A/N: It's go time! Here's an especially long chapter. Enjoy! Luck Horseshoe Casino and Pachinko, Private Section, 7:00 pm, December 24th
A an extremely large man squeezed through the door. Goldy wouldn't have taken his great white beard and rosy cheeks seriously if the man hadn't been wearing a sleeveless sweatshirt that showed off his incredibly ripped muscles. Following behind him, was a man ten times smaller, and covered head to toe in gold dust. Goldy had been told before what the customer looked like, but the didn't make it and less weirder.
The small man had thick gold rings on each of his fingers and thumbs and huge sunglasses covering his eyes. The larger man, certainly his bodyguard, ceremoniously lifted Mr. Sanderickton onto the chair then settled to stand to the right of the chair. Nervously, Goldy Henslow sat across the table from the odd pair with his own entourage of guards, "Now that greetings are out of the way, let's get down to business. From what I gather, you are willing to pay a large sum of da' greens for one of my . . .products?"
Santa leaned over, making an action to show that the Sandman was whispering something to him, and then he replied in a thick Russian accent, "Yes, Mr. Sanderickton is interested in a certain book you've recently acquired 3 months ago. He is willing to pay a large sum of money for it."
Goldy's poker face mask cracked only slightly, meaning that he was extremely surprised to know they already knew so much, He has an impressive network. Note to self: Make sure tracks are erased. He gave these mysterious customers a cocky grin, "Sorry, boys, but I'm afraid that is you want the book, you'll have to take a number."
Lucky Horseshoe Casino and Pachinko, Private Section, 7:00pm, December 24th
A couple walked in the halls, or that`s how it appeared to the guard at the door in the back section of the host club. The guard grinned at a personal memory, then his stomach growled. Time for a 15 minute break. That is, in my world, where 15 minutes means 1 hour heheheheh. He glanced at the couple loitering in the hall, something was off about them, they seemed somewhat awkward. The guard, Curt, shook his head, Nah . . what are a couple of kids gonna' do? Whistling, Curt shoved his cap in his back pocket and walked past the hall and into the bar.
The girl in the red dress kept her eye trained on the door. "All clear", she whispered to the flower mic piece attached to her dress. "Let's get started then.",Jack murmured as he and Mikka crept down the hall to the door that had been guarded. Mikka nudged him, pointing to the security camera in the corner, Jack focused in on it and froze the insides of the device, making it short circuit and malfunction.
Cracking open the door a bit, Mikka peered inside to see if the cost was clear. When she was sure, she sung the door completely open and gestured for Jack to follow her inside.
It was a very plain room, wood floor, wood walls, wood ceiling. Sitting on a wood pedestal four feet high, was an ominous black leather and metal bound book. Alarms went off in Jack's mind, DON'T GO IN THERE. BEEEP. BAD IDEA. PWEEEPWEEE. GO NO FURTHER! Evil seemed to just ooze of the pages of the book. It seemed that Mikka was getting the same feeling as well, but she tried her best to surge on. When they neared it, they were able to see the gold lettering printing on the cover. Zereloch, and underneath, Goldy Henslow.
Suddenly Jack felt he needed to get as far away from that book as possible. He heard, voices coming off that book, like waves, urging him to lose control over his body. Mikka appeared unfazed, "Jack, what's wrong?" At this point Jack had his hands clamped over his ears, "Don't you hear it?"
Kill.
Torture.
Greed.
Don't give in, ask for more.
More.
Trickery.
Lying is the key to success.
Destroy your obstacles.
You are alone, no one is your friend.
It was almost too much, Jack had fallen to his knees, "Arghahe!" Mikka was afraid for him, she rushed over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, "Jack, look at me, can you move?" With all the effort he possessed,Jack brought himself eye level with Mikka.
No one will understand you!
Jack felt as if he'd been punched in the gut, he doubled over and shut his eyes. Suddenly, it stopped, it was as if something was blocking the malevolent voice. He cracked his eyes open, and found his face buried in someone's chest, specifically, Mikka's chest. She was hugging him tightly, Jack nudged her, "Mikka what . . ." Carefully, he pried himself from her, but when he did, the voice came back, making him cringe all over again.
"Mikka . . . .give me . . .a hug.", Jack rasped. He had trouble asking this for two reasons. One, he could barely speak. Two, he's asking a girl to take him in her arms, that's not exactly . . .normal.
Fortunately, Mikka obliged, and hugged him around the waist. Immediately, the voice ceased. Something clicked in Jack's mind, This doesn't seem to affect her. She's acting like a shield. She's acting . . . . like a guardian.
In the heat of the moment, Mikka barely noticed the footsteps coming towards the door. As silently as they had come, they slipped out, narrowly escaping being caught by the guard, and a man in a large black overcoat. Jack breathed sharply, "Dammit, I didn't expect him to be here!"
No super sleuth skills were needed to find out who this mystery man was, Pitch. The man himself, here for the book. In the long hallway, he and the guard came closer and closer to blowing the two Guardians' cover. Mikka looked panicked, there was no place to hide except in that room, and that was not an option.
In an act of desperation, Jack pushed Mikka against the wall, leaning one hand against it, right beside her face. He leaned in so close their noses were nearly touching. Mikka was frozen, wide eyed, Jack's heart was beating faster the closer the two other men got. After what felt like an eternity, the two men past, and Jack let out a sigh of relief. That's when he realized his close proximity to Mikka, and awkwardly backed away. Quickly, Mikka edged her way to the door and pressed her ear against it. Jack whispered to the microphone embedded in his lapel, "Santa, we have an unexpected guest joining the party. How's it going on your end?"
There was slight static, then an answer replied, "Not too well on this side. It seems there someone else who's interested in the book as well. Who's this other person?" "Oh geez, North, Pitch is here. And I would bet a pile of Christmas cookies Pitch is the other buyer interested in Zereloch's book." "O-okay. Change in plan. Sandy will buy time, if we can not buy the book, I will signal you to steal it, we have to get it at all costs." "Will do."
Jack kneeled down to where Mikka was, "Anything." "Yes, in fact, Pitch is talking about buying the book over. Our suspicions are correct, he using that book for power." She paused, then reluctantly added, "Whatever you heard, I think it hurts Guardians, but is power to him." Jack had an idea, "Look, we need to get that book, to do that, we need to get them out of there? What urks Pitch to the point that he wants to snuff it out?" Mikka stared at him, blank-faced. Jack answered for her, "Happiness. Any sign of goodness or positivity, he will personally see that it is replaced with fear and negativity." "Got it, I have an idea. If it works, Pitch will come out, that's your chance.",Mikka whispered as she stood up, then ran down and out the hall.
Minutes passed, Jack waited in silence. Softly, gradually getting louder, music began to play. Jack was in awe, a beautiful voice began to sing. :
Heart beats fast
Colours and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall,
But watching you stand alone.
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow.
One step closer.
I have died everyday waiting for you,
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years.
And I'll love you for a thousand more.
The feeling was magical. A sense of warmth spread throughout Jack's body, the whole host club had fallen silent. It was a feeling that made one think everything was going to being okay. Jack's attention returned to the door, a sound of angry footsteps came closer, he moved to the side to be concealed by the door when it opened.
"I choose this establishment for the fear and shame en-laced in its environment! What the hell is this ruckus doing ruining all that?! OH ho, I will see to this!",bellowed Pitch as he stormed down the hall, the guard trailing behind. In one quick motion, Jack smashed down on the guard's neck, making him crumble to the floor, Jack grinned with satisfaction, "Sweet, I didn't even know that would work!" Hurriedly, Jack went back inside, only to meet the waves of torture all over again.
At that moment, Jack was felt like giving up so badly, but he gritted his teeth and grabbed the book. It wasn't as painful the second time, but as a precaution, he wrapped it in his jacket. Now that the sound was muffled, it voice was more annoying and comical than evil. "Jack, do you have the book? The negotiations have not gone well, we escape now.", Santa spoke through the mini mic. "Right, just have the van ready at the back, we'll be there.",Jack replied as he strided out the hall to find Mikka, then stopped in his tracks when he got there.
Mikka was standing on the stage, a golden spotlight trained on her, and she was the source of the melodious music he was hearing. Pitch was aware of this too, his eyes were bulging out of his head in the shock of seeing a Guardian, his enemy. Mikka reached the final lines of the song (A Thousand Years, by Christina Perri) :
I have loved you for a thousand years,
I'll love you for a thousand more.
Silence. Then applause. Then a thunderous applause. Then a thunderous applause with a standing ovation. By the start of the applause, Mikka had already darted off the stage. Apparently, she had seen Pitch as well, that was Jack's signal to move out. By the time Pitch had realized what was going on, all the Guardians were in the parking lot, ready to go to the North Pole. The Easter Bunny turned to get in the van, "Good work troops, let's go and have a nice cup of-" BOOOM! An explosion took out a part of the host club. Santa rubbed the bridge of his nose, Of course this wouldn't be easy, "Jack, Mikka, go inside and evacuate the people. Check if anyone is hurt and take care of them, we'll handle that old Boogie man."
With a nod, the two of them raced back into the club. It was absolute chaos. A small fire had started in the kitchen, with smoke wafting out. Hosts and hostesses tried to calm down screaming customers who tried to trample everything in sight. Jack set to work, he strode over to the hosts' section and yelled for everyone to calm down and get to the nearest fire exits. Mikka ran into the hall and kitchen, looking for people who might need help. Instead, she had been spotted by Goldy, who showed some recognition on his face that she was somehow the cause of his current problems. Mikka realized this and ran down the hall, only to crash into a group of hostesses.
"Oh! I'm sorry! Is everyone okay? You all need to evacuate the building, I can't really explain, but everyone is in danger here.", Mikka explained to them as if it were the most sensible thing in the world. Some of them just blinked back at her, one of them came forward, "Mikey-pie is . . .that you?" Mikka blushed, "Well, yes and-er, no. I had to pretend to be a boy for a secret mission. I'm sorry I fooled you. My name is Mikka."
Another one stepped forward, wearing a blue dress, "So our little brother . . . is a little sister?"
"I guess. . . ."
The group of hostesses squealed, "EVEN CUTER!"
Goldy rounded the corner and was closing in fast.
The first one grabbed Mikka's hand, "I'm guessing Goldy is after you. C'mon girls, we'll protect our little sister." When she said sister, it was evident she was thrilled by the fact Mikka was another girl.
They enclosed Mikka in their ranks so Goldy wouldn't be able to see her as she rushed to make her way back out the front door. Goldy stopped in front of the group of women, "Have you seen a brown skinned girl in a red dress?" Someone snickered, "What, trying to find another hostess?" Another, "We have a bone to pick with you." Another, "Yeah, why the hell are we played so little? We are, like, the poorest!" The comments continued on like that until Mikka was outside and out of Goldy's sight. Finally, the businessman huffed, "I've had enough of this! The bloody building is on fire, get out!"
Outside the Club
Just like the inside, the outside was just as chaotic, maybe even more. Things were not brooding well for the Guardians. Pitch's new monster theme was "Creatures of the swamp". Gargantuan mounds of black sand pulsed and undulated, spouting gobs of black goo all over the place.
Jack had made it outside before Mikka, and threw himself into dodging attacks and freezing monsters one after another. The Easter Bunny followed up Jack's attack by sending his boomerang flying, shattering frozen monster statues into a million tiny pieces. The Sandman and the Tooth Fairy coordinated their attacks to be "death from above". The two of them aerial bombed the creatures with magic dust and golden sand. Santa played the solo fighter (well, there wasn't really anyone who could keep up with his sword-swinging craze), with his golden swords brandished, he artfully slashed at the monsters. Plunge after plunge, monsters dissipated, Santa twirled and dodged, then pierce the heart of the beast every time. Truly a swordsman to be feared.
As usual, Mikka darted with incredible agility and speed, turning dark being into white light. In doing so, this had drawn attention to herself. Monsters began targeting the biggest threats, Mikka and Santa Claus, forcing them into a circle ringed with them, back to back. Mikka whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Hmm . . .numbered ten to one and each twice our size." Santa grinned like a madman, "Sounds like fun. On the count on three, we kick some tail." Mikka nodded in agreement.
"One, two, three, ho,ho, HO!", Santa bellowed as he took hold of Mikka's arm, and just like a shot put professional in perfect form, he hurled Mikka at least twenty feet into the air.
And then something spectacular happened.
As Mikka ascended into the air, ribbons of red and green light shimmered into existence. They cocooned themselves around her, glowing more intensely when golden sparkles danced around it. Just as the cocoon was descending, it exploding in red, green and gold, and white meteor crashing into the nearest monster, causing it to melt into a pile of blackish sludge.
When the smoke cleared, everyone saw Mikka standing it the fallen beast's place.
Her dressy attire was replaced with a bright red velvet dress, hemmed with a thick band of white fur around the bottom of the skirt, the cuffs, and the collar, a black leather belt around her waist. Under the female version of Santa's coat that reached just above knees, she wore black tights with laced black leather boots that went up to her calves. To finish it off, she had a smaller version of Santa's brown fur hat, her eyes were mismatched, one red and one green.
Shaking out of their initial surprise, the monsters swarmed Mikka, but she seemed ready. With the flick of her wrists,golden twin unblunted fencing swords appeared in her hands. Grinning like a madman, she began slashing and cutting down monsters.
While Jack watched Mikka fight out of the corner of his eye, She's like a girl version of Santa . . .
Mikka darted from monster to monster, mercilessly slashing and piercing every foe in the heart.
Just like Santa . . .
She feinted and parried, displaying form only achieved by great swordsman.
Just like Santa . . . .
Due to the numbers, Mikka switched tactics. Her eyelids lowered, her eyes became very intense, then she walked forward. As soon as she hit the first line of monsters, her arms turned into a blur of gold. She was like a human mowing machine, felling one enemy after another.
Just like . . . .oh my gosh!
Santa smiled, perhaps I have my own fighting partner for once, "Mikka, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mikka strode to his side. Back to back, they eyed their foes, together the yelled, "One, two, three, ho, ho, HO!" And they lunged forward. Every time one may get overwhelmed, the other was there for a tag team beat-down. Santa threw Mikka into the air, and she torpedoed herself sword-first into five monsters. Mikka would add a few extra strikes to Santa's attacks, nearly doubling his attack power. Eventually, Pitch was in their sight line.
Without a word of warning, Mikka surged forward and leapt at Pitch from 10 feet away. Pitch smirked, Oh how terrifying. Like this could hurt me. As an added effect of the Guardian power, Mikka flew into the air, somersaulted, and threw a volley of golden swords, each with an aura of golden light. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty. Volley after volley melded together, looking like waves of gold and white light. In that second when Mikka attacked him, for the second time that night, Pitch's eyes bulged out of his head, hot white pain endlessly penetrated his body like a thousand needles, W-who is this girl? No matter, I must retreat to the shadows for now sustenance will come with the link.
In one last desperate attempt to get out of Mikka's line of fire, he dissolved into black send and drifted away on the wind, sending a message to Goldy's mind, Heed these words man. The book has tasted you, it will not let go. We will meet again. Henslow shivered.
Mikka made contact with the ground. The sound was almost as deafening as the explosion. Everyone shielded their faces from the flying gravel, when they felt it was safe, they opened their eyes to see Mikka standing in the middle of a 14-foot diameter crater. Jack was the first to speak, "He's . . . .gone." That made the Tooth Fairy snap to attention, "Jack, do you have the book?" "Yeah, here.", Jack untied the bundle he had previously tied to his chest and held it out, "Just, uh . . . don't take it out yet."
That made Santa snap to attention, "THE PRESENTS! It's Christmas eve and I still need to deliver the presents! What to do, what to do . . . ." As if the man in the moon had answered the call, one of the hostesses saw something in the distant sky, "Everyone look! What is that, is that a . . .sleigh?" All to Guardians looked to the sky, sure enough, a bright ride sleigh was making a bumpy ride towards them. The Easter Bunny yelled out, "RUN FOR COVER!" The Guardians scattered just in time to see the sleigh nearly crash land into the parking lot. "Who's driving the sleigh? A mindless idiot?", Santa grumbled as he dusted off his pants. The "mindless idiot" was a yeti, yelling at Santa in gibberish. Santa shrugged, "Of course I didn't forget! By I am a little preoccupied with, you know, saving the world!" The yeti grunted and tossed the big man his red coat.
Before Santa climbed on the sleigh he turned to Mikka, still in Santa-mode, and asked, "My dear girl, I have finally found a partner who can keep up with me on the battlefield. Now can that partner, do me the honour of accompanying me on this year's run?" Mikka beamed with happiness, "Yes! Yes! Yes! This, this is such an honour for me Santa! Thank you. Will the others be okay with getting back?" The Easter Bunny scoffed, "Course we will be! Who do you think we are?!" "Go enjoy yourself, you have earned it.",Jack said smiling warmly at Mikka.
The hostesses, dazed until that point, suddenly rushed over to the sleigh, one in a purple dress told Mikka, "Mikka-pie, you are amazing! Thank you for allowing to do so much more than what we do now. And thank you for letting us be so much more than we do now. Whenever you need us, we will be there!"
Mikka was blown away by their kindness, "It's you all who I am indebted to. Merry Christmas!" The women edged away from the sleigh, waving to Mikka. Santa took up the reigns, "On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen. On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, on Blitzen. And on Rudolph! Dash away, dash away, dash away all!" Then he snapped the reins, making the reindeer gallop higher and higher into the night sky.
Merry Christmas!
And Happy Holidays!