This chapter is a day late, sorry everyone! It's exactly 40 words longer than the last chapter .D.

Yet again no frosted tea - sorry Whirling! But next chapter? For sure

UVNight, thanks! It being a believable turn of events was what I was hoping for c:

Snowblind – chapter three – a darker shade of night

Jack Frost shifted nervously in the air as the guardians all agreed that they'd help Tooth collect all the teeth around the world. But to Jack it almost seemed… pointless. As soon as night was done in one place, it would be night yet again in another. It was no wonder why Tooth's little teeth were working twenty four seven, or why she needed quite so many of them. But when Bunnymund looked up at him and asked, "Hey Frost, you in mate?" It was all he could do to softly agree.

After all, Tooth was the only one he wasn't afraid of. She wasn't deadly, and really she was the nicest of them. Sandy was nice as well, but, that sand was dangerous. And Jack didn't really trust it.

While the others hopped in the sleigh, even a reluctant Bunny, Jack just hovered alongside it, unwilling to get it. To be so close to those he'd feared for so very long. "You want ride in sleigh Jack?" North asked, turning around from his place in front to look back at him. Jack just shook his head, "I'll just stick behind you guys."

… .

It had been hectic, especially once they were though with two continents before Tooth bothered to ask if they'd been leaving presents behind. Jack would have been worried about how heavy his tooth sack was getting, that is, if he hadn't had the wind to help him out in that respect. As he flew into Burgess, he saw Bunnymund jump out of one of his holes, and here came North, Tooth and Sandy, all racing side by side to get into Jack's home town.

Burgess was easy; Jack knew the place by heart, so he therefore knew the best ways to go through the town to get where you wanted to go. As he slipped through the window into the room of the boy who'd been hit by that couch earlier, he saw Tooth was already in the room, removing the tooth from under his pillow. Jack's feet touched the floor silently and he leaned on his staff as Tooth turned to look at him, "Sledding accident." She said softly, looking at the wall behind him. There was a drawing of the boy being launched into the air on his sled. She was almost tempted to ask if Jack had anything to do with it when Bunnymund appeared from the floor and North ran into the room with Sandy behind him.

It was actually getting pretty crowded in the small room and North held up his sack, declaring, "I have the most teeth!" Tooth's eyes widened and she made a shushing noise, gesturing at the boy and the greyhound which slept at the edge of his bed. And was sleeping no longer. A low growl was coming from the dog as it got to its paws, eyes focused on Bunnymund. The bunny in question was holding up his boomerang, getting ready to throw it at the dog. Sandy interrupted with his dream sand, conveying that they couldn't possibly hurt the boy's dog. "That's a greyhound; do you know what greyhounds do to rabbits Bunny?" Jack questioned softly, no longer leaning on his staff. "This dog's never met a rabbit like me, six foot one –" Jack's staff hit the alarm clock, causing it to go off.

The startled dog leapt at Bunnymund. Who yelled. Which woke the boy while Sandy quickly sent the dog back off to dream land. He sat up in bed and stared at the guardians. For a moment Jack's heart gave a wild leap, could the boy.. could the boy see him? But as he softly breathed out the names of the guardians, adding a, "I knew you guys were real!" Jack's heart broke and Tooth sent him a pitying look, he hadn't been mentioned. North looked at Sandy and added, "Knock him out." The squat man pounded a fist into his hand before Bunny added, "With the dream sand dummy!" Sandy nodded, and formed a ball of the sand. The dog was awake again with the sound of Bunny's voice, "Bad girl! You can't attack the Easter Bunny!" As Sandy threw the newly formed ball at the dog instead of the boy, it hit the creature and bounced off, Knocking out North, Tooth, and Bunny in quick succession. As North's weight hit the bed the boy flew into the air, being caught by Sandy. With a tip of the Sandman's head, the boy was out.

Jack couldn't help but chuckle, "Nice job Sandy." He turned as something flashing by the window, something dark. Sandy looked startled by it, and flew out the window. Jack followed. They chased the dark apparitions though the streets, before finally Jack managed to freeze one. "Look at this Sandy!" He declared, really quite happy about catching it. It was one of those black sand horses, nightmares; the ones which had been back at Tooth's palace. And that left Jack to wonder just what they were doing here in Burgess.

Jack got the feeling he was being watched, and turned around slowly to see Pitch. Before the dark man could say anything at all, a bolt of ice was shot towards him. With a slight "tisk tisk." He disappeared only to reappear a little ways away. Jack followed, chasing him though the town.

Finally, Jack faced him on the same roof top, and Pitch took a step away from him, opening his mouth to say something, and ran right into Sandy. Pitch look startled, and with a dreamsand punch, was lanced off the rooftop to the streets below. Sandy descended slowly, with Jack at his back, onto the street a little ways from Pitch. He beat his fist into his hand, rage evident. Jack had been right, he did look deadly, that sand was deadly. Sandy was deadly.

Pitch slowly got to his feet, stumbling backwards until he was under a banner strung between rooftops that announced something about Easter. "I'm sorry Sandy, I should never have corrupted your sand. Please, please! Have it back!" With a wicked smile Nightmares began pouring into the street from the town, seemingly out of nowhere. They were surrounded. "I take the ones on the left, you take the ones on the right?" Jack questioned softly, turning in circle. They were everywhere. With a snort and a toss of the head all around, the nightmares charged.

… .

Jamie's little sister, Sophie, wandered into his room. Gasping as she beheld the guardians, the Tooth fairy, Santa, and the Easter Bunny. She was absolutely delighted, more so when she picked up a sparkly snow globe off the floor. But then she tripped over one of Bunnymund's feet, and the globe hit the floor, opening up a portal; which the little toddler flew headfirst into.

Moments after this had happened, North woke up slowly. Shaking his head, he looked around. Not seeing Jack Frost or the Sandman, he quickly woke up Tooth and Bunny and they ran for the sleigh, all of them sluggish and tired, after effects of Sandy's dream sand when used on the guardians. By the time they were outside and in the sleigh, they were just in time to see Sandy, in a little cloud of golden sand, surrounded by Nightmares, Jack Frost fighting against plenty of them himself. "Jack!" Tooth cried, and when the spirit of winter turned his head, pointed at Sandy.

"Wind!" Jack cried, flicking his staff as he simply charged though the nightmares he'd been fighting, making for Sandy. He was so close, so close!

Pitch Black smiled, black sand forming around him into a bow, with a deadly arrow. The Sandman was fighting valiantly below him, golden whips flashing at his nightmares, but he wasn't going to be able to hold off on his own much longer. But no worries, he wouldn't have to. Pitch would take care of that. He pulled back that arrow, so the bow's string was taunt. With a slight laugh, he released it, watching as it found its target; spearing the spirit of dreams though. Pitch watched as a golden hand rose to touch the arrow, body turning to look at Pitch in shock. Then the nightmares were on him and the Sandman was gone. Pitch laughed.

Jack had been so close, so close! He let out a cry, despair and rage coursing through him. Pitch… Pitch was going to pay. As the nightmares turned their attention onto him, he hovered in place, hands clutching at his staff as the object in question began to glow. With another cry, as the first nightmare got within a few feet, he released the power. And the nightmares, every last one of them, froze. But he hadn't gotten his target. Pitch Black had disappeared.

It was a darker shade of night without the Sandman.