A/N: I just realised I forgot to do a disclaimer, so here it goes

Disclaimer: I own Reshma (damn right!) and any other OCs. I don't own Rise of the Guardians (this is how sad my life is)

Cue the villain!

Prior to the Northern Lights, Jack Frost had been casually flying, bringing cold in the Southern Hemisphere and keeping an eye out for Reshma. He hates it during the weird transition months when it is either spring or autumn somewhere in the world. At least when it is summer somewhere it is winter somewhere else. As a general rule he has to stick close to the Poles during early autumn and late spring. But because of the Muse guess the Southern Hemisphere was getting a cold snap.

Skirting the Antarctic, Jack was perched on a snow-covered mountain surveying the landscape. Unless Reshma decides to show herself, Jack thought, only Sandy will be able to find her. The Wind certainly was unable to find her scent. Tired from travelling halfway across the world twice in a matter of hours Jack allowed himself a short break. That was, until he saw a figure trekking up the mountain dressed only in rags. Jack slowed his flight and drew closer to the mystery. Just a man? Or spirit? Or plain old crazy?

He neared the figure, foolishly some might say but Jack is the do-first-and-flee-laughing-later type. Definitely male. Definitely freaky. With an abrupt neck twist that would break an ordinary person's neck, he faced Jack.

"Jack," he raspd. "Jack Frost." The skin on his face rippled like it could not decide what to be. Yet it was not as disturbing as his eyes. All that lurked within them was pure, untamed madness. "Messenger boy," the mad man murmured, lurching towards Jack. "Bare feet. So easy to get in with those cracks in the ice. Wasn't it, water? WASN'T IT?!" he roared, clawing at himself as though he wanted whatever his skin held to in escape. Immediately Jack retreated on the fastest wind. Somehow his words carried. "I'll infect them through notches and windows!" he screeched. "Mine! Like you! Like HER!"

Four jagged, broken stained-glass wings flapped from his back, lightening of their beat shredding the air. But he did not follow Jack into the sky. It was a taunt. I could but I won't. Messenger boy. Finally Jack got far away enough to feel safe. Something about his gaze pierced Jack, bullets. He needed to put as much space between him and the psycho as possible. In his haste he did not notice the Northern Lights dancing above him.

Damn, North.

Jack rocketed to the Pole. He arrives exhausted and frantic. "Guys, we have a problem," he declares. Then he explains.

As he does Reshma grows incredibly still. When he reaches the part about the mysterious crazy she starts trembling. Jack's story ends with his arrival at the Workshop but Reshma's panic does not. She covers her eyes with her hands and hunches over, expression pained. Could the Guardians have seen into her mind they would have been horrified.

Sand images flash over Sandy's head desperately and Jack frets; "What did I do? I'm sorry!"

Reshma straightens suddenly, face unreadable. "It's Virhorann. He's back," she states. "We're vulnerable." As the most observant of the Guardians Sandy is the only one that sees the look in her eyes as she says this. Agony.

"You know him?" Tooth flutters anxiously, her mini Fairies huddling around her.

"Yes. Just as you cannot have belief without disbelief, courage without fear, you cannot have imagination," Reshma indicates herself, "without insanity. This is what Virhorann embodies. As I embody imagination, Sanderson embodies dreams, E. Aster embodies hope and so on and so forth."

The tidal wave of sand images flooding over Sandy is met with Reshma opening the abandoned 'The Book of All True Myths, Legends and Spirits Volume II' and flipping to an earlier page. Depicted there is a man, if you could call him that, in tattered rags as Jack described; a chilling grin on his face with something red dripping from his mouth.

'Name unknown, most commonly called Insanity

Created during the Golden Age

Said to be insanity personified. A dark entity known to destroy minds. Speculated he is the source of most mental disorders. Not much else is known about Insanity.'

"Zis is big, bad danger Manny is worrying about? Only crazy man! No troubles!" North booms, pleased with the description.

Sandy shakes his head and a golden Nightmare appears above it, followed by a sand Pitch. "Sandy's right," Tooth chirps. "What if Insanity is like Pitch?"

"Yeah North. That Insanity guy doesn't sound dangerous but in person it's clear he's a threat," Jack agrees.

"Some could argue he is worse than Pitch Black," Reshma adds. The Guardians, save Sandy, look dubious.

"Worse than Pitch? Pitch ended the Golden Age! Destroyed entire civilisations! Never heard of this joker 'til today," Bunny snarls.

Reshma does not waver. "Virhorann does not rely on believers as Pitch does. The mind is fragile and he can break it unlike even Pitch can. Fear is a powerful thing but it can be overcome. Insanity is a cancer in the brain that, if left unchecked, grows and grows until it consumes a person. He will invade us from the inside. It will be almost impossible to stop him. Children, adults, spirits will go mad, destroying the world. Don't underestimate him because his power is beyond your imaginings. Which is why you need me."

"So, will you become Guardian?" North asks. "It is as you say, we need you. Ze children and ze world need you."

"I will help you," Reshma complies, "but I will not become a Guardian. There is a reason I can comprehend Insanity. It is the reason I am not a Guardian. However, it is the reason I can help. You'll thank me later."

There is no time to argue. The Guardians have a job to do.

"Jack, do you know what Insanity wants?" North asks. Jack mulls over the question.

"He called me 'messenger boy' and said something about it being easy to get in through the cracks in the ice. He could be referring to driving me crazy," Jack contemplates. "Other than that I've got nothing. You guys?" he gazes expectantly at Reshma.

"In basic terms, he is going to target us. The Guardians are the biggest obstacle to his plans as the largest gathering of power determined to stop him and he is intimately familiarly with me." A small, dry smile curves Reshma's lips. "Ours is a mutual hatred. If he succeeds in 'neutralising' us he will proceed to infect everyone with insanity until there is no reality left."

"Why?" Tooth frets. "It can't simply be he's insane, can it?"

Reshma says with grim authority; "You do not want to know."

"But-"

"No. We stop him and that's that." Tooth still looks curious for answers but gives up getting them from Reshma.

"Bout that, exactly how do we stop 'im?" Bunny interjects. "Ya said it is nearly impossible to fight him. Then how are we s'posed to?"

"It is not like battling Nightmares," Reshma explains. "Insanity will not engage in full-frontal attack. That leaves us with two options: wait for him to begin invading our minds or find him and speed up the process. Either way it will be a mental fight."

Bunny smirks; "Well, I never was a patient Pooka." The other Guardians glance at each other. The consensus is obvious.

"Show us where to find him," North requests. With bleak resignation, Reshma nods.