EX Mission: Santa Frost is Coming to Town

Bastion set the book down on his desk and sighed. He hadn't received any kind of sign or revelation from Asra in more than a week, nor had he gotten any new missions. Komori's interference, surely...

In the meantime, he'd been using the Vanguard Archives to look through all the information they had on the Fiends... and angels. The list of information on the former was aggravatingly short, but the latter had almost too much information to go off of. Books on religion, myths, and much more. A lot of it appeared to be leftover from the Old World, and it was debatable how much of it was accurate.

Standing, Bastion opened up the window above his desk, allowing a mild breeze to drift into the room. The city was quiet at this time of night, as were the Barracks. He hadn't seen any of his fellow Vanguards since their last mission, and he wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.

"...teamwork isn't made in a day, Bastion. It takes trial and error."

Bastion's expression darkened. Zephyr was right on that much. But it also effort, and none of them seemed to be willing to put that in. So much so that it had gotten him killed.

Bastion dropped onto his bed and rubbed at the handprint branded into his chest. Killed... He could still remember the sight of those angels circling about him, like a particularly vivid dream. Maybe it was for the best. If his team hadn't screwed up so fantastically, he wouldn't have met Asra. Wouldn't have found this new purpose.

Laying flat on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling as his eyelids began to flutter. The end of another day just like the last several, and no reason to believe tomorrow would be any different.

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A white figure clambered up onto the open windowsill, peering inside the room. He clenched his sword, nodded, then dropped into the room with a dramatic flourish. With a flash, he drew his sword and pointed it at the room's occupant, but...

Sleeping. He was sleeping. Van Frost's head drooped. So much for a rematch. Hmm... actually, this didn't look the same guy as last time either.

"Hee ho..." he sighed, clambering back onto the desk. As he reached for the windowsill, however, he spied the books spread across it. Hmm? He flopped onto the desk and flipped through the pages. Christmas? Santa?

Van Frost stared up at the night sky, mouth slightly ajar. Vanguards helped people, but one Vanguard could only do so much. But Santa... that one person could spread joy to the whole world.

Nodding to himself, Van Frost clambered back onto the windowsill and leaped out into the night.

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Cold.

Bastion's first thought as he sat up the next morning was just how cold it was. He shivered as he threw off his covers and hurried to shut the window.

Then froze.

The windowsill was dusted with white. And white was all he could see outside the window. The whole town was blanketed in snow, and more was drifting down in large, fluffy flakes. This just didn't happen in Chaldea. What was happening?

Biting his lip, he hesitated before throwing on his clothes and leaving the barracks for the first time in days. The city seemed oddly quiet. Were the people staying holed up inside? Or had they gone somewhere? Bastion felt more detached from the rest of the world than ever.

Finally, he reached the Devil's Cocktail and heard voices for the first time. He pushed his way in, surveying the crowd that had gathered there.

"There's no reason to be alarmed at this point," Komori was saying over the chorus of voices. "Everyone relax and just enjoy the change in weather. I think we could all use a little change of pace."

"And don't forget to enjoy a hot drink while you do!" Nena added cheerily, raising a mug up for everyone to see. "Who wants hot cocoa? We have mild and strong."

Bastion glanced around, spying the familiar faces of his team. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea. He stepped outside into the snow, pausing to watch the flakes settle down gently on his jacket.

Then a snowball hit him square in the face.

Stumbling, he plopped down into a drift of snow, wiping furiously at his eyes.

"Hee ho ho ho!" a voice said from the roof above. "Merry Christmas, Chaldea! Good tiding and great cheer, for Santa Frost has come to town!"

Bastion had just enough time to catch sight of a white figure in a red suit, a scepter waving in his hand, before he jumped out of sight.

Santa... Frost...?

Chaldea – Devil’s Cocktail
- Vayu -

Vayu was wiping down the countertop of the bar when Komori tried to calm everyone down. He shook his head. Why everyone lost their shit because of a little snow was beyond him. Sure, it snowed rarely in Chaldea, but to be alarmed? It was winter season after all.

Granted, Catequil hadn’t been amused when he summoned him early in the morning for some pre-dawn training. For some reason he didn’t like the snow or the cold.

Flashback

Spoiler:

Lost in the memory for a second, his head snapped up when the door opened, and Bastion entered. He froze. He hadn’t seen the other man in almost a week. Not by accident, but by choice. After the de-brief with Komori, Vayu had been so angry at himself while being plagued with a guilty conscience that no good would have come from confronting Bastion. Even after a week he still wasn’t sure that he was in the right mindset to talk to him.

Still, they couldn’t allow Bastion to separate even further from the team. That would only make things worse. So, he grabbed his coat and headed out the door behind Bastion, arriving just in time to see him flop on his backside.

Vayu chuckled.

“You know the last time we were in this situation, I was the one falling down the steps.”

With an unsure smile, he offered Bastion a hand to help him up.

- Cleo -

"Look, man. You're never gonna get anywhere if you don't put yourself out there." Cleo slapped his hand down in the center of Mongo's back, jolting the imp on his stool. You could say that the both of them were a few drinks in at this point, even though the others had just drifted into the bar within the last hour. "You keep saying you want a date, but you're not gonna find that sitting here."

Cleo gestured to a group of nymphs sitting in the corner. "Any one of those fine creatures might be the lucky lady you're looking for. I promise you, they won't bite." He paused, thinking that over for a moment.

"But, if you're into that sort of thing..." Cleo pointed at another new face in the bar, Nihility. "Pretty sure that one's into some weird stuff."

"In any case, just sitting here, nursing a drink is cramping your style. You've gotta make yourself available. Now, get off your bum and go introduce yourself to some of the ladies. And this time, do NOT lead with asking what color panties she's wearing. You've gotta work your way up to that."

Chaldea - Devil's Cocktail (outside)

A moment passed before Bastion realized Vayu was standing in front of him. He glanced at the extended hand, the unsure smile, and hesitated. After this time apart, it was more than a little awkward suddenly being face to face once more.

"Thanks," he murmured, taking the proffered hand and getting to his feet.

It was partly genuine curiosity and partly an excuse to avoid uncomfortable conversation that Bastion found himself looking around at the rooftops again.

"Did you hear someone saying..." He trailed off, then shook his head. No, it was too odd, even for them.

But Santa Frost... Didn't he just read something about a Santa in one of his books?

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Chaldea - Devil's Cocktail

Mongo contemplated Cleo's words, even as he winced and rubbed his back.

"If you think so," he said, eyes sweeping the room. He lingered on Cleo's suggested targets, but-

Ah! Mongo's eyes lit up. There was a beauty if he ever saw one. Downing the rest of his drink, he offered Cleo a wide smile before trotting to the table in the corner.

Aeris had been slowly nursing a drink, watching the rest of the crowd slowly disperse. She'd been concerned about the weather as much as any of them, though probably not for the same reasons. This weather would be problematic for travel, which meant she'd be stuck in Chaldea until it cleared up.

She grimaced and took another sip. Still no closer to her goal. Well, she'd waited this long. There was still time. But if she didn't start making some progress, she might have to take some drastic-

"Excuse me, Miss."

Aeris blinked and looked across the table at the strange little imp that had crawled up on the other side of the booth, a tooth grin on his face.

"An imp?" she mused. Oh, yes. She'd seen him lurking around here before with that odd telescope of his. "Mongo... right?"

"I'm not an imp!" Mongo protested. "I'm a man. Yes, a man. Just, uh, shrunken in my old age. Wait... no..."

He cleared his throat, and Aeris raised her eyebrow.

"I understand you're something of an adventurer. I'm a bit adventurous, too." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Are you now," she said flatly.

"Perhaps we could go off on an adventure together," he went on. "You could show me your magic... and I could show you mine." His eyebrows were wriggling like two convulsing worms.

Was this a prank against her? She glanced around the bar and spotted a young man watching them. Oh, yes. He was one of Komori's students.

When Aeris turned back, Mongo was hastily trying to fit his telescope into his eye. Aeris snatched it away, earning an indignant squeak from the imp.

"I've seen you using this," she mused, turning it over in her hand. "What does it do?"

Mongo went from distressed to delighted in a moment. "Oh, you've been watching me, pretty Miss?"

Aeris ignored this comment, waiting for a response to her question.

"Well... it's a magic telescope," Mongo went on, rubbing his hands shiftily. "It lets you see what you want to see."

Aeris looked up. "So if I wanted to see a dead friend, and I looked through this, I'd see them? Or their ghost?"

Mongo shook his head. "N-not quite. More like... if you needed to find some money to swipe, it would let you see into people's pockets to find who had the most money with them."

"And if you wanted to see beneath a woman's clothes..." Aeris said, eyes narrowed and voice dry.

Mongo's eyes widened in alarm. "Ack, uh, no! I would never!" His little hands shot forward, trying to snatch the telescope back, but Aeris held it up out of reach.

Ignoring the imp's increasingly anxious attempts to retrieve his item, she paused to think, then peered through the telescope. Ah... interesting. This was quite the useful find. Where had the little imp managed to acquire something like this? Well, no matter.

Aeris stood up, leaving Mongo to scurry about her feet, making impotent jumps to try to reach the telescope.

"At least tell me what color your panties are!" Mongo wailed.

Aeris paused, staring down at him. Then, she smiled. "All right. If you can beat me in a fight, I'll give this back and let you see what color they are for yourself. But if I win..." She dangled the telescope between her fingers. "I get to keep this."

Mongo gaped at her as she strode toward the door, then bolted to the bar. "Cleo! Cleo! You have to help!" He grasped Cleo's ankles and wailed. "You have to fight that terrible beauty and get my telescope back! It's a priceless find! I'll even let you be the one to see her panties!"

Aeris paused by the door, raising an eyebrow in challenge, then stepped out into the snow.

Samael

Samael sat in a empty corner of the bar drinking a glass of rather hard grand pixie cider across from Goki who was making a wide assortment of shifting disgusted faces as he painfully tried his alcoholic drink.

In one quick motion, Goki pushed the glass across the table so that in skid into Samael giving of a light clinking sound of the two glasses lightly colliding. Samael simply returned a blank star, and a brief roll of his eyes before taking another sip of his drink.

"Why do you humans drink this? I still feel stressed about the match with Bicorn! It didn't help at all!" Goki stated in a fearful tone, while throwing his hands up in the the air.

"Stop acting like a coward, think of this of a test to see how much you've grown... Like the vanguard exam" Samael scoffed, as he quickly down the rest of the cider and placed it down on the the table. As he glanced at the various vanguards, his eyes being caught on Bastion as he walked in quickly turning the way their eyes met.

"How about you ask Komori for some advice? He trained me after all and was the one who gave me the exam...." Samael stated dismissively, as Goki's face suddenly filled with surprise and glee.

That was a great idea!

Goki bolted over to Komori, skidding to a halt while giving the vanguard trainer a salute out of habit. After all, he was in the presence of a vanguard master!

"Excuse me! I didn't do well in the last mission and I want to better help Samael with fighting the in future.... Since you trained him I was wondering if you had any pointers." Goki asked like a child asking a parent for a new toy, as he looked at Komori with the best puppy dog eyes a lesser oni could muster.

Zephyr Arc

After rightously having his ears yelled off by Cherry Zephyr spent the rest of his time essentially camping out on the achives to avoid people. Mainly Bastion. It seemed like, while everyone else was busy feeling guilty about and admitting their faults in recent events, Bastion eas mostly dismissing his own faults and instead blaming everyone else, likely for not listening to his every word like some sort of automata.

Pretty sure he's just have punched the guy out, Zephyr decided to focus on his reading instead. Not exactly the best way to deal with things, if the pouting Pixie on his shoulder was anything to go by.

When he awoke one day, he found a strangely familiar chill in the air, but much stronger this time. Looking out his window, he found the whole of Chaldea was covered in snow. "Huh." He exclaimed, before getting dressed, wrapping a much-too-large scarf around Cherry and heading out, to her muffled protests.

As he reached the outskirts of the bar, he saw Bastion get nailed in the face with a snowball, and very slightly heard the same thing he had, though he'd missed who or what ever had said it. He walked up as Vayu helped Bastion up and filled in the rest of his question. "Santa? Like the old fat guy in red from the Old World?"

Chaldea
- Vayu -

“Hm?” Vayu asked when suddenly Zephyr appeared and filled in the rest of Bastion’s question.

He hadn’t seen anybody or heard anything. His eyes drifted around, but it was quiet. The snow muffled every sound, and nothing moved except snowflakes that were falling gently to the ground.

“What are you talking about?” Vayu asked confused.

“Anyway, who is up for something fun?” he asked after a few moments of silence. There was a slightly mischievous spark in his eyes and pointed towards the shed next to the bar. Inside were couple cargo sleds that they used to bring up some of the merchandise.

“Let’s go to Cathedral Plaza, that should easily be the highest point of Chaldea, and race down!”

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Nihility|Shoggoth|Tyrian
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Nihility was just about to ask for a second helping of the beast-stew that Vayu had prepared for her, but the amazing chef was nowhere to be found.

"Huh, where did he go?" the customer stepped down from the stool and faced her back towards the bar counter.

"Oh Crud, I'm not full yet." Nihility placed a hand on her stomach and gave it a little massage.

Just then, she caught the back of Aeris leaving the Devil's Cocktail.
"Ah, great, he must have taken off already."

The depressed lady sighed and left her place at the counter and proceeded to walk out into the street as well.

- Cleo -

Cleo shook his head, a look somewhere between amusement and pity on his face, as the scene played out before him. Of course a few drinks would make Mongo brave enough to single out Aeris. While Cleo could respect the poor imp's taste, clearly he still had a lot to learn about the way the world worked. He frowned for a moment when Aeris snatched Mongo's trinket though.

As Mongo tumbled to the ground at his feet, Cleo sighed, taking another sip of his drink. "Time for lesson two, realizing when you're trying to play out of your league." He gestured towards the Nymphs, who were now watching Mongo grovel on the ground with barely veiled amusement. "You could have picked any one of them, and you might have stood a chance, but you got greedy. You never start by going for the ones that know how superior they are. It just gives them an excuse to step all over you, and not in a kinky way."

He tipped back the remainder of his drink and pushed himself to his feet. "Let's go see if we can salvage this situation, but you're gonna owe me a couple of drinks for this."

Despite the situation, Aeris' raised eyebrow had intrigued Cleo. It was obviously meant as a taunt, but the woman was just subtle enough to make him wonder exactly what kind of trouble she had in mind. As the chilled evening air washed over him, Cleo scanned the street for Aeris, who had taken up a post at the corner of the building.

"Last I checked, taking someone's possessions against their will was considered robbery." Cleo said as he made his way towards her. "I'm not sure that's a lesson you want to be teaching your highly impressionable students. Not to mention, it can't look good on your Vanguard record."

Amira

Amira walked through the snow absent minded. It's been a few days since she increased Haita's power and ever since she feels her hea- her entire body light. She looked behind her. No footprints.

Amira's mind drifted away as she looked towards a familiar building. She wondered for a moment if there would also be familiar faces inside. As she slowly walked towards it. The door opened to an Aeris walking out, followed by other also walking out. She gave them a moment's attention before continuing to walk towards the building

Opening the door, Amira finally enters Devil's Cocktail. She stands at the entrance for a moment, completely unfazed by the cold despite not wearing any clothing specific for the weather. Her eyes golden.

As Amira scans the place, her eyes slightly shift to red as her absent mind state stops and Amira perks her head.

"Bastion! You got out!"

Amira says surprised as she approaches him. "Are you alright?"
Ever since that day when they returned, she hadn't seen him, she even wondered at one point if he had locked himself in his room in fear.

Chaldea - Devil's Cocktail (outside)

- Ose -

Komori blinked at the little oni saluting him from somewhere down around his knees, eyes widened and surprisingly cute for a demon species not well known for their cuteness. Well, this was unexpected. The little guy seemed to want to improve his skills to help Samael. They must have gotten pretty close.

"I see..." he said, stroking his goatee.

Well, he had to respect any desire to improve oneself, but he also had some other pupils that needed attention...

"Actually, I have something better in mind!" he said, grinning.

Waving Goki to follow, he headed outside and tapped on his com. A moment later, Ose came leaping like a blur and landed in front of Komori.

"An enemy?" he asked, glancing around the snowy terrain. "One of those Norse pagans, I expect-"

"Hah, no no," Komori said cheerily. "I need your help. This oni... Goki, right? He needs some help training. I thought as a fellow demon, you might have better pointers than I would."

Ose's eyes narrowed. "I told you I don't-"

"-train the Vanguards," Komori interjected. "Right. But he isn't one, strictly speaking. And this will be a challenge, after all. Getting him to be a strong demon will take all your skill and cunning."

Ose growled, but Komori patted him on the shoulder and quickly made his escape before the demon could further interject. Ose folded his arms and turned to regard Goki with a sidelong glance.

"Hmm..." he mused, an ominous purr in his voice.

A moment later, he lashed out with his tail and swatted Goki aside into a bank of snow. As he watched the little oni's legs kick in the air, buried from his head to his waist in snow, the demon sighed.

"Well, your reflexes need work," he sighed.

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- Bastion -

Bastion's expression became more stony as Zephyr appeared. Despite his reservation, he had to speak his curiosity.

"How do you know about that?" he asked. He hadn't heard of Santa until just this week during his research.

Vayu seemed less than interested in the possibility of this strange Santa wandering about, however, and instead suggested a race on sleds through the snow.

Bastion looked away toward the barracks. "I think-"

"-that sounds like a great idea," Komori said, hooking an arm around Bastion's shoulders. "You've been stuffed up for too long."

Bastion frowned, biting back his retort. As though that wasn't entirely Komori and the Council's fault...

"Bastion! You got out!"

Bastion turned around as Amira approached them, asking if he was all right.

"Yes," he said hesitantly. "Thank you, Amira."

Truth be told, it was a little nice that she seemed to care, both after the incident and now. He hadn't expected anyone to care that much, especially her.

"In fact," Komori interjected, smile widening as he looked at Amira and Nihility approaching from behind. "He's feeling so well that he's agreed to go sledding with Zephyr and Vayu here. You all should join them."

"But-" Bastion spluttered.

However, Komori wheeled him about and directed him into Vayu's care, nodding. His look said he'd be checking up on them. He headed back inside the bar and spotted Samael sitting alone.

"Your oni friend asked me for pointers," he said, sitting down with a grin. "Ose's coaching him right now. Good thing there's a lot of snow around. I think by tonight he'll need to ice his... everything."

After a moment, he realized Samael's less than cheery disposition.

"What's wrong?" He frowned. "You know, the others are heading up to Cathedral Plaza to sled. You should join them. This team needs to... find its center again, you know."

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- Aeris -

It was hard to tell if Mongo was really listening to Cleo's advice, as he continued to whimper loudly and cling to Cleo's leg as he walked outside.

Aeris was waiting for them, twirling the telescope between her fingers. She surveyed Cleo in anticipation, but the words that came out of his mouth were unexpected. She laughed richly, tossing the telescope up before catching it and tucking it out of sight.

"I don't do students," she said, smirking. "And I couldn't care less about my Vanguard record."

She stepped back and leaned against the nearby wall, crossing her long legs.

"Are you going to report me? I didn't take you for such a goody two-shoes." She smirked. "But I'll give it back... if you can give me a good match. No demons, no spells. Just skill."

Chaldea
- Vayu -

“Yes, everybody should come!” Vayu agreed with Komori, suddenly sounding very enthused. He walked up to the shed and began pulling out the sleds. There weren’t enough for everyone, so some would have to double up. Oh well, they should hold anyways.

When he returned from the shed, Amira was standing outside as well. He couldn’t help but notice that her clothing wasn’t really equipped for cold weather but she showed no sign of being cold.

“You can talk on the walk up,” Vayu said to Bastion, Zephyr and Amira. “And you guys can be gentlemen and each carry a sled.” He added and without asking handed a sled off to Zephyr and one to Bastion.

The door opened again and Nihility and a few seconds later, Samael stepped out.

“Nihility, Samael, you’re coming too, right?” Vayu looked back while he was hoisting a sled on his shoulder.

“C’mon, get moving,” he gently nudged the group to move uphill.

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Nihility|Shoggoth|Tyrian
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From mostly living in a Swampy area, Nihility didn't really get what was happening, but some people seemed to be energetic, so she shrugged her shoulders and followed suit.

"Yeah, I don't know what you guys are planning to do with those things, but sure, I'll join in."

- Cleo -

"Don't do students?" Cleo asked, smirking. "Trying to warn me off already?"

"I'm not planning to report you, but I can't say I'd blame this guy for doing so." He gestured to Mongo, who still hadn't regained his composure. "Of course, he'll probably have to sober up first, but you did take something of significant value."

Cleo grinned as Aeris assumed a casual position. "Besides, if you wanted a demonstration of my skills, all you had to do was ask. No reason to get this guy involved."

"Now, how about you give him back the telescope, and I'll be happy to go have a match with you. I'll even let the lady decide if she'd prefer her place or mine."

Zephyr Arc

Zephyr took a moment to answer Bastion's question, finally getting out words. "Uh, my family were merchants. Wealthy ones. They got some pretty exotic pieces every now and again and-" that was as far as he got before Komori jumped in and shooed them all off to go sledding.

Zephyr grabbed the sleds from Vayu, shrunk them, then handed them to each person. "There, much easier to carry around." He'd return then to normal when they reached their destination. As he walked along pretty quietly, he felt a pinch on the side of his neck. Naturally, the pixie on his shoulder wasn't happy. "Look lively, patch things up you lug!" She whispered with a pout.

Samael

Samael curiously watched as Ose walked off with Goki, as he let out a slight smile as the thought of what Ose would do to the poor Oni flickered in his head.  Though, a wave of guilt soon followed, as he thought of the pain it might cause the poor guy.

"It needs to be done" Samael solemnly thought to himself.

He began slowly walking onto into the snow, as he pushed his way out the door to see the rest of his vanguard squad and Komori.  He intently looked at Bastion for a few moments who was conversing with Zeyphr and Vayu when he was interrupted by Komori who was concerned with his well being.

"I'm just thinking about the last mission." Samael responded in brief matter of fact manner, as he quickly shifted his gaze to Vayu to quickly escape from the conversation.

"Yea, sledding right?  Should be fun."  Samael responded with a forced smile on his face, as he followed the rest of the group uphill, while towing his own sled.

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Goki

Goki let out a pained gasp, as he flew into the snow headfirst.  His legs began to kick back and forth trying to stand up straight even though they were up in the air.

"MHhmm murhur."  Goki sputtered out from underneath the snow, his voice restrained from being so deep, but it sounded almost sort of angry.

Suddenly Goki pushed himself out of the snow, his club held up in the air as some maga began to channel around the club and into his legs.  His face began to hardened with a more determined look forming.

"I won't let Samael down, let's see if you can hit me now! Fight Flight!" Goki called out, as he jumped past Ose and began to barrel through the snow at an darting speed behind a Jack Frost snowman with gloves, mittens, and a carrot noise.

He would try Samael's tactic, sneak up on the enemy in go in for an attack!  That's how they dealt with a pack of the lesser Oni's on the bridge after all!

- Bastion -

Seemingly without a choice, Bastion sighed and trudged along after the others, carrying the sleigh Zephyr had shrunk. He’d been about to reject the offer, but the other Vanguard had done it before he had a chance. Well, it did make things easier, at least. No sense in choosing stubbornness over practicality.

When they reached the top of the hill, Bastion set his sled down and frowned. He wasn’t feeling particularly competitive, but Vayu looked so excited that it was hard to dampen his enthusiasm.

“I’ve never been sledding.”

Bastion jumped at the voice from behind him. He turned around and blinked at a flushed Rory, who quickly looked away.

“I... followed you all. Nena said it would be okay. I hope you don’t mind,” she murmured.

“No... not at all,” Bastion replied weakly, attempting a smile.

Rory brightened up, pink patches appearing on her cheeks, and carefully set her sled down near his. Bastion settled onto his own sled as the others lined up.

“What’s the signal?” he asked.

From beneath the snow, a voice emanated. “Hee... ho... GO!”

A figure in red burst from the snow with a joyous yell, and Bastion yelled equally loudly and nowhere near as happily. In surprise, he lurched forward and his sleigh took off, the others following immediately behind.

Back at the top, Santa Frost waddled to the edge of the hill, flapping his arms as he watched them all go. “That looks like fun,” he said to himself. After a moment’s thought, he threw himself off the edge and began to roll down the hill after them.

Unfortunately, as he rolled, the snow began to cling to his body. With every passing moment, he more and more resembled a gigantic snowball, and less and less had any control over his movements As a result, the sledders suddenly found themselves with more motivation to reach the bottom than just bragging potential as the huge snowball loomed larger and larger behind them.

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- Ose -

So, the pint-sized oni had a few moves. Ose raised his eyebrow as Goki darted out of sight, obviously planning some kind of ambush.

“Asking you to try to beat me would be a tall order,” he mused, a hint of a purr in his voice. “But let’s see if you can actually make me draw my weapons.”

Tail swishing, he stalked silently across the snow, waiting for Goki to make his move.

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- Aeris -

A smiled slipped onto Aeris’ lips at Cleo’s hamfisted innuendos, though it was hard to tell if she was genuinely amused or covering her distaste.

“That’s generous of you,” she said, resting her hand on her hip. “But I’d prefer right here, right now.”

With lightning-fast reflexes, she struck out with her whip, snagged Cleo around the leg, and jerked it out from beneath him, dropping him to the snowy ground.

“Fair warning,” she mused, giving the whip an ominous crack. “You might want to choose a safe word before I really get started.”

With that, she darted forward, cracking the whip down at him.

Mongo squawked from the sidelines, peering from between the fingers covering his face. “I’m terrified to watch,” he muttered. “And yet, strangely aroused...”

Chaldea
- Vayu -

When they arrived at Cathedral Plaza Vayu looked around, trying to find the street that would allow them the longest descent. He took a moment to breathe in the cold and crisp air. It reminded him of home.

“Oh, I know!” he suddenly exclaimed. “We’ll have a race. Winner gets a personalized three course meal, cooked by yours truly.”

Before he could say anything else, a figure burst from the snow. He didn’t even have time to react to Rory who had followed them.

They scrambled onto the sleds, dashing through the snow as they headed downhill.

Vayu turned around to look back.

“You still think this isn't fun?” he called over in the direction of Samael.

Upon hearing that there was a possibility of consuming more of Vayu's cooking, Nihility stomach growled in anticipation.

"Oh, if it is for Vayu's home-cooked meal, then I am down to take part in this seemingly simple enough activity."

Nihility looked around and noticed that there weren't as many sledges for all of them. Most of the people had already moved to take on their positions. Making a quick scan, she headed towards the one closest to her. Nihility plopped down behind Zephyr and firmly hugged him from behind.

"You're the strongest one here commanding a sledge of your own. I would have a better chance of winning with you," Nihility spoke in his ear as she rested her chin over his shoulder so that she could get a good look at the downhill course in front.

The excited girl raised her arm towards the front and cheered on. "For FOOD!!!"



No sooner had they all left the drop point, something began oozing out of Nihility's gauntlet. It flowed to encompass her arm and the boy's chest that she had it wrapped over.

Hmm... Did I hear a mention of a delicious meal, three courses full?"

The demon spoke in her sultry tone which she uses whenever she looks upon a tasty morsel of any kind.

A few of Shoggoth's Yellow glowing eyes popped open in the Purple ooze covering Zephyr's chest and Nihility's Gauntlet arm. One or two travelled the length of the spreading sludge towards the back of Nihility.

"Oh, there seems to be a giant ball of snow rolling down the hill. But don't worry we Roll Deep, you and I."

"Vampiric Tendril Wrap!!"
Shoggoth opened up a dimensional portal timed to the movement of the giant snowball and shot her tendrils in hopes of grabbing and puncturing the white mass and potentially slow it down, even for a second or two.

- Cleo -

I’d prefer right here, right now.

Cleo groaned when he first hit the ground, but he couldn’t help but chuckle after the fact. She’d played him, and done a good job of it too. Good for her, at least this would be fun.

“Can’t say that I’ve ever had a woman want me so bad that she needed to take me in the street before.” Cleo smiled as he heard the whip crack in the background. “Gotta say, it’s kind of an ego trip. Is all this just for me, or have you always been an exhibitionist?”

He rolled to the side at the sound of snow crunching under boots, and was rewarded by the feeling of the wind off the whip cracking the ground where he’d been only a moment before.

“You’re a feisty one, for sure.” He continued as he pushed himself to his feet, turning to face Aeris once more. “But I don’t believe in safe words. When a lady says ‘no’, I assume that means what it means.”

Since Cleo didn’t typically carry all of his weapons in the city, the only thing he was armed with was his Wakizashi, although he wasn’t planning to draw it anyway. He had little doubt that Aeris was good, but the chance of marring her beautiful skin with an unnecessary scar wasn’t one he wanted to take, considering this was at least a somewhat friendly encounter.

No, he would need to find a way to handle this without a weapon, which made the presence of Aeris’ whip an unfortunate thing (this time). Fixing his eyes on her wrist, he watched for the tell-tale sign of motion. If he could catch it mid-strike, Cleo had no doubt that he was strong enough to take it from her. The question was just how he could do so without acquiring a painful bruise in the process.

His best opportunity would be on the backswing, when she pulled the whip back into position for another strike. So, he waited, anticipating the attack, and the opportunity it would present him to close the gap between them.

Samael

"Well, a feast would be nice." Samael relented to Vayu pondering for a moment, as he held his hand under the chin his expression unreadable like he was deciding if he wanted to show excitement or not.

That's when the jack frost suddenly popped out of the ground, as Samael eyes widened in surprise and he quickly jumped on the sleigh to get away from the thing.

The cold wind blasted Samael in the face as he sleigh flew down the mountain but he was still trailing behind the others, as he held his left arm up to stop the wind from blasting him in the face when Vayu called out to him.

"You better focus, unless you want to lose." Samael competitively retorted with a snort and scowl as he lowered himself down as low as he could as he could.

"Spectral Steed." Samael muttered, as a smaller spectral beast materialized on the sleigh, and pulled its hind legs back and slammed its feet on the snow launching Samael's sleigh over and past Vayu. He slowly turned his head around that had a cocky grin that quickly wrapped into a look of confusion and fear.

"What the hell?" Samael called out, pointing at the giant snowball that was barreling down towards them.

---------
Goki

Goki was hiding among the snow when Ose's words sent a feeling of dread among his spine.... wait... how was he supposed to beat him. All he did was run like coward, and he couldn't beat up someone stronger without Samael's help!

"What would he do.... what would he do...." Goki thought to himself, as he was too scared to move even a muscle.

"I've got it!" Goki almost shouted before he covered his mouth. He held up his club slightly behind the snowman, as some maga began to channel inside of it. He held it behind him like a baseball bat, as he swung the club downward in a low arc dragging a heap of snow along with it.

"Smash and Bash!" Goki roared, as the the club slammed into the snowman's head. It broke apart from the impact into a powder of soft snow as it and the snow Goki picked up flew into Ose's face like a weak pseudo-blizzard.

Goki in heap of adrenaline lunged directly at Ose his club held out to his side swinging horizontally to strike the Ose in the chest.

Zephyr Arc

Once they reached the top, everyone got on their sleighs, and Bastion asked what their starting signal would be. Before anyone could answer, a Jack Frost abruptly popped out of the snow and yelled "GO!", causing everyone to slip down the slope in surprise. It seemed Nihility latched onto his back in the commotion, he'd have to deal with that later.

Next, Shoggpth's ooze slipped out of Nihility's gauntlet and wrapped around him. He didn't mind the texture or eyes, but he did mind an energy sucking vampire on his chest. She mentioned a giant snowball, made a strange quip, then attacked it. Not taking his eyes off the road, Zephyr grabbed the part of Shoggoth on his chest and pulled it off. "Keep the ooze to yourself or you're ejected. Both of you." He told the two troublemakers as he handed it back to Nihility. He wasn't too worried about the giant snowball. He had some idea on how to deal with it.

Amira

Before Amira could even say anything, everybody had already decided to sled down the hill. Amira, on the other hand, was not as excited. She was much more interested in talking with Bastion. However, it would seem that that would have to wait.

As they walked up the hill Amira watched at the bottom. She really had no interest in sledding down the hill. There was no point to it, only a waste of time. Even so, as she watched them walk up, she couldn't help but feel annoyed. Annoyed at herself for not being with them is their fun.

Amira blinked twice when she noticed the rolling ball of snow going down the hill and walked to the side outside of its path.

Chaldea - Cathedral Hill

- Bastion -

Even as he collected his wits from the sudden shock, Bastion realized that despite the giant snow boulder hurtling down toward them, the others still seemed more preoccupied with a race than the looming problem behind them. He tried to think of a solution, a way to deal with it, but-

Flashes came to him. The others all running off to fight however they saw fit, preoccupied with their own cares... and him left to try to get them out of the danger. Him left to solve everything. Him left...

He flinched and brought a hand to his chest where Mother Harlot's death blow had pierced his body.

Well... forget it. If they weren't bothered by it, he wasn't going to solve it. Turning, his thoughts to the race instead, he contemplated how best to win instead.

"Revelation," he murmured, his eyes turning a lustrous silver. More powerful than his previous Analysis spell, he could now also perceive the best courses of action in situations. Winning a race seemed like a rather absurd use of this, but it was a good time to try it out.

Yes... if he acted right now...

Extending his arm like a spear, he called, "Holy Horn."

The light shot through his arm and struck the snow in front of Samael's sled, sending him skidding off course momentarily. It was enough, however, and Bastion and Vayu passed him by in that opening, ignoring Rory's frightened squeak from behind Samael's sled.

They were getting to the bottom of the hill. There wasn't much time left. How best to deal with Vayu?

Meanwhile, Santa Frost continued to roll behind the others, letting out a faint, dizzy wail as he went. Even though the world was whizzing around and around with every passing moment, he still had enough wits to catch sight of Shoggoth's portals opening around him, shooting tendrils to violently puncture the snowball... and his body.

"Hee!" Santa Frost squealed, thrusting his body upward in a desperate attempt to avoid the tendrils. As a result, the snowball bounced upward off the ground, dodging past the tendrils, and continued its trajectory toward the bottom, now a snowy missile of epic proportions.

Unnoticed, Komori approached Amira at the bottom of the hill with a curious smile. "Not interested in sledding? Trust me, you won't get many chances to try. You should-"

He looked up, then goggled at the sight of the hurtling snow boulder flying down at them.

"THE HELL?!"

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Chaldea - Backstreets

- Ose -

Ose sniffed at the air. The cold made it harder to pick up the scent of oni as precisely as he usually could, but it was still there, along with the scent of maga being channeled and condensed.

He turned his head just as Goki's club burst through the snowman's head, spraying snow into his face. Ose growled in annoyance as he blinked the snow away, but it was hardly his focus at the moment. He knew it was a feint, and the main attack was coming... there!

Goki's club swung toward his torso, but Ose was already airborne, leaping over the oni in a spiraling twirl. He landed behind Goki, just as the oni was processing the sudden disappearance, and flicked his tail upward to smack the oni upside the head.

"Not bad," he mused as the oni collected himself. "If I were on your level, that probably would have worked. But you can't just play to your strengths, especially when facing a stronger opponent. You have to play to their weaknesses as well."

------------------------------------------

- Aeris -

Aeris raised an eyebrow at Cleo's quip. Even on the ground, his mouth kept going.

"I expect everything's an ego trip for you," she mused as he rolled away from the crack of her whip. "Don't get me wrong. Humility is overrated. But you have to be able to back up the attitude, hun, and so far, I'm not seeing it."

She stepped forward, but Cleo seemed determined not to draw a weapon, even as he continued to run his mouth. Cheeky thing.

"The safe word's for your protection, not mine," she crooned, her whip dancing around her. "Sometimes I can get a bit... carried away. Especially with people watching. It's an exhibitionist thing, I suppose."

He watched the movement of her whip, eyes following every undulation. Yes, he had enough sense to know the weakness of a whip and how to exploit them, it seems. Well... she'd just let that play out.

"All right, then," she said, cracking the whip. "Let's see who ends up on their back first."

She snapped the whip toward his face as a feint, then drew short and swung it around low toward his leg to ensnare him.