This was... kind of random, lol. I was at a convention and it was severely lacking in panels, so since I had my notebook with me I decided to just start writing. After getting the first few paragraphs done, I decided that it was something I wanted to flesh out. Not into a full-out story, but into a oneshot. So, this is what happened with that. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of its characters.

Two weeks. Two whole weeks he had been trapped here, surrounded on all sides by thick, inky darkness. An unnatural glow poured down around him, giving him a sight radius of about three yards. Not that there was much to see, of course. Only the cold, unforgiving stone floor, sprinkled with a few droplets of his own blood.

He had been lucky. The only form of a beating he had received was a few days prior, when Pitch had become impatient and lost his temper. He had lashed out with his foot, sending a painful kick straight to Jack's gut, followed by a swift punch to the boy's jaw. It was the first time Jack had had to spit out his own blood, although it had also been his first time experiencing a split lip. Pitch wasn't usually a man who acted with violence, and he had quickly composed himself again, but Jack knew that the dark spirit felt some sort of pleasure from delivering physical pain upon his enemy.

His joints screamed in protest when he tried to shift his position on the cold ground. His shoulders ached and everything was sore. His wrists and ankles stung from the tight metal cuffs that had kept them glued together throughout his entire imprisonment, and his arms were begging to be lowered from their position above his head. He tugged against the short chain that kept his wrists bound to the wall behind him, but he knew it would do no good. Jack knew he wasn't getting away unless Pitch wanted to release him.

And he could tell there was no way that that would be happening anytime soon.

Why Pitch had kidnapped and imprisoned him, he only had a vague idea. The Boogeyman was obviously vengeful due to his previous defeat by the Guardians, towards the imposing Jack Frost most of all. But that had been over a year ago, and Pitch was still relatively weak. He was clearly not ready to go up against the Guardians again, and yet he had captured one of those very beings and kept him chained to a wall who knows where. Several times, Pitch had visited his prisoner, only to spit cruel words at him and pry at the very fragile relationship he shared with his fellow Guardians. Jack knew that trying to sever whatever connection he had with the Guardians was a part of whatever twisted plot that swam through Pitch's mind, but it was the only part the winter spirit had been able to figure out. There had to be more to it, or the dark spirit wouldn't have gone to so much trouble after such little time since his failure to shroud the world in darkness and fear.

Jack was strong. He knew better than to believe anything Pitch Black said to him. The constant insults and attempts to chip away at Jack's resolve were more annoying than anything. Even if it had only been a year spent as a Guardian for Jack, he knew better than to believe that his fellow Guardians wouldn't notice his absence and come looking for him. He knew better than to believe that they wouldn't find him and rescue him, all the while kicking Pitch's ass harder than ever before.

Or at least, he had known better. It had been two weeks, and there had been no sign of the Big Four. The first week, Jack had done his best to block out Pitch's words when he came to him, and try escaping his bonds when he was alone. He hadn't noticed that everything Pitch said to him was being filed away into his subconscious.

The first time he had seen North in the darkness of his prison, he had been ecstatic. Finally, he was getting out! He was getting away from Pitch! He had called out happily to the large Slav, inviting him closer and waiting for him to break away the chains and cuffs. The old spirit had moved slower than Jack would think in a situation like this, but eventually North stood in front of the spirit of winter, looking down at him. Jack smiled warmly back at him, but had then visibly cringed and shrunk back against the wall when a booming laugh erupted from the large man's throat. The young spirit's frightened blue eyes looked up at the crinkled face, which caused the Slav to heave another cruel laugh from his belly. When the man had raised an arm, Jack flinched and shut his eyes. He waited for something to happen, but when nothing did, he had hesitantly lifted his eyelids, only to once again be met with nothing but darkness. North had disappeared, and his laughter was fading away into the surrounding emptiness. Jack had sat there upon the ground, horrorstruck, for what felt like hours, until he had curled into himself and begun crying silently.

Multiple times after that, he had seen all four of the Guardians, one at a time, and each time he did his excitement piqued. But every single time, they would just walk up to him and either begin laughing in his face or repeating things he had already heard from Pitch. One time, when Tooth had appeared before him, she had reached out to touch his cheek, but her hand had simply phased through him like a ghost. A shot of pain had erupted in his chest, as the feeling of being passed through was all too familiar to him, and Tooth seemed to enjoy the fear and discomfort that burned Jack's insides.

After a couple of days, he hardly reacted whenever he saw one of the Guardians. He never allowed himself to become happy at their appearance, and he tried to ignore them as much as possible, but he always flinched whenever one of them started laughing at him.

He was sick and tired of shrinking back against the wall with silent tears slipping down his pale cheeks, the shackles rubbing painfully against his already torn skin. He was exhausted and ever since Pitch's foot had sunk into his stomach, any breath he took caused a sharp pain to shoot through him. If he had to guess, the Boogeyman must have bruised one of his ribs. Oh, what he would give to just be soaring through the skies and watching children laugh and play in his beautiful snowfall…

Somewhere beyond the darkness, Jack heard a noise that sounded like an explosion. At first, his head had lazily lifted in curiosity, but after a few moments of silence that followed, his chin fell back to rest against his chest and he passed the noise off as an illusion. A few minutes later, however, he heard extremely muffled voices. He clenched his teeth and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and get rid of the sounds he was sure were being created by his overly exhausted imagination. The thing that caused his eyes to pop open and his head to whip upwards was when a section of the darkness seemed to give way to a bright white light with a loud crash. Jack couldn't help it; some small form of hope spiked up inside him… only to be crushed a moment later.

Seeing hallucinations of the Guardians had become normal for Jack during his time as Pitch's prisoner. So, when he suddenly saw the colorful form of Toothiana appear through the doorway, he didn't feel happy or overjoyed. Rather, he suddenly felt angry.

"Jack!" the fairy cried in distress. She moved into the darkness, disappearing from Jack's sight until she reappeared under the strange glow around him. Jack pushed his bound feet against the ground, trying to escape but only ramming his back into the wall and knocking the metal chain against the top of his head.

"Get… g-get away from me!" he yelled, and the feathered woman stopped abruptly. Her bright amethyst eyes widened in shock and confusion, but Jack just continued trying to push himself away from her. How could he have let himself think that something was different? That somehow, someone had finally come to rescue him? Where had that ridiculous hopeful feeling come from? It was just another hallucination… and he had been stupid enough to believe it would be something different!

"Jack… Jack, it's me. It's Tooth!" When she moved forward, the winter spirit growled at her. She gasped, watching as the boy before her tugged helplessly at the chain restricting his movements. "Let me… let me help you!"

"I don't need your help!" Jack spat. "I don't… I don't need you! I don't want you here, can't you see that?! Just go! Go!"

Violet eyes brimmed with tears, and Toothiana hesitantly moved back a few inches. But she would never leave Jack, especially in the state he was in. She so desperately wished it hadn't taken them so long to find where Pitch was hiding him, but since it was nowhere near the underground cavern he had inhabited during their last battle, they had had to start from scratch.

"You're just like the others…" Jack muttered, shutting his eyes tightly and turning his face downwards. "You're not here to help me, no one is ever going to help me. You're ju- you're just like the others!"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Tooth whispered, slightly frightened by the way Jack was acting. "Jack, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Dammit! You're just another hallucination! Imaginary, that's all! Just another stupid image created by my mind to torment me! I get enough of that from Pitch, so just leave me alone!"

Tooth gasped again and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. He had been… hallucinating here? Pitch had drove his mind to hallucination? But why couldn't he tell that she was real? How could he not see that she was really there with him, hear that the others were fighting with Pitch just outside? Was he too far gone? Had Pitch… had Pitch taken Jack away from them in such a short amount of time?

But Jack was stronger than that! Tooth knew the white-haired boy before her was able to fend off Pitch and his hurtful words from what he had told her of his private encounters with the Boogeyman before.

He was just scared, she told herself. She had to break through that wall of fear that Pitch had been able to build inside the winter spirit. She had to get the Jack Frost she knew and loved back.

She slowly moved forward while murmuring, "Jack, you're scared. I want to help you. I'm not a-"

"LIAR!" Jack screamed, pulling harshly against the chain and crying out in pain as another chunk of his skin was ripped away by the metal cuff around his wrist. Tooth flinched at his cry, and felt her stomach clench when a very contrasting dribble of red against his pale skin leaked out from under the metal and began staining the sleeve of Jack's blue hoodie.

"Please, Jack, it's really me! You're hurt and you're scared and I understand that Pitch must have done something to make you hallucinate but all that's over! I'm here, I'm here, and I'm going to help you!"

"No! I don't want your help! I want you to leave me alone! No, get away from me!"

Tooth continued floating closer and closer to him until she was about a foot away. She slowly lowered herself to her feet, and then down onto her knees, resting her wings against her back as she kneeled before the winter spirit. His electric blue eyes were furious and brimmed with unshed tears as he glared into her bright pink irises. As he did, however, he felt something shift inside him. Staring into her eyes, he could tell: something was different. This Tooth looked at him kindly and worriedly, like a friend would. Or maybe even something more. He could see her own tears threatening to spill over, and now that she was close he noticed a red scratch across her cheek that none of the previous Tooth hallucinations had had. And now that he thought about it, none of those hallucinations had ever touched the ground. They had all kept flittering their fairy wings and hovering above him, snickering when they noticed how badly he wished he could fly with them. This Tooth leveled her face with his, and not even a hint of a smirk was on her lips. Jack's intense glare softened a bit as he continued studying her. Was this… could this really be…

His defenses were immediately back up when she began lifting her arm towards him. He gritted his teeth and leaned as far away as he could, but there wasn't much space for him to use. He protested as her hand moved closer and closer to his face, and she hesitated slightly when he growled at her again. But with a small bite of her lip, she slowly touched her palm to his skin, cupping his cold cheek tenderly. Jack squeezed his eyes shut, prepared to feel nothing as her hand passed through him, but when he felt her warm hand against his freezing cold skin, he jumped slightly. His eyes sprung open and he looked down her feathery arm and into her amethyst eyes once again. She looked back at him, her stare both intense and friendly. Jack was flabbergasted as he stared into those bright pink orbs.

After a short moment of silence between them, Tooth offered him a small reassuring smile. "See, Jack?" she murmured softly, moving her other hand up to cup his other cheek and brush away a stray tear that had escaped. "It's me. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help you." She pushed his snowy white bangs out of his eyes. "I promise."

Suddenly, the fight noises coming from just outside became more real to him. The whole situation became less frightening and more hopeful. A small, choked laugh broke through his lips, and Tooth nearly cried to see that magnificent smile back on his face. His dazzling white teeth nearly blinded her.

"Tooth…" he whispered. "…is it… is it really you?"

"Yes, Jack, yes, it's me! I'm going to get you out of here."

But when she moved her hands up towards the metal cuffs around his wrists, the eerie glow around them expanded, chasing away the darkness and revealing a relatively large cavern. It was completely empty save for them and carved out of the rock walls around them.

"Now, now, I can't allow that, Toothiana," a velvety voice said from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Tooth immediately spun around, standing in front of Jack protectively as her eyes darted around the empty room. The violet orbs rested on one of the far corners when the shadows that still resided there began to stretch. From thin air, it seemed, came a frightening man draped in a long black robe, his bright golden eyes contrasting with his gray skin and jet black hair. He smiled at the Tooth Fairy from across the space. "You'll ruin my fun if you take him away."

"You're going to regret what you did to him," Toothiana growled, her small hands balling into fists as her wings fluttered to life and lifted her a few feet into the air.

"How do you suppose?" Pitch asked, taking a few confident steps forward.

"Have you forgotten? The other Guardians are here with me! We'll-" She cut herself off, realization dawning on her. If Pitch was here with them, where were the others? The silence that surrounded them suddenly became deafening as she realized that the noises of battle had ceased.

Pitch smirked at the expression on her face. "I may not be at my strongest, Toothiana, but I still have some of my powers." He casually folded his hands behind his back as one of his familiar Nightmares appeared in the doorway. "And I'm certainly not alone here."

"What have you done to them?!" Toothiana ordered, her feathers ruffling. Pitch waved a hand nonchalantly before replacing it behind his back.

"They're just spending some quality time with my fearlings," he responded, chuckling lightly at his own joke. Tooth's eyebrows knitted together and her teeth clenched in anger. Without another word, she suddenly bolted forward and reeled back her arm. Pitch threw his own hand out in front of himself and caught Tooth's tiny fist. When her eyes widened and she drew back her second arm, Pitch merely caught her second attempt at a punch as well. He held her in his tight grasp and even forced her down a few inches so that she was no longer above him.

"Tooth!" Jack yelled, pulling once again at the chain that kept him confined to the wall. Pitch glanced over Tooth's feathered crown to give Jack a once-over, then turned his attention back to the fairy in his grip.

"Look at the distress you're causing him," he murmured, fake concern lacing his tone. "We were having so much fun until you showed up." With one swift movement, Pitch twisted to the side and threw Tooth harshly against the wall of the cavern. She grunted at the impact, but recovered quickly. She was shooting through the air towards Pitch again within a few seconds, but the dark spirit side-stepped her and threw his leg up to kick her in the side, sending her out of the air and sliding a few feet across the floor. When she pushed herself up onto her knees with heavy breathing and looked back at Pitch, his hands were behind his back again and he looked extremely calm. She heard Jack say her name again accompanied by the clinking of the chain, but she didn't turn to look at him before getting up and going towards the Boogeyman a third time. This time, when she approached him and swung her fist, Pitch ducked underneath her arm and then threw out his own, catching her neck and wrapping his long gray fingers around her tiny throat. Tooth's breath rushed from her lungs and her pupils contracted.

"No!" Jack cried, thrashing against his bonds from the other side of the cavern. "No, Pitch, let her go!"

Pitch leaned in dangerously close to Toothiana's face, his rotten breath washing over her features. "Honestly, is this all you have to offer?" he whispered almost seductively. "I really wish y-"

"Let her go, Pitch!" Jack shouted again. "I won't let you-"

"Shut up, you insolent brat!" Pitch seethed. He threw his unoccupied hand out towards the teenage boy and a small strand of black sand slithered through the air until wrapping and solidifying around Jack's mouth, muffling his sounds.

"Jack!" Tooth squeaked, but Pitch silenced her with a squeeze around her throat.

"You will not ruin what I have already started," the frightening spirit hissed as her hands moved up to grasp at his arm. Air was becoming increasingly difficult for her to get into her lungs. "Jack Frost is mine now, and I intend to make sure he knows that." He then turned and heaved Toothiana across the room by her throat, his lips twitching in pleasure as she crashed so hard into the wall that cracks were left behind in the stone after she fell to the floor in a colorful heap. Not paying her any mind, he moved towards the frantic Jack, who was trying to scream past his gag and rip his restraining chain out of the wall. Leaning down in front of the teenager, Pitch stilled his movements by wrapping his bony fingers around Jack's throat and pushing him back against the wall. He leaned in close to his face, his golden eyes boring into Jack's wide blue ones.

"Now Jack," he began slowly, his sharp teeth showing in a smile, "it's time to wake up."

Jack's eyes widened as he attempted to breathe past both Pitch's constricting hand and the gag around his mouth. He stared into Pitch's eyes, and the Boogeyman drank in the fear pouring from the boy. Jack was confused; what did Pitch mean it was time to wake up? Was he… was he dreaming? Had this whole thing been just a dream? Just another imaginary scenario his brain decided to cook up to torment him with? But it all seemed so real! No… no, Tooth was there. Tooth was there! She was going to help him escape! She… she had to be…

A few involuntary tears slid down Jack's cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut, and Pitch smiled in satisfaction. Just when he was about to knock Jack unconscious, something rammed into his side and knocked him away from the boy. Jack's eyes opened again when he felt his throat be released and he saw Toothiana, panting and leaning down on her hands and knees in front of him. He attempted to say her name, but it came out as just another muffle. Tooth turned her head to look at him and quickly moved to cup his face in her hands.

"Jack, don't listen to him," she told him breathlessly. "This is real. I am here! And I won't be leaving without you!"

"You won't be leaving at all, you stupid bird!"

The next thing Toothiana knew, she was on the ground a few yards away from Jack and Pitch's foot was pressing down unforgivingly hard against her chest. He glared down at her as she coughed roughly, and a sleek black scythe appeared in his hand. Jack's eyes widened and he screamed again. Suddenly, he wanted all of this to be a dream. He wanted Tooth to be safe and sound with the other Guardians. He didn't care if his imprisonment was real or not… he just wanted Tooth to be safe…

He closed his eyes and banged his head against the wall a couple times. Wake up! Wake up! he yelled in his head. His eyes stung as tears continued falling, but when he opened them again, Pitch had the scythe raised and Tooth was staring up at it wide-eyed. Another muffled scream ripped from Jack's throat.

Right as Pitch began swinging the scythe downwards, a bright golden whip shot through the air and wrapped around the weapon, pulling it in a backwards arch and twisting Pitch's body around to face the opposite side of the cavern. Jack's head turned and his eyes landed on the small golden form of the Sandman, who stood a few feet inside the busted doorway. When the Nightmare that had joined Pitch earlier reared and approached Sandy, a wooden boomerang suddenly soared through the air and made direct contact with the dark horse, shattering its sandy form. The weapon returned immediately to the large Pooka standing within the bright white light.

"Get away from her, ya ratbag," Bunnymund spat at Pitch, stepping into the cavern with both of his boomerangs in his paws.

Jack suddenly felt dizzy. Everything was happening at such a fast pace, he almost couldn't keep up. Tooth had said this all was real… so why was he having such a difficult time believing her? Maybe because he had never seen more than one of the Guardians at a time, and now he was seeing three, along with Pitch himself! But shouldn't that be an immediate sign that all of this was in fact a reality? That he was finally getting rescued by his friends? But Pitch had said… and then Tooth had said…

The winter spirit shook his head in frustration, his mind so jumbled and confused that he couldn't think straight. He tugged again at the chain above his head but it of course didn't give way. He whimpered behind his gag as the metal rubbed painfully against his skin, and a thought immediately registered in his mind. He could feel pain. He could feel the pinching and biting of the metal around his wrists and ankles, the aching in his arms and shoulders from having been forced upwards for so long, the itching of the black sand on his cheeks and lips. He had to be awake… this had to be real…

Sandy retracted his dream sand whip as North charged into the room, his swords out and ready. The burly man ran at Pitch, lifting his swords and bringing them down, only to be blocked by a wall of Pitch's nightmare sand. As Sandy and Bunny began holding off the group of fearlings that had begun entering the cavern, Tooth crawled away from the fight and back over to where Jack stayed kneeled on the floor. Pleading blue eyes met amethyst, and a silent moment of longing was shared before Tooth reached up to try grasping the solidified black sand around Jack's mouth. She couldn't get a hold of it, however, and heaved out a puff of air in aggravation.

"We're going to get you out of here, Jack," she said quietly, still slightly out of breath. Jack looked into her eyes again, willing himself to believe her words. She held his pale face in her shaking hands, and as her thumb absently rubbed against the black sand, her eyes suddenly widened. She turned her head back to the battle at hand. "Sandy!" she shouted. The chubby man looked over at her after taking out another fearling, and immediately noticed where her hands were situated. Through some form of silent communication, Sandy understood Tooth's intentions. As he began moving towards the two Guardians, however, he was approached by another group of Nightmares. Tooth gasped and, after a glance at Jack, she got to her feet and moved as quickly as she could over to where the little spirit fought. She was still weak, but she could at least hold the monsters off.

"Sandy, go!" she shouted as she took out one of the fearlings. "Go help Jack!" When the path was clear, Sandy moved past the fairy and group of Nightmares over to where Jack was pulling helplessly against his chain. Sandy stilled him with a silent expression with his hands, and then with one touch, the black sand wrapped around Jack's mouth turned golden and swirled up into the air, freeing the winter spirit's lips. Jack gasped and gulped in a lungful of air before looking up into the Sandman's kind eyes.

Before he could say anything, however, Bunny cried out, "Where are all these bloody things comin' from?!" as another throng of Nightmares stampeded into the cavern. Tooth yelped as she was overcome and shoved to the floor, and Sandy had to move to help her before she could be crushed by a dark beast's hooves. The fairy backed up, pushing herself across the ground, but ended up bumping into something from behind. When she looked up to see what it was, her pupils shrunk and she gasped.

North was across the room, attempting to push himself back onto his feet, while Pitch stood before the now cowering Tooth Fairy, slightly winded but mostly furious. He glared down at the feathered woman at his feet and didn't hesitate to lean down and pick her up by her throat.

"Tooth!" Jack cried, his voice cracking. He jerked against the chain, his eyes darting between the three other Guardians. North had managed to get back to his feet but was now surrounded by fearlings, and Bunny and Sandy were still fighting the creatures off as well. None of them could make it to Toothiana, who squirmed in Pitch's tight grip.

When the black sword materialized in Pitch's unoccupied hand, Jack's eyes widened instantly. The Boogeyman drew the blade back, ready to thrust it forward into Toothiana's stomach.

"NO!" Jack screamed, and a sudden pulse radiated through the air. It shook the ground and caused Pitch to falter in his attack. In fact, the Guardians and fearlings all stopped their fighting as the entire cavern shuddered. A bright blue and white light erupted from Jack's general area, and a thick layer of frost shot out across the ground. Within the light, ice crept all around the metal cuffs and chain keeping Jack prisoner and caused it all to shatter, freeing the winter spirit from his bonds. The second he was free, he threw both of his arms out in Pitch's direction and a blast of ice rocketed through the air, ramming into the man and sending him flying backwards. Tooth was released from his grip and fell to the floor, gasping and throwing her hand to her throat, as Pitch was slammed into the wall. Whenever the rapidly spreading frost came into contact with the fearlings, it froze the creature in place and branched up its legs and around its body until the whole thing was covered. It then managed to constrict the horse's form and shatter it completely.

The four Guardians were amazed as the Nightmares all began freezing and bursting, but their gazes all turned to Jack as he began hovering across the cavern towards where Pitch was frozen to the wall. Toothiana looked up at the enraged expression on Jack's face and suddenly felt very small as her hand continued to grip her throat.

"I wish I could kill you, Pitch Black," Jack hissed as he approached the man. "But I'm not that heartless."

Pitch let out a deep chuckle. "Oh how heroic of you," he taunted darkly. "Is this how you act in all your dreams?" Jack's eyes widened slightly at the man's words and his stomach clenched, but he quickly composed himself and bit out a snarl.

"Shut up!" he screamed in Pitch's face. "I know this isn't a dream! I know this is all real! You were wrong, Pitch! My friends did come for me, they did fight for me! You were wrong!" Pitch's smirk quickly melted into a scowl at the words coming from Jack's mouth. "They do care about me, they do want me safe… they do love me." Jack turned his head towards Toothiana and his expression softened for a split second before returning his hard gaze back to Pitch. "You've lost, Pitch," he growled. "I am not a toy to be played with, and you cannot control my emotions! You were wrong!"

There was silence as Jack's words echoed around the cavern. Pitch looked thoroughly unimpressed, but his lip twitched with annoyance. A moment passed where he and Jack simply stared into each other's eyes, hatred burning between them like fire. Finally, Pitch straightened his neck, still glaring at Jack.

"So be it," he said evenly, though the anger in his voice was clear. Slowly, he melted into the shadows strewn about the wall, escaping Jack's crackling ice. The boy's eyes widened and he quickly turned to survey the whole room. Pitch was nowhere to be seen, and any Nightmares that hadn't been destroyed had vanished as well. From somewhere the Guardians couldn't see, Pitch's voice spoke, "But be warned, Jack Frost. You never know when something may be real… and when something may be imaginary." With one last dark chuckle that reverberated off the walls, Pitch's voice disappeared, and the Guardians were left alone in the cavern.

Jack's strength suddenly faded and he lowered to the ground. When his feet touched the stone, his legs buckled and he fell down onto his hands and knees. Despite the pain she felt, Tooth was the first to make it to his side and her hands were on his shoulders immediately.

"Jack, Jack, are you all right?" she asked, kneeling down in front of him.

"I'm… fine," he replied breathlessly. He pushed himself back into a kneeling position and lifted his hands to run them both through his hair. The three male Guardians approached them then, and Jack noticed a familiar wooden staff in Bunny's grip.

"We found this in another part of Pitch's cave," the Pooka said, holding it out to the frost spirit. Jack took it gratefully, and swirling patterns of frost branched out across the wood at his touch. A faint smile touched his lips.

"Thanks," he responded.

"We are sorry it took so long to come," North huffed in his thick Russian accent, finally sliding his twin swords back into their sheaths. "Was very difficult to track Pitch to this place."

Jack shook his head. "I understand. I'm just… glad you came at all." He turned to face Tooth and they looked into each other's eyes. "A part of me… was worried."

"We'd never abandon ya, Frostbite," Bunny said, crossing his furry arms. "No matter how troublesome ya may be." Jack smirked at that. The expression fell, however, when he noticed the red spots on either side of Tooth's neck where some of her feathers had been ripped out by Pitch's tight grip. He moved forward and touched her throat softly, examining the irritated areas.

"Are you okay, Tooth?" he asked. "How… how badly did he hurt you?" Tooth reached her own hand up to grasp his cold one, moving it away from her feathers.

"I'm fine, Jack," she replied with a small smile. She lifted his hand, however, and pushed the sleeve of his hoodie up his arm, exposing the ripped and raw skin around his wrist. They all cringed simultaneously. "It's us who should be worrying over you," Tooth stated as a drop of blood trickled down Jack's arm.

North, Bunny, and Sandy all decided to take one more trip around the entire cave to make sure Pitch was really gone, and left Tooth with Jack. When she pulled his other arm up to observe his other wrist and glanced at the dark circles under his eyes, her eyes suddenly welled up.

"Tooth, what's-"

"I'm so sorry, Jack," she choked out. Jack blinked. "This is our fault, all of it. It was only your first year as a Guardian, we should have kept better watch over you, we should have kept you safe."

"Tooth, please, it's not-"

"But it is! And all the awful things Pitch must have said to you, to make you start hallucinating and confusing imagination for reality, I just… I can't imagine how horrible it must have been for you!" Her head fell into her hands and her shoulders shook with tears.

"Tooth…" Jack carefully moved the fairy's hands away from her face, tucked his finger under her chin, and lifted her head until her teary violet eyes met his blue ones. "Tooth, it is not your fault. Sure, it was painful and excruciatingly confusing, but I don't blame you for any of it. Or any of the others." Tooth sniffled, but didn't say anything. Jack's eyebrows scrunched together suddenly, and he looked down as his hand fell away from her chin. "I… I'm sorry for how I yelled at you," he said quietly, obviously ashamed of himself. "I didn't… I couldn't tell you were… my mind was so…" This time, Tooth lifted his chin with her finger.

"I don't blame you," she whispered. The smallest of smiles touched Jack's lips.

And before he knew what he was doing, his hand lifted, cupped her cheek, and he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Tooth's face erupted in warmth, but she didn't push him away. Instead, she closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss.

Passionate would not be the word to describe it. The kiss was sad and full of longing. Jack knew that his feelings for Toothiana had grown in the year he had been in a Guardian, and the hallucinations of her had always been the worst for him. He had almost felt his heart tearing in two when she had first entered his empty prison and he had screamed in her face. Nothing had been more painful.

But now he was sure. She was real, not imaginary. She had come for him, just like a part of him had always hoped she would. As his lips moved against hers, he felt a shiver run up his spine. Not of pleasure, but of hope. She would always come for him. She would never laugh in his face and leave him for dead. The way her mouth connected with his proved that. Pitch had been wrong, and he would always be wrong. Jack Frost was not alone… and he never would be again.

That was over 6,000 words, guys. I'm kind of impressed with myself. XD;;

Originally, I wasn't going to have Jack and Tooth kiss, but as I kept writing and getting closer to the end, I decided that a kiss would fit fine with the story. Not a passionate, romantic kiss. They're not making out or anything. It's a bit hesitant, because although he's come to terms with the fact that yes, everything that happened is real, it's as if Jack is waiting for Tooth to just fade away into nonexistence like all the other hallucinations. The kiss was the final thing he really needed to make sure she was really there with him, like he was longing for her to be.

There probably won't be anything else written connecting with this, but if enough people read it and like it, I may write some sort of sequel. No plans at the moment, though.

I hope you liked it, though! I know it's long, but I wanted to make sure everything that I wanted to be in there got in there. Thanks for reading!

~ Tay