************************************************************
Disclaimer: I only own the new characters
Chapter 7: Bravely Going into Danger
The sounds of footsteps in the hallway in the morning was not uncommon, it was their speed that was different.
Rapid slaps of shoes against carpet bounced off the walls. Judy was sprinting as fast as she possibly could to Santa's room. It was Christmas Eve day, and things were going from bad to worse, very fast.
Her little fists pounded on the solid door as she yelled, "Santa! Mrs. Clause! Wake up! Please wake up!"
Inside the room, Carol raised her head from her pillow and listened. She reached over and shook her husband, "Scott! Wake up, it sounds like there's a problem."
He was awake immediately. The pair got out of bed and ran to their door. Judy practically threw herself into the room. True to her typical form, she grabbed their day clothes and tossed them to the pair, "Get dressed!"
"Judy, what's going on?" Asked Scott, throwing his Santa suit on over his pajamas.
"It's bad. It's really bad!"
"How bad?"
"The elves! They're beginning to disappear! The buildings are breaking down!"
A loud crash outside the window turned their attention for a moment. The little elfess jumped and ran out of the room.
Scott and Carol looked at the door and then to each other. A second passed before they jumped back into action. Fully dressed, they fled their room and dashed out into the snow.
The couple was shocked by what they saw. Nearly all the elves of the North Pole were huddled in the main yard. They clung to each other and the fear in their voices was painful to hear.
One of the smaller housing buildings was quickly crumbling into smaller and smaller pieces. Seeming to sink into the snow, it signaled the beginning of the end for the North Pole.
Carol reached over and picked up a piece of wood that had once made up the door of the building. It became weightless and faded in her hand.
"Scott?"
"I know, I know. Let's just have everyone stay calm." Even as he said it, a set of twin elves ran up to him, very upset.
"Santa!"
He looked over at them in disbelief, they were nearly transparent. Scott tried to pick one of them up, but his arms passed through the elf like it was nothing more than air. Soon, the two elves ceased to exist on the physical plane.
A little girl elf shrieked as she noticed the same thing was happening to her. Her tearless crying stung the hearts of everyone present.
Carol walked over to her and tried to comfort her, "Don't worry dear. You're gonna go to a better place, okay?"
"What could be better than this, Mrs. Clause?"
"Honey I'm not sure, but you have to believe me okay? You just stay strong, alright?"
"Okay Mrs. Clause." With that, the little elf child disappeared.
Judy ran up to the couple, "Over thirty elves have disappeared already. It seems to be taking the youngest elves first."
"Then why haven't we gone? We're the youngest here."
"I don't know. Oh my! Look Santa!" The little elfess pointed to all the other buildings.
Whereas it had been only one building falling apart before, now all the buildings were showing heavy signs of wear.
"Oh happy holiday." Murmured Carol in disbelief, taking a step backwards, "What are we gonna do, Scott?"
"I wish I knew. Judy, I want you to go and wake up Bernard and Noel. Get them down here immediately."
"Will do." She flew off as fast as she could, making it easily into the main housing building. Yelling at all the elves she passed to go outside, it seemed like the shortest run to the head elf rooms she'd ever done.
She knocked first on the one door and then the other. Both of the older elves answered the door at nearly the same time. If she hadn't been in such a panic, seeing her two bosses in their pajamas would've made her laugh.
"The North Pole is falling apart!"
Bernard and Noel looked at each other and then simultaneously shut their doors to get dressed.
Judy had only a few minutes to wait before two elves flew by her, leaving her with the impression of just having seen two cartoonish streaks, one of red and one of green. She didn't wait around, and dashed down the hallway after them.
*********************************************************
A little elf boy, covering his head, ran into the library and slammed the door. Crawling under the nearest table he put his head into his hands and began to cry.
Though he was a few hundred years old, he couldn't help feeling the age he looked in the face of this danger.
His eyes ached to cry, but the tears did not come to him. Instead, he leaned back against the table legs and felt a something small, stick him in the back. Reaching around, he pulled out a book that had obviously been forgotten there.
It opened in his hands and began to flip through the pages as he looked on in amazement. When it finally stopped on a page and stayed there, the heading shocked the elf, 'The Spirit of Christmas'. As he read what had been written below, the shock intensified. The answer to all the problems at the North Pole was right there.
Clutching the book to him, he scrambled out from under the table and began to make his way through the winding hallways to the outside.
********************************************************
Bernard and Noel burst through the front doors of the lodging building. The male elf tripped and fell down the stairs, landing face first in the snow. His eyes never left the scene that unfolded before him.
Noel lurched forward and grabbed onto the railing. "No." She whispered, letting the tears slip down her cheeks. Her legs threatened to give way as she watched her home of a few thousand years being calculatedly destroyed by unknown forces.
"All my fault. This whole thing is my fault." Cried Noel, tightening her grasp on the railing.
"Don't keep blaming yourself for this. Everybody did all they could." Bernard said, pulling himself out of the snow.
"No, you really don't under - " She began, but was interrupted as Curtis and Quinton ran up.
"Everyone in the workshop is gone! They disappeared!" Said the younger male elves jointly, both out of breath and scared out of their wits.
"Everyone?" Asked Santa and Mrs. Clause, coming up to join them.
Curtis nodded.
At that moment, they all turned around to look back into the main yard of the North Pole. There was a silence in the air that could not have been so painful as it was right then. Only a handful of elves survived.
Santa, Mrs. Clause, Noel, Bernard, Judy, Curtis, and Quinton moved to stand in the center when a bright light began to swirl before them.
It grew larger and began to form the outline of a woman where it settled. Ages seemed to pass as the colors and lights filled in to form the legendary figure of Mother Nature.
"What're you doing here?"
She stepped forward, "I'm here to take Santa and Mrs. Clause home."
"But we are home."
"Your human home."
Scott looked over at Carol and then back at his boss, "We can't abandon the elves."
"You don't have a choice. I have to take you back to your old home. You're not like the elves you know, you can live beyond this. I can make you humans again."
"All the holidays will still eventually disappear though, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Then what would be the point of living in a world without happiness?"
Mother Nature sighed, "I can see your point, but council rules say I still have to save you at all costs. I'm sorry." Next, she turned to Noel and pulled the girl into a warm hug.
"I didn't want any of this for you, child. I'll miss you dear."
Sobbing, Noel nodded her head and embraced her old friend, "I know, I'm not mad at you."
Clapping her hands, white light flashed before the Clauses' eyes and Mother Nature had done her job.
********************************************************************
Neil and Laura were sitting in front of the fire with Lucy snuggled in between them. Each held a mug of hot chocolate, though it was not yet late in the evening at all. Both of them seemed extraordinarily shocked when the pair of Christmas patrons appeared in their living room.
"Scott?" Laura stood up, gently leaning her daughter over to sleep in her father's arms.
"Laura, Christmas is destroyed."
"What?"
"Christmas is gone. I'm not Santa anymore, there is no Santa. I - I-" He looked like he was about to cry.
"It was no one's fault." The female leader of the council said.
"Who are you?" Neil asked, setting down his cup.
"I'm Mother Nature. You must be Dr. Miller." She offered him her hand and he shook it. Neil had seen enough of the fantasy world to no longer be surprised by the people who showed up occasionally, without warning, in his living room.
"Nice to meet you."
"Oh my God." A familiar female voice spoke up from behind them. Slowly the group turned to find Jennifer standing in the doorway, "Mother Nature and Santa Clause?"
Charlie walked into the room, "Jenn, I should've told you."
"This can't be real, I just don't believe - "
"It's okay, just let me explain. Please don't get upset."
She was already beginning to breath quite quicker though and she backed up from Charlie.
"Jenn, it's me, Charlie. C'mon, you know I love you and I'd never lie to you. I'm not about to start lying now, let me tell you the truth."
Mother Nature nodded her head at the girl and then faded away to return to her grove.
Slowly, Jennifer let Charlie take her hand and lead her to the loveseat on the side of the room. They spoke in low whispers, accompanied by Charlie brushing the hair out of her eyes every now and then.
Scott and Carol sat down across from Laura and Neil, "I can't believe I had to leave the elves! This is so unfair, I should be there with them!"
The other three adults there tried to calm him down, but he refused to be so. As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the group realized that could do nothing more than sit down and wait out the impending storm.
**************************************************************
The little boy elf found the nearest window at the end of what had seemed to be a nearly endless hallway.
He used to book to edge the glass pane up and stuck his head outside, "Help!"
Noel turned around, "Oh my God! We've got to get him out of there!"
Noticing that the building was on the brink of collapse, the others realized that Noel was right. However, none of them expected what happened next.
Looking at the elf boy, whom she had made an elf, as her own child, Noel couldn't bear to see him harmed. She took off at top speed, running into the damaged structure.
At the window, the little boy, seeing a possible rescue in sight, flung the book down to Curtis, "I found the answer Curtis! It's in the book!"
Bernard didn't hear a word of this as he watched the elfess he loved throw herself into the most dangerous situation ever to take place at the North Pole.
"I hope she's alright. Let everything be okay, please." Whispered Judy, and it was this that her boss heard.
"I'm not gonna leave it to chance. I'm gonna make sure everything is alright. Judy, you, Curtis, and Quinton stay here. I'm going in after her!"
"What?" Judy asked, throwing her hands up in the air. Watching as her boss ran into the building, she gave up and turned to Curtis and Quinton. They were quickly reading from the book dropped by the boy elf.
"Take a look at this Judy."
She skimmed the page and gasped, "You have to be kidding me!"
"No, it says right here, the Spirit of Christmas can be found living in - " A lamp post fell right in between them, burying the book into the snow.
"Help me get it out!" Curtis yelled, digging into the layers of fluffy white. All three elves dove to fish out the book, only to find that it had disappeared like most of the other things at the North Pole.
"No!" Yelled Quinton, slapping his hands on the ground.
Judy just looked up at the falling building, realizing only a few elves were still left in the yard. All eyes followed hers as she searched for any glimpse of her bosses.
"I hope they're alright."
Disclaimer: I only own the new characters
Chapter 7: Bravely Going into Danger
The sounds of footsteps in the hallway in the morning was not uncommon, it was their speed that was different.
Rapid slaps of shoes against carpet bounced off the walls. Judy was sprinting as fast as she possibly could to Santa's room. It was Christmas Eve day, and things were going from bad to worse, very fast.
Her little fists pounded on the solid door as she yelled, "Santa! Mrs. Clause! Wake up! Please wake up!"
Inside the room, Carol raised her head from her pillow and listened. She reached over and shook her husband, "Scott! Wake up, it sounds like there's a problem."
He was awake immediately. The pair got out of bed and ran to their door. Judy practically threw herself into the room. True to her typical form, she grabbed their day clothes and tossed them to the pair, "Get dressed!"
"Judy, what's going on?" Asked Scott, throwing his Santa suit on over his pajamas.
"It's bad. It's really bad!"
"How bad?"
"The elves! They're beginning to disappear! The buildings are breaking down!"
A loud crash outside the window turned their attention for a moment. The little elfess jumped and ran out of the room.
Scott and Carol looked at the door and then to each other. A second passed before they jumped back into action. Fully dressed, they fled their room and dashed out into the snow.
The couple was shocked by what they saw. Nearly all the elves of the North Pole were huddled in the main yard. They clung to each other and the fear in their voices was painful to hear.
One of the smaller housing buildings was quickly crumbling into smaller and smaller pieces. Seeming to sink into the snow, it signaled the beginning of the end for the North Pole.
Carol reached over and picked up a piece of wood that had once made up the door of the building. It became weightless and faded in her hand.
"Scott?"
"I know, I know. Let's just have everyone stay calm." Even as he said it, a set of twin elves ran up to him, very upset.
"Santa!"
He looked over at them in disbelief, they were nearly transparent. Scott tried to pick one of them up, but his arms passed through the elf like it was nothing more than air. Soon, the two elves ceased to exist on the physical plane.
A little girl elf shrieked as she noticed the same thing was happening to her. Her tearless crying stung the hearts of everyone present.
Carol walked over to her and tried to comfort her, "Don't worry dear. You're gonna go to a better place, okay?"
"What could be better than this, Mrs. Clause?"
"Honey I'm not sure, but you have to believe me okay? You just stay strong, alright?"
"Okay Mrs. Clause." With that, the little elf child disappeared.
Judy ran up to the couple, "Over thirty elves have disappeared already. It seems to be taking the youngest elves first."
"Then why haven't we gone? We're the youngest here."
"I don't know. Oh my! Look Santa!" The little elfess pointed to all the other buildings.
Whereas it had been only one building falling apart before, now all the buildings were showing heavy signs of wear.
"Oh happy holiday." Murmured Carol in disbelief, taking a step backwards, "What are we gonna do, Scott?"
"I wish I knew. Judy, I want you to go and wake up Bernard and Noel. Get them down here immediately."
"Will do." She flew off as fast as she could, making it easily into the main housing building. Yelling at all the elves she passed to go outside, it seemed like the shortest run to the head elf rooms she'd ever done.
She knocked first on the one door and then the other. Both of the older elves answered the door at nearly the same time. If she hadn't been in such a panic, seeing her two bosses in their pajamas would've made her laugh.
"The North Pole is falling apart!"
Bernard and Noel looked at each other and then simultaneously shut their doors to get dressed.
Judy had only a few minutes to wait before two elves flew by her, leaving her with the impression of just having seen two cartoonish streaks, one of red and one of green. She didn't wait around, and dashed down the hallway after them.
*********************************************************
A little elf boy, covering his head, ran into the library and slammed the door. Crawling under the nearest table he put his head into his hands and began to cry.
Though he was a few hundred years old, he couldn't help feeling the age he looked in the face of this danger.
His eyes ached to cry, but the tears did not come to him. Instead, he leaned back against the table legs and felt a something small, stick him in the back. Reaching around, he pulled out a book that had obviously been forgotten there.
It opened in his hands and began to flip through the pages as he looked on in amazement. When it finally stopped on a page and stayed there, the heading shocked the elf, 'The Spirit of Christmas'. As he read what had been written below, the shock intensified. The answer to all the problems at the North Pole was right there.
Clutching the book to him, he scrambled out from under the table and began to make his way through the winding hallways to the outside.
********************************************************
Bernard and Noel burst through the front doors of the lodging building. The male elf tripped and fell down the stairs, landing face first in the snow. His eyes never left the scene that unfolded before him.
Noel lurched forward and grabbed onto the railing. "No." She whispered, letting the tears slip down her cheeks. Her legs threatened to give way as she watched her home of a few thousand years being calculatedly destroyed by unknown forces.
"All my fault. This whole thing is my fault." Cried Noel, tightening her grasp on the railing.
"Don't keep blaming yourself for this. Everybody did all they could." Bernard said, pulling himself out of the snow.
"No, you really don't under - " She began, but was interrupted as Curtis and Quinton ran up.
"Everyone in the workshop is gone! They disappeared!" Said the younger male elves jointly, both out of breath and scared out of their wits.
"Everyone?" Asked Santa and Mrs. Clause, coming up to join them.
Curtis nodded.
At that moment, they all turned around to look back into the main yard of the North Pole. There was a silence in the air that could not have been so painful as it was right then. Only a handful of elves survived.
Santa, Mrs. Clause, Noel, Bernard, Judy, Curtis, and Quinton moved to stand in the center when a bright light began to swirl before them.
It grew larger and began to form the outline of a woman where it settled. Ages seemed to pass as the colors and lights filled in to form the legendary figure of Mother Nature.
"What're you doing here?"
She stepped forward, "I'm here to take Santa and Mrs. Clause home."
"But we are home."
"Your human home."
Scott looked over at Carol and then back at his boss, "We can't abandon the elves."
"You don't have a choice. I have to take you back to your old home. You're not like the elves you know, you can live beyond this. I can make you humans again."
"All the holidays will still eventually disappear though, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Then what would be the point of living in a world without happiness?"
Mother Nature sighed, "I can see your point, but council rules say I still have to save you at all costs. I'm sorry." Next, she turned to Noel and pulled the girl into a warm hug.
"I didn't want any of this for you, child. I'll miss you dear."
Sobbing, Noel nodded her head and embraced her old friend, "I know, I'm not mad at you."
Clapping her hands, white light flashed before the Clauses' eyes and Mother Nature had done her job.
********************************************************************
Neil and Laura were sitting in front of the fire with Lucy snuggled in between them. Each held a mug of hot chocolate, though it was not yet late in the evening at all. Both of them seemed extraordinarily shocked when the pair of Christmas patrons appeared in their living room.
"Scott?" Laura stood up, gently leaning her daughter over to sleep in her father's arms.
"Laura, Christmas is destroyed."
"What?"
"Christmas is gone. I'm not Santa anymore, there is no Santa. I - I-" He looked like he was about to cry.
"It was no one's fault." The female leader of the council said.
"Who are you?" Neil asked, setting down his cup.
"I'm Mother Nature. You must be Dr. Miller." She offered him her hand and he shook it. Neil had seen enough of the fantasy world to no longer be surprised by the people who showed up occasionally, without warning, in his living room.
"Nice to meet you."
"Oh my God." A familiar female voice spoke up from behind them. Slowly the group turned to find Jennifer standing in the doorway, "Mother Nature and Santa Clause?"
Charlie walked into the room, "Jenn, I should've told you."
"This can't be real, I just don't believe - "
"It's okay, just let me explain. Please don't get upset."
She was already beginning to breath quite quicker though and she backed up from Charlie.
"Jenn, it's me, Charlie. C'mon, you know I love you and I'd never lie to you. I'm not about to start lying now, let me tell you the truth."
Mother Nature nodded her head at the girl and then faded away to return to her grove.
Slowly, Jennifer let Charlie take her hand and lead her to the loveseat on the side of the room. They spoke in low whispers, accompanied by Charlie brushing the hair out of her eyes every now and then.
Scott and Carol sat down across from Laura and Neil, "I can't believe I had to leave the elves! This is so unfair, I should be there with them!"
The other three adults there tried to calm him down, but he refused to be so. As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the group realized that could do nothing more than sit down and wait out the impending storm.
**************************************************************
The little boy elf found the nearest window at the end of what had seemed to be a nearly endless hallway.
He used to book to edge the glass pane up and stuck his head outside, "Help!"
Noel turned around, "Oh my God! We've got to get him out of there!"
Noticing that the building was on the brink of collapse, the others realized that Noel was right. However, none of them expected what happened next.
Looking at the elf boy, whom she had made an elf, as her own child, Noel couldn't bear to see him harmed. She took off at top speed, running into the damaged structure.
At the window, the little boy, seeing a possible rescue in sight, flung the book down to Curtis, "I found the answer Curtis! It's in the book!"
Bernard didn't hear a word of this as he watched the elfess he loved throw herself into the most dangerous situation ever to take place at the North Pole.
"I hope she's alright. Let everything be okay, please." Whispered Judy, and it was this that her boss heard.
"I'm not gonna leave it to chance. I'm gonna make sure everything is alright. Judy, you, Curtis, and Quinton stay here. I'm going in after her!"
"What?" Judy asked, throwing her hands up in the air. Watching as her boss ran into the building, she gave up and turned to Curtis and Quinton. They were quickly reading from the book dropped by the boy elf.
"Take a look at this Judy."
She skimmed the page and gasped, "You have to be kidding me!"
"No, it says right here, the Spirit of Christmas can be found living in - " A lamp post fell right in between them, burying the book into the snow.
"Help me get it out!" Curtis yelled, digging into the layers of fluffy white. All three elves dove to fish out the book, only to find that it had disappeared like most of the other things at the North Pole.
"No!" Yelled Quinton, slapping his hands on the ground.
Judy just looked up at the falling building, realizing only a few elves were still left in the yard. All eyes followed hers as she searched for any glimpse of her bosses.
"I hope they're alright."