Chapter 6
Hero's Symphony
Picking up after their fight with Toriel was a surreal experience. All the discarded fur turned to snow, and everything painted by the ink quill sloshed into Dark Dollars, leaving them a small fortune of over a thousand bucks. Kris snacked on some chocolate to restore their HP. While gathering up the spoils, they also discovered a discarded tuba and trumpet.
"It's like a marching band got lost marching through the tree," Ralsei remarked.
"Make that part of an orchestra," Susie hollered. "I found a violin!"
Kris scratched the back of their neck. Why were there so many discarded musical instruments? Focusing on this mystery helped them to not get too hung up on having just fought both of their parents. Christmas wasn't supposed to shake them this much…
"Any ideas, Kris?" Susie asked.
They indicated that they could be misplaced ornaments, or parts of angry ornament people. Lots of people had musical instrument-shaped baubles and the likes that they hung up on the Christmas trees. Especially if they were older families.
Susie snorted, "Yeah, that checks out. If we're right in thinking that this Dark World is taking place in your house, then we could expect a lot of older decorations. Sorry to say, bud, but your mom has loads of stuff from long before you were born! I mean, it's cool and niche and all that, but sometimes you kinda need to update."
Kris agreed. Though, at the same time, all the Christmas décor that their family had was all they had ever known. Getting rid of it felt like throwing away a special part of the past. An element of the past they were trying to recover.
Shaking their head as if throwing off gnats, Kris suggested that they find their way back to the main. But then a horrible shriek pierced the air.
"Gaaaaaaaah! Help uuuuuuuuuus!"
Susie hefted her axe. "Well, let's go and save some poor souls first! Gotta be the heroes!"
It took a moment to find another pathway carved into the tree, but once they had located it, they hurried through the pine needles and lights. The way was slightly overgrown, requiring them to bash aside crisp, sharp needs, and their field of view was obscured. Which was they didn't realize until they arrived on the scene that were racing to save some of the Great Nutcracker's hapless rats.
Three rats in uniforms were caught in the tentacles of garlands and tree lights. They were already wrapped up nice and tight and were being hauled up to another level of branches and out of sight.
Susie whistled and smacked, "Well, we tried! But a few bad guys down might make the way easier for us."
"Susie!" Ralsei scolded. "We promised that we would do our best to pacify and befriend everyone we could! We're here, so we can't give up now!"
"Alright, alright, I was just joking," Susie muttered.
Kris led the way, attacking the nearest strand of light. The rat soldier caught in the cord was rolling up and out of easy reach. Kris bit down on their blade and hauled themselves up the lights. The length of cord reacted to their touch and moved like a lithe serpent to ensnare them. Kris picked up the pace and caught hold of the rat's tail.
"Ywoooooouch! Not my tail!"
The light strand's movements, rolling up its victim, pulled Kris up towards the knot of lights and cord that kept the rat bundled up. The rest of the strand snaked up behind Kris and nearly caught them. They could feel the heat of the bulbs at their back, the cord forming a noose to go around their neck.
Kris spat out their sword and cleaved for all they were worth. The cord snapped and the tentacles went limb behind and below them. The rat howled with fright as they plummeted back onto the branch.
Susie had it far easier, leaping with her incredible strength to slash the second rat free of its captor. Meanwhile, Ralsei presented himself as a cute, tempting target. The third tentacle, a length of garland, lowered itself, bringing back down its victim. The Dark Prince then cut loose, lashing the silver garland. The ferocity of his attack bashed the third and final rat free. Susie charged in and sheered the garland, wiping out the last tentacle.
"Hell yeah! Another three creepy Christmas decorations bite the dust!" she shouted, energized from the battle. The three rat soldiers clustered together and cringed before her. "Now, what do we do with these guys?"
"We can befriend them," Ralsei prompted meaningfully.
Kris approached them and asked what they were doing.
"We were just making sure that we caught you three," one rat said. "Bt it looks like we got caught."
"Twice!" another bemoaned.
"The Great Nutcracker is going to blow a fuse when he finds out!" the third and final rat whined.
"I don't think he's exactly… a nutcracker, you know?" Susie said, glancing around awkwardly. "I mean, his costume is cool and all, but he's still a rat. Why not just be happy with that rather than pretend he's someone else? Trust me, it's far more exhausting and aggravating to act like something or someone you're not."
"Awwww, Susie," Ralsei said.
"Don't get mushy on me!" she warned.
"You're right!" the second rat sobbed. "Who is he kidding! Life was so much better before the Krankpus arrived! Back when the boss was writing and directing wonderful music!"
"The ballets he wrote, they were inspiring!" the first rat said glowingly.
"Though, he's always had a weird obsession with nutcrackers," the third rat mused. "His last great piece was the Rise of the Nutcracker Ballet. It was all about a nutcracker who had his own ballet troupe, which had fallen on hard times and-"
"Not interested," Susie said, cutting them off.
Kris, however, had a lightbulb moment. They hurriedly accessed their inventory and asked Susie to take out the violin she had found. One by one, the rats' expressions changed as they saw the instruments laid out before them.
"That's Cheese Paw's cymbals! He always said they looked like well-aged Gouda! Tried to eat them, too…"
"That drum set belongs to Sewer Belly! That was her pride and joy!"
"Oh, do you remember all the gorgeous serenades Milk Fang played his violin? It was enough to make a slimy, contemptible sewer rat shed tears!"
The first rat suddenly gasped. "Hey! That's my flute!"
"Think you can still play it?" the others asked.
Hesitantly, he picked it up and began playing a cheery, hymnal tune. Angry bulbs and ornaments heard the music and began making their way towards the gathering. However, as they came, their attitudes visibly changed from peeved and villainous to tranquil and happy.
"Christmas music! It's changing them," Ralsei said excitedly. "The power of this most joyous season is having a real effect on them!"
"Nah… Listening to Christmas music before December is a quick way to label yourself a loser. Noelle excepted, of course," Susie amended.
Kris gave her arm a playful slap, earning them a loving punch that bowled them over.
The first rat stopped playing and sighed, "Too bad we'll never perform again. So long as the boss has his job and we have you three to arrest and destroy, we can't return to the way things once were."
Kris noticed how the decoration monsters were already changing in disposition. They sprang to their feet and begged the rats to keep playing. Weren't they happier doing the thing they loved? Would it be great to enjoy another concert? Why did they have to bow to a creepy, dirty guy like Krankpus?
Or, even better, what if they played a concert where their boss' whole army could come together to arrest and destroy the heroes? Wouldn't that be brilliant? And they could get back to doing what they loved best!
The first rat was so happy, he began blowing a different, jubilant tune. The other rats quickly agreed, saying, "Yeah, yeah! We can do that! We just need to find the other members of our symphony and retrieve their instruments!"
Kris gave them the thumbs up and leaned into Susie and Ralsei, whispering that they would work to pacify everyone they met along the way. If everything worked out, they would have an army of allies and happy friends at their back when they met the Great Nutcracker. It would make their next boss fight way easier.
"Great idea. Kris!" Susie whispered back excitedly.
"It's perfect! It gives us a chance to do everything we said we'd do," Ralsei commended.
Kris asked the rats to lead the way and implored the first one to not stop playing. Keeping a crimson eye on the gathering ornaments and monsters, they prompted the trio to get going. Kris threw all the other instruments back into the inventory and they took off.
It was an absolutely peculiar experience. Winding the song 'I Saw Three Rich Guys on Christmas Day', a parade began. They all tromped off down another path and soon found more discarded instruments. With the boss rat taking on his alter ego of the Great Nutcracker, the other rats had all thrown away their beloved instruments and threw on military uniforms they had stolen from the nutcracker mannequins they had collected for the big ballet their composer had created.
The parade wound around the second tree level, pulling in all kinds of spectators who soon became participants. The citizens and denizens of the Angel's Tree cheered up as they joined the gathering and added their own voices and musical skills to the fun. Soon, they had cycled through other classical songs like '13 Days of Christmas,' 'Santa's Stuck Up the Chimney,' 'Hark, the Angel's Herald Sings,' 'O Come All Ye Hopeful,' and 'Purple Christmas Eater.' Kris and Susie eventually convinced Susie to add her own husky voice to the blend. Her low alto voice was gorgeous and made Kris blush as they heard her sing.
As they went, gathering more rats and convincing them to find and take up their instruments, the Fun Gang took every opportunity to pacify the Dark Worlders. Kris kept using their special vision to watch for who met the requirements to be pacified. They covertly pointed out each target. Getting into the festive energy and music, they, Susie, and Ralsei would spin around, wink, and point, casting that free magic of friendship.
With each befriended denizen, the atmosphere grew even cheerier. They transitioned from 'Santa's Coming to Town' to 'Angel, We have Heard from on High' and began belting, "Glooooooooriiiiiaaaaa!"
Even Susie was so caught up in it, that she scooped up both Kris and Ralsei and carried them, swinging around and singing at the top of her lungs. Even if she was off key, the chorus of other voices and heavenly swell of a full symphony on the move carried and swallowed up even her rough voice. It was so ridiculous, but the plan was working!
More than that, a change had come over the three friends. Kris had been forced to fight Darkner version of their parents, which had left them feeling very uncertain about the family getting back together. So much could go wrong, and all their happy memories of past Christmases could be swallowed up in that agony and be forever forgotten. And what about Susie!? They were trying to help her have a good Christmas! But Kris' worries melted away, and the magic of Christmas miracles shone within them.
For Susie, she had been wrestling deep within herself about confronting Krankpus. Sure, she wanted to put her axe in his face and boot him right off the tallest branch on the tree. But anger and revenge could only get her so far. Year after year of neglect, fear, embarrassment, and disappointment weighed like a boulder on her shoulders. But somehow this joyous parade full of silly, clashing Christmas songs made her burden feel lighter than a balloon. Susie easily shrugged off all those crushing emotions and memories.
Ralsei on the other hand was filled with hope. He always considered himself a very optimistic kind of guy. He did his duty to serve his friends and protect both Light and Dark Worlds. But he was not ignorant of his station or the harsher, less pleasant realities of those worlds. Forced by the last boss to confront his own fear, Ralsei had felt a specter forming behind him. However, the light and warmth of friendship and holiday fun had firmly banished those thoughts and feelings, helping him to regain his usual, cheery self.
It was in this whirlwind of positivity that they found the Great Nutcracker, once the fabled rat composer and conductor, standing guard of the golden garland road that led up to the third level of branches. He was flanked by four other rants and completely dumbfounded by what he saw.
"What's all this!? Stop this music! Stop it at once!"
But the rat boss' complaints and orders were drowned out by all the revelry. His fellow rats cried out to the others and offered them back their instruments.
"No! Don't you dare play those instruments! The Krankpus will have your hides!"
"But boss! We've brought you the fugitives!"
"Only now, it feels like a real shame to destroy them after having so much fun!"
"Kind of goes against the Christmas spirit, don't you think?"
"We're rats! What do we care about the Christmas spirit?" the Great Nutcracker ranted.
Susie cleared her throat and stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention. "I think you care a lot. According to all your friends, you were working on a wintery ballet, one about a nutcracker before Krankpus showed up."
"So you were listening!" the first three rats cheered.
She gave them a look before continuing. "Look, I don't care if you're scared about the Krankpus or not. I get it; he's terrifying. However, I don't like the idea of people quitting who they really are. You love music, right? You like writing music and conducting? That's what you should be doing. Screw whatever anyone else says! Be yourself!"
Susie broke off a twig of pine bough and shaped it a baton. She handed it over to the bulbous rat and asked, "What do you think? Want to play for us one more song? Because we're going ahead whether you like it or not!"
The large rat licked his lips nervously. He looked from the crude baton, to Susie, to his old symphony, and then back to Susie.
With a shrug, his uniform burst. The rat boss tossed off his hat and grabbed the baton. "It was too stuffy," he snorted.
Out from under the hat he retrieved rolls of musical sheets. He tossed them to his performers and got them all arranged.
"This is a song meant for heroes like these! I meant it for the grand crescendo when the nutcracker would rise from the depths to be the hero he was always meant to be! It feels only fitting that this dragon lass should ascend to this powerful tune!"
He struck up the orchestra and they began playing. The music that swelled around the Fun Gang instantly reminded them of their first adventures together, the fun they had, and the enemies they faced down. Who cared about Krankpus!? They had already saved the world! Multiple times!
Waving to all the pacified and befriended ornament monsters of the second level, they climbed the golden path leading to the third level.
"It feels so good to be the heroes," Susie said, satisfied. She laced her hands behind her head and leaned back, swaggering after Kris and Ralsei.
"What was that?" a cold voice sneered.
The music cut off immediately. The Krankpus awaited them at the top of the ramp. A freezing wind ripped through the Angel's Tree. Krankpus' tattered robes and rusty chains billowed. His yellow eyes flashed underneath his hood, while a sickening grin split snout and beard. Flecks of snow carried on the gust cut across the heroes, making them blink.
In that same second, the Christmas monster pounced. People behind Susie screamed as Kris and Ralsei were swept off the tree with a single hit. Susie's voice caught in her throat as she fumbled for her axe. Cruel claws swiped her next, lifting Susie right off her feet. She was airborne and flying after her friends. Unable to scream, the three of them fell into the darkness below and far behind the tree.
Susie came to a sudden stop when she crashed into a mound of broken glass.