Chapter 7
Where the Broken Things Go
"Ugh… Tell me again, how do we keep surviving these ridiculous falls?" Susie groaned, crawling out of the shattered glass.
Kris took her gently by the hand and helped her back up. She muttered her thanks as they handed her a chocolate egg to snack on. They all needed to regain some HP after that brutal, party-crashing attack. Krankpus was no joke! He had tossed them around as if they had all been rag dolls!
Ralsei made his way over and hugged Susie, casting a healing spell on her. It felt so good. She noticed that he was still covered with cuts and slashes, with plenty of glass in his fur. Summoning all her strength, Susie released a ball of healing energy into Ralsei.
It did some good.
Kris handed the Dark prince a battered brush. Ralsei accepted it graciously and began brushing out the glass caught in his white fur. He also removed plenty of white tufts as he did that. Susie felt extra bad for that.
What the hell had happened?! They were had been riding so high in that Christmas parade, pacifying everyone, getting them to play and sing. Her idea had been working so perfectly; they didn't even need to fight the rat boss in the end! She had even been feeling much better, thinking that this Christmas was going to be a wonderful turnaround. And they were going to kick Krankpus's ass all the way to Halloween where it belonged.
But that was before he had thrown them all over the side… That brute was just so powerful! Susie was nothing compared to him! How long had it been since anyone made her feel so small? Her friends were injured, never mind where they were at the moment! And though it was stupid, she couldn't shake the feeling that it was all her fault.
As Ralsei made himself pretty again, Kris took her by the hand and gently led her away. They explained to her that when they had come to, they found out that they were in what appeared to be a junk heap.
"Ah crap, do you think we're going to run into another Spamton?" Susie asked miserably. "Because I don't think I could take any of that right now!"
"We'll get back up the tree. Everything will be fine," Kris assured her in a quiet voice.
"Like hell it will!" she snapped back. "It was my idea to go on that stupid parade! Of course the Krankpus found us out! We were making so much noise, and he was waiting right there-!"
Kris squeezed her hand. "It was not your fault."
"Yes, it was!"
Kris shook their head. Then it was just as much their fault as Susie's, which was stupid to argue about. They were here, alive, and could still fight. And the idea had been a good one. They had managed to conserve resources and pacify everyone on the Angel Tree's second level! Susie had been a genius!
"And you were having a lot of fun, too," Kris added with a small smile.
They climbed on top of what might have been the remains of a shattered crate. Scraps of faded wrapping paper and more broken glass were everywhere. Balancing carefully, they began picking glass out of Susie's hair. She hesitated, and then did the same for them.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"I wouldn't hold any of that against you," Kris replied. "We've been in this kind of situation before, and we've never blamed each other for it. Now would be a horrible time to start. Especially since…" They trailed off and pecked Susie on the cheek.
She gaped at them. "Time and place, dude!"
"Sorry, it felt right."
Susie cut them off from explaining any more and pulled Kris into a kiss. They hadn't been dating for very long, so it felt like they were still figuring this whole kissing thing out. How much was too rough, where did the tongue go, stupid stuff like that. Susie had finally gotten over how weird it was to suck face with her friend and how odd human lips felt, and the fact that their teeth were nowhere near as sharp as her own.
Although standing there in the middle of a dump was in no way romantic, the two grabbed at each other with a kind of pleading ferventness. It felt good to do something other than worry and pick up after a disaster. It felt wonderful to also release a little pent-up tension with someone you trusted and cared for deeply.
Susie slipped her tongue forward, tasting all the mint and chocolate that Kris had been eating recently. She bet her mouth tasted the same, especially after all the destructive eating she'd been doing. Maybe a tad more ginger to her flavor.
She giggled at the thought and immediately wanted to punch herself for such a dumb reaction. Kris giggled too, laughing at whatever odd joke they had picked up on. She pulled them even closer. Passion was mounting, quite literally, when they heard Ralsei approaching. The love birds broke apart and tried to compose themselves.
No, here in a junkyard was not the best idea! This was not the place nor scenario for their first time!
"Guys! I spotted some lights out there! I think we might be able to find- Oh! What are you two up to?"
"Consoling and grooming!" Susie snarled. "And if you're done with that brish, hand it over!"
Caught off balance, Ralsei immediately handed over the brush, even though there was still some glass clearly sparkling in his fur. Susie swiped it with a snort and vigorously began brushing her own hair out. The brush only lasted five strokes before snapping and shattering in her grip. Her own strength and hair were just too wild and untamable. Just two of the many things Kris loved about her.
Kris asked Ralsei to show the way to the lights and the group moved on.
Snow was falling thickly now, and unlike Gift Town, the snow actually piled up here behind the Angel's Tree. But before the landscape became completely covered, Kris noted the broken rocking horses large enough for giants, the remains of broken ornaments, dead strand of Christmas lights, faded, discarded Santas, crumpled boxes, and general refuse all wrapped up in shreds of outdated, faded wrapping paper. It was a junkyard of Christmases past!
Ralsei located a path of fence posts sticking out of the snow. The Fun Gang followed the markers towards a cluster of hovels and homes cobbled together from discarded trash. Kris wasn't sure if it was less or more pathetic than Spamton's living quarters.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The sounds of fresh snow being trodden through reached their ears. The friends readied themselves for a potential standoff. From around a ramshackle corner stepped a horrifying amalgamation. The monster had a faded Santa head, with a opening in its skull. A candle had been placed therein, allowing the monster to cast a dim light from itself. The Sata head was attached to the body and arms of an old-styled robot, and it had dolls legs stuffed into high heels.
A high-pitched, feminine voice greeted them, "Welcome to Village of Broken Seasonal Things! Or as well call it, Darkville!"
Susie whispered to Kris, "Why not just call it Darkville?"
"Wow, you three look to be in remarkable repair! Shame when the tree folk and Angel decide to throw away perfectly good people, but I'm sure they had their reasons. Please, please follow right this way! I'll take you to Jolly, our local blacksmith! He'll fix you up and find you a place to stay and job to perform!
"Everyone needs a home and something to do, otherwise you'd go mad after getting thrown away! It's not right for Darkners to not have a purpose. Even if the world and Lightners have forgotten about us, thrown us out, we must continue on as best we can!"
"Oh… Isn't that great?" Ralsei said uncomfortably.
Kris asked for the stranger's name. They answered, "Everyone calls me Joyous! And what are your names?"
"Susie," the teenage dragon huffed, arms crossed.
"Ralsei," the Dark Prince said with a smile and a wave.
"Kris," the human teen said, raising their hand.
"Wow! Such interesting names! And none of them are really Christmassy, are they? Though Kris could definitely be a god base."
"Krismas?" Susie teased.
Joyous clapped her robotic, clawed hands and exclaimed, "That's a lovely name, and so on the nose! It will fit in perfectly around here! Now, please follow me to Jolly's!"
Some of the hovels opened up, revealing many more strange characters. One had the body of boardgame with hands for feet and feet for hands, with a candy cane head. Another neighbor was a hovering bulb, tapped together from the shards of dozens of other mismatched bulbs. There was a discarded tree angel who had a bunch of wires and lights stuffed into them to try and light them up. These people all looked as if Doctor Frankenstein had worked on them while drunk off his rocker.
The townsfolk of Darkville oohed and awed as they walked past, and many of them spilled from their homes into the snowstorm and followed. For the second time today, Susie and the others found themselves in the middle of a parade. However, this one was filled with far more nervous excitement and anticipation despite being far quieter.
The sound of metal ringing soon reached their ears. Just ahead in the gloom was a house that was falling apart. A bright fire was in one corner, silhouetting a jerky figure hammering away at a project. Jolly's workshop.
"Go on in, go on in!" Joyous encouraged. "Let him know your names and he'll get you patched up and ready to go!"
The rest of the townsfolk waited quietly, eagerly outside. Susie felt obnoxiously self-conscious as she entered the crumbling him. The door nearly fell off its hinges as they went inside.
Jolly's home was filled with all kinds of junk and knickknacks. There were pieces of broken ornaments and toys all over the place. The three friends felt a disgusted sense of squirming worms in their stomachs. These were the remains of fallen Darkners. How many of them were the results of dropped or forgotten gifts and decorations from the Lightners? How many of them had been destroyed by the Krankpus?
There were also mounds of discarded papers. Kris caught sight of the words typed across them. They bent low and read a few, feeling like they had definitely seen this stuff before. They just couldn't remember from where.
Susie uncovered forged statues made from junk, depicting scenes of Santa working in his workshop and delivering gifts around the world. Ralsei dusted off a wonderful stained-glass window set into a crumbling wall, made from the translucent glass of shattered bulbs. Bolts and springs were strewn all across the floor.
"Come on in. Let's get to work on ya," the blacksmith rasped.
Jolly fit in perfectly with the environment. He was a blackened amalgamation of nutcracker parts, various 80s action figures, and twisted pieces of metal and hooks to hold all of himself together. A toy hammer was affixed for one of his hands, which he used to pummel something into shape. Kris and Susie had no idea what he was really up to.
"Well, what are your names?" Jolly asked gruffly.
"Ralsei, Susie, and Kris!" Ralsei said kindly.
"Alright, hold out your arms. I'll inspect ya and see what need to be fixed," Jolly said, turning around. He had multiple eyes stuck into a misshapen excuse for a head. His many eyes narrowed as he declared, "Yer not broken! What in the name of Santa's saggy ass cheeks is going on here? Did that vile monster throw you guys out, too?"
"Do you mean the Krankpus?" Ralse asked.
"Who else?" Jolly spat. "Well, dammit all! If Lightners are getting thrown out now, there's no hope for Christmas! This place will soon succumb to the darkness and storms. We'll be lost forever at this rate!"
Kris assured him that it would not come to that.
"Oh yeah? And how are you gonna fix this? I can fix people alright, but fixin' the world? That's a job for heroes! And if heroes can't do it, we're all done for!"
Susie felt hot, an embarrassed tingle creeping up her spine. That was just how she had felt minutes ago! This felt like the perfect opportunity to put all of that behind her.
"We are not giving up! Just because we got beaten once doesn't mean we'll get beaten again," Susie growled, stepping up close to Jolly.
"Everyone resists accepting that they're garbage, thrown away to freeze and be forgotten," the blacksmith countered, shoving his hammer hand under Susie's snout.
With one finger, she moved his tool aside and said pointedly, "I'm betting you're obsessed with Christmas. Everyone here is."
"Your point?"
"Christmas is not just about the singing, the amazing cookies, decorating trees, buying presents, and spending time with family. There's a lot more to it. There's a deeper side to the holiday," she said, begrudgingly sharing the thoughts in her head and heart.
Kris noticed that the other people in the town were crowding up close to the windows, listening in. Ralsei was also watching the conversation with rapt attention. Something big was about to happen; they could all feel it.
"Christmas brings people together. It gets them thinking. And sometimes, neither the people nor the thoughts we have to deal with are that pleasant to deal with. But if you don't find a way to deal with them, then Christmas becomes an awful event… Something you dread every year, rather than enjoying it. And from what I've seen from my friends, Christmas is supposed to be awesome."
"Wishful thinking. You haven't even bested the Krankpus!" Jolly argued. "Just look at ya! All beaten and cut up! I'll bet you were thrown easily from the tree!"
"We can win," Susie insisted. "With some music and a little talking, we got the entire population up there to join us and turn the boss rat calling himself the Great Nutcracker. He let us pass and even played a song for us. That was a freaking Christmas miracle if ever there was one! And we can do it again!"
Jolly slammed his hammer hard into the anvil behind. He shouted, "Just look out the window at all those eavesdroppers! Take a good look! All of them broken! I had to put them altogether again as best I could and give them new lives and a new purpose! But they still remain busted up, discarded, and lost to the cold and dark!
"Even if we strike out now to the Lantern Road and climb up to the tree, no one will accept us! The Krankpus will cast us all out again, and next time! Next time… I might not be able to fix up those poor souls…"
He finally slumped with defeat. It was not just the thrashing he had gotten by getting cast out of the Angel's Tree, all the time he had spent abandoned and beaten was getting to him. Seeing life after life shattered atop a junk heap behind a glorious tree, doomed to never return, Jolly had lost all hope.
"Look man, I get it," Susie said somberly. "It feels like you can't change anything. Life's taught you over and over again that you'll never be good enough. You eventually carve out of all the crap you've gotten something that resembled a stable identity and existence. But you're still not happy, so you just resign yourself to a life of being misunderstood, hated, and forgotten.
"Trust me, I've been there… But then a chance comes along, one you don't want to take, where your life can change for the better. And you hate it, because you don't think you can take that injection of hope. You misconstrue the actions of the people who could be your friends, and you screw things up for a while. But hell, these people who come tumbling into your life are super persistent and drag you along. And before you realize it, life starts getting better."
"Sounds like you speak from experience," Jolly grumbled. "But this isn't a fairytale or a hypothetical. There are no Christmas miracles here. If you go up the Lantern Road, you're going to get your clocks cleaned, broken, and thrown back overboard down to here. I'll pick ya up and try to fit you together as best as I can."
"No," Susie said emphatically.
"Excuse me?"
"No," she repeated. "No, because you're going to come with us. If I had to go through a life-changing adventure and put up with it, then I'm going to do the same to you!" The misshaped, poorly put together blacksmith blinked back at her, confused. "We're all going to go up together and rally the people of the Angel's Tree once again! This time, we're going to defeat the Krankpus together!"
"Hear, hear!" Ralsei shouted energetically as Kris nodded strongly. They were so proud of the growth Susie had undergone. She was even better now at expressing and explaining herself than how she had started out.
Even the cobbled-together creatures outside cheered. Jolly glanced at them angrily with a few of his eyes, but the rest were homed intently on Susie. She strode up to him, drawn to her full, imposing height.
"Everyone thinks that he can't be beaten. Hell, they probably all think we're dead! But this time, we're going to give them a Christmas miracle! By joining forces, we'll march up the tree to the third level, corner him, and overwhelm him together! We'll be the ones to kick his ass right out of the tree!
"And after that, we'll clean out the rest of the Angel's Tree of whatever's been causing so many troubles, and everyone can finally have a very merry Christmas!" Susie snorted flames in Jolly's face. "Got it?"
There was a protracted pause between them as the blacksmith stewed over her words. Everyone waited with bated breath to see how Jolly would respond.
He finally rumbled, "It's not very charitable, or in keeping with the season, but…" His eyes all narrowed as the blacksmith shook with either excitement or rage. "Let us climb the Lantern Road and shove Santa's bag of coal right down that bastard's throat!"
"Hell yeah! That's what I want to hear!" Susie said ferociously, taking Jolly's hammer hand and shaking it.
"Alright everyone! Ya heard the lass! We're going to bring the Krankpus some Christmas cheer!" The whole crowd cheered at his words. "But first, we need to get you kids fixed up and everyone armed for combat!"
It turned out that Jolly's way of healing people was the same as Malius'; he took each of the heroes and laid them, out over his anvil, and proceeded to smash them to perfect health. He grunted saying it only worked because they weren't broken. Meanwhile, the junkyard was plundered for anything that could be used as weapon.
Old Christmas light caps made of spikes, relics from decades ago were unearthed and turned into flanged maces. Rusty decoration hooks were made into cruel pikes and volgues. Shards of glass were expertly embedded into wooden clubs. A broken jack-in-the-box was transformed into a deadly battering ram. Twelve discarded drummers were found and reforged into soldiers to play their marching tune to war.
Soon, everything was ready. Kris, Susie, and Ralsei led the small army of misfits, forgotten toys and decorations up the snow-clogged road leading to a new ramp. There was a wide road made of light strands leading right back into the Angel's Tree. The beautiful lights winked sadly through the snow and ice, but clearly marked the road back to the warm, gigantic tree. The storm was picking up, but the heroes moved on undeterred.
"I always dreamed of a moment like this," Jolly said as they drew near. "But I have no idea what we'll do if we even win!"
"Hey! You're thinking about winning," Susie said happily, clapping him hard on the back. Two of his eyes popped off and fell into the snow. As Ralsei retrieved them, she continued, "That's enough for now. We'll figure everything out once Krankpus is nothing more than a bad memory."
Kris took the first step up the frozen over ramp and indicated they had one extra thought for how they could really make this plan work. They smiled and winked at Susie. She should remember this specific move very well.