Chapter 69: Wrappings and Worries

A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Company. I do not own The Dresden Files, which is the property of Jim Butcher.

This is a creative work that I do not profit off of in any way, shape or form.

Hello my dearest readers! I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter! It was a delight having Kairi and Roxas tease Xion throughout the Gummi Ship flight and an equal delight to have them all arrive in Halloween Town.

We're continuing onward my dearest readers and I should let you know that I'll be borrowing a few more elements from The Dresden Files. It's not going to spoil much in the grand scheme of things for that particular fandom's plot, but if you're not caught up in Dresden, you may find yourself with a few character spoilers. To cover our bases, there will be spoilers for at least Cold Days, and possibly further.

Here we go everyone!

oooo

Pete didn't like this world. He didn't like this world at all. Not one wee little bit, no sir! He'd never been one for spooks and haunts and this world was absolutely full of them. There were werewolves and vampires and giant bats and ghouls with snakes for hair. Blech! And all of that was before you got into the Heartless that swarmed up around here.

And now he was having to help that crazy doctor and the Phantom Blot…Maleficent had ditched them. For all that talk of needing to figure out how to make dolls, she hadn't stuck around this world. Worse, they were stuck with that runty-punk Seifer and his two dopey friends who didn't talk much. Gah, why did he ever leave his steamboat?! Nothin' ever went wrong on his ol' steamboat, except for the runt slacking in his chores.

"Old Peg-Leg Pete, worry not," Doctor XXX said in his annoying rhyming voice. The crazy doctor clapped his hands once. "This is the best world in which to cast our lot."

"The darkness here is as strong as it can get and still remain within the Realm of Light," the Phantom Blot nodded. "Here we can gain tremendous power…here, we may yet be able to fulfill our destinies…"

"Well, the Mousey ain't here," Pete said, shaking his head. "Neither's the duck or ol' Goof. What're ya planning for them Key-brats?"

"You forget," the Phantom Blot said. "It is not just them who are here now—they have brought with them one of the Princesses of Heart. The one they call Kairi."

"Who has a Keyblade and is all lovey-dovey with the shrimpy Sora," Pete argued. Was he really the only one who paid any attention? "You know what happens if you hurt her? Sora's gonna poof back from wherever it was he got himself lost and kick your butt."

"Who holds my attention is not just Kairi," Doctor XXX said. "I have bigger plans than her. Plans most…fiery."

"Wait a sec, are you rhyming everything on purpose?" Pete asked. "I thought that was just something that happened to you 'cause of one of your crazy experiments."

"I am not the only one who plans and studies and analyzes," Doctor XXX said, not even bothering to answer Pete's question. "And if I know one thing more than anything else, it's that study is full of surprises."

Yeah, that was definitely something he was doing on purpose. Grah, Pete liked it better when the bad guys just did what they were told. When they played these stinking mind games, it was a whole lot more trouble than it was worth. Especially since the Keyblade brats always ended up winning.

"I don't care about any of that," Seifer scowled. "I just want to smash Roxas and Xion. If some other loser girl decided to join up with 'em, then I'll get her too. I'll cut her up into pieces. I want to make 'em afraid. I want 'em to know nothing but fear. I want to taste it."

If Maleficent wasn't always saying that she needed Seifer's rage and hate, Pete would have smashed his head in and been done with it. He hated them runty Keybearers as much as anyone did, but Seifer wasn't thinkin' at all. He'd tried and tried to fight them, but he never got any better at it. And he wasn't trying to train either. None of them kids were—the two quiet ones didn't even do much more than stand around. Pete grunted. At least his own son had done stuff. Sure, he'd been a wimpy wimp and a wussy and couldn't do much right beyond scrubbing stuff, but at least he'd been doing chores. Until the Goof kid had gotten PJ all hooked on skateboarding and video games and noisy, noisy, noisy music…pah!

When this was over, Pete was gonna smash Seifer's face in, just to remind 'im who was really the boss around here. But he'd have to worry about that later. The Phantom Blot and Doctor XXX hadn't been around much in the old days. This world used to have Oogie Boogie running around. Pete wasn't sure what the deal with Oogie Boogie was—he weren't a Heartless or a Nobody or a whatsit. He was pretty stupid as far as making plans went, but he loved traps and platforms that moved on their own. When you stopped to think about it, he and the Phantom Blot had a lot in common.

"Well, alright…" Pete said. "I just hope this works…this is gonna attract a lot of attention to us. We ain't gonna have a lot of time."

"Oh, come now! You've never been one to not be bombastic," the Phantom Blot said. "So then, let us begin…with life and death crossed…"

The Phantom Blot reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a small box. Inside the box was a little bottle. Inside the bottle was an itty-bitty bug. Darkness poured out from the Blot's fingertips around the bug. Doctor XXX held up an old sack and the darkness wrapped around it too. There was a great flash of darkness and then…the sack stood up. It was as tall as Pete was. More darkness poured out of the Phantom Blot's hands and the sack began to shift around. It had arms and legs…kinda, and little holes at the top that formed a face.

"Oooooh yeah, I'm back!" The sack shouted. "Oogie Boogie is back and better than ever! Just wait until I get my hands on that bonehead, Jack, I'll…I'll…"

"Hold on a sec," Pete said. "You gotta listen good, pally. You remember me, don't you?"

"No, I most certainly do not!" Oogie Boogie said. "I never seen you before in my life! Where's Maleficent? I need to talk to her, oh yes!"

"What are you going on about, bug-boy?" Pete snapped. "I've been ol' Maleficent's right-hand, 'til she ditched me."

"The Mistress did not ditch us, you great oaf," the Phantom Blot interrupted. "Is your own memory so poor that you do not recall that you were not here when Maleficent was in this world? As I understand it, you were busy pulling machinations with a bunch of wild animals."

"Hey, who even asked you?!" Pete shouted. After he pounded Seifer, he'd pound the Phantom Blot too, just to get even. He turned back to Oogie Boogie. "Well, the Keybrats are back again, if you can believe that."

"Oh, that nasty little Sora?" Oogie scowled. "I'll settle things with him once and for all! Him and Jack both! And everyone will know that I am the real king of Halloween!"

"Sora's gone," Seifer interjected before Pete could explain. Why that no-good little runt…he was on Pete's last nerve. "He's history. Poof! He's dead and gone and he's never coming back. His loser clone Roxas is around though. You ever hear of him or that wimpy loser Xion?"

"Hmmm…" Oogie Boogie tapped his mouth—he didn't really have a chin—and patted at the ground. "I can't say that I have heard of 'em, but if they're anything like Sora and his runty friends…I'm gonna ground 'em into the ground."

"You'll help us, then?" Pete said. "'Cause we're not gunning for Santa Claus this time."

"Oh?" Oogie Boogie asked. "So if it ain't that fat old elf, then what are you here for?"

"Think!" Pete said. "You was dead and now you're not. Well, the thing of it is, it ain't just you this time. There's a lot of stuff that was dead that's coming to life. Heck, some things that weren't alive in the first place are coming to life now."

"In this world that ain't saying much. Our magic is weird, even as far as magic goes," Oogie Boogie grunted. "But I'm betting you need me to help you build some traps for the brats, don't ya?"

"Yes," the Phantom Blot stepped forward. "I would appreciate your expertise. My own knowledge of traps is vast, but as I understand it, you know how to torture."

oooo

Lea had seen a lot of things in all his time in the Organization and his time as a Guardian of Light. This…this was the first time he could remember his actual body changing. Lea wasn't exactly sure what exactly he was—some sort of chakrams-handed scarecrow? Whatever. It got the job done easily enough. The harder part was getting used to being around this Jack Skellington guy. Lea wasn't used to being around people taller than he was.

"So what's going on around here?" Lea asked. "There seems to be a lot of…people who aren't alive running around."

That was putting it mildly. Jack looked like some sort of living skeleton. Dr. Finkelstein was…some sort of zombie, or maybe a ghoul? Lea had counted a dozen ghosts in the last hour and then there was whatever the heck was going on with the Mayor.

"I am afraid I've been too busy planning this year's Halloween to give much thought to what might be causing this crisis, but I am certain that Sandy Claws will know what's going on," Jack said as he led them further down the path. "As for my friends and neighbors, well, this is Halloween Town after all. We're all about giving you all a good scare."

Lea glanced at his own friends. Kairi had never been scary and could never be confused for as such. With her prominent ears and whiskers, she looked even less scary than before. And Roxas and Xion were zombies. All the jokes about how they'd been unresponsive to every bit of stimuli for the first week of their time in the Organization—Lea hadn't thought they'd actually come true like that. But he was definitely going to milk this for all it was worth.

"Now then, if we'll just follow Zero," Jack said. "We should be able to find Sally. And then after that, Sandy Claws, and we may finally be able to put Halloween back on track."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a great rumbling. Lea turned his head and saw what looked like an entire collection of steak knives flowing through the air. The knives almost looked like they'd taken the form of a face. Lea yanked the chakram from his wrist and in a flash, changed it into his Keyblade, Flame Liberator.

"Oh my," Jack said, in a tone that was about as urgent as finding out the weather had spoiled his plans. "That does look rather dangerous."

"I got this," Roxas called out, summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion in a flash of bright light. He raised both his Keyblades and pointed them directly at the knives. "Reflega!"

The shimmering shield emerged at once, its strength doubled by Roxas's dual-wielding. The knives crashed against it and then burst into tiny pieces. The attack ended as suddenly as it began.

"That was quick thinking, Roxas," Jack said. "Thank you. Most impressive…it's a shame about the knives though. They were too scary…but perhaps I could take them and turn them into a mobile of sorts. Allow the fear that comes with motion to be countered by their inability to actually hurt anyone."

"Sir," Xion said formally, "You said that we needed to find Sally…she's a friend of yours right? A friend of Sora's?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes," Jack said. "Sally is a very dear friend of mine and she's had a soft spot for Sora, Donald and Goofy since we met. And how was it you said that you knew Sora? As I understand it, he was the only one with a Keyblade."

"Er…" Lea said. "Well, it's kind of a long story. We all met Sora at different times…but he's a real good kid."

"Sora's my best friend," Kairi said. She ran a hand through her hair and smiled shyly. "We've known each other since we were little kids."

"Oh ho! So you're that Kairi!" Jack said. "Oh, yes, I remember Sora talking about you often!"

Even with the dimmer colors of this world, Lea could very clearly see Kairi blush. Ha, classic Kairi. He looked down at Roxas and Xion—both of them were grinning at Kairi. Jack didn't seem to have noticed that much and he led them into a graveyard. It was much larger than the one they had arrived in. Jack nodded to Zero and the little ghost dog began hovering around one of the graves.

"Sally? Sally, are you there?" Jack said. "I need to come and visit Sandy Claws and it would be best if you would come along."

"Jack?" A gentle voice called out. "Are you there? You say that you want to visit Sandy Claws?"

A moment later, a figure stepped out from the graves—a young woman, who appeared to be quite literally a living doll, stitched together. Her eyes were very large and her skin was a pale silver, her hair long and flowing, almost auburn.

"Ah! Sally," Jack said, clapping his hands together once. "We've been looking for you. Doctor asked that we take you with us to see Sandy Claws and I must agree that there is great logic to it. Sandy Claws has a great affection for you."

"But Jack," Sandy said. "Are you sure? Suppose that he is not involved in any of this? Going to see him could lead to whoever is behind this targeting him. I do not wish for any harm to come to him, or to anyone else."

"Oh, you worry too much, Sally," Jack said. "There's trouble brewing now and I'll bet that Sandy Claws can fix it. If anyone would know what might be causing it, it would be him."

"Well…alright," Sally said. "I don't know about this, Jack, I really don't. But I will trust you…I just hope this works."

"Oh yes, and now that you're here," Jack said, clapping his hands again. "We can all go and see Sandy Claws. Follow me, children and Lea, the door trees are right across to the other side of Halloween Town."

xxxx

There wasn't exactly a shortage of trees in Halloween Town, though it lacked the proper forests of several of the other worlds they'd visited. It took almost an hour to reach the grove of trees Jack had been talking about, though this was due almost entirely to him stopping every minute or two to examine a dozen different little oddities—a pumpkin yoyo, an animated gargoyle, and Lea couldn't remember what else.

But now they were coming up to some of the strangest trees Lea had ever seen. Each one of them had a brightly colored pattern on the front. Lea could see a large green shamrock and a giant pink heart and a big colored egg. But Jack's focus was on a particular tree that was adorned with another tree—a green tree with colored balls and a star. Lea felt his mouth go dry…

"We're gonna see Santa?!"

oooo

The decorated tree had turned out to be a portal, Kairi realized as she found herself on a snowy hilltop. It seemed a little odd that there were no more of the portal trees here—she could only see the one that would lead them back into Halloween Town, but maybe that was because it was the largest part of this world. And at once, Kairi realized her clothing had changed again. Instead of more ragged clothing had been replaced…a pink fur coat with white trim. Kairi felt for her ears…no, that was a hat…a fur hat. She glanced at her friends: Roxas and Xion still matched, but instead of zombies, they'd become toy soldiers—Kairi could see tiny little screws in their necks and wrists. Axel…looked like his arms and legs had become candy canes.

Leave it to Axel to become a gigantic piece of candy. Kairi broke into a fit of giggles as Axel cried out in alarm. Roxas and Xion looked more confused. Oh right…they'd never would have had a Christmas to begin with…

"What on earth happened to my body?" Axel shouted. "My chakram…it's a bunch of candy canes!"

"This is Christmas Town!" Jack said. "Where you come from a different world, then the magic here forces you to adapt. It just so happens that Christmas magic is a bit different than Halloween magic. Now then, don't dawdle. We mustn't keep Sandy Claws waiting."

Sandy Claws…Santa Claus! In spite of everything about the situation, Kairi could't help but grin. Sora had mentioned before that he'd met Santa Claus, but he hadn't actually spoken much about it. But Kairi remembered what it'd been like on the islands when they were little. She and Sora had always loved Christmas. Kairi smiled fondly at the memories. They'd made rings out of red and green construction paper to use for Advent countdowns; they'd cut up regular white paper to make snowflakes; they'd write letters to Santa Claus. Oh, and she and Daddy would share a bag of chocolates infused with yuzu.

But the letters to Santa had always been Sora's favorite thing. He'd been delighted at the idea of sending messages to someone who lived so far away…

"Think about it Kairi! All the way at the North Pole! That's like ten zillion miles away! With polar bears and reindeers and penguins! And Santa Claus likes getting our letters and sending us stuff! I know just what I'm gonna ask him for this year! A new fishing pole and a pair of really big shoes!"

It was curious. There was snow here—so much snow, and yet it wasn't the least bit cold. Maybe it was just her coat and hat, but it was nice. It never snowed on the Islands and if it snowed in Radiant Garden, Kairi couldn't remember it, but she had always wanted to see snow. She followed along, bringing up the rear of the line. Roxas and Xion were right behind Jack and Sally, in front. Axel was right in front of her, but something still felt a little off. Like she wasn't the last one in line.

"Hmm," Kairi said. "This might sound odd, but…Axel, do you ever get the feeling that you're being watched?"

"I was an assassin," Axel said. "If I ever let my guard down for a second, I'd have gotten busted. But yeah, there could be something out there—maybe one of Santa's reindeer. I don't think you have to worry."

"What're reindeer?" Roxas called. "You think we're being followed? Heartless? Nobodies?"

"Nothing's attacked yet," Axel said. "I don't think we have to worry just yet…unless a Christmas tree comes to life and tries to eat us."

"Don't even joke," Kairi said. "With everything else you three have fought lately, would a living Christmas tree really be that big a surprise?"

"Ha ha, ha ha," Axel said, reaching an arm out to thump Kairi on the head. She dodged his hand with barely any effort and grinned. Axel was losing his touch.

They walked on for a short while, down a gentle slope and eventually came to a small, brightly colored village. The buildings were small, tightly packed and centered around a large merry-go-round. Mingling up and down the streets were tiny figures who barely came up to Kairi's knees…all wearing brightly colored clothing. Elves! Kairi gasped in delight.

The village doubled as a market. There were elves sharing candy canes and elves selling wreaths and poinsettias. One elf had a handful of ice figurines. Kairi grinned at Roxas and Xion's identical gobsmacked expressions. They'd never seen anything like this before either, though Jack and Sally appeared to know their way around.

"Right this way, right this way," Jack said, gesturing towards one larger building with an especially prominent chimney. "This is where Sandy Claws lives."

Jack ducked his head down as he passed through the threshold. The walls were striped pine and white, much like a candy cane—or Axel's arms. A particularly tiny elf peered up at them.

"Oh, Mister Jack! Missus Sally! Mister Kringle is in his study and he's oh so worried," the elf squeaked. "There's big, scary trouble. Big, bad scary trouble!"

"Don't be afraid, little friend," Jack said. "I am sure that if there is anyone who can fix this, it would be Sandy Claws. Oh, Sandy!"

Jack led them down a corner into a sitting room. There, sitting in a large, squishy green armchair, was a man that Kairi had only ever seen in movies. He wore a thick red suit and jacket, trimmed with white fur and long black gloves. He was holding onto a very long piece of what looked like parchment. He smiled warmly at them. Santa Claus.

"Well, hello children…and grown-ups," Santa Claus said. "I wasn't expecting so many visitors. Did you come to see if you were on my 'nice' list?"

"The Naughty-and-Nice Lists are real?" Kairi gasped. "Oh my goodness, Santa, it's so nice to meet you. My name's Kairi…Destiny Islands Kairi…or Radiant Garden Kairi…I'm the only Kairi in my class…it's…"

"It's nice to finally meet you as well, Kairi. Take a breath, my dear," Santa Claus chuckled. "Now let me see here…oh yes, you are indeed on my 'nice' list. Very good, dear."

"She's a Princess of Heart," Axel said, crossing his arms. "She's gotta be on the 'nice' list. So where's Axel…er, I mean, Lea?"

"Lea?" Santa Claus's brows furrowed. "Oh, you are on my 'naughty' list, young man. Make no mistake of that."

"What?!" Axel called. "Me? On the 'naughty' list?! Oh, come on! I'm nice! Aren't I nice? Roxas, Xion, Kairi! Tell the very nice man that I'm nice!"

"You tried to kidnap these children, Axel, by your own admittance," Santa Claus said. Kairi noticed that Sally looked horrified while Jack didn't appear to have noticed. "But in any case, the reason you're on my 'naughty' list has no roots based on your actions in the Organization—though you more than deserve such placement for that. I recall all too well, when you were seven years old, you tried to steal one of my reindeer."

"Uh…that wasn't me!" Axel said quickly. "That was Isa! He did it! It was all his idea!"

"And then you blamed Isa for it, just like you blamed him one hundred and forty-seven other times for pressuring you to break the rules," Santa Claus shook his head. "I am astonished by you, Lea…you could say that both you and Axel are on the naughty list. You've certainly misbehaved enough for two."

"Er, sir," Xion said. "As interesting as it is to hear that Axel got in trouble when he was a kid…um, well, Jack had something he needed to tell you. Something we needed to tell you too—there's trouble."

"Ah yes, so I've heard," Santa Claus said, tapping his chin. "I've heard there's trouble the likes of which I have not seen."

"You haven't this sort of trouble before. But I have."

Kairi turned slowly and she noticed that Roxas and Xion drew closer together. Sally backed away into a corner. Standing in the doorway was…a second Santa Claus? But a very, very different one. He was much taller than even Axel and his coat was so thick, he almost looked like a bear. He had only one eye, the other was concealed with a patch.

"My name is Kringle," the man said. "I am…a friend of Santa Claus. And there's more trouble than you realize."

oooo

"Trouble?" Roxas asked as he watched the man called Kringle walk over to stand next to Santa Claus. "What sort of trouble?"

"Keybearer," Kringle said with a firm nod, "I trust you are aware of the situation at hand."

"Yes…" Roxas said. "That's why we came here. There's stuff that's coming to life in Halloween Town. We thought that you might be able to help us figure out what's going on."

"I suspect there is some sort of trouble afoot…but I hardly think that Christmas would be responsible for it. Unless….hmmm…Doctor Finklestein isn't making any more experiments is he?" Santa Claus asked. "Dear me, there was such trouble last time. That poor puppet…"

Roxas bit his lip. What was that about an experiment? Had something come to life on purpose? Something that had had to be stopped? A puppet…that was what they had called Xion back in the Organization. When they weren't calling her a doll or a thing or an "it." Roxas grit his teeth.

"I know more, Santa," Kringle said. He looked from Roxas to Xion to Axel to Kairi and then back again. His gaze lingered on Roxas. "There's trouble between the lines of life and death."

"Yeah, we know that," Roxas said. "But how do we fix it here…there's stuff that looks like it's supposed to be dead."

"If you're talking about the ghosts," Jack said. "I should point out that they've always been there. It's the animated oven and knives that are new. And I assure you that Doctor Finklestein isn't responsible this time. He hasn't done that sort of tinkering in weeks."

"Indeed…" Kringle said. "This goes far beyond even Finklestein. There's something deeper. A magic I had hoped would never come here."

"What…what do you mean?"

"When Sora used the Power of Waking and split the lines between life and death," Kringle shook his head. "It spread the magic beyond just the Keyblade Graveyard."

The air in the room suddenly felt very cold and Roxas had to struggle not to stagger. There were people who knew about Keyblades, but this was the first person he'd met who knew about the Keyblade Graveyard, who wasn't one of their teachers already.

"How do you know about that?" Kairi asked. "Sir?"

"I know more than most realize," Kringle said. "Santa Claus and I alike know who's been naughty and who's been nice, after all. But my knowledge goes deeper."

Kringle pressed his fingers to his nose and he looked very, very old. He took a long, deep breath. For a moment, his eye patch seemed to glow.

"Sora's abuse of the Power of Waking saved the world," Kringle said. "But it also broke it."

"But how can we fix it?" Kairi asked. "People are getting hurt, from what the Mayor of Halloween Town was saying."

"Indeed…" Kringle said. He raised a hand to his head. "It would appear that the very core of this world is at risk."

"You mean that Halloween Town could fall to darkness?" Roxas asked. "But Sora sealed the Keyhole. It can't get swallowed up by the darkness…"

"It did, actually, when the Guardians of Light fell at the Graveyard," Kringle said. "When darkness prevailed and light expired. But this was reversed."

Roxas's head felt like it might explode. Xion looked like she was going to be sick. Axel looked thunderstruck.

"How do you even…we were there and we don't even…who the hell are you?" Axel gasped as he summoned Flamer Liberator. "What the hell are you?"

"A friend," Kringle said. "Leave it at that, Axel. But to answer your question, Roxas, I do not think that this world may fall to darkness. I fear something far worse may happen…children, do you know what happens when somebody loses their heart to darkness?"

"Er…" Roxas said. "The darkness swallows them up and they become a Heartless."

"If they have a strong will," Xion said. "They can leave behind a Nobody…if their heart is taken away by force with a Keyblade, their Nobody will look like them and have their memories…"

"Usually," Axel said, nodding at Roxas. "These half-pints have a tendency to break the rules."

"Well, rules were made to be broken," Kringle said. "The point is that when a Heartless is slain, or a Heartless and Nobody are slain—in that order—the human who lost his or her heart is restored. As you would know, Lea."

"Yeah," Axel said. He shifted his weight. "But we know that. Where's the stuff we don't know? What is it with you old-timers and repeating everything. Master Yen Sid's the same way."

"Yen Sid? He's getting involved?" Kringle said. "My goodness…I know less than I thought I did. But with regards to this conflict, I believe it's possible that this world may die. If that were to happen, if the line between life and death were to cross in such a way where this world dies, then it cannot be restored. Sora restored the worlds twice over when he slew Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness at Kingdom Hearts and again when he used the Power of Waking to restore his fallen friends. But if things happen and it goes badly…we may lose this world entirely."

"Is there anything we can do to fix it?" Kairi asked and for the first time that Roxas could remember since meeting her, she seemed genuinely frustrated. "Please! I want to help!"

"As to that, I have no idea," Kringle said. "It may well be that there is a certain alignment of the stars that have led to the birth of, well, I suspect that there may be more to this than we realize."

"We fought the enchanted oven," Xion said. "And Roxas was able to beat those knives…could there be something we have to smash and then everything goes back to normal…or at least as normal as things get around here."

"Mm, Christmas Town is rather abnormal," Jack agreed. "And from what I gathered from Sora, his family only observed Halloween for a single day each year…the very idea of that is heart-breaking."

"Aren't you always preparing for Halloween, Jack?" Santa Claus asked. "Just like I am always preparing for Christmas?"

"Well, yes," Jack said. "But that does not mean it should only be celebrated for a single day each year. Why, the very idea is repulsive. Why shouldn't the holiday spirit be spread all the year round?"

"Hmm…now that is something we can agree on," Santa Claus said. "Well, if there be anything I can do to help, you have my full support, Keybearers."

BANG! BANG!

"What was that?" Axel said, tightening his grip on Flame Liberator. "That sounded…really big."

"Oh good heavens," Santa Claus shouted. "My present wrapping machine! What's happening?!"

He leapt up from his chair—which wasn't very impressive as he was actually quite short—and ran as fast as his little legs would carry him. He charged down the corridor and Roxas found himself following. Around another bend and Roxas found himself in a very large room. At the far end of the room, there was a machine, with three platforms leading up to three square doors. And each little door was spitting out long strings of ribbon. A little elf looked up at Santa Claus and ran up to him. Just as it did so, a string of ribbon—bright red—shot out and wrapped itself around the elf's ankles.

"Help me! Santa! Please!"

"Oh my goodness!" Santa exclaimed, a hand flying to his mouth. "I cannot stand for this. Let him go right now!"

If the machine was able to listen to Santa Claus normally, it wasn't doing so now. The machine began to tug on the blue ribbon, pulling the elf backwards, wrapping it up more securely as it did so. Axel flung himself over a handrail and grabbed onto the elf. Roxas raced down to help him. A string of red ribbon shot out but Roxas slashed at it with Oathkeeper and cut it aside.

"Help me, help me!" The little elf squeaked. "It's pulling me!"

"We're here to help," Roxas said. "Don't worry…"

The platform he was on gave way and began moving backwards. Roxas stumbled and fell over, landing hard on his shoulder. It hadn't hurt…it must be something about how his body had changed here. But what on earth had made him fall like that…the platform was moving? Axel said a very bad word as his platform began reversing and the elf squealed in distress.

"How on earth are we supposed to stop this thing?" Axel shouted. "Augh! Roxas, Kairi!"

Roxas summoned Oblivion and used it as leverage to pull himself back onto the platform. There were more long strings of ribbon shooting out…two green ribbons shot out and wrapped themselves around Kairi, binding her arms together. Almost like the bindings Xemnas had cast onto her and Sora, back in the Keyblade Graveyard.

"No!" Xion cried out, running forward with a small plastic tool in her hand. She began slashing at the ribbons…and it only made them curly. It was enough to loosen the ribbons binding Kairi and she was able to slip out of them, leap backwards and then cast out a ball of light from the end of her Keyblade. It blasted against the machine and the blue ribbons tying up the elf broke off. Kairi scooped the elf up and passed her up to Santa Claus's waiting arms.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness…" Santa Claus said. "Oh my…what can we do?"

The machine began to tremble and shake and colorful smoke poured out of it. A moment later, more ribbons began shooting out…and then an orange and green cannon emerged on the top of the machine. It began to glow and then it shot out a large box. It tumbled over Axel, shutting him up. It didn't last long though—Axel sliced his way out with his chakrams and then leapt backwards, against the wall. Axel himself began to glow as he channeled the magic that would allow him to walk on walls and the ceiling.

Kairi slashed and swiped at the strings of ribbon and Xion kicked away a box that tried to swallow her up. It bounced against Kairi, throwing her off-balance. Xion gasped and cried out an apology.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

As she was saying this, two more ribbons—pink and purple—shot out and wrapped themselves around Xion and Kairi, tying them together. They fell to the ground just as the cannon shot out a box, wrapping them up inside it. They weren't stuck that badly though—Roxas could hear the thumping as they kicked against it. The sealed box tugged against the ribbon being reeled back and the platform was moving the other way. The machine began to strain and another ribbon shot out, wrapping around the wrapped box.

Roxas leapt up and caught another box with Oblivion. He blasted it away and then lunged up. He aimed Oathkeeper and Oblivion directly at the cannon and sent out twin beams of light. They struck just as the cannon was charging and a moment later, the cannon split into pieces. Roxas landed on one of the moving platforms and fell back over. He was on his feet in a second. Just in time for a ribbon to shoot out and wrap itself around his neck. Roxas tore at it with his hands.

"Forzare!"

At once, the air in the room dropped down to nearly freezing…or more. The machine that had shot out so many ribbons creaked and cracked and then it began to smoke and there was a burst of ice that grew around the entire machine. The few ribbons that remained in midair fell limp and the moving platforms slowed to a stop.

"Is everyone alright?" Kringle called out. He was gripping a very long, gnarled staff that looked as if it glowed. "Keybearers?"

"A little dizzy, but I'm fine," Axel said. "Roxas, you alright? Uh…wait, where's Kairi and Xion?"

Thump! Thump! Crack!

The box trapping Kairi and Xion had fallen off the platform after Kringle had cast the ice magic and the girls were kicking themselves free. Roxas saw Xion's boot first and then Kairi's and then the box fell apart. They stood up in one fluid motion and Kairi held out Destiny's Embrace and shot out a beam of light, blasting away the ribbons binding them together.

"We're fine," Kairi said. "Thank you."

"My machine…oh my goodness…" Santa Claus groaned. Jack and Sally were standing behind him. Sally put a hand on Santa Claus's shoulder. "What am I going to do? I need this machine to wrap presents for the children. It's supposed to bring joy to the world."

"I think I can help with that," Kairi said. She held out Destiny's Embrace and pointed it directly at the machine. The tip of her Keyblade began to glow and then air began to blow around Kairi's hair. She inhaled once and held her breath and then it almost looked like Kairi was radiating light. Just like Olette had done when she'd repaired the Cornerstone…

A moment later the machine began churning again and neatly wrapped boxes with ribbons began coming down the moving platforms. Kairi smiled and leapt down to the floor. She grinned at Roxas and Xion.

"Oh, thank you, Kairi!" Santa Claus said triumphantly. "Thank you, indeed! This is why you are on my 'nice' list."

"Thank you, Santa…Mister Kringle," Kairi said. "It was a pleasure and an honor to help."

"Oh, this calls for a celebration snack," Santa Claus said. "I'll speak to Missus Claus and I think that we could all use some milk and cookies."

xxxx

"So this is gingerbread…what is gingerbread, exactly?" Roxas said as he cautiously took a cookie that was shaped like a person from a plate offered by an elf. He took a bite…oh, it was chewy!

"It's a molasses cookie," Kairi explained. She grinned at him. "With ginger and cinnamon."

"Oh…what's molasses?" Roxas asked. He took another bite of the cookie…chewing on its arm. "It's tasty…"

"Dark brown sugar syrup," Kairi answered. "It's made when they actually process the sugar they harvest."

"Hey," Axel called out as he held a mug of cider. "It's my job to teach the half-pints all the stuff they don't know."

"It's better if I tell them," Kairi countered. "This way, I don't have to waste any time having to correct everything you got wrong."

"Hey! I know more stuff than you, pipsqueak!" Axel said. "I'm older and wiser and you should respect your elders, grasshopper!"

"Grasshopper?" Roxas and Xion asked in unison. "Why did you call Kairi a grasshopper?"

"Oh, it's an expression," Kringle said, taking a bite out of a cookie shaped like a star. "It means student…forgive an old man's ramblings. A friend of mine refers to his own student as such."

Roxas shrugged and dipped his cookie into a glass of milk. It was very tasty. Everything that Mrs. Claus and the elves had made was tasty…the cookies and the milk and even the fruitcake—which Axel wouldn't touch, for whatever reason. It was a reward, Santa Claus said, for their help fixing his machine. Roxas glanced at Xion. She had only eaten one of her cookies and she'd been very quiet.

"Santa Claus," Xion said softly. "Earlier…you mentioned a moving puppet…that sounds familiar…"

"What's that, dear?" Santa Claus asked. "Oh, yes. It was the last time that Sora and his friends, Donald and Goofy, visited me. There was great trouble afoot. It was almost Christmas and yet all of the presents I had made with the elves had disappeared. At first, I must admit, I thought Jack was responsible, as he had become rather fixated on my holiday instead of his own. And then we thought the Heartless might be behind it, somehow. But that turned out to be wrong as well. As it happens, the reason why the Christmas presents were being stolen was because of a misguided experiment created by Doctor Finklestein. A moving puppet…and a great deal of trouble."

"Um…what happened to the puppet? The experiment?" Xion asked. "Did…um…did it break?"

"Oh yes," Santa Claus said. "It was dismantled and then the pieces were dragged out of town, beyond the plaza, with some other rubbish. There wasn't much other use for it, so it was best to throw it away, where nobody else would be hurt by it. It was a terrible thing, no matter how you slice it."

Roxas glanced at Xion. She looked very upset. Roxas felt a weight in his stomach. It was pretty awful. This was familiar…but he wasn't sure he could remember the details precisely. Sora's memories of Christmas Town, at least those that Roxas could remember, were centered primarily on actually meeting Santa Claus.

"Hey, look! Mister Roxas!" One of the elves squeaked. "You and Miss Xion are under the mistletoe!"

Roxas looked up. At the top of the doorframe was a small green plant with white berries. It was small and if the elf hadn't pointed it out, Roxas wasn't sure he would have even noticed it.

"Ha!" Kairi said, in between bites of cookie. "This means you have to kiss!"

"What?!" Xion blurted. "But why? And don't say it's because your the big sister and you say so!"

"It's a Christmas tradition," Kairi said. "It's a rule…and yes, it's also because I'm the big sister and I say so!"

Roxas stared at the mistletoe and then at Xion. Her face was growing red and Roxas could feel his own ears burning so hot, they would have melted all the snow in Christmas Town. He was supposed to kiss her?!

"I'll be back in a little while," Xion said, holding up a hand. "Nothing's wrong. I just need a little fresh air…"

Without another word, she stepped outside of Santa's house. She flashed a quick smile to Roxas right before she left and walked away into the snow.

oooo

Flowers…you were supposed to put flowers on a grave, right? There'd been a few tombstones with flowers in Halloween Town…it wouldn't be too long to put the flowers on the experiment's grave. Just a few minutes…she walked over to the tiny stand where three elves were handling Christmas wreaths. There were several other elves in line. Xion stood on shaky legs until it was her turn to buy one.

"Is this enough?" Xion said, pulling out as much munny from her munny pouch as she could. One elf handed her a wreath and her change. "Thank you."

Xion ducked her head as she walked past the town…village…whatever. She looked down at the wreath clutched in her hands. There weren't many flowers in it, but there were some pinecones, so that was nice in its own way…she couldn't remember everything that had happened in this world when Sora had visited…but she remembered the Experiment…it pounded in her ears.

Doctor Finklestein's experiment stole the presents?! Well, alright then, you don't understand why it would have done it, but now you're gonna stop it. It's getting angry and it could hurt someone.

The experiment is big, real big, and all jumbled together. It reminds you a bit of the Guard Armor, the giant Heartless that guarded the Keyhole in Traverse Town way back when. It looks like it's a bunch of different things. Its left arm—the arm that was trying to suck up all the presents is like a giant vacuum hose. Its right arm looks like a claw…it's familiar, like it came from ol' Oogie Boogie's evil lab. And its head looks like it has a bowl with antenna sticking out of it. It's like a giant evil robot.

Fighting it is tough! It doesn't just have a claw from Oogie's lab, it's got lasers too. And the pieces come apart and each one has a mind of its own. You swing your Keyblade over and over and over. You team up with Jack to cast really powerful spells but those don't seem to hurt it that badly. Goofy tosses his shield at the exact same time you throw your Keyblade and that seems to work a bit better.

Donald throws out balls of fire and ice and eventually, you begin to break apart its arms and legs. The experiment lashes out and begins whirling around like a top. Donald switches to lightning bolts and you begin a more powerful combo. The experiment slams down to the ground and then it rises back up. It hovers in front of the four of you and shakes and then it drops to the ground with a big thud!

"We did it!" Jack cries out. "The mystery is solved!"

A moment later, you hear jingle bells…or maybe sleigh bells! Santa! You look up and you can see him flying down in his sleigh with his reindeer! There's only three of them…and there's no Rudolph. But there's still Santa! He looks at the four of you and tuts.

"Did you catch the thief?"

"Naturally!"

Jack seems awfully happy, but you're still confused. You're not usually confused after a big fight—monsters are monsters and bad guys are bad guys…but this one doesn't add up. You turn around slowly.

"I just can't figure out…why the doctor's experiment would go around stealing Christmas presents."

"His experiment?" Santa Claus asks, and he sounds almost as confused as you are, which makes you feel a little better.

"The thief!" Jack explains. "It was a moving puppet made by Doctor Finklestein."

"Hmmm…" Santa says as he moves up to what's left of the experiment. "The doctor's made a moving puppet? I see…He is always tinkering with things. Now listen, Jack. I'd like to thank you, and while delivering presents is something only I can do, I can give you an idea of what it's like."

"Sandy Claws!" Jack is so happy at this news, he almost looks like he's going to burst as Santa lets him jump into the sleigh to go for a ride with the reindeer. That does look like fun. And Santa Claus is looking back at the remains of the experiment.

"Yes, all that poor puppet wanted was a heart."

That was all she had ever wanted. A heart…and people to share it with. Friendship…maybe love…and all that came with it? Making connections and gift-giving was part of it…

She was way beyond the plaza now. Xion hadn't even realized how far she'd gone. But she could see what was left of the experiment.

There was not much in the way of a tombstone—really, it was more of some rubbish that had been produced in the fight in the plaza. Broken shingles and a smashed-up wheel from a wagon and some old glass and what was left of the decoy present that Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jack had all hidden in. The experiment's remaining pieces had been pushed up against it. It was little more than a dump and Xion felt a rush of anger and then sadness.

How is any of that fair?! This wasn't just a machine!

Xion crouched in front of the broken pieces of the experiment and placed the wreath down gently. The experiment had always wanted a Christmas present…now it had one. The experiment had come to life…somehow. And now other things were coming to life, somehow. Nothing made sense.

Xion sighed quietly. It was getting colder. She guessed that actually did made sense for Christmas Town, but still. The air on the back of her neck felt especially cold—it traveled all the way down her spine—and she was starting to think she understood what Kairi meant when she had said it felt like someone was watching them. Xion glanced over her shoulder. The wind blew sharply behind here and bits of snow hovered in the air, but there wasn't anything alive behind her. Nothing—no Heartless, no Nobodies, no ghosts or ghouls. No elves or owls or reindeer or whatever else it was that lived in Christmas Town.

Xion trudged on, hugging herself. It wasn't very comforting—her own hands were cold. But given that she was a tin solider now, of all things, that made sense too. Maybe all the fighting the last few weeks was getting to her. Everywhere they went, trouble seemed to follow. And sometimes, it didn't seem like what they did was actually making any difference. They fought and they fought and they fought, but the bad guys kept coming back. They hadn't been able to permanently stop any of them yet. How did Sora manage to always be so cheerful about it? Oh, Sora…so good, so brave, so optimistic. One memory of Sora's that was particularly clear was his absolute joy at being able to meet Santa Claus.

The walk back to the town, towards Santa's workshop, seemed like it was taking a lot longer than her trip to the experiment's grave. Still, the sooner she got there, the sooner she could warm up again. And she didn't regret going to see the experiment. Somebody should give the poor creature some kindness.

"Could it have grown a heart, if it'd been given a chance?" Xion mumbled. "How different am I from it? I was made in a lab…and it was made to be a playmate. I was made to be a weapon."

"A weapon most interesting, a Replica most fine. A excellent specimen to strap down in a lab that's mine…"

Xion's throat tightened. She knew that voice…but it couldn't be. No, no, no, no…but it was. Doctor XXX was standing right around the bend in the trail, halfway hidden by a large tree. She hadn't noticed him, but he had definitely noticed her. Xion looked right and then left and then right again. So far as she could tell, it was just her and Doctor XXX.

"Come little girl, come with me now," Doctor XXX chanted. "My study is not finished. You're alive—I want to know how."

Xion screamed and leaped backwards, her boots scraping against the frozen ground. Doctor XXX took a step forward and then another. He was hunched over and his knees were shaking. How long had he been standing there, waiting for her? Xion turned to run. There was no way that crazy doctor would be able to catch her. It really wasn't that far to the town. If she hurried, she'd make it.

"Not so fast there, missy!"

Xion felt her foot catch on something round and she fell onto her side, right before something exploded into a big ball of colored fire—pink and red and orange. She rolled with the explosion—it hadn't been a very big one. She got back to her feet in a flash. Pete was standing in front of her path. She'd have to figure out a way to get out of this. She ducked off the path into the trees. Pete was huge and Doctor XXX was not much smaller. She could maneuver around then and they wouldn't be able to follow her.

"Oy!" Pete began smashing his way through the trees. Most of them were too large to fall, but there were lots of branches being yanked down, and from what she could see, Pete was getting more and more aggressive. His face was growing red. A smaller figure ducked out from behind Pete and charged after Xion. A great gust of wind blew snow around, but even then, Xion could see blond hair and gold eyes.

"Give it up, lamer!"

Seifer. Of course he would be here. Xion leapt out of the way just in time for Seifer to try to slash at her with his sword. His sword of mordite. Seifer's form hadn't improved though, and his missed blow hit a tree, causing it to explode into a million little slivers of wood. Xion heard Pete roar in pain as he was showered with splinters.

Xion raised her hand to summon her Keyblade. She needed Kingdom Key. She needed to fight. She felt the warmth of her Keyblade…and then it began to burn. Her Keyblade glowed and flew out of her hand. Master Yen Sid's binding—she'd forgotten! She was forbidden from being able to summon her Keyblade at all! And then her Keyblade slashed at her. Auuugh!

Xion dropped to the ground as her Keyblade disappeared, clutching her arm. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt! And then something small and round rolled up to her cheek. It was about the size of a Struggle orb…painted orange…hissing…

A pumpkin bomb…

BOOM!

Her vision filled with fire and snow and not much else, Xion felt herself be blasted back. She crashed against another tree and tried to get back up, but she couldn't. Her arm hurt, so badly, from her Keyblade turning against her. What was she thinking? How could she have been so stupid?

A booted foot pressed down hard on her wrist and hand, grinding them into the icy ground. Xion gasped in pain and looked up. Seifer was staring down at her. Pete was coming right up behind him…so was Doctor XXX.

"That wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be," Pete chuckled. "Looks like you're not even good at running away. Ha ha, pathetic."

Pete yanked Xion off the ground and flung her over his shoulder. Xion squirmed as best she could but she barely had the strength to lift her arms. She could see Seifer and Doctor XXX glaring at her.

"Ahaha! At last, we've got you," Doctor XXX cackled. "And my experiments will commence. There is nothing you can do!"

A/N: There we go, my dearest readers! A cliffhanger of cliffhangers! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Mwa-aaah-haa-haaa-ha!

I definitely enjoyed writing this and I hope that the elements of Dresden Files were neatly integrated so that it wasn't too confusing for you, my dears.

Oh, and since I caught Roxas and Xion under the mistletoe this chapter, it feels fair to let you all know that I am indeed a Rokushi shipper. I got a lot of help on this chapter, and indeed this fanfic as a whole, from the Rokushi discord. If any of you are interested in joining up, here's the link: /invite/tmrxgBB

Thank you for reading, my dearest readers. Please leave a comment if you're so inclined. I appreciate each and every one of you!