CHAPTER NINETEEN:  Christmas night

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"We can't let that sleigh take off," Callum says as the race through the underground. "There's a subterranean access point to the hangar."

"Wait," Dylan calls out, causing for everyone to pause. He stood in front of a vault.

Callum had turned back, managing to open it. Only to reveal Garcia, who was standing directly in front of the door, fists up. "Chief," the beat lowered its fists.

"Garcia," Callum breathed out.

"Cal," female voice called out, causing for the ones in the vault to turn. It was Mrs. Claus. The woman walked up to the large E.L.F enforcer.

"Ma'am," Cal greeted back.

"Where is he?"
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"Are there any guns here? Not the freeze ones," Max asked.

Which Garcia has send a look his way, with a mutter about Level four naughtylisters.

"Gryla! Stop!" Callum called out, as they entered the room. There, the witch was at the front of the sleigh, with an unconscious man in a glass type of prison. Multiple heads turned back, looking at the rescuers.

Eight men in white winter jackets, stood to the side of the sleigh, blocking the entrance.

Gryla smiled. "I was just leaving."

The four 'men' yelled as they ran forward. Jack gestured for Mrs. Claus to take Dylan, before he moved forward, he picked up one of the gifts that has been placed on the table, tossing it at the head of one of Gryla's sons.

Max ran forward, dodging the one who ran at him, by sliding on the ground, and kicking his feet form out underneath him. And then kicked up, knocking the crates on his head before looking up. Jack and Callum were running after the sleigh.

Max ran after Jack. They jumped onto the back of the sleigh, Jack looking momentarily surprised to see that Max had followed. Or, not that he had been followed. He would had expected that.  He had just hoped that someone would stop him so he didn't get hurt.

Jack extended and hand and helped pull Max up, the second his hands touched the bottom of where he was standing. He pulled him to grip the handle on the side. Before they began to carefully walk along side the large crate that held all the snow globes.  They had made it to stand just behind Gryla, in front of the glass that held Nick.

Jack looked to Callum, shrugging his shoulders. He hadn't expected for him and Max to make it this far.  Callum nodded his head at the two. Before both Callum and Jack walked up behind and moved to punch her. But, she turned around in time and blocked thier punch.  She hit their  arms to fall before punching Callum in the face. Max had jumped, kicking her in the stomach, and having planned to kick her over the sleigh, but, just as she grabbed Jack's throat and lifted him, she tossed Callum.

Callum knocked Max over, making him loss his footing. She lifted him up by his leg, his head touching the floor of the sleigh. He lashed out his other foot, kicking her in the face. She threw him toward the case holding Santa, and Jack towards the reindeer.

"Jack!"
"Max!"

Callum had gotten up, only to also be tossed, farther. Max stood up, slightly shaking his head before gripping the case. As they lifted off the ground. They hadn't been in the air for long, as suddenly ghe deer had been released.

"Jack!" Max yelled out, when the sleigh crashed. And the deer continued to fly throughout the sky.

"Max!" Jack called, sanding up front where he had fallen on the trail.

Max ignored Callum trying to awake Nick. Jack crashed into Max, quickly looking him over for any injuries. As Max poked over Jack.

When a heavy thudding was heard. It drew the two men's attention before pausing. A large hand came form the end of the trail.

"Cal!" Jack yelled out.

Apparently, Gryla had transformed of her take form. A well, over ten feet. Max thought that Krampus was being over-dramatic when he described her as eighteen feet. He wasn't. In fact, Max was sure Krampus downplayed her features

"Jack, Max," Callum calls. "Run."

"No way, man. For a guy like me, there's worst ways to go out than by trying to save Santa Claus." Jack asked.

"I am not leaving Jack, nor am I leaving you behind," Max says.

"Gryla!" Callum called out, as the large creature walked towards them. "It's time for you to go."

The ground shook as she took a step. "Oh, I'll go," her voice came out raspy. "but I'm taking him with me."

"You're not taking him anywhere," Callum answered.

"His power has been wasted for far too long. The punishing begins tonight."

"You're gonna have to go through me first," Callum took a step.

"With pleasure." She darted forward.

Max pulls Jack behind, to push him behind the sleigh, and reached for Callum. A ball of fire suddenly came out of nowhere. And hit Gryla. She stumbled back, looking up. Then a familiar chanting filled the air. "Ooh, ooh, cha, cha." Another ball hit her. And another. "Ooh, ooh, cha, cha."

Krampus rumbled fine from the flying metal dragon, landing in front of the three. He turned to Callum, Jack and Max. "You imbeciles have no idea how to talk to a woman like this."

Max wants to make a comment on of course he doesn't, because less than twenty four hours ago, he hadn't know about such a thing existing. He doesn't.

"She's my ex." He turned around to her. "Hello. My love."

"Get out of here, Krampus," she ordered.

"I can't do that. And lovely as it is to see your miserable face, my brother has somewhere to be." Krampus stood tall.

Gryla's tail lashed out, knocking him to the ground. And then lifted him up with her tail, and slammed him onto the ground. Then into a glass structure, spin him around, he screamed. And then tossed him.

Max pulled Jack inside the sleigh as Callum ran forward,  running up Gryla's tail and jumping into the air. He uppercuts her chin, she swats him away.

"Cal!" Max yelled before having to dodge Gryla, who tried to stomp on him and Jack. But, then she grabbed them with one of her tails, hitting them both. Max has gripped Jack, falling to the ground hard.

"Max! Are you alright!" Jack panicked.

"Oh, my God," Max groaned, rolling over.

"Haven't you had enough?" The witch rasped out.

"If you want to take him, you're gonna have to kill me." Callum tells her.

"Gladly," Gryla grabbed Callum, lifting him into the air. She held him over the edge if the hedge. "Your sacrifice will mean nothing."

Max and Jack struggled to get up, dizzy.

"Gryla!" A unfamiliar voice called out. And there, stood Santa. "Enough!"

"Any last words for your most faithful warrior?"

"Only one. Kavalame!"

Callum tapped his shoes together, shrinking and slipping past her fingers. He fell to the ground, landing on his feet. He ran forward, towards Nick. They sky lights up with multiple yellow streams.

The reindeers had returned. And we're headed straight towards Gryla. They slammed into her, flying her into the sky. Max had the brief wonder is they planned to just drop her from a high point, or if the reindeer could breathe in space, but she couldn't. But, they instead continued to ram into her. The answer was they planned to drop her, right into the large container of snow globes.

Jack and Max brought their arms into cover from the fact that some of the globes had flown out of the container. She made a pained yell, thrashing around and forcing more of the snow globes to exit and fall out.

She continued to scream, until the snow globes had absorbed her. She disappears into one of the fallen globes. Jack picked it up, examining it.

"No!" She yelled as he hit the glass.

"Well, look at you," Jack starts.

"Oh, shut up!"' Gryla demanded.

"Shake it," Max deadpanned, with a glare to the tiny creature

"Nick," Callum calls, approaching the man. "You okay?"

"Yeah." A pause. "What took you so long?" Amusement laced his voice.

"God, I'm so glad you are okay," Max tells Jack.

Jack turns to Max. A smile placed on his lips. Max, as always, finds his gaze settled on Jack's lips. Max realized that he had loved Jack when he was nineteen.  And realized he was in love with him a year later.

Max was still staring at Jack. Neither men realized that Krampus had gotten up, and approached Nick.  And then, Jack leaned forward, placing his lips over Max's. He had first placed the snow globe down.

"Oh, come on,"  Callum sighed, dragging a hand down his face. He hoped this would be the last time he seen the two. He had had enough of the longing stares the entire time he spent with them. And it had taken the two of them being abducted, and run from a bunch of creatures that they hadn't known existed.

Max had lifted his hands, placing them onto Jack's cheeks.  Max had been surprised when he had kissed Jack, and felt that they were both slightly soft, and a little chapped. Max was probably of a similar state, consider neither of them had been able to use any type of, anything, to stop either lips from being chapped.

A sharp whistle pulled the two part, jumping in surprise. Krampus was leaving, as he jumped over the siding of the large, long bridge. "Happy Krampusnacht!"  He used the floating, metal dragon to fly off.
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After returning where they would be gathering all the presents, they had seen that practically everyone was rushing. Everyone was giving orders.

"We are currently six minutes behind schedule, so we're gonna run this preflight like our hair's on fire," Mrs. Claus orders.

Max, Jack, and Dylan stand by each other, unsure of what to do.  And, then Nick walked out, pressed in a red coat, red button up and red pants. The lining of the coat was white.  And when he exited, the three stand in shock.

"Dylan," Nick greeted. "Jack. Max."

"Hi."
"Hi."
Both father and son spoke.

"This is fucking awesome!" Max exclaimed.

Both Nick and Callumn gave a pointed look to him at his yell.

"Sorry. Sorry." Max says.

"Thanks for your help today," Nick says, looking to Dylan.

"They helped too," Dylan looked to his father and Max.

"I know." He winked, before he smiled at Jack and Max. Then, later the two's shoulder and he walked off.

"All systems are go. Thirty seconds to launch," a voice comes over the P.A system.

"Hey, Drift," Zoe Hallow called, as the man begins to climb into the sleigh. "Have a great ride."

"Merry Christmas, Director," Callum says.

"I can't believe we are going to get to see the just-" Max made a gesture, of his hand flying.

Jack laughed, taking his hand into his.

"Dylan. Jack, Max," Nick called. He waved his hand. "You guys coming?"

The three briefly looked at each other.
"What?" Jack asked in astonishment.
"Really?" Dylan asked in excitement.
"Repeat that?" Max questioned, shocked.

"Cole on, let's go. We got to roll," Callum called.

The three rushed over. Max lifted Dylan, much to his dismay, embarrassment. Then quickly climbing up, he extended a hand to Jack.  Jack accepted the hand, smiling as he kept the grip even while he was already on the sleigh.

"Red one, you are clear for takeoff." Mrs. Claus says.

They fly off, quick. There was a machine on the sleigh popping out tiny present boxes. The creature slides them into the red sack, then handing it off to Santa. Who slug it over his shoulder.  A metal escape hatch opened up at the floor of the sleigh. Nick jumped through, a rope tied to the sleigh, he swung into a house through the chimney. He was gone in a couple of seconds. Into the next house.

After what felt like thirty minutes, not even, the barrel attached to the machine was replaced. Still, the three humans watching amazement as two tiny craters landed on an apartment complex roof, opening the vent. Nick crawled in.

"How the hell could you ever want to retire?" Max asked Callum in disbelief.

As Nick accidentally stepped onto a light bulb from a Christmas light, one of the tiny creatures caught sight of it (Max was sure that they were trolls. Had Callum not been an elf, he would had thought these tiny carefree were the elves.) they quickly replaced the bulb.

"So, when did you two start to date?" Dylan turned to Jack and Max.  And beside either could answer, he continued. "Mom said that I would probably be married before you two got together." He smiled.

"You know, maybe he is on the naughty list,". Max says, forging a serious tone. "Look at his face, it's the same face as a sociopath makes when they've killed their victim and got away with it."

Dylan smiled brighter.
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It was now sun rise, they were still flying through the air. Although, Jack seated himself in between Max and Dylan. One hand stretched out to take a hold of Max's hand.

"He really does it, doesn't he?" Jack asked. "Goes everywhere on the entire world in one night."

"He's a lot cooler than j thought he was," Dylan speaks.

"And a lot more athletic," Jack adds.

"Yeah."
Both Dylan and Max agree.

"Guy's a beast," Dylan adds.

"The guy is a beast," Jack laughs.

"Really, it's insane. I can't believe it's been just, twenty-four hours," Max smiled.

"Who knew, that all it took, for you to admits you liked me," Jack smiled. "Was a beady being imprisoned for life by a goat-man."

"What?" Dylan asked.

Max laughed. "I can't believe Olivia was right."

"Yeah." Jack shook his head.

"I owe her twenty bucks," Max sighs

"What?"

"She said something about which one of would confess first. I called her crazy for thinking you would ever like me, like that," Max smiled.

"Yeah.  Well, you were always terrible at knowing when someone liked you," Jack says, then paused, as a look of realization comes over his face.  "Did we just save Christmas?"

"I think we just saved Christmas." Callum smiled.

Jack held Max's hand in his. Before they all stood up to stand by Santa. Jack placed the hand that wasn't holding Max's, onto Dylan's shoulder. 
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Dylan has said that they could drop him off at his mother's house, and when seeing the sad look on Jack's face, the way he immediately assumed that Dylan thought about it, and wanted to return to his they wee before. He said it was to give Max and Jack time alone.

"It's Christmas," Max says. "I asked Olivia, if she wanted to come to my place. She invited us over," Max looks to Jack.

Once entering Olivia's place, the woman had immediately wrapped her son in a hug, before pulling Jack and Max into one.
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It has been late, almost twelve when they left Olivia's place. And only because the woman had work the next day. Max has suggested they could leave earlier, as to not bother her. So, she can sleep more. But, she kept eyeing it was okay, and Dylan asked them to stay a little longer.

"Jack," Max called as they entered Jack's place, which, amazingly was fixed. He tilts his head. "Huh. Okay, guess we don't have to fix it."

Max the turned around to Jack, a bright smile on his face. He cupped Jack's face, bringing his face closer, lips brushing together momentarily before Jack leaned up, pressing thier lips together.

Max momentarily pulled back, leaning his forehead against Jack's, he smiled. "You know, despite almost getting my ribs broken, this is the best Christmas I've ever had."

"Do you want to stay in, or go out?" Jack asked.

"How about stay in for today," Max wrapped his arms around Jack's waist, smiling at him. "And tomorrow we go out? Just so I can make a reservation for tomorrow."

Jack smiled, then leaning forwards to place his lips over Max's.
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