Through wuthering winds and blinding snow, she raced toward a nearly invisible location. Almost as a shadow on the horizon, Santa’s vast workshop lay before her. However, she didn’t head that direction; she turned toward a new location. Pulling out the computer tablet, she checked to make certain she wasn’t heading for the wrong place. To her, every direction looked like just more snow drifts.
“I hope he knows where I’m supposed to be going.” She grumbled under her breath.
To her surprise, she found a strange shard of stone jutting up through the snow. It might be missed as just part of the natural landscape, but something about it stood out to her.
“Why isn’t it covered in snow?” She finally realized the problem. Everything up here was buried, or at least holding snow. This bit of stone was void of snow over most of it.
Feeling the surface, she checked it over. Krampus was vague about how this worked. Finally, she felt a difference in the surface. It was minor, and she almost dismissed it as just more thin layers of rock. Pulling up on this layer, it moved and revealed a handle. She pulled it out, twisted it to the right and let go. When it sunk back down, the stone shifted over, pushing snow with it. Underneath this artificial protrusion was a narrow, ancient stone staircase, leading down into a dark hole. Though disregarded for centuries, she was met by the smell of old stone and baked cookies. With this aroma, she knew this was the right place.
Clicking on a small wrist light, she carefully descended into this darkness.
Krampus reached for Skelanimal as he dashed for the exit. “Wait!”
“What for? You stay behind. Maybe I can convince them to leave or something. They were my league once.” He shoved open the door.
Outside, on the black pumice, Midgardsormr led his team toward Skelanimal. Hotwings buzzed by overhead and then landed in front of Midgardsormr, between him and Skelanimal.
Skelanimal put on a smile, “Hey, old friends. Good to see you. Great job on the last League Wars! Wish I could’ve been there to help, but looks like you didn’t need it. Eh?”
Hotwings looked at Skelanimal with an angry scowl on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? This was our base, or don’t you remember?”
Midgardsormr shoved Hotwings aside and bellowed at Skelanimal, “I ONLY REMEMBER KICKING YOUR SORRY BUTT IN ONNOTANGU! WEAKNESS I CANNOT ABIDE!”
Skelanimal frowned at him, “That was... um... just... let’s say I had my reasons. Why don’t you go and...”
“STAND ASIDE YOU PATHETIC MORTAL BEFORE I ROAST YOUR SORRY HIDE OVER THE NEAREST VOLCANO!” He let out an enormous roar.
Skelanimal stepped back. “Midgard, I know you like to be loud and pushy, but this is... kinda scaring me.”
Midgardsormr screamed with incoherent bellowing and then lashed out with his claws. Skelanimal swiftly avoided laceration, jumping back and landing ready for a fight. “Watch it. I’m not alone and I won’t go down easily.”
While Midgardsormr growled and mumbled insults, the rest of the League just stood there with angry eyes. No one, not even the enraged legendary serpent advanced. It as like they all were in a trance.
“Guys?”
Just then, Krampus left the compound and stepped up next to Skelanimal.
Skelanimal laughed, “Oh, I see. You ain’t afraid of me, but my friend here gives you reason to hold back. Well, if you don’t want him ending you fa good, your gonna listen...”
“Shut up.” Krampus interrupted.
“What?”
Krampus ignored Skelanimal and walked passed him toward Hotwings and Midgardsormr. “I see you interacted with Spirit of Halloween.”
Hotwings slowly turned his head and gave Krampus a wicked smirk. “He... helped us see the light.”
“Good. Very good.” Krampus walked up to Midgardsormr, looking up at the writhing giant serpent-man. “You look like you are in need of a good fight.”
“LET ME DO WHAT I WAS CREATED FOR! I MUST END THIS WORLD!”
“Now, now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ll let you have that kind of fun later. For now, I have a mission for you, my new League.”
DaMon stepped around Midgardsormr and asked, “anything for you, my lord.”
This gave Krampus a bigger grin, “I love obedience. We need a distraction. I have plans and interference by BADGE or any of the other Leagues could prove... disruptive. I need you to distract them. Follow Skelanimal, he’ll lead you in this mission.”
“Me?” Skelanimal was taken aback. “You want me to lead them. I have never been able to deal with them, especially Midgard.”
“Trust me, they’ll listen to you.”
Skelanimal looked up at the seething serpent and then the rest of the heroes, all waiting for his command. “Okay, this could be fun. What do you want me to do?”
“Take them to a large city and destroy it.”
“Which city?”
“I don’t care, just far away from here.”
Skelanimal licked his lips. “Sounds like fun.” He left Krampus and walked among his former league with a gait of an admiral in a cheap movie. “Alright, heroes, you’ll do what I say, when I say it. Even you, Midgard.” They responded like a horde of zombies waiting on their summoner. “Okay, Wizard, zap us outta here.”
The Wizard stepped up and cast a spell that enveloped the team. In a matter of seconds, they all vanished.
Chase crept for what felt like miles under the ice of the North Pole. It was freezing, but she ignored it by staying focused on her mission. Eventually, a warm light at the end of this tunnel broke the long darkness. That smell of baked goods had become stronger and was joined by the scent of mint and fresh hay.
At the edge of this tunnel, she paused as the sound of working grew. A set of old wooden doors blocked the exit. Opening them, she came out inside a stable filled with stalls and hay all over the floor. The stalls each held large, majestic looking reindeer.
“I told Vil that I needed at least five candy canes for the job.” A small man entered the stable with a small woman next to him.
Chase quickly slipped into the nearest shadow, forgetting a cloaking device covered her. The two small people approached each of the reindeer and fed them large buckets of candy.
The woman said to a reindeer, “Now, Comet, you know it’s getting closer to Christmas, you need to be ready. Eat hearty.” She held up the feedbag, and the reindeer crunched through the pile of sugary treats.
Once they had left, Chase exited the shadows and looked around. Nothing noticed her. All the animals crunched on their food. Relieved the cloak was working, Chase checked the computer tablet again. “Well, I guess Krampus doesn’t know everything. This was supposed to be the storage facility, not the stables.” She checked the information and then slowly left the stables for the main halls.
Whispering to herself, she looked around. “The sleigh room... where would that be?”
Two elves walked by carrying a single, long leather strap covered in heavy, ornate sleigh-bells. Chase followed quietly, using the jingle of the bells to cover the sounds of her footfalls.
The elves delivered the freshly polished bells to a room where a glorious red sleigh waited. Once they left, Chase stayed behind, in awe of this room.
She stopped by a wall where Santa’s amazing traveling cloak hung on a hook. The incredible embroidery dazzled in her eyes. She reached out and felt the soft, plush texture. After a moment, she found herself curious. “Why...don’t I want to steal this? It’s worth a fortune.”
As she pondered this odd feeling, she turned and beheld the sleigh. It was truly the most magnificent thing in this room. Every inch a meticulous creation of the finest craftsmanship. Gold gilding, silver bells, perfect leather interior, incredible wood from Lebanon cedar. However, it wasn’t the magnificence of this creation that stopped her; it was the fact she remembered it.
“Why does this feel so familiar? I have been here before... I think. But, why can’t I remember. Why don’t I want to steal this stuff? What’s wrong with me?” She turned off the cloaking device and looked at her own hands, not sure if she was the same person she knew yesterday.
Chase looked up and saw two objects tethered to the back wall, two sacks. One was red and had a golden cord. The other was green and ragged. She slowly stepped up and felt the red bag for a moment, still lost in those fighting memories.
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