Welcome to 2023's Christmas Special! This will be a Sector IC-centered chapter, featuring a new operative, along with cameos of other operatives and allies!
Christmas Party!
It used to be that no one had a reason to visit the North Pole. Aside from the "myth" of Santa Claus, it was a cold and desolate wasteland. That was before Suki Crystal made an amusement park! In a once empty corner of the snows, children could come and eat ice cream, popsicles, gingerbread, and any Christmas goodies that they liked (and healthy foods if need be)! There was a reindeer roller coaster, a frosty Ferris wheel, a candycane merry-go-round; a snowball throwing field along with snow-shooting cannons, where kids could form teams and have battles; a gingerbread village where Gingerbread Men were magically given life, in which kids were allowed to trample, chase, and snatch any one they could get their hungry hands on!
"Spread out, Pikmineers, take out every piece of walking ginger you see!" Gilbert Dickson ordered as Mousika, Shika, and their fellow Pikmineers terrorized the village for all of its goodness.
"Hey, Perry!" Ralph began with a humorous smile. "You know why Santa Claus wears red?"
"Why?"
"In Spanish, red is, 'ROJOJOJOJO!'"
"HA HA HA! That's awesome! Hey, why do all the animals get itchy on Christmas?"
"Why?"
"They have FLEAS Navidad!"
"HA HA HA! That's lame, man!"
"Lock and load, people!" Kansai declared. Sectors Q and JP were on opposite sides of the snowball field. "Whoever wins this war gets the biggest side of the fruitcake!"
"I need the biggest piece!" Mowchan cheered; he was on Q's team for this battle.
"You ain't getting it!" Ichigo retorted confidently. The giant soccer player would kick massive snowballs at the Q's, while Mowchan Goron Rolled and amassed snow around himself before blasting at the JP's.
"Hahahahaha! This is so much fun!" Yuki laughed, also part of Q's team.
"I'm so glad I'm staying out of it." Tattsun said from the sidelines, thankful not to be pelted by snowballs. The five-member teams had to be even, after all. "I'm surprised Kansai wanted Chuko for his team."
"Indeed." Sage agreed. "Her build is extremely unfit for any athletic sport, and her Fire Chi may hinder effectiveness for the snowballs."
"I picked Chuko 'cause she's the only one small enough to hit Hana!" Kansai yelled, overhearing them.
"THAT'S why you picked me?!" Chuko flared up.
"Heads up, squirt!"
"WAH!" A snowball flew straight for her face, but Chuko spat a fireball to melt it.
"Darn." Cursed 7-year-old Hana Asakura, part of JP's team. "Nearly got her."
Sector MG visited the giftshop. Veronica considered buying the snow globe with the ice mansion; it would be a great place to shrink and hide out. "Hey, Lucas, check me out!"
Lucas turned to his twin brother, Claus. "Haha!" He was dressed as Santa. "You're Santa Claus!" (pronounced kl-ow-ce)
"Yeah, I know! If I put on a few pounds, maybe I can be his apprentice!"
"But you'd have to eat nothing but cookies and milk!" Ness joked.
"DADDY, IT'S YOU!"
"AAH!" Claus was grabbed by Kagura into a hug.
"I knew you would make it for Christmas! You really lost weight, too, you're so tiny!"
"What're you… talking about, cough!" Claus choked in her superhuman grip.
"Kagura, that's my brother! It's a costume!"
"Huh? Oh…I was wondering why I didn't smell hair growth gel."
"Your dad likes to play Santa?" Karma laughed.
"He used to. Mostly when Mom and Kamui were still around. We also thought Santa was a robber who was bad at his job."
"Or maybe Santa was the original Grinch, haha!" Aria joked.
Suna Strongarm and her sister, Ghondor were having a boxing match on the skating rink; Perry, Christina, and Emma were fishing at a pond; Isabelle, Serena, and Ms. Chalice were singing a tap-dancing Christmas carol.
But the primary attraction this time of year was the Northern Star Tree, planted in the center of a circular, velvet hotel. Said hotel was rented out by the Kids Next Door and their families, along with invited guests! "MOM!" Robi yelled. "Jason and his pirate friends stole Jolene's Jiggies!"
"YAHAR!" laughed Jim Lad with a spring in his step. He, Matilda, Jason, and Jake made off with handfuls of golden puzzle pieces. "The loot be ours, mateys!"
"What do these puzzles make, anyway?" Jake wondered. "A treasure map?!"
"Let's find a place to hide and find out!" Matilda encouraged.
"They doth move too swiftly for me." Fybi giggled. "I am certain thou canst trace them down."
"We gotta get a doggy," Jolene began, "to sniff their footprints on the floor and find them. But we gotta make sure it doesn't sniff other footprints, or it'll bite everyone's ankles."
"Let's see if Dr. Facilier can turn us into dogs!" Robi chirped.
Lulu Koda was teaching Renata Hopps some Froggy Karate. Renata hoped to improve her jumping and kick from wall to wall with ease! Tita Russell became friends with Griseo through a shared family connection. Unfortunately, they had far less luck befriending Silica York, ever distracted by her game. Ray Zoldyck finally got to meet Aunt Miko and Uncle Eddy, and for a few seconds, he pulled off swift karate moves to fend off his aunt from squeezing him in the tightest hug one could imagine… in which Ray ultimately failed.
Sector IC had invited Asterellite and her brothers, Xanxi and Druri, beneath the Northern Tree. Juki Crystal sat in the snow with Ulla rested on her lap, in her snow-person form, as they listened to a story from Laphicet. Laphicet was defined by a white cloak with wide sleeves, covering his whole body save for his black socks and shoes. The blue collar was topped with a large black choker with a gold jewel, he had yellow shoulder pads, and a small blue banner down his front depicting a simple, encircled diamond drawing with angel wings on a pedestal. Laphicet possessed an innocent, soft expression with green eyes and brownish-blonde hair, topped with an ahoge in the shape of a halo.
Laphicet was the priest at the Arceist Treechurch, where operatives were free to come and pray or confess sins. Naturally, he would tell stories of the gods every Sunday, but he was well versed in other stories and history beyond that. "Some legends say that the original Christmas was when the gods decided to bless mortals with the power of elements." He presented a mural depicting Arceus and His pantheon lowering colored, elemental orbs to the people. "But others say the gods used to invite gods from other worlds to their own and exchange gifts."
"That IS what happened!" Xanxi boasted. "Then Arceus got screwed, haha!"
"Yes, this was before the first Negatar incident." Laphicet replied, smiling, but with a more dour tone. "And we all know how that went."
"That ain't really what he meant." Druri winked. "DWOPE." Astere kicked them both in the legs.
"At least Arceus got better in the end!" Juki chirped.
What about Santa Claus? Ulla wrote. Did the gods make him, too?
"Well, as Christmas became more traditional over the centuries, even across various worlds," Laphicet answered, "rumors started spreading of an old, bearded spirit delivering presents on a sleigh. They came to call him Old Saint Nick. …Then a soda company tried branding him with red colors, so one year," his eyes curved passionately, "he got mad, flew to their headquarters, and beat the ever-loving stuffing out of them!" And he punched the air. "But he decided he liked the red and white, so that's what he wears now. And he goes by Santa Claus."
The kids blinked. That wasn't the lore they had expected. "You see, some spirits are like Imaginary Friends: they're given life out of popular concepts or traditions. There's even one that was born from the concept of pirating."
"Then I guess Baby New Year also exists." Hiyuki King figured. "And the ball that drops is his dung."
"EWWWWW." Cringed the group.
"What? I can tell dirty jokes, too."
"Blegh, now I need something nice to look at!" Juki yelled, biting her tongue in disgust. "Let's look at the presents!"
They gazed up at the tree, glistening with colored lights and ornaments with tiny presents inside. The Northern Tree possessed a magical enchantment, designed to contain any wrapped presents given to it until Christmas Day. The KND had already given their presents to the tree and could now only wait for their friends to receive them. I never imagined Christmas would look like this. Ulla wrote. So beautiful…
"Yeah, it's my favorite, too!" Juki said. "I hope you get to see it yourself some day!"
I'm just glad to finally have my first real Christmas. I can't wait to see Santa.
"That's kind of the kicker." Ruford replied. "Santa won't show himself if someone's awake. Then your house will miss out on presents! I hope I get my limited edition Final Fury Sandman!"
"Luckily, we aren't in our houses, anyway." Loki shrugged. "And if you wanna visit him, his house is just over the hill."
"No, it's kind of far away." Juki corrected. "When Mom built this place, they had an agreement to keep it out of eyesight from his factory."
"And either way," Laphicet said, "we better be good boys and girls and get to sleep before midnight!"
"Not until ten!" Juki sprung up to her feet. "Come on, let's hit the hillside!"
"WOO, skiing with Juki!" Lucina flapped after her in excitement.
"I think I'll check out the-" Astere turned elsewhere.
"Nope, you're coming skiing." Loki snatched her left arm.
"This floof was made for rolling!" The Twin Floofs scampered off.
"We're gonna hit more than just the hillside, I bet!" Ruford dragged Hiyuki along, she and Astere screaming.
Going to the top of a hill overlooking the park, Juki used her icebending to carve a U-shaped, zigzagging path for them to slide down. Her friends swung left to right on their flight down the mountain, but their journey wouldn't end there. Juki curved the path upward to go above the park, the other park-goers delighted to watch them.
"Her icebending is impressive." Lyserg said. "But I'd be a little afraid of falling if I were them."
"Oh, you don't gotta worry about Juki." Trella assured. "She makes winter fun for everyone!"
Juki's ice tunnel swirled upward into a tree-like shape. Upon reaching a center at the top, there was an explosion of snow as the top shone like a star from Juki's chi.
"And I thought you were a star, Pamoon." Leila joked.
"Juki's still got the sparkle." Kent smiled.
"This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!" Lily cheered.
Tonight, Christmas Wonderland was the brightest place in the north. Normally, only Santa's workshop could be more bright and joyful… but tonight, it was a pale palace of despair.
The factory had ceased production as the elves stood petrified at their tables. Only Elfa Strike, Santa's guardian force of metahuman elves, could stand against the culprit, a white-skinned witch with a snowy coat and frosted crown, her scarlet lips in a snide smirk. As she twirled her golden wand with pride in her work, she sung to a piano song.
"IIIII get a certain thrill… from every fallen snowflake." Snow Angel dove at her, bending a wave of snow at her back, but the witch slashed a spell at the elf while also cleaving through the wave. "Or an ice shift that causes… a catastrophic earthquake." With her wand, she bent the snow to smash into Snow Angel, then stabbed her with it, turning the elf into stone.
"I get a happy chill… from the crush of avalanches!" Coniferous, the pine tree elf, tried to body slam the witch with his prickly body. "And wither the trees with a thousand breaking branches!" She cast a spell that caused his pines to decay, allowing her to stab and petrify him. "Because you crossed my path," she dodged the bites of the teleporting Nutcracker, "you'll feel this witch's wrath!" She conjured a jawbreaker to catch his next munch. "And now I shall release my stormy masterpiece!" Her wand became a sword to counter Wintergreen's candycane claws. "I'll bury that old gizzard," she kicked him across the factory, "in a wizard of a blizzard! And it's because…"
She glared spitefully at Old Saint Nick, frozen up to his head, as her chorus of Pigmasks sang, "I HATE SANTA CLAUS! That CHEERFUL SANTA CLAUS!"
"That joyful, toyful… and oh, so merry." She flickered a single candle on the tip of her wand. "If you ask me, unextraordinary…"
"I HATE SANTA CLAUS!" She flicked the flame over to a pile of toys. "Yes, I HATE SANTA CLAUS!"
"What's with that 'Ho ho ho'? And his jolly disposition? Giving toys to girls and boys, I must ruin his merry mission!" Nutcracker recovered and enlarged his jaw for a far fiercer bite. "I'm just getting warm with the havoc that I'll CAAAUUSE!" But Nutcracker was deceived when the witch appeared as a boulder. When he turned to look for her, she stabbed and petrified him. "When I blow my wicked storm and crash that Santa Claus!
"Oh… Because you crossed my path, you'll feel this witch's wrath!" Wintergreen slashed red-striped airwaves from a distance, but the witch slipped clean between them. "And now I shall release my stormy masterpiece!" She cast similar slashes from her wand, slashing the elf. "I'll bury that old gizzard in a wizard of a blizzard!" Despite the gash, Wintergreen struggled to stand. "And it's because…" But she spared no expense in petrifying him.
"I HATE SANTA CLAUS! That CHEERFUL SANTA CLAUS!"
"IIIII haaaaaate Saaaaantaaaaaa CLAAAAAUUUUUSSS!" Her operatic tone carried beyond the vastness of the pole. "Ugh! I hate him!"
"Alright, let's hear it, madame." Santa said. "What present did I not give you to ruin your Christmas forever?"
"Silence, you fool. This world is now my dominion. I'll rule from the top and cast it into eternal winter. And you'll pay for your insubordination against me!"
"What?! …Now that I get a good look at you, you remind me of this nasty young lady from Avalar-"
The witch cast a spell to freeze him completely. "Let us begin!" She clamped the butt of her wand to the floor and unleashed a tsunami of magic. "THE ETERNAL WINTER… AND THE END OF CHRISTMAS!"
Juki descended her friends slowly on clouds of snow. "See, if you didn't like it, you could've flown away." Loki teased.
"I only came to make sure my brothers didn't mess anything up!"
"You should've been here last year when we…" Ruford's sentence was interrupted by a strain in his brain. "Ohhhh…"
"Uhhhhh…" Hiyuki also felt a mental lapse, both kids falling off their cloud.
"GUYS!" Juki screamed.
"I got ya!" The two landed safely on a platform of paper, bobbing like a trampoline. It lowered down to Laphicet's level, controlled by his bending. "Hehe. I guess snow clouds aren't as sturdy as real clouds."
"Phew, thanks, Laphicet." Ruford said. "It wasn't the cloud, I just… got the weirdest headache."
"Me, too." Hiyuki replied. "What's going on…"
One hour later, most of the operatives and guests had returned inside the hotel. "Ahoy, Erin! Nora! Sorry we're late!" called a familiar, sharkish voice.
"Jinbe!" Erin bounced into the whale-shark Fishman's chest and was welcomed into a hug. Beside him was a cyan-skinned, spectacled mermaid with blue hair.
"Miss Mindy!" Madeleine floated into her embrace. "I didn't know you were coming!"
"I thought it would be a nice surprise!"
"Zoidberg is here, too!" The Decapodian pushed the other two aside, his arms spread. "And he likes hugs!"
"Uh, maybe later, amico." Massimo pinched his big nose shut.
"I hope life has been treating you kids well." Jinbe said.
"Yeah, it's been great!" Mack smiled, a light choke in his voice. "Better than it's ever been!"
"Oh, Mack…" Madeleine looked to him tenderly. He's been much happier with the young Mermage living with him and helping around the house, not to mention having Massimo to play with, but it was still his first Christmas without his mother. Even after the things she did to Mack, it still weighed on him.
"It's nice that the little prince has made some friends, too. But I still hope they're safe."
"They are, don't worry." Nora assured. "By the way, there's another guest coming here I think you'd might like to meet! He's…" She looked in Christina's direction. "Wait, who is that?"
"Hello, Christina." The Uno heard a familiar calm voice behind her.
"Hey, Samurai… Jack?" Her temporary time-traveling companion was dressed like Jack Sparrow, complete with a mustache and decorated dreads. "YOU'RE A DIFFERENT JACK?!"
"I heard that quite a popular man wore this fashion, so I adopted it."
"Just because he was popular, they didn't go dressing like him! And this was early 2000s, anyway!"
"Fahahahahaha!" Jinbe laughed, approaching the samurai. "I didn't realize this was a costume party!"
"That seems to be quite the costume itself."
"Oh, this blubber is no costume, young man."
"Young man?" Christina smirked. "I'll have you know this is a 1,000-year-old samurai."
"Seventy-five, actually."
"Fascinating." Jinbe stroked his chin. "I'd like to study your fighting style."
"Your offer is accepted!"
"Just take it outside first." Erin blushed.
Mali Anderson approached Sector Q's group. "Excuse me. Are you Sage-chan?"
"That is accurate." The red and monochrome Program replied.
"I! It's me!"
Sage noticed the ring on Mali's finger, a tiny person trapped inside its sphere. "L?"
"Hurry, get me outta here! When they're not expecting it!"
"Shinmy-chan, we've been over this…" Mali said.
"Regardless, I can't." Sage raised her hands, revealing the digital cuffs. "President Masterson designed these to constrain me."
"It's so sad…" Yuki frowned.
"We can't let holiday spirit get in the way of precautionary measures." Kansai reasoned.
"So, you're one of Sage's friends, huh?" Yuki looked up with a chirp. "You're so weeny! Can I hold her?"
"Okay!" Mali took the ball off and held it down to Yuki.
"Hehehe!" Yuki hugged the ball.
"Mmmmmm…your coat looks so soft!" Shinmy's cheeks puffed. "Please let me outta here, I wanna snuggle in it!"
"Sorry, Shinmy-chan. You didn't get enough good behavior marks."
"May we have everyone's attention!" They turned to Perry and Star on the lobby's central stage. The Earth Supreme Leader began, "Let's all take a look at the guests around us today and remember how much we've accomplished this year! We saved an army of 100 Mamodo children from imprisonment and servitude to a galactic warlord! We fended off an invasion of vampires! Sector V destroyed a powerful Demon Saint along with his allied Demon Lords! Sector W defeated an infamous Avalaran witch who terrorized several timelines! Sector L saved Oceana from an army of Fishman Pirates! ("And Zoidberg!") Sector RT saved the very arts and crafts of our universe! And who could forget Sector Q's most recent accomplishment in saving Planet Mira from an endless war! We've not only found new friends, but new operatives! This January, we'll be holding a graduation ceremony to officially welcome them!"
"YEEEAAAAAH!"
"We've got a lot more work ahead of us next year." Star continued. "There are still more villains and evil armies looming over us, more we don't even know about, and more adventures on the horizon. We'll be ready to face them when they come, but until then, let's have fun tonight and look forward to a mountain of presents tomorrow!"
"And now, to give us a show before bedtime, Dr. Raymond Facilier!"
"HOOO HOOOO HOOOOOO!" A cloud of eerie red and green burst onto the stage, the witch-doctor rising out of it. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to fill your night with wonder and dreams! But first, allow me to introduce my protégé to aid me in my quest: presenting NIGEL THRALL!"
A red-haired boy appeared from a puff of smoke. "Good evening, ladies!" he announced with a British accent. Nigel stroked the air with his wand, growing a rainbow of flowers. Their petals flew to all the girls in attendance. Nigel wore a black shirt under a white open jacket, as well as a purple hooded robe. "For my first trick, I'd like to pick somebody from the audience. Let's see, hmmm…" He surveyed the audience until his eyes fell to Astere. "Now there's a gem."
He poofed to Astere's side, startling the audience. "What's your name, darling?"
"Um…Astere?"
"Well, I could 'stare' at you all day. You'll make a lovely present."
"Okay—EEEEEH?!" Astere saw her limbs and torso being turned into presents before her head met this outcome.
Nigel took the individual boxes and juggled them. "Which part is in which? Who wants a box? What about you, sir?" He handed one to Loki. "You seem to be quite entranced."
"Who the bloody jingle bells do you think you are?" Loki asked with a cynical glare.
"A magician, good fellow. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of my gift."
Loki rolled his eyes and opened the box. "OW!" Astere's shoe kicked him in the face, the operatives laughing.
"Which ones have the hands?" Nigel tossed the boxes around the room. "Which one has the head? You'll have to work together to reattach her!"
"Oi, you call this magic? I'll show ya some magic!" Loki whipped out a carton of eggnog and chugged it down. His body swelled up like a balloon, and Lucina—her jester outfit now elf-like—loomed in with a blindfold and needle. She poked Loki and, BHHHHLLLLKKKK! Egg whites exploded everywhere, splashing everyone's faces. From the single yolk left at point zero, Loki sprouted out. "Ta-daaaaaa!"
"We-hell, looks like we got a little magic battle incoming!" Raymond smirked, wiping off his yolk. "Better roll up them sleeves, kids!"
"Can someone help me first?!" Astere shouted, her head's box opened by Jim Lad.
"Oi, look at this hair, Tilda! This'll sell for a fortune, let's split!" He and his first mate rushed off.
"HEY, get back with our sis!" The twins pursued them.
"Haha." Laphicet chuckled. "Loki's really fired up. This oughta be fun! …Hm?" Ruford and Hiyuki were still holding their heads.
"Are you guys okay?" Juki asked.
"I think I might know the problem." MaKayla Stork approached them. "Can we step outside for a moment, kids?"
"Mom? What's wrong?" Ruford asked.
"I don't want to alarm everybody just yet."
Is something going on? Ulla wrote.
"I'm sure it's nothing." Juki smiled. "Hey, Frasmine, can you look after Ulla for a bit?" She approached the icebender Drilovsky. "We gotta step out. Shouldn't be long."
"Sure thing, Juki!"
"Is it alright if I come, too?" Laphicet asked.
"I suppose." MaKayla agreed. She led him, Ruford, Hiyuki, and Juki outside, the air bleak and freezing with a coming blizzard. Already, the other three missed the warmth inside the hotel. Fortunately, a safe "bubble" formed around them as a light-red-haired woman formed from the snow: Juki's mother.
"This blizzard isn't natural." Suki said. "I've been making sure the air stayed calm around the park all night."
"That's not all." MaKayla proceeded, holding open a calendar. "Notice anything strange about this?"
They studied the dates up to the newest crossed one. "24, 26, twenty…?" Ruford read them confusedly. "Where's the 25th?"
"Christmas is… gone?" Juki spoke.
"I felt it, too." MaKayla spoke grimly. "That fluctuation in the timeline. Christmas Day was just… erased."
"Impossible!" Hiyuki gasped. "How?!"
"I'm not sure… but I believe Santa is at the center of it. If things proceed as they are… this will be our future." MaKayla raised the Chrono Staff and shone it unto them.
The presents would forever be trapped within the ornaments of the Northern Star Tree. Mack would never learn what his father got for him. Abel would never learn what Renata got her. Aniki would never learn what Pai got him. Lyserg would never learn what Trella got him. All across the world, children would wake up to empty trees. Not even their friends or family will feel the need to give them presents. They would never set up pretty trees, colorful lights, or lick candycanes again. Businesses wouldn't close and workers wouldn't get holiday pay. There was no holiday that compelled it.
Juki and Laphicet were on the verge of tears. "Th-This is terrible! We can't let this happen!" Juki sobbed.
"Can't we just move Christmas to the 26th?" Hiyuki asked. "Why does the specific day matter?"
"Santa's power to deliver gifts across several worlds in a single night only exists on Christmas!" MaKayla argued. "If Christmas doesn't exist, even Santa's very existence may be in danger!"
"This… sounds kind of familiar." Laphicet stroked his chin. "In a chapter from Avalaran history…"
Choooooooo! They looked up at the sound of a train. In the snowy distance, they could make out its headlights.
"I guess we'll hear the details from him." Suki smiled.
"Hey, should we get Loki and Lucina first?" Ruford peeked back in.
"And now," Loki announced, "I shall turn Lucina's vampire teeth into beaver teeth!" He did so. "Now watch as she carves an elegant sculpture from this log!" He withdrew a log from his card as Lucina zipped around and carved it out. It became a large hammer, which fell and SMASHED Loki flat as a pancake, his face up as his eyes rolled derpily.
"Well, what happens when I transform my assistant into a flying rabbit?" Nigel tapped Astere with his wand, turning her into a rabbit with heli-ears. He picked her up and flew her to a makeshift moon. They zoomed around the moon, rotating it as carrots poked out of its craters. The carrots shot out into dazzling bunny fireworks, but one of them landed right on Loki before bursting.
"I… think he's kind of in the zone." Ruford reasoned.
"Come on, let's just go ahead!" Juki yelled.
The four kids and two adults hurried out toward the train, its name splayed around the front of the engine: Polar Express. The Conductor stumbled out of the train, panting. "Miss Crystal! Mrs. Stork! Oh, it's terrible! The factory was attacked! A witch and her minions petrified Santa and the elves! They've turned the workshop into a White Castle!"
"A witch?!" Laphicet gasped.
"Can you take us there?!" Juki asked.
"Certainly! But do not underestimate her, she's already defeated Elfa Strike!"
"We aren't afraid!" Ruford fist-pumped.
"Mom, can you make sure Ulla and the others don't worry about us?" Juki asked. "We'll find whoever's behind this and bring Christmas back before they even realize it's missing!"
"Okay, Juki!"
"Ruford… perhaps you'll want this, too." MaKayla held the Chrono Staff out to him.
"R…Really?"
"You've done well in your training. It's time to put it to the test. You'll need it to fix this crisis."
"Haha…!" Ruford took the staff and spun it like a helicopter. "Chrono Man is HERE!"
"Wow!!" Laphicet's eyes glimmered.
"Then Conductor Man will drive the way to victory!"
White Castle
"Ahhh…" The White Witch rested on her throne, propping her feet up on Wintergreen's statue. "A frozen paradise. All the Turkish delight I could eat." She took a piece from her plate and chewed. "It feels good to be queen again."
"Enforcer V!" The Pigmasks were shuffling through Santa's sack. "Since the kids ain't gettin' these presents no more, does that mean we get 'em?"
"Keep your grimy trotters off! You know those belong to the King now!"
"And since Christmas is over, we'll need a new holiday to replace it!" V looked to her left and saw Roger the Alien, wearing a black beard with overalls and a miner's helmet.
"Q! Who let you in here?"
"From now on, I'll be Panta Tru, the spirit of Grifmas! I come up through latrines and bring presents to Latino men! But all the presents are Fresh Hardwood cologne. God, that stuff's amazing."
"Do as you will, just keep it out of my sight."
"Your Highness." A Pigmask reported. "The Polar Express appears to be returning to the castle. It must be bringing reinforcements!"
"I've already got someone taking care of that. One way or another, I'll have those defiers for trophies!"
Polar Express
"We'll arrive at the North Pole in about 10 minutes!" the Conductor announced, bringing a trolley of food along. "Help yourself to some refreshments!"
"Wow, you got Mabo Curry Buns?!" Laphicet delightedly grabbed two of the buns and sank his teeth into them. "Mmmmm! How'd you know?"
"Just as Santa knows what all good children want, this train magically knows the appetite of each of its passengers and teleports them here from somewhere in the universe!"
"I feel bad for the actual people who cooked these…" Hiyuki said.
"Smokey! Steamer!" Conductor called through the intercom. "How's the weather situation?"
"Oh, it's lookin' pretty trashy, I think we better stop this hunk of junk and give up!" a squealy voice answered.
"We can't give up! We… Wait, who is this?!"
"Spankety-spank! The White Witch ordered me to hijack this train! I'm just gonna drive us in circles 'til these chumps get ya!" (Play "Star Express" from Captain Toad!)
The ceiling hatches burst open as Rock Goblins fell in, humanoid beasts with swollen rocky faces. Hiyuki was quick to slice the creatures with her scythe while Juki froze them against the floor. "We must get to the engine room posthaste!" Conductor exclaimed.
"Let's move!" Ruford led the charge. The following car was full of ghoulish-faced snowmen, and fittingly, Grave Ghouls pounced out to gnash the kids when they walked close. The timebenders fended them off with their staffs while Laphicet slapped papers onto their bald foreheads. The papers caught fire, the Ghouls writhing out in pain until his friends slew them. The door to the next car was locked, and since the Conductor had inconveniently misplaced the keys, the operatives had to clamber around the outside. They saw bat-like beasts flying after the train against the blizzard; the Harpies let out screeches before trying to ram them.
"These would've been a good match for Lucina!" Ruford said, using one hand to swing the Chrono Staff and Rewind two Harpies. One lunged at them from ahead, knocking Hiyuki loose, but Laphicet saved her in a netting of paper. They managed to enter the 4th car, a gingerbread village placed around tables, but it seemed the village had been rigged with ornament bombs. The kids had to crouch and crawl under the tables without bumping the legs, lest the car go down in a decorative explosion. However, Laphicet noticed some kamikaze Gingerbread Men sneaking along to set the bombs off, so he gently pulled them down with some paperbending and let them kamikaze into his mouth.
The 5th car had candycanes hanging from the ceiling. Ruford nearly took a step forward—before he learned the floor was gone! He would've stepped right into the snow! They needed to grab and swing the candycanes, but the ones that seemed partly licked would fall from their weight, so Juki froze their bases on the ceiling. The 6th car… was drawing away from them because the train was detached. "Uh-oh! Hang on, guys, I'll catch us up!" Juki conjured an Ice Road to surf them toward the car, while two Cyclopes were chucking boulders at them. Ruford and Hiyuki used Rewind Deflects to send them back until they could make it, sending the giants off afterwards. Juki then kept the cars attached with an Ice-Make Chain.
They had to cross a trio of flat cars with log piles, covered by blankets. As they crossed up and down the sloped piles, logs came rolling over them with Boggles balancing on them. The timebenders simply Rewound the logs back and knocked down any others behind them. At the end of the third car, only two parallel, thin bars linked to the next. Ruford pulled a lever, causing two waving Santa cutouts to move their way across the bars. Sadly, the fragile lever snapped off, but Ruford could simply Rewind the cutouts back, all while giving his friends a chance to Wall Jump them on their way back. This would lead to the train's kitchen, flooded with piping hot cocoa and requiring them to carefully jump across the ovens and knives. "Even though Juki could just freeze the cocoa." Ruford said.
"But that would ruin the platforming fun!" Juki argued. "YIKES!" A monster popped up from the cocoa and tried to slice her ankles with a small scythe. This Ankle Slicer was white with a parrot-like head and reptilian body. More like it tried to cut the others' ankles and were hastily deterred.
"And why is the kitchen this far up while the passenger seats were way back there?" Laphicet asked. "They'd have to go across those logs and do Wall Jumps to carry our food back there!"
"It's all part of the Christmas magic, son!" Conductor chirped. "Now, let's catch that train jacker and stuff him in the boiler!"
The operatives kicked open the door to the engine room. "Well, lookie here! It's the LOOOSER brigade!" The driver was a portly boy with a piggish nose, blonde hair curtaining his eyes.
"Don't we know him?" Hiyuki wondered.
"It's just me, Pokey, your lovable next door neighbor! I've always wanted to drive a train! I'm gonna take this thing and drive it through the school, spankety-spankety-spank!"
"Yeah?" Hiyuki whipped her scythe at him. "Ever heard of a Reaper's Wedgie?"
"I still want to stuff him in the boiler!" Conductor said.
There was a banging sound in the ceiling. "Heh?!" Pokey gasped. "I thought we were out of monsters!"
But what fell out of the vent was a different monster: "TRAAAAAIIIIN!" It was Sector V's engineer!
"SHIMMY?!"
"Sector IC, how could ya go on a train ride and not invite me?!"
"How did you even get on?!" Hiyuki asked.
"I can hear and smell a train miles away! I barely had time to escape from the party and catch up!"
"Shimmy, we need to get to the North Pole, but that boy won't let us!" Juki pointed.
"NO ONE DENIES SHIMMY A NORTH POLE!"
"SPAAAAAaaaannnnk…" Pokey would land amidst the snows and become a snowman.
"WOOHOO!" Shimmy bounced in the seat and grasped the controls firmly. "LET'S GO SEE SANTA CLAUS!"
"Well, we were in need of a new driver." Laphicet smiled. "This is lucky!"
"With the way she drives, we'll save Christmas in no time!" Ruford declared. (End song.)
The train came to a halt with their destination in sight. The operatives and Conductor disembarked and approached the building amidst the snowfield. "There it is… the White Castle."
It was a White Castle. The actual restaurant. Pigmasks were going in and out with fast food in hand, and some were passing the drive thru. "Wow, I… didn't think you meant it like this." Ruford said.
"Alright!" They looked over at the reindeer farm, where Roger was attaching digging claws to their antlers. "Since I couldn't afford a trained team of moles on such short notice, you'll have to do. It's time for Panta's first Grifmas delivery!" He chucked a sack full of cologne in the back of the sleigh. "Hm?" Roger noticed the kids. "V, are these the wardrobe repairmen you were expecting?"
"It's about time!" The White Witch stormed out of the restaurant. "I don't want to see all my coats on the floor every time I… Q, YOU FOOL! Those are Kids Next Door!"
"So, YOU'RE the mean witch that's ruining Christmas!" Juki pointed.
"Q? V?" Hiyuki repeated. "You're from that Letter Clan."
"I am V the Veela, and from this day forth, the North Pole belongs to me. And if you were hoping to meet that wretched oaf, see him in his agony." She magically poofed the frozen Santa into place.
"SANTAAAAAAAA!" Juki cried.
"Isn't he just splendid? He'll be a perfect symbol. A reminder of the day all hopes and wishes were GONE from this world!" She stabbed her wand through the ice and petrified him.
"What did Santa ever do to you?!" Laphicet shouted.
"This gizzard once dared to rebel against me, and he's long due to pay the consequences! Never again will he taint my perfect white world!"
"Then we'll taint it instead!" Hiyuki readied her scythe.
"That's what you think!" Roger smirked. "But your greatest threat dwells in the pipes beneath you!" He whipped out a jackhammer and began trying to drill the ground. "…There ARE pipes beneath here, right? God, they're probably elf pipes, this is gonna be tight."
"Ugh! Soldiers, attack!"
"SQUOINK, SQUOINK!" The Pigmasks cancelled their restaurant orders and charged in.
"Juki, we'll let you get started on her." Ruford said. "We'll take out the minions ASAP!"
"I'll help, too, Juki!" Laphicet said, papers orbiting around him. "I know how to counter magic-types!"
"Then you two will be the first!" the witch flicked her wand to make Santa vanish. She then twirled it into a sword. "But I hope to have all you Kids Next Door as my trophies soon."
(So, the boss music will be "Moebius Battle" from XC3, but for this chapter, I imagine it being remixed with jingles, and the chorus would sing lyrics from Christmas songs! The part at 0:35 would be "Jingle Bells"; at 1:10, they would sing "Deck the Halls," with the part at 1:20 becoming, "FALALALALALA!" The part at 2:04 would sing "Little Drummer Boy" lyrics, and the laughter at 2:14 would follow with the "PA RUM PUM PUM PUM, PA RUM PUM PUM PUM!" Finally, at 2:35, they would sing "SAAAANTAAAAA'S COOOOMIIIIING TOOOOONIIIIIGHT, TOOOOONIIIIIGHT!")
Boss fight: Enforcer V
Juki knew the best way to counter a sword was with a snow-made shovel! She hoped to bind V's sword within the snow, but a clean swipe was able to behead the shovel, with the next swing leaving a gash in Juki's arm. Juki skied backward, the witch squatting and kicking off the ground with great force and speed. Juki swiped her arm to brush her away in a snow wave, but V ripped it into four chunks, turned each one into a solid ice spear, and shot them at Juki with startling speed. She bent herself at awkward angles to narrowly survive them, using her own bending to disperse the spears in time to dodge V's jump strike. A trio of papers flew into V and flashed as brightly as suns, blinding her for a moment. Juki then bent the head of the severed shovel to flip up the ground beneath V and land her upside-down.
Laphicet's papers were all equipped with runic symbols designed to summon those elements, a specialty of the Church of Arceus to help followers ward off evil! He would use it again when the witch Apparated behind him, combining Vacuum Papers into a fan to blow himself from her swing. Unbeknownst to the kids, V had summoned Ankle Slicers while she was snowbound, the small beasts landing cuts on their targets. Juki squashed them with ice-pinecones and Laphicet Paper Bombs, but under V's power, the duo would find their selves lost in a forest of frozen thorns! A spell she learned from The Bad Fairy, even Juki's icebending couldn't break the thorns. They would stretch and cut them from several angles, so Laphicet closed his eyes and relied on prayer. Sun Cards levitated around him, strengthened by his prayers to the Gods of Sun and Light, and melted the brambles.
V managed to ambush and stab Laphicet's arm, Juki quickly blowing her away with an ice-bat. However, Laphicet was already petrifying, but he slapped a Sandpaper over the impact point and prayed, "Princess Diancie, spare me of the stone prison!" The petrification nullified.
"Hey, you can use that on Santa!"
"Provided this hag gives us the chance to!"
V conjured her own sleigh with a pack of White Wolfos to pull it. She steered dozens of yards back before returning to ram the duo with extreme speed. Juki helped Laphicet to dodge, and with V returning for the next round, Juki conjured her own sleigh pulled by snow bunnies! They rammed the Wolfos head on as Juki lunged into V with an ice-made Viking helmet! They went bouncing and rolling for quite a distance before V chucked Juki off. She unleashed a shockwave of magic that erected a field of fractally Christmas trees, riddling Juki with needle pricks. She molded snow around herself to become a portly woodcutter, spinning her axe at a wide range to slice the trees!
The witch summoned a horde of minotaurs to her side, stampeding toward the kids. Laphicet raised a shield of Protection Papers around them. "O Mew, keep us safe for fun times ahead!" The papers linked like a bubble for the minotaurs to bounce right over them! Juki skied toward the witch as soon as the way was clear, attempting a giant Snow Clap. V dodged and swiftly flicked something into both kids' mouths. "Mmm!" Juki gagged. "What'd you…mmmmmm!"
"Mmmm, that's delicious!" Laphicet beamed. "What is it?"
"Turkish delight." V said charmingly. "The most delicious Turkish delight you'll ever eat."
"No kidding! It's REALLY good!"
"Then please have more…" V twirled her coat and unveiled a table full of the delicacies.
"Wow! There's so many!" Juki drooled.
"I guess I could…no!" Laphicet clenched and shook his head. "Juki, don't eat it! I think this is her Veela charm at work!"
"H-Huh?"
"Veela are temptresses! She's trying to seduce us with… the tastiest Turkish delight ever!"
"Th-Then I won't eat it! I'll freeze it solid!" Juki turned the delight into frozen blocks. "AAAAAAHHH!" But then a powerful beam of magic struck her dead on.
"JUKI!"
She couldn't process what was happening or where she was. Her friends were nowhere in sight, nor was the White Castle. All there was was blizzard. A never-ending expanse of eternal blizzard. Juki wandered lost for days… weeks… years… The snow would never end. Even she never envisioned this much snow. Especially with no one to share it with.
"Juki! Hey!" Laphicet shook her stunned frame. "What did you do?!"
"I locked her mind in its own Eternal Winter. As we speak, she's experiencing years of endless snow. Time is lost to her."
"Well, Juki loves snow! It'll be a paradise for her!"
"That's what I was curious to find out. After that spell wears off, will she still be the same? Or will her mind become wholly frozen?"
"We won't let that happen!" Ruford declared. He sped up Hiyuki's time, allowing her to land a clean cut to V's neck. The White Witch survived and grasped the scythe's blade in her hand, throwing her back to Ruford's side.
Behind them, only four remaining Pigmasks were active. "Can't you fools deal with a few simple brats?!"
"Puh!" Hiyuki spat some snow out. "She's got a strong neck."
"Just what the heck are these guys? Even these fodder minions don't go down easy. But we can't stop now!" Ruford dashed toward V, but she Apparated behind and stabbed him with her wand—he used Time Recordance, tricking V into stabbing his past clone while the current Ruford bashed her in the crown. Laphicet began to entrap V in a pile of papers while Hiyuki enforced Time Brake over her.
Unfortunately, the Pigmasks tried to gang up on her. "Ugh, would you just bug off?!" Hiyuki yelled, dodging to slash the Soldiers. "Can't even use memorybending or Past Sight on them! It's like their histories were totally scrubbed!"
"Laphicet, you were saying something earlier," Ruford said, maintaining V's slowdown, "about a similar incident on Avalar! Do you know who this is?"
"Y-Yeah. It's a story dated 2,000 years, when Ding Dong Dell was known as Narnia. The kingdom was locked into eternal winter with no Christmas, all thanks to an evil White Witch. The witch was slain by King Aslan Tildrum, and…"
"Okay, that'll have to do!" Ruford stamped the Chrono Staff into the ground and willed the clock to spin backward at a rapid speed. A giant, clock-shaped portal began to form behind the witch. "I'm going to… banish her back to her own time… and stop her from—augh!" Ruford stumbled to his knee, the portal vanishing.
"RAAAAAH!" The witch reduced the papers into dust and unleashed a freezing blizzard spell, chilling the boys to their bones. A swipe of her leg sent them flying. "Even if you know when I'm from, you will never banish me! This world belongs to me!"
"W-W-We're… outmatched…" Ruford stuttered through his clattering teeth. "I-I'm not… ready to be…?" He saw something massive approaching from the snowfield. Was it another train? (End song.)
…
Juki lost count of the days she spent in this frozen eternity. She never expected the battle would end like this… to suddenly wind up alone, forever. "…uki…" Her mind had shut down a few decades ago, "-uki…" as falling flurries became her entire vision. "Juki…" She had long forgotten what scent, taste, or feeling was. Snow and wind were all that existed, "JUKI!"
She blinked with a start. A pair of hands were on her shoulders. They weren't tangible hands: they were made of very scattered snow, almost like a constellation. "Don't give up, Juki. It's all in your head." She glanced up: the snow shaped a charming face with messy hair.
"…P…Papa?"
"Yep! It's me! I'm here to help you out. First, look forward… What do you see?"
"I see… lots of snow."
"What I see is… a playground! A playground full of snowchildren. Look, those two are racing down the slides! Those three are trying to swing to the moon! Wow, look how high he's going!"
"Wow! I see it! I see it!" The playground came to life before her!
"A little imagination can get your mind out of any dark place! Even in the middle of this battle, you were turning all that plain snow into something fun. Don't tell me you already forgot? Snow can be anything you want it to be!"
"Then it can even be a way out of here?"
"Why not? Just keep doing what you've been doing and have fun. Santa Claus may be the joy of Christmas… but you're the joy of winter. Show that old witch your true spirit!"
A way out… What would it be? A train? Yes, there it was! A pretty snow train! But how does the train work? Ah, a lever! Trains used levers! Levers were fun to flip! There, she saw… a cane-shaped lever of ice. Juki stepped forward and flipped it!
…
The snow train parked right next to the Polar Express. Shimmy was aghast! How many trains were out here in the pole?!
Its passengers stepped off: the Kids Next Door and all of their guests. "?!" The four operatives were awestruck, the Pigmasks were quaking, and the White Witch furious. "Mom?! Ms. Crystal?" Ruford gasped. "You told them?"
"Not necessarily…" MaKayla replied with a blush.
Nigel Thrall took a bow after making Astere's eaglepox disappear… but actually transferring it to Loki. "Augh!" He now had a bunch of tiny eagle heads jutting from his face and cawing loudly. "Cripes, I can't stand that guy! We can't let him beat us, Lucina! Oi!" He ran up to MaKayla and Suki. "Where're the others at?! They need to help with my show!"
"I'm afraid they had important business to tend to. We don't want to raise alarm, but…"
Right then, Loki had the perfect excuse to sabotage Nigel's grandeur. "HEY, EMERGENCY!" he bellowed onstage. "CHRISTMAS IS BEING CANCELLED! Santa Claus is being attacked by a villain and now Christmas was erased from the calendar!"
"HUUUUUH?!?" the hotel erupted with gasps.
"I mean, you guys were pretty nuts to come out here without backup." Loki shrugged. "If you're gonna fight a villain on Christmas, ya might as well pack the whole army!"
"Is THAT the meanie who's trying to ruin Christmas?!" Yuki shouted.
"Enforcer V…" Sage spoke. "While her power is formidable, her chances of victory under these circumstances are minimal."
"We're not gonna let you ruin this party." Leila stated. "This is my first holiday in 1,000 years. You have no right taking it away!"
I came here to spend my first Christmas with Juki! I'll do whatever it takes to stop you! Ulla wrote passionately.
"You stopped me from getting under a mistletoe with MIMI!" Sena shouted.
"Sena…" Mio blushed.
"Can't we go ONE holiday without some jerk ruining it?!" Katie shouted. "Just get out of here!"
"Ray and I finally found our families!" Emma followed. "I'll Janken you into next year and do it again!"
"Matilda, ready to keelhaul a witch?" Jim Lad asked.
"Aye-aye, Captain!"
"Agate, I've got your back!"
"I'm counting on you, Tita!"
"Renata, wanna see who can hit her the most?" Jake asked.
"That's a race I can get behind!"
The witch clenched her frosted teeth. How dare this many vermin defy her? Uniting together… just like… "HOOOOO HOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!"
"Impossible!" V turned toward the castle. The doors blew open as Santa Claus marched out in all his red, jolly, bearded splendor. "You were frozen and petrified! How?!"
"Because you've forgotten one very important thing, Jadis: I'M SANTA CLAUS. The love and gratitude these children have for each other is the true spirit of Christmas. And that spirit… FUELS MY CHRISTMAS CHI TO THE MAX!" (Play "Joy to the World" by Orion's Reign & Minniva!)
His aura burning with the colors of candycane, Santa Claus ripped off his coat, baring his hulking, hairy belly in all its power. "HOOOOOOOOOO! I'm about to do to you what I did to those Cola execs!"
The White Witch followed suit: she ripped off her fluffy white coat, exposing a thin, steel-gray warrior's robe underneath. "RAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The pounding of her chest caused avalanches throughout the pole. Both stormed each other, the impact of Santa's gut to Jadis' sword vibrating all the way to the South Pole. The effort seemed fruitless, but Jadis was determined to penetrate him. If only an icy hook hadn't whipped down to pull it upward, allowing Santa to Belly Blast her miles away. Jadis Apparated back and growled at the hook's origin. "Juki!" her friends gasped.
"Yeah, I knew she'd awaken her Fury this year." Lucina said.
Juki's black hair had become snowy, large snowflakes orbiting her as her tippy-toes danced freely on the small flurries in the air. Juki glid around Santa and created an Ice Road: the jolly old spirit leapt onto it belly-first, swirling with arms and ankles raised. Jadis cast spells as he swirled her direction, but Santa would leap to other Ice Roads and assume ballerina and surfer poses. Juki conjured a circular Ice Road around Jadis with bells above them, so Santa could orbit the witch and punch every bell into her. Jadis slashed him up the belly and kicked him backward, but Santa rolled upright, whipped out a sash of jingle bells, and roped Jadis' neck. He swung her around three times before sending her head slamming straight into the North Pole itself.
Jadis Apparated back to the battlefield and conjured a whole mountain of Turkish Delight above Santa. Old Saint Nick stomped the ground and assumed a stance. "It's an earthbender's stance!" Robi exclaimed. Santa thrusted his arms up as massive fountains of coal came spewing from the field; one of which sent the jackhammering Roger flying. "Wow, Jolene! It's where all the coal comes from!"
"Santa punishes naughty kids with lead poisoning…"
Santa punched the air and sent every piece of coal into Jadis with rapid fire. As for the Turkish Delight, she tried to drop it on him, but Juki kept it uplifted on a cloud of snow and commanded snowbunnies to carry each piece down to the party guests. "Mmmmm! I gotta learn the recipe for this!" Mazu beamed.
"Sho good!" Emma exclaimed, mouthwatering.
Jadis tanked her way against the coal and summoned wolves to bite into Santa's belly. "RUDOLPH! Get your red-nosed arse over here!" His leading reindeer pounced into Santa's arms. He cocked Rudolph's legs like a gun and began to shoot lasers from his nose, destroying the wolves and afterwards turning it on Jadis. She maneuvered her wand to deflect as many of the shots as possible, but the witch was left open at other vantages: Juki skied in the sky and conjured frost moons to throw down at Jadis like boomerangs. Jadis seized one by the tip in her hand, throwing it to disarm Santa of Rudolph. She took a tremendous leap in the sky and dove for a continental jump slash!
Santa reached into his bag of tricks and whipped out a nutcracker, its open teeth locked on Jadis. "Hah! I have no nuts to crack!"
"Then here's a bunch of them and some crackerjacks!" Juki flicked the frozen snacks onto Jadis' attire.
"No! UWAAAAAAH!" The nutcracker sank its great big maw into her. Santa flipped into the air and slammed her into the snow. Juki proceeded to dance around her and create a garden of roses that burrowed into her skin. "UGH!" She painfully threw herself up and ripped the roses off. "How dare you make a mockery of me!"
"You need some huggies!" Juki created an army of Frosty the Snowmen. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They dogpiled the witch with oodles of fluffy hugs!
"Keep her down, Juki!" Santa leapt onto his sleigh and built up momentum before charging the reindeer toward the witch. "Time to run over another grandma!"
"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Jadis knew the pain of 16 antlers puncturing her.
"Hey, Saint Nick! Sorry we're late!"
"Wintergreen!" Santa was jolly seeing the Elfa Strike members running from the castle's direction, alongside Laphicet.
"I went in to unpetrify as many of the elves as I could!"
"You've been a good boy, Laphicet!" Santa leapt to his elves' side with a great quake. "We're late for Christmas, gang, so let's give her the finale she deserves: the Twelve Days of Christmas Attack!"
"Twelve Days of Christmas Attack?!" Perry exclaimed. "Even Grandpa Nigel couldn't survive that one! Is it really that powerful?!"
Shaking the snow off her, Jadis was appalled as storm clouds formed above her. As Santa and the elves chorused, the following objects crashed unto her: "TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING! ELEVEN PIPERS (plumbers) PIPING! TEN LORDS A LEAPING! NINE LADIES DANCING! EIGHT MAIDS A MILKING! SEVEN SWANS A SWIMMING (in a small pool)! SIX GEESE A LAYING! FIIIIIIVE (sacks of) GOOOOOLD RIIIIIIIINGS! FOUR CALLING BIRDS (in phone booths), THREE FRENCH HORNS (with hens playing them), TWO TURTLE DOVES (doves in turtle shells), and a (woman named) PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!" (End song.)
The pile of objects wasn't budging. It was clear that the White Witch had no strength left. Santa tapped his nose and willed the objects to poof, exposing her flattened frame. "Alright… let's try this again." Ruford stamped the Chrono Staff in the ground. "Jadis the White Witch from the Kingdom of Narnia, 2,000 years ago! You have been lost from your time and place! May you return and never be lost again!"
The portal opened behind her. This time, the witch was vacuumed in. "NOOOOO! He promised me! He said that I would finally have what I wanted for Christmas! An entire world of my own! NOOOOOOOO…!" The portal snapped shut like a mouth.
"WE DID IT, WE DID IIIIIT!" Juki danced on the flurries.
"You did!" Santa bellowed. "Kids Next Door: YOU SAVED CHRISTMAS!"
"YAAAAAAAAAY!"
"Now get yourselves to bed, it's nearly time for my shift! Rudolph, you better have dry-cleaned my spare coats!"
"You hear that, Ulla?" Juki skied down to her snow-friend and raised her with joy. "Christmas is back on the calendar!"
I don't know how I could ever thank you, Juki! This has been the best year ever and it's all because of you!
"As long as you're happy, Ulla, that's all the thanks I need!"
"DADDY, IT'S YOU!" Kagura glomped Santa in the belly. "After all these years, you haven't given up the Santa suit! Wow, you really put on weight though." She poked his tummy. "Mom always said you should visit Flora more."
"Eh…I have a daughter?!" Santa gawked. (Play "Holly Jolly Christmas" by Michael Bublé!)
The following morning, the families were in awe as the ornaments around the North Star Tree descended into the arms of the presents' receivers. From Renata, Abel Pines received her own Frogun! Delighted, she began to tongue-grapple all around the park, Renata and Jake racing her.
"Robi, Jolene!" The two were approached by Doris of Sector GT. "My grandparents wanted to meet you!" The giant lowered her hands as an elderly couple stepped off.
Robi gasped at the woman with messy, greying orange hair and no shoes. "Tupu?!"
"We are so happy to see you two again!" Tupu knelt down for a hug. "We were waiting decades to give you this." She handed them a present. Inside were a few small Jiggies. "I just hope the others were able to keep theirs-"
"Excuse me? Robi, Jolene?" Emma approached them. "My friend Vivi, from Hyrule, asked me to give this to you." Another present. "She said it was passed down for thousands of years until the day you two would return."
"Hey, I recognize you two!" Massimo approached them. "From my great-grandparents' adventure log! We were supposed to give you this if you ever appeared!" Another present with more Jiggies.
"Pardon me, you two." Jinbe approached them. "This may sound strange, but my comrade, Kawamatsu asked me to give this to you. He said it was passed down from his kappa ancestors, meant solely for you."
"Son," Robi's parents approached them with their own present, "this is a gift from your Great-Grandma Patty. I always wondered why we were keeping such a specific present all this time… until recently."
They dumped all the Jiggies on the ground as Jolene worked to put them all together. The completed picture presented the Friends of Time; Tupu, Nefertine, Luca, Onari, and the Peanuts, waving, and a large box of text that read, THANKS, ROBI AND JOLENE! The friends looked to each other with held hands and heartfelt smiles.
Jim Lad and Matilda gifted Jason a pair of golden gauntlets. "We had a heck of a time stealin' these, didn't we, Tilda?"
"Well, Oi ain't one to wear gloves in battle," Jason put them on, "but they'll be fun to play around with!"
Reycom gave Spike four wristbands with crystal spikes. Leila gave Perry a Moon's Tear necklace. Tita gave Shimmy a model set of Azoth attached to a train. Maybe she could bring that to life someday! Adeleine gave Gabriel a kit of Planet Popstar paints. Trella gave Lyserg a long, intertwined chain with jewels hanging from it to match his hair. Mika gave Katie's brother, Aaron a Krazoa mask from Planet Sauria, so he could (pretend) to communicate with the Krazoa Spirits. Though he would soon demand a trip to Sauria itself. Samurai Jack gave Christina her own red katana, designed to harness her firebending.
Mike Strongarm gave his son a brand new high speed and flying bike, while Madeline gave it a Protection Charm so he could bike safely. Mack was beyond grateful to have such a loving family! Pai gifted Aniki and Vanilla a pair of special walkie-talkies that would only work with each other, so they could readily call each other any time. Yuki gave Sage a cute pair of heart sunglasses; though she was embarrassed to admit it, Sage was going to gift Dr. Omelette her own pair of new Eggman-shaped glasses.
Loki, still disgruntled from the magic show, handed Astere her gift: The Textbook History of Textbooks. "I mean, figured you liked to read, so ya might like to learn where reading comes from."
"How… hilarious. (Especially since I already read this book.) Then I'm sure you'll enjoy my gift all the same."
Loki received A Fool's Guide to Not Doing Bad Magic Improperly. "Hmph. Not bad, sparkles, not bad."
Then it was time for family photos! The Kubotas took their first full photo, with Ray's family and Sena to join them! Ray then went to join a photo with the Zoldycks and Freecss, including Alluka's adopted vampire daughter, Nezuko! …Except vampires couldn't be captured in photos, so they crudely drew her in afterward. The Unos, Dimalantas, Graysons, Beans, and Fulbrights tried to squeeze together in a single ginormous photo. The Winkiebottoms and Goldenweeks, including April, Lord Death, and Astere and her brothers joined for a photograph against the starry morning… and mysteriously, a blue and pink half-tangible pair of angels appeared in the sky of the photo, too.
But Lily wasn't gonna pass up on the Mistletoe Hour! The little Kateenian used her plantbending to raise mistletoes above a bunch of potential couples. Trella sensed one above herself and Lyserg and pecked the boy on the cheek, sparking a blush. Aniki blushed when one appeared above him and Pai, to which Pai pecked him. Lily made one float above Tita and Agate—"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" the knight captain immediately bolted across the pole. A mistletoe floated above Mio and Sena, the former blushing from Sena's warm kiss. Robi and Jolene, since they were briefly turned into puppies, simply nosed each other. Lily also made one appear above Loki, Lucina, and Astere, so he magically divided his lips to kiss them both. Astere, frustrated, turned him into a floof. Nigel then stepped in and put his arms around both girls.
And Roger's dream of Grifmas was not forgone. All the Latino men who went to use the latrine that morning would be joyous to find a new can of Fresh Hardwood cologne. They happily kissed their gifts before applying it. After they left, Roger would poke his head up from each toilet with a heartfelt smile.
Azure Hall
"I told V going after Santa Claus was reckless!" the Bad Fairy stamped her staff. "She let her feelings get the best of her. Now she's locked in her original time!"
"Like we don't have a way to bring her back." Rick Sanchez murmured with a drink of alcohol. "It's just gonna be more problematic hiding her from now on. Ugh, we've got too many Enforcers imprisoned or with their tails between their legs! We need to put them on a new training regimen!"
"Sigh, it's become a very bleak Christmas." Oathbreaker sighed. "I even forgot to buy everyone gifts~"
"On the bright side, my 'agent' was at their party." Rick said. "Hopefully we'll be getting some Firstborn DNA."
"Then I expect good fruit from you." The Overlord said. "Vilgax and I will be busy next month. And I don't have time for failure Enforcers."
"I pray Vilgax's exploits will be ever useful to us." Negatar Arrok hummed.