Black Christmas [XMAS Event]

[BlacKitten]

As the two intruding figures began sneaking their way through the darkness, the orphans in the common room were suspecting if their jolly, present-giving, rotund man had come to visit yet. A certain little bat could make their meager voices quite clearly.

I see. Those boys are hiding over there in order to see Santa. So they actually believe in that little myth. Perhaps that don’t know then, but it is the lady in charge here who actually puts to present beneath the Christmas tree.

Being able to eavesdrop whenever he wants, Pluto was able to pick up pieces of information here and there from the adults’ discussion and chitchat. He never told his little sister about it because he didn’t want to see her disappointed, but Rebecca was the type of person who valued other things over presents. She wasn’t very materialistic, valuing experiences instead, a trait that he liked about her.

A large, imposing figure soon scaled up the stairs with a much smaller figure following him from behind. The two of them soon made it to the second floor where they could see a source of light on either end of the hallway. After looking both ways, the big fella gestured towards his partner in crime to split up. With the center being the darkest section of the hallway, neither of them seemed to have noticed the little bat hanging over their heads.

Echolocation…

Although his eyes were naturally well adjusted under environments with dim-lightings, even he found it too dark for his eyes to make out the appearances of these two strangers. By blasting out clicks of ultrasound from his nose, he could receive the echoes with his ears, allowing him to see with hearing. Able to make out the shapes, forms, and depths of his moving subjects, the nocturnal critter made sure to memorize what these two looked like in his own style of ‘seeing’.

Huh… large body, long fuzzy hair and beard, a Christmas hat, baggy attire, you got to be kidding me. Santa? That little guy seems to be carrying a lot empty giant sacs with him. What are these two up to?

He still wasn’t ready to change his beliefs about Santa not being a real person, but the shapes that he was making out seemed to fit the stereotypes.

The big, bearded man with the Christmas hat went to the left while his accomplice went to the right. Their hunch was that the kids were in the rooms at the furthest ends of the hallway where the lights were located. Lucky for them, they would be right.

Those two are pretty weird. They don’t seem to be in possession of any presents or gifts. And why are they heading to the orphans’ rooms?

As each figure approached the end of the hallway, the light casting on them brought out the colors of their appearances. The big fella wore a red outfit with a white border around the collar, wrist, center lining, and waist. His hair and beard were quite dirty, supposed to be white but turned grey. On top of his head was the classic red hat with the saggy tail sticking out where the little fuzzy sphere would be at the very end. Meanwhile, the smaller fella also had a dirty-looking face. He mainly wore a dark, black attire. 

Maybe the lady in charge hired these two?

As Pluto turned his attention back to the supposed Santa Claus, his eyes froze stiff upon seeing the large man melt away into a black haze that soon slipped through the gaps between the door and the floor. The man was like a living black fog.

H-his breath… is gone! He turned into a black fog! I-is he… the same as me? He has powers just like I do. Just as I ate the Batto Batto no Mi, he must have eaten a Devil Fruit as well in his past.

As he turned his attention back towards the little man in black, he was almost taken aback by how normal the approach was to enter inside. The little fella simply opened the door and tip-toed inside like a normal human being.

I’m not dreaming this… right? This seems too real. Never mind... the fact is... there is only one boy in the room that 'Santa' slipped into while all of the girls remain in the room that the little man went into.  

[Shinku]

"What's happening? What did you see?" The whisper was barely audible because Reynard tried to keep his voice as low as possible. Somehow the orange-haired boy still managed to understand that something wasn't as it should be. Maybe the cunning lad had noticed Rince's shaking shoulders, maybe something else had tipped him off, but he had the sense to keep his head down and inquire for information before acting first.

"Santa... uh... I think it was Santa... went past here and to the stairs I think." Rince told him.
The other lad's face brightened up unexpectedly. A sly look appeared on his face.
"Ehh....?! Maybe that is ... the matron's lover!" There was no doubt about it, the other boy was grinning wildly.
"Uh... you think so?" Rince wasn't so sure about that at all.
"Who knows.. it could be. Or maybe he's the lover of one of the other caretakers, it's not important. All that matters is that we can extort a lot of candy from her if we catch them together."

Rince was quite good with words, but he had never heard the word "extort" before. However, it didn't sound friendly. It didn't sound like something good children should do.
There was something else wrong with it, but Rince wasn't so sure what.
It took him a moment to grasp what was bothering him.
"Then more than one woman invited her lover over for tonight. There was another man him." Maybe he should have given that information from the start.

"That... is strange." The grin had faded from his face and had been replaced by a pensive look.
"Let's go and check it out." Reynard decided. Without the playfulness in his voice, he sounded so serious that it send a shiver down Rince's spine.
Rince didn't want to go and check it out. It was night and it was scary and there were guys around who might not be friendly.
But here he was with his new friends, and he didn't want to appear like a coward on his very first day. So he nodded.

The pile of stuffed animals had not stirred, so the two of them headed to the stairs alone. Not as slowly as they had made their way down but just as carefully, they went to the second floor. They were about to head to the third floor, where the matron and the caretakers on call were sleeping, when Rince noticed that the door to one of the girl rooms was ajar. The pinkhead grabbed the sleeve of Reynard's pajamas and was about to point to the door, when suddenly a scream rang out.
Without thinking, as if his body was reacting solely on instinct, Rince started to run.
Pain was always a herald of danger and that high-pitched scream had been full with pain. Not considering what he was getting himself into, Rince pushed the door open and stumbled into the girls room.

[BlacKitten]

What was he supposed to do now? Naturally, he didn’t trust the two intruders just like with every single stranger he had ever encountered. That Santa-like fella who can turn his body into a black fog worried him the most because the man can seemingly be kept hidden away from the little bat’s radar. Whenever his body turned into that moving black, ghostly, foggy substance, it felt like hearing the movements of nature rather than the movements of a living organism.

His heart pounded from trepidation; his mind was conflicted between wanting to keep himself safe and wanting to keep his little sister safe.

Rebecca… is in that room. I… will… protect her.

Suddenly, the little bat splayed out its wings before flying towards the girl’s room swiftly, entering into the gap of the open door. Through echolocation, he could already make out the positioning of each and every single person in the room despite it being dark. The only source of light was from the lamp outside, shining a narrow light inside but the shadows still very much overwhelmed the scene.

Just as he entered inside, a high-pitched scream sounded out, exponentially more audible to someone with super hearing like himself. Pluto took notice that the scream didn’t came from any of the girls but from the intruder himself who was hovering over one of the girls. The man was wrestling and forcefully binding her until she reluctantly bitten down hard against the man’s forearm.

Rebecca was still safe but was alerted along with two other girls who were woken up by the shriek. Despite their current safety, Pluto registered this man as a threat to their safety. Gradually, his sense of reasoning and logic came to a halt. An animalistic instinct overcame his senses. His body released signals of danger. He felt fear which manifested into ferociousness. As a result, his mind focused on only one objective and one only.

Kill!

Enlarging his figure, his before became humanoid but still the size of a little boy. Both of his hands suddenly morphed into a pitch black state with fingers elongating into hook-shaped claws. With open palms, his fingers curled slightly, itching to dig into the flesh of his perceived threat. A pair of ebony, leathery wings sprouted from the back of his shoulder sockets in a folded up state to minimize the amount of space it takes up. His feet grew pitch black with his toes turning into hook-shaped claws much like his hands. He had a pair of pointed, cup-shaped ears on the top of his head. A layer of short dark-grey fur coated his entire body beneath his clothing. It had been quite a long time since he needed to use the Human-Beast form of his Devil Fruit powers.

Springing forth with his hind legs, he outstretched an arm, clutching his right grip around the intruder’s neck while digging his claws into the skin and flesh. Throwing his weight forward, he pushed the man to topple back, bashing the head against the floor where the Zoan-user pressed his weight on top of his throat as his locked his fingers as tightly as he can.

Growling, the man had his hands clutched around the arm that was crushing his throat and choking him. He couldn’t quite make out what was happening in this level of darkness.

Pluto could sense himself being overpowered by the strength of a grown up man as his grip was about to break free by this man’s arms. His left hand swiped across, slashing against the man’s right face and leaving gashes of red. The man curled up his legs and thrusted them away to kick off, pushing the winged boy away with his feet.

“Tch!” Being repelled back into the distance, the boy quietly reverted back to his human form as soon as he heard other people outside of the room. In case the lights turn on, he didn’t want himself to be seen in that devilish form. His fingers were coated in blood.

“Everyone… get out!” He scowled while recovering from the blunt impact against his ribs. 

“Pluto?” Rebecca recognized the voice.

[Shinku]

A small, open bottle rolled over the ground, its translucent liquid spilling all over the carpet. A sweet smell rose from the soaked rug, but it was not enough to make anyone dizzy.
The situation was not developing as Shmootz Lee had expected it to.
First, the kiddy he had grabbed had been asleep, but two of the other gals had still been awake and one of them had jumped on his back to deter him from her curly-haired friend, knocking the bottle of chloroform out of his hand.

But that alone would not have caused him any problem. He was capable enough to handle a few brats.
Shmootz Lee let the first brat drop back on her bed and grabbed the second, pulling her from his back. With a deft, practiced grip he hampered her ability to move and started to tie her up.
At least none of the gals had cried out. Their surprise and shocked disorientation must have kept them from calling for help.
Damm Brats! It was way past their bedtime. Any normal kid should have been fast asleep by now.

Santa's helper was about to tie the finale knot - none of this had taken more than a few seconds - when suddenly the little brat was biting into his forearm!
Shmootz Lee could not suppress a scream. Involuntary he threw the girl away and her little body crashed against one of the bedposts.
The girl he had been sleeping still after ungently being tossed back on her bed finally got a rude awakening and so did the last girl in the room.

Not having to care about being silent anymore, Santa's helper had not to restrain himself any more. But before he could get his revenge on the little brat that had bitten him, some other attacker appeared out of nowhere.
In the darkness he could not see what was attacking him, but it didn't seem to be one of the kids. It was absolutely impossible that a brat could move that way!

While the boy was fighting with the intruder, the golden-haired girl had gone over to check on her unmoving friend.
"Ku! Are you all right?!"
There was no reaction at first, but then the girl began to cough and stood up.
"BAHH!" She spat out and started to complain immediately.
"That guy tastes horrible!"

Unlike Rebecca, none of those girls recognized Pluto's voice in the tumult, but they headed his advice and headed to the door.
"Not so fast you little-!"
Having heard Pluto's shoot just as well as the kids, the intruder blocked their path. The light flowing through the ajar door was just enough to enlighten the red gash on his face and made him look even meaner than before.

It was at that moment that Rince reached the end of the hallway, flung open the door and stumbled in, unable to stop his forward movement. The door hit Santa's helper against the elbow and even though it was not enough to make him topple over, it was still a painful and numbing.

The scene in front of him seemed like it was out of one of the dark books. Scared, beaten up children and an evil boogeyman out there to get the.
His facial features distorted by pain, the man was a rather scary sight to see and Rince was starting to regret his descision of entering the lion's den.
"I should have gone to wake the matron." he thought, but it was too late for that. The only hope he had was that Reynard would be a little more sensible than him. That was actually quite likely, the annoying boy was intelligent Rince had to admit.
Blinking twice as the guy made a step closer to him the pink-haired boy realized that it wasn't too late at all and that he was dumb for not seeing the simplest course of action.
Without rethinking his actions, the boy started to scream as loud as he could.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! BURGLARS!!!!!!! PERVERTS!!!!!!!!"
If the caretakers had not heard the intruder scream, they certainly could not miss this cry.

His cry broke off when the intruder violently kicked him in the gut, sending him flying to the same corner that some of the girls had retreated to.

[BlacKitten]

His words were heard and obeyed as the girls in the room hurried to leave the room but their exit was cut off by the bearded man who blocked the path. However, someone from the hallway seemed to have tried to barge it by swinging the door that banged against Smootz’s elbow, and in response, a rusty-pink haired boy was rewarded with the man’s attention. Suddenly, the boy began screaming out like a banshee, crying out the words ‘burglar’ and ‘pervert’. While that may seemed like a good idea to call for help, Pluto would have preferred if that boy hadn’t have done that. He knew that there was one other intruder who seemed far more problematic than the one they’re dealing with at this very moment. If that Santa-like man heard that cry, then they might be in big trouble. After witnessing the ability to morph his own body into a black fog, he didn’t feel safe no matter how many adults were there to protect them.

The pink-haired boy’s meddling had granted some of the girls the time they needed to leave the room, but in return, Santa’s helper kicked the boy in the gut, hurling the kid away as if to punish him for screaming out like that.

While the enemy’s back was facing at him, Pluto took this opportunity to sneak up from behind and swing a kick right between the man’s legs, striking at the groin. Dropping to his knees, Smootz had his arms wrapped over his lower abdomen protectively while grinding his teeth as he was drowning in pain. An adult he may be but a human nonetheless.

As the enemy was down, Pluto slipped into the hallway, followed by his little sister who stood close by beside him.

The black-haired girl with the golden-colored eyes glanced at him in surprise. At first, she thought his fingers were bleeding, but then she realized that the blood didn’t belong to him. To have drawn out that much blood, he must have some incredibly sharp nails. Under the lamp’s light, the situation grew clearer. None of the kids knew who this man was and had never seen him before.

Pluto quickly warned the other kids, “This entire floor is not safe. Run! And, do not enter inside any of the orphans’ rooms!” He wasn’t entire sure whether to reach the third floor or back to the first floor. On one hand, the matron might be able to help, but on the other hand, the first floor led to the exit out of this building. By now, he suspected that these bad people were after the kids, which was why he just told the others to not enter any of the rooms where kids would usually sleep in. Otherwise, they would be sitting ducks within a confined space.

“Eh?” Ara glared down the corridor, flabbergasted at what she was seeing. “U-um..,” she hesitantly pointed into the direction to guide other people’s line of sight. On the other end of the hallway, what appeared to be Santa Claus stepped out of the room with the light on that end revealing his bulky build and menacing appearance. Under his arm was a long sack that would be carrying an unconscious boy inside.

“C-captain!” Smootz Lee called out with quivering eyelids due to the pain he received.

“He’s already here because someone screamed,” Pluto mumbled under his breath. “Sorry, but there are two of them,” he then stated what would now be considered the obvious.

[Shinku]

Rince hit his head badly against the bed but instead of everything going black an explosion of colorful lights appeared in front of the boy's eyes. Maybe there was light because it was already dark, but whatever the reason it made him feel really dizzy. For a moment he thought that he might have to throw up, but luckily his stomach calmed down just as fast as it had started to act up.

"Oi! Are you still alive Cotton?"
Someone was pulling at his hair and annoyed he slapped away a hand.
"Cotton?" he thought dimly. "What was that about now?"
The dancing lights faded and he could make out the two girls in front of him. One was the girl he had nicknamed "Goldilocks" in his head, the other was the boy who had spent his day glaring at Rince. The boy was frowning even now and for a short moment, Rince wondered what the boy was doing in the girls room, when he noticed the pink and frilly pajamas the kid was wearing. No boy he knew would dress like that without pressure from outside. Had he been wrong and that world champion of frowning was actually a girl?

"Oi! I'm talking to you stupid. Are you deaf?" The kid pulled on his hair again and the pain made him cry out.
"Ouch, that hurts. Stop that."
"Kuu... I don't think that's the right time. The bad men are still out there." Goldilocks pointed to the door. She was clinging to her friend with the other hand and looked rather afraid.

Outside the room, doors were opened and a commotion was going on...
What was happening?
Oh right! There had been some intruders who had sneaked in. How could he have forgotten about them? His head hurt but that was no excuse for getting distracted like that.

At least the bad guy had left the room, so they weren't in immediate danger right now.
Getting up to his feet, Rince considered their situation. For a moment he wondered if they could get out through the window. The answer was yes... but the consequences would be unfriendly.
Not too long ago he had fallen from a balcony of a second floor and had broken an arm. That wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.
But maybe the snow would cushion their fall? It was high and looked fluffy. Was it enough to get them down safely? His sister would have probably taken the risk, which convinced Rince that it was not a good idea after all.
Thinking about his sister made his mood drop even more, but he shook it off. That wasn't the time now.

"You stay here. I... uhm... I'll check out the situation." he told them, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
He started to sneak to the door and to his annoyance he had to notice that the girls were not heading his advice but were tiptoeing after him.
Ignoring them he carefully glanced outside, when a sudden noise made him jump.

BANG!

The shot sounded loudly through the not-so-silent night and the window at the end of the hallway broke into hundreds of little pieces.
"That was a warning shot, next time I will blow your head off." The matron was slowly coming down the stairs, shotgun raised and ready, carefully aimed at the man in the shabby red dress. Her shot had grazed Santa's shoulder, tearing up his dress a little but not hurting the man yet. As long as the kids were all right, the women would not go straight for murder.
"Put down that sack you're holding and step away from the children if you value your life. Same goes for you too, mudlark."
The woman was wearing a nightdress that looked as if it belonged to the previous century. A nightcap was holding her curly hair in check and she had thrown some cloth around her shoulder to ward off the cold.
Behind her stood the two other women on the night watch. They were dressed a bit more modernly than the matron, but their bedhair was an indication that they had been sleeping already. Each of the was holding a gun and the glitter in their eyes was a fair warning to anyone who cared to really look at them. They were ready to use their weapons without hesitation and they knew how to hit their target as well.
"Don't think you're the first one who wrongly believes that this orphanage makes an easy target. We're ready to take on scum like you any time. No one touches our kids, you hear me? No one!"

[BlacKitten]

The first gunshot that sounded out caused his body to stiffen right as he flinched. Glass of a window shattered around where the puncture was made from the bullet. The lady with the shotgun made her warning to these two intruders clear, using her first pull of the trigger as a warning shot to show that she meant it.

What is she doing? Just shoot him already!

Pluto’s sense of fear at the looming danger would have led him onto the offensive if he had the means to do so. It annoyed him that the lady would waste time with verbal warnings. He couldn’t help but feel that if this dragged on long enough, something terrible would happen.

Suddenly, arms clung onto him from behind, but the touch felt different from his sister’s arms. He turned his gaze around momentarily, taking notice of Ara who was timidly standing behind him. The gunfire seemed to have frightened her. Her eyes were closed shut, and she used the boy as a wall to block her view from the scary scene.

How dare you use me as a shield!?

The Santa-esque man didn’t even hesitate as he walked across the hallway while maintaining his serious, grumpy expression. Having firearms being aimed at him didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

Another gunshot was fired with the full intention of shooting the kidnapper down. The bullet shot straight into the man’s chest and it flew out from the other end of his body, making its mark against the wooden wall.

Raising an eyebrow, the matron didn’t expect herself to have missed, so she fired another bullet as the man approached closer and closer with a moderate pace of walking. Once again, the bullet appeared to have hit its mark on the man’s torso, only for it to shoot out from the other side of his body as if the lady had been shooting at a ghost. Two other individuals behind stood at either side of her, shooting their own guns at the intruder as well. Several rounds had occurred, but no traces of blood could be seen.

Seriously? How could all three of them possibly miss when he’s that up close?

Pluto’s annoyance towards the armed matrons was starting to grow as each gunshot that echoed out caused the foreign arms around him to tighten each time.

Are you trying to suffocate me!?

Suddenly, Santa Claus’ body faded into black before expanding outwards as a giant blob of black, tainted air. His unrecognizable and intangible body flooded down the hallway, completely engulfing the three caretakers along with other children who had their doors open in the distance.

Utterly dumbfounded, Pluto’s eyes widened upon seeing a giant black aura storming down the hallway, heading straight at him.

Well… shoot! They were noble sacrifices, but now I must take matters into my own hand.

The boy quickly returned back into the room as fast as he could while partially dragging along the weight of another girl. His sister was alert enough to have followed him inside. Violently, he swung the door closed shut, cutting off the light from entering the room.

“Okay…, can you let go of me now?” He mumbled.

“S-sorry,” Ara loosened her grasp around the boy, but one of her hand still clung onto a fabric of his sleeve, wanting to make sure where he was in the darkness.

[Shinku]

In the girls room, three kids were forming a pile of shrieks and not-so-children-friendly curses. Startled by the gunshots, Rince had taken a step back from the door and into the girls and like dominos the children had toppled over in a terrible topsy-turvydom.

The matron frowned and after another unsuccessful try to shoot the intruder she stopped her attempt. Something strange was going on here. She had been the ace of her gun club during her student's days and the woman had never stopped to practice the art of the marksman. It was unbelievable that she would miss from such a distance. And yet the man was clearly unharmed.

The woman opened her mouth to say something to the other caretakers, but whatever she had wanted to say, the words managed to come out. In front of them, the intruder had turned from a normal human criminal into a black amorphic monster straight out of a nightmare.
It was an unequal fight and over in seconds. The caretakers had no chance to offer resistance against the Devil Fruit user. Their coughs could be heard through the open doors and then they lost consciousness and everything was silent.

Rince who had been in the room farthest down the hallway heard nothing of it. The pink-haired boy had gotten up again, shot an angry glance at the two girls even though it was partly his fault and tried to approach the door again when the kids who had left before came in again and nearly knocked him over again.
Just in time he dodged to the side and hurt his toe by accidentally banging it against the wall.

"What's going on out there?" Goldilocks wanted to know from the newly arrived. She was whispering. And she wasn't the only one wondering about that.

In their rooms, the children didn't dare to move. The gunshots had awoken even the deepest sleepers and now a calm panic was spreading amongst the kids. Some of the little children cried while some of the older ones looked for weapons to defend themselves. Their baseball bats and bedside lamps didn't help them much though. When the dirty cloud of soot floated through the open doors, their efforts meant nothing. Improbable weapons were torn from their little hands and their wills were crushed by the easiness in which the Santa broke into their rooms and left them helpless. The funny fume-ish substance the fake Santa was emitting scared even the bravest of them who had never believed in scary bedtime stories.

After Santa had done the easy work of scaring the children into submission, Shmootz Lee went into the rooms and herded the brats, shooing them together and leading them down the stairs and out to where the ship was waiting.
Some kids started to cry when they saw the unconscious caretakers at the bottom of the third floor stairs, while others were shocked into silence.
"Be quiet brats or I'll spank you." Santa's helper bawled out at them.

Santa meanwhile had reached the last room and was already ready to go inside and deal with the rest of the remaining children.
The ones in this room had made an extra big ruckus and Nicholas was intending to teach them a lesson.

Meanwhile, Rince was frantically looking for something to use as a weapon. His search through the drawer had so far been fruitless though. All he had found were a bunch of girl's clothes and he couldn't imagine how that could help him.
"Oi! What do you think you're doing Cotton?! Those are my clothes!" the androgynous girl gave him a punch to the side, but Rince hardly noticed it.

[BlacKitten]

“What’s going on out there?” One of the girls whispered at the black-haired boy stepped back inside and shut the door closed.

At first, Pluto was under the impression that few of them would even believe in his words due to how outrageous and surreal his explanation would sound. However, considering many of these children believed in Santa Claus, perhaps they would believe in the fact that there was a man out in the hallway who can turn into a black fog. Then again, someone was dressed as Santa at this very moment, and telling them about it could crush their hopes and dreams. Should he really tell them?

Sighing, the boy really didn’t want to waste time informing them on what is happening.

“There’s an evil Santa out there who is trying to kidnap us. He is also capable of using dark magic,” he substituted words with simple terms than kids could understand. The only other person who would know of the terminology ‘Devil Fruits’ would be his little sister, and that was only because her brother had the power of ‘dark magic’ as well.

This is bad. A closed door won’t stop him. He can slip in here through the gaps. I could escape through the window, but then the kids would make a ruckus and tattletale on me – not to mention that Rebecca is in danger as well.

The situation was looking more and more unfavorable as he continued to think about it. If kidnapping was the enemy’s mission, then that means that none of them would probably die. He had no idea why the invaders were doing all of this, but for the time being, what mattered was to keep his little sister safe. Fighting Santa one on one would be completely futile, and he knew very little about what his Devil Fruit powers entailed. Retreat and fight another day was something he couldn’t afford either.

Well, since I’m this cornered, I really don’t have many options left.

Pluto wrapped a single arm around his sister’s back before guiding her to a section of the room where they would be far away from the other kids. Ara followed him, but he didn’t have time to stop her. As the other kids were preoccupied with other forms of dread, the violet-eyed boy cupped his mouth before whispering into his sister’s ears.
Unable to see within the darkness, Ara could barely make out the boy’s silhouette. She gently tugged on his sleeve to get his attention.

Turning around, Pluto patted Ara on the head before whispering some reassuring yet confusing words: “Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”

The timid girl wasn’t sure what he meant by that. When the door started to open, her eyes glanced towards the only entrance and exit in horror. She could hear the pounding of her heart being the loudest sound she could register. Seeking for protection, her arms rushed for the boy, but she felt nothing but thin air. Widening her eyes, she frantically searched for him in the room, but he was gone without a trace. All that was left was the boy’s younger sister standing in place.

[Shinku]

The dark-haired boy and his sister had retreated into their own corner and Rince didn't pay any attention to people who weren't distracting him and who didn't seem to pose a threat either. Instead he focused on his task.
"I'm just looking for a weapon." The pink-haired boy explained to the enraged girl and put the dress back to where he had taken it from. His fingers brushed against something hard and cold. Glass.
Carefully he picked up the two little bottles that had been hiding between the clothes and took a closer look. The small bottle was bright pink nail polish, while the other one was...
Rince sniffed at the opening and the smell made him wrinkle his face in disgust.

"Vinegar?"

That the tomboy had something like nail polish in her closet only showed that there was a secret side to her that one might not expect, but what did the girl want with "North Blue's best quality herb-flavoured vinegar"?

"That's none of your business, give it back!"
Angrily she grabbed for the bottle and they both struggled over the vinegar when the door opened and a dark, flaky cloud filled the door frame.
For a moment, an angry horrid face was visible in the fuzzy silhouette of the figure, then the bottle went flying and spilled the vinegar into the eye of the bad Santa. The man flinched and became even angrier than he was before.

How dared those little brats give him so little respect!
A big dark hand reached out. As if fueled by a fire, it grew in size until it was almost as big as the five-year olds.
Goldilocks screamed and even Kuu stumbled back. Rince who was too scared to move got caught.

"Didn't anyone tell you? Naughty children get taken by Santa." the man laughed and whirled the helpless Rince around, while pressing his other palm on one of the girls, pinning her to the floor.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Despite the dread he was feeling, the boy couldn't help but sneeze like a madman. That black stuff the hand was made off was tickling his nose. It was so bad even his eyes began to get teary.

And then it was over.

Santa dropped him to the floor and turned back to normal... or at least into something that looked like a human being and not like a monster. The man was grinning widely. Obviously he enjoyed to see their scared faces.
"Out with you, and don't you dare to make any more trouble or you won't get away with such a light punishment." he warned the kids.

Rince sniffed back his snot and wiped the tears out of his face. They had left streaks of rosy skin on his soot stained face. All around where the man had grabbed him, he was dirty and dark. Especially the bubblegum pink hair looked dull and gloomy with the soot in it.

Without resistance, he and the girls walked out of the room and followed the other kids downstairs, where the other children were looking for their shoes and winter coats.
To his surprise he spotted Reynard who was talking to Santa's helper.

"But taking some toys with us would really help! You'd have a lot less trouble if the kids are quiet, so why not let them have some plushies to calm them down?" the boy tried to reason with the criminal.
"You'll be quiet and behave or we'll teach you to!"
The scrawny man slapped him and Reynard flinched, taking a step back, but not backing off from his point. The orange-haired boy tried a different approach instead.

"It's such a shame though. We just got such a nice donation from Lady Merryweather and didn't get the time to play with those carefully handmade toys yet. And they're of such good quality and must have costed a lot and now they will stay unused." he whined.

That got him the attention of the bad Santa, who stopped his helper before the man could slap the boy a second time.
"That's not even a bad idea, you know. Hmm... okay. Make sure each kid carries one or two toys with them."

Shmootz Lee frowned, but didn't protest and so Rince found himself with a nutcracker doll in his hand and a bag of marbles in his pocket.
"Hey?! What about the teddy bear? That's the best piece of all. But I don't think any of us kids can carry it, it's rather heavy." Reynard told the intruders and Rince couldn't help but admire his courage, even though he wasn't so sure what the boy aimed to achieve with that.
Santa simply waved his hand and grumbling, Shmootz Lee went to fetch the plushy. He was still complaining about how stupidly heavy and unnecessary it was when they left the house and all the way to the weird ship that they had parked not far from the orphanage.

"Up with you children." Standing on the side of the gloomy procession, he waved them forward. "Oh, guys. Make sure the kids drop the toys in the treasure room before you put them in the cells. I think we can sell them for quite a nice price and make some extra money." He informed his not so enthusiastically looking crew.

[BlacKitten]

For the first time, Rebecca saw what appeared to be Santa, but this man wasn’t quite what she had in mind of the iconic figure. There was a strange black haze being released from the intruder’s body. At all cost, she held her breath, treating the haze as if it were toxic gas. With everyone in the room being instructed to leave, the little girl did just that as she stepped out into the hallway where the walls, ceiling, and the floor were all covered in traces of black powdery substance that she couldn’t quite make out.

Right after she wore her light-blue winter coat and boots, she stepped outside along with the other kids in the middle of the snowy night. Ara walked closely behind her as Rebecca was the closest person that she knew in person. The two of them were roommates, but only earlier today did they started to interact with one another. She was still awfully confused as to how the violet-eyed girl could remain calm. Without a doubt, she could tell that there was nervousness on the expression of her face, but there wasn’t any deathly sense of fear or any tears from her. They were being taken somewhere else, but the fact that they were with each other made it slightly more bearable.

What was perhaps the most impressive to Ara was the boy named Reynard who persistently pestered the intruders with his babbling. Her ears were too plugged with fear to bother make out what he was saying, but she couldn’t help but suspect the young boy acting especially foolish for provoking their kidnappers at such a time.
Arching her back a bit, she whispered to Rebecca as they walked in the snow towards a vague, general direction which Smootz Lee seemed to be guiding them towards.

“Where’s your brother?” The girl had been gazing at the line of kids leaving the doorway of the orphanage, yet Pluto had never appeared. The last she had seen him was in her own room, but he mysteriously vanished ever since.

“He’s with me,” Rebecca responded as if it was obvious. 

“” Ara blinked, gazing at the girl from head to toe, but she couldn’t understand the meaning of her words. There were no magical footsteps being imprinted on the snow around them, so it wasn’t as if the boy turned himself invisible and was walking alongside them.

“Don’t worry. Maybe he’ll tell you about it someday,” the sister stated softly. Out of respect, she didn’t want to talk about her brother’s special gift without his permission first. Even if she told the truth, her words wouldn’t be believed anyways.

Huh? Tell me about what? Is there a secret between them that I don’t know about?

Up head, the kids were being led to board upon a strange contraption that appeared to be built off of massive wooden sled as its base with metal and steel reinforcing it here and there. The largest individual among them, Santa, climbed up to the front where the controls are located. He was holding a rein in his hands, and with a sharp tug, the entire machine started to hover off the ground as fire shot out from four separate corners of the flying sled machine.

Smootz Lee instructed all of the kids to hang on tight if they didn’t want to fall off during flight. From time to time, he kept a sharp lookout for any child who appeared likely to have caused the claw markings across his right face. The cold air had been stinging his wound, and he wanted to punished whoever did it to him. However, none of these cowardly-looking individuals looked particularly vicious enough to have wounded him like this. Since it happened during the dark, there was no sense in interrogating for any witnesses if even the he –as the victim- couldn’t even see the culprit back then.

A-amazing! Rebecca gazed to the side as they were all being suspended off the ground, traveling higher and higher up as they flew off away from the orphanage. For the first time, she could finally get a sense on what it was like to fly in the sky like her brother could at night.

[Shinku]

The swaying movements of the sled and the height made him sick. Being up so high in the air was more than just uncomfortable and cold - it was terrifying.
Rince who had ended up close to the railing, clung to the wood as if his life depended on it. His grip was so hard that his knuckles turned white while his face past being pale and was approaching green at a fast speed.
It could have been a great view. One poets would have died to write about.
Stars above, shining through the cracks of fluffy snow clouds. Below him, warm homes illuminated by candles and lamps, their light visible through the windows. It was truly beautiful.
If only his fear of falling would not drive him mad.

The kid next to him whimpered silently when Reynard pushed it away to get to Rince's side. The orange-haired boy threw a glance back to see if the adults were paying them any attention, but the criminals thought the kids under control and were focused on keeping the modified ship on its course.

"Here, take those and hide them well." He whispered and pushed a little bag into Rince's hands. For a moment his hands cramped around the bag, but some pointy spikes that could be felt even through the thick leather, convinced him to relax his grip.
The scared boy was feeling too nauseous to open his mouth so he made a questioning grimace with his face. At least he hoped that's what he looked like.
Reynard must have understood him, for the sly boy started to explain.
"Tin soldiers." he grinned. "I managed to sneak them out with the other toys. They are worse than lego, you know. Lego hurts a lot if you step on them with bare feet, but those tin soldiers are mean enough to hurt even if you're wearing shoes. Especially the ones holding a rifle with a bayonet."

Not quite believing what the other boy was implying, Rince hurriedly hid the bag in his pocket. He didn't want to be found with such a thing in hand, the kidnappers would not be pleased, that was for sure. But if he simply threw it overboard, then Reynard would be cross with him and somehow that seemed just as scary.

"What are you planning Cotton."

Kuu had sneaked up on his other side while he had been talking with Reynard. For some reason she seemed to believe that Rince was the mind behind the operation.

"Cot-ton?" Rince managed to get the word out. It wasn't the most important thing right now, but it bothered him.
And he rather bother over a stupid name than about their situation...
"Well..." the girl shrugged as she explained her nickname choice. "You're hair looks kinda like cotton candy. Or did. Now it looks like cotton candy that someone dropped into the mud."

"We can't try anything while we're still up in the air. A crash from this high would be deadly and I'm not sure we can learn how to fly this thing in the short time that it takes to fall all the way down to the ground. So we have to wait until we landed. But don't worry, everything is in place, you just have to wait for the signal."

"I ugh- I don't think we have a big chance to win against adults, even if the odds are against them. And that Bad Santa has some strange powers that I've never seen or heard about. He can go all black and .. I don't know..." How did one explain what an encounter like that had been like?
"It's like falling into an extinguished fireplace... only the thing fights back."

"We'll worry about that when we have to. For now, lets just get along with them. Once they have us in their cells, they're not likely to expect a counter attack. That will be our chance."

Rince gave him a doubtful look but didn't answer back. Deep down he felt rather defiant and didn't want to just give in without even trying.
If only he had something to write upon... he could at least write a message and hope someone would find it...
But as soon as he had started to develop a plan, the vehicle was already descending again.
It seemed as if they were already at their destination.

[BlacKitten]

The flying sled machine started to descend towards their destination. As one looked over the ledge, one would see nothing but a dark fog obscuring whatever was at ground level. The black soot that hovered around was a result from several large chimneys down below, releasing streams of these polluting substances into the air that seemed to cloak the enemy’s hideout. These burning-scented smoky clouds drifted outwards from the forces of sled’s fiery engines, casting an opening to the rocky manmade structures down below. In the southern parts of Strawberry Hill Island, there used to be a civilization known as the City-State of Lal, but all that remained these days were the ruins.

As the sled landed on the ground, Smootz Lee stood up and began instructing the kids to get off and walk in a single filed line. Santa Claus’ body suddenly dispersed into the same black soot that lingered in the air beforehand; his essence swirled around, gathering the blackness as he had full control over them. Absorbing them into his body, he became a menacing large, hovering blob of darkness with a sinister face cast upon it.

The giant black cloud with the face lurked over all of the kids from above before speaking, “Hurry up, you naughty little brats! Enter inside!” He once again demonstrated his powers by turning into the black smoke himself while still having the power to speak to them all. With his intangible body, he stole what little hope the kids may still linger in their hearts. His sheer size and influence over the atmosphere itself only contrasted the children’s insignificantly small and frail bodies. He wanted to make them all despair. Having taken out the caretakers, he had already demonstrated that even if an adult would come to save them, no man or woman could possibly stand up to his mystical capabilities.

Smootz Lee had leaped off of the sled, commanding the other kids to follow his lead. Against an opening in a stone wall, there was a flight of stairs that descended underground, and that was where the children would be taken towards. Standing outside of the entrance, the man mentally counted in his head of the number of kids that stepped inside. One by one, he oversaw these frightened kids to go inside and head straight to the very end of the corridor. From behind, the giant black cloud with the evil face made the kids too scared to even turn around. Beyond that bob of soot, all the lingering dark fog obscured anything in the distant. Even if a child were to run off, he or she would have no visually ability to navigate through the darkness. The sky was no longer visible to any of them. The surroundings gave off a burning scent, the kind one would smell after extinguishing a fire.

Through another opening, they reached a large spacious room. There were two main fireplaces to the left and right side upon entering. Each gave rise to black smoke that lingered up a pathway of a chimney. In between, there was large machinery in place with conveyor belts, gears, and metallic compartments.

On the other side of the room, the kids may go further down through another corridor, but before advancing any further, Smootz Lee had instructed the children to place all of the toys that they’ve brought inside dark storage room to the side. Anyone who is found to be in possession of toys after this would be punished. Further down, the walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of the same grey blocks of stones. On either side, there were occasional series of torches giving off dim orange light. A series of prison cells lined up along either side with sliding barred gates lined left open for entering. The inside of each cell was devoid of people, but that would soon no longer be the case as this is where the kids would be sheltered in.

Ara spent the entire walk close to Rebecca. Wherever the little one went, she followed closely behind. As Pluto’s sister entered into a cell, she entered the same one. No matter what, this girl with violet eyes was her only companion that she felt comfortable with.

Due to the increase of temperature on the inside, it was much warmed in here than it was outside. Pulling down her zipper, Rebecca loosened her coat due to how much warmer it was.

“Rebecca, I’m scared,” Ara said softly.

“Me too, but at least Pluto is with us,” the little one responded.

“Huh?” That still didn’t make much sense to her even now. The brother was nowhere in sight. “Where is he?” She began to wonder if this was one of those instances of a person’s spirit living in one’s heart nonsense.

“You’ll see him soon. I think it’s still too early for him to show himself,” Rebecca informed.

Grr..., quit talking about me! 

[Shinku]

"Not against the sled stupid kid!" Santa's helper complained, though the man did nothing to stop Rince. The man was probably too grossed out to carry the child to the side, let alone to touch it.
Rince on the other hand felt a lot better, now that he had solid ground under his little feet - and nothing left in his stomach to give him trouble.

Cold as it was, he still picked up a handful of cold, dirty snow and cleaned his mouth with it as good as he could. It smelled of soot, but that was still way better than the taste of vomit.
Before the abductors could complain again, Rince joined the line of kids heading for the shelter. His friends had lingered first, but had left him behind when Santa had started to change.
Even Reynard seemed to find it prudent to not catch the eyes of the violent man too much.
The pink-haired boy had feared that he might get another beating for dawdling, but he had been one of the first to be out of the sled and was able to get into line before the last kid was out of the vehicle.

Slowly and in line they walked down the stairs. Snow had blown into the entrance and had turned the first few steps into a very dangerous slide trap. Carefully, Rince walked down the slippery steps and breathed a sigh of relief once he passed the dangerous steps and came to the dry part where the ice hadn't managed to form.
The kid behind him wasn't as lucky. The older boy lost his balance and slipped down, right into Rince who toppled over and tumbled down to the bottom of the stairs. Unlike the other boy who had crashed into him, he hadn't managed to grab the stair-rail to steady himself in time.

The bag with the toy soldiers flew out of his pocket and the little tin men scattered all over the floor. Head spinning, Rince started to collect them again, before his vision had even started to readjust to normal up and down.
The scrapes on his palms were throbbing painfully and the trousers showed a big hole on the left knee, but he didn't dare to take a moment to take a breath. Not with Santa in his back.

His leg must have gotten hurt as well, for when he walked down the corridor, something seemed to pock his right foot. More hobbling than walking he followed the others and paused when he entered the storage room.
Should he try to sneak the bag with the toy soldiers out? Reynard had given it to him especially for that...
Eyes watery from the pain, he put the bag next to the nutcracker.
Who cared if Reynard was disappointed. That Santa was just way too scary, he didn't dare to disobey.

With his foot getting poked at every step, Rince just went into the first cell there was, not caring if his friends were there or not. In a way he was glad to notice that Reynard wasn't in the same cell. At least he wouldn't have to explain to him, why the tin soldiers were gone.

Kuu was there though and Rince wasn't sure if he should be happy or not to see the tomboy. For a moment he considered hiding behind one of the older boys. The girl was comforting her golden-haired friend and hadn't spotted him yet. The others too were clinging together in small groups. Since everyone was trying to stay close to their friends, he might even get unnoticed...
In the end he pulled himself together and approached the girls.

[BlacKitten]

“Listen up, brats! Starting tomorrow morning, you’ll all be heading straight to work! If any of you disobey, you’ll be punished. If any of you just so happen to be utterly useless or are a problem child, we’ll simply dispose of you, and by that, you would be sold into slavery. That’s all! So rest up! You all have a long day tomorrow!” Smootz Lee said his final words to the children before leaving the corridor of the prison cells. He had personally locked the gate of each cell, and he recounted the number of kids to make sure they sum up to the same total as before. With these kidnapped, naïve fools confined, all they need was a bit of time to adapt to their new surroundings as well as some discipline to let them know their place.

Rebecca and Ara ended up being the only two within their cell. They had each tried to tug on the gates under some miracle that it wasn’t locked, but such efforts offered no success. The dim orange light had casted dominating shadows that corresponded to the series of vertical bars lining across the gate. Some amount of time had passed since the departure of Santa’s helper, but despite it being past their usual bedtimes, the two girls couldn’t bring themselves to fall asleep. If they tried to sleep, it felt like the darkness would try to swallow them whole.

Suddenly, Rebecca wrapped herself tautly with her arms with her eyes squeezed shut. Her lips were pressed together as if holding back a chuckle. “P-Pluto…,” she whispered, “That tickles.” Submissively, she writhed and squirmed in place as she kneeled on the ground.

Ara gave a sadden look. She was starting to think that the little one had completely lost her mind for thinking that her brother was still around. It was too painful to watch someone like her to be talking to an imaginary entity, so she looked away. Perhaps, all of this was too much for such a young girl to bear, so the sister probably created this mental construct of her brother to cope with the situation.

A small figure bulged out from behind the Rebecca’s long black hair before a little critter crawled out and splayed out his wings. “I had to crawl around or else you’ll crush me. I’m fragile in that form,” the boy justified himself.

Upon hearing a young male voice, Ara turned her gaze around as her eyes widened at the sudden appearance of a third person in the cell. “EH!?” She gaped.

Scanning around his environment, Pluto analyzed the circumstances at hand now that he was out in the open. “Keeping us in cells, are they? Well, that’s no problem for me,” he muttered to himself. With his powers, confinement wouldn’t work on him.

“P-Pluto!?” Ara was in disbelief. Both her eyes and ears registered this person as her cellmate’s brother. There was no mistaken it. Was she starting to lose her mind as well? Was she hallucinating? Was her sanity slipping away as well? 

The boy turned around, responding hesitantly, “Y-yes?”

Eagerly stepping closer, Ara pressed her hands against the side of his arm as if wanting to confirm his existence through touch. “W-where? … H-how…?” She felt like a magician had just pulled a magic trick on her, and she couldn’t figure it out besides labeling it as magic.

“See!” Rebecca pointed at him with a finger while directing her words at the other girl, “I told you!”

“Good grief. It seems like I’m the only one who can escape from here,” he mumbled while glaring at the metal bars.

“Pluto?” Ara said meekly, “How did you do that?”

“Uh…,” He didn’t feel ready to explain his secret. “Can you just accept the fact that I’m here?”

“But I want to know how you got here.”

“I was here the whole time,” he stated before wondering if he should have lied somehow.

“You don’t want to tell me because you don’t trust me?” Ara asked with watery eyes, remembering what Rebecca had told her.

Uh oh… she’s going to cry if I’m not careful, isn’t she?

“No, it’s not about trust. I don’t want to scare you. If you know the truth, you’ll be afraid of me,” he then paused, repeating what he had just said over through his head.

Wait a minute…, isn’t that a good thing? If she’s afraid of me, she’d stay far away from me.

“If Rebecca isn’t afraid of you, I won’t be either. I’m already scared. You can’t be any scarier than those bad people,” Ara reasoned.

“Maybe fear wasn’t the right word,” he looked to the side, thinking of a way to correct himself, “You’ll be freaked out.”

“I don’t care!” She exclaimed.

“What?” He was starting to feel pressured. His warning wasn’t helping him at all.

“Pluto, I don’t think she’ll dislike you if you show her,” Rebecca interjected.

“Show me what?”

With an uneasy look, he admitted defeat, “Fine…, I’ll have to use it eventually to get out of here.”