they told him of Pitch and the Fearlings he had brought down to Earth with him.
He had listened to what the creatures had told him. Now it was up to Sandy to figure out how to get his dream sand cloud back. For hours he paced about, trying over and over, yet getting nothing done. Unable to even get a wine of sleep himself.
He was tired, so very tired, but he knew he could not let the children down. But how could he give them their dreams if he himself could not sleep?
Ah, but the mermaids knew of a way to help the stout golden man after watching him pace about, trying to find a way to help the children. Truly, they realised, this traveller from the sea of the sky was one pure of heart if he has not given up on helping children he did not know.
So the mermaids beckoned Sandy over after a while, making sure he was comfortable on the red cushion that had once been part of his star. Soon, they started to sing him a lullaby.
"Dreams, sweet dreams, be in the sand you hold. They banish all the darkling fears and fill the night with gold." They sang, slowly pulling the golden man into a deep sleep where he started to dream. Dream of how he would help the children of Earth, and as he did, the sand beneath him swirled and moved to form a magnificent castle.
And from the castle, a great cloud of sand carried the man into the sky, bringing him back to a familiar drowsy wakefulness as he crossed the ocean towards land.
Just as before, his first night was dark. The moon was invisible from the night sky, casting everything in darkness. All but his cloud of sparkling golden sand filled with dreams.
He did not hesitate to chase after the fearlings and nightmares, one by one bringing them up to his cloud, dispersing them into more golden sand. That was until something unexpected happened. Something he was for certain sure of never happened before.
A rough tug on one of his dream sand streams pulled the cloud closer to the ground, gaining the attention of the Sandman. Peering down, he saw silver eyes watching him from the shadows, the tendrils of golden sand slowly, very, very slowly starting to change into black.
Pulling out his whips in caution, Sandy manoeuvred his cloud to land not too far from the darkened shadows where the figure stood. They watched each other for a moment, silent.
"Are you the Sandman?" The smooth voice of Pitch wondered, stepping out of the shadows, his eyes holding no malice or hatred. Sandy nodded.
"Do you… know who I am…?" He asked, hope lighting up his eyes, an odd image to picture. Sandy blinked once before nodding, his tense posture slacking ever so slightly but never leaving his guard down.
Silence soon followed as Pitch fidgeted about, refusing to meet the Sandman's eyes. Taking a deep breath, Pitch turned to face Sandy, his eyes lost and confused, but there was also an undertone of fear. The very same fear the golden man saw just at the end of the battle at Burgess. "Right… you probably want me gone…" he mumbled before turning to slink away into the shadows.
Without thinking, Sandy raced forward, taking hold of the Shade's wrist, effectively stopping him in place. Slowly, Pitch turned with tear filled eyes to face the Sandman, not wanting to face the strongest spirit around at his current strength. Pitch did not want to come face to face with the person that could easily leave him for dead if he so much as wanted to.
But terrified silver locked with gentle amber gold, a small hesitant smile tugging at the shorter man's features. A gentle look the shade associated with the man only had when comforting his fellow Guardians. Without even realising it, Pitch had lowered his guard, itching for the hope that the Sandman did look at him with those gentle eyes of his that reminded him so much of someone he could not remember- a longing for a warm, comforting embrace.
Slowly, sand images started to form above the stout man's head. Images that would have been vague to anyone else watching, but to Pitch, were clear as day. Three small golden figures, one of Pitch, another of Sandy, and an all too familiar winter teen, standing back to back seeming to move as if in a battle before getting swarmed by golden shadows.
Eyes wide in recognition, Pitch's shoulders rose in alertness, afraid of what the stout golden man would do to him now before Sandy started to rub gentle circles on the back of the shade's palm, never once breaking their eye contact. Never had Sandy wanted to speak so badly since coming to Earth. He could, of course, but he was also worried about the children around them, knowing that his voice disrupts the magic of his sand when in close proximity.
An image of a clock going counter-clockwise and a check mark appeared, his smile slightly faltering, his brow creasing in worry, especially since if both of them were there… Where was Jack?
"So…" Pitch started, managing to get a hold of his own fear before the fearlings that patrolled the place could find him. "Are we alone? Where is Frost?" Sandy could only shrug.
"If we really did travel back in time… then we'd better be careful and find the boy quickly, lest we disrupt the timestream…" the shade whispered, earning a nod from Sandy before the stout golden man shot up an exclamation point above his head before a lightbulb appeared and his smile growing.
Letting go of Pitch, the Sandman turned his back towards the shade, sending out thinner tendrils of dream sand in search for each of the guardians, including himself and Jack for any signs of them.
Pitch observed the small man send out the golden strands, no thinner than a thread, no doubt covering the world in a carefully woven blanket of dreams. It was not a good idea to turn your back on one of your worst enemies, however, it was also wise not to provoke them when they were willing to not fight….
But he could take the Sandman on. It was the dark ages after all. Pitch's strongest.
Oh, how much the shade wanted to listen to that little voice in his head, telling him to do so, to off the Sandman before he gained believers. Yet there was a great hesitation that prevented him from doing so. Whether it be because of his long forgotten memories, or the fact that he did not want to deal with time paradoxes, it didn't matter. He wouldn't do anything to the stout golden man. At least, not yet.
"Well?"
Sandy frowned, shaking his head as he returned to face the shade, the image of a crossed out snowflake appearing above his head, indicating that he not sense Jack at all.
couldn't sense the Guardian of fun.
With a sigh, Pitch turned to look up at the moon, as if it would give him the answers to everything. Although Pitch would give anything to have the chance to be believed in again, he knew better than to mess greatly with time, lest he disrupts the timeline and inevitably erases himself.
"As much as I want to, we can not change the past… not if we want to deal with the consequences of our actions…" Pitch admitted, turning to face the stout golden man. Sandy nodded, the image of himself and Pitch shaking hands in a deal appearing above his head, followed by a clock fast forwarding and the year 2012.
"A truce until we can find a way to get back to our time? Very well…" with a sigh, the shade reluctantly shook hands with the stout golden man. Satisfied, the Sandman made some of his dream sand swirl around the Nightmare king, making him tense slightly. Realising that the Sand wasn't there to harm him, Pitch looked at the other in confusion.
Sandy only grinned and gestured to the sand. "You…" Pitch started, eyes wide in surprise after realising what the stout man was doing. "You actually want me to mess with your sand?" he asked, slightly surprised, to which Sandy nodded to.
With a slight hesitation, Pitch reached out to touch the golden grains, turning them black while carefully eyeing the Sandman. "I think this truce shall prove quite interesting for the both of us at this current time." He smiled before fading into the shadows, not gone but hiding while Sandy went on with his duties.
AN: If you were wondering, this chapter is based off of the Sandman's picture book. This is also when I start ignoring canon because I can. Sandy would be the very first person MiM (Manny) would call upon to rise to the challenge just based on who he is even though canonically, he is the last. As for Pitch being OOC I like to think the "evil" isn't him and instead hes just a very cunning man that was just used by Fearlings. Also because I just wanted some nice!Pitch out here- think about the found family that could form from this-
Also please keep in mind that this is a completed story, therefore expect weekly updates! I've decided to separate the series into at least 4 stories (or maybe more, depends on how much I want to play around with the story lol) but yes, I am working on part 2 as I post this story! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!