Christmas Wars-Part I

Slowly and silently he stole through the hallowed halls of the North Pole, biting and icy as the wind he was on a mission
For too long had the fat Saint been in charge of things and enforced his will for Christmas, well no longer would it be so for tonight he would strike a fatal blow against the Saint. He would no longer be relegated to some back water post only allowed to come out once a year and pave the way for the Saint, he wielded just as much power as the Saint yet he had nothing to show for it but a measly line in a song.
He continued along his path cold as death as he searched for the place he needed to go, he was cautious as he went along as he feared running into one of those pointy eared freaks.
Oh to the Almighty how he hated those blasted elves; they all ran around doing the bidding of their "Master" as the fat man hid in his office all day going over lists. Meanwhile the drones built toys and other ridiculous objects that only made children more spoiled and ungrateful, once HE took over all this nonsense would be done away with and he would cast the Earth into permanent winter.
He continued along his path until he reached a gateway which looked as if it led outside, he peeked through the gate and saw what he had been searching for. Resting comfortably and peacefully sleeping out in the pens were the Saint's 9 reindeer, he slowly eased the gate open and made his way outside; he was looking for just one reindeer in particular.
Nicholas sat in his office going over the Lists once again, there was little more than a month before Christmas and there were A LOT of children to sort through.
He had been doing this near on 200 years and though he did not age he still felt the passage of time rough upon him, there were times he was just so tempted to give it all up and take his wife somewhere more tropical and warm. After all why should he aid in the further degrading attitudes of children? Children were becoming naughtier with each passing year and didn't appreciate anything they received.
On more than one occasion he had come close to just scraping the whole thing and not delivering, in fact there was one year he had cancelled Christmas and refused to leave the North Pole that year. His wife however had taken pity on the truly Good Children of the world and delivered the presents herself.
After the tongue lashing he received for that stunt Nicholas vowed to keep going for the pure hearted little ones out there.
The Saint stood up and stretched before turning to his wife.
"Well my dear it looks as if that is the end of the Q's and R's, what do you say to a quick snack before we start on the next List?"
"Well we are running a bit ahead of schedule so I suppose we can spare a cup of cocoa, but no cookies or we will be late for the next List."
Nicholas crossed the room and kissed his wife gently then took her hand and led the way out to the kitchens.
He made his way out on guard duty for the night, how in the world he had been stuck with reindeer guarding he had no clue.
Originally Elves had been used for toy making and printing the Lists here at the Pole, yet recently over the last century they had added Security to their rank of duties but it hardly seemed necessary.
Other than shooing off the occasional polar bear or penguin there wasn't much to guard from, though in recently years there had been threats by various groups against the Saint and his family and it was the job of the Elves to keep the Christmas Family alive and safe.
So Jake went up his guard duties this night and smiled slightly, he had always loved getting to hang out with the reindeer even as a young Elf.
Much like the Saint himself the Reindeer were the stuff of legends, apparently Nicholas had been going out over the last 200 years to hand pick the ones who were to fly his sleigh that year. Many of the older generation of reindeer had died off from old age and later been replaced by their offspring who wisely bore the same name.
However there was one reindeer which required constant protection for he was unique among them all, Rudolph had once been an ordinary reindeer and nothing special. But then the Almighty had given him the Gift of Light on the night of the Great Storm, from that point he had led the Sleigh Team into the night sky every Christmas Eve.
As such he needed all the protection he could get, he could not be replaced and if something happened to him the Team would be lost forever.
Suddenly a howling cry rent the evening air; it had come from the Reindeer pens. One of the Reindeer was under attack and Jake rushed out to see what was happening.
The infernal creature was loud so he froze its mouth shut to deaden the noise; Jack Frost used his power to begin freezing the creature solid so that he could shatter him into a million pieces.
He froze its nose so that it couldn't give off any light and attract attention, he poured his darkest and coldest blasts onto the reindeer to make sure it could not get up and drive him away with its massive antlers.
He had targeted this specific reindeer because he knew that without it the Saint would be lost, with this reindeer's death all would become undone and Christmas would fall forever. The reindeer's eyes reflected the pain from the ice as it coated its body and the blood flow began to cease, also his red nose was now fading and growing weaker by the second as the life left its body and his spirit left.
And still Jack poured his power forth as he was dead set against striking a crippling blow against the hated Saint, soon he was sure it was frozen solid and he withdrew a long sword from his cloak. With one blow Christmas would meet its death and the Saint be defeated forever, he plunged the blade down with all his strength and it was met with a loud splintering crack as Rudolph's frozen body shattered into a million piece and the spirit of his body fled into the Void. Jack laughed a maniacal laugh as he put the sword away and straightened himself up, the first blow had been struck and the Saint would ultimately lose this fight as he no longer possessed the Spirit of Light to give the gifts.
Suddenly from behind he was struck with a blast of power and toppled over; he quickly flipped over and looked to see an Elf standing 10 feet away with its hand outstretched.
"You are too late you pointy eared little freak, you precious Rudolph is dead and Christmas is mine."
Jack then hurled an icicle at the nuisance and took off running.
Filled with nothing but rage Jake took off after the murderer, he should have known that Jack Frost would do something like this.
For years there had been animosity between Nicholas and Jack because Jack resented everything that Nicholas stood for, in fact Jack hated Christmas and sought to destroy it.
"You're never going to escape Jack I know every inch of the North Pole and your magic isn't powerful enough to break the Barrier around here."
"That is where you are wrong my spiny little enemy, I found way in and I will use the same way to escape. Enjoy no Christmas this year for soon the Year of Frost will begin."
Jake ran all the harder and hurled power blasts at Jack, if he escaped there would be no way of restoring Christmas to the seasons, however Jack was simply too fast as he sped off towards the Barrier that divided the North Pole from the rest of the northern regions.
Jake ran all the faster hoping to catch Jack as he hit the Barrier but something unexplained happened, Jack hit the Barrier and just vanished without warning.
Jake stopped right at the Barrier and looked out among the Frozen Wasteland, there far in the distance was Jack hurdling across the snow on a polar bear into the distance. It seemed impossible but Jack had somehow bypassed the Barrier and was escaping.
Jake turned and flew back towards the workshop; he had to tell the Saint what had happened.
Nicholas was sitting in the cafeteria enjoying a nice cup of hot cocoa and talking with his wife.
"I think we are going to make it through the U's tonight and that should keep us right on schedule."
       Mrs. Claus smiled at her husband as he talked business; it was something to be married to the Man of Christmas and hadn't been an easy transition.
       She had once been engaged to a powerful leader of a faraway nation, she had even been set on becoming the man's Queen and taking over when he died. However one night while on vacation in the North she had become separated from her group and wandered around blindly in the snow, she had then come upon the Workshop in the middle of a valley and sought refuge from the cold.
       What she had discovered was the Magical Land that had been in her dreams as a little girl, she had discovered the North Pole where Elves made toys and the Saint lived and prepared for every Christmas. She had fallen in love with him the moment she'd met him and begged to stay, that had been nearly 200 years ago and to most of the world she was considered just another lost soul to the Tundra.
        Suddenly an Elf burst into the kitchen, he had the look of one who had witnessed a terrible tragedy and needed to tell someone.
        "Sir Rudolph is slain by Jack Frost; he bypassed the Barrier and slew him."
         With that Jake fell to the floor and began sobbing.
        "WHAT!" cried the Saint who jumped up and hurdled out of the kitchen to see for himself.
         Sure enough there in the Reindeer Pens lay the remains of Rudolph's shattered body. Nicholas let out a cry of rage that shook the entire North Pole and red lightening shot out of his hands, rage had unleashed his hidden powers.
       By the next day, the entire Pole had heard of the tragedy that had occurred.
       Saint Nicholas had locked himself in his office as he drew up plans to destroy the Frozen Palace were Jack Frost lived and ruled.
       The Elves were being conscripted into newly formed Polar Army and trained to use the darkest of the Christmas Magics.
       The Christmas Wars had begun and Jack Frost would pay.

End Part I