Dear Santa i want the missing volumes of my collections of secret heroine manga. Im missing vol. 8 16 and 17.

Please Santy, if you can! Love Amitie Pierrose!

"Nice. I'll have to track down those. They are a few years old now. You'd think with all that reading material she'd care more about grammer."

I don't want my eyesight fixed anymore. I've gotten used that everthing's mirrored now. Took long enough… Instead I want something that can win over Lemres' heart. I'll read your future if you do, Santa.

I know your future, I can see into it
Feli White

"But doesn't know what she gets. Naughty this year. Get coal regardless."

I don't want much this year, Mr. Claus. I don't know if it's possible but can you make it easier to talk to Vibby? My big brother Satan's doo-hickey isn't the fasted thing and I accidently insult her a lot because of it.

And maybe find my parents? If it's not too much to ask… I don't mean to be greedy.

Hope you don't overwork yourself
Lidelle Thunderhead

"Nice, but I don't think her "Brother" would allow it. Knowing him, he's still intent on keeping communication between the living and the dead void… Maybe this is how Feli can make the Nice List next year. I can't do anything about family… She'll appreciate a posh animal-themed tea set."

Ho Ho Ho, Santa! It's me! The Pink Hohow Bird! I'll wanna let you Know Ho I've been nice this year, as always! I've helped many citizens as I could!

Happy Halloween!

"Ho Ho Ho. Nice. Always gets an A for effort. I'll see if I can give some kind of harmless gadget for his Ho Hobby."

Hello there, Nick. Gimme your favorite cake recipe. I might be able to improve on it. That's what I would like for Christmas, and you get something out of it too~

There will also be my regular cookies~
Lemres

"Interesting. Nice."

I require a study book that no one in Primp has access to.

Yours truly,
Klug Wizeman.

"Let me think. Naughty, Nice, or Naughty but broken? What is he this year?" *Throws dart at dartboard* "Nice it is."

"See you soon~

From You-Know-Who
P.S. Popoi says hi. [Paw print]"

"I can't wait to meet with her again. Naughty. He's nice. He gets a big ball of yarn."

Can you cure my amnesia? Is it even possible? Just when I think everything's back I sudden find out I have had perfect prim and proper table manners for a while. When the heck did that happen? Did I actually cut off Schezo's head off that one or is that a twisted fantasy? And do I really wanna find out?

The answer is yes. You'd think I remember cutting someone's head off. I'm doing fine but I still have way to many reminders that my memory is still scrambled.

Arle Nadja

"Nice. But I am a magical being with a factory, not a miracle worker. Maybe I should include a recommendation of incense alongside armor polish? Does that even work?"

Dear Santa,
I can't solve my problem with coal, old man! So stop giving me coal! I can't be seen buying it or let someone know by making them buy them for me!

You know what I want! And it needs to be flawless!

Kisses,
Raffine Fielding

"Ho Ho Ho! Not as adorably blunt about it this year. She gets coal again."

Yo, Santa! It's me Vento! An-

"Rejected. What did Silvana do to make that girl honestly think there's a different person in her head?"

hi satna. Can you talk to Sil? The cloon you beet up last yeer. Shes reallly insecuur. Wanna make her not insecuur. Dont know how to help her wit tat. But your old you know right. Shes been looking forward to your visit this yeer. She coold use the favurs you owe her. Please sanda.

sig

"Hm." Jolly ol' Nicolas stoked his mighty beard. He checked his pile of letters from Primp and its surrounding towns. "No letters from Silvana yet…"

Chapter 72: letter to satna

Silvana lied down on a couch, hands behind her head, stretched out, legs crossed, muscles relaxed, Arms on her stomach engaged in a staring contest near the lit fireplace.

She was home alone. The Roses went out. They'd invited their host but Sil declined.

Had they not used the term "Family Outing" Sil would be enjoying herself instead of excusing herself out of it. This was gonna be awkward when Amitie's hair braiding practice session starts later today. Amitie's face looked so sad…

*An unexpected knock knock*

"You win, Army!" Sil stood up. "They're home early." Sil undid her hair already. "Welcome home, did something go-" Sil looked way up. It was a large fat man with a scarf around his neck. "May… I help… you?"

"Are you Silvana Pierrot, the 17th Pierrot?" He asked. That is not as stupid a question as you may think.

"How do you know my legacy number? Do I know you? Relative of- Oshare? Iunnoignoreme."

"Ho Ho Ho." With that third "Ho" Silvana immediately knew who this was.

"Santaaaaa!" The 17-year-old got as giddy as a li'l kid. The man took off the scarf. She bounced up and down with her legs bending at the top of her jump. "Oh my gosh, Santa! Please come in, come in! Want some milk?" She dragged the immortal into her living room.

"That'd be lovely, Silvana but not now. I want to talk. May I sit down?"
"Of course, of course! Santa go ahead!"
"My, you're more excited about me than I was lead to believe."
"Oo! Oo! Can you wait here for a sec? I wanna show you something!"

Sil darted off before getting Santa's affirmation. "If only people could get as excited for something as she is right now…" Father Christmas looked down on the couch, he spotted Silvana's red long-appendaged snuggle buddy. "Hey! I remember you." He put the monkey on his lap. "You've aged quite a bit, haven't you? Hmhmhmm." Papa Noel made Arms sigh. "I'm glad you found a new home." He patted the thing.

"I'm back, Santa!" Santa turned his head. She saw Pierrot in Christmas red, white and green. The main difference is that the black is now green and her collar and anything else not red and green were white. The green diamond suit over her mask's right eye was a mistletoe. "Whadya think?"

"Tacky in a good way." Sil had mood whiplash twice during that sentence.

"Oh phew." Sil sat down next to Father Christmas. She gently took Arms and put him on her lap "This is Arms, Santa! Say hi, Army!"

*Shy monkey*

"Army says hi." Sil giggled.

"Arms?" The Kerstman stroked his beard. "I thought this old toy was Amitie's."

"Nope! He's mine." The clown held her monkey to her stomach. "He helps me get through to the tough times. Well, he tries." Santee chuckled at the inner child on display.

*Miffed monkey*

Sil ignored the protest. "What're you doing here, Santa? It's not Christmas for a while."

"I came to visit you to ask why you haven't sent me a letter yet."
"A what?"
"A letter. Surely you know what that is right? I was just curious. You haven't sent a letter yet. And seeing how eager you were to see me I was just a bit confused."
"Eheheheh… People… send letters to you?"

"Ho Ho!" The Christmas Baba patted the clown's back. "So that was it. Even after our friendly battle you poor thing were still left in the dark about me." Santa shed a tear. "Your poor, poor thing."

Silvana didn't take the sympathy for granted. "I'm okay now, Santa."

The man took a deep breath. He became a bit more jolly again. "Then you'll happy to know I'm breaking my rules that I don't give presents to Doppelgangers like you."

Doppel violently shook.

"Yes, I know. You can't hide that from Santa." He placed his index finger and thumb on the top and the bottom of his glasses respectively and readjusted them. "Doppelgangers get nothing until they've succeeded in replacing them. And then they get coal for the rest of their lives. That's why you never got anything from me. And we didn't know you took on a new identity, that's a good way to go underneath our notice."

"Figured as much." Sil took off the mask, what's the point of it? Hide her shame maybe. It's on standby in cases the Roses walk in.

"Good on you, A for effort. I hope it's sustainable. But seeing you, doing as well as you are… I needed to re-evaluate things. How many li'l Doppelganger kids could I have reformed by showing them kindness if they made it to Christmas at all."

"Santa…"

"I have my doubts. But'll track what little Doppelganger kids and bribe them so they get their presents and shelter in return of not killing their real counterpart."
"Gooooooooood?"
"Knowing they could be like you is worth a shot."
"Good luck with that… Took years for me."
"You don't sound happy."
"I have a hard time being flattered when I'm reminded Doppelgangers still exist. You probably can't turn the I-wanna-strangle-Arle part into an I'm-indifferent-toward-Arle-and-only-hate-her-because-of-our-past part without giving me the equivalent of lobotomy malpractice on my defining essence right?"
"I can't do it at all. That would be a tall order for anyone to pull off, sounds impossible to me."
"…I'm scared, Santa."

Santa Klaus reined her in for a hug. "There's something else I wanna discuss and it might not make you feel much better."

"Hang on. I'm getting a blanket." A minute later she returned to Grandfather Frost's side while her torso was wrapped in a bedsheet. "Bring it." She said flatly.

"Let's talk about your heart."

"I have one?" She's reflexively joked. She's both been a clown and down too long.

"Yes, yes you have. And there is enough goodness in it." Sil held her hand over her heart. "And that may change over time. But as it stands now, though corrupt, it still has just the purity of a child's."

"A naughty or nice one?" Silvana argued back. "'Cause I entertain a lot of them. There are a lot of brats."

"Ho Ho. I said you had enough goodness in your heart, didn't I?" Santa said with all the patience in the world. "But in a way, you're both Naughty and Nice. You've been a naughty girl by most metrics. But I can commend you for being a Doppelganger and not having replaced. It couldn't have been easy. And you haven't made anyone actively worse for existing aside from Arle. In fact, your Circus does help people."

"Can't argue there…" She did reflexively wanna deny it.

"Your heart is split and one-half of it massive naughty streak due to your nature and turmoil. Not to mention the aforementioned perversion of Arle that was you. Was you. But most of it is good. Even the naughty side isn't at fault for being the way it is. It was brought into the world that way."

Doppel tightened the grip on her sheet. She felt cold and alone in a cave somewhere as well as a few years younger. She snapped out of it as Samichlaus put his hand on her shoulder. "S-Sorry. I…"

"I don't blame you."

"Where were we?" Santa recapped.

"Split?" Sil put Arms up against her physical heart in this case, we're talking metaphorical ones here. The heart attached to the Soul/Essence dictating the morality, emotional intentions and empathy of its host. "Oh… The Amitie bit huh… Please, don't toy with my head with that again, I've head enough of that…" Sil found herself gasping. She clasped onto Pere Noel's sleeves and looked at him with fearful watery eyes. "No Fudoushi! Please don't tell me there's Fudoushi in me! I don't my skin to rot away!"

"Rest easy, child. You have no Fudoushi in you at all, and you have no Amitie in your personality and heart. Just how the other little things indirectly affect your mind such as liking things Amitie likes now. You should have some of her sense of touch and taste. It may have made you more sensitive as well. But that's about it. You can figure the rest out."

"I refuse to know any more about essence mingling… How do you know this?"
"I can read people's hearts across the multiverse."
"Huh. Guess that makes sense. At least it's not mind reading."
"Hohoho. I don't wanna read minds. Reading hearts works as well. And reading your heart I think that one-half identifies as Silvana. You should be proud of that."
"I should feel proud." 'I barely feel anything.'
"The other half flips between Arle Nadja and her Doppelganger."
"Whu."
"Your heart is fully you."

"So do I have a split personality?" Sil said exasperated. "Or multiple ones? Or whatever the official term would be… Because I don't know that anymore either, with how often I heard or thought I have it or not." She sighed. Beginning to look tired. "Tell me if I do. I don't wanna make a fool of myself again."

"I said you're fully you. You're just fractured. Both sides are active all the time at the same time. With one trying to be a clown living the good life. And the other is the one clinging onto being Arle and it slips in and out of awareness about being a Doppelganger. Being at odds with the other half as well with itself. And it seems it fights with itself so much it ignores the part keeping you stable."

"So this 'Arle' side is fractured in itself? Is this a Doppelganger thing? Tell me you can read hearts! If anyone knows it's you Santa, tell me!"

"Yes and no. It's uncommon for hearts to be fractured but it happens. It's quite a hassle when children develop this at a young age. They're on both lists if they're unlucky. I prefer the fractured hearts where there's little difference between each side. As are most of them."

Svaty Mikolas went on. "And Doppelgangers are inherently fractured at heart. Now that I think about, I think Arle's fractured heart (the kind that might as well be whole) might just be the reason you turned out alright after 10 years. You are an imperfect copy," Sil grumbled. "it might be plausible that one side didn't get the proper treatment in favor of making you red instead of blue. This is speculation, of course. Little is actually known about Doppelgangers." Sil hadn't heard that before.

"I should've been blue…"
"SILVANA!"
"HUH! Oh, sorry. It happens…"
"It's alright, as long as you don't kill Arle or hurt any more than you do it's alright."
"I don't feel my heart being fractured."
"No one can."
"I see… Lemme take an educated guess, you can't take it out without severe consequences?"

Julemanden just looked at her with sadness in his gentle eyes.

"Yeah, figured that as much… What don't I have besides good luck?" Sil moped.

"I wouldn't go that far. Your luck isn't bad all things considered." Vader kerfees reached into his pocket. "You have a supporting boyfriend, I'd say that's good luck." He handed over a letter. Silvana read it somehow.

hi satna. Can you talk to Sil? The cloon you beet up last yeer. Shes reallly insecuur. Wanna make her not insecuur. Dont know how to help her wit tat. But your old you know right. Shes been looking forward to your visit this yeer. She coold use the favurs you owe her. Please sanda.

sig

Sil made a long squealing noise with her mouth closed. Her legs kicked themselves up and down by themselves. "Sig! ❤"

"Ho Ho Ho! That heart. Be sure to thank him. Did I raise your confidence?"

"Honestly… I'm not sure."
"Did I help understand yourself a bit better?"
"Yes. I feel a lot better. Everything makes sense to me now. But then again, I felt like this before…"
"Buck up. Trust me on this."
"Now I got an explanation I'm good. Not gonna think about much after today. I feel like I would make a mess on a chalkboard outlining it. Plus the idea of a fractured heart… I think about it literally… I'm disgusted."
"Don't worry about it. No such thing will happen."

The way this immortal spoke. It touched Sil. He was so patient, so wise, so friendly, so understanding. She smiled. "Wait here, Santa." Sil ran to the kitchen and back. "I feel a lot better! Take my milk jug."

"Hooooo! Don't mind if I do~" Sil stood wide-eyed. The Christmas Goat drank the half-full jug faster than the mind can process. "Aaaaaaaah!" Mikulas wiped his beard. "Thank you, Silvana. Now, I've fulfilled Sig's Christmas wish early and consider it your first gift from me as well." Niet Sinterklaas stood up.

"Are you leaving, Santa?"

"Hm…" Santam'n looked at the monkey peeking out of Silvana's sheet cloak. "May I borrow Arms for a bit?"

"You're gonna take him to the North Pole to fix him up?" Sil asked, being a little cautious.

"Ho Ho Ho Hooooo Ho Ho Ho Ho!" Sandy Claws magically lifted the long-armed, stuffed, red orangutan caricature in the air. "I can make her as good as new right now!"

"Really, Santa! You can do that to… heeeer?"

*Dwoooooom*
*Nnnnnnyaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeooooooow*
*Ffffffffooooooooooo*
*Djim*
*Shim!*
*rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*
*krsh*
*Tik*
*Tik*
*Tik*
*ssssssssssss*
*krrrrrrrrrrrr-BWOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

Words don't do it justice.

The reborn Arms dropped back into Santa's arms… "Here." He handed the monkey over back to the owner.

"Wow! He loo… She(?) looks as good as new?" She tugged on the new white ribbon on her(?) head.

Santa Claus recognized the cofusion, both in Silvana's heart and her face. "I am the one who created her. It did it by hand and with love. I felt like making something weird."

"This is weird alright…" Sil had no idea how to feel about this.

"Would you like to know the name I've given her?"

"Do I?" That was a legitimate question Silvana had.

Father Christmas answered anyway. "Her name was Miss Monkey Longarms."

"Miss. Monkey. Longarms? Army?"
"I'm sorry, Silvana. I didn't mea-"
"It's fine, Santa…"
"Clearly it isn't, Silvana. I should've known better. You never wanted to know that…"
"I'll live…"

Sil didn't wanna give her a personality. It didn't come naturally to her as it usually did. She was kinda stunned.

"You can always take the ribbon off and prete-"

"I know, Santa…"

"I see… Sorry for this. Disappointing Christmas presents are inevitable, they can't all be great. I got to go now. Please remember that no matter what you do there will always be Arle in your head. You can't do anything about that. But if you keep on fighting and inflicting severe injuries you might end up on the naughty list for the year. And don't drive the Roses away, please. AND don't blame Sig for this! This is my fault!"

"I know you meant well. Good-bye."
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Santa."
"You'll get waterproof eyeshadow."
"That be nice actually."

With Santa Claus gone Sil took off her Christmas clown suit and end it to her room.

Silvana lied down on a couch, arms crossed, stretched out, legs crossed, muscles tense, Arms on her stomach just staring near the lit fireplace.

"What to do with you, Army?"

…She still can't form something for Arms to act out.

"Are you giving me the silent treatment?" She gave her friend exhibit one why she needs waterproof makeup.

"Please speak to me!"

"I beg you, Army!" She hugged. "Don't be angry! I didn't know! Hm… You didn't know! If anything we should be closer now. Think about it!"

"Why's Santa so kind to a crazy person?" At least five reasons popped up in her head but applied none to herself.

Sil turned her head to the hallway. She heard the caravan door open. The mask was back on for the Roses were back.

"Hey there, Sport!"
"We're home, Sis!"
"Hi, Sil. I'm gonna drink some milk. *Yawn* And then fall asleep on the typewriter probably."

"Hrmmmg…" Sil wasn't very well receptive to jovial voices. Happy that Santa knew how to restrain himself in retrospect.

"Are you okay, Sis?" Amitie sat down on her knees next to the couch Sil was on.

"I'm fine."

"Doesn't sound like it, Sil." They knew each other well.

"I'm fine!"

"Hey, sport. Did something happen while we're gone?" Even Mr. Amitie's dad noticed.

"I felt like the little girl I was supposed to be. Complete with reality prodding me down…"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't ask. You wouldn't believe me..." Sil quietly sulked.

"That's a cute ribbon on Arms." Amitie giggled. "Is he dressing up now too?" She joked.

"Shut up, Am."
"Did he get fuzz back?"
"Just braid my hair already. And do it quietly please…"

Author's Notes:
Don't expect any more holiday chapters from now on. I don't like the wait time to release them when done and pressure of getting it out on time.

Anyway. I'm gonna write the epilogue next. NOT the ending, the epilogue. And the series is not gonna end yet. Far from it. But should I get fed up writing this or my doctor says that I have X days to live than you guys have something written by me in the right mind. (Grammarly suggests I add a question mark at the end of that sentence.)

Also heads up. I'll try to work on other stuff coinciding with SFCtC. I got too many fresh ideas, it's annoying.

Also, the gender change of Arms was unplanned. But I kinda like the retcon that Arms was made at Santa's at one time and is kinda old and abandoned with a completely different identity in mind.

Not sure if Sil's gonna honour Arms' gender. Imagine this: You've been given a second-hand plush you loved dearly from child-to-adulthood. You've given it a name, a personality, and identity you've associated with it for years.

And then you suddenly find out the origin of the toy, its name, its personality, and identity. It feels like it shouldn't matter. But it does make you question. Will you treat your inanimate friend with respect, or will you have the self-awareness that it's a toy? And a toy doesn't feel anything, it is what your imagination makes of it.

WANT SOME READER INPUT? Will Silvana get used to the idea that her snuggle buddy Arms is a girl (would only take a night when she needs her)? OR will Silvana take the same amount of effort to keep the status quo? I'll keep tally until Arms has a scene again. And I don't know when that will be.

Finished on 23-10-2019.

Next up: Mini-Chapter.