The Big Showdown

***The Big Showdown*** is the thirteenth and final episode of Salvation Quest.

## Summary

"The Devil tries to take down Christmas, and the Crusaders are determined to put a stop to him once and for all."

## Plot

The episode opens on a montage of the Crusaders' families preparing for Christmas. We see TJ helping his dad put up lights, Shelley assembling a nativity scene, and Jimmy helping bake cookies. Outside of TJ's house, the Devil watches menacingly. He grumbles that the spirit of the Lord is so strong this time of year, he's having a hard time making mischief. A little girl walking by sees his bright red behind and says to her mom, "look, it's Santa!" The Devil scampers out of sight, but the little girl's comment gives him an idea.

The center of town is bustling with activity. Suddenly, The Devil, now clad in a Santa suit, jumps into the center and bellows a loud "Ho, ho ho." He then starts to tell everyone around him a false Christmas story. He declares that Christmas marks the birth of Santa Claus, and that the most important thing about Christmas is the presents. He prods everyone to go spend as much as they can in the spirit of Christmas, and the shoppers get a glazed look in their eyes as they start indiscriminately buying things.

The Crusaders head out to do some Christmas shopping themselves, when they notice something is clearly awry in the town shopping district. Everyone is loaded down by huge bags of items; when they stop to question one of the shoppers, they respond in a monotone voice "Christmas is about presents." Suddenly, they see the Devil, still disguised as Santa, bouncing up and down on an elevated platform in the middle of the town square. He shouts into a megaphone that Christmas is now called "Santa Day," and demands everyone to keep buying things.

The Crusaders walk up to the Devil, and TJ proclaims that his trick is up. The Devil then uses his megaphone to rally the shoppers, proclaiming that these kids didn't have any Santa Day spirit and that maybe they need some presents to fix it. The zombielike shoppers start hurling their items towards the kids, eventually burying them completely. The Devil laughs and sneaks off to a different part of the shopping district.

The Crusaders claw their way out of the pile of objects, and they look at all the shoppers going back and forth. TJ tries to exorcise one of them to see if there's any effect, but it seems as though their minds are being controlled in a way other than possession.

They find the Devil again, and he continues to mock them as they ineffectively try to get the shoppers out of his control. They seem unable to do anything to help the shoppers, and before they lose hope, Shelley suggests that they pray. They hold hands and pray for all these people to understand the meaning of Christmas; suddenly, gold light springs from their hearts and manifests into the shape of a man above them. All of the shoppers in the area see this and immediately fall to their knees; Jesus Christ has materialized in front of all of them. He speaks and says to not allow the vices of society to corrupt the celebration of his birth– he disappears, and the contents of the huge bags that the shoppers were holding turn into golden butterflies.

The shoppers are now free from the Devil's influence, and the crowd collectively turns on him. As the crowd closes in on him, TJ sneaks to his back and lays both his hands on him. The Devil shrieks as he's turned into a ghostly cloud that falls down into the earth. Everyone cheers, and the Crusaders have everyone join hands and thank God for the true meaning of Christmas.

As they pray, the sky opens up for the Crusaders and they can hear the voice of God. He says that the Devil has been vanquished for now, but that he'll be back and trying to undermine the bible soon enough. The Crusaders promise to always fight for the Lord. The episode ends over a montage of the Crusaders enjoying Christmas with their families.