Cold & Dark ⇢ The Big Five Fanfiction

I

Dreams are wonderful things. They lift the hearts of children with ease. Bring joy into bedtime.
Sandy (Or formally, the Sandman) is proud to say he is the cause of this. Just a wisp of the beautiful golden sand he can create, and a child will dream. Sometimes of dinosaurs, sometimes of spaceships and aliens. Sometimes of magical princesses, sometimes of fame and money. A dream can bring wonder, hopes, fun; even memories.
The other Guardians wouldn't dare to admit it, but overnight, Sandy could probably do all of their work for them. He'd just have to work a little harder.
Sandy sighs out a little in satisfaction when the sand fades into mist as he finishes scattering children's dreams to the town he was hovering above. As much as he enjoys his work - it wasn't half tiring.
A little exclamation mark of sand forms above his head as he draws a sharp intake of breath, in surprise at the perplexing lights glistening above him.
The Northern lights were no miracle of science, but a sign. A sign that he, as a Guardian, was needed at the North Pole.
Darn, I haven't finished Boston.
He quickly forms a horse from his sand. One thing he had picked up from the battle with Pitch a little while ago was the fact he could make dream-creatures, just as the troublesome Pitch Black could make nightmare-creatures.
After a silent instruction of thought to the majestic creature, it gallops off into the night to finish his work for him. He heads in the other direction, flying Northwards.
As he lands, he heads immediately over to the ginormous bronze globe, lit up with many small lights scattered across the countries. He has never really stopped to appreciate the Workshop. None of the Guardians (other than North, and possibly Jack) had. When they came here, it was usually for arising threats, not for a Christmas party.
The Workshop really is a place of wonder. The cold stone slates were covered with red carpets, the walls decorated with Christmas lights. A few well-decorated Christmas trees were scattered around. The bustling of Yeti's busy making toys is always surprisingly welcoming, but they know to stay out of the Guardian's way.
"Ah, Sandy! Finally,"  North grins, slapping him on the back as he walks over.
"Where's Jack?" The Tooth Fairy isn't really what children first imagine. Her body is covered in beautiful multi-coloured feathers, except her face. Her eyes are a deep shade of purple, and her teeth, obviously, pearly white. Her wings are quite alike a hummingbird's, quick, colourful and transparent.
"Late, as usual," Bunnymund grumbles, his arms folded as he leans against a wall. The Easter Bunny, as the children know him, isn't exactly a cute, fluffy bunny, but a 6 foot 1, reckless rabbit, with a pinched nose and fiery green eyes.
"We shall just start without him. Mani cannot wait any longer," North decides, beckoning the other three over the patch of ground glowing from the moons light.
The Man in the Moon watches over the Guardians, and aids them as best as he can. He talks to them not through words, but shadows in his light.
A shadow image shows up on the ground. A gasp escapes Tooth's mouth.
The shadow shows Pitch.
And that's not even the worst part.
In the figure's hand was a long stick, with one end curved. A staff. Or to be precise, Jack's staff.
No one speaks.
Sandy's eyes widen. He'd become quite fond of the new Guardian. When Jack had taken the oath, he became... well, he became family.
Even Bunnymund is shocked; but anger flares in his eyes.
North swallows, but finally manages to form words, "M.. Mani, what must we do?"
The light travels over a trapdoor. If the circumstances weren't so dire, Bunny would probably groan.
A white crystal rises from beneath it. A colour they'd never seen before. Blue meant a new Guardian was being chosen. Black meant a new threat to the children had developed. Green meant Mother Nature requested their assistance.
As the crystal glows beneath the light, four figures shimmer above it.
A curly haired girl, with fiery red hair and green eyes. She held a bow in her hand.
A white haired, pale skinned girl with ice-blue eyes, and a beautiful blue dress. A snowflake hovered above her outstretched hand.
A brown haired boy, with brown eyes, armour, and a dragon by his feet. A black one, with green eyes. Sandy recognises it as a night fury.
And finally, a girl with a long, blonde plait decorated with flowers. Her eyes were emerald green, her dress a stunning violet, and in her hand... a saucepan?
"They're... mortals?" Tooth frowns as she speaks, running a hand through her feathers in thought.
Before any of others have a chance to speak, four symbols of mist form above the image. A snowflake, a flower, a sun and a leaf.
Sandy figures it out quickly, whilst the others stare on blankly. Of course, he can't help them; his inability to speak meant he would only be able to explain in pretty much the same symbols.
"Snowflake, flower, sun, leaf?" North furrows his brow as he thought it over. He looks over at Sandy questioningly, whom just sighs.
Sandy watches as the three run the symbols over in their minds in confusion.
"Wait! Vremena goda!" North exclaims, his face lighting up, from pure excitement from figuring it out. Then back to confusion.
"We don't all speak Russian mate," Bunny's foot taps impatiently against the ground.
"The seasons. The snowflake represents Winter, the flower spring, the sun summer and the leaf, Autumn," North explains.
Tooth nods a little, as if approving of the idea, but speaks in uncertainty, "What could four mortals have to do with the seasons?"
The four were in silence for a little while, their minds racing with the possibilities. Even Bunny looked mildly interested now.
After a little while, Tooth spoke up again, surprising the others with their own stupidity for not thinking of it sooner. "Don't you have a book about the crystals North? Maybe it can tell us what the white one means."
They all speed off towards the library, eager to figure out what to do. Sandy pauses to silently offer a nod of thanks towards the moon, before flying after them, a somewhat grave expression on his face.
The library is quite small in size, but when one is trying to find one specific book? It's basically like being lost in a maze of bookshelves.
Tooth mumbles to herself softly as she goes through a section of books. North had gathered a pile of books beside the comfy red armchair by the fireplace, and settled himself into skimming through their contents. Bunny pretends to search as he paints an egg.
Sandy is working the hardest of them all. Curiosity often gets the better of him, envelopes him until he finds the answer. Which can become especially difficult since he cannot ask others of it.
The Child's Perception. Nope.
The Close Encounters. Not even close.
The Evolving Child. Definitely not.
Sandy sighs. If it were on this shelf, it would be between the encounter one and the evolving one, alphabetically. He'd already checked the 'C's.
A light suddenly catches his attention; and not one from the fireplace. He pushes the two books apart, to see a miniature but beautiful crystal, glowing softly. The crystal was on the front of a book, a dusty, small one, hidden behind the others. He reaches out, taking the brown leather of the covers into his hands and pulling it out from the shelf.
The title was in gold, and in Latin.
'Dux Magni Pretii'.
Sandy carefully pulls open the book, and a small smile comes to his face. The first page was a contents page, and lead him to exactly what they needed.
It was in English, unlike the title.
It must be one of those enchanted books North brags about. Sandy thinks, as he skims to page 18.
He is greeted by three words in bold at the top of the page, followed by a small drawing, and a few scribbled notes.

The White Crystal

Tooth glances over, and upon seeing her friend staring at a page so intently, flutters over, "Find something?" One glance at the page his hand is holding open causes her to call out to the others, excitement flooding her tone. "North, Bunny!"
"Did you find something?" North asks incredulously, stumbling forward onto his feet and hurrying over, as fast as his legs could take him.
Bunny hops over after him.
"Sandy did," Tooth smiles, before going back to reading over his shoulder.
The three crowd around the book in Sandy's hands, silently reading.
The confusion is then replaced with shock.
Sandy has to reread about half of it to check he hadn't somehow massively misread it.
Tooth mumbles out in a gasp; "We have to... kill them?!"