Never fear! Chapter 9 of TLN 2 is here! This is where the last chapter left off, a bit shorter, with Russell being put in the dungeon, as he awaits his execution. It doesn't look good for our pint-sized hero right now. But maybe someone will give him hope again? Let's read and find out!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but OC's. Nostalgia Margo owns hers.

Chapter 9: Lost Hope Found

Once everyone was sent to the dungeon, Marshall was reunited with his father. But he remained worried for his mother, as nobody knew what was going on for her. The guards were shut in the same cell, Camille was with Rudy... Carla remained with Lulu...

As for Russell... he was locked in a single tight-spaced cell... below the main dungeon, away from everyone else... chained to the floor... and feeling hopeless...

"What have I gotten myself into...?" He asked himself sadly.

He still couldn't believe what was happening. His friend's kingdom gets taken over, the soldier they tried to recruit to help refused to do so... and now they were all captured, and he was set to die the next morning...

How in the world was he going to get out of this mess?

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from the stairs leading to the door. Russell looked up and glared. Opening the door... was the Rat King, who smiled evilly at his helpless prisoner. Russell was not in the mood to see this monster right now... but he knew why he was here...

"Look at you. All chained up and helpless. This is the end of the road for you, my friend. It's all over now and there's nothing you can do about it." He taunted.

Russell said nothing. He continued to glare. Rudy just chuckled, "What... no insults this time? No 'No class' jokes? Have you lost your touch? Nothing to say to me...?"

"Well... I have one thing to say... come closer..." The boy said.

The evil rat walked closer.

"Closer..."

He came closer.

"Just a little bit closer..."

The villain leaned in... only for Russell to blow a raspberry right in his face. Rudy stepped back and then glared at him, before raising his hand and striking him across the face. The small child groaned in pain as he fell over from the force of the blow.

"You better watch yourself, shrimp." The rat warned. "Because I can kill you right here and now... but I want to make sure tomorrow... is something I can savor... when I make your death as slow and painful as possible..."

"Just because you've got me, doesn't mean that you've won yet... your reign will come to an end one way or another..." Russell spat at him.

"Oh, is that so? And how exactly is that gonna happen?"

"You never know... the people you've enslaved just might revolt against you, and if they do... you nor your no class fairy witch will never stand a chance against them."

Rudy put on a small grin, "We'll see about that, shrimp... come tomorrow..." He said as he turned, walked away then closed the door.

Russell glared at the door for a few more minutes... before he scooted up against the far wall... and sobbed in his arms. He had no idea why he even said that, when it was clear that there was no way to save everybody now. He had to face the music. Winteria was doomed to a lifelong tyranny. His friends were going to suffer. He was going to suffer.

"It's no use... there's no way to get outta this mess..." He said softly as a tear streamed down his cheek.

"There is a way... hey, hey, hey..."

The child looked up, "Um... who said that?" He asked.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of Russell, and when it died down... floating there... was Albert, the former Nutcracker in spirit... quite literally.

"Albert... you... you're here..." Russell gasped.

"Yeah, I am."

"I think you know what's happening now."

"I know, that's what brought me here." Albert exclaimed, "I could tell that you needed me."

"I feel like I needed you earlier..." Russell sighed.

Albert smiled softly, "All hope is not lost, young soldier. You still have a chance to save your friends and the Winter Kingdom."

"How?!" Russell asked, "I'm here chained to a cell, awaiting to DIE the next morning, and all my friends are gonna suffer because of those two maniacs! We TRIED to get the help of your old friend, Bertha, but she REFUSED all because she misses you! And the stupid Nutcracker sword wouldn't work when I wanted it to! Face it, Albert. We lost! The villains' won... and it's all my fault... I was supposed to protect everybody... and I couldn't even do that... I've failed them... I've failed you... I've failed myself... I didn't deserve to be Nutcracker... ever..."

With that, Russell sunk back to the floor, sobbing again, "I... I just know that the whole kingdom is gonna go up in flames... I had a dream about it..."

Albert flew over to the little boy, "I know it looks dire right now... but don't give up hope, soldier. There's still a chance. And... I understand how much Bertha misses me, I miss her too. We were really good partners. So I can see why she wouldn't want to fight without me. But, one failure or setback shouldn't make you give up..."

Russell didn't seem to be fazed, so the fat spirit sat down in front of him, "You know... you're not the first Nutcracker to ever fail a mission... I've had my fair share of unsuccessful duties..." He said.

"Really? I don't believe it..." Russell looked up at the spirit in disbelief.

"I did. One time I was working with the Royal Guards, along with Bertha. We were escorting the princess on her winter tour when the rats attacked. As you'd expect, King Rudy tried to get to the princess, but we defended her as much as possible. I was focusing on Rudy until he was tired out... or appeared to be tired out. I turned my back for a few moments to check on the princess, but what I didn't realize was that the Rat King was aiming his scepter at me... before I knew... I got pushed out of the way... just as his deadly beam... hit Bertha... she saved me. Rudy planned for that to happen."

Russell gasped a little as Albert continued, "Thankfully, she didn't get killed, but she was severely injured. The rats escaped, but all I could focus on was Bertha... I felt so guilty."

"But... but that wasn't your fault." Russell assured him, "You didn't mean for Bertha to get hurt."

"I know... but for a while... I felt like I failed her. When we became partners, I made it a point to always keep her safe no matter what... and that day... was a hard one."

Russell stared at Albert's spirit with sorrow, "You were trying to help each other."

"Yeah... but in the end, it wasn't a complete total loss since Bertha didn't die. I spent weeks nursing her back to health, and before I knew it, she was back to her old self. And that's all that mattered to me. I guess what I'm saying is, Russell... don't let this one failure, or your fears, get you down... nor should you let it be the end. There's still a chance... you just have to take it."

The little boy took a moment to let this sink in. The fat spirit was right. It wasn't over... and he shouldn't allow failure to overcome him, "I think I understand... I can't give up now. I didn't get called back to this place just to lose! I was chosen to be the Nutcracker for a reason! My friends need me! This kingdom needs me! And I've gotta do whatever it takes to save everyone! Because I AM the Nutcracker!" He declared as he stood up.

"Hey, hey, hey! That's the way!" Albert grinned.

"But first... I gotta get outta this prison. But how?"

"Hmm, I got an idea." Albert snapped.

"What's that?"

"... Think of what you would do to escape."

Russell frowned, "Seriously? I thought you came to help me."

"I did. But a hero like the Nutcracker can always find a way out of a trap, especially if he or she is alone. Since I'm just a spirit now, there's not much I can do here. But YOU can..."

The boy wondered as he looked around the area., "Hmm..." Somehow there had to be an opening of some kind. He then snapped when he looked in the far corner of the cell... a small hole. Crawling over to it, Russell reached out to grab a part of the wall that was slightly coming loose, "This is it... my ticket to freedom."

He was able to successfully remove the piece, making the hole bigger, big enough for him to fit through. But there was still one more problem... the chain cuff around his waist, "Oh yeah... I need to get rid of this... if only I had a key..."

Speaking of which, the key was outside the prison cell by the door. Russell grinned, "Those guards sure are stupid..." Jumping up on the door, Russell reached through the bars, and after a few tries... grabbed the keys. He then unlocked the cuff around his waist, "Now to find everyone and get outta here... but first... there's something I need to do..."

"And what's that?" Albert asked.

"First... find and get the sword... then... pay your partner another visit... 'cause I believe we need more backup... you think she'll help this time?"

"If I know Bertha, I know she'll come around eventually... oh yeah. When it comes to the sword, you have to concentrate and not be stressed or panicky. That can cause it to get wonky, and was probably why it wasn't working like it should."

Russell smiled, "I'll keep that in mind. Well, let's hope for the best. I wish on that Winterian Star Carla told me about. Thanks, Albert. I needed this talk."

With that, he crawled through the hole in the wall as Albert watched with a smile, "Right. Go for it kid, and good luck!" The spirit began to fade then vanished in thin air.

A bit shorter than the last chapter, but still a bunch happened. Russell is visited first by King Rudy, who just wanted to taunt him about his loss. And Albert, the previous Nutcracker, comes to give him a renewed hope. Now the kid is off to make things right. And next chapter, we'll see him pay Bertha another visit. We'll see if she decides to actually join the crew.

I hope you like this chapter as Christmas is fast approaching. I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you!