Merry Christmas Eve, folks! Hope you're ready for a new chapter of TLN 2. This takes place after Russell's escape from the dungeon. He had to get the Nutcracker's sword, and then head back to Saint Nick's Village to try and recruit Bertha again. Will he succeed? You'll have to read and find out.

Disclaimer: Nostalgia-Margo and I own nothing but our own respective OC's.

Chapter 10: Help Needed

The space Russell was crawling through a small, but since he was small as well, he could easily make his way through. He didn't know where this space would lead, but hopefully, it would be somewhere where he could get out of the palace...

But first... find the sword.

Part of him wanted to think that it was placed back in the Royal Treasury... but another part of him wondered if it was probably in another more secure place this time. Well, he would check anyway... if he could check.

Soon, the small hole came to an end, as Russell found himself... in what looked like an underground tunnel.

He was surprised by this, until he remembered Bill talking about tunnels before. And he remembered using a tunnel before to sneak into the palace. Only it was an outside tunnel...

This appeared to be underneath the palace.

But then how was he going to find the sword?

How would he even get in any room?

"Well, I'll figure it out..." He shrugged as he walked down the long tunnel, "Okay, think. If there was a way outta here... where would it be... down the way? Behind me? Above my head...?"

As he asked that question, Russell looked up... to see something peculiar. The 'ceiling' above him looked like tiles... like a tiled floor... just like the ones he's seen in the palace...

He wondered...

Jumping up as hard as he could, Russell jumped up and placed his hands against the tile. To his surprise, the tile opened up like a door. He quickly took a look around the room and saw that he was in the treasury. However, one look around, and he could see that the sword was nowhere in sight.

"Better check somewhere else..."

He figured he could just sneak out through the treasury, but it was likely there were guards standing outside the door. So he closed the panel and continued through the tunnel to the next panel.

Opening this one, he found himself in another room. It appeared to be a bedroom. And in the bed across the room sleeping... was Mrs. Franklin.

Russell sighed in relief. She appeared to be safe.

Guess I gotta give credit to Rudy and Lulu for not throwing a pregnant lady in a dungeon... He thought.

"Don't worry, M'am. I'll do something to save the day..." He whispered, before closing the panel.

The next panel he opened was in the throne room. It was empty, so he assumed that the evil rulers were asleep as well. Still no sight of the sword. But Russell was determined not to give up. He continued through the tunnel, opening panel after panel above him. No luck... until he reached a panel near the end of the tunnel. Silently praying for hope, Russell opened it up slowly.

This room... appeared to be the queen's bedroom. Lulu herself was in bed, sleeping away... and right beside her... was the Nutcracker's sword, sitting on a pillow on a pedestal.

Russell smiled. This should be easy.

Quietly make his way over to that pedestal, grab the sword, and then get outta there.

And so, he climbed out of the tunnel and tiptoed over to the pillar, being as careful as he could to not make a noise. The fairy queen didn't appear to be bothered at all in her sleep, so he shouldn't have but so much trouble.

Soon, he was right in front of the sword and was about to grab it... when he realized something. What if there was some sort of force field to block him? What if the moment he grabbed it, an alarm went off?

The small boy shook his head, remembering to remain calm and not stressed. With a deep, but quiet, breath, he slowly reached for the sword. There appeared to not be a shield around it. He smiled a little when his fingers touched the handle. No alarms were going on. Slowly, he grasped the sword and pulled it off the pillow. It was still as heavy as ever... but he got it.

"Great... now to get outta here, and I don't even need to go through the tunnel again."

Suddenly, he heard the queen murmur and stir in her sleep. That prompted Russell to hold the sword up, and think about where he wanted to be teleported to. In a flash... he was gone...

... And standing right at the entrance of Bertha's house in Saint Nick's Village.

He looked around the place, and it appeared that the village was conquered by the fairies if the purple skies is anything to go by. But the fairies themselves appeared to be sleeping or off duty.

Well, he didn't have to worry about that. Because he had to see someone very important. He gently knocked on the door. After a few seconds, it opened to reveal an annoyed Bertha.

"Why are you back?" She asked, "And don't you know what time it is?"

"Sorry, but I had to come..." Russell replied.

"It's a fairy warzone out here... ugh, okay. Get in."

With that, she let the young soldier in. Russell immediately began to explain, "Things are so much crazier now, Bertha. My friends and I were caught by the fairies. Everyone is locked up or enslaved, and I'm set to be killed in the morning, but I escaped and came here to get you. We need all the help we can get."

Bertha glared at him, "Didn't I tell you I wasn't helping? I. Am. Retired! And there's no way I can fight without my beloved Nutcracker."

"How do you know that?"

"Because... I'm nothing... without him... I know if I do fight, I'll lose..."

Russell sighed, "Listen... I know you miss the original guy... I understand that it hurts. But believe me, he wouldn't want you to give up on something you love just because he's gone... especially not when there's a serious situation right now. The princess is hurting right now, I know it..."

The ex-soldiers expression softened, "I... I just don't know... what good am I against the fairies... and the Rat King?"

Russell noticed that she shuddered a bit when she mentioned Rudy, but didn't say anything about it, "Well... I was able to stop him before... by myself..."

"Really? I don't believe it."

"Sure I did. It wasn't easy, but I was able to knock that silly rat off his feet. Literally. And at one point, I didn't even need the Nutcracker's sword."

The boy gestured to his sword with that last sentence. That's when Bertha took a closer look at the sword and gasped, "That... that's Albert's sword..." She realized, "I can't believe I didn't notice it before."

"That's right... I'm the Nutcracker now... temporarily. But right now..." Russell smiled as the sword glowed, "And you say you can't work without the Nutcracker... well, he's right here standing in front of you... and I believe in you. You can do this... because there's still a chance to save the kingdom... you just have to take it."

Bertha chuckled a little, "I guess you're right... I suppose... it's time I put all that training to use again... if this Queen is as bad as the Rat King... then I guess we need all hands on deck for this one."

She walked into the den, before walking back, holding her own sword. It was identical to Russell's sword, but with a more fancy handle, "I haven't used her in a long time. Let's see if she's still got her spark."

Russell was thrilled, "So you'll come and help..."

"... I'll see what I can do."

"Great! I knew you'd change your mind eventually."

To Bertha's surprise, Russell hugged her tightly. But she simply hugged back, "Now we've gotta kingdom to save..."

That's when the two heard a knock on the door. Bertha opened it, revealing Joyce, and a few other residents of the village. Russell was able to recognize them from home. A few he could make out were Flora, Jason, Bob, Shanna, and Rosita. "Hello. Sorry, it's so late, but I saw a light earlier and wondered if everything was okay." Joyce greeted.

Russell smiled, "It is now. Because Bertha's gonna help us save Winteria from evil."

The residents cheered, "That's great!" Said Bob.

"Is there any way we can help?" Shanna asked.

"As a matter of fact. You can." Russell nodded, "I plan for us to start a rebellion against the bad guys that is so big, they'll be overwhelmed by our forces. And it won't be just us. We're gonna bust everyone out of the dungeon, and they'll join us."

"And we have to plan accordingly if we're going to succeed." Bertha added, "But first... you all come in, and we'll start."

Russell was satisfied with the result so far. He was able to escape, get Bertha to change her mind, and even recruit some more people. At this point, the future was looking bright for Winteria... at least it felt like that. He knew that there were still going to be trials waiting for him.

Whatever those trials may be... he was waiting for them too.

Looks like things are looking up for the heroes now. Bertha has agreed to help, but let me tell you, this decision of hers will be a whole lot tougher than she had anticipated, and you'll see why come the eventual confrontation she has against the villains. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will hopefully later in the day. I'll see you guys later. And don't forget to review, please. Thank you!