As the snow clung to his rapidly growing fur, Krampus glared at the fat king with glowing yellow eyes. Damn him! He didn't even deserve to be rotting in Hell. Krampus was going to personally devour him.

He took a step towards the dwindling crowd, but was stopped by Simon. "I understand your anger, but causing anymore mischief is not recommended."

"So you're just going to let him do this tyranny?" he spat. His tail was swung rapidly, throwing snowflakes left and right behind him.

Simon sighed before pushing his comrade back with his antlers. "Trust me, I hate it just as much. But you must understand that we can not freely do what we please under the king's rule. That includes you, Krampus."

He tightened his fists. "That wretched fool has gone too far. I need to end his reign."

"But Krampus-"

Just then, harsh winds blew against their fur. Long, skinny branches wrapped around their necks and pushed them together. "Hey guys, interesting conversation ya having here." Tim's plump face came into view, making them both freeze. "Mind if I join in?"

Krampus coughed out of shock. "Tim! Greetings. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company on this fine day?"

The snowman glared at him. "Don't think I've forgotten about your little stunt yesterday."

Krampus smirked, placing his hand on the snowman's head. "Relax, I was just in a hurry. You two were in the way, so I took action. No need to be so tense, Tim."

He brushed the goat demon's hand off as if he were the plague. His mouth curved into a toothy frown when he snarled, "Don't think we'll let you get away with this! I won't hesitate to report this to the―"

Krampus put his hand on Tim's face and wiped his mouth away. The guard rolled back and touched where his lips were supposed to be. Not finding it there, he pointed at Krampus as muffled yells erupted from his face.

"Sorry, mate. As much as I love your voice, I can't have you mouthing off to the old man." Funny, he didn't think it would work. He chuckled, then turned to Simon. "I think it would be best to escape while we still can."

Tim rolled towards them, fuming. 

Krampus jumped back before his fingers could grab at his fur. "What, mad you can't curse me out with that foul mouth of yours? Oh, this is splendid. Absolutely splendid. Let's go before Yuki catches wind of this, Simon."

The reindeer nodded. "Indeed."

After Krampus hopped onto his friend, they flew off under the cloudy sky. Tim, filled with an unspoken rage, moved to untouched snow and took some into his hand. He made a pile clumsy snowballs, then hurled them at the duo with rapid speed.

When one almost landed on his head, Krampus ducked and swatted it back with his tail. "Haha, bitch!" he exclaimed when it hit Tim's stomach. To his dismay, the snowman gave no sign of backing down. Instead, he absorbed the snow into his stomach and released water vapor. Tim then took more snowballs and sucked them into his body, growing larger in the process.

"Krampus, it is most beneficial for us to-"

"Hold your horses, Simon. The soldier wants a show." Krampus' tail swung in amusement while they dodged Tim's cannon-like stomach. "Besides, I need a breather after everything that's happened."

Simon knocked his antlers against the half demon's hooves. "Alright. I need one myself."

A smile crept on Krampus' beared face. "Thanks." Forgive me Lilith, but your death will not be in vain. He then retaliated Tim's constant blows with a blast of dark energy that formed in his hands. The black balls of fire burned anything they touched, including Tim's troublesome barrage of molded snowflakes.

The air between them was colored monochrome with the fiery embers from Hell battling against particles from the icy ground. Both sides were damaged by their equally strong offense. Snowflakes stung Krampus and Simon's eyes. They clung to their eyelashes, desperate to stay solid.

The once fat guard had most of his weight burnt off from either exhaustion or the crisp taste of defeat. Nearly every spot surrounding Tim melted away to reveal the ancient cobblestone built during the warmer months when the sun peeked from the horizon. Tim looked around, then rolled off to snowier land.

Oh no you don't, Krampus thought before forming a large orb of black fire in his hands. The temperature of it gradually rising with every second as the sphere burned light cuts into Krampus' skin. Just then, he glanced at Simon, who took that as a signal to fly higher up. Once they were past the clouds, Krampus searched for the frosty fool and lifted his arm up to aim. When he spotted Tim swallowed up by the shadow of his black orb, he muttered, "I'm hungry for some fried carrots," before tossing the ball at the snowman.

The sphere shot straight towards the guard, causing him to freeze in panic. Then, with all of his might, he expanded his body to release a giant snowball to defend himself from Krampus' scorching attack. The globes battled for dominance, pushing each other back and forth until they conflated to form a glowing sphere. For a second, it pulsed as if it were alive, then exploded to smithereenes.

Specs of black and white swam through the sky and dived into the snow-coated ground and buildings. Krampus looked down to see Tim rolling away to Yuki who was observing the scene. "Well played, Timmy. C'mon, let's go."

"Very well."

"Y'know, Simon," Krampus started when they distanced themselves from the plaza, "Santa's insane. But when I think back to it, he hasn't changed at all. I was just too naive to realize his stupidity before. The moment I realized what he was doing to the deer, everyone blindly followed his lead without learning the truth." Krampus watched his breath flow with the wind after sighing. "Or maybe they all knew, and I just gave him a reason to take action."

Simon said, "Hm. Forgive me, but I have to disagree. It is true that you weren't aware of the king's heinous actions, but you can't blame yourself." He glanced back abnd smiled. "He brought you here with the idea that you'd be giving children happiness by showing them the error of their ways. You weren't expecting him to have such a dark side."

"I guess that's true." Especially after he took me in on that bloody Christmas Eve. I was such a fool to believe his sugar-coated lies... how foolish of me. "I'll have to set him straight, then. Oh, where are you taking me, anyways?"

"Nowhere in particular. Just keep looking up."

"Hm..." Krampus scrutinized the starry night sky but found nothing out of the ordinary. "I don't see anything."

"Be patient." The reindeer's baritone voice rumbled. "You will."

"Okay then. Still, that hypocritical bastard." Krampus clicked his tongue in disgust. "Now you can't even be with your family because he hid them away on some secret island like a paranoid piece of-"

Simon hushed him and chided, "Careful of your words, dear friend. The wind listens to all."

"Indeed, I do." Jack's voice interrupted their conversation. His howls traveled through the breeze and tickled Krampus' fallen goat ears. "I would follow the moose's advice, if I were you."

The goat demon waved his hand and snarled, "Aye, but you aren't. Now be off; no one invited you. Go stalk someone else."

A chuckle rattled around them, followed by a harsh wind. "Calm down. It was only a joke. I have a message from the king."

Krampus crossed his arms. "Get on with it."

"Right. 'I am only allowing you to interfere with my daily ordeals because you're powerless without my assistance. Do not assume that your actions go unnoticed. That was a very naughty move you tried to pull, and now someone died because of you. Continue your day with that on your mind or more loved ones may be harmed.'"

There was silence for a moment before Krampus muttered, "I'll keep that in mind."

"As long as you understand. Farewell," were Jack's last words, then another gush of snowy wind pushed them back.

Simon peeked back to find the sky back to normal, with no storm in sight. "Told you so," he scolded his rider. After gaining no response, he sighed. "It's almost time."

"Damn that Jack. He's always meddling in my affairs. Sorry, what were you saying?" Krampus' tail was swinging in frustration. If only I could spot where his natural body is... I would break his frozen heart in two. Why did Santa craft such an unsightly creature?

"Look."

Krampus did so, finding themselves underneath a sea of turquoise waves draping the sky in a curtain of ethereal light. "The northern lights, huh. That's the only thing good about this place. Other than you and Vanilla, of course."

"Indeed, my lord."

Krampus pet Simon's head in response. He then observed the glowing sky and grimaced. He could tell Simon missed his wife and children dearly. Soon, he'd bring them back.