Lucas was surprised to see nothing but dusty gift boxes inside.

Fiona squinted. “I could have sworn I heard—”

A figure detached from the roof and landed in a crawling position.

Out of fear, Clyde fired. But his target was out the door already and his arrow exploded on a vacant spot. 

The Protectors tried to follow the quick movements with their eyes. This person was bouncing off walls so fast, that all they saw was a blur. 

Then suddenly,  Lucas jolted at the sight before him; a candy cane the size of a baseball bat was frozen inches away from under his jaw. The wielder was around four feet tall and had their eyes locked on his Protector's medallion. He wore a green tunic, bright red pants and green pointy shoes. Over his head was one of those red Christmas hats. 

“You're a Protector.” The person grunted, eyes boring into Lucas's.  

“You're an elf.” Lucas squeaked, noticing those pointy ears, nose and jaw. Unlike the shadow elves, this one had smooth skin as white as milk and a sort of angelic vibe.

He slid his candy cane into a sheath on his back,  next to an identical one. Both candy canes were crossed in an ‘x’ formation. 

“I'm Jones 54.” He looked around. “You're all Protectors.”

His green eyes lit up when he recognized Fiona. The very next moment, he was bowing before her. “Mistress Fiona, I'm honoured by your presence. What brings you to Elf HQ?”

She gestured for him to stand upright.  “I noticed the reindeer weren't fed and the hotline was not responding. So we decided to drop by.”

“Does this mean you've finally returned to the Claus Estate?”

“Pfft. It was just a visit. Can you tell me what happened here?”

“I think it's better if I show and tell. Please,  mistress, follow me.” Jones started down the passageway. He drew out his candy canes, grasping them fiercely. “Though we must be on high alert. There are shadow elves in the premises.”

Clyde smirked. “Oh, we took care of those guys. But what's up with your weapons? You wanna feed the shadow elves or something? Kill them with sugar rush?”

In one swift motion, Jones 54 whacked the metal wall with a candy cane. The deafening ‘clank’ and a deep dent made Lucas gulp. He watched Clyde's face for fear but the only hint of such emotion was the way he tugged at his collars. They both wondered just how strong those candy canes were. 

Only the sound of their feet was audible for a few twists and turns. They arrived at a barricade overlooking a massive assembly line in the middle of the ground floor. Besides the machinery, lining the walls were workbenches and towering shelves arranged one after the other bearing red and green stripes for painting. A grand fireplace stood at the farthest end, made of metal but it had no fire nor wood inside,  only steady white light.

At the other end of the room was a polished metal double door, the colour of snow. Above it, was a stained window, nearly roof-to-floor bearing a thick web of cracks. The image it portrayed was Santa riding his sleigh in the moonlight.

“Still waiting on that explanation.” Fiona rested her hands on the barricade. “Where are all the crafting elves? Where did those shadow elves come from? Why is that window damaged?”

“Mistress, try to calm down."

“Stop calling me ‘Mistress’.” She barked. “I'm Fiona Snow. And please get to the point.”

Clyde nodded. “What she said.” 

“Can it, lanky!” Jones glared at Clyde before turning to Fiona. “Sorry, I brought you here because this was the exact spot I stood on when ‘it’ happened.” His shoulders sagged. “Yesterday morning was going on routinely. All the others were down in the main hall where I should've been. Instead, I was here,  staring at the window of motivation.” He pointed at the cracked window. “Suddenly,  these zigzag lines appeared and the loud noise drew all our attention.  We watched in horror as a Class S phantom emerged from the glass.”

Fiona was baffled. “How in the world is that possible? Phantoms don't just randomly appear at places. Unless—”

She and Clyde shared a look of horror.  Lucas wished he knew what they were thinking. 

“Was it La Mala Hora?” He guessed. 

Jones shrugged, eyes still trained on the defaced giant window. “I'm not an encyclopedia, I can't identify phantoms. But I can try to describe what I saw. The phantom looked like a woman in a tattered white ball gown, her skin was gray, her knee-length hair black and bundled like tendrils. Her eyes had no pupils, only irises. She appeared hovering in front of the window of motivation. And she wasn't alone.  She came with Krampus.”

Lucas inhaled sharply. That name sent a chill down his spine. The malicious cackle and devilish face of Krampus was hard to erase from memory. “Krampus was here in person?”

“In the flesh,” Jones continued. “Before any of us could process what was happening,  he released a burst of mana that turned all the other crafting elves into shadow elves. Luckily for me, I was out of its radius. I took cover and heard him command them to follow him back to the outskirts of the North Pole.  He said they would return on Christmas Eve. From where I was hiding I saw the phantom lead them into the glass like it were a portal, while a few turned elves stayed behind.”

“That's why you hid in that room.” Fiona said.

“Yes. I couldn't bear the thought of hurting my fellow colleagues. But I knew they wouldn't hesitate to attack me in their new form.”

Fiona examined him. “You were once a battle elf, weren't you?”

Jones looked away. “Yes, some years back, I was. But not anymore.”

Clyde asked. “Are you saying the shadow elves caused all this damage?” 

Jones looked up at him. “Building is the nature of crafting elves, destruction is the nature of shadow elves. Go figure, blockhead.”

“You know what?” Clyde crossed his arms,  furious. “I think I've had enough of your attitude.”

Jones glared at him, then at his quiver of arrows. “Oh yeah? Go shoot yourself in the leg then. I don't give a damn about what you think.”

Clyde balled his fists. “I so wish you were a shadow elf so I could shoot you in the leg.”

“Guys!” Fiona snapped. “That's enough, let's get going, we have to tell my mom about this.”

“Oh, so Mr Claus has gone to the Sacred Annual Yuletide Gathering, huh?” Jones frowned. “I've been in that storage unit longer than I thought.”

Clyde muttered under his breath. “Not long enough if you ask me.”

“I heard that,” Jones stared daggers at him. “These pointy ears aren't for nothing.”

“Could you two cut it out already?” Fiona backed them and made her way to the stairs. Lucas followed suit, wanting to escape the thick atmosphere. 

Clyde huffed and went after them.

“Wait,” Jones said. The three Protectors halted. He adjusted his Christmas hat. “You guys might want me to come with you.”

Clyde spun his neck. “We certainly don't.”

Fiona turned around, empathy etched on her features. “You didn't have to ask, Jones. You can tag along. There are guest rooms over at the Claus Estate. Until we find a way to rebuild this place, that can be your new home.”

Jones 54 shrugged. “Tempting offer…but I think I'll join you guys to take down Krampus.” He cracked his knuckles. “I want to get revenge on him for snatching away my friends. Later though, I might crash at the Absconditum.”

“You have friends?” Clyde shot him a skeptical look.

“Slow down,” Lucas pointed at his Protector's medallion.  “In case you didn't know, the Absconditum can only be accessed by the current Protectors of Balance.”

“Sorry Jones,” Fiona said. “You'll have to—”

Jones removed his hat, dug a hand inside and pulled out a Protector's medallion.

Lucas's jaw dropped.

Silence hung in the air for a brief forever until Clyde broke it.

“No way…”

Jones turned his back to them. “The reason why I was up here when Krampus attacked was because of this.” He raised the medallion above his head as if showcasing it again to anyone who might have been doubting. His voice had a hint of sadness.  “Lately I…I've been having trouble figuring out…who I want to be.  I thought I wanted to be a crafting elf so I came to the North Pole but…now the job feels empty. About a week ago, I found this in my shower.  I've been pondering about it ever since.” He spun on his heels, smouldering intensity oozing out of him. “Now I'm certain, I'm going to be a Protector of Balance.”

Lucas didn't know what to think at this point. But after his brain did some processing, he came to the conclusion that ‘the more, the merrier.’

Fiona cleared her throat.  “Well, if the Universe called you, then I guess it's a good thing you answered the call. C'mon, let's go.”