"Where is number seven?" Knecht Ruprecht asks the boys and attempts to look around without breaking eye contact with them.
"I'm over here!" comes Yoongi's voice from the other end of the warehouse. Standing on a shelf, he mockingly throws a gift box at the villain, as if it were a basketball. "Come here and get me, you $%&!!"
When the packaging hits Knecht Ruprecht on the head, he wails in pain. "No! Plastic-free packaging! I hate sustainability!"
Suddenly the magic spell holding the BTS members in place disappears. The energy bubble pops as well, and Santa Claus falls to the ground.
"Let's get outta here!" Namjoon gestures to a door on their side.
"What about Yoongi and Santa?" Hoseok asks.
"They'll be fine," Jimin assures him. "Yoongi is armed with a whole bunch of gift boxes. This will keep Knecht Ruprecht at bay."
"Wait a sec!" Taehyung stops in his tracks and turns toward one of the shelves. "I have a great idea! Come over here!"
While Taehyung explains his plan to everyone, Knecht Ruprecht slowly strides toward Yoongi's direction. His eyes glow with revenge.
"Cut the crap, Yoongi! Put the packaging down!" Knecht Ruprecht motions him to calm down, but the gesture fuels Yoongi's rage even further.
"Hey! I can understand why you're fed up with Christmas, but I can't tolerate you attacking my friends and tying me to an uncomfortable chair!"
"Yoongi, Yoongi, Yoongi…" Knecht Ruprecht sighs and shakes his head. "I expected more from you."
"Don't come closer, or else—" Yoongi goes silent when he notices that the shelf he sits on is empty. Without any packaging to throw and Knecht Ruprecht blocking the only way out, all he can do is wait for a miracle to happen.
Luckily, said miracle is already on its way.
"Is everyone ready?" Namjoon asks and checks whether everyone wears armor made of plastic-free gift packaging.
"Yup. Now Knecht Ruprecht won't stand a chance against us!" Jimin cheers.
Next to him, Jin strikes a few poses, looking like the world's first Gundam fashion model. "Who says sustainable clothing can't be chic and functional?"
"And you're sure this protects us against his magic?" Jungkook questions Taehyung who decorates everyone's breastplates with their initials. "We're basically wearing cardboard."
Taehyung throws a piercing gaze at Jungkook. "I saw a whale flying across the sky with a balloon today. Don't talk to me aboutlogic!"
"Guys! Look!" Hoseok points at the other end of the warehouse. "Yoongi is in trouble!"
The boys waste no time and run toward their friend. Meanwhile, Knecht Ruprecht closes the distance between himself and Yoongi.
"You remind me of a scared little kitten," the villain comments the boy's attempt to crawl backwards on the shelf into a crouching position.
"F U!" Yoongi shouts and flashes him a rude gesture.
Dark purple light surrounds Knecht Ruprecht as he raises his head in rage. "Forget what I've said! You're obviously nothing more than a spoiled brat! And spoiled brats need punishing!"
With a battle cry, the villain launches an energy ball at Yoongi. The boys stop in their tracks and watch their friend being swallowed by a cloud of dark shadow. The shadow disappears, and in Yoongi's stead sits a yellowish cat on the shelf.
"Meeeeeoooow?"
"Oh my gosh!" Jimin cries. "Knecht Ruprecht has transformed Yoongi into a cat!"
"It's not a cat, it's an ocelot," Jungkook explains. "See the distinct spots on its back?"
"I knew your Minecraft knowledge would come in handy one day," Jin jokes.
Knecht Ruprecht turns to the boys in an over-dramatic motion.
"You! Don't think you can stop me because you dress yourself in sustainability!" He puts his hand on his head and closes his eyes. "Mary! Come and help your sugar daddy!"
In an instant, the girl appears next to him. "You called, darling?"
"Burn those ridiculous armors, will you?" The villain nods toward the boys who switch from battle stance to panic mode.
"My pleasure!" Mary rolls up her sleeves and readies herself to throw fireballs.
"Mary?" A voice stops her. "Honey, is that you?"
With eyes as big as saucers, the girl stares at the figure who steps in the center of events. "Father!?" She whispers in shock.
"Mary, dear…" Santa sighs. "You're hand in glove with Knecht Ruprecht? But why?"
"After all this time, you still don't get it?!" Mary screams, leaving the whole audience speechless. "Do you know how terrible it is to be the daughter of Santa Claus? Forced to live at the North Pole, isolated from the rest of the world? Do you have any idea how boring and awful a life like this is, especially when you're immortal? Last year, my best friend from the village died at the age of 94! I can't even go anywhere without the fear of being put in a padded cell or taken advantage of by other people!"
"Honey, listen…" Santa reaches out his hand but Mary slaps it away with such a force that it brings her father to his knees.
"No! I won't listen! You never listened to mother and me for the past five-hundred years! It's no wonder she packed her things and left!"
"Your mother didn't pack her things and leave, she went on a journey to find herself."
"And this takes her over 150 years?!" Catching her breath, Mary turns away to wipe the tears off her face. "Christmas means nothing to me! We're all better off without this damn holiday!"
"What? You join forces with an evil entity just because of some family issues?" Taehyung snaps at her. "No offense, but you can't leash your anger onto the world!"
"You bet I can!" Mary jumps forward and summons a huge wall of fire that comes crashing down at the boys.
Santa blocks the wall of fire with a wave of his hand. "Mary! Come to your senses! This is not who you really are!"
"Just leave me alone," she shouts and teleports away, leaving Santa and Knecht Ruprecht to jump into fight. The boys simultaneously marvel and fear the light and dark magic clashing against each other.
"Ruprecht! What did you do to my daughter?!"
"Nothing. She just realized what was obvious all along," Knecht Ruprecht replies with an arrogant smirk. "And if you had done the same years ago, you wouldn't be involved in such a dilemma now."
"You're truly the personification of evil," Santa mutters.
"Am I? Actually, I was about to negotiate with you. If you willingly hand over your powers to me, I might be so kind and spare the boys' lives."
"No! Don't do it, Santa!" Hoseok shrieks. "He will turn the world into chaos!"
Santa looks from the boys to Knecht Ruprecht. "The doom you would cause with my powers is beyond comprehension. You're willing to sacrifice the lives of seven pure boys who have nothing to do with our conflict. I already told you that no child—no matter how old—deserves to be punished. Punishment only leads to a lack of self-worth, and a lack of self-worth mirrors itself in treating others with disrespect. To create a peaceful world, we need to end this cycle and focus on the good in ourselves and others. This is the reason why I visit children every year. It's a reminder that we're all equally worthy of deserving, no matter how many mistakes we have made."
The villain snorts, "so you're telling me it is all right to give presents to kids who lie, steal and cheat at card games? WHO CHEAT AT CARD GAMES?!"
"This guy should read a book about effective parenting," Namjoon whispers to his friends.
Jin shakes his head and replies, "only therapy can help him."
"Your goody-two-shoes attitude is getting on my nerves!" Knecht Ruprecht whole body glows ominously. A fireball in the size of a car appears in front of him. "Say farewell, old man!"
Santa uses all his energy to shield himself from the attack, put the dark energy penetrates his protection spell and throws him to the floor.
"SANTA!!!" The boys shout in unison as they rush to his side.
*5 Days Left Until Christmas Eve*
