III Krampus
The icy caverns around them began to swarm with demons. Imps clamored across the walls around them, zombified elves staggered forward with snapping jaws and somewhere in the distance the hooves of some horror stomped maddeningly. Even as Pepper stepped forward to face the oncoming demonic horde the Doom Slayer seemed more content with bashing his way into the small sarcophagus that had rested beside his own. Yet even as his rage fueled fists thudded against the ancient stone the lid would not budge or break.
Pepper blasted off a demon's head with her candy-cane and swept the legs out from another with it before putting the barrel in the demon's mouth and ending it's existence. An imp swung down from the ceiling like some demonic primate and planted it's clawed feet against her chest. She slid away cocking her candy-cane to deliver a blast of peppermint shrapnel that tore deep lines of blood in the imp's iridescent skin. She moved aside as a fireball careened past her to blast away ice and snow on the floor of the cave below.
Pepper almost backed into the waiting grasp of an elf-demon behind her but instead spun and grabbed the demon's clawing arm using the slick icy floor of the cave to spin the demon around and into the path of the imp's next fireball. Now immolated and screeching she ended the demon with a candied blast to the face and then fired off her remaining shells at the imp until the both of them were one bloody heap.
Victory was short-lived, more were coming.
"Whatever is in there better be worth it!" she shouted back at the Doom Slayer who was pulling back another punch.
Several more imps scurried into the large underground chamber followed by shambling demons but as the rasping clawing former elves made their way in something bigger came around the corner. Towering at nearly twelve feet tall it tore asunder all the smaller demons in it's path storming into the chamber on backward goat-like legs. It's grotesque eyeless face was wrapped tightly with translucent skin that let you see brain and bone pulsing beneath.
Pepper pulled from her satchel several snowglobe grenades and began hurling them. The icy effect of the grenades seemed to slow the towering thing down a bit, both of it's legs being stuck to the floor with the ice crystals that formed. From above the imps howled in displeasure launching their fireballs at roughly the same time. Pepper dodged the first deftly but was knocked back by the second and sent skidding across the icy floor until her back was against the sarcophagus. Already the Hell Knight was pulling itself free of the ice. Pepper pulled out her peppermint pistol as she struggled to her feet. The Hell Knight leaped toward her with balled fists glowing with a strange energy. This was the end, she knew it.
A mechanized sound stole her from her contemplation and the moment she realized what it was it became music to her ears. As the Knight launched the Doom Slayer was in motion and before the Knight landed the Slayer was standing directly in front of her and the Hell Knight, with all his momentum and fury, was impaled helplessly on a powerful industrial chainsaw. Black and red demonic blood and bodily fluids were splattered to and fro as the demonic Hell Knight was bifurcated with the chainsaw, both halves releasing a combined final cry before falling lifelessly to either side.
"Really?" Pepper asked staring up at the silent Slayer, "All that punching just to get your damn chainsaw?"
The two of them dispatched the remaining demons and started back toward the facility.
"We have to get to the surface," she explained, "We have to kill Krampus."
Just saying the name aloud bothered her. She had heard the stories of course, that Krampus had helped punish naughty children in the past when normal means were not enough. Ordinarily a little coal in the stockings of children, or merely withholding presents altogether, were enough to nudge a naughty child in the direction of behaving for a change. The legends had apparently been true at least to some degree, Krampus was here and they would have to kill him. What then? What would she do after Krampus lie dead? How could she allow Santa to continue without explaining himself? Would enough elves even be left alive to continue Christmas? Was there some cure for the demonic transformation?
She imagined that Krampus would likely be in the main staging chamber that now served both as primary workshop and the arena where Santa addressed the elves and held all sorts of sports, competitions and celebrations. They called it the Christmas Colosseum but getting there meant reaching the central elevator.
Once back within the facility the weight of what was happening to her world hit her once more. The adrenaline and the hatred the gauntlets had fed her had faded and she felt almost like a sugarplum junkie craving for more. Here she was singed by fire, covered in dried blood, with a deep set of scratches on her face and probably dozens of bruises beneath her armor. She had to shake the fatigue. She looked to the Doom Slayer, who seemed like a machine, even as they began to encounter demons he strode forward with an almost joyous gait and decimated them.
Often as they turned a corner to find more demons Pepper would just sit back and watch him work. It was like a beautiful ballet of violence, a horrifying feast for the eyes as he dissected each demon often using his hands to tear out hearts, render skulls hopelessly shattered or tear them in half completely. Occasionally he used his shotgun on the bigger demons. The man could barely stand at his full height in their tunnels and that meant the Hell Knights were even more useless here often crawling on hands and knees.
Pepper let the Slayer lead the way for a while and amazing he seemed to know where they were going. Was it technology that guided him? Instinct? Mere blood lust? Did he know where the greatest concentration of demons was and desperately want them dead? Finally they stopped in front of a big gray door. The Doom Slayer impatiently pressed his armored hand against a display screen but it was at least three sizes too big.
"Where the hell are we?" she asked him, herself not being familiar with this place. The Slayer didn't answer and Pepper looked annoyed, "Goddamn silent protagonists."
Angrily the Slayer began to punch the metallic door to no avail. Pepper shrugged her shoulders and stepped up to the door pressing her palm against it.
"Access Denied," a voice responded.
"Let me do it girl," a familiar voice suggested and Pepper spun to see Harold standing behind them wearing more than a few cuts and bruises.
"HAROLD!" Pepper's first instinct was to run and embrace the old elf but she resisted knowing full well that he wasn't blameless in all of this mess. Instead she merely smiled.
"I hid below until most of them were gathered above, I worried that you hadn't survived" he explained, "I figured I might use the experimental weapons here to kill Krampus myself."
"Experimental weapons?" Pepper asked.
"You think those ancient gauntlets are the only weapon we've tried creating using the Hell Energy?" Harold asked and Pepper looked crestfallen.
Harold inserted a keycard and pressed his hand against the pad.
"Access Granted."
The door hissed open and the three of them stepped inside. Computer terminals lined almost every wall and surface with shimmering lights and whirring consoles. A row of tables were laid out with prototypes. The Doom Slayer instinctively moved toward a weapon and picked it up quickly noticing it was too small for one of his stature, he tossed it to Pepper and moved toward a rocket launcher.
"Peppermint Plasma Rifle," Harold explained, "It was going to replace the candy-cane and peppermint pistols. Here this is what I really wanted to show you."
Spinning in the middle of the room as if locked in some kind of stasis field was what looked like a chocolate chip cookie but huge, almost half the size of pepper.
"What the hell is it?" Pepper asked, "Just a cookie?"
"I called it the BFC," Harold chuckled, "The Big Fucking Cookie. I developed it in secret without his knowledge, as a way to put an end to him. The stasis field keeps Santa from sensing it you see. I want you to take it with you."
"I'm not going to kill Santa! Someone has to deliver presents, someone has to keep Christmas alive."
"Damn it look around you girl, haven't you been paying attention? Christmas is done, I've failed, Santa's failed. We allowed this to happen. It's time for this, all of this, to end."
"And the good little boys and girls? The ones who put their faith in all of this to keep going?" Pepper asked with disgust evident in her tone.
"Let them be good, for goodness sake, not for the sake of reward, or punishment," Harold begged her, "I don't care if you agree with me now, but take the cookie in case you change your mind."
Pepper stared at the rotating baked good intently. It was still soft, each delicious chocolate chip still warm and gooey. She shook her head and turned away as the Doom Slayer grabbed the cookie.
"Why should I let you live Harold?" Pepper asked, "By you own admission you are a part of this."
"You shouldn't." Harold admitted.
Pepper turned away in disgust and left the room. She looked up and the Doom Slayer and nodded. He turned around and smashed the control panel sealing the room and locking Harold inside with all of his creations of violence and death.
Finally they made their way to the main elevator that would lead them up to the Christmas Colosseum. Pepper stood waiting for the elevator to descend from the surface. It would take a while. She tapped her foot impatiently looking at the BFC strapped to the Doom Slayer's back. Was she really expected to kill Saint Nicolas? The Spirit of Christmas itself? The thing that held the human world out of chaos and taught children to be moral and upstanding citizens of the world? Not to mention the holiday that kept the materialistic economy of human beings running smoothly. Was she expected to tear all of that down? Even more troubling, could she do it? She had sworn an oath and every fiber of her being still told her that Christmas was good.
The elevator shuttered to a halt and the Doom Slayer stepped back as if by instinct. Pepper followed lifting her plasma rifle as the doors began to split. A powerful impact bent both doors before they had even opened halfway as the glowing eyes of something demonic could be seen inside. Not just demonic Pepper realized but PINK as well!
The creature came roaring out of the elevator and Pepper opened fire pelting with plasma peppermint bolts. The tusked pink demon was armored like a tank and most of the energy bolts seemed to only piss it off as it barreled down the corridor knocking her aside. She hit the wall hard watching as the Doom Slayer leaped over the beast. The ceiling was too low however and the pink demon lifted its head and punished the Slayer against the ceiling repeatedly before his momentum had finally carried him over the creature which was already spinning to face him.
Pepper rushed in then and stood behind the creature where a flesh pink tail writhed almost adorably. The Doom Slayer kept the beast distracted as Pepper opened fire with her plasma rifle. Sure enough the back-side of this tank with teeth was more than a little vulnerable. The demon howled as its tail was turned to pulp and its spine exposed before it finally collapsed falling into a superfluous but satisfying punch from the Doom Slayer.
The doors to the elevator didn't shut properly but they were on their way standing awkwardly together, the elf and the Doom Slayer. Her heart was beating wildly, anxiety pounding in her ear drums and tearing her stomach to shreds as the elevator ascended forever. Finally it ground to a halt letting out an eerie screech. The two of them glanced at each other before the Doom Slayer forced the doors open and stepped out.
The hallways here were abandoned but Pepper could see out beyond into the Colosseum where lights were flashing and cheers could be heard. There was little choice but to continue even though as they stepped into the arena the doors shut tight behind them. The spotlights from above shone brightly on them as they walked into the center of the arena. Even with the bright lights the demonic nature of the crowd was apparent. Imps hopped happily haphazardly hurling fireballs left and right mostly at each other. Demonic elves chomped and clamored over each other having nothing to keep them civilized and in their seats.
"Ladies and gentledemons," a female voice resounded from somewhere above, "this is the moment you have all been waiting for!"
The demons shouted out with glee.
"Who is that?" Pepper asked, "That voice is so familiar."
"Here we have our contestants, the adorable freckled Pepper the Elf," the demonic crowd booed loudly, "And the legendary knight of the Umbral Plains himself, the one who slayed the Titan, the Martian Marine on a Mission, THE DOOM SLAYER!"
The crowd booed jeered even louder now, though it was as much fear in their voices as hate.
"And who will our besieged heroes be facing this evening?"
The crowd erupted with chants of, KRAMPUS KRAMPUS KRAMPUS.
The arena beneath them opened up and a platform ascended from the depths. Here he was, twenty-five feet tall at least and chained to the platform. He roared to life at the sight of them spitting blue flames from his jag-toothed maw as he wrestled against the chains. Pepper began to put the pieces together as she considered Krampus, bound before her as a slave to fight in this sick sadistic game.
"KRAMPUS!" the female voice, "Punisher of the Wicked, Satanic Satyr, Horned God of the ancients! YES! KRAMPUS!"
High above them Pepper could see her. The young elf's eyes went wide with horror as she saw the spider-legs unfolding, as she looked into the twinkling eyes of absolute evil and realized who the mastermind was that pulled the strings and kept Krampus in chains.
"MRS. CLAUS?" Pepper mouthed.
"NOW!" the spider-like thing shouted from high above the arena, "LET THEM FIGHT!"