Hey, folks! It's that time of year again! Time for another fun holiday story. This is a sequel to The Little Nutcracker. If you haven't read that one, I suggest you go check it out in order to get an idea of what this is about.

But to summarize that one, Russell gets hit on the head and finds himself in a Christmas fantasy world where he must become a hero to save a kingdom from a villain. And in this one, he finds himself returning to that fantasy, now having to fight a new threat. Let's see how well it goes. And as a bonus, the North Philly Girls are a part of this as well! (OC's created by my good friend Nostalgia-Margo, who is joining me in cowriting this tale) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's. I also don't own the North Philly Girls, for they belong to Nostalgic-Margo

Chapter 1: Snow Fun

Winter has yet again found its way into North Philly, and so had the Christmas season. To kids, it meant family time, presents, and other holiday traditions. But to Russell Cosby, it meant a year since his big adventure.

The previous year had the young boy wander into a new world where Christmas was celebrated all year round. He met a beautiful princess, her royal guards, and an ensemble of colorful creatures and people. Not to mention an evil Rat King who kidnapped the princess. So Russell had to save her by becoming the Nutcracker hero. He faced many obstacles in his way, but in the end, he was able to save the day (thanks to the help of the ghost of the former Nutcracker), and it was all worth it.

Although it seemed to be a dream, Russell liked to think it really happened. Especially considering the people he met resembled his friends in real life.

Speaking of, all of them were currently outside enjoying the snow. With them were the North Philly Girls, new friends that moved to the neighborhood not too long ago. They became quick friends with the boys, aside from some not so good first impressions.

Albert, Bill, Donald, Harold, Bertha, and Cheryl were engaging in a snowball fight. Camille was sitting on a nearby bench reading a book. Stella was catching snowflakes on her tongue. Angie, Bucky, Wendy, and Mush were making snow angels. Rudy was making a snow sculpture for Lulu. As for Russell, he was building a snowman. A nutcracker themed snowman.

Camille took a break from reading and walked over to the small boy to check out his snowman. "Wow, Russell. That is one, amazing snowman ya have there. I've never seen one that looks like a soldier." She said.

"Thanks, Camille, I was inspired by this dream I had where I went to this magical place I went to a little while ago," Russell said to his brother's girlfriend.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I saved a princess from an evil rat king and saved her father's kingdom. It was a great adventure,"

"That sounds exciting." The sweet girl complimented.

"And the cool thing is, that the people in my dream looked like my friends and brother. The captain of the guard even looked like Bill. You'd really like that I bet." Russell winked.

Camille blushed a bit, "I suppose I would."

"And even though it technically was a dream, I like to think it really happened." Russell said, "And if I had the chance, I'd go back to the Winter Kingdom. Just for a visit anyway."

"Maybe you'll get a chance someday."

"Yeah... maybe..."

Angie and Bucky had walked over, hearing what they were talking about, "Is it true? Did you really visit a magical place?" She asked.

Russell nodded, "Yeah. Sort of. I could tell you all about it if you'd like."

"Yeah! Yeah! Tell us."

Soon, Russell was getting everyone's attention and walked over to hear the little one's story. Of course, the older boys had already heard this one over and over before. So it wasn't new to them at all. However, they still listened as Russell relayed the tale to the girls, who listened with astonishment and interest. By the time he finished up...

"That's a very interesting adventure, Russell." Bertha smiled.

"I like the part with the guards," Cheryl added.

"The captain, in particular, sounded very cute." Camille nodded.

"So you're saying that Rudy was a rat in this?" Lulu asked with a chuckle.

"Yep, and he sure was an ugly one too," Russell replied, grinning.

The snarky, rich brat giggled, "Now, that's funny."

Rudy glared in annoyance. Ever since Russell has told his dream story, he himself was called a 'Rat King' for weeks by the other guys in an effort to tease him. And now the girls were finding it funny, especially Lulu. The rich boy decided to intervene.

"You gotta tell that old dream ya had from a long time ago to everyone, shrimpy?" He asked, his arms crossed.

"Yeah, so what's wrong with that?" Russell answered.

"I got to admit Rudy, if you were a rat right now, you'd be munching on N double C." Lulu grinned.

Rudy raised an eyebrow, "N double C?"

"She meant, 'No Class Cheesesteaks!'" Russell shouted as the group just burst into laughter.

The rich boy, as usual, growled and rolled his eyes. It was too cold outside to attack Russell, "Whatever. Besides, if I were the Rat King, you'd be my Rat Queen, Sugar Plum."

Lulu looked at his in disgust, "Ew! No! I'd much rather be a Sugar Plum Fairy. Like in the Nutcracker ballet."

Russell shook his head before concluding his story, "Of course, he did turn good and become a human again. Because even someone like Rat King Rudy could have a heart."

"Hey, Russell. W-What was the princess like?" Stella asked.

The little boy smiled, "She was the prettiest and sweetest girl I've ever met. In fact, she looked like-"

"Hi, everyone!"

That sweet voice came from behind. It was Carla Charendoff, whom the boys met a year ago. She approached the gang holding something in her hand. Russell beamed, "Hi, Carla!"

"Hey, hey, hey! What brings you this way?" Albert greeted.

"I finally finished something." She smiled, "After hearing about Russell's Nutcracker story, I wanted to draw something for it. Tada!" With that, she showed everyone what she made.

It was a poster drawn and painted in a snowy setting. In the middle in front of a Christmas Tree was Russell dressed up as the Nutcracker, with Princess Carla standing beside him, and near him was the Winter Sprites. On the right were the four guards (Bill, Harold, Bucky, and Mush), on the right was the Rat King and his henchrat (Rudy and Donald), and peeking behind the tree was the original Nutcracker (Albert), giving Russell a thumbs up, and vise versa.

"Wow... that's so cool!" Russell was amazed.

Carla nodded, "Thanks. It took weeks to finish."

Everyone was looking at the poster, and voicing their thoughts on it, "The captain of the guard looks familiar." Camille pointed out, smiling at her boyfriend as she said it.

"Hey, hey, hey. The former Nutcracker looks quite okay." Albert mentioned.

"That Rat King definitely looks like someone I know..." Lulu smirked.

Rudy slightly blushed. "I have no idea what you're talking about." he said, turning away, "That dude is not as handsome as I am."

"Hey Donald, that rat looks kinda like you." Stella pointed out.

"He does?" Donald took a good look at the henchrat, noticing the hat he was wearing looked very similar to his. Other than that similarity, "Hmm, don't look anything like me," he answered.

"You know what Carla, I can see you being a talented artist." Russell's commented, fascinated his friend.

"Aww, Russell, you really think so?" she asked with a blush, "Thanks. I've always loved drawing. I also love writing stories. And your story fascinated me so much. I think I'd like to make a book out of it someday. I'll call it... The Little Nutcracker!"

Russell smiled, "I like that name!"

"Thanks."

Suddenly, the wind started to pick up, blowing a cool and strong breeze towards the kids. It was so sudden and strong, that the poster ended up flying right out of Carla's hand, "My poster!"

"Somebody grab it!" Camille exclaimed.

Every single of the kids attempted to catch the poster as it floated away, to no avail. Russell, realizing how much effort and work Carla put into making it, started to run after the drawing, "Don't worry! I'll get it!"

The little boy jumped and made grabs at the poster as it floated into the nearby woods, "Don't worry! I got it! I got it!" He called as he followed it. It continued to float deeper and deeper into the woods. Nevertheless, Russell wouldn't stop until he got it back.

"Russell..."

All of a sudden, a voice was heard among the wind, much to Russell's confusion.

"Russell... please come help us... we need you..."

It sounded very familiar. As if he had heard that voice before...

"Out kingdom is under siege... please come back..."

"... Princess...?"

Russell realized that the voice was coming from deeper in the woods. As the wind continued to pick up and blow around him, he continued further, determined to find the poster... and the source of the voice...

And that's the start. Russell tells his story to the girls. Carla comes by to share a poster she drew (based on the poster Nostalgia-Margo drew for the first TLN), and Russell follows the sounds of voices when trying to save the poster from the wind. Next chapter will see his return to another big adventure, and we'll see what the inhabitants of the Winter Kingdom (which is called Winteria here. Something I came up with that wasn't in the first story). But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.