Kris stepped out through the doors of a small unnamed bar. He had spent the better part of the day within drinking his sorrows away.
He also had never really drank before, excluding his special eggnog brew of course, but he found the feelings of this worlds drink.. intoxicating to put it simply. The past few days hadn't been kind on him since his recent arrival on these streets. He had dealt with ridicule and mockery at his attire and everyone seemed to laugh at the looney old guy dressed in red and white pretending to be Santa Claus. None of it had really bothered him though. It was all things he took in stride, given his career path for the past seventeen hundred years. Now though, with his existence hanging in the balance and his own dimension in turmoil from so much loss of belief, he was now faced with even more sorrow and yet an even tougher challenge with the recent destruction of his recent home at The Tower, from where he was hoping to establish his place and with the help of everyone, save his world and in turn.. saving Christmas. 

Countless memories flashed through his slightly inebriated mind as he stepped out into the cool night air. The sounds of cars passing and people chatting as they walked by. Images of how he stood at the half burned down Tower and the bodies of those he once knew littered around as if they were nothing. He quickly shook the image from his mind. No sense in dwelling on the past he thought, better to push on and think about the future. He stood himself up against the wall a moment gathering himself, brushing one of his white gloved hands over his beard and over his belly. So many emotions running through his mind as he hears a car speed up and the sound of laughter. A sound all too familiar as he looked up and saw a car with some young punks, nobodies really, hanging out the windows with empty bottles in their hands, screaming out. 

"There he is! Get him!

"Get a REAL job ya old fuck!" 

Said one followed by another. 

"Yeah, take that!" 

The punks shouted as they hurled bottles at Kris. The sounds of their tires screeching across the asphalt. He lifted his arm just in time as the first bottle smashed against the wall beside him, the people nearby simply walking screamed and scurried off. Kris tried to turn and run toward the safety of the nearby alley, almost stumbling as he feels the heavy solid thunk of one of the bottles hitting in the back of the head, sending him reeling forward over himself as the laughter got louder and closer, the car not stopping as they whizzed by and shouted insults at the down old man in red. 

Kris put his gloved hand to the back of his head as he tried to kneel up off the floor. His vision blurry from the direct hit to his head as he tried to focus on the back of the car rounding the corner ahead. His hand felt wet as he brought it back before him to see his white glove stained with his red blood. His vision clearing as anger filled him now. He clenched his bloody fist and slammed it into the ground before standing up. The white hair running out from under his classic headpiece slowly turning red as he took a deep breath. Passerby's pausing only a moment to make sure he was alright before walking off not really caring. All this carelessness and hate, these streets were terrible and nothing like the world he was often overjoyed to deliver gifts to every year.Nonetheless he was here and had to make the best of it and somehow, through all this adversity, he had to save Christmas. 

He stood up on his own two black booted feet now, pushing himself off the wall he was using for support. Shaking his head he closed his eyes and concentrated. Focusing on his magic to see if he could find the culprits for his recent assault. Slowly it came to him, the details about the individuals in the car that left here no more than fifteen minutes ago. He could see their faces now.. and their names.. He started to see everything about them from the time when they were first kids and still believed. It was little Eddie and Johnny Wilkins. They were decent little kids when they were young but he had watched them start to get involved with the wrong people. Kris could see where they turned and became the mean taunting bullies they had become today. Having worked their way into some random family and now going by the name of Ed "The Head" and Johnny "The Knife" Wilkins. He could see them in his mind still driving away, laughing, joking about how they just creamed that old man on the side of the road dressed like Santa. 

This only made Kris angrier as he dug a little deeper into his magic to find out where they were going. He wanted to have a few words with them. Maybe show them the error of their ways. Kris could feel his patience for things slipping as more and more discontent brewed inside him. Discontent with everything and everyone almost he had had enough. He was going to do something about now. He smiled as he envisioned their place of residence. His eyes opening, a glimmer of rage in the corner, the once jolly face and rosy cheeks were gone. Now an almost empty stare emerged from Kris's eyes as he muttered something. 

"How perfect... you have a chimney.. I'll see you soon boys.."

He almost smiled as he headed off in the direction of the recent attackers. He would show them a thing or two about being naughty, he thought. He even considered letting Krampus pay them a visit as that thought made him grin even more.. 

"Hey, any beer left?" 

Johnny asked Eddie as he walked into their living room where Eddie was counting dozens of bills of currency on the living room table. Some crumpled others not, clearly a haul from their shenanigans from the day. They didn't care where they got their loot from. 

"I don't know, check the fridge." 

Eddie snapped back, obviously not happy with their haul. Johnny slammed the fridge door shut letting Eddie know they were out. 

"What the hell man? Today was bullshit!"

Johnny grumbled as he came back into the room and plopped down on the couch across from an already agitated and mumbling Eddie. Their fireplace burning nicely at the end of the living room where they sat. Johnny put his feet up on the table and Eddie just glared up at him for a moment before Johnny removed the distraction from Eddie's workspace. 

"We didn't make shit today Johnny! Why the hell is that?!"

He almost shouted as Johnny got defensive and snapped back. The two often argued and fought. Life as criminals, for them at least, wasn't easy. They constantly had problems or close calls or big accidents during their daily "outings". Sometimes it got physical, and Eddie would usually end up whopping Johnny's ass. 

"How the hell should I know?! Why didn't we rob that idiot dressed as Santa? Bet you he had some money!"

Eddie started to shake his head then stopped realizing his partner made a valid point. 

"Damn.."

He mumbled to himself and sat thinking a moment. Both of them debating whether or not to go back out and try again to score some more. Neither of them aware what awaited for them if they did. Neither of them aware of what was coming for them regardless if they did or didn't. 

Outside across the street on the rooftop of a neighbors rood sat a figured under the moonlight. Hard to tell at first until it shifted or moved and you could hear a faint bell ring. The glow of a cigar temporarily lighting up the mildly aged white bearded face of an old man. The brim of his white head warming attire flashing as the slight glow gives off the red hue reflection of his suit. 

Kris sits patiently waiting. Watching as he grins, thinking of all the fun he's about to have with these two. The unlucky two that just happened to be the ones to push him past his limit tonight. The ones adding that final feather atop the pile of crap he'd been dealing with lately. His grin grew dark as did his face as he pulled the cigar away from his face. The smoke pluming around his hat, his white gloved hand tapping the ashes of his cigar onto the roof of the house he's on. 

He looks both left and right into the dark chilly night as the silence of the streets pleases him. Much like the silence he so enjoyed of the suburban neighborhoods he had visited hundreds or thousands of times before when making his yearly deliveries. He remembered the fun and excitement he'd get magically sliding down chimney's to waiting trees and snacks. He smiled and chuckled thinking this time was different. This time he wasn't here to deliver gifts. Well not in the usual classic sense. He coughed slightly as he brought the cigar back to his whiskers as his other hand patted a large shiny axe half hanging out of his large red velvet sack. 

"It's almost time boys.. Almost time."

He said to himself with a tone of eager anticipation as he concentrated on his magic. The air around him and the neighborhood getting colder and colder as it starts to sleet over the area. Colder and colder it got as ice started to gather on the sidewalks and driveways and the one road down the middle of this quaint row of houses. Kris grinned as he focused on the two men inside his targeted house as he waited. 

Waiting for... something..