Bang

Bang!

BANG!

Grimjack quickly kicked in another door and sent it flying across what looked like a break room. Several guards in Gungrax symbiotic armor had their helmets off. One was about to take a sip of a hot chocolate, a few others were playing cards, two were on a holo-call with their family, and all of them were caught off guard as Grimjack burst into the room. With practiced efficiency he threw a blue band at the guard with the hot chocolate and opened fire with his disintegrator on the rest. Lasers went flying and took out all but one of them who managed to flip up a table in time; but it was too late. Grimjack leaped over the table and slammed his fist down into the last guard’s face. A plume of smoke shot up from his fist, and the guard went limp on the ground.

He took out another blue band and restrained the guard on the ground before dragging a chair over to the one conscious guard and sitting across from him. “Where’s the prisoner. Talk.”

The guard was covered in a light blue field with a look of shock still on his face. After a moment he managed to compose himself and his face turned expressionless. “I am Fendal Heartripper, security for this research station. You are not authorized to access any more information from this unit.”

Grimjack flipped a switch on his chest plate and the blue field around Fendal was filled with electricity and sparks. Freddy finally managed to stand up, but he was swaying all around. Then he bent over and hurled up pure white stuffing. He looked down at the pile in distress as he struggled to gain his bearings.

A slam against Grimjack’s helmet shook him for a moment. “What do you think you’re doing?” Snapped Jangle as she slapped him a second time.

Grimjack brought his hands up to stop his helmet from shaking. “We need information.”

“So what, you’re going to torture this guy to get him to talk? Don’t you know pain-based confessions are flimsy at best? I mean, he’s more likely to give you information fake or otherwise just to get you to stop. Nothing’s really encouraging him to tell you…”

“This isn’t for torture.” Grimjack cut her off. “The shock is meant to weaken the symbiote’s hold on his mind.”

Grimjack turned back to the guard as Jangle backed off a bit. “Care to tell us where the prisoner is now?”

The guard seemed stunned and tried to shake his head. “I won’t tell you. I can’t betray him.”

“Listen! This is a big deal. If you don’t tell us, you’re looking at being on the permanent Naughty List for being a part of all of this!”

Grimjack started to roll his eyes, but the guard seemed genuinely distressed at that thought. “But I mean…he promised he’d get me on the Nice List…”

Jangle scooted Grimjack to the side and jumped up onto the table in front of the guard. “You think it’s that easy? The lists are a big deal. A lot of people would love to get their hands on them, even just for a second.” She leaned closer to him as she shook her head. “Santa made sure there were plenty of fail safes. Even he can’t get to them without the proper escorts and codes. Whoever promised you a place on the Nice List was fibbing.”

The guard looked increasingly distressed. “But…he wouldn’t…he couldn’t…”

“I’m not going to offer you an easy answer here. I can’t guarantee you’ll get on the Nice List. But I do know Santa is a generous guy. Very forgiving too. Help us save the big guy, and I’m sure that’ll go a long way.” Jangle turned around and hopped off the table. She waved for Grimjack to follow her and moved towards the door.

Grimjack crossed his arms as the guard struggled with what she had said. Jangle was forced to a stop as the Christmas lights stretched tight between her and Grimjack, with poor Freddy still looking dizzy and slightly suspended in the air. She grumbled and took out a sugar cookie with color frosting shaped like a pair of scissors and used it to cut herself free from the lights.

“This’ll probably be more trouble than it’s worth in this place.”

“He seems ready to crack. Why not finish the job?”

Jangle sighed and shook her head. “Someone like him, you can’t force them to change their ways. They have to choose it themselves.”

“You forced me to let you go with me.”

“No, I got you to agree to tagging along with me. Pretty quickly too if I recall.”

“You had information I needed, and...”

“And you couldn’t make me talk.”

Grimjack snarled. “It was just easier than beating it out of you.”

“I mean, only one of us sent the other flying.”

Freddy used the switchblade on the end of his candy cane to cut himself free and then put his hands on his head. “Oh no, mom and dad are fighting. Whatever will I do?”

“Fine. Let’s just move on then.” Grimjack grabbed the Christmas lights around his waist and activated his chainsaw glove. The air around his gauntlet slightly warped as the infinitely shrinking chainsaws shred through reality itself to split the Christmas light apart. He stood up and pushed his way out of the room.

“Wait!” called out the guard. “I…you’re right. I want to help…but my symbiote won’t let me go with you.”

“That’s alright, just tell us where Santa is, and we’ll be sure to put in a good word for you Fendal Heartripper.”

The guard looked relieved and explained how to navigate the maze of hallways to find their holding cell. It was deep in the depths of the facility, at the core itself. He also warned them that there was a failsafe that would collapse the shielding on the entire facility letting the heat and pressure from the blue hypergiant star it was housed inside destroy everything. A final containment protocol that he didn’t know how to turn off. Finally ready to go, there was just one more thing to do, and Freddy insisted that they let him do it.

With a smile Freddy nodded at Fendal. “Thanks for the info, buddy. Oh, and Merry Christmas.”

THWACK!

Freddy slammed the top of his candy cane sideways across the guard’s face, knocking him out. With a chuckle the fuzzy bear jumped off the table and followed Jangle and Grimjack out into the hallway.

Ice spread around the portal as the shadow covered it. A muscular giant silently dropped down through it into the vacant room. He plummeted down towards the ground, but landed without a sound, or even a mark. Each step he took, frost spread from its foot out to cover the ground, and a bone chilling breeze followed him as he silently made his way through the broken doorway. Unlike his massive, muscular body implied, he moved like the wind itself, light and spry. Almost like a spit in the face to the laws of physics.

“Ho…ho…ho,” a frigid tone clung to those words as they echoed down the hall. A tiny jingle came from a bell on his red felt hat followed them as a sheet of thick frost spread out before him.