AN: Heeeeyyyy guys. Long time no see!

I am sorry about this. The fact that this took so long is probably proof enough that this story needs to end. If I am going to be perfectly honest, I don't even like this chapter very much, but I had to get something out and this was all my brain could come up with. I never really intended for this to have a storyline, so I didn't go into it with an ending in mind like with most of my stories. So yeah. That's my excuse.

I don't own Danny Phantom or Rise of the Guardians. Probably for the best, honestly.

"NO! You are not leaving the Pole. That is final!"

Jack glared at Tooth. It had been three months since he and Danny had been rescued, and they hadn't been allowed outside once. Jack had tried to be patient, but he was pretty sure that if he didn't get out soon, he was going to go insane.

"You can't keep us in here forever." he spat, frustration making his tone sharper than usual.

"We can try!" Tooth shot back.

Jack blinked, his anger replaced with surprise, and hurt.

"You don't mean that." he said quietly. "You wouldn't do that to us."

Tooth's own anger faded a bit as she took in Jack's expression. She softened her voice.

"It's for your own good. Jack. You and Danny are too vulnerable out on your own. You need to stay where we know you are safe."

"Locking us indoors for the rest of eternity won't keep us safe, it will destroy us!" Jack yelled. "You know that!"

"You won't always be indoors." Tooth denied. "We'll go out together on trips. It will be fun! You'll see."

Jack stared at Tooth blankly.

"You are insane if you think that could ever be good enough." he said blankly. And with that he turned on his heel, walking out of the room.

"Jack?" Tooth called, looking nervous.

"Don't worry, I'm not leaving the Pole." Jack called back, his voice bitter. "You've made sure of that." He slammed the door hard on his way out, making his displeasure known.

Tooth deflated. Why couldn't Jack see that this was for the best? Did he want to get hurt again?

"You are being unreasonable."

Tooth flushed, turning toward Pitch.

"What would you know?" she spat. "It's because of people like you that Jack needs protection!"

"Hm. And yet, it is people like you that ensured that he would never feel comfortable accepting it."

Tooth wilted, her anger draining away. There was to much truth in that statement for her to argue.

"I just want him to be safe." she whispered.

Pitch rolled his eyes. "This won't accomplish that. Jack will get out, sooner or later. He cannot be contained for long. All you are accomplishing is making him hate you."

Tooth felt her anger flare again.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you? How dare you judge me when your actions toward Jack were a thousand times worse than anything I have ever done."

Pitch snorted, not looking the least bit intimidated.

"That's the strange thing, isn't it?" he said mildly. "Jack has never hated me. Not even when I manipulated his emotions, when I broke his staff. Even then, he never hated me. Because he understands me."

"But you," Pitch continued, a sickly smile on his face. "You Guardians. Oh, you should feel the mess of emotions that comes up when he thinks about you. He hated you. You were supposed to be the good ones, but you abandoned him. Don't think he's forgotten that. He's forgiven you, because he's too nice for his own good, but he has never forgotten. And I don't think he's ever managed to understand you either, even after all these years. You certainly don't understand him."

Tooth wanted to argue. She wanted to scream and yell and spit in Pitch's face. But she didn't. Because the one thing she wanted to do most was prove Pitch wrong, and she couldn't do that. They didn't understand Jack. They were constantly making mistakes around him, making him angry, or sad, or confused, or something. That was why they'd been so happy when Danny showed up. Here was someone who had a chance to actually help Jack in a way that they never could.

Pitch looked almost unbearably smug.

"Now if you'll excuse me," he said. "I'm going to go talk to Jack and Danny. Because they actually want to spend time with me."

And then he was gone, leaving Tooth alone with her thoughts.

"They are being ridiculous!" Jack yelled, pacing back and forth in the infirmary. Danny watched him, eyes tracking his movement around the room. "Do they honestly think that this will help?"

Danny sighed. He was normally the more patient one, but even he was starting to get antsy. He hadn't been inside for this long in years. He never thought he'd learn to love the outdoors as much as he did, but here he was. Funny how things change when you're almost a century old.

"They'll let us go eventually." Danny reasoned. "Tooth is just overreacting."

Jack snorted, clearly unconvinced. It had been almost a week since Jack's confrontation with the Tooth Fairy, and the tension at the North Pole was obvious. Jack was refusing to speak to any of the Guardians, ranting to Danny and Pitch instead. Danny hated to say it, but he was finding himself on Jack's side. He had found himself being noticeably cool toward the Guardians, and he couldn't find it in himself to feel bad about it.

"I mean, you'd think that we were children, the way that they-"

Jack cut off abruptly as the door opened. The Guardians entered the room, looking sheepish. Jack huffed, turning his back on them, sitting down on the windowsill. Danny didn't move from his perch on his bed, but he did give a pretty impressive glare.

"Jack, Danny, we wanted to apologize." North said nervously.

Danny raised an eyebrow. Jack didn't turn to look at them, but the room got a little warmer, so North took that as a good sign.

"We know that we have been acting irrationally, and-"

"No."

North blinked at Tooth in surprise. This wasn't part of the plan. The fairy twisted her hands together anxiously.

"I've been acting irrationally." She whispered. "Bunny and Sandy both wanted to let you go ages ago, but I argued against it. I was just so scared that something would happen, and I let it get the best of me."

Tooth glanced at Jack before looking back at the ground.

"I just felt so… guilty Jack. We left you alone for so long, and we still don't really know what happened to you in that time. I guess I was trying to make up for all those years you were alone. I didn't realize that what I'm doing now is hurting you just as much as what I did back then. So I'm sorry."

For a long moment, Jack didn't say anything. Tooth deflated, certain that she had forever ruined things with the winter spirit, when Jack chuckled.

"Calm down Tooth. I've never really been the type to hold a grudge."

"For which we are very grateful." North said sincerely. Jack full on laughed at that.

"You should be." he said cheerfully. "I can be pretty terrifying when I want to. Though I've got nothing on Danny's 'scary eyes.'"

"Hey!" Danny yelled, blushing slightly. "You promised you'd never mention that again!"

"But Danny," Jack said with a teasing grin. "They're so cute!"

Danny's eyes narrowed. "If you want to know how scary my eyes can get, may I remind you that I am capable of shooting lasers out of them?"

"Moving on!" North said loudly before a fight could break out. "After some consideration, we've decided that it is not within our right to keep you here. You two are free to come and go as you like."

Danny and Jack both lit up at that. Jack did a literal flip, landing on his staff. Danny snickered, floating up so he could give Jack a high five.

The Guardians watched with mixed feelings. They were glad that Danny and Jack were happy, but they knew that they would take off almost immediately. They were still worried about something happening to them.

"Let's go!" Jack yelled. He yanked the window open and took off. Danny was about to follow when he paused.

"We probably won't be back for a while." he said, almost apologetically. "Jack needs time. So just… don't freak out, okay? I'll try to send word every now and then." Then he was gone.

The Guardians just stood there for a while, staring at the open window. Danny's last words rang in their minds. Of course the boys would want to distance themselves for a while. They weren't sure what they were expecting.

"Oh quit moping."

The Guardians jumped as one, turning to see an exasperated Boogeyman in the doorway. Pitch rolled his eyes at their shocked expressions.

"Don't look at me like that." He snapped. "You did the right thing. Though the fact that I was the one to push you into it just shows how ridiculous this entire situation is."

"Aren't you worried about them?" Tooth challenged.

"No." Pitch said bluntly. "Why should I be? They can take care of themselves. And if they can't, you lot will rush in and rescue them. So why bother worrying?"

The Guardians were all slightly taken aback at that. Did Pitch just say that he… trusted them to protect the winter boys?

Pitch seemed to register what he'd said at the same time the Guardians. He shifted a little, obviously uncomfortable.

"Right. Well, seeing as Jack and Danny are no longer here, I'll just be on my way."

"Pitch wait!" North called.

Pitch paused, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"You are not what I thought you were." North said, a sense of wonder in his voice. He looked at Pitch thoughtfully before nodding decisively.

"You are always welcome at the North Pole."

Pitch's mouth fell open, and Bunny spluttered. Before any of the Guardians could say anything, Pitch scoffed.

"What makes you think I'd want to come here?" That said, he melted into the shadows, returning to his lair.

Pitch grumbled to himself as he picked up the book he had abandoned months ago when he had felt that pang of fear from Danny. He settled down to read it, but for some reason it didn't grab his attention a fully as before.

Pitch threw the book aside in frustration. What was wrong with him? He had always felt at home in his liar, but now it seemed too dark, too quiet. There was no laughter, no interesting shapes, nothing. Just cold and dark.

Pitch huffed. Fine. Maybe he would drop by every now and then. But only to rub it in the rabbit's face.

Miles away from Pitch's lair, two boys spun through the air, laughing in absolute joy. Jack looked at his friend fondly. He honestly couldn't imagine what his life would be like if he had never met Danny. He felt alive for the first time in centuries.

And far, far away, the Man on the Moon smiled. He would always be grateful to the small halfa who had brought two of his loneliest spirits into the light.

AN: Success! It's done. Whoo!

Also, if you want more Danny from me, I would suggest reading my new story, Abuse of Power. I only say that because it isn't actually listed under the Danny Phantom fandom section cause it's a four way crossover. If you like Young Justice, Gravity Falls, Danny Phantom, or Alex Rider, you will like that story. Though I should warn you, that Danny isn't like this Danny. I almost feel bad about what I'm going to do to him…

Anyway! Signing out for the last time (on this story). Bye!