"Hold here a moment, fellow bodyguards!" Jack instructs the trio. They stand at the edge of a clearing, trees obscuring their view. "If you don't mind, I'll need a moment to get set up for the necessary dramatic reveal. Back in a jiff!"
"Aw guys, can you believe this?" Sora exclaims as the Pumpkin King skips off into the clearing. "We're actually going to meet Santa!"
"You know what I can't believe?" Azlyn says with a harsh glare at the Keybearer. "I can't believe you're getting so caught up in all this Santa business. You're seventeen year's old and, though I admit this reluctantly, kind of the universe's greatest hero. But one mention of Ol' Saint Nick and you go all googly!"
"What?" Sora asks with a start, frowning at Azlyn. "Sorry, I got kind of lost for a second there when you mentioned…"
"Yikes," Azlyn mutters, shaking her head and turning away.
"She has a point Sora," Telary agrees gently, shrugging. "If there are going to be Heartless in Christmas Town, we're going to need to keep a cool head."
Sora scoffs. "I'm fine guys. What I don't understand is how little you guys are excited about this. I mean, it's Santa Claus!" A thought suddenly strikes the boy, and he gives his companions a shocked look. "Don't tell me you guys don't believe in Santa?"
"Of course we believe in Santa!" Azlyn snaps, throwing her hands up in the air. "After Heartless and genies and mermaids and, and, time travel, Santa is like, the least fantastic thing I can think of. I'm just not letting the thought of him distract me from what's important."
"But Azlyn," Sora says softly, grinning, "you saved the universe! Just think about what kind of present that qualifies you for!"
Azlyn opens her mouth to retort, but suddenly the truth of Sora's statement sinks into her mind.
"Alright everyone!" Jack announces, sticking his head in between two trees. "I'm ready for you now!"
"YAY!" Sora and Azlyn exclaim in unison, linking arms and skipping out into the clearing. Telary sighs, but follows along after them.
At the far end of the clearing is another ring of seven trees, though these are very different from the rest of the dilapidated foliage of the hinterlands forest. They're all considerably taller and wider, and each one has a symbol painted on it: a pink Valentine's heart, a green shamrock, a red, white, and blue firecracker, a pastel-colored egg, and even a golden brown turkey!
In the middle of the ring stands the tallest tree of all, Jack beside it. Whatever symbol decorates it is hidden by a thick maroon curtain.
"Here it is, my friends!" Jack declares with a showmanly wave of his bony hand. "Beyond this curtain lies the door to a world such as you've never seen, a place so full of laughter and good cheer it boggles the mind. A place where anyone can find true happiness, the kind of fulfilling joy that…"
"Just let us see already!" Sora calls out, bouncing with uncontrollable excitement on the balls of his feet.
Obligingly, Jack grabs the curtain in his hand and rips it off, accidentally overcommitting and covering himself with the thick cloth. He flails about for a moment to pull it off, by the trio hardly notice.
The mural is of a triangular Christmas tree, green and covered with red orbs and a long, silver strand of tinsel curling around it. At its base are three red boxes with white ribbon, jutting out and forming steps up to the symbol.
Reaching up to a single protruding globe of gold, Jack twists the handle and swings the symbol open like a door, revealing a vast dark tube, silvery snowflakes drifting out of it.
"Wow," Telary says, stepping past the literally drooling Sora. "That's…"
"Wheeee!" Sora cries, taking a running leap before launching himself down into the portal. Jack grins and follows close behind.
Azlyn and Telary are alone in the woods now, and the wizard gives his counterpart a questioning look, eyebrow raised and all.
"Aren't you going to dive in too?" he asks her. "Go and get your mega-present?"
Azlyn sighs and looks away for a moment. When she looks back, her usual confidence seems to have ebbed.
"I guess I got lost in the moment for a second there," she admits with a shrug. "But I still do have a lot of problems with this. I think Jack isn't telling us something."
"Based on past experience, I agree," Telary says, stepping up to the open tree trunk. "But I may be overreacting. I mean, the worst thing Santa can do is give out coal, which is still a very useful heating element!" He takes a deep breath of the cool air coming from the portal. It seems crisper somehow, and carries the faint scent of gingerbread. "Besides, remember how much we loved Christmas as kids?"
"I guess you're right," Azlyn agrees with a shrug. "Besides, if I don't go with you, there's no way you're gonna make that jump!"
He smiles back at her, holding out one hand. "You know me so well."
She takes it and they jump together, falling quickly into a light spin, like they're falling down the Wonderland rabbit hole all over again.
Their landing is not so gentle, mystical force flinging them out of the base of a pine tree with a pumpkin painted on it. They land in a snowbank, the frozen white liquid shooting up all around their impact point.
Looking up, the pair take in the wintery wonderland around them. They're at the very top of a tall hill, overlooking a large village below. Still more firs line the long slope until they reach a huge valley almost completely occupied by a glittering village.
"Wow," Azlyn says, dropping Telary's hand and standing up, brushing snow off of herself. Curiously, the material of her shirt now feels less like the smooth leather of a lab coat, and more like a soft woolen sweater.
Looking down, she realizes that a sweater is exactly what she is wearing, a just slightly overlarge blue one with a large embroidered snowman emblazoned on the front. The spidery back skirt is gone too, replaced by a blue wool skirt rimmed with white fur, snow white leggings underneath.
Telary rises next to her, and looking over at him she can see the bandages are gone, replaced by his own sweater, green with a dark brown reindeer's face on it. He wears matching shorts with red suspenders, and red and green striped tights that cling to his legs.
"Y'know the odd thing," the wizard comments as he looks himself over, "I think I actually have this sweater back at Disney Castle."
"Magic, Tel," she reminds him with a smirk.
"C'mon you guys!" Sora calls out from further down the hill, still bouncing on the balls of his feet. He's wearing a red sweater with a Christmas tree on the chest, and shorts, suspenders, and tights identical to Telary's. With his shorter stature and spikier mane, the Keybearer looks even more like an elf than the wizard. "Santa's waiting!"
"He's correct, you know," Jack chimes in. His appearance remains unchanged, standing out as obviously odd in the glittering white world of Christmas. "That big building down there is Santa's workshop." A thought strikes the skeletal man, and he grimaces. "I hope he has a slide projector in there…"
The group make their way down to the town, Sora in the lead and not doing a very good job holding to his promise about not getting caught up in the excitement. Telary follows right behind the boy, keeping him in check as best he can.
"I gotta admit, Jack," Azlyn says as they go, "you were right about Christmas Town being a cool place."
"Of course I was!" Jack replies immodestly, beaming once again. Making sure Sora is out of earshot, he leans down to the knight conspiratorially. "And, just so you know, there's plenty of mistletoe down there."
"Uh, okay," the knight says, confused. "Why would I…?"
Jack looks a bit shocked at her tone. "Well, I noticed you and young Telary holding hands when you came through the portal, and I just assumed…"
"Mind your own damn business, freakazoid!" Azlyn throws up her hands and puts on some speed, distancing herself from Jack before he can see the blush in her cheeks that has nothing to do with the cold temperatures.
Jack watches her go with a frown, a little upset that he never got to explain to her the Chrismaween version of mistletoe kisses, which involves a hanging snake and blood sucking rather than leaves and kisses.
Thankfully, the knight's frustration does give him time to notice a small rectangular piece of paper hanging on a nearby streetlamp. Giving it a quick read, the Pumpkin King reaches out and snatches it, quickly stuffing the sheet in his pocket. Given what's printed on it, it would not be wise to let any member of the trio see it.
Christmas Town is even more impressive up close, though the small buildings that line the streets hardly seem fit to house anyone larger than a child. Which, considering the residents, is understandable. But although the colored lights, silvery tinsel, and perfectly crunching snow all come together to dazzle the senses, there's one fact that can't be denied: the streets are empty, completely devoid of all elfkind.
"I expected something a little more, y'know," Telary says, looking around with a slight frown, "jolly. It's a ghost town. Do you think the Heartless…?"
"No," Sora says, having calmed down enough to actually look around objectively. "The town is pretty empty, but it doesn't feel empty, y'know? At Agrabah, and Hollow Bastion, it just felt like there was something off. I don't get that here."
"The elves are probably all just hard at work in Santa's workshop," Jack suggests, gesturing to the very top of the tallest building in town. "They're a very diligent, hardworking people you know."
"Oh, hey, there's one now!" Telary says, drawing everyone's attention. Not too far away, the sound of snow crunching under boots can be heard.
Looking up, the group spies a squat figure dressed in the classical red, white, and green elf garb, pointy ears and rosy cheeks and all. He's wearing a fully-stocked tool belt, and making his way to Santa's workshop. Sora and Telary quickly make their way over to him.
Azlyn is about to follow when there comes a sudden yelp from Jack, followed by the rustling of pine needles as the Pumpkin King hurls himself behind a small Christmas tree.
"What are you doing?" she demands, one eyebrow raised suspiciously as she peers down at the skeleton man. Her gaze notices something in his pocket, and she immediately draws out the crumpled piece of paper.
"No, wait!" Jack protests. He reaches out to grab the paper from Azlyn's hands, but her reflexes are too swift, and she pulls the poster away from his grip.
"WARNING!" it declares boldly underneath a black and white photograph of Jack Skellington, smiling his usual dopey grin. "Jack Skellington has been indefinitely banned from Christmas Town. If you see this man, report immediately to Santa, or a supervisor if he himself is unavailable.
"So that's the thing you weren't telling us!" Azlyn yells, balling up the poster and pitching it into Jack's chest. Despite the soft material of the paper, the skeleton yelps and takes a step back. "You're banned from Christmas Town!"
"Well," Jack says sheepishly, tapping his fist nervously against his thigh, "what I don't think you fully understand about that is…"
"What's going on?" Telary asks, arriving with Sora in tow. "That elf said Santa is open for… Hey, what's this?"
"Jack here is banned from Christmas Town," Azlyn reports as her counterpart begins to examine the poster himself.
"How do you get banned from Christmas Town?" Sora asks, the shock of the news temporarily beating out his childish glee.
"Well, it's sort of a long, involved story, you see," Jack replies, tugging at his bowtie anxiously. "Why should we let ourselves get all caught up in the past, am I right?"
Azlyn responds first, reaching out and taking the front of Jack's suit in both her fists, bringing him down to stare into the empty black sockets of his eyes. Telary gasps and attempts to help the Pumpkin King out, but Sora holds him back.
"I'm only gonna tell you this once, so you'd better listen," Azlyn hisses, mouth set in an outrageously terrifying snarl. "If your past stupidity in any way messes up me getting my present, I will use your skull as a blitzball. Is that clear?"
"Uh," Jack stammers, suddenly not feeling so much like the master of terror. "Y-yes ma'am. Clear as a snow globe!"
"Uh-huh." Finished with her threats, Azlyn throws Jack to the ground, his bony butt landing in a snowbank.
"Considering the circumstances," Telary chimes in nervously, stepping between Jack and Azlyn, "maybe it would be best if we just went back to Halloween Town, hm?"
The other three begin a hearty protest, getting in Telary's face and overwhelming the wizard with their objections.
He tries to stand firm in the face of the complaints, but before he can say anything back there comes the familiar sounds of Heartless warping in.
It's a small group, just a few Driller Moles and candlebearing Trick Ghosts. The battle is short and sweet, leaving the square clear in minutes.
"See Telary, we can't leave!" Jack says, gesturing to the spot where they'd just done battle. "Those Heartless showing up only proves that Santa is in serious need of some protection!"
"Jack's right," Sora agrees with a too-eager nod. "We can't just turn our backs on Christmas!"
"On principle, I won't agree with that first thing Sora said," Azlyn adds. "But he's right that we can't leave Santa in this kind of danger."
Telary struggles to come up with a counter-argument, but everything he reaches for falls apart and drifts away in the chilly winter wind.
"Fine," he says with a relenting sigh, rolling his eyes as Sora and Jack cheer. "But we can't take Jack in to see Santa."
The Pumpkin King's face falls, and he's about to voice a protest when Azlyn gives him another glare and mimes a kicking motion. Seeing that shuts him up very quickly.
"You can leave me out here when you go in, that's fine," Jack acquiesces. "But maybe while you're in there you could put in a good word for me with Santa. You're all big time heroes after all, certainly he'd take your opinions of me into consideration!"
"Of course we can do that, Jack!" Sora assures his skeletal friend. "We're great at mending fences. Just ask Iago!"
"I don't know who that is," Jack says, "but I trust you guys!"
Leaving Jack behind in the square, Sora, Azlyn, and Telary approach the front door of Santa's house. It's decorated simply, with just a plain green wreath hanging on it. Sora lunges for the doorknob, but Telary gets there first.
"Now I know you're all excited about seeing Santa," the wizard says, his voice calm but undeniably lecturing, "but this is still another person's home, and you will treat it and the man who lives here with the respect they deserve."
"Of course I will, Telary," Sora promises, taking a deep breath and reining in his eagerness. "Azlyn's right, I'm seventeen years old, I can keep a lid on things."
"Whatever," Azlyn mumbles, which is pretty much her version of what Sora just said. Nudging Telary aside, she opens up the door into Santa's house.
The room inside the door doesn't look very much like a house, however, more like a waiting room in a hospital. To one side is a row of cushioned chairs flanked on either side by tables full of magazines, most of them devoted to baking or decorating. A circular reception desk sits in the middle of the room, and a bored looking elf looks to be playing Solitaire on her computer. Judging by the not-so-jolly look on her face, she seems to be losing. Beyond the desk is a short hallway leading a wall with a sign that says "Santa" in blocky white letters, pointing a door set into the left wall.
The receptionist hears the tinkling bell set over the door, and feels the chilly wind blowing in from outside. Looking up at the visitors, she plasters on an obviously fake smile, absentmindedly minimizing her game window.
"Hello!" she says, once again clearly faking enthusiasm. "How may I help you? Let me guess, you're all here to see Santa."
"Yes!" Sora practically shrieks, startling everyone in the reception area. Azlyn thumps him hard on the back, and he hisses but calms down quickly.
"Oh great," the elf receptionist mutters, all traces of false cheer gone. "Another one of those."
"Uh, what my friend here is trying to say," Telary explains, stepping up to the edge of the desk and looking down at the small woman, "is that we do indeed wish to see Santa. And, well, it's sort of urgent, so…"
"Sir, are you taking a tone with me?" the receptionist asks in a voice that clearly indicates that she hates tones.
"Um, no, of course not!" the wizard defends himself, taking a nervous swallow. "I was just, uh…"
In the midst of his fumbling nervousness, Telary happens to look down to see yet another poster of Jack, this one with the word "banned" underlined about a dozen times with a thick black marker, and a goofy mustache drawn approximately where his nose should be.
"Look, we came a long way, and put up with a lot of crap, all to see Santa," Azlyn explains, her normal cadence qualifying as a tone without any apparent effort. "All we want is an audience with the guy."
The conversation descends suddenly into a glare-off, but the receptionist might as well be a fly trying to head-butt a tiger. After only a few seconds, she breaks her eyes away.
"Fine, fine," she mutters. She'd roll her eyes, but they're still a bit stunned from the force of Azlyn's scorn. Reaching under the desk, the receptionist presses a hidden button, and the door at the end of the hallway glides open smoothly.
Telary opens his mouth to thank the elf, but Sora doesn't stick around to hear it, bounding for the open door at top speed, eyes fixated on the warmth and crackling firelight glowing within. He can't believe that after a lifetime of waiting, of wishing and hoping and ultimately doubting, finally he can see and hear a being revered worlds over. It truly is an honor.
The Keybearer's feet don't seem to get the memo on how momentous this occasion is, however, and he trips over Santa's welcome mat, falling to the hardwood floor of Santa's greatroom.
It isn't the most auspicious of entrances.
"Oh my!" exclaims a deep, throaty, and undeniably jolly voice, warmth radiating from every syllable as if it had emerged from the fireplace itself. "Are you all right, young man?"
Shaking his head to get it (mostly) clear, Sora rises to his feet once more, grinning sheepishly at Santa. The man looks just as he's always been imagined, round and bearded and dressed all in red. He sits at a green chair in the middle of a modest-sized room, holly strung all around. All of the room's molding is made of candy cane stripes, and in front of Santa's chair sits a small table, several sheets of paper scattered across it.
"Uh, I'm fine, Santa," Sora replies with a sheepish grin, dusting himself off a little bit. "Er, Mr. Santa, I mean, sir."
"Oh, there's no need to be so formal, my boy!" Santa assures the Keybearer, chuckling mildly. His belly shakes like, well, you know. Looking behind Sora, Santa spots Azlyn and Telary as they enter the room, and his smile gets even bigger. "Well, I assume you're all here to see whether or not you're on my Nice List?"
"Yes, Santa," Telary confirms, barely containing the excitement in his voice. Sure, he'd been all about logic and restraint before, but seeing Santa actually in the flesh knocks him right back on his metaphorical childhood ass.
"Where is it?" Azlyn asks. "Is it one of those papers?" Reaching out, the knight snatches up a sheet and begins to read it. "My dearest Mrs. Claus, the fire burns hot in the greatroom, but nowhere near as hot as my passion for your sweet, sweet…"
"Okay!" Telary interrupts, snatching the paper out of his counterpart's hands and handing it back to Santa. "Let's just let Santa get his list out, shall we? No more reading anything!"
"I agree, Telary," Santa says with a thankful nod. "Now, I know I have it somewhere… Ah yes, here it is."
Reaching under his chair, Santa pulls out a long piece of paper, weathered with age and absolutely crammed with names written in black ink.
"Now then," he says, turning to Sora and pushing up his spectacles, "what's your name, my young friend?"
"Sora, sir!" The Keybearer's excitement has returned full force, his grin almost exceeding the space he has on his face.
"Sora, Sora, Sora," Santa mutters, quickly pulling up more list from under his chair like a magician with a handkerchief, the already-scanned sections forming a pile on the floor. "Ah, here it is, Sora of Destiny Islands! Well, it looks like you have quite a list of good deeds, my friend! Strong of heart, dedicated to his friends, chosen wielder of the Keyblade and savior of the universe…"
Sora beams as Santa reads through his laundry list of positive attributes, sparing a quick second to give gloat at Azlyn with his eyes. With all of this going for him, he's a shoe-in for the Nice List!
"Oh, my," Santa says suddenly, concern drawing over his kindly features. "Well, that is quite unfortunate…"
"What?" Sora begs, falling to his knees before the man in red. "What's unfortunate?"
"Well, Sora, it seems that, seven years ago, you told everyone that you did not believe in Santa Claus."
Sora's mouth drops open, all traces of joy draining from him. He can dimly hear Azlyn laughing in the background, but he's far too ensconced in his sorrow and alarm to care.
"Ooh, that is some bad turn, Sora!" the knight manages through her mirth. "What about us, Santa? Azlyn and Telary of, uh, Hollow Bastion I guess."
"Did you say Hollow Bastion?" Santa asks with a raised eyebrow. "I'm afraid I can't find that anywhere on here…"
"Uh, try Disney Castle?" Telary suggests. He and Azlyn share a puzzled look, but his counterpart just shrugs in confusion.
"Ah, yes, here you both are!" Santa declares cheerily, quickly reading up on the pair. "Tell me something, are either of you familiar with the term 'grand theft auto'?"
"Oh, come on!" Azlyn exclaims, throwing up her hands in frustration. This at least seems to have a positive effect on Sora, whose burden seems to ease a bit as he watches his companion fold her arms in tight and mumble angrily.
"Actually, that's fair," Telary sighs, patting her softly on the shoulder. She glowers at him of course, but he lets it slide off. "I apologize for these two, Santa. They were just really excited about meeting you, and obviously they thought it would go better."
"Well, I'm afraid that what is written is what will be," Santa apologizes, actually looking genuinely upset to have delivered the bad news. "I'm just sorry you came all the way here, only to hear that."
"Actually Santa, we have another reason," Sora explains, soberly calm now after his big let-down. "And, uh, I know this may not help with the whole list thing, but…"
A loud noise, the heavy thoom of a door being slammed open, interrupts the Keybearer. It's coming from the reception area, and the elf at the front desk barely gets out a few words of greeting before she lets out a startled shriek.
"Why, thank you very much ma'am!" the unmistakable, boisterous voice of Jack Skellington replies cheerfully. "I see no introduction is necessary, so I'll just head back to see Sandy now."
"That voice!" Santa murmurs nervously, his cheeks losing their rosiness. "It can't be…!"
"This is bad," Telary whines, wincing and shaking his head. "Very, very bad!"
"Oh, no you won't!" the receptionist cries out in the foyer. There's a short, determined shout, then a loud thunk.
Jack makes a puzzled noise, and suddenly the sound of something being dragged across the wood-paneled floors of the hallway begins, growing ever louder as Jack strolls down the hallway. A few more determined shouts sound out from the receptionist, but the steady dragging continues until Jack appears in the doorway, a wide grin nearly splitting his skull in two. The receptionist, looking exhausted and nowhere near paid enough, clings desperately to his ankle.
"Hello there, Mr. Claws!" the Pumpkin King greet Ol' Saint Nick, waving politely. "I see you've met my old friends!"
Santa turns to the offworlder trio with a stern expression.
"I've never seen this guy in my life!" Azlyn lies. Santa doesn't seem fooled, so she tries a different tack. "Okay, I know him, but let the record show that I also hate his guts! Or, uh, whatever it is he has underneath that suit!"
"I told you to wait for us outside, Jack!" Telary admonishes the skeleton man, feeling an odd déjà vu.
Jack shrugs. "I got bored."
"Babysitters!" Azlyn exclaims in abject frustration. "We are nothing but babysitters for the universe's greatest morons!"
"Seems like it," Sora agrees with a grim nod.
"Please, Sora," Azlyn replies with a biting eye roll. "You're like, Idiot Patient Zero!"
"Children, please!" Santa admonishes the pair, mere moments before Telary can. The man in red takes a deep breath before turns to Jack, his face impassive. "What are you doing here, Skellington? I thought I made it clear that you were to have nothing to do with Christmas."
"Of course you did, Sandy," Jack says, reaching back for his Chrismaween folder. "Which is why I've actually come to you with a proposal for an exciting new idea that…"
Before Jack can finish, the still-blazing fireplace suddenly swings hallway out of the wall with a loud whoosh, revealing a passage beyond. Out of the short hall run a pair of elves, both looking terrified.
"Santa, come quick!" one of the elves pleads, bending over to catch his breath. "It's the factory, they're all over the place!"
"What's all over the place, Nelson?" Santa asks worriedly, his thick white eyebrows knitting together. "What's happened?"
"Some kind of odd creatures," the other elf explains, shaking his head at the horribly fresh memory. "And we think there's someone in the control booth of the present machine, too!"
"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Sora asks his companions, both of whom nod their agreement. "Heartless."
"And probably Pete's there too," Azlyn reasons, frowning. "It'd be just like that big jerk to try and spoil Christmas!"
Santa comes to an alternate conclusion, fixing Jack with his most unjolly glare. "What kind of trouble have you brought this time, eh Skellington?"
"Sandy, I assure you that…" Jack begins to defend himself, only to peter off into silence as the man in red makes his way through the passage into the factory, telling the pair of elves to stay in the greatroom.
"Wow," Sora says to the drooping Jack. "You must have really done a number on last Christmas, huh?"
"It's not my fault that Lock, Shock, and Barrel followed me into Christmas Town!" Jack declares, throwing his hands up. "Though I guess I am the one who left the door open. And put all those shrunken heads in children's stockings."
"Y'know, I never thought I'd be glad to have been in stasis," Azlyn remarks.
"You know what?" the receptionist interrupts, standing and brushing off her red dress. "I don't care if it's not six yet, I'm taking my break!"
Sora, Jack, and company rush after Santa through the hidden corridor, ending up on a platform several feet above the main factory floor. It's huge, easily as large as two football fields. Dominating most of the floor is a collection of conveyor belts, red plastic seats on swivels beside them at several points, large bins at the ends. At the far end is a large metal door that folds up to allow access to the shipping and receiving area, though the rooms are currently closed off from one another. Nearest the group, to the right, is a large red machine that covers the bottom half of the wall, several square openings feeding into the conveyor belts. Above that is a long red control booth with tinted glass. Movement is evident within it, however.
It is indeed Heartless that plague the toy factory, Soldiers, bright blue Aeroplanes, and Large Bodies menacing the elves, chasing them all about.
"Oh, Santa!" Jack exclaims in a pitiful whine, sinking to his knees and clutching to the edge of his red robe. "You have to believe that I had nothing to do with this! I'd never hurt anyone to achieve my goals!" He considers something for a second before adding, "Well, not intentionally."
"We can handle this Santa!" Sora promises, stepping to the man in red's side with his Keyblade in hand. "Leave these Heartless to us!"
"Yeah," Azlyn agrees drawing her shield. "We'll show you a Nice List!"
The pair leap as one, coming down heavily on a Large Body menacing three female elves. Sora goes to work against it, and Azlyn bounds over to a group of Soldiers chasing after more workers.
"It's an honor to be your bodyguard, Sandy Claws!" Jack exclaims, straightening up and beaming at Santa before jumping to the floor below, eviscerating an Aeroplane on the way down.
"Bodyguard?" Santa mutters to himself, confused. Shaking it off, he turns to Telary, who looks ready to join his friends and Jack Skellington below. "Not so fast, my boy. I understand your engineering skills are quite advanced."
"Well, I guess," the wizard replies sheepishly, shrugging. "I'm no Chip and Dale, but…"
"Excellent," Santa interrupts, unwilling to waste any more time. "Come with me to the Presenter-5000's control booth then. I may need your help."
KH-KH-KH
Within the confines of the booth, Shock finishes tightening the ropes holding a pair of elfin workers, both knocked out cold. Giggling, she turns to her mistress.
"They're secured, Maleficent!" she reports with a smart salute. It's been ages since she's had this much fun, and the jade-skinned witch had appointed her as lieutenant, the position Oogie Boogie had always given to Lock.
"Very good, my dear," Maleficent replies, briefly looking up from the control panel of Santa's present-making machine. "You perform your task well."
"Whatever," Lock scoffs, miffed about losing his usual second-in-command position to his female compatriot. He sits at a red plastic swivel chair by Maleficent, wistfully looking down at the havoc the Heartless are wreaking below. "Why do we have to stay up here anyway? I'd rather be down there smashing stuff!"
"Yeah!" Barrel agrees, poking his head out of the depths of the control panel, where he's been trying to figure how to rewire the Presenter-5000 to Maleficent's specifications. Despite his usual dim-wittedness, the boy in the skeleton mask has a surprisingly intuitive grasp of machines.
"And expose yourself to that wretched Sora and his band?" Maleficent sneers. "No, dear children, you are no longer errand boys to that odious Oogie. Stooping to physical confrontations with hero-types is no longer your realm of concern."
"Yeah, dummy!" Shock admonishes her devil-masked friend, smacking him in the back of the head for his audacity to question their mistress. "We're so over tussling with do-gooders!"
At that moment, the door to the booth slams open, Telary and Santa entering. Both of them are shocked at who they see, though Telary's primary sense of alarm concerns Maleficent, and Santa's the prankster trio.
For their part, Lock, Shock, and Barrel seem rather frightened by the presence of Santa as well. Maleficent feels no such compunction, however, merely fixing the jolly old soul with a haughty glare.
"Ah, Santa Claus I presume," the witch says with a slight bow of her horned head. "And one of Sora's foolish lapdogs as well. It seems that for me, Christmas has come early!"
Raising her staff high, Maleficent calls upon her magic, green flame wreathing her for a short moment before shooting out at Telary and Santa in a roaring wave of heat and fury. The jade-skinned woman laughs as it approaches the pair, the sound high and keening and quite mad.
Telary is too stunned to think of a counter, but Santa doesn't let the mystical fire faze him. Reaching out a black-gloved hand, palm outstretched, he conjures forth a gust of icy energy with his own magic. When heat and cold meet, Santa's power proves too strong for Maleficent's, and the fire fades away with hardly a trace of steam left behind.
"Whoa!" Lock, Shock, and Barrel exclaim simultaneously, awed to see their newest hero so easily countered.
"Wow," Telary breathes out, staring at Santa in shock. The wizard can scarcely think of a time he's seen such a potent display of magical prowess.
"It seems I have underestimated my opponent," Maleficent admits, light traces of worry creeping into her voice. "Clearly I must consider a new tack. Children, remember where I instructed you to go if our initial efforts failed. Away with you!"
Suddenly Maleficent's form begins to turn translucent, as if she's slowly fading away. In moments she is gone, and the prankster trio take their cue to leave as well, dashing through an outside facing window at the far end of the control booth.
Telary begins to run after them, but stops when Santa holds out a hand.
"Let them go for now, Telary," the man in red orders, his mouth set tight in anger. "You and I have another task at hand."
"What's that, Santa?" After taking a moment to rouse and free the captured elves, who immediately rush out of the booth, the wizard follows the holiday ruler over to the Presenter's control panel.
"This machine is designed to take any item a good child has requested of me and create it from scratch," Santa explains, rubbing his long beard as his eyes rake over the many complicated buttons, wires, and readouts. "It's then deposited out of the tubes of the machine itself, onto the conveyor belts where the elves put the final touches on and wrap it."
"That sounds pretty sweet, Santa," Telary says appreciatively, awed at the combination of magic and technology. "But what has that got to do with the Heartless?"
Santa grins at Telary, a touch of mischievousness in his grandfatherly features. "If we can reverse the process, then instead of turning thin air into presents and spitting them out…"
"Then we could make the machine pull the Heartless in and turn them into thin air!" Telary exclaims, immediately gaining even more respect for Ol' Saint Nick, a feat he'd thought impossible.
"Exactly right, my boy!" Santa replies with a hearty chuckle, reaching out to slap the redheaded wizard on the back. "It's such a shame you went along with stealing that Gummi ship, my boy. Other than that, you have one of the most exemplary records of Niceness I've seen in many years!"
Telary grimaces at the mention of his Nice List killing deed. "Um, Mr. Claus, could you maybe stop mentioning the list thing? It's kind of bringing this moment down for me."
"Say no more, Telary. I won't speak of it again."
For the next few minutes the pair work on the machine, Telary occasionally glancing up and peering down through the glass at his friends, who still struggle against the Heartless horde below.
The wizard stops work immediately as he notices Azlyn take a bad-looking hit from a Large Body's fist, the knight careening across the factory floor to land in a pile of wrapping paper.
"Azlyn!" he cries out, though she cannot hear him through the booth's thick glass. He presses his face against it, teeth digging sharply into his lip.
Thankfully, the knight rises groggily, shakes her head to clear it, and launches herself back into the fight, ramming so hard into the Large Body with her shield that it falls backward, crushing several Soldiers that had been menacing Jack.
Seeing that his counterpart is okay, Telary heaves a relieved sigh and back away from the glass. Looking to his left, he sees Santa looking up at him with a knowing smile.
"You really do care for that girl, don't you?" the man in red remarks. "Your feelings for her seem rather special."
"What?" Telary replies, flustered by the odd turn of conversation. "I, uh, of course I care about Azlyn. She's my best friend!"
"Oh, I think it may be a little more than that." Santa digs back into the electrical panel, crisscrossing a few wires.
Telary sighs, completing his own work. "Yes, I suppose so. I mean, she's tough and loyal, and a lot kinder than she tries to come off as." A dreamy look crosses his face as he speaks of the girl, but he quickly shakes it off once he realizes it's there. "It's just that, well… It might not be such a good idea. If we, y'know. And besides, I hardly think she feels anything like that about me."
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that," Santa chuckles, replacing the control panel carefully. "Remember, I can see everything Telary. Even things others can't necessarily see for themselves." He lets that hang in the air for a moment, then turns back to the task at hand. "Alright, I think everything's ready. Let my workers and your friends know what's about to happen, Telary."
The wizard grabs a small microphone and presses an intercom button on the console. "Everybody with a heart, listen to me! Hold on to something, things are about to get a little, uh, sucky."
Telary watches as Sora, Jack, and Azlyn break off their battles to secure themselves, despite their confused expressions. Jack grabs onto a conveyor belt while Sora plants his Keyblade firmly in the factory floor, Azlyn holding on to his waist. All around, elves make similar arrangements to hold their ground.
With everyone secure, Santa inputs a few commands and throws a switch, activating the reversed Presenter-5000. The loud noise of moving air penetrates even the thick glass of the booth, and in only moments Heartless are flying through the air, caught in a blast they cannot escape, hurling toward the dark tubes of the reversed machine.
Sora and his allies hold firm for the long minute it takes to sweep the Heartless up, and within thirty seconds Santa kills the machine.
Down on the floor, Sora dismisses the Keyblade as Azlyn unwraps herself off his back.
"That was so cool!" the Keybearer exclaims loudly, accidentally exacerbating the pained headaches of the elves who'd just been attacked. "I'll bet Telary did some of his magic on that machine. Well, not literal magic, but you know what I mean."
"Yeah," Azlyn agrees with a soft smile. "I definitely know what you mean."
"Now hear this everyone," Santa's voice comes over the intercom, reassuringly merry. "I know that attack was terrifying, especially to those of you who aren't used to such danger, but I assure you that everything is fine. It's going to take a bit of time and effort to recalibrate the Presenter, but I assure you that we won't let this incident endanger Christmas!"
A great cheer rises up from the elves on the floor, all except one standing very near Azlyn and Sora. He's obviously an older fellow, the pinched, just-sucked-a-lemon look he wears highlighting his many wrinkles. He's dressed in an older style of uniform, and leans on a wooden cane.
"Aw, what's it matter!" he exclaims sourly. "It's not like kids these days even appreciate the real meaning of Christmas. To them it's all about me, me, me! Times sure have changed since I was a young lad on the line!"
"Uh, wow," Sora remarks, looking at the bitter old elf in shock. He receives an unfriendly scowl in return.
"I thought elves were all 'tra-la-la' and happy and stuff," Azlyn adds.
"Oh, that's just Ol' Arnold," Santa says, approaching the pair with Telary by his side. "He's getting to that age where elves traditionally start to lose their enthusiasm for the holiday. It happens to a different elf every few years, but they always end up seeing the light."
"Harumph," Arnold says, a noise that none of the offworlders have ever actually heard a person make before outside of a children's book. "Maybe those other doddering fools 'see the light', but not me! No sir, I am quite soured on the joys of Christmas!"
"Alright, Arnold," Santa chuckles. "Whatever you say." Arnold walks away muttering under his breath, and Santa turns back to Sora and his friends. "Now then, the real problem here is that of Maleficent and those three troublemakers!"
"Maleficent was here?" Sora asks Telary incredulously, who nods in confirmation. "Wow, I guess ruining Christmas was too important for her to just send Pete."
"Yeah, and she had Lock, Shock, and Barrel with her," Telary adds.
"Did you say Lock, Shock, and Barrel?" Jack butts in, coming over quickly from where he'd been examining the Presenter. "I assure you, Sandy, this time they didn't come with me, I swear!"
"Be that as it may," Santa says, giving Jack a hard look, "it seems Maleficent has fled, but the children must be punished for their misdeeds! Bring them back here, they're going to get… a lecture."
Everyone but the man in red shivers at a sudden chill.
"Uh, actually Sandy," Jack says, clearing his throat and reaching again for his Chrismaween folder, "I had something that I really thought I should talk to you about…"
"It'll have to wait, Jack!" Santa snaps, startling Sora, Azlyn, and Telary with his harsh tone. "I have a lot of work to do to get things back on track here!"
Jack cringes at the bearded man's words. "Um, yessir, Sandy. We'll apprehend them right away, Mr. Claws, I promise!"
"See that you keep that promise, Skellington."
As Santa walks away, Jack droops, his long arms hanging sadly at his sides.
"Sorry Santa snapped at you like that," Sora apologizes, looking up at the Pumpkin King with concern. "Are you gonna be okay?"
Jack gives the Keybearer a weak smile. "Oh, I suppose."
"C'mon," Azlyn says, fighting off a pang of actual empathy for Jack Skellington. "Let's catch those little pranksters. That oughta cheer you up!"
KH-KH-KH
"So, uh, Miss Maleficent," Shock pipes up as the walking bath tub carries her and allies to the rendezvous point, "what exactly are we doin' here?"
"Yeah," Lock chimes in. "There's nothing here but a bunch of rubble."
They stand, of course, at the former sight of Oogie Boogie's mansion, a vast field of black dirt out of which the boogieman's colossal mansion had once climbed high into the sky. Now there's nothing here but pieces of the manor, scattered about and hollow. The moon shines down, and somewhere in the night there is a mournful howl.
"Perhaps to your eyes, children," Maleficent says with unmistakable condescension. "But my advanced senses tell me that something else lingers here, something far more immaterial. The very spirit of Oogie Boogie."
"Uh, he's dead!" Shock points out, momentarily forgoing hero worship. "Jack and that kid spilled all his bugs, then there was some weird stuff with the house, and then his ghost left. We were watching from the hill."
Maleficent smiles down at the pranksters. "I suppose to you three it would seem as if Oogie Boogie was no more. But, I assure you, he lingers here still. At the end of his miserable life, Oogie Boogie allowed Darkness into himself that he had no way of controlling. It consumed him, showed him the fear he thought himself to be immune from. I watched him as well, I saw how he begged that pitiful Sora for relief.
"Sora thought that by destroying the dark orbs, he left Oogie at peace. But I assure you, that was not the case. The Darkness he wrapped himself in preserved his mind, though I assume Sora's actions put him in a kind of stasis." The witch's grin grows wickeder. "All it takes is the proper spell, and I can awaken him once more."
"But Jack ripped out his bugs!" Barrel points out. "Without them, what's he gonna come back in?"
"Uh, hi there Maleficent," Pete cuts in, approaching his mistress and the pranksters with a small glass jar in his hands, holes poked in the lid. "I got that, uh, thing you wanted."
Inside the jar is a small green insect, utterly unremarkable. Looking up at Maleficent, it chirps once before falling silent.
"This, my children, is where I shall store Oogie Boogie's consciousness," the jade-skinned woman announces. "I understand it is very similar to the creature that used to house him."
"Yeah, okay, you got one bug," Lock says, unimpressed. "But Oogie was made out of a lotta bugs in a sack. Where are we gonna get that many before Jack and those guys find us?"
"We don't need insects, fool," Maleficent snaps, sending Lock cowering. "The 'brain bug' of Oogie Boogie is capable of much more potent feats of control. Even organisms much larger than itself."
"Ooooooh!" Shock says delightedly, suddenly catching the elder witch's drift. "Oh, you really are my hero!"
"What's goin' on, Maleficent?" Pete asks, severely unhappy to be kept out of the loop. "Why are you lookin' at me all funny like that?"
"Because there is no other option, dear Peter," Maleficent says with a cunning smile. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to take in a… houseguest, as it were."
Pete swallows grimly, looking down at the soon to be Oogie-powered bug in his hands. He's begun to work out his mistress's plan, and he does not like it one bit.
Welcome to the story our 3rd OC, though a much more minor one, Ol' Arnold the cranky elf. He doesn't really have a substantial role until the 2nd visit, but I decided he needed an introduction here.
As you can probably guess, the details of Oogie's resurrection, which honestly hardly made any sense in the game, have experienced a change of their own. I'm not quite sure how it'll all work out, but overall I'm rather excited about it.
Shoutout to BT Emmett and Crescent Sunrise for their wonderful reviews to the last chapter!