Chugging down a tall glass of milk the creature looked at Santa through the corner of his eye.
"NO! YOU ARE DOING IT ALL VRONG! DIP ZEH COOKIES IN ZEH MILK OR DRINK IT AFTER COOKIES!"
Krampus slid his long black tongue around Santa's cookies, indiscriminately gobbling them down with Santa helplessly watching.
"AT LEAST SAVOR ZEM' YOU MONSTER!"
The disgusting creature barked out a throaty laugh because Santa's face was so red and he looked like he was going to explode at any second.
"You have ruined Christmas, vasn't zat enough for you? How long do you play to keep me locked avay?"
"Your little fffriendss ssemmed to ssave it at the lasst moment. But that isss why I shall rip them apart as you watch from your little bubble. Ssoon my fake moon will be complete with their blood, then I can dessend to earth and gather all of the children one by one I ssshall eat them and gain more power" he hissed with delight
A relieved smile spread on his face at hearing how his friends managed to save Christmas, but only for a moment as the realization of the situation hit him.
"Fake moon?... So...Zat is vhy..."
"Yessss you old fffoool."
"I shouldn't have doubted you..." Santa apologised to his belly, giving it a warm rub. He had been so busy working he ignored his number one rule, his belly was ALWAYS right.
Precariously, Jack balanced on the very top of the Tooth palace, the view was simply amazing and it was the distraction he desperately needed to get his mind off the new member in their group. That sly bastard always managed to know just how to piss him off.
The now awake Tooth joined him, blushing as she propelled in a circle around him examining him from every angle.
"Hey Tooth, you look recharged."
"I am, and I have something for you.."
A tiny golden bottle was put into his hand lovingly, it was a healing potion the fairies used whenever they'd get hurt on dangerous missions, but they had a short supply as of lately because the spell to create the potion required moonlight.
"Tooth.. I can't.."
Shaking her head, she insisted and curled his fingers around it.
"Please, take this Jack.. It would mean the world to me if you kept it."
Jack smiled half-heartedly, accepting the bottle and sliding it in his pocket.
"Thank you.."
A soft kiss was placed on his lips making Jack's eyes soften. There was no way in the world he would ever hurt Tooth, he was so lucky to have her.
"Very cute." Pitch chimed in a mocking voice, making Jack's eyes narrow at him darkly. The amused purr that the gravity-defying boogyman made slowly walking up the structure made the fairy want to kick him in the face.
Tooth had been informed of the temporary alliance as soon as she awoke, but was irritated by his presence none the less.
"We need to train in order to have a chance at defeating Krampus." Black added, changing the topic.
"How?" Jack asked, scowling.
Pitch pointed at himself as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, in turn getting an annoyed eye roll from the rebellious teen.
"I know a few of his weak points and I know a neat little trick I can use to give you all a better idea of what you are up against. Only a fool would blindly rush into battle against an unknown adversary." That comment was so obviously directed at Jack.
The big rabbit was getting a nice scratch behind the ear from the chubby little man, making his oversized foot stomp wildly.
"Enough of that." the the Boogyman interrupted, sliding into the room with Tooth and Jack following close behind.
Bunny agitatedly flickered his ears when his scratch was cut short.
"Now, lets have a little fun"
He twirled a ball of black dust between his lengthy fingers.
The ball of darkness exploded, creating a black fog in the open room. Once it dispersed, everyone gasped in horror as a shadow version of Krampus appeared.
"Behold, Krampus in all his glory, yadda yadda. Of course, this one doesn't stink like the real one does, and it is not as powerful as the real one, but, it'll have to do for now"
Pitch hummed, trying to think of where to start. "Well, who wants to volunteer to fight?"
"I'll have at him" Bunny confidently boasted with his favorite boomerang in his paw.
The shadow Krampus became animated as the other rushed to him, giving a big Cheshire smirk and digging his hooves into the floor.
Pitch shook his head and clucked his tongue at the foolish move that ended up with a slash across the rabbit's chest. Krampus was fast, and once he got you in his line of vision, you had no chance no matter how fast you think you are.
"Bloody abomination" Bunny shouted throwing his boomerang and a few colorful exploding eggs at the beast. Every one of his valiant efforts failed to even make a scratch.
"First rule, never let him see you, you must find his blind spot. If you do get in his line of sight, it's almost impossible to land a hit. Behind his knees is a weak point, I once saw a frightened child bite him there, his screams were so priceless."
"WELL YAH COULDA SAID THAT BEFORE." The angry Rabbit yelled clutching the wound across his chest, annoyed at the MereKing's chuckles.
"I had way too much fun watching you struggle. I honestly didn't want to spoil it, but I need you in one piece to fight the real Krampus."
Everyone glared at the cruel man who was obviously enjoying himself. "Well, in my defence, at least I helped. Take a break eggboy, Toothfairy, you are up."
Toothfairy nodded, slightly hesitant to fight the monster, with good reason, Pitch seemed to be particularly excited about this upcoming fight.
Krampus became animated again, looking just as excited as the one who'd created it.
Circling around the monster, she tried to find it's blindspot, holding a dental instrument in her shaky hands, but its eyes followed her movement making the task impossible. The beast swung its claw, knocking the metal tooth-picking tool to the other side of the room.
Krampus's jaw unhinged as it thrusted itself up at the unarmed fairy. Pitch leaned foward, his thin lips curled into a little smile filled with amusement at the sight . Jack noticed that he was up to something, and as the creature unhinged its jaw, Jack's muscles moved on their own to intervene. Pushing tooth out of the way, the rows of sharp teeth pierced through his hoodie and flesh. The excruciating pain ran through his body as the teeth ripped deeper into him. A blood-curtling scream echoed throughout the room. Tooth gasped, quivering at the sight of Jacks blood dripping onto the floor.
Pitch's long face turned furious as he saw his little plan to rip her to shreds, and make it look like an unfortunate training excercise gone wrong, foiled. Krampus disappeared with a flick of his wrist as he went to survey the damage on Jack's body.
Jack curled, gripping his right arm as it bled out. "You fool." Pitch growled,bending over to pick Jack up.
"We will continue training later..." He announced turning into a shadow with the sickly pale boy in his arms. Sandy's eyes were wide as he tried to process what just happened. How on earth would they fight the real thing, if the weaker shadow version was powerful enough to take their two best fighters out so easily?
Tooth wanted to be by Jack's side, because she felt as if it was her fault he had gotten hurt, but the boogyman disappeared to an unknown location with him before she could ask to go with them.
Her eyes burned as tears filled her eyes. Sandy held her cheeks and shook his head with a look that said it wasn't her fault. Sobbing, she hugged the chubby man who warmly returned the embrace.
Bunny busied himself, cleansing his wounds, because he really wasn't the best at comforting others.
The lacerations on his arms were slowly closing on their own with only a piece of Pitch's robe tied around it.
They were all magical creatures and healed alot quicker than humans, but it took alot of energy out of them when they healed themselves. And they all needed as much energy as possible, so this became quite a setback. It wouldn't have mattered if toothfairy were in Jack's place, because she was useless up against Krampus and would only get in the way, at least in Pitch's opinion.
"You bastard.." Jack managed to choke out from his dry throat. "If you dare to try to hurt Tooth again, I am gonna kill you, alliance or not.."
"I will not make it easier on her because she is your little girlfriend. Krampus defiantly wouldn't make an exception for her so why should I? And besides, you are in no condition to make threats"
It was true, Krampus would treat her no different than any of the others, and she needed to fight at the same level as the others. Jack hissed in pain as the black cloth was tightened around his wound. "Whats this?" Pitch asked as he noticed a golden bottle poke out of Jack's discarded hoodie.
"Don't touch that!"
"Are you serious? This could heal you without the cost of wasted energy you twit."
" I am saving it for Tooth.."
Tooth. Tooth. Tooth. It was always about TOOTH. Pitch's long slender fingers roughly pinched Jack's jaw open and bit into the cork, popping it open.
Clenching his jaw back shut stubbornly, he refused to be overpowered. "Only one swallow Jack. There will still be a bit left for that woman" He snapped impatiently
"No, if she gets hurt she will need every drop!"
Pitch had enough of trying to convince the bull-headed fool, sucking in half of what was in the bottle into his own mouth, he forcibly made the liquid go down the other's throat with a deep kiss.
Jack unwillingly gulped it down and broke the kiss with a push from his good arm. Coughing, the white-haired boy could feel his wound tingle as it began healing rapidly.
Snatching the bottle, he was relieved that Pitch hadn't wasted it all. The frustrated raven-haired man would have happily wasted it all, so that Tooth wouldn't be able to use it, but if another accident happened to Bunny, Sandy or Jack, it'd be useful to have that potion around.
Wiping his mouth, Jack turned away from the tall male wanting to be left alone.
Even from behind, the dark-haired man could tell jack's face was completely red, the tips of his ears had given him away.
Pitch smirked as he left him to heal, and check on the others. There was alot of training to be done before any of they could face Krampus.
(A.N. Thanks for the reviews! I uploaded late today xD Idk if I will be able to update everyday anymore, but I shall try ;v; Ty for reading!)