Danny Phantom and Rise of the Gaurdians Crossover

A Summer Night of Sand

Danny flipped over in his bed, trying to find a position that didn't make him sweat profusely in the hot, July air. He felt a little antsy about going to sleep after his encounter with the Toothfairy. He wondered what other mythical creatures could be coming into his room while he slept.

He rolled over again, but it was no use. He just couldn't sleep! He stood up and walked over to the open window. He hated it being open, but he was sure that he would die all over again if he closed it and let the hot air just get stuffy.

He leaned his head out and was overwhelmed with relief when a gust of wind hit him, cooling him off and drying the sweat all over his body.

He leaned back inside and looked over at the clock. It was midnight and he knew that the only way to fall asleep now was to tire himself out so he wouldn't care if it was hot or not.

He let the familiar white rings appear around his waist and they moved up and down his body, changing him from Danny Fenton into Danny Phantom. In his ghost form, his body temperature dropped several degrees, causing a shiver to run up his spine from the sudden difference.

He shook it off quickly and flew out the window into the night air. It was a nice night, not a cloud in the sky and a sliver of a crescent moon gazed down upon Amity Park. There weren't even any ghosts out tonight, only adding to the pleasure Danny felt as he soared threw the sky.

He glanced over the rooftops, watching to see if he saw any signs of trouble, but the only unsettling thing he saw was a cat fight that broke up the second he flew close to the two felines.

He was truly enjoying his flight when he felt his all to familiar ghost sense go off. He skidded to a halt in midair and groaned, not wanting his peaceful night to be disturbed.

But what Danny wasn't disturbing, not one tiny bit. Instead of an ectoplasm ray or anything else you could expect from his usual opponents, there was sand. Tons and tons of golden sand floating through the air, dancing and swirling into shapes and figures.

Danny stared in amazement at the beautiful sight before him. He watched as the sand danced it's way into houses through windows and cracks. It truly was wonderful, but who or what was causing this?

Danny flew up high into the sky to gain a view of the entire town. From above, the sand almost looked like a Van Gogh painting that moved. It was something that surely wasn't seen everyday.

Danny skimmed his eyes all around town, following the trail of sand until he finally found the source of the mysterious sand. A small cloud of it sat on the very outside of town, floating a good thousand feet above the ground.

He hovered toward the cloud and as he approached, he could barely make out the outline of a person standing on top of it. Whoever it was, they had heard and/or seen him and the sand suddenly stopped flowing from his hands.

Danny could see that the person was a short, almost plump man with spiky hair. He was completely golden, as if he was made from the very same sand he controlled. He gave Danny a soothing smile that made Danny feel at ease.

“Hello,” Danny said politely. The man gave him a wide grin and waved his hand.

Danny didn't think much of it before he continued. “I don't mean to be rude, but who are you and what are you doing will all this sand?”

The man folded his hands up beside his head and closed his eyes, as if pretending to sleep. A few 'Z's made of sand popped up above his head.

“Sleep,” Danny questioned, tilting his head to the left in a confused manner. The man popped up and nodded vigorously. Danny's confused look didn't leave his face as the more images made of sand came above the man's head, all having to do with sleep.

“Okay,” Danny said slowly. “That answers one question, I guess, but what about who you are.”

The man smiled and pointed down at his cloud of sand. Danny followed his action with his eyes. “Sand,” he said suspiciously and the man nodded again.

He the pointed to himself and then at Danny. Danny once again, followed his actions, only to be confused even more. “Me?”

The man slapped his face in frustration, obviously upset that Danny hadn't gotten what he was saying on the first try. The little man perked up again when a light bulb literally lit up over him. He puffed out his chest and started motioning with his arms like a body-builder posing in front of a mirror. He then dropped his stance and pointed at himself, then Danny.

Danny felt his own light bulb light as he watched the man. “You're the Sand Man!” The man nodded and Danny couldn't help staring at him with astonishment.

He was actually face to face with the Sand Man, a childhood tale, but after meeting the Easter Bunny and the Toothfairy, this really didn't come as much of a surprise to him. By now, he was so used to it he almost expected to meet more children's stories in real life.

He snapped out of his trance and glanced back down at the town which still had the remains of sand swirling around in the wind. “I get it now,” he said, more to himself. “You're the Sand Man and you're here to help the children sleep with good dreams.”

The Sand Man nodded again and smiled widely at Danny. Danny smiled back, glad to see that this guy was much less crazy than the other two myths he had already met, other than the pictures made of sand rather than speaking.

“Why don't you talk,” Danny asked innocently. The Sand Man looked down, almost sadly before looking back up quickly and shrugging his shoulders and a question mark made it's way above him.

Danny let it slide and glanced back down at the sand. He was starting to feel tired and he wanted to go back home and crawl into bed, never to come back out from under the covers. He could feel his shoulders droop as he floated and his eye-lids were becoming much heavier.

He let out a yawn, which didn't go unnoticed by the Sand Man. He smiled gently at Danny before using his sand cloud to float him toward the town. Danny followed, curious as to what the little man had planned, even if he was ready to collapse.

The cloud kept gliding through the sky, never losing it's steady rhythm as it went. It seemed like forever to Danny before it stopped, hovering over a very familiar building.

“That's my house,” Danny said, his eyes looking over the giant sign that read “Fenton Works”, the emergency bunker screwed to the roof, and finally his open window. He felt the pull of his bed, but he didn't budge from his spot. He was too interested in what the Sand Man was doing.

But the little man wouldn't be having any of that. He grabbed Danny's arm and pulled him down toward his window. Danny took the hint and glided into his room, turning back into Danny Fenton once his feet his the floor.

The Sand Man looked a little confused at first, but quickly accepted the fact that his new friend could transform from a ghost into a human. He pointed to the bed and Danny obeyed him and lied down, releasing a contented sigh when his head hit the pillow.

He watched as the Sand Man held up his hand and golden sand came out, circling Danny's head. Danny watched the sand and he realized that it had the same effect on him as counting sheep would. He felt his eyes slowly closing until he was fast asleep.

He never knew the Sand Man left his room, he didn't hear his alarm go off the next morning, and he didn't even wake up when his mother came into his room the next morning to tell him it was noon and he had to get up. No, Danny Fenton slept for a full eighteen hours, undisturbed and completely lost in the world of dreams.

Later, Danny would look back on his meeting with the Sand Man as his best experience when it came to meeting new people, alive and dead.