That night, everyone in the house had fallen asleep, including Howard and the soldiers, who apparently got too tired to stay up long enough to keep watch. The sound of the wind whistled outside and the air inside was still and was flooded with the soft tune of Silent Night being played on the iPad with had only a tiny pinch of life left. The iPad finally went dead after a few minutes, cutting the music off and leaving the house silent with the occasional snores of the occupants. The fire went out as well while they were all sleeping, leaving the house dark. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of what appears to be footsteps on the roof, along with high-pitched giggling. The noise was followed by the rattle of chains which was slowly descending down the chimney.
Fortunately, the monsters outside were already wide awake until they heard the noises from inside of this tents. They knew instinctively that this wasn't good news at all.
"Uh, Ulrich?" asked Luz.
"Not good." Ulrich shook his head.
Then he quickly, but quietly, grabbed some guns from his duffle bag and loaded them, preparing himself.
"Are we really gonna do this, mate?" asked Runyat.
"They brought us here for a reason. We'll die if we don't do something." reasoned Ulrich.
"This is insane." said Raeffael. "...That cat is playing chopsticks with chopsticks!"
The sea being was, to everyone's annoyance, just watching a dumb cat video on Youtube, using Ulrich's phone again. The Goth grunted, grabbing his phone back from him.
"Don't be stupid."
"Oh." groaned Raeffael.
Back to the current situation inside the house, lowering gently from the chimney flue, a sharp hook connected to a chain hung inside the fireplace. Tied to the chain was a gingerbread man. The chain was being shaken as if it were trying to attract someone's attention. Howie was the only one who heard it as he lifted himself up from his sleep to see the chain by the fireplace. Although confused as to where it came from, he decided to go check it out so as quiet as a mouse, he carefully stepped over his sisters and over to the fireplace. He grabbed the gingerbread man and looked at it closely. Something about it seemed off. It felt thicker and was a bit larger, making it look like a stuffed doll rather than a cookie. Howie took a bite out of it's head. It tasted normal.
But then what happened next was totally unexpected. The gingerbread man gasped and glared at Howie with a exclaim of distain for eating a part of it, shocking him. The tiny man leaped out of his grasp before it grabbed the chain and before Howie knew it, it wrapped him up with the chain and hooked it in place before it whistled outward towards the chimney, signaling whoever was holding the other end to pull and they did. Howie screamed as the chain yanked him forward towards the fireplace and attempted to pull him up the chimney. His scream jolted everyone awake. The whole family saw Howie about to abducted and they rushed over, grabbing onto him as they trying to free him. The rest of soldiers helped them out as they tugged the screaming boy from the fireplace as best they could, but the ones holding the chain were pulling back, engaging in a tug-of-war.
"Howie!" Howard screamed.
"Hold on!" Tom shouted.
Engel, however, rushed outside to see what was the matter. In the ensuing struggle, a still-scorching log was kicked from the fireplace and landed near the presents under the tree and within seconds, the present and tree set ablaze.
"Max, get the fire extinguisher!" ordered Tom.
The boy rushed out of the family room. Sarah gripped Howie's legs was being pulled into the chimney as well. She suddenly saw the giggling gingerbread men that Howie had bitten staring back at her with a twisted smile. She screamed, letting go of Howie, allowing him to be dragged up the chimney. Howard looked up into the flue to see his son already gone. The only thing left of him that fell down was his shoe. Max arrived in time with the fire extinguisher and put out the flames.
"Are you hurt?" asked Linda, checking to see if Sarah was okay, even though she was still shaken from what she saw.
All of the sudden, everyone looked up when they were a bunch of footsteps on the roof and the giggling turned into yelps of fear. The footsteps turned into stomps as there came yelling and then roaring. The family panicked, but also wondering what was going on on the roof. There was gunshots that followed, startling some of them.
"Suck it!" Came the scream of Ólafur.
"Get over here, you little shit!" Luz's voice bellowed with anger.
"What the hell is that?" Howard said, his voice weak and worn out from the struggle.
Then everything went quiet.
"They got our boy." panted Howard while Linda rubbed his shoulder. "It's all my fault. I fell asleep-"
When all seemed lost, Ulrich busted through the front door while Tobias marched inside carrying Howie in his arms bridal style. Capt. Engel, Luz, Runyat, Raeffael and the rest of the monsters (minus Azur, of course) came inside.
"Howie!" Howard rushed over and stopped once he saw Tobias.
Linda screamed with fright as she saw the rest of the monsters as well as the rest of the family screamed bloody murder. The monsters tried to silence them and assure them they weren't going to hurt them, Howard raised his gun at Tobias, threatening to shoot him in the head.
"Give me my son back, you...whatever you are!"
But then soldiers all pointed their guns at Howard.
"Drop your weapon!" One of them thundered. "Drop your fucking weapon!"
"What the fuck are these things?! And what are they doing with my boy?!" demanded Howard.
"They're here to help you! They don't mean any harm! Now put the gun down!" Engel ordered strictly with authoritative tone.
Howard panted and after a few minutes of thought, he hesitantly lowered his shotgun. Tobias placed Howie on his feet and the boy rushed over his father who wrapped his arms around him in a tight, protective embrace while Linda joined in.
"Howie! Thank god!" Howard cried.
"Oh, honey! I'm glad you're alright." Linda sobbed.
The rest of the family stared stupidly at the monsters with astonishment, confusion and fear.
"Daniel?" asked Tom.
Engel sighed and gestured the monsters to come closer to everyone. Omi suddenly lit match and started a fire in the fireplace.
"I'd like you all to meet our little team." said the captain. "You already know Ulrich Frankenstein."
"Hey." He greeted in his usual monotone.
"That's Luz Azpilicueta. They had her locked up after learning her bloodline involved the infamous hunchback named Igor. We thought it was crazy and ridiculous at first, but..."
"But what?" asked Beth.
"But I was caught trying to hide monsters and that's why they locked me up." admitted Luz.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Linda told her.
"This is Runyat de Yunnic and Raeffael Jones."
"Hi." said the red devil.
"Hello." said the sea ghost at the same time.
Sarah forced a smile and waved back lamely. Engel continued. "Ólafur, here, is a spirit of ice and snow."
"What's up?" He asked without even smiling.
"Ice and snow?" repeated Tom. "You mean you're the one who started this storm."
"Of course not!" rebuffed Ólafur. "Why would I want to do that. And beside, I'm not even that close to making a snowstorm and even if I was, I would never endanger any lives."
"Tobias is our muscle." Engel gestured to said person, who only growled in response as he stared back at them, making him recoil in fright.
"Lionell can conjure up flames with his bare hands."
To prove his sentence, Lionell created a small flame with his hand, amazing everyone.
"This guy over here is Mezem." Runyat pointed at him.
"Hola." Mezem said in Spanish with a low tone.
"There's one another guy, but he's too big fit inside. He's standing outside. His name is Azur." Engel continued.
"Azur?" Max asked.
"Deported straight from Denmark." said Engel.
"I'm sorry, I'm lost." Everyone looked at Tom. "You mean to say that you've been working with the government in capturing monsters like these guys and now you say the government is sending them out to perform black ops missions?"
"I wouldn't say "black ops", but I like the way you think, little bro." answered back Engel.
Howie was staring unblinkingly at Tobias who stared back at him with his pupil-less green eyes like tiny jade flames burning into his soul.
"So this thing you were talking about. This...creature with horns. What exactly is it?" asked Jordan.
"We'd like to know, Rambo." Lionell told the captain.
"Yeah, we would defiantly like to know. That sounds good. You guys want to know?" Runyat asked sarcastically to his so-called teammates.
"I've seen what that thing does. It's only fair to tell us." Luz said.
Engel's mother beat him to it when she spoke up after a long moment of silence.
"Das alles unsere Schuld." explained Omi. "Er ist für uns alle gekommen."
"What's she saying, Tom?" asked Linda.
"'This is all our fault. He's come for us all'?" translated Tom with confusion in his voice.
"He? Who's he?" asked Sarah.
"I don't know. Mom, what are you saying?" Tom asked his mother.
"Please, listen." Omi said in English for the first time with a thick German accent.
"English. I knew it." Dorothy replied smugly.
"I must tell you something. To all of you." She explained. "It started with the wind. On a cold winter night, much like this. It was almost Christmas. But this Christmas was darker, less cheerful. But I still believed in Santa, in magic, and miracles and the hope. That they would find joy again. But our village had given up on miracles and on each other. They had forgotten the spirit of Christmas, the sacrifice of giving. And my family was no different. I tried to help them to believe again, but we were no longer the loving family I remembered. They too had given up. And eventually, so did I. And for the first time, I didn't wish for a miracle. I wished for them to go away. A wish I would come to regret. And that night, in the darkness of a howling blizzard, I got my wish. I knew St. Nicholas was not coming this year. Instead it was a much darker, more ancient spirit. The shadow of St. Nicholas. It was Krampus. And as he had for thousands of years, Krampus came not to reward, but to punish. Not to give, but to take. He and his helpers. I could only listen as they dragged my family into the underworld, knowing that I would be next. But Krampus didn't take me that night. He left me as a reminder of what happens when hope is lost, when belief is forgotten, when the Christmas spirit dies."
Omi lifted up a bauble with Krampus's name on it, similar to one Luz saw in my vision.
"That's why we were brought here." Engel stated, making everyone turn their eyes on him. "I knew he existed. I knew he was here. I knew he would be here at some point. So when the government would activate the Protocol 9, I would be able to take the dastardly creature down. But we needed the help of monsters to do it."
"That monster is the one who took my parents, my brothers, everyone, but my uncle." added Luz sharply. "My brothers always liked to play pranks on me when I was little, even on Christmas, so I wanted them gone. But I never knew this Krampus would come by and take them away."
Howard sighed, "And I thought I was the one who was losing it."
Linda groaned.
"Howard..."
"What?" He gripped. "Who actually believe this crap? Evil Santa? Jesus almighty! She'll be yammering about a rabid Easter Bunny come Spring."
"Watch that fucking shit, old timer." Ulrich warned him. "There's plenty an adult can ask for on Christmas such as a can of whoop-ass."
"Oh, yeah?" Howard barked back. "You gonna step in on this, too?"
"Howard, that's enough!" Tom scolded.
Then Howard sat up from his seat with his rifle in his hand.
"You're damn right it's enough." He gruffed. "We never should've come here. I knew we should've gone to my brother's. This place is a freaking hellhole. And I'm not gonna sit here listening to some twisted bedtime story. We're getting out of this storm one way or another. Linda, Howie, Stevie, Jordan, come on. We're leaving now."
"No!" The family shouted and ran up to stop him from doing something stupid.
"Howard, no! Wait!"
"Don't go out there!"
"Howard, stop!"
"Tommy, don't!"
He whipped around, aiming his gun at him to get him to back off.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tom exclaimed with his hands up in surrender.
Engel rushed over with a couple of men and slammed Howard's back against the door, subduing him while the other soldiers aimed their guns at Howard.
"Calm down. Calm down."
"Let go of me, army boy. You're not gonna stop me!" Howard hissed.
"Shut up! You point that toy of yours at my brother, I'll be your last." Engel growled.
But Howard shoved them off him, grunting.
"We are leaving. End of discussion."
Despite his family's pleas and objections, Howard swung open the door and stepped out side to see the snowmen facing the house. Out of the corner of his vision, he could see mysterious figures running behind the snowmen. But this wasn't going to stop him as he looked at the driveway to see his precious truck torn apart and was now a mess of discarded, flaming scraps of junk.
"No. LUCINDA!" He screamed with despair.
The soldier ran outside while Tobias grabbed Howard and held him in his arms and carried him back into the house. The soldiers slammed the door and locked it up tight as Tobias tossed Howard onto the floor.
"Don't open the door." Sarah warned everyone.
"Don't you worry you're pretty little head, miss." Raeffael said to her. "We'll have this taken care of."
Max asked his father, "Dad? What do we do now?"
"We keep the fire hot." He answered.
"Well, this is one hell of a Christmas." Dorothy groaned, rolling her eyes. "Stuck in a house with a bunch of freaks, my annoying family and Lord knows what is out there."
Tobias snarled as usual and suddenly replied, "I like her."
Everyone, including Sarah, stared at him in disbelief.