Let's continue with the story. Sorry that you had to wait so long but finally we can continue.
As promised I posted the next chapter before Christmas. But I'm splitting this episode into two parts since the episode is one of the longest in the Show right now.
Some more Information: I might not be able to post or work on the next chapter. So be prepared for the next one to be posted at the end of the month or with the beginning of the next one.
It's going to be the last one for this year since I won't have time to post anything in December.
I hope you understand it.
Good news: After I'm done with this story I will focus on the Lion King one next. The Prequel and Sequel are planned and I might will do a poll for it to see which one you want to read first.
To awnser some questions. The guys at the end of the last chapter aren't working for the Devil. But they're not nice guys either.
I always appriciate Music choices from you guys but please be aware that some music doesn't fit within the Story or timeline!
Until then
The morning of the next day we reached the Inkwell Isle. The soft rays of sunlight shone through the snow-covered landscape and made the snow glisten. Icicles hanging from branches, guttering, railings and the like, cast small rainbow lights on the individual decorations dotted around the islands. Slowly, the city and everything around it awoke. Snow-covered shutters, some of which were encased in ice, opened and brought even more sunlight into the individual apartments. Occasionally, residents looked out of their windows to look after the flowers and birdhouses attached to the walls or to greet other residents and wish them a Merry Christmas.
Among them was Porkrind, who was in the process of removing the remaining snow in front of his store with a snow shovel and rather unintentionally had a newspaper thrown in his face by the paperboy. He grumbled quietly, tore the newspaper from his face and looked at the headline before going into his store with the snow shovel. The inhabitants of Sugar Land were also already awake and were making their way to the two gates that had been repaired to do the last of their shopping. The same applied to the residents in the cottage. Or you could say that if you didn't know that everyone was still fast asleep.
Elder Kettle lay in his bed, covered in his thick, home-knitted blanket. His top was hanging on the rake next to his bed. Instead, he wore a nightcap on his head, the bobble of which was tossed back and forth by his snoring. It kept threatening to get into his mouth, but whenever it did, Elder Kettle exhaled. In their own bedroom, both brothers slept in a double bunk bed that looked like an old-fashioned kitchen cupboard from the outside.
Mugman slept in the upper part of the bed. He was wearing a blue onesie and was also covered with a soft blanket which, like Elder Kettle's, was patched in places. Cuphead's blanket looked the same and just like his brother, he wore a onesie in the color red and slept in the bottom bunk with his right arm hanging out like he was about to fall out of bed. Basically, his bed looked more messy than his brother's. One more reason to recognize their personalities. It was completely different in the guest room, which was located one floor below the boys' bedroom. Four people slept in each of the three beds. Or to put it another way, two of them shared a bed while the others each had a bed to themselves. The two who had a bed to themselves were Blood and Cuppy. Their pillows and comforters were exactly the same design as the others. There were patches in some places and some feathers were missing. That's why there were a few feathers on Cuppy's bed. Blood's bed had some scratch marks caused by his claws. According to the wolf, these had been there by accident. But the other housemates knew that the wolf often suffered from nightmares and let them out on the bed.
The bed that Lucifer and Alicia shared was normal. Both handled it with care while they slept together, cuddled or simply spent time together. Nevertheless, the former preferred his king-size bed in the shared bedchamber in the book world of Cuphead from which he and Cuppy came. At least he could stretch out his arms without crashing into the wall. Plus his bed could withstand his transformations. He could lie on the bed as a dragon without it even making a crack. The bed here, however, cracked with every movement. Even if you tried to turn over slowly.
Nevertheless, the first rays of sunlight shone through the window and woke up the oldest inhabitant of the cottage. They literally tickled his nose, forcing Elder Kettle to get up and get ready for the day. For him, this meant getting changed (which wasn't difficult as he only had to take off his pyjamas and nightcap), preparing breakfast, waking up the others and fetching the daily newspaper from the front door. All things he did every day without complaining.
In the kitchen, he hummed a cheerful song while preparing the batter for the pancakes and heard the letter carrier's car from afar. "Oh!" he said, leaving the bowl of batter on the table to pick up the daily newspaper. While he was doing this, the others slowly woke up and changed their clothes. Quietly and still tired, both brothers went downstairs, at the end of which the door to the guest room opened. "Morning!" greeted both brothers. "Good morning." the others also replied in a tired voice that sometimes turned into a yawn until the front door suddenly closed and everyone was wide awake.
Slowly her eyes snapped open and the group wandered with them to the source of the banging. "Good that you're all awake, we have to go and pronto!" It was Elder Kettle who had already put on his winter clothes and was standing in front of the front door with a pan in his hand. There were several fresh pancakes in the pan, each stacked on top of the other and topped with maple syrup. He threw them, or rather tossed them with his spatula in the direction of the others. Three pancakes for each of them.
Cartoonishly, the three pancakes landed in the mouths of the three cups, which were gulped down within a second without chewing them first. Cartoon logic at its best. Alicia thought to herself before she knew it that she would be the next to get the pancakes. But luckily Lucifer held an empty plate in front of her face and the three pancakes that were meant for her landed on it. "Thank you," Alicia thanked Lucifer as he picked up another three pancakes for him and Blood with two more empty plates. "You're welcome, my love." he whispered softly and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Or he wanted to until Elder Kettle cleared his throat loudly and reminded the others that it was Christmas Eve. One day before Christmas. The last day to get presents before the stores closed for the holidays. There were also several discounts. All the more reason to go into town. But that was not the reason why Elder Kettle asked the others to quickly finish their breakfast and get changed. No, the reason was simple: Elder Kettle didn't want to stand outside the stores for long until they opened. What's more, most of the offers sold out quickly. Annoying if you're late because of that. "So hurry up and get outside within five minutes." Slightly angry, Elder Kettle went outside and slammed the front door again.
"All except Blood, of course," Elder Kettle mentioned as he opened the door repeatedly to share the news. Elder Kettle would certainly explain why the wolf should stay here now. Alicia sighed a little and went back into the guest room to change. The three cups did the same and came downstairs within two minutes while Lucifer just put on his scarf and waited for his dearest Alicia who took a minute longer to get fully dressed. But she and the others were out of the cottage and on their way to Elder Kettle's car within five minutes. As he said, the car was already running and he waved impatiently and honked his horn several times to tell the others to hurry up.
Naturally, the others approached him without replying and got into the car. The three cups sat on the back seat while Lucifer sat in the front next to Elder Kettle with Alicia on his lap. The latter didn't hesitate for long, shifting gears and pressing so hard on the accelerator that the tires spun and the car disappeared in a cloud of dust it left behind as it made its way into town. Elder Kettle didn't care that he was going way too fast and almost ran over pedestrians who were crossing the street. He only drove at a normal speed when they reached the town to explain to the others why he reacted so hastily and why Blood was the only one who didn't come along and stayed in the cottage.
"Because at least as a wolf and wizard he can look after the house better than that stupid goat." The goat in question was lying under a pile of snow, lifted its head to free itself from it and to look around, only to sigh the next second and disappear into the snow again. "Good point." Mugman mentioned before banging his nose against Elder Kettle's seat as the car came to a stop. "Ouch!" he said in pain and rubbed his nose, which had a small blue stain on it. Painfully, he rubbed the spot while stars circled above his head. "We're here," Elder Kettle announced as the others looked around and realized they had just entered the city. Where there was a lot going on despite the fact that it wasn't even 10:00 am. And off we go with the tiresome search for the perfect gift. sighed Alicia. Lucifer looked at her in confusion. He may not have heard her thoughts, but he knew from her sigh that she wasn't very happy to be here. Not because she didn't like being in the city, but because she didn't like the Christmas atmosphere.
Don't worry my love I will make sure this Christmas is the best you will ever have. Lucifer made his goal while opening the door on his side of the car and letting the others out so the search could take place. After all, there were plenty of stores in town that were open today and selling their wares for cheap prices. It would be fatal to leave one out. So Elder Kettle decided that they would split into two groups "Boys you come with me." his index finger pointed to the three cups standing next to his truck "Alicia and Lucifer you are on the other team and look for some suitable gifts yourselves." that was easier said than done.
Alicia didn't know what to give the others. She had liked living here in the cottage with Cuppy for a while, together with Elder Kettle and the two brothers. However, she had the feeling that she was buying the wrong presents. She swallowed nervously while Elder Kettle and the others wished them good luck before she disappeared into the crowd of townspeople. "And don't forget to meet us back here at the wagon!" he called after them so that they knew. "And they're gone." Alicia sighed as Lucifer looked down at her again, not knowing what to say. Should he even say anything when he knew that his wife and queen were in a bad way?
He was ambivalent. On the one hand, he wanted to help her and on the other, he didn't want to hurt her. He knew that Alicia was at war with Christmas. But she didn't say why. Neither he nor Cuppy, with whom Alicia had been friends since childhood, knew why she loathed Christmas and everything to do with it. "Darling, I know you're not a big fan of Christmas." Alicia felt her husband's hand on her shoulder and looked up from it into the glowing yellow eyes of her devil "But I assure you that we will be done without any problems and if you have any concerns or are unwell or anything else bothers you, we will return immediately without a word." her smile answered Lucifer's inner question.
He knew she was satisfied with his statement. No words needed to be spoken to confirm this. Alicia took Lucifer's twice if not thrice as large hand in hers and led him through the city in search of some suitable gifts for the others. They passed several stores that were still closed, had just opened or were already filled to the brim with customers. "Must be harder to find something than I thought." Alicia giggled unaware that the devil wasn't far from them.
As the two of them walked past a band playing cheerful Christmas carols with an elderly lady right next to them asking for donations with a bell in her hand, the park was not far away.
Like the town, the park was adorned with Christmas decorations and covered in snow. The lake in the center of the park was frozen over and several visitors were skating on it while others who were not on the lake preferred to have snowball fights or engage in other activities. Everyone was doing something to enjoy the time. Really everyone, including the person leaning against a tree at the end of the frozen lake watching everyone else.
There was no need to guess who the person was. The trident already gave it away. It was the devil himself, wearing a red-striped scarf around his neck and nothing else. Why would he be wearing anything else if his body was covered in fur? Well, with the exception of his hands and feet. But the demon didn't mind the cold. On the contrary, he liked it. He enjoyed it and breathed in and out before turning his trident so that the pointed end was pointing at the lake. With a small touch of the tip of the trident, the ice on the lake cracked and moved onto a group of skaters who skated happily, holding hands in a circle, until they noticed the hole below them created by the crack in the ice.
Their beaming faces quickly turned into expressions of fear before they fell into the icy cold water and appeared only as frozen blocks of ice on the surface of the water. The devil liked it and, diabolical and devilish as he was, he couldn't help but chuckle. The torment of others delighted him. They delighted him so much that he couldn't help but sing a song.
Christmastime's my favorite time
Christmastime's
My favorite time of the year
With vigor and glee instead of anticipation in his case, the devil grabbed his own skates and skated on the lake, circling the hole where the visitors were still frozen solid into a block of ice and completing several ice tricks along the way.
It's the holiday spirit
That makes my heart swell
In another part of the park, Sherman and Dorris were sitting on a bench. They were both eyeing each other and giggling while the former held a sprig of mistletoe in his hand. Dorris giggled and blushed at the sight and knew what her husband was hinting at when he held it above their heads. A kiss could not be ruled out and immediately followed if it weren't for the devil who was right next to them, swinging his hips against a tree with a bounce. The blow caused all the snow that had collected on the branches above the bench to land on the lovers.
The hanging of stockings
The balls on the tree
A little mouse was decorating a Christmas tree. Because of its small size, the mouse used a stick to hang the Christmas tree baubles on the branches that would otherwise be out of its reach. He was happy with the work he was doing but not the devil. He used his trident again and enchanted a blue Christmas bauble that hung directly above the mouse. It grew to twice the size that the branch could no longer hold the bauble and it fell onto the mouse.
It brings out the best
In most everyone
The band Lucifer and Alicia had just passed a few minutes ago continued to play their music until a green beam hit the instruments. Instead of playing music, the instruments turned into monsters with sharp teeth and chased the musicians while the older lady ran as well as the audience.
But brings out the devil in me
Nevertheless, many residents continued to do their shopping before the first stores closed. Some carried their wrapped presents in their arms while others walked on with several bags under their arms. Elder Kettle and the three cups were among the crowd. "I think we have everything." Elder Kettle marked everything on a list until Mugman reminded him of one more thing, 'But Elder Kettle we don't have anything for Alicia yet.' 'Oh damn you're right!' Without a word they went back to get something for Alicia, ignoring Varian and Eira who were in town buying christmas presents for themselves and others with Dr. Kahl.
It's the hustle and bustle
And folks filled with cheer
However, they also ignored the devil who stood at the side of the road and watched as the individual residents brought their bought and wrapped presents back home. Most of them carried only one or at least three presents in their arms. But one resident, a mouse to be precise, was carrying far too many presents. So many that he couldn't see what was in front of him. This was the perfect opportunity for the devil to stretch out his leg and cause the passer-by to stumble.
Those holiday feelings
We all hold so dear
Standing outside the city in front of a large Christmas tree, a family was surrounded by large presents while a photographer stood in front of them, ready to press the shutter. It was more than clear that this was supposed to be a family photo. But unnoticed by the family and the photographer, whose trembling fingers had touched the shutter release, the devil suddenly appeared between the two parents. The photo that was supposed to be for the rest of the family was ruined. Not because all the family members in the photo were screaming their heads off while the devil grinned stupidly. No, it was also because the photographer fled shortly afterwards.
Makes Christmastime
My favorite time of the year
The family did the same and ignored the devil holding the finished photo in his hands, hugged it and left the place satisfied as if there hadn't just been a riot.
It's the laughter of children
The goodwill towards men
Back in the park, this time in a different part, two children were sledging down a small snow hill. The joy and laughter could be heard loudly. So loud that the devil heard it and quickly rushed to the spot, using his trident again to conjure up a brick wall at the bottom of the hill. The two children aren't laughing and they couldn't stop the sled either as they ran straight into the brick wall, giving the devil even more glee.
The spirit of giving
And festive snowmen
Not far from the hill the devil was still standing in front of, his eyes caught sight of two familiar frog brothers who were in the process of building a snowman, or rather a snow frog, that looked exactly like their mother. It was Ribby and Croaks, of course, both wearing two winter coats in the same color as their suits and hats instead of their normal clothes. The devil thought of something diabolical while pointing his trident at the snow frog, firing it and making the snow frog grow.
Makes Christmastime
My favorite time of the year
Not only did the snow frog grow to twice his size, but he turned into a monster and chased the two brothers through the park while the devil watched the whole thing from a distance with an old-fashioned pair of binoculars while enjoying a cup of hot chocolate.
So what makes this time
So special to me?
Back in town, three children were licking candy canes given to them by a black-haired young lady. The three children didn't know who the lady was. But the devil didn't care as he looked down on them from a balcony above the three children and thought about what he could do to them to spoil their day as well as the rest of the citizens. He thought about it until he noticed the icicles stuck to the railing.
Ha! It's actually quite simple
You see.
He didn't have to think for long, clenched his hand into a fist and hammered on the railing. The vibration caused some of the icicles to come loose and fall to the ground while some, instead of touching the ground, threw the candy canes out of the children's hands, leaving their tongues stuck to the icicles while their candy canes lay broken on the ground.
It brings out the best in most everyone
But it brings out the devil in me
To top it off, the devil grabbed a wind-up toy that resembled a nutcracker soldier, wound it up, placed it on the road and watched as one of the toy soldier created a flat tire on an oncoming car which caused it to lose control and crashed into the nearby giant Christmas tree, setting it on fire. The passers-by who had just been standing in front of the tree fled in fear.
Yes, it brings out the devil in me
Panic broke out around the still blazing tree. Passers-by ran away in panic, cars stopped and the fire alarm continued to ring incessantly. It was perfect for the devil. There was chaos everywhere in the city, fear continued to spread and the previous Christmas spirit was replaced by cries of panic. For the devil, this was like a drug, a sedative to relax. Especially after everything he'd been through this year. The humiliation of the three cups, the rivalry with the copy and the constant attempt to win Alicia over, the devil took it out on the entire population of the town today.
"I don't know Lucifer." but his cheerful mood was disturbed by a familiar-sounding voice that the devil would recognize from anywhere. He opened his eyes and looked behind him. But no one was standing there. All that was behind him was a toy store. Nothing more. Had he misheard? Or had he really just heard Alicia's voice? "Alicia my love, I want to surprise you this year." The voice he heard now did not belong to Alicia. No, it belonged to someone else. Someone the devil despised as much as the three cups.
Growling and slightly on fire, he approached the voice that could be heard not far from the toy store. He caught sight of the pointed spade-shaped black tail end of his rival. The copy that called itself Lucifer and claimed that Alicia was his. The cheek of him thinking she would want to be with an untalented wannabe devil made him boil. Boiling with rage, you could say. "Well, I don't know. Santa's not going to give me anything this year anyway." But his anger disappeared as quickly as it came and changed to a confused look on his face.
"You know, it's almost like he wants me to end up on the naughty list." Alicia sighed and continued walking down the street with her head bowed, passing passers-by who were happily carrying their presents under their arms while others were enjoying themselves elsewhere. Lucifer realized immediately that the list was worrying her. It didn't take him a second to wait until he was walking beside his beloved wife again to cheer her up. However, one person was confused about the naughty list. "Naughty list? What the heck is that?"asked the Devil confused. But before he could get an exact answer, a small soft horn sounded from a train was heard from inside the toy store.
His eyes snapped open and followed the sound he had just heard to a shop window in front of which stood a small group of children who, curious as the devil himself, were also peering into the store to see all the toys it had to offer. But the devil didn't care much about that because he wanted to know where the noise he had heard a few seconds ago had come from. His eyes wandered through the self-built snowy landscape that resembled a Christmas village, covered in fake snow and surrounded by small model trees, candy canes and a train track that ran around the small village. The devil gasped as a small green train chugged out of a tunnel. "What a marvelous little train!" commented the devil as he continued to watch it, shoving his own face into the window to see more of the train as he continued to compliment it. "Oh, there it goes!" he followed the train and continued to watch as it drove through the small self-made landscape. "Oh! Oh, look at the little wheels!" his finger circled as the train whistled like a real one and little steam rose from its chimney.
Never before had the devil wished for anything (with the exception that Alicia belonged to him and the souls of Cuphead and Cuppy, of course) until he saw this tiny little train. He wanted this one. However, he was confused about the naughty list Alicia mentioned earlier. He wanted to know more about it and seemed to get his answer soon enough when his eyes caught sight of a little sandwich kid talking to his mom about the same thing. "What a greedy little brat!" the devil thought to himself as he overheard them both and what the child wanted.
"Ah, you wanted those same presents last year, Sammy Sandwich. But you didn't get'em. And why was that again?" but the mother seemed rather annoyed by the requests. Not only because her child sounded frowned upon, but also because of another thing: "Cause I glued my sister's face to the floor." he rolled his eyes in annoyance "Permanently glued." his mother corrected him. The devil was astonished. Of course he heard here and there that there were several residents who weren't exactly nice or known for being so. He had heard about a trio of vegetable cheats, a baby who liked to destroy the households of other residents and much more. He wasn't the only bad apple in the basket to say the least.
Nevertheless, the devil seemed to have taken a liking to the boy. However innocent the boy may be. However, his ears heard the word again: naughty list. Like Alicia, the mother also mentioned it, leaving the devil out in the cold. On top of that, the child mentioned the Nice list. "Nice list? And what is that?" His questions were endless. The devil really wanted to know and decided to follow the sandwich child and his mother to find out more.
As the mother walked on with the child, the latter felt someone tapping on his shoulder. "Shh. You there, boy." Confused as to who or what had just tapped his shoulder, the child turned around and caught sight of the devil next to him. "What is this naughty list you speak of?" the devil asked with a curious tone in his voice as he was keen to know what it was all about and, above all, how he could claim Alicia's heart for himself. "It's what Santa puts you on when you're naughty. Where you been?" the child explained to him with a sneer. As if he had never heard of it. However, the devil seemed to like the list from the name "Sounds like my kind of list.".
"Nah. It's the stinkin' pits." the child contradicted his statement "You get on that naughty list, you don't get presents." The devil was now less pleased with this "Oh!" he replied less cheerfully than before. "Uh-huh. That's why I've been trying to be nice all year." Being nice for a whole year made the devil want to vomit just thinking about it. "Ughh!" was his only response until the child explained to him what was so good about being nice for a year "Yeah. It really sucks an egg. But I just know it's all gonna be worth it when I get that spaceship." the devil thought about it. Being nice for a year just to get what you want one day a year? It sounded like humbug to him. But there might be something to it.
Back at the cottage, the group unpacked their purchases, wrapped them in wrapping paper and placed them under the still bright and shining Christmas tree. Everyone did something and looked forward to the next few hours. Because it was Christmas Eve. The presents would not be unwrapped until the next day. "And that means nobody, and I repeat nobody, approaches the tree and touches any presents!" warned Elder Kettle with a wagging index finger. The three cups nodded understandably. They knew the seriousness of the situation and were reluctant to make Elder Kettle and Santa angry.
Not just before Christmas, of course. Alicia, on the other hand, was the only one not exactly in the Christmas spirit, but also not in the living room itself. She had left her wrapped present on the table before going into the guest room. No one knew she was gone. It was only when Elder Kettle noticed the present on the table that he knew she was gone. "Is something wrong with Alicia?" he asked gloomily, "She hasn't seemed well since the beginning of December." Not only the three cups had noticed, but Elder Kettle too. Alicia's usually cheerful aura had completely faded. She rarely went out of the room. Except when she was called to eat or had to go to the toilet. Otherwise she stayed inside.
"I think I know what's going on." Elder Kettle's gaze wandered to Lucifer. The King of Inkwell Hell sat down on the sofa and spoke what Alicia had told him earlier in the city. That Santa had deliberately put her on the naughty list. "What?!", 'Santa would never put Alicia on the naughty list!' both brothers protested while Cuppy nodded in agreement, "Ali belongs on the nice list. She's sweet and kind and cares about others instead of herself." His eyes wandered to Cuphead, who actually belonged on the naughty list, with the last statement. After all, he had done a lot more naughty things. "We need to talk to Santa about this!" Easier said than done. How would they even get to Santa?
Now they know where Santa lives. But getting there was another matter. Elder Kettle refused to let the three cups leave the cottage. Especially in this cold weather. Lucifer, on the other hand, didn't see it as a burden and decided to take care of the problem himself. "I guess I'll go then." No one said anything against it. Not even Elder Kettle. He let Lucifer go, or rather disappear in a puff of smoke.
In the underworld, in a meeting room, several Imps sat together with Henchman, Stickler and Amnon and talked incessantly among themselves and with each other so that nothing could really be understood. But you could immediately hear what it was all about. "I'm not pointing any fingers," the accountant cleared his throat while an Imp next to him had just made a fresh cup of tea '...but someone has been stealing lunches out of the community refrigerator.'. Didn't seem to be anything new to the others. "Mine are always clearly labeled with the name Stickler, yet they often go missing.", "Yeah, same here. It's ridiculous." an imp sitting on the other side of the table agreed with the accountant. "Yeah, me too." commented another Imp.
"I know we work in the fiery underworld…" Amnon added while the rest of the Imps remained silent "But that's no excuse for bad manners." Henchman replied with a thick pouting lip and folded arms. No one knew who the food thief was and apparently no one wanted to admit who it was. However, the others heard a metal door slam and turned their eyes towards it. "All right, everyone. Listen up." The devil stood in front of the metal door, threw his scarf to the rack and walked over to the others while asking them a very important question before sitting down on his chair, which was much bigger than the others.
"What would have to happen for someone, me, for example, to, let's just say, get on Santa's nice list?" From one second to the next, all the Imps stared at each other with their pupils drawn back as if they had just received a death sentence. Well, almost all of them except Stickler, who is still raising his index finger like an ace student as if he wants to answer this question. But like the other imps who were now nervously trying to avoid the devil's question, the accountant lowered his finger and hoped very much that he wouldn't be taken to task. "I thought you two said he didn't know about the list." an imp whispered to Henchman and Amnon before the devil pointed his trident at him and fired a fireball.
Both demons stared in shock at the pile of ash that had once been a colleague of theirs. They knew that the devil would not hesitate to reduce more to dust if he did not receive an immediate answer. But luckily for him, two demons knew the answer to his question. "Henchman, Amnon." Like Scooby from Scooby Doo, the husky demon jumped into Henchman's arms as the devil appeared next to him, staring at both of them with a rather less than friendly expression on his face as he waited for an answer to his next question. "You two knew about the nice list, and you didn't tell me. Why?" Before Henchman or Amnon could answer, the latter hit himself on the skull with his own fist and fainted.
Henchman now had to explain to the devil alone why he had kept this list from him. "Uh..." he mumbled and thought, 'It's not exactly your kind of list, boss.' He and the others hoped that this would suffice as an answer. "Oh! And what is that supposed to mean?" the devil asked in an indignant voice as Henchman slowly rolled his eyes. "Well, you are kinda evil." the devil gasped 'Are you saying I can't be evil and be on the nice list?' the question answered itself. Henchman didn't actually have to answer that. But he did anyway while Amnon regained consciousness. "Yeah, boss. That's exactly what I'm sayin'.".
The devil had had enough. With his chest outstretched and his face upturned, he turned his back on the group and walked away from the table. This confused the others, however. Most of them thought he would take his anger out on the nearest imps, let alone try to reduce the Stickler to dust again. But nothing of the sort happened. "Where are you going?" Amnon asked in a slightly nervous if shaky voice. "To get my name on the nice list." replied the devil, still showing his back to the group as he approached the metal door and turned to the others with an annoyed expression on his face. 'And at this hour on Christmas Eve, there's only one person who can do it.' Without another word, the devil disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving his Imps, Henchman, Amnon and the accountant behind in the underworld.
Meanwhile at the North Pole...
There was a lot going on in the Christmas village. Reindeer with sacks full of mail walked with elves on their backs or led to a large building that appeared to be Santa's toy workshop. Next to it were several small houses where the elves lived and another large building that resembled a stable where horses were usually kept. But instead, Santa's reindeer were in there. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen were engraved on signs above the stables where the reindeer were kept. They were fed and cared for by elves.
The front door opened. Startled, the elves and reindeer stared towards it where a tall, albeit fat, bearded figure stood. This figure was, of course, none other than Santa himself. Like every incarnation of Santa Claus, he was a traditionally depicted as a festively overweight old man with a beard, who wears a red suit with white trim and a matching cap, black boots and a black belt.
"Santa!" shouted the elves and the reindeer at the same time as he entered the stable and was overrun by his elves. "Ho ho ho!" replied Santa in a deep-sounding voice as he stroked some of his elves and praised them for their work. "Good job number 12, you too number 24!" named elves grinned with delight as they took care of the reindeer Dasher who was eating and got his hooves polished by both of them. The praise continued until another elf began to clear his throat to silence the mood in the stable. "Um Santa a word please?" it was the reindeer manager, an elf with brown hair and beard wearing a dark green suit and cap similar to the other elves. He had a clipboard with a list tucked under his arm and a pencil tucked behind his right ear. "Oh yes, of course!" Santa replied immediately and followed the manager while the elves went about their work.
They both went through the tasks on the list in a rush "Are all the reindeer there?" asked Santa as he and the manager walked past the stables where the reindeer were kept. "They're all there." the manager checked off "Are they all healthy?" At that moment, Vixen ate some of the straw that an elf gave him while Cupid was getting a dental treatment in the stable next to him. "Safe and sound!" crossed off the manager. "No one is injured?" Santa asked at the end and checked in each stable to see if his reindeer were really well. Blitzen and Donner trotted on the spot while Comet and Dancer showed off their flying skills. "No one is hurt, we should be ready to go tonight," the manager explained and handed the list to Santa.
"Right, well then, get the sleigh ready," Santa ordered and was about to leave when the manager pulled on his coat and stopped him from going. Santa looked down at the manager in amazement and was about to ask what was going on or whether he had forgotten something important. "Santa, there's someone else who wants to talk to you." The moment Santa opened his mouth, the door behind him opened. Curious, Santa turned around and saw a horned figure standing in front of the now closed door.
Santa's eyes squinted as he examined the figure more closely. "Lucifer is it you?" he asked and immediately received an answer, 'Yes, it's me.' replied the figure, which in the light was none other than Lucifer himself. He approached Santa and answered his question as to why he was here. "Oh ho ho you must be here for the Nice list I take it?" Lucifer was a little surprised that Santa thought he was here for that. Well, he was already here for the Nice List. Just not for his. "Don't worry you're on it my good man. Ho ho ho!" Lucifer didn't know whether he should be happy or not, despite the statement. "That's nice to hear, but that's not why I came.".
Lucifer explained why he was here and amazed Santa Claus as well as the rest of the elves. Not with joy, but the other way around. "I knew the day would come," Santa sighed and offered to follow Lucifer to his office to talk to him about why Lucifer was here.
"So you knew that...?" Santa nodded as he approached his toy workshop. "More or less." he replied and reached for the doorknob behind which loud music could be heard. It was the elves working on some presents in the workshop.
All the kids are counting on us
Christmastime is here
The song stopped when the door opened. All the elves looked towards it and immediately saw Santa and Lucifer. They skillfully ignored the latter because they didn't know him and Lucifer didn't want to be touched by the elves. "Hello, Elf Number 15. Nice tricyle, Elf Number 62. Little Suzy will love it." Santa complimented his elves while Lucifer followed him and dodged a few elves who ran past him with finished presents until he reached the stairs to his office together with Santa. "Keep up the good work. Christmas is nigh!" Santa announced as he reached the top of his office door. The elves cheered with joy as Santa continued to cheerfully shout "Ho-ho-ho."
He waved after the elves before Santa disappeared into his office with Lucifer to talk about why Lucifer was here in the first place. But before Santa could open his mouth even a tiny crack, someone interrupted him. "Hello, Nicholas." His pupils retracted when Santa heard this voice and looked confusedly at his office desk. His chair was facing his back. He knew he hadn't left the chair like that. Someone was in here. Not only Santa knew that, but also Lucifer, who could already guess who was sitting in Santa's chair.
Slowly, the chair turned around and another horned figure that looked almost identical to Lucifer sat on it and turned his attention to Santa Claus, who was now not only surprised but also confused. His eyes wandered from Lucifer, who was standing next to him, growling at the figure who was also staring at Santa until his eyes fell on Lucifer. The figure also growled and seemed less than pleased to see him. Who was this figure? Santa asked himself as he scratched his head thoughtfully, not knowing what to say.
Songs: Brings Out the Devil in Me, Making Christmas Toys