"Okay, wait a minute," said Phoebe. "What do you mean you need us to save Christmas? That doesn't make any sense. How can Christmas be in danger of ending? Millions of people celebrate Christmas all over the world every year."
"True," said Chris. "Millions of people celebrate the holiday. What I'm speaking of is not the day, Christmas. It's the spirit that you and your sisters were speaking of when I arrived. The spirit that seems to be absent this year."
"Okay, so you eavesdropped at the door before you announced yourself," said Prue. "That doesn't answer Phoebe's questions. How could Christmas be in danger of ending?"
"Quite simply," said Chris, "everything that Christmas represents, everything that makes up the season, is in danger of vanishing forever. And without your help I have no hope of saving it."
"You?" questioned Cole. "What do you have to do with all this?"
"You might say without me, there would be no Christmas," said Chris. "First, I've told you my name is Chris. But it's normally spelled with a K, not a Ch. And as you asked earlier, my last name is Kringle."
"Kris Kringle?" Phoebe questioned. "As in Saint Nicolas? You're saying you're Santa Clause?"
"Those names have been attributed to me from time to time," Kris said with a smile.
"Okay," said Piper in her voice that indicated she wasn't buying it, "I've heard enough."
"I understand how difficult it is for you to accept that," said Kris. "And though I'm not technically Santa Claus - at least not the type you mean - my name is Kris Kringle. Or rather it's the name I've chosen to use for a good many years now."
"You're Santa Claus?" Prue questioned. "Delivering presents to children every Christmas Eve? The whole sleigh and reindeer bit? Lives at the north pole Santa Claus?"
"Not precisely," said Chris. "Your friends can vouch for me. At least they can vouch that I have a great deal of power. Cole, here, recognized it the moment he saw me, though he's not sure what it is. Leo, your White Lighter, also recognized it. Or rather, recognized the immense good in me. Tell me I'm wrong."
"No, that much is true," said Cole. "I did sense a lot of power in you. Although I'm not sure I'd attribute that to your being Santa Claus."
"He's right about the good," said Leo. "I've been in the presence of all the Elders at one time and I've never sensed that much goodness even from them."
"Okay, Santa Claus," said Prue sarcastically.
"Please, call me Kris," said Kris. "Santa Claus is a fairy tale made up to entice and delight children. While I'm honored by this I'm am quite real, as you can plainly see."
"Okay, Kris," said Prue, "or whoever you are. Care to explain just what the heck is going on? And what does this have to do with us?"
"As I told you," said Kris, "without your help Christmas may never come again. I need your help to prevent that."
"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Piper asked. "First, explain to us how you could be Kris Kringle or Saint Nicolas or whomever you're supposed to be."
"Fair enough," said Kris. "To begin with, I'm not human. In fact, I'm not even an entity, as you understand it. Call me a sentient force. A power that has a conscious will."
"What kind of power?" Phoebe asked.
"The power of good," said Kris. "You see millennia ago I recognized the potential in humanity. The potential to reach beyond themselves and achieve goals that would otherwise be unattainable. So I instilled in them the capacity for good. A capacity that goes well beyond any other creature. The capacity to sacrifice themselves, not only for their family and friends, but also for total strangers.
"You've seen examples of this. People running into burning buildings to save someone they've never even met. Strangers coming from all corners of the globe to help in times of disaster. The examples are too myriad to account."
"Sure, we've seen that," said Piper. "It just shows that people are basically good. That they'll do what they can to help people in need."
"And where do you think that comes from?" Kris asked. "Why do you think a man would rush into a burning building, knowing he could die himself, to save someone he has never even met? Because I instill in them the goodness they need to do that. You might call it my purpose for existing."
"So why doesn't everyone do that?" Piper asked. "We could show you other examples. Examples where people stood by and did nothing."
"That's true," said Kris. "There are many reasons for that. Fear is one. Ignorance is another. Still," he glanced at Cole momentarily, "there is a force of evil in the world as well. In some cases that force is stronger than what I instill. I can only implant goodness. I cannot force it to grow or be utilized."
"Let's say we believe you," said Prue. "Let's say we accept all this that you've told us. You still haven't explained what any of this has to do with us. Or how Christmas is going to end and we're the only ones who can prevent it."
"Like any power," Kris said, "goodness must be reinforced. An infusion, if you will, to replace what people have used. For the past several centuries I have chosen this time of year to make that infusion. That's why even people who don't celebrate Christmas feel the energy of the season. It's contagious. I infuse them with enough goodness to last them the entire year."
"So what's the problem?" Piper asked. "Just go infuse them or whatever you do. Why drag us into it?"
"Because," said Kris, "It's no simple task. I can't simply pour goodness into people. I have to infuse a single person. That person passes it onto another who passes it onto another and so forth. The entire process is quite rapid. Within a matter of hours the goodness passes to every living being.
"And you need us to do that?" Phoebe questioned.
"Yes," said Kris. "And unless you agree to help me, that goodness will not be passed on. The holiday of Christmas may continue. But the spirit that comes with it will not. And if that happens, I will never again be able to infuse humanity with the goodness it needs to survive."