Once the coast was clear, everyone gathered together on the living room floor in front of the fireplace.
"Oh, thank goodness that's over..." Lu breathed in relief.
"Thank you for saving my life," The Nutcracker told the group before looking right at Jade. "And your superior nursing skills."
"Aw, shucks!" Jade replied. "Tweren't nuthin'."
Mike looked all around in amazement. "This has to be a dream." She then said.
"I'm afraid it's all too real, oh, thank you, big guy." The Nutcracker replied as Ed got his sword out and gave it to him.
"You're welcome!" Ed smiled.
"Isn't Ed the best?~" Dee Dee gushed.
"I've got to return to Parenthia while I still have the chance." The Nutcracker told them.
"So I see..." Double D replied.
"So, tell me, who are you all?" The Nutcracker asked.
"Hi, I'm Mike," Mike replied before gesturing to the two beside her. "This is Lu-"
"Princess Lu!" Lu corrected.
"More like Princess Pain-In-The-Butt if you ask me," Mike muttered in deadpan before speaking up. "And that's her turtle, Lancelot. Kind of a love-hate relationship..."
Lu glared down at her turtle and soon knocked him over for laughing at her.
"The little almost naked kid is Og," Mike continued. "Don't let the nose ring thing fool ya, he's one amazing little dude."
"My name is Eddward, but my friends call me Double D," Double D replied. "This is my girlfriend, Juniper, but everyone calls her 'June'."
"Good to meet ya," June replied. "Dee Dee and I here are good friends with Mike, and this is Dee Dee's little brother, Dexter."
"Dexter: Boy Genius." Dexter smiled smugly.
"I'm Jade Summers," Jade introduced herself. "I'm Dexter and Dee Dee's cousin from Texas, and this is my boyfriend, Scott Wallis."
Scott nodded his head toward the Nutcracker.
"Chicken," Chicken introduced himself. "And this is the love of my life, the prettiest little senorita: Katrina~"
"Oh, Chicken~" Katrina giggled bashfully.
"And I'm Nazz," Nazz concluded with a smile. "I just love Christmas."
"Hello, my name is Ed," Ed said. "Dee Dee is my girlfriend."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Nutcracker." Double D told the doll.
"Nice to meet you all," The Nutcracker replied. "I, of course, am the Nutcracker."
"I hate to interrupt, but would you mind changing us back to normal before you go?" Lu asked. "Remember? We used to be taller, though, my cousin Og was always a small fry like Dexter."
"Watch it, Lu." Og warned his cousin, showing a rare display of anger.
"I'm afraid only the Sugarplum Princess can reverse The Mouse King's spell." The Nutcracker replied.
"A princess?!" Lu's eyes lit up in sudden interest. "You didn't say anything about a princess!"
"Uh, yeah," Dexter rolled his eyes slightly. "Tell us more about this Sugarplum Princess."
"Yes," The Nutcracker replied. "I've been trying to find her since the Mouse King turned me into a nutcracker."
"Wow!" Scott's eyes widened. "You mean... You used to be a-"
"Not a nutcracker." The Nutcracker nodded.
They all soon looked over as they heard hooting.
"What the heck was dat?" Chicken wondered.
They soon saw an owl come off from the grandfather clock and fly toward them all. The Nutcracker drew out his sword to fight back if he needed to.
"Perhaps, I can help," The owl offered as she perched herself onto the arm of the couch. "You will find the Sugarplum Princess on an island across the sea storms."
"But it's impossible to cross The Sea of Storms." The Nutcracker replied.
"It's dangerous, yes, but not impossible." The owl insisted.
The Nutcracker soon backed up as everyone looked amongst each other before seeing that the others were staying put. "Well, are you coming?" He then asked.
"Of course!" Eddy replied.
"Yeah!" Double D added.
"Best of friends 'til the very end." Ed saluted maturely.
"I'm with the Eds on this," Mike agreed. "Come on, gang."
"The search for the Sugarplum Princess?" Katrina smiled. "Count me in!"
"Way to go, Kat!" Chicken smiled back to his girlfriend.
"This is going to be the best Christmas I've ever had." Katrina smiled.
Everyone did a double glance at her.
"It's your only Christmas ever." Chicken reminded her.
"Oh, I know, but still." Katrina smiled.
"I don't see why I have to go." Lu scoffed.
"Surely you don't want to spend the rest of your life the size of a mouse." The owl told her.
"All right," Lu rolled her eyes as she soon got onto Lancelot's back and dangled a piece of popcorn over him to make him walk her. "We might as well get this over with. I just hope this princess is worth it."
"Come on, Ed!" Dee Dee smiled.
"Right behind ya!" Ed smiled back.
"Wait, I just thought about something," June interrupted everybody. "How would we get back?"
"She does have a point." Dexter agreed with the Te Xuan Ze.
The owl soon flew up through the living room and took the necklace from the ballerina ornament on the Christmas tree before flying back down and giving it to Dee Dee. "Once you've found the Sugarplum Princess, open the locket, and you'll all return home in normal size." she then told them before flying onto the grandfather clock and froze in place.
"Well, let's get on with it." Eddy told the others.
Dee Dee wore the locket since it technically belonged to her and they soon went over to the mouse hole.
"Ready?" The Nutcracker asked the others.
"This is crazy, but yes." Dee Dee replied.
"All right, let's do this." Katrina cracked her knuckles.
They all soon came into the mouse hole and soon went into a whole new world far from the one they had known. They first walked in a void of black darkness before they fell through and went through a glowing and colorful portal. They soon slid down an icy slope and soon landed in the snow all together. Luckily, no one was hurt, but Lancelot was inside of his shell for protection. Even Dexter and Dee Dee's dog made it into the adventure.
"Grandpa, you ran into a stop sign..." Eddy mumbled in a daze.
"Good heavens... Were we supposed to do that?" Double D asked.
"I think so." Ed replied.
"Ugh, some snow got in my mouth!" Lu groaned.
"Can't say I was expecting that." Katrina said as she rubbed her head while sitting with Chicken.
"Aw, my tail feathers are gonna fall off!" Chicken shivered. "Okay, maybe Mom was right, I shoulda wore that sweater from Granma!"
"Now where are we?" June asked as she dusted herself clean as she sat in the snow.
"Must've taken a wrong turn back there," The Nutcracker replied before looking around. "Where did my sword go?"
"Here, let me give you a hand," Dee Dee told the Nutcracker as she reached into the snow and took out the Nutcracker's sword only to see his hand attached to the sword. "Uh...?"
"Sorry," The Nutcracker smiled sheepishly to her as he took his other hand back. "That happens a lot."
"I think I've had enough of this snow thing to last me a lifetime." Lu huffed as she got up with Lancelot and Og since they both grew up on an island.
"Ah, come on, Princess, snow isn't that bad," Mike replied. "Besides, Christmas in New York is the most magical time of the year, especially when people visit the most famous residence called The Plaza Hotel."
"Then maybe you should've just stayed there instead of infesting my island with your big city diseases." Lu scoffed.
"Don't be mean." Og told his cousin.
"Why did we have to let her come into the island in the first place anyway?" Lu scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Lu, you know you like Mike," June told the island girl. "I mean, Mike always give us interesting experiences and adventures."
"Yeah, would it kill you to be good for goodness sake?" Double D added.
"Mike, Mike, Mike..." Lu muttered and rolled her eyes while crossing her arms. "I'm the one who's the princess, but... If it'll appease my subjects, I'll try to be nicer to Mike."
"As long as I don't get clothes for Christmas, I'm happy." Eddy replied.
"That is, if we ever do make it back home." Scott added.
"Aw, sure we will!" Jade told him. "We just gotta find that Sugarplum Princess."
The wind soon began to blow and snowflakes came with the wind which made some of the others shiver even more. Something sparkly and glittery soon came past them while they stood up and all around curiously.
"What is that?" June wondered. "A firefly?"
"No, a snow fairy." The Nutcracker replied.
"Snow Fairy?" Double D, Dexter, and Og asked in surprise.
The snow fairy came toward them all and chirped before flying all around before trying to lift Dee Dee up by her sleeve only to fall back against Ed and land in his hand.
"Ooh, are you okay, new friend?" Ed smiled down to the snow fairy.
The snow fairy soon stood up and looked to her wings before seeming to glare and snap at Ed.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Ed pouted. "You should've been more careful."
"Here, let me fix that right up." Dee Dee cooed as she took the snow fairy and gently fixed her wings.
"If only Dee Dee would be more careful with my lab." Dexter groaned about how Dee Dee was able to take care of things gently unlike his secret lab and often tried to destroy it.
The snow fairy soon flew again and flew off happily since she could fly again and no longer had broken wings.
"Not so much as a thank you..." The Nutcracker sighed to that.
"Well, it wouldn't kill her to at least say thanks!" Scott huffed.
"Now, to find a way out of here," The Nutcracker told the others before taking the lead, he came to an ice wall and tried to strike it down with his sword. "These walls are solid ice."
"Now this is a fine predicament." Eddy deadpanned and folded his arms.
Dexter and Dee Dee's dog whimpered and bowed his head sadly. The wind and snow soon seemed to get suddenly stronger. Mike squinted her eyes and they widened as she took a closer look to see that they were more snow fairies and not just snowflakes.
"Ooh, I think they're gonna show us a dance!" Dee Dee told the others before smiling to the snow fairies. "Do you guys know The Fanciful Unicorn?"
The snow fairies soon danced around Ed and Dee Dee almost like they had trusted them while dancing especially for them.
"Dee Dee, why don't you dance with them?" Mike suggested.
"Oh, gee, I dunno, Mike," Dee Dee smiled bashfully. "Do you think I should?"
Everyone else urged and agreed in excitement since Dee Dee was actually a very good dancer, especially in school.
"Well... Okay!" Dee Dee smiled before she soon stood on her tipetoes and went to dance with the snow fairies.
"I love it when Dee Dee dances!" Ed grinned happily.
The dance was an astounding success. Everyone flinched slightly as a bright light emerged from the ice walls and there seemed to be a door opened for them to pass through to continue their journey.
"I guess that was their thanks." The Nutcracker chuckled.
"But where did the snow fairies go?" Chicken wondered.
"Probably off to meet a wizard somewhere." The Nutcracker shrugged.
Ed and Dee Dee took each other's hands and walked with the others, but little did anyone know, there seemed to be flowers growing behind them in their footsteps.
"Welcome to Parenthia." The Nutcracker told the others.
Everyone then looked out as it seemed to be warm as Spring, though there was still snow and it looked like a majestic forest.
"It's so beautiful..." Dee Dee said before she picked up a pile of snow in her hands. "The snow's not even cold!"
"The trees smell like peppermint, and I've never seen a sky so blue." Og added in amazement.
"Ah..." Lu breathed with a smile. "Now this is better."
Lancelot nodded in agreement.
"Ooh, the sun's a lot brighter here," Mike said while squinting her eyes. "It's almost like a heat wave in the middle of on the Albonquetine Island, now those were scorchers."
"Well, at least the snow fairies did help us find a way out." Jade told the others.
"Yeah," Double D agreed. "They should do this again more often."
"Soon this'll all be a memory if The Mouse King has his way." The Nutcracker sighed before he led them further into the kingdom.
"And you're sure that the Sugarplum Princess can help?" Dexter asked.
"She and her prince are our only hope," The Nutcracker nodded as he led them away. "We need them both now more than ever."
"Are you sure they could still be around?" Dee Dee asked.
"Well, the descendant of the Sugarplum Princess at least, it was all in a special prophecy that the descendant of the original princess who was once Clara Drosselmeyer shall help us live in peace and freedom again." The Nutcracker informed.
"Clara Drosselmeyer?" Mike replied. "You mean that the story of the Nutcracker Suite is true?"
"I'm afraid it is and this is no dream," The Nutcracker nodded. "The prophecy didn't say who the descendant was, but I hope we can find her soon."
A bat woke up from a tree branch as he seemed to overhear them. "Hmm... Interesting..." The bat said to himself before snickering and flying off to a certain castle.