EX Mission: Santa Frost is Coming to Town

Chaldea - Hall of Learning

- Thoth -

Up on the bookshelf, Thoth turned to peer down at Cleo with his dark, glittering eyes.

"Impudent boy," the demon muttered, shaking his head.

He turned back and continued his work, clearly dismissing Cleo for now.

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Chaldea - Cathedral Hill

- Bastion -

Bastion felt a smile tug at his lips at Vayu's words. Yes, maybe they all did.

A moment later, he felt a tug on his sleeve and turned his head to glance at Rory.

"Tell me more about... Santa," she said softly.

Santa? He thought about the bits he'd gleaned from the books he'd studied. He told her about the legends of Saint Nicholas, about how he'd spread presents to all children during the time of Christmas.

Rory's face glowed with childlike excitement. "We should do a present exchange too! We can do it at the Devil's Cocktail. All of you, and Komori, and Nena, and me." She paused, then added. "Oh... and maybe Mongo."

"All right," Bastion agreed. He had no idea what he'd get any of them, but he'd cross that bring when he came to it.

Then Nihility broke the moment with an ominous question.

"Round two?" Bastion gulped.

And then the moment dissolved into chaos once more. By the time the second round finished, they were all exhausted and quite soggy with both sweat and snow. After saying their goodbyes, they parted ways back to the Barracks.

And still, the snow continued to fall...

Chaldea - Devil's Cocktail

- Bastion -

The next morning, Bastion knew something was wrong. The light filtering through his window seemed odd, and it took him a moment to realize why. Snow was piled thick against his window, impenetrable. Fortunately, someone seemed to have carved a path out of the Barracks, and he followed it down to the Devil's Cocktail, snow continuing to drift downward the entire time. Once again, a crowd had gathered there - smaller, but no less worked up.

"What are we supposed to do?" someone asked.

"The whole city will be buried at this rate!" another shouted.

"Everyone, calm down," Komori ordered. "We're looking into it, and we'll resolve the situation as quickly as we can. Please, be patient and stay indoors if you can."

The people departed after much muttering, and Komori sighed. Nena slid a drink across the bar to him, and he gratefully accepted it.

"All right, you lot," he said after a swig, turning to Bastion and the other Vanguard, who all seemed to have drifted their on their own. "It's time to find that Santa Frost. We need answers."

The female vanguard was absentmindedly creating some abstract art on the cold window glass when Komori suggested some answers.

"Well, it's cold out there and Chaldea is somewhat of a large area, not to mention it is overflowing with this snow. Would it not be easier if we simply led him to us?"

Nihility wiped away the image with a swipe of her palm and turned her gaze towards the rest of the vanguards and their teachers.

"I mean, how about we set up some kind of shrine or altar in his image, in hopes of attracting him towards it." Nihility pointed her thumb out the window. "Or, we could even take it to the next level. We could set up a vigil. Make it look like he died and we are all gathered around the monument praying for his departed soul... What's the best way of bringing a prominent outgoing figure out into the open? Fake his death. Because that might eventually lead to people moving on and forgetting the deceased. Most people do not wish to be forgotten and so, the living will do whatever it takes to shed the spotlight on themselves and make sure people are aware that they exist and matter."

Nihility shrugged her shoulders and slouched back onto the window sill. "Or, we could all go out into the thick snow, spread out and search for Santa Frost. With numbers, someone will eventually be bound to locate him."

Zephyr Arc

Zephyr woke the next day feeling a bit cold. He sniffed and found his nose stuffed with mucus, confirming the suspicion that he'd caught a cold. "Cherryyy! I'm siiiiiick!" He groaned as he sat up, catching sight of the window. "Ugh, looks like I won't even get to rest up." He sighed as the little pixie floated to his side, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"That's what you get for overdoing it at the snowball fight!" She yelled once she was lucid. "Hey, it was your fault it fell on me!" He retorted back, recalling when he'd supersized a snowball during their second round, leading to him getting clobbered by Cherry and being flattened under it.

Putting the banter beside them, the two took their time with their morning routine before getting dressed in warm clothing. They found someone had carved a path through the snow when they finally got out and followed it to the Devil's Cocktail. He walked in as Komori addressed them, absent-mindedly walking up to the bar and asking if they had any hot chocolate or the like, sprawling his opper body over the countertop as he sat.

He finally perked up a little when he got his drink and spoke up once Nihility was done, while sipping his drink. "That could work. Maybe set up a giant Christmas Tree and have someone announce Santa's funeral... Samael has a voice amplifying ability if I recall correctly. I can handle supersizing so we can make a pretty large tree too." His speech was slightly hindered by his cold, but he was still able to articulate well enough to be understood. The pixie on his shoulder sat bundled up, prepared to translate if anyone had any trouble.

Chaldea
- Vayu -

Early the next morning, the scene outside hadn’t changed much. Vayu stood outside, overlooking Chaldea. The snow kept on coming and while it looked beautiful, he felt a growing concern.

“Catequil. Come here,” he called out his demon. “I think our workout today will be… shoveling snow!” Vayu grinned and tossed his demon a snow shovel.

Catequil looked anything but enthusiastic about it. “This is menial work,” he complained. “Why are you so excited about snow? It’s wet and cold.”

Vayu laughed. “Not happening. You’ll just have to learn to appreciate this kind of work,” he replied. “Besides, I promised Nena that I’d help out at the bar today. Warm meals are in high demand!” Vayu was still enthusiastic about the whole thing. And with a grumbling demon in tow, they tackled the snow.

A while later, Komori and the other Vanguards began to gather at the bar. His gut feeling was right, there was cause for concern.

“I think we should try attracting Santa Frost first. If we go out in this snow, we’ll spend too much energy and might get lost ourselves.” Vayu commented.

He arrived at their table with a tray and placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of Zephyr. After a couple seconds of contemplation, he went into the back and came back with a bowl of soup. “You better not get anyone else sick.”

- Cleo -

Cleo sat at the bar, nursing a drink while the others discussed ways to find this 'Santa Frost'. To be honest, his mind was elsewhere though. Taking another slow draft of his drink, he let his mind wander to the night before...


With his special "training" behind him, and exhausted Cleo stumbled into his room and flopped on the bed. A moment later, the warm body under the covers rolled onto his back, softly kneading clawed hands into his shoulders. "You're back later than usual."

Chuckling, he laid in place, letting Nekomata do as she pleased. "It's been an eventful day, Kitten."

He felt her lean down over him, burying her face in his neck. "You smell like another woman." The claws dug in a little more firmly as she rubbed her cheek against him.

"One of our instructors." Cleo responded, shifting beneath Nekomata so that he could face her.

"That's hardly an excuse..." She trailed her knuckles down the center of his chest before pressing her lips over his. "I'll just have to purge her from your system." She whispered.

Chuckling again, Cleo rolled them over, putting her beneath him. "By all means, don't let me stop you."

As he lowered his lips towards hers again, he felt her fingers comb through his hair, and he tensed before reaching up to grasp her wrists with one hand. His reaction obviously wasn't lost on her, but she didn't fight him as he pinned her hands over her head.

"That's the third time in as many days." She said as he started to close the gap between them again.

Okay. So, maybe she was going to call him on it instead.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cleo responded, but it was without conviction. They both knew he was very aware of what she meant.

"You used to love me touching them." Nekomata continued, giving him a predatory look, despite the fact that she was the one pinned down.

"I love you touching a lot of my things." The response was quick, almost overly so, and judging from the look on her face, she knew he was deflecting.

"Just not your horns?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cleo felt what blood hadn't already run south drain from his face. "My... What?"

She squinted at him, like he was a puzzle that she was trying to solve. "Your horns. A many demons that have them find it relaxing to have them rubbed."

His mind was running a mile a minute now. "I'm not a..." No, that might not be true anymore. After looking in the mirror Cleo couldn't be sure of anything. He swallowed, trying to ignore the panic rising within him. "When did you notice them?"

"The first night." She responded, looking slightly confused. "Although they've gotten more pronounced since the last mission."

He was stunned. If Cleo was understanding her correctly, she was implying that he'd always had them...


Somehow resisting the urge to press his fingers to his temples, no his horns, Cleo instead tried to focus on the conversation around him. Apparently, they were planning to try and lure out whatever was causing all the snowfall. It didn't sound like a bad distraction, actually...

Samael

Samael Jolted awake as a loud "BAM" echoed among the room as he suddenly turned his head to see Goki with one of his white pieces wrapped around his head like a bandanna and began punching a pillow into a wall with a determined look on his face.

Goki knew what he heard from Ose about how he might not be able to improve. However, having another demon understand him gave him a burst of energy. He may not be incredibly strong, but he'll prove himself in other ways. Samael helped him, so he was going to help him back whether he liked it or not.

"What are you doing Goki?" Samael muttered half asleep as he rose to see the oni fuming, and glancing out the window. As Samael's eyes suddenly came to view and he saw all the snow, what... what...

WHAT?!

"Why is there so much snow?" Samael said in shock, as he turned his head to Goki who he now noticed was wearing another piece of yellow fabric as a tail, like he was imitating Ose. Well, does that mean they got along?

"It must be that Bicorn! He's trying to snow out our match! He's scared!" Goki roared raising his arms and flexing them like some sort of bodybuilder.

"Stop! It's not Bicorn. Let's go to the hall, Komori might know more." Samael stated, pulling out some knitted heavier jackets with a smaller heavy 'menacing' Black coat and beanie for Goki to put on as Goki pulled out his 'tail' so that it would show through the heavy Jacket.

The two reached the bar as they walked over to the rest of the group, hearing them discuss information about plans. He didn't like the idea of announcing the creatures death since it just might anger it more, but Zeyphr did have a point about his voice amplifier spell.

"I agree, we just need a large object though. I can disguise the object as a Christmas tree or do some other disguises, just give me the word." Samael stated, as Goki wandered next to Samael in his heavy coat glancing over at Komori to see if he could spot Ose.

Chaldea - Devil's Cocktail

- Bastion -

It was true that bringing Santa Frost to them made more sense than trying to search the whole city, but the question was how to do that. Pretending to mourn his death seemed a commonly echoed suggestion, but Bastion wasn't sure that would work. After all, what had Santa Frost said the first time he saw the funny little demon, or after he'd ruined their sledding competition?

"Hee ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, Chaldea! Good tiding and great cheer, for Santa Frost has come to town!"

Santa Frost waved his arms happily. "Santa brings the snow. Santa brings joy and laughter to all the boys and girls."

"No," Bastion said, causing everyone to look over at him. "He's not doing this for attention - well, not entirely. He's trying to bring Chaldea happiness through the snow, like the stories from the old world."

Nena propped her elbows on the counter and raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, we need sadness, especially the sadness of children. If he thinks he can bring us cheer, he'll come racing along to help."

He glanced around at Rory, half-distracted as she swept snow out of the bar, who blinked up at him and blushed.

"Samael," he said, turning to the other Vanguard. "Can you magnify Rory's voice across Chaldea? We'll have her cry to draw Santa Frost in. Nena and Komori can pose as her parents and pretend to tell her they can't afford to get her any gifts. He'll be sure to try to jump in and help."

Ose snorted from the back of the bar. Evidently, Komori had asked him to come, as he usually never showed up there. "This is nonsense. I'll track him down myself."

He strode past them all to the door, pausing when he caught a good look at Goki. He blinked, taking in his unusual appearance, then offered a (somewhat confused) nod before stepping outside.

"I have to agree," Aeris sighed, sliding out from the corner booth. "Much as this grand production sounds fun, I'd rather do something myself."

"No one asked you," Nena muttered as Aeris strolled out after Ose.

"Then..." Bastion began when Nena suddenly strode out from behind the bar, grabbing Rory with one hand and Komori with the other.

"We'll be the most convincing family you've ever seen!" she declared, squeezing them both in beside her. Both Rory and Komori flushed, one looking more pleased than the other. Bastion had to wonder whose benefit this was really for...

"It's settled then," Bastion said. "Now, here's the rest of it..."

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Upon a rooftop, slumped against a chimney, Santa Frost waved his scepter around in frustration.

"Why won't it hee ho work!" he squeaked. He whacked it against the bricks for good measure, then thought better of it. If he brought it back dented or scratched...

"WAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!"

A terrible cry rent the silence. Santa Frost leaped to his little feet, glancing about. Crying. A child's cry!

He leaped from the roof to the adjacent roof, heading toward the sound of the cry. He stopped when he reached a small square and saw a young girl sitting in the snow, burying her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," a man said, gently stroking her hair. "We just can't afford any presents. If only I hadn't gotten that injury. Then I could work, and..."

He too buried his face in his hands. The woman beside him - the mother, Santa Frost supposed - threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh, my husband!" she wailed. "My dearest daughter! Your grief shatters my heart to pieces. Where have all the miracles gone? Why did hope have to shrivel and die!!!"

Santa Frost squeaked, his heart moved by the tragedy of it all. With a little "hee!" he leaped from the roof and landed in the snow beside them.

"Miracles come with Santa, and Santa Frost is here!" he said. "No more crying! Not one more tear!"

Almost poetic, Bastion thought, right before the hiding Vanguards dog piled him from behind. Santa Frost squealed and flailed, trying to get free, but they held onto him tight.

"Rory, if you wouldn't mind," Bastion said.

She nodded, murmured a small apology, the sat on Santa Frost, pinning him to the ground. Santa Frost let out one more feeble "hee" before falling still.

"There you go!" Nena said, beaming. "I told you we'd be the most convincing act you ever saw. Maybe bartending was never my true calling. Perhaps the stage!"

Komori smiled weakly and shook his head. "Maybe take some time to think about it."

A long time. Bastion sighed. That little act wouldn't have convinced anyone but the painfully naive demon before them.

"You're all going to go on the Naughty List, you know," Santa Frost muttered as they stared down at him.

"Never mind that," Bastion replied, crouching down before him. "We have some questions for you."

Chaldea – The Devil’s Cocktail
- Vayu -

Vayu was absentmindedly drinking his hot chocolate and almost choked on it when he heard Bastion’s idea. Sadness? How was he going to produce sad children?

When he could breathe again, he frowned.

“C’mon. No one is going to fall for that,” he said, sounding almost disparaging.

And while it seemed Ose and Aeris agreed, they both left. Vayu on the other hand stayed. He wasn’t sure what surprised him more. That they thought the idea itself could work or the sheer enthusiasm the actors displayed.

He watched from inside the bar and only stepped outside when the others had pinned Santa Frost to the ground.

“Naughty-Schmaughty. I cannot believe you fell for that. How naïve can you get?” Vayu glared at Santa Frost when he approached the group. He stepped on the wrist that held the scepter, pinning the arm effectively down. Then he took the scepter from Santa Frost, the only thing he could discern as a potential weapon, and began spinning it in his hand.

[quote="Shadow-Heart"]


Nihility followed Vayu out of the pub and was standing beside him when he robbed Santa Frost off his Scepter.

"Oh no!! Whatever will we do now?" The aspiring actress arched her head back and to the side, while covering her eyes with the back of her palm, and the other arm stretched away from her and to the sky.

"I had been working so hard this year to be a good person." she mimicked sobbing like a little girl.

"And now, we have been sent to the Naughty list." Nihility fake cried some more.


Then, turning her gaze towards the fancy sceptre in Vayu's hand, she reached for it.

"Maybe, I can sell this decorative rod for a bag of coin and buy myself and the others some gifts from that."

With all smiles now and rubbing away at her eyes, Nihility waited for a response from the creature that was helplessly pinned into the ground.

Zephyr Arc

Zephyr sat on top of the dogpile, watching Vayu snatch the scepter from the little snowman as he berated the poor demon. Nihility then joined in, wondering about selling the scepter. "I'm not sure it's a good idea to wave around a random scepter from a demon..." He commented, before turning to Santa Frost.

"Alright little guy, we can see you had the best of intentions, but we're gonna need to ask you to turn down this little snow storm you got here, or kids are actually gonna end up crying and freezing to death with no presents!" He told the little thing after cupping its head in his hands. "...if you can't, we'd like you to help us do so. Otherwise no one's gonna be able to celebrate Christmas this year." He looked it in the eye and did his best to sound grave as he spoke the last sentece... not that that required much effort. Things really would get ugly if the snow came down any harder...

Samael

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this but... it's probably the best way to convince him without conflict.  he likes Christmas right?" Samael whined his face turning red as Rudolf's nose from either the cold or the embarrassment... maybe both?

Goki let out a light mocking cackle, as the small oni quickly silenced himself when Samael shot him a look of pure rage.  The oni shrinking so much that he might as well of been hidden in the snow.

"W-Welll.... Introducing, Santa Claus!" Goki called out in a shout of glee, as he rose his eleven mittens up towards the building behind him.

"Transform." Samael muttered, as he walked out from behind a nearby building looking like a stereotypical Santa Claus as he rose his head over the Santa Frost with a look like he was a disappointed father.

"Ho, Ho, Ho." Samael shouted in the most stereotypical santa voice he could muster with the help of his noise manipulation spell, as he pulled out a bag of 'gifts' and set it besides him his large belly and figure towering over santa frost.

"That's hardly fitting of a Santa!  Threatening good meaning people with the naughty list!  These fine folk called me down here personally because they were worried about the snow covering their town." 'Santa stated wagging his finger at Santa frost before switching to a mischievous smile like he was talking to a child who just did something bad, "Now!  I understand you can't have Christmas without snow, but let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas!  Bringing people together!"

'Santa' gave a solemn frown at that remark, as he rose his hand to a giant pile of snow that had blockaded one of the buildings in so that you could barely make it out.  Figures of vanguards peering from the inside, 'eagerly' seeing if their place would get cleared next.

"How do you expect people to meet their families when they can barely move around themselves?  Though, even I'm perplexed on how to stop this snow storm, so I could use your help santa frost!  Two santas working together!"  Santa stated as he puffed out his big fat belly.  He outstretched his red mitten for Santa frost to grab, so he could help him out of the dog pile that was crushing him into the snow.

Chaldea - Backstreets

- Bastion -

Bastion rubbed his temples at the absolute mess this interrogation was turning out to be. Santa Frost was already proving uncooperative, but when his scepter was swiped by Vayu and passed to Nihility, he flailed more desperately than ever.

"Heee!" he squeaked. "You can't! Then the snow will never stop! And King Frost-"

He froze, then clamped his little hands to his mouth. Bastion frowned. King Frost?

Before he could ask, Samael appeared, dressed up just like Santa Claus from the story books. Good grief... Bastion sighed and shook his head as Zephyr and Samael attempted to coax the little demon into helping.

Considering he proved naive enough to fall for Rory, Komori, and especially Nena's terrible acting, it wasn't too surprising that Santa Frost immediately gaped at Samael in surprise.

"Santa! A real hee-ho Santa Claus!" he chirped excitedly.

Taking Samael's hand, he let the other Santa pull him up to his feet, where he flapped his arms.

"I tried to be a good Santa. I did," he exclaimed. "I brought presents and good cheer and snow. But, well..."

He shuffled his feet sheepishly, glancing at the scepter. And Bastion suddenly understood.

"You can't stop the snow, can you?" he asked.

"I tried!" Santa Frost flapped his arms and bounced on his feet like a bird trying to take flight. "But it's not working for me."

"Because it's not yours." Komori seemed to be catching on as well. "You stole it from King Frost."

"Not steal!" Santa Frost protested. "Santa doesn't steal. Just... borrowed."

Komori sighed. "Oh boy."

Bastion frowned. Sure, this complicated things, but it couldn't be that bad. If Santa Frost could take it back to King Frost, then he could fix this.

Komori seemed to read his thoughts and shook his head. "I can't say I know him well, but from what I understand, King Frost isn't very... accommodating."

Santa Frost gave a very telling whine in the back of his throat that told Bastion the old Vanguard was underselling things.

"Still, we don't gave much choice but to find him." Komori glanced at Santa Frost. "And you're going to lead us there."

Santa Frost shuffled his feet, looking like he might protest, but before he could, Ose landed beside Komori as light as a cat.

"I don't think that will be necessary," the demon said in a low growl.

Komori raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? And where have you been?"

Ose glanced back toward the gates to Chaldea. "The city walls. We have a visitor."

"Visitor?" they all asked.

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Chaldea - City Walls

- Bastion -

Keeping Santa Frost heavily guarded by a menacing escort of Ose, Nihility, and Komori, the group made their way up to the battlements overlooking the city walls and into the wasteland beyond. Aeris was already there, staring out across the snow-covered plains.

"What's-?" Komori began when something large and white hurtled toward them through the air. The younger Vanguards flinched, ready to react, but the giant snowball simply crashed into an invisible barrier over the city.

"He's been pelting the gates non-stop for the last few minutes," Aeris grunted. "You'd think he'd learn..."

Gazing out, Bastion saw a large figure standing out on the snow plains, towering over an escort of Jack Frosts.



When he spotted them standing on the walls, he let out a booming, high-pitched voice. "Hee-ho humans! I am King Frost, and I demand the return of my hee-ho scepter! It's no use denying it! The evidence is all around us!"

Santa Frost shrank behind the taller humans, shaking. Komori frowned at him, then retrieved the scepter and held it up.

"King Frost, this has all been a terrible misunderstanding. We'll be happy to return the scepter, if you would kindly stop the snowfall over Chaldea."

King Frost pointed a stubby finger at Komori and the others. "Demands are not made of kings! You will return it to me... along with the thief who stole it."

Bastion shot a disapproving look at Santa Frost. It only seemed fair, and had he been calling the shots, he'd probably have agreed to the terms. But Komori was also glancing at Santa Frost, his expression softening as the little demon shuddered from safely out of sight.

"And what will you do with them?" he asked.

It was amazing for anything to look that blithely innocent, and yet, speak with such callous pomposity. "I shall teach them the penalty for stealing from a hee-ho king. A mistake they'll never repeat."

There was a moment's silence. Komori frowned, folding his arms in thought. Rory bit her lip, gazing up at him with pleading eyes. Aeris and Ose exchanged looks, both annoyed but resigned.

With a tiny little sigh, Santa Frost got to his feet. "I'm sorry, other Santa," he said, looking up at Samael. "I've been a bad Santa after all." He turned and placed his hands on the wall, trying to shimmy up. However, Komori pushed him back down and shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's not agreeable," he said. "The thief is in our custody and ours to handle. The scepter is all we're willing - and happy - to return."

King Frost flailed his fists. "This is not a hee-ho negotiation! If you won't deliver the scepter and the thief to me, then I will take them myself."

The others exchanged looks.

"Nena, Rory, head back to the bar and take shelter," Komori ordered.

"Why? What can he do?" Aeris said dismissively. "We're protected from spells and magical attacks."

Bastion tightened his jaw. "But not armies."

Out on the plains, King Frost had slowly begun to raise his hands. In answer, the snow around him began to tremble, then swell like a boiling pot. After a moment, huge, hulking figures burst from the snow until a small army of the snow golems stood littering the plains, all staring down the small group on the wall.

- Cleo -

Cleo had watched the events of the day unfold with mild amusement up until now. Even helping the others "capture" the mischievous "Santa Frost", had been an excellent distraction from his previous state of mind. What now stared them down from outside the walls was definitely still a distraction. However, it was no longer anywhere near amusing.

His eyes drifted to Komori, then to Rory, and finally to Santa Frost, trembling against the wall. Of course, the old softie wasn't going to turn over this tiny demon to the frigid monarch outside the wall, especially not with Rory around to see...

"I thought the spirit of Christmas was about giving," Cleo muttered as he leaned against the wall beside Komori, "not taking." Apparently, King Frost either hadn't been told that, or more likely, he just didn't care.

"Should we, uh..." He gestured to the monstrosities rising from the snow. "Report this to someone?" It wasn't like they were the only Vanguards within the city walls. So, despite the fact that they'd taken it upon themselves to solve this problem, informing someone about their current circumstances was starting to sound like a good idea. If those things got inside the walls, the streets would be in chaos. Well, the streets that had been shoveled today, anyway.

Chaldea – City Walls
- Vayu -

Vayu kept the scepter out of Nihility’s reach, but kept it still at the advice of Zephyr. He was probably right, waving that thing around wasn’t a good idea.

He then watched Samael’s performance. What the heck? He didn’t understand, since he’d never heard the stories from the old world. But whatever it was, it seemed to calm Santa Frost down and get him to somewhat cooperate.

They moved to the city walls when Ose announced that they had a visitor, being held at bay by Aeris.

King Frost.

Vayu shook his head. This day was just getting weirder and weirder.

“This is ridiculous,” Vayu commented when King Frost’s army approached over the wasteland. “What a childish king, if he even is a king.”

“Looks like we’re in for another snowball fight,” Vayu said with a chuckle. This situation was so bizarre, he couldn’t quite take it seriously.

[quote="Shadow-Heart"]


"Well, it's not like I was really going to take and sell it." Nihility mumbled in response to Zephyr's and Vayu's reaction to her acting skit.

After the situation dissolved and then escalated to escorting the little snowball towards the gate, the female vanguard put on a serious face and covered the thief's back, making sure he wouldn't slip through any side gaps for a quick daring escape.

When the group reached the top of the gate, the situation seemed to be making her a bit confounded. Nihility thought that it would be easier to just launch the scaredy-cat who was already whiter than a sheet, to the angry fatty who was looking for his walking cane. Using Shoggoth to grab and throw the Santa Frost like a snowball towards the enemy at the gate would be quite simple, but the main concern would be taking the Sceptre from Vayu. Nihility didn't really want to cause discord between the vanguards if she couldn't solve the situtaion in one fell swoop. She could deal with the consequences later, but that all would have been the case if she did succeed in flinging both items that King Frost desired from them.


Nihility then approached Komori and the other upper vanguards. Speaking in a low whisper so that the army at the gate couldn't hear them, she proposed another scenario.

"I guess, if we are not going to give up the Bat and SnowBall to the greedy King, then why don't we exile them both out the backdoor or something?" She then shrugged and waved at the hidden creature below,

"I mean, just give the runt the sceptre and let him run. Once the King chases him, we could stab his army from behind and give the little guy some more time, to take whatever further actions he wishes."

Zephyr Arc

With their powers combined, Santa Frost quickly relented and became much more cooperative. He had an inkling Samael won out on persuasiveness though.

The little guy came clean and it soon became apparent that he couldn't stop the snow... and it seemed the one that could is the kind of guy that's a pain to deal with. It appeared it wasn't too soon to learn this as visitors apparently came knocking more or less immediately once that mystery was solved.

They changed venues to the walls and bore witness to exactly how difficult this king frost character was. "So, what now? Do we just wail on them with arrows or what?" Zephyr asked as he loaded his crossbow.

Chaldea - Atop the Wall

- Komori -

King Frost raised his stubby arms and pointed at the wall. "Attack!"

The snow golems lumbered slowly forward, then began to pick up momentum as they moved. After a few moments, they were in an all-out charge toward the walls.

Komori's jaw clenched as he watched, but he nodded at Cleo's suggestion. Yes, the rest of the Vanguard and the Council would need to be alerted. But Bastion was already using his gauntlet to contact Amira somewhere inside the city to get her on the job.

Nihility approached him at the same time and suggested booting out Santa Frost, along with the scepter, as bait. Komori frowned at her and shook his head.

"We're not going to force him out against his will with his life in danger," he said firmly. "That's not how we do things."

Zephyr loaded his crossbow and approached the edge of the wall. "So, what now? Do we just wail on them with arrows or what?"

Komori took stock of the people he had to work with and stroked his chin. "We need to hold the walls," he said said to the others. "But we'll never get anywhere if we just act defensively. We'll need to send a group in to strike at King Frost. If we can topple him, the assault should end. Aeris-"

As he turned to her, Aeris leaped over the side of the wall and plummeted toward the ground, a drop that would surely kill her, even with the snow covering the ground. But mid-flight, she summoned a demon from her gauntlet, who caught hold of her with one arm and safely landed her on the ground. Without a backward glance, Aeris rushed into the horde of approaching frost golems, her whip cracking through the air.

Komori sighed and rubbed a hand over his hair. "Right. Aeris, Cleo, Vayu, Bastion... and Nihility. You'll be the frontal assault. Zephyr, Samael, Ose, and I will cover the walls for now. Stay in touch with the gauntlets. When enough reinforcements come to man the walls, we'll try to join you out there."

Ose growled impatiently but didn't object. Bastion nodded and summoned Archangel from his gauntlet, who caught him and swooped down into the battlefield below.

Once the assault team had left, Ose pulled out his swords and approached the edge of the wall. "If we have to babysit the town, let's at least make this interesting."

Komori raised an eyebrow. "Interesting?"

"Yes." The first golem stuck its head up over the wall, and Ose cleanly severed it. "The one with the most kills wins."

Komori sighed. Always a competition. Well... it could be fun. "All right," he said, grinning. "May the best man - or demon - win."

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

Chaldea - Wastelands

- Bastion -

Bastion's boots hit the snow as Archangel dropped him in the middle of a cluster of golems. Bastion whipped his spear around, slicing off the arm of the nearest golem as it struck out at him. They weren't very durable, but those icicles embedded in their body were lethally sharp.

His mind flashed to the spearhead shooting through his body, and he flinched.

"Bastion!" Archangel chided, blocking a blow from reaching his master. "Focus."

"Right," Bastion murmured, ducking under Archangel's outstretched wings and hurtling a Holy Horn spell right through the golems head.

As the golem collapsed into a pile of snow, Bastion pivoted and ran to his right. King Frost should be that way.

- Cleo -

Cleo belted out a laugh as Aeris dived over the side of the wall. Obviously, the woman was at least two-thirds crazy, but if he was being honest, he kind of liked that about her. Besides, they didn’t exactly have the time to climb down from the wall right now. This needed to happen quickly.

Still chuckling, Cleo stepped up onto the battlements and pivoted, spinning to face Komori. “Hold down the fort, old-timer. We’re gonna go have some fun.” Grinning like a fool, he leaned back, letting his weight carry him over the wall.

Beneath him a horde of giant snowmen shuffled forward, preparing to scale the city’s defenses. Perfect. He raised an open hand towards one of them, and the world flipped over as his Bait and Switch spell put him on his feet. Behind him, there was a crash, as the snowman he’d switched places with fell into two others, driving them all into the ground. He briefly turned to look at his handiwork. Too bad no one else seemed to have been watching.

Still smiling, he turned back towards the direction King Frost had last been seen, only to have the shadow of a giant snowman loom over him. It roared as it leapt into the air, raising both arms, as if to slam them down on top of him.

Caught off-guard, Cleo couldn’t react in time to dodge, but before the arms came down, flames licked through the air, and instead of being pounded into the ground, Cleo was doused with a wave of cold water, followed by a coating of snow, which was thrown up by the now armless snowman crashing into the ground in front of him.

Grinding his teeth together to keep them from chattering, Cleo turned his head to see a grinning Nekomata standing beside him. “That’s c-cold, Kitten.”

“I’ll be sure to warm you up later.” She ran a hand over his shoulder, brushing away some of the snow that had settled there. “Which will be sooner if you stop playing in the snow and take care of business.” She gestured towards the demon towering over the others.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m working on it.” Brushing off his other shoulder, he started in that direction, trying to keep the shivering to a minimum.

“I brought you your toys.” Nekomata held up his weapons, looking amused.

“Thanks.” He retrieved the swords and strapped them onto his person.

“You’re welcome, and if you're a good boy, I promise that’s the only cold shower I’ll make you take today.” She ran a possessive claw down his cheek before flicking her other hand at the armless snowman, which melted away beneath the heat of her flame flick spell.

Chaldea – City Walls - Frontal Assault
- Vayu -

“Well, alright,” Vayu grinned and hopped on the ledge. “Ferox,” he called out his demon. He grabbed it by the feet, and they glided down the wall.

“Keep using Wing Buffet on the ice golems,” he called out and drew his ninjato. While the Zhen demon got busy slicing the golems with wind, Vayu cast a series of his confusion spells to slow their attacks. That gave him enough time to finish them off.

He couldn’t quite see where everyone was, but when he saw Bastion move to the right, he changed course as well.

“Ferox!” he called his demon. “More to the right. We need to reach King Frost.”

He tapped his gauntlet, activating the map. It showed they were on the right path. The moment of distraction was enough for a golem to loom over him. Before he could react, the Zhen demon picked up speed and used its body to pierce right through the ice. Icicles and snow rained down on Vayu.

“Good job!” he said and gave it a thumbs up. “Now onwards!”

Nihility found herself once again shrugging and mumbling in resignation.

"it's not like we wouldn't have had his back."

Following Bastion, the female vanguard too took a simple step off the great wall. Of course, she didn't have any suicidal tendencies. Shoggoth's liquid ooze cocooned Nihility inside as they crashed on top of some snow-men. The whip-sword wielding Vanguard emerged out from within her demon and went about mercilessly shredding the closest snow-demon. She spun her whip-sword and slashed away at the demons in her path so as to catch up to Bastion who had made a bee-line towards the Snow-King.

Shoggoth, still in her ooze state, flung Nihility up into the air and at the same time seeped back into the vanguard gauntlet. The flying girl safely cupped her thighs around Tyrian as he materialized as on cue to her landing direction.

"My Lady, let's rush through these minions."

With Fleet Foot activated on both Steed and Rider, the pair pushed through like a razor-sharp whirlwind.

Samael

So that's what happened... Santa frost stole from king frost? What an idiot, if he would of been a little bit more thoughtful this whole issue would of been prevented. They could of just proceeded on with their duties.

Samael's jolly santa face turned into a deep scowl, as he glared at Santa frost for a second before he felt a light pain in his leg, as he tilted forward barely keeping his balance.

"Wha...?" Samael muttered, as he turned around to see Goki wagging his club at him with a disapproving look. The oni waddled over to Santa frost, as he placed his hand on the creature with a 'cool' looking smile on his face, and his chest puffed out.

"I was a bad oni before too, but now I'm santa's top helper!" Goki stated like some action hero, as he held out his club to an ice golem who was beginning to climb over the wall as Maga began to swirl around him.

"His heart was in the right place, after all, Bastion seemed a lot happier because of the snow." Samael stated in a semi-jolly voice, as he ran alongside goki towards the snow golem.

"Bully's Bluff!" Goki chanted, as he dashed towards the golem and slammed his club as hard as he could into the golem as his head cracked off the body and flew off the wall into the crowd of other golems.

"And! Christmas Blizzard!" Samael called out, his face turning red as he habitually slipped into character for his new disguise. Samael merged the disguise spell along with the void pulse spell cause a thick blizzard of snow like energy to launch from his hands as it slammed into the golems obstructing their vision.

"Now! Quickly, use this chance, they're disoriented!" 'Santa' called out to the other vanguards gesturing them to move.

Chaldea - Wastelands

- Bastion -

King Frost hee'd and ho'd to himself, waving his little arms about in frustration. "Maybe mass hee-ho production lowers the snow golems' effectiveness? Still, hee-ho numbers will still win the day. They can't last forever!"

Just then, something swooped out of the sky before him. Before he could more than squeak in surprise, the Archangel's sword has swiped against his armor - and bounced off. King Frost laughed as Archangel banked away and returned to Bastion's side as the other Vanguards emerged from the crowd of snow golems to face the fairy demon.

"So, you'd defy a hee-ho king? I'll teach you a lesson!"

Raising his hands, he let out a malicious peal of giggles as the wind and snow began to swirl around them, forming a boundary around them. "Cold World!"

Bastion gritted his teeth and shivered as the already cold temperature began to rapidly plummet. This wasn't good. They'd collapse from hypothermia if they didn't do something quickly. But that armor King Frost wore would make physical attacks difficult to dent.

"Now, take your punishment!" King Frost cried. "Ice Cannon!"

Bastion's legs felt sluggish and heavy as he dove aside just as the snowball launched from King Frost's back slammed into the ground with a thunderous burst. King Frost turned to aim a second shot, then squeaked and raised his arms, conjuring an ice wall just in time. The arrow that had whizzed through the air stopped just short of his head, the shaft encased in ice.

"Oh, not half bad," Aeris mused, approaching with her demon Artemis by her side. "But I wonder if you can block my arrows faster than I can send them.

King Frost gave a faint whimper of "hee" before scowling at her. But before he could say anything in response, Artemis returned to Aeris' gauntlet.

"Not very sporting, though. Not when you're surrounded," she mused.

"Not really the time!" Bastion growled through chattering teeth.

"You're the one who's surrounded!" King Frost snapped. "Jack Frosts!"

The Jack Frost demons, who had been sheltering behind King Frost's considerable bulk, rushed out to surround the group, looking somewhat unhappy with the order.

"Take them down!" King Frost ordered, aiming another Ice Cannon shot at the Vanguards.

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Chaldea - Atop the Wall

- Komori -

Ose bared his teeth in a feral grin as he leaped up and brought his swords slashing downward, slicing the snow golem into three parts, which dissolved harmlessly into snow.

"You'll have to hurry if you want to keep up," he said to Komori.

Komori smacked his palm against the flat of his blade, Biter, sending a shockwave that blasted several golems right off the wall.

"It's all about stamina," Komori retorted. "You have to learn to play the long game."

"Whatever you say." Ose snorted. "Old man..."

"Hey!" Komori chopped off a golem's head, narrowly avoiding the icicle aimed for his heart. "Who are you calling old? You're like a thousand."

Santa Frost hid along the wall, watching Ose and Komori's banter and battling. They were flawless in strength and technique, but it was getting harder and harder for them to keep up with the sheer number of golems, and more and more of them were making it over the walls before they could be cut down. Would they eventually be overrun? Would the people of Chaldea suffer because of him?

"Hee..." he murmured. He'd just wanted to bring smiles and joy to people. That's all.

And now here he was, hiding, while others were endangered by his own actions.

He sat up, narrowing his eyes and waving his fists. This was hee-ho absurd! Hadn't he first arrived to Chaldea, hoping to be a Vanguard and save the helpless? How could he just sit here while others tried to undo his mistakes?

Santa Frost - no, Van Frost - threw off his red robes and returned to his Vanguard garb. No more hiding! No more playing! Time to do what he was meant to do!

Leaping from the wall, katana in one hand and scepter in the other, Van Frost disappeared into the hoard of snow golems below.

- Cleo -

At least the physical activity was keeping him warm. That was the best thought Cleo could produce as he cut his way through the giant snowmen before him. Unfortunately, with each one that toppled over, he became a little more coated in snow. The stuff was starting to seep into his bones. It didn’t help that the closer he got to King Frost, the more frigid the air currents seemed to become.

“Surely you’re not running out of stamina already.” Nekomata quipped as she sliced through another of the snowmen with her claws. “Did I wear you out last night?”

Barking out a laugh, Cleo cleaved another snowman before stumbling forward, continuing to where Bastion and Aeris seemed to have reached their target. “Maybe you did, but you won’t hear me complaining about it, Kitten.”

A moment later, snow sloshed over both of them as the Ice Cannon, which had been directed at Bastion, crashed into the ground only a few steps away. Grumbling about the cold, Cleo pulled himself from the newly made snow bank while Nekomata hissed her displeasure at suddenly being covered in the cold, white powder.

“I thought cats always landed on their feet.” Cleo grinned as he reached down to help her up.

“I don’t think I landed, so much as I was engulfed.” She responded, casting an angry gaze towards King Frost.

At least there didn’t seem to be any more snowmen around now that they’d gotten so far from the city wall. Still, the would-be ruler didn’t seem to be without minions.

“Being able to fly is cheating.” Cleo grumbled as he reached down to grab Bastion under one arm and pull the young man to his feet. His other hand moved to his Wakizashi drawing on its Sage Focus power, as the Jack Frosts began to encircle them. The normally cold rush of power up his arm wasn’t quite so potent this time. Maybe there was a slight advantage to being so near the frigid demons, after all.

“Children should stay seated and let the adults talk.” His eyes flashed as he cast his Subjugate spell. As if invisible hands pushed them down, all of the Jack Frosts sank to their knees, awestruck and unable to move. The spell would only hold for a few seconds, but hopefully the threat would stick with them. If they could keep the battle between King Frost and themselves, things would probably end far more quickly… And then, he could get to somewhere warmer.

Chaldea – Wastelands
- Vayu -

Vayu used the distraction caused by Samael to make a final push towards where Bastion and Aeris had begun confronting King Frost.

The temperature dropped beyond what he was comfortable with and the cold began to creep into his body. Vayu shivered. His demon wasn’t exactly faring well in the cold icy and windy weather.

“Arrgh, I’ve had enough of this,” Vayu called out. He snapped his fingers and the Zhen demon disappeared back into his gauntlet. Almost instantly, Catequil appeared accompanied by the familiar sound of thunder.

He could see the fear in the eyes of the Jack Frosts, that had appeared, when Cleo used his subjugate spell. “Confusion Wave!” he cast over the same group of Jack Frosts to stall them even more.

“Catequil, I need you to lend me your ability,” he asked his demon with clattering teeth. Catequil took a few seconds to analyze the situation. Even though he had complained about the cold before, at the moment he seemed unaffected. Finally, he nodded and reached out to Vayu.

“Hanan Pacha.” From the demon’s hand, an invisible stream of maga flowed to Vayu, who almost instantly stopped shivering when the effects of Cold World were nullified.

“And to top it off: Arcane Barrier,” Vayu said. He guessed that those within the protection would receive only about half as much damage from that Ice Cannon.

“How can we convince him, we’re not the bad guys here?”