Meh. I'm a start to write this now. :3 I have a good beginning in mind and don't want to forget it. :3

Thanks for the reviews! But really, DON'T KILL ME! There is more of this story than this sad chapter!

DISCLAIMER: HEY. I'm not Butch nor… uh… I don't know who made up Rise of the Guardians, but I'm not him either! Hmph. I'm no boy… (Unless that person I don't know is a girl. :D)

Phantom Spirit

Chapter 11: Freak Out

Nothing. That's all Danny felt. He didn't feel any different than before, but the battle had quieted down. He didn't move, fearing pain would course through his body if he did. He heard nothing, felt nothing, saw nothing.

'Am I dead?' he thought. 'Is this what it's like to die?'

Finally, breaking the silence, he heard a slight thump in front of him. Daring to open his eyes, he saw the NightMares and Fearlings were nothing but sand on the ground and everyone else staring at him.

No.

At his feet.

Looking down, he froze in fear, shock, and sadness at the sight in front of him.

There lay Midnight, the arrow meant for him sticking out of her side. Danny fell to his knees, picking up the fawn as if she were glass. She let out a small whine before the mist she was made of blew away in the wind along with the arrow.

Images of a young, white-haired girl melting into green goop flashed quickly in his mind.

He stared at his hands, eyes wide. Pitch took this moment to load up another arrow aimed at the teen.

Danny clenched his fists as hard as possible when he remembered who did this.

Jack had lied to him.

Pitch had taken the shot.

Had neither of them interfered, Midnight would still be with him.

The Boogeyman released the arrow, Jack only then seeing it. Before he could warn Danny, the arrow met its mark.

Surprising the others, it froze on contact with the raven-haired teen, dropping limply to the floor.

Pitch scowled and glared towards the winter spirit. Jack stared in shock at what just happened, his eyes flicking towards the man. He raised his hands in a defensive position. "Not me!"

All eyes turned back to Danny as he slowly stood up. His eyes flicked up to the Boogeyman, glaring daggers at him.

Stallion obeyed his master's unspoken command and flew up to Pitch, kicking him off his Nightmare Sand cloud. Pitch stood up angrily.

The Phantom of Halloween took one step forward, the ground freezing a path from his foot to Pitch's. The Boogeyman, now frozen to the ground, tried to transport through the shadows.

He stayed put.

His golden eyes widened and looked down. He cursed inwardly when he saw the slight green glow in the ice. Not bright enough to cause the forest to light up, but enough for no shadows to be within his reach.

The Shadow Animals, all also ticked off at the man, started to group together. Danny flicked his wrist, his eyes still on the man, glowing slightly brighter, and they started to mend with each other.

Jack and Pitch watched in shock as the misty animals started to form a totally different creature. Half a head started to rise on a long neck. The large body sprouted two bat-like wings and a long, spiked tail at the end. The creature rose up on four, clawed feet.

Star, who had been hiding in the bush watching everything with wide, sad eyes, stalked forward. Jack spun around, just now noticing the wolf pup, when he started to growl deeply and uncharacteristically. The wolf seemed to grow in size before flying up to form the other half of the head.

The misty dragon stood tall and let out loud roar, clearly showing the black fangs and forked tongue. It stepped forward and stood over its master, waiting for the command.

Danny narrowed his eyes at the older spirit, who was now frozen in place for more than one reason.

"Boo," he mocked.

The dragon roared and swiped its clawed front foot at the Boogeyman. The ice broke at the force, sending the man across the clearing. Pitch lifted his hand and the sand on the ground came to life once more, creating a fearling barrier in front of him.

The large reptile opened its mouth and thundered again, this time green flames erupting from its throat. Some of the Nightmares dissipated, but most managed to survive.

Danny flew quickly in front of the dragon, taking a deep breath and letting energy build up in his lungs.

He didn't know where he knew this from, but as he screamed, green sound waves emitted from his throat. The rest of the Nightmares screeched and disappeared, allowing access to Pitch.

Danny immediately pelted him with ectoblasts and disks. The dragon behind him, no longer needed, disbanded into the individual Shadow Animals again as their master fought Pitch in a one-sided-fight.

Star growled again, sensing the anger to two people. He turned around and dashed at the winter spirit.

"Hey!" Jack yelped as the wolf pup bit into his pants, whipping his head around. He pulled the pup off and quickly ran forward.

The Halloween spirit stood over a beaten Pitch, hands glowing green. Before he could strike again, something wrapped around his waist and pulled him back.

Jack pulled Danny back with the crook of his staff around the younger spirit's waist. "I know how much you want to kill him right now, Danny! But we can-," he heaved backward, surprised at how strong Danny was, "-not kill fear!"

Pitch took this chance to sink into the shadows, gone from the crazy spirit.

The reaper-like teen growled and turned on Jack, shooting him back.

The winter teen yelped and fell on his back. Wind quickly picked him up in time to dodge his friend's next attack.

"We better go!" Jack yelled. Wind rushed towards Danny to allow her master to pick up the Halloween spirit.

As they flew to the north, Star walked to the place Midnight had last been. Titling his head up, he let out a high pitched howl.

Shadow walked up next to him and joined with a deeper, more mature howl. The rest of the Shadow Animals joined in with their own sounds, the noise echoing throughout the forest.

Danny heard the morning sounds and stopped struggling in his friend's grasp. He bent his head down and held back the tears in his eyes.

Back at the forest, the animals bowed their heads and flew away to continue their duties. All but two.

Star curled up in the grass, Shadow next to him. The coyote let out a breath and curled up around him protectively.

[I would end it here, but it seems like a short chapter so… yah…]

X.X.X.X.X

Jack flew through the window of Santoff Clausen and into his bedroom North had given him. The room was simple. Light blue walls with white snowflakes and white furniture. The bed was blue with white pillows. He dropped Danny in the nearest chair and wrapped a hand around his stomach. Looking down, he saw a large black mark on his hoodie.

"Great, where am I going to get a new hoodie?" he joked with a small smile. The smile whipped away when he tried to walk towards the door to get North, quickly replaced with a pained expression. He took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

Immediately, he spotted the Head Yeti of the workshop. "Phil!" he called. The brown and white beast looked up from the elves he was scolding and rolled his eyes. "Phil, get North." Jack turned back to the room but paused and looked back. "And tell him to get the others!"

A little confused, Phil turned and walked away towards North's office. Jack turned back to his room and collapsed on the white and blue bed. He sighed and looked towards Danny.

The Halloween spirit still sat in his chair, knees pulled up to his chest with the hood up, covering his face. The winter spirit felt a pang of guilt. Midnight was Danny's favorite, even over Jack himself! Over the single year they had known each other, he knew Danny and Midnight were siblings by everything but blood and species.

The white-haired teen sat up, ignoring the pain in his stomach, and placed his staff on the side of the bed. He sighed again and ran a hand through his white locks.

The door slammed open a few moments afterward, Jack nearly jumping out of his skin. North walked in first, followed by Bunny.

"This betta be good, Frostbite," the Pooka stated, leaning against the wall.

"Aw! Jack!" North boomed, patting the teen on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Jack pushed his hand away and gripped his stomach. "Not really the best greeting right now."

The large man knelt down and looked at the burned hoodie. "What happened?"

"And what's with 'im?" Bunny interrupted, gesturing to Danny.

"Pitch." It was all he needed to say. "Where are the others?"

As if on cue, Tooth flew in through the door. "What's wrong?" Almost instantly, she saw the teen's burn. "Jack!"

Sandy floated through the window with a golden question mark above his head. The fairy flew towards the winter teen to inspect him.

"Pitch did this?" North asked voice low and dangerous.

"Well…" Jack looked towards his curled up friend. "Indirectly, yes. Directly it was Danny…"

"What?" Bunny walked forwards, only a few feet from the Halloween spirit. "Why would ya bring 'im 'ere then! And why is 'e cowerin'?"

Jack glared at the rabbit, but sighed. "Pitch killed Midnight, and he was pretty upset. Honestly, I kinda deserved it." He looked over to Danny, who had tensed at his words. The older teen sighed again. He didn't think Danny was actually listening…

Everyone froze in the room, Tooth bringing her hands to her mouth.

"So?" the pooka stated, still mad. "Who cares if a stupid Shadow Animal dies?"

Before anyone could scold him, a black blur had him pinned against the wall on the other side of the room. Danny glared at the gray bunny, his eyes glowing fiercely.

"Losing Midnight would be like you guys losing Jack!" he yelled into his face. "And at this point, if I didn't know better, I would do just that to show you!"

He dropped Bunny to the floor and stormed out of the room. With a glare at the pooka, Jack shakily followed, leaving Bunny to the equally mad Guardians.

"Danny, wait!" Jack called as his friend walked down the hall, phasing through anything in his way. Jack was having a hard time keeping up with him, mostly using his staff as support.

"Go away Jack!" he called over his shoulder.

"Danny, just let me-"

The Phantom of Halloween whipped around, hands glowing green and causing Jack to stop. "What is so important that you couldn't tell me?! What have you kept a secret?!" He pointed a radioactive finger at the winter teen. "It better have been important! 'Cause I would have never had even thought of joining Pitch if it weren't for this!" He relaxed a bit, his hand dropping to his side. "Midnight would still be alive…"

Jack again felt a pang of guilt, but sighed. "I was going to tell you after all this was over. But, I guess I'll just tell you now. No, show you."

He turned to a window, but winced at the pain in his stomach. Danny rushed forward to help his friend. He may be ticked off at him, but if he was finally coming clean, he'd help.

The two made it to the window and jumped into the air, Jack in the lead.

They headed to Tooth Palace.

And the part you've all been waiting for! DUN DUN DUUUUN! :P You'll just have to wait till next week. XD

PLEASE no flames about the Midnight thing! *Backs away from mob.* Things get better! Just stick with me here! I swear to you! PROMISE! Merci!

… Merci: Thanks, for those of you who don't know French. :3

... Sorry... I'm taking French class and I need to practice. :P

Follow, Favorite, vote, and Review! Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! Happy to reach 100! :D

~BloodBlossom88