This story takes place long after Berk and is NON-CANNON. In this chapter, you get to experience the holidays with Katie and the gang. You'll also get a back-story of why she was all alone when she met Terra back at the begining of the story. You may skip this chapter if you like. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ^-^

*I don't own ANY of the Kingdom Hearts characters...or Rise of the Guardians character, I only own Katie and Kenny Heckman

Katie and the gang were drifting along in the Lanes Between. Everyone could sense the hopelessness radiate from Katie. They have been searching for three months, and still no sign of the Dark Realm. Every day, Katie's spirit went down another level; it was like she was a total different person! Repliku pulled his glider up to Katie, "We'll find a way to the Realm soon, Katie. I promise." He told her.

Katie groaned, "You said that a month-and-a-half ago..."

"C'mon, Katie you can't give up yet!" said Sora.

"Yeah, Katie! You can't give up now!" Kairi agreed. She pointed up ahead. "Look! There's another world!"

"I highly doubt it'll have an opening to the Realm, Kairi..." Katie mumbled.

Lea pulled up next to her. "You'll never know till you try!"

Katie let out a huff, "Fine..." She moved her glider up to the world. Riku watched her go up to the world with his heart panning with sympathy for Katie. He worried that Katie was slowly losing herself to the Darkness, the way she was acting. He didn't want her to go down the same road he did, once you start a path to Darkness, it's almost guaranteed that there is no turning back.

Sora felt Riku's worry. "Don't worry, Riku...she'll be alright. Katie just needs to find hope again, that's all!" He told his best friend with a big grin.

"I hope so..." Riku sighed. The gang followed Katie to the world and everything went to white.

Katie wrinkled her nose as she felt something wet fall onto her nose, she opened her eyes to see a light-grey sky with little specks of white fall from the clouds. She looked around, it was completely white; snow. "Is this...Christmas Town...?" Katie wondered aloud.

Sora got up and looked around to verify the surroundings. "...No, this isn't Christmas town. To get to Christmas Town, you have to visit Halloween Town first. Plus, we'd be in Christmas Town attire if this was Christmas Town." He told her. "Also, I'm pretty sure there aren't any timbers in Christmas Town."

The group didn't notice that Repliku walked up the timber and was standing on top of a hill. "Hey, guys!" The group turned their attention to him. "Get up here, you gotta see this." The group climbed up the steep hill and looked in awe. At the bottom of hill was a large farmhouse; easily a two story. On the right of the large house was vibrant red barn and a large, old shed made of wood and metal. There was also a large, bare, hallow oak with a tire swing dangling from one of its thick, sturdy branch. On the left of the house were a large, empty corn fields and a metal silo.

Katie's eyes widened. "M-m-my-my...HOUSE?!" she exclaimed.

Lea whistled, "Wow, that's your home? Man, your house is faaancy!"

"It's beautiful!" Kairi breathed.

"Well, you should see it in the fall..." Katie stated blankly. She ran her hands in her pockets trying to find her keys. "Somewhere around here is a toboggan that we used to use to get down the hill. After my friend's ankle incident a few winters back, we never go down this hill without the toboggan during the winter cuz you might get your leg stuck in a pothole." Katie explained.

Kairi's lips were turning blue and said behind clattering teeth, "W-we bet-better find it s-soon...its c-cold!"

"That's Iowa for ya." Katie told Kairi. She unzipped her vest and handed it to her freezing friend. "Here. It may not have sleeves, but it's another layer between you and the cold."

"T-thank you..." said Kairi.

Riku came up with a large, wooded sled behind him. "Found it." he stated, he laid the toboggan on the snowy floor. "It was under a bunch of leaves."

"Great! Come on, Kairi..." Sora led the shivering Kairi to the sled and set her down and sat behind her. "All aboard!" he joked.

The all sat on the toboggan and Lea sat on the end. "You guys ready?" the group looked over their shoulders and nodded. Lea put his hands on the outside and stuck them in the snow and pushed. Two seconds later, everyone was holding onto each other tight, squealing in delight.

"Okay, Kairi. The fireplace is over there and...good Lord! What is that stench?!" Katie exclaimed as soon as the group walking into the house.

Repliku was plugging his nose with one hand and pointed to the kitchen with the other. "Over there."

Katie took off her blindfold and quickly grabbed her attachable sunglasses and clipped on her glasses before anyone had a chance to see her eyes. She wrapped the blindfold around her nose tightly and walked into her kitchen. The damage from Terra and Master Xehanort's battle from three months ago was still intact. Katie ignored it at the moment and found out where the fowl stench came from: her refrigerator. She opened it and she almost lost her lunch, inside the fridge were leftovers that were literally tinted green from mold. While most of the group ran to the nearest bathroom, Riku and Repliku held their breath, and their lunch, as they helped Katie empty the refrigerator and clean it. Katie rushed outside and threw the overly-spoiled leftovers into the garbage can. She walked back inside and peeled her blindfold off her face. "Man, if we still had pigs, that'd be gold to the hogs right there." Katie joked.

Repliku stared at her. That was her first sarcastic remark in weeks! "So, what should we do now?" he asked Katie.

Katie sputtered her lips as she thought for a second. "Well..."

"Where is the stupid power button?!" Lea yelled in the other room.

Katie walked into the family room and stifled a laugh. Lea was crouching over her flat-screen TV running his hands on the edge of the TV. She walked over to her couch where her TV remote rested with an inch-thick layer of dust coating it. She blew the dust off and pointed the remote at the flat screen and pushed the power button. She burst out laughing when Lea jumped when the TV's screen burst to life.

Lea turned around and walked over to Katie. "It's been awhile since I've heard that laugh of yours, Kates." he said with a smirk. He grabbed her and put her in a headlock and gave her a noogy. "Welcome back, kid."

"Lea! Let me go!" Katie laughed.

"Say uncle!" Lea said. He and Katie failed to notice the rest of the group started to enter the family room and sit down in the chairs.

Katie squirmed around and let out a sigh. "Okay, uncle."

Lea let Katie go and gave her the remote. Katie took it happily and started to flip the channels. "What are you doing?" he asked

"Lookin' for the news." Katie answered shortly.

"Why?" Sora asked.

Katie turned around and asked him, "We you'd get in here?"

Riku shrugged. "We just got in here. Thanks for noticing us, by the way." He said to Katie sarcastically.

"Oh…and by the way, Sora. You're in my spot." Katie told the spiky brunette. "Yup and at 'em."

"There are four more chairs!" Sora protested.

Katie glared at Sora. "I'm like a Sheldon. I must sit in that spot or I will go crazy so get up!" Sora stared at her with confused eyes when she said 'Sheldon'. Katie groaned and explained, "Sheldon is a character from The Big Bang Theory. Like him, I must sit in that spot or I will go all Sephiroth on your ass." The mention of the one-winged-angel made Sora immediately scoot over on the couch. Katie smiled mischievously and plopped down on the couch, slouching.

As she flipped through the channels, the Kingdom Hearts crew started to make comments on what they saw appear on the TV's screen. A certain iconic, at least in Katie's opinion, sci-fi TV show popped up and Katie stayed on it for a second to watch the scene.

"What's that guy doing?" Sora asked as he watched on of the characters pick up a ketchup bottle and mustered bottle and squirt them onto his plate and mutter something about going crazy.

"You'll see in a minute…" Katie told him. She stood up and lowered her voice to sound like the guy on the TV. "…Three fries short of a Happy Meal ... WACKO!" She said simultaneously with the character on the screen. She burst out laughing, "Oh, Jack O'Neill…how you make me laugh." The Keybladers looked at her strangely then soon added to her laugher. She plopped back down onto the couch and continued to flip the channels until she found what she was looking for. "December 15!"

Kairi, who was sitting in front of the blazing fireplace (Katie had no idea how the wood fireplace got lit, but she really didn't care at the moment), said, "That means Christmas is ten days away!"

"Sweet! Riku, can we stay till the holidays? Please, please, please, please?" Sora begged to his friend as annoyingly as he could.

Riku face-palmed and shook his head. He glanced over to Katie. "It's your call."

"Well…I really want to find Terra as soon as possible and kick Old-Fart-Xehanort's butt to Timbuktu but then again, we've been traveling for three months straight. Plus, you and Sora haven't caught a break since the Mark of Mastery Exam. I think we deserve a break." Katie debated.

Repliku crossed his arms and took his attention away from the TV to look at Katie to state his own opinion, "You sure that's a good idea, Katie? I mean, with all the Xehanort carnations running around along with the Heartless and Nobodies, a world could fall into chaos."

"I never thought of that…" Katie confessed sheepishly.

"But, the chaos will be in the worlds no matter what we do!" Lea stated. "I think we should stay, I'd like to get to know Kates world a bit better."

Katie looked at Lea then at Repliku then back to Lea. She sighed and said, "Sorry, Repliku, but Lea's right. The worlds will always be in chaos of the Heartless and Nobodies. We will stay. Anyone against this?" No one protested. "Alright, we're staying in Iowa until Christmas!" she chirped.

Sora grinned his famous grin and got up from the couch to explore the house. He soon came back with a costume. "What's this?"

Katie's face flushed and sprang up from the couch and snatched it away. "No touchy. It was very expensive."

"Is that…Sephiroth's outfit?" Riku asked behind a stifled laugh.

"Shut up!" Katie snarled as she stomped to her bedroom. "Aw, man! I have to go grocery shopping!"

After Katie found Kairi, Riku, Sora, Repliku, and Lea some winter, and Earth, appropriate clothes, (Kairi raided one of Katie's sister's closet while the boys raided Katie's dad's and her brother-in-law's closets) Katie announced she was heading to town along with Kairi to get some shopping done. She demanded that the boys to clean the house while they were gone. Over the boys' groans, Katie asked rhetorically, "Do you really want to sleep in three months' worth of dust? I don't think so." As she and Kairi walked out the front door, she said over her shoulder, "All the Christmas decorations are down in the basement. After we get all the food put away, we'll start decorating!"

Thanks to the boys' magic skills, they were able to finish cleaning the house in a matter of mere minutes. They realized that Katie's half-put-up Halloween decorations were still up and lying around so they decided to take those down, also. After Halloween was put away, they went down into the basement. They did find the Christmas decorations along with other items…

"What's this?" Sora asked as he held up a black leather-bound sketchbook.

Repliku rolled his eyes as he carried a box to the stairwell, "It's a sketchbook, stupid."

"I know that! It was a rhetorical question!" Sora retorted. He opened it and his eyes widened, "Whoa…these are so cool!"

Riku, Repliku, and Lea put down the boxes they were currently carrying and gathered around Sora. It was Repliku that commented, "These make Naminé's sketches look like kindergartener's work!"

"Who made them?" Riku asked.

Sora looked at the corner of one of the sketches and answered, "Katelynn Heart." He whistled, "Wow, Katie made these?"

"It seems like it…I wonder what else is down here?" Lea wondered aloud. The boys shrugged and got off task, trying to find other items. Riku found a box filled with family photos still in their frames and photo albums. Lea found a collection of guns and bows and arrows near severed animal heads, mostly deer. "God, that's nasty." He grumbled.

Repliku found boxes that were labeled 'Dan's stuff', 'Tori's stuff', and 'Clementine's stuff'. "Who's Dan, Tori, and Clementine?"

"I have no idea, never heard their names before." Riku answered. He opened the boxes and asked, "But why is their stuff down here? Along with the photos?"

"Maybe to lock the memories away…" Sora said quietly. His eyes brightened with an idea. "Let's take them upstairs too!"

"Why?" Repliku queried.

"Cuz maybe it'll make Katie smile more!" Sora answered.

Riku sighed, "Alright, fine…but just take up one, and mean only one, photo album up with us. If this plan goes south, we'll just have to take down just the album."

"We're back!" Katie's voice rang through the house a couple hours later. The boys gathered into the kitchen and Katie looked at Sora suspiciously, "What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing!" Sora lied, his face turning red.

Katie smirked and shook her head, "Sora, you're so easy to read! Now, what else did you four find down there?"

"We'll show you later." Riku answered. The boys gathered around the counter to put the groceries away.

Lea opened one of the bags and grinned. "Sweet! Cookie dough!"

"Cookie dough?!" Sora shouted and grabbed the container from Lea's hands. "Yum, chocolate-chip!"

"Boys!" Katie yelled. She snatched the container from their hands. "No! That's for later!"

"Aw, man!" The boys wined.

After the groceries where put away, Katie noticed that it was getting late and started to make supper. "Now that we're on break, we can have some real food." She stated. In about thirty minutes, Katie made quesadillas for everyone. She giggled when Sora asked for seconds and happily gave it to him. They didn't notice how tired they were until Katie yawned. Katie told the Keybladers that can have any room they wanted, except for hers. As everyone settled and said goodnight, Katie walked to her room and looked at her bed. "…Sleep is the enemy…" she murmured, remembering that Xehanort tried to take over her once when she tried to fall asleep and he could easily do it again. Walking back out into the kitchen, she grabbed the liter of Mountain Dew and chugged it. She didn't notice that Riku was watching her from the other room.

When Katie went back to her room, Riku emerged and walked quietly to her room. He opened the door to a crack to see Katie sitting at her desk with bottle of Dew in one hand and a book in another with headphones over her ears. Her sunglasses and blindfold were off, revealing her eyes and the charcoal black bags underneath them. Now he knew why she did hide her eyes from everyone. They were gold. Riku wanted to walk into her room so bad but decided not to, he slowly closed her door.

Katie's golden eyes flashed at her door when she heard a faint creek but saw nothing. She shrugged and went back to her book, mouthing the words to "Set the World on Fire" by Black Veil Brides.

The next day, Katie made chocolate-chip pancakes. While eating they discussed the plans for today, they went with decorating the house in-and-out, including a snowman (Lea's idea). With the day still strong, they decided to train in the now empty barn.

"So, what we're you guys wanting to show me yesterday?" Katie asked as soon as they got back inside.

Repliku took out the photo album and set it in front of her. "This."

Katie's mouth gaped open. "…Where did you find this?"

"In the basement in a box along with other things." Sora answered.

Katie stayed silent for quite some time as she slowly opened the bright red album. She made a tiny gasp from what was inside. From looking over her shoulders, the Keyblade wielders noticed that the pictures were mostly of her along five others around Christmas time. "…My family…" Her voice was cracking.

Repliku bit his lip, thinking that this was a bad idea. Kairi's voice broke the silence, "You're family?"

Katie slowly nodded and pointed at a couple that looked like they were in their late 40s. "That's my mom and dad." Riku was surprised how much Katie looked like her mother. She pointed at another picture with a young couple that were laughing as the man gave a young female adult a noogy. "That's Dan and the girl he's giving a noogy is my second older sister, Tori. The other woman is my oldest sister, Clementine. Dan is—was my brother-in-law." She flipped the page to a picture of herself on Dan's shoulders to put up the star on the Christmas tree, "And of course, that's me."

"You look so happy, Katie." Sora commented. "What happened to them?"

Katie took a deep breath before she answered, "It was nine months ago. We were going to the park for a picnic but I was sleeping in because I had a long work-day the day before and I just graduated from high school so I was under a bit of stress. Mom decided to go to the park without me so I can get some sleep and said I'll catch up with them later. As they were driving down the road…" Her voice cracked as she continued, "A semi-driver didn't stop at the stop-light and hit them strait on. They were killed instantly. I woke up when the police called me to tell me what happened…" She started to make a hic sound and soon burst into tears.

The Keyblade Wielders, especially the guys, felt guilty for asking. Katie never cries, this was the first time they ever seen her do so. Lea took the photo album away from Katie slowly and took it back downstairs. Riku slowly walked up to Katie and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He was taken aback when Katie spun around and hugged him and cried into his chest. Riku hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her down.

Sora heard a knock at the door over Katie's crying. Confused, he walked over to the door and answered it. At the door was a man in his mid-thirties with dark hair and wore a worn-down baseball cap. His carhartt jacket was open revealing red plaid flannel shirt underneath. His flannel shirt was tucked into dark blue jeans that were stuffed into hunting boots. He had a belt buckle that was bigger than Sora's fist and had a nine-o-clock shadow. His green eyes looked at Sora curiously, "Um…howdy there stranger…" the man said.

"Yeah, hi…I'm sorry but who are you…?" Sora asked.

"I was gonna ask ya the same question, boy. What are you doing in my cuz's house?" he asked Sora

" 'Cuz'? You mean Katie?"

"Yeah! This is her house that her parents left her ain't it?" He pointed at himself. "I'm Kenny Heckman, Katie's cousin…well I'm her ma's cousin but you get the picture."

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know, here come in." Sora stepped to the side and let Kenny in.

Kenny saw Katie crying and his eyes widened. "Katie!"

Katie looked up and gasped, "Kenny?!"

"Why's my little cuz cryin'?" Kenny asked. "And why are you wearing sunglasses indoors?"

Katie wiped her eyes and tears quickly and sniffed, regaining control. "Oh…you know…stuff…what are you doing here, Ken?"

"I saw your truck pass by my house and you haven't been around for three months so I wanted to see how you were doin…where were you anyways? And you are these people?"

Katie pointed to each of the Keyblade wielders as she said her names, "This is Sora, Lea, Riku, Repliku, and Kairi."

"Their names sound familiar to me…oh, yeah! Ain't they those characters from that game you like so much? Man, what's it called…? Oh, Kingdom Hearts!" He laughed, "You seriously think that I will believe that they just jumped out the TV screen and into the real world and took you on dem adventures of theirs? Ha, that is a knee-slapper right there, Katie!" Katie rolled her eyes and held out her hand and summoned Darkness' Master. Kenny's expression went from a goofy grin to pure terror then anger. "Ya'll got a lot explainin to do…"

"Man, you're really going out there, saving worlds from them Heartless devils?" Kenny asked after the gang's explanation.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah! Your cousin is really good at fighting! She has beaten Riku in a fight in less than two minutes!"

"Really?" Kenny looked at Riku then at Katie. "Huh. Tough luck." He told Riku. He stood up and clapped his hands together. "So, where's ya tree, cuz?"

Katie smacked her forehead. "Shoot! I knew we were missing something!"

"Now don't ya worry now, cuz. I got enough room in my truck to hall half your crew down to the tree farm. Plus, that rusty pick-up of yours won't be able to handle a tree." Kenny said with a grin.

"It can too!" Katie thought for a second. "But then again, my truck can't hold more than three people. So, on to the tree-farm!"

At the tree farm, Kenny picked out what he thought was the perfect tree but Katie thought it was way too big. "Whadda mean it's 'too big'?" he complained.

"I've seen Christmas Vacation, Ken. I'm not making the same mistake as Clark Griswold." She looked around and her eyes gleamed with delight. "Found it!" She walked up to it with the Keybladers and her cousin close behind her. Sora decided to show off. After making sure no-one was looking, he wielded his Keyblade and cut down the tree with one swipe. This earned Sora a good whack on the back of the head from everybody, including Kenny. Of all the smacks, the farmer's smack hurt the most and literally knocked Sora onto his face.

Kenny stayed to help the gang put up the tree and trim it. After saying goodbye to everyone he pointed his finger in the guys' faces. "Now don't you get any ideas about Katie."

"Kenny!" Katie yelled from across the house.

Kenny raised his hands up in defense and pointed at his eyes then at the boys as he closed the front door behind him. "I may be worlds away, but I'm watching you."

"Kenny!" Katie yelled again. Her cousin was gone.

The rest of the Keyblade Wielders stay was, in a way, slow. All they did was train, do some shopping, and even played Kingdom Hearts (But that's another story). Until the 19th came around…

Sora was bored one hour while Katie went out to the barn for a minute to…well, he wasn't exactly listening. He glanced at the Star Wars calendar and the 19th caught his eye. Under the date, it said: 'K's B-day'. "K's B-day?" He scratched his head to figure out who it could be. His eyes widened when he realized and said out loud, "It's Katie's birthday today!"

"What?" Lea asked from the other room, too busy playing Final Fantasy XIII-2.

"It's Katie's birthday!" Sora repeated excitedly.

"How old will she be?" Kairi asked, turning her attention away from the video game.

Sora laughed nervously, "Well…that's the thing…I got no idea. She never told me how old she was when we first met. But guessing she's turning fifteen."

"Wrong." Repliku's voice came from the corner. "She's sixteen right now, smart one."

"What? She's the same age as Riku then!" Lea said, finally paying attention to the conversation.

"So…she's turning seventeen?" Kairi asked the replica. (The crew still doesn't know he's the Riku Replica, I just typed that)

Repliku nodded. "Yeah. She told me when we met." He shrugged as he continued, "I have no idea why she told me and not you guys."

"Let's throw her a party!" Sora said cheerfully.

"But what the heck are we supposed to do to give her presents? We don't have Drivers Licenses and we can't use our gliders in public." Lea retorted.

Sora crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes while he tried to think of an alternative. "…We can make her something." He suggested.

"Like what?" Kairi asked.

"I dunno…cake?" Sora wondered.

Repliku shook his head. "We don't have the stuff to make that…all we got is that cookie dough she bought."

"Cookies! That's what we'll make her!" Sora grinned.

Lea smirked then said, "Okay. And how exactly do we make them?"

Sora opened his mouth then closed it again as he scratched the back of his head. "I have no idea."

"Can't we just say 'Happy Birthday'? That's much easier…" Repliku suggested. He looked around. "Where's Riku?"

Lea shrugged. "I think he went outside or something like that. I was a little busy fighting that purple dude on this game. He keeps on killing me!"

Everyone looked at Kairi with surprise when she suggested, "As soon the battle starts, shift to the Ravager Paradigm. When the chain gage is full, go back to the Commando." Lea tried it; he won.

Riku shivered as he walked to the vibrant red barn. He hated to admit it, but he didn't exactly like Iowa. It was too cold for his liking, but then he's an islander so he wasn't used to the cold period. As soon as he walked into the barn, he suddenly felt warmer. "Katie?" he called in the barn.

Riku heard the boards creak above him and Katie's head poked from the lip of the roof. She sent him a goofy grin. "Hiya, Riku! What'cha doing out here?"

"I just came to see what you were doing out here…you do know it's -5 degrees out here, right?" Riku asked.

Katie somewhat shrugged. "What can I say? Jack Frost loves Iowa. I just came in here for some peace and quiet, that's all." She stifled a laugh as she added, "Lea's yelling at the TV was driving me nuts."

Riku laughed. "Yeah, then I guess I came out for the same reason. Come Katie; let's go back into the house."

Katie pouted, which looked funny upside down. "Aw, I'm almost done with my book!" Her head disappeared.

"What are you reading?" Riku asked as he climbed up the wooden ladder. Katie was now sitting on a stack of straw that were surrounded by cubed hay-bails.

Katie closed her book, "Nothing you'd like. It's about talking cats."

"Sounds like something Sora would read." Riku joked.

Katie snorted a laugh, "He's a little kid inside; like me!" She stood up and stretched. "But I guess you're right. I should probably go back inside; I'm starting to get cold." She walked past Riku and went down the ladder with Riku following her.

"That's what you get for wearing such a thin jacket and no hat or gloves, Reckless." He unzipped his coat and put it on Katie's shoulders. "Don't want you to freeze to death."

Katie gave him a weird yet puzzled look under her sunglasses. "Um…you're the one more likely to freeze to death, Islander. Unlike you, I'm used to this kind of weather."

"Yeah…but still. I'll be fine." Riku reassured her.

Katie rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Someone is extra stubborn today." She snickered.

Riku grinned mischievously. "Oh, really?" he sneered playfully. He grabbed her book and ran off.

"Hey! Riku! Get your butt back here!" Katie yelled. She ran outside after him. "Give me back my book, Riku!"

Riku laughed as he tried to keep out of Katie's reach, listening to her death threats. He was caught totally off guard when Katie teleported next to him and tackled him into a snow bank. Now he was wishing he didn't offer Katie his coat. Katie yanked the book out of his hands and then helped him up. "Y-you ch-cheated…" Riku shivered.

"Then don't take my stuff, Riku. C'mon now, Islander. Let's get you inside before you get frostbite or something." Katie wrapped her arm around Riku and rubbed his arms, trying to keep him warm as they walked back into her house.

As soon as she stepped in she was attacked by a hyperactive brunette. "Happy Birthday, Katie!"

"Birthday?" Riku repeated, forgetting he was basically frozen.

Katie's face turned red. "Yeah…how did you know Sora? I've never told you guys."

"It said so on the calendar! So what do you want to do? What would like for a present? Should we get you a present? Do you want cake? Do you want—"

"Sora!" Katie interrupted him. "Thanks but no thanks. I don't want a party or anything…just being home is good enough present." Ignoring Sora's disappointment, she turned her attention back to Riku. "Let's get the fireplace going for you. You're colder than a Popsicle in Antarctica. Sorry that I pushed you into a snowdrift, by the way."

"It's fine…I kinda deserved it." Riku confessed sheepishly.

"Yes. Yes, you did." She set him in front of the fireplace and lit it with her Firaga Materia that she thankfully still had with her. She walked into the kitchen and asked over her shoulder, "You like hot chocolate, right?"

It was Christmas Eve night, and once again, Katie was awake. She still didn't trust sleep. Her head shot up from her computer when she heard something outside. Slowly, she stood up and grabbed her metal baseball bat that was leaning against her wall. She opened her door slowly and walked into the main part of her house. In the family room, where their stockings and their decorated tree were, was a large shadowy figure. Katie bit her lip, terrified of what it was. The figure stopped on what it was doing at the tree and turned around to face Katie. Katie scrambled to the wall to find the light switch that turned on the lights on the tree and the lamps in the room, "I don't know who you are, but get outta my hou—" She gulped when the lights finally turned on and saw the figure; her jaw dropped.

The man was quite large, probably over six feet tall and weighed around three hundred or more or less. He had a medium-lengthed white beard and mustache and wore a black fur hat that rested right above bushy black eyebrows. He wore a red coat that was trimmed with black fur and reached to his ankles. Underneath his coat was a pale red shirt tucked into cassock-style grey pants and wore brown boots. It was none other than jolly St. Nick himself, but he looked different than Katie always imagined him to look like.

"S-Santa?" Katie asked.

"Hello, Katelynn. So you can see me then." His voice was thick with a Russian accent.

Katie dropped her bat. "Jeezo, I'm so sorry! I thought you were a burglar or something! Wait a sec…" she studied him from head to toe. "…You're North…from Rise of the Guardians."

North nodded. "Indeed, but may I ask, why are you awake at this hour?" North asked.

"Afraid to fall asleep…if I fall asleep, I may wake up as something evil. I'm already marked with gold eyes and silver hair…well, I had silver hair before all this madness but you catch my drift." Katie answered. "I mean, the last time I fell asleep, I was out like a light for almost a week! Suffering never ending nightmares!"

North stroked his beard. "I see…" He laughed. "To be honest with you, you were the last one I thought I would catch staying up. I thought it was going to be Sora."

Katie couldn't help but join the Guardian of Wonder's laughter. "Yeah…he's an ornery little stinker. Well, I let you get back to your job now…sorry that I almost hit you with my baseball bat."

North chuckled, "You wouldn't be the first one, Katie. Oh, before you go to bed, I think I have something to help you…" He walked over to his red sack and dug through it until he said, "There it is! Right in the very bottom." The Guardian of Wonder handed Katie a blue-wrapped box with a red bow. He gestured her to open it.

Katie hesitantly ripped the paper of the present until she saw a silver box. Opening the box, inside was a heart-shaped pendant that was white in the middle and faded to black. In small letters, the pendent said: 'Night'. Katie looked at North with confused eyes, "Sorry, but…what's this?"

"I know that you don't like jewelry, but this pendant is enchanted. It will protect you from nightmares; drive away those evils that try to enter." North winked. "Plus, I know how much you like music boxes."

"This is a music box?" Katie asked excitedly.

North nodded. "All you need to do is open it."

Katie put on the pendant with a small grin. "Thanks, North. Tell the other Guardians I said 'hi'."

North laughed, "I will. Merry Christmas, Katelynn."

"Merry Christmas, North." Katie walked back into her room with a large, childish grin. She just met Santa Claus.

Christmas morning only brightened Katie's mood even more. North gave her another music box that was made of glass so she can see the gears move as she wound up the music box up and play its song. Riku, Kairi, Lea, and Repliku received Drive Orbs so they could now use the forms. Sora got a Keychain for his Keyblade that looked like a candy cane and a snow flake. Katie noted that the Keyblade had poor attack stats and reach but its magic stats made up for it. But as soon as all the presents were opened, they all realized that it was time to go. They put down Christmas and took all of the leftovers out of the fridge and threw them, not wanting another gut-churning experience if they ever came back. Katie looked at her house one more time before she summoned her armor along with the others and their gliders. 'Goodbye, Mom, Dad, Dan, Tori, Clementine. I don't want to leave but I must. I have a friend who needs me.' Snow slowly fell to the ground, as if the snow was saying goodbye to the Keyblade Wielders. Taking off to the sky and into the portal to the Lanes Between, a piece of Katie came back to life in her heart. She always thought she would spend the holidays alone, but she was wrong. Her dark Christmas was brightened by light…the light of her new friends.

I hoped you liked it! OH! And by the way, Kenny is really my cousin and he really talks like that! It could get annoying sometimes but still, good old Kenny! xD

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!