Rise of the Guardians: The Forgotten Guardian

Explaining

CLICK.

When Jack had faced Pitch and lost, his staff broken, he had been afraid. When he'd recovered his memories from Tooth's collection, he'd been afraid.

But even armed with both of these didn't stop the tension in his chest.

CLACK.

Bunnymund's sensitive nose was twitching in a distracting way. If Jack hadn't be frozen, he'd reach over and smack it to stop.

CLICK.

The hoofsteps had stopped. There was a flash.

Jack sucked in a breath. 

What.

Was.

That.

Taller than him, taller than North was a hulking, hirsute monster of a Guardian. The sketch hadn't done him justice, hadn't shown how much room he seemed to fill or how well that creepy hood obscured his face.

Jack began to take in what he hadn't seen at Scout's place. The curled horns, like a ram, that rose a full three inches from the hooded dome and curled around pointed ears not unlike a crown.

The broad shoulders, which Jack originally thought was part of the cloak, was actually covered in long, brown fur. The legs were no exception. 

The hands were surprisingly bald, with pink leathery skin that ended in yellowed claws. They were holding something. Was it a whip?

And then there were the eyes. Green from the center to the edge, with the exception of black, slitted pupils.

Someone screamed. Jack realized that it was Bunnymund, and it was a war cry. 

A quick flick of both wrists, and the boomerangs that Bunny had been holding went flying.

Krampus didn't have the time nor the space to duck. Instead, he shifted his weight so one of the weapons flew straight by. The other rammed into his shoulder.

He grunted, which sounded like a cross between a lion's snarl and a goat's bleat.

The barest movement and the whip extended to encircle Bunny's unguarded ankle. With a tug and a yelp, he was on his back and dragged across the marble.

Jack raised his staff summoning a gust of wind that directed the other boomerang back towards them.

The weapon veered and headed straight for Krampus's hooded head.

But at the last second, another gale blew the weapon off course and back towards Jack.

"Woah!" He froze the boomerang before it made contact, inches away.

"Krampus!"

Everyone stopped and turned to North.

North had his arms crossed and a pointed look, which consisted of a raised, snowy eyebrow and steely blue eyes.

"Is that any way to treat fellow Guardian?"

Jack wasn't sure if the Russian was being serious. He looked back at Krampus, still keeping his distance.

The hooded head raised to focus solely on North before sparing a glance at Bunnymund who was still tangled in the whip and flattening himself against the floor. 

A small intake of breath. And then:

"This is what you call Guardian, Nicholas?"

Although to Jack, it sounded like "Zis is vhat you kall Guardian, Nikolas?" Krampus had a strong, German accent.

Krampus bent down, hovering directly over Bunnymund, dwarfing him.

"Looks more like rabbit stew to me."

A long, forked tongue whipped out of the hood and tasted the air centimeters from Bunnymund's face. The large anthromorphic bunny trembled so badly that Jack almost felt sorry for him.

"Please. Let him up." North's tone brooked no argument.   

Krampus hesitated, before untying Bunnymund and moving away. He did not offer him a hand, though.

"Yeah...yeah you better run." Bunny mumbled, halfhearted, getting to his feet.

Jack flew down next to him.

"Here's your thing, kangaroo." He offered him the frozen boomerang with a smile, hoping the tease would rekindle Bunny's fiery temper.

"Sorry it's a bit cold."

Bunny took the boomerang but offered no comment, keeping one eye on Krampus's retreating back.

"Krampus! Old friend..."

North was stopped when faced with Krampus's green, angry eyes.

"Why have you sent Yetis after me? Why not you hunt for the boogeyman?"

"Krampus! We do not accuse you of anything. Right, Guardians?"

Sandy gave a thumbs up. Tooth tried to smile but kept shooting worried glances at Bunny. Jack merely crossed his arms.

"Besides, Pitch is...old news. We can't give him too much credit now, can we?" North shrugged and reached for a plate of cookies.

"Ja. We can." Krampus took one look at the ruined icing and turned his stare on the elves, who quickly made themselves scarce.

"Excuse me, mister, uh, Krampus?" Tooth buzzed closer.

"What about the storms? And the dark energy?"

"Ah. That would be me." 

He took a cookie and promptly bit the head off. 

"Why? And why would you ask us to go after Pitch?" Tooth pressed, growing bolder.

"I summon storms to find him. Unlike Frost brat, I have control over both ice and dark." Krampus finished the cookie and licked the crumbs away with another forked tongued swipe.

Jack bristled. "What now?"

"You should look for Pitch," Krampus continued. "Because Pitch is back. And more dangerous than before."

The Guardians turned to look at each other. Krampus turned his attention to the fruitcake.

"How do you know this?" Bunny asked.

"I sensed old power rising. Pitch has tapped into something that renews his strength. He will seek revenge."

"What? What has he found?" Jack demanded.

Krampus turned. "He has found my mother's moonstone. The Goddess of the Underworld's power is now under Pitch Black's command."