(running, panting, dropping stuff along the way) Hi, everybody! samuraistar here, with another Christmas story—obviously, this one's for The Cat Returns!

Obviously, I won't be able to finish the whole thing by Christmas, but I'll do my best; as mentioned, this is a crossover with The Nutcracker story by E. T. A. Hoffman, a copy of which I have in my possession, so it'll probably be different from the ballet shows you may or may not have seen. I did, however, watch a couple of versions of the ballet for reference and I also watched a 90's cartoon version, as well as…the Barbie version (embarrassed). So I have tons of reference material, along with TCR! I'll try to make it as good as possible, I promise!

And the chapter quotes will all be from my copy of the book, which is something I've never done before! Excitement!

So without further ado, let's get cracking! (Ha, ha)

"Marie Stahlbaum and her older brother, Fritz, could barely contain their excitement. What wonderful gifts were waiting for them under the giant Christmas tree?"—E. T. A Hoffman, The Nutcracker (Scholastic Junior Classics edition), chapter 1

Haru and the Nutcracker

Prologue: Wrath of the Cat King
"Aah!" cried Westley as the Cat Escort dumped him at the feet of their king and his court; he could feel their anger in the air and see it in the way their necks bristled. The burly fatigue-patterned cats surrounded him with their swords drawn close to his bare neck. The Cat King stood up.

"I should've known better than to trust a human," he growled, "I suppose we don't matter to you, though; it's just a little cat, right? Not worth wasting your time trying to find one—stupid—CAT!"

His courtiers backed away nervously, but Westley held his ground.

"If Your Majesty would permit me to speak," he began.

"NO!" barked the old cat, "Your speaking is what landed you in this mess! My only heir to the throne is missing and now, thanks to your incompetence, my only hope of ever finding him is gone! You have failed me, my son, and my entire kingdom!"

"Westley Moon," he finished, "As punishment for this insult, I sentence you to death!"

Before poor Westley could react, his face was slashed and his arms were, too as the guard cats began to execute him manually.

"I gave you a deadline, Moon," the king said cruelly as the guards tore him apart, "and you missed it. I don't fool around with deadlines, babe."

"RRAUGH!" A fat white cat came crashing through the roof and landed on the writhing heap.

"Toto!" he snarled, "Get him out of here!"

A screeching crow swooped in like a missile, dodging weapons right and left. The roaring cat got enough guards away from Westley for Toto to snatch him up and fly out, still dodging weapons.

"Hold on, Westley," he said as he flapped for their lives, "I'm gonna take you to Renaldo and everything will be all right. Just stay with me."

Westley wanted to tell his friend not to bother, that it was too late for him, that he was in so much pain he didn't even want to live, but his pain had silenced him and he concentrated on breathing instead, letting the moments pas in a blur of light and color and sound.

Soon he was no longer moving; he felt instead a soft warmth like sunshine working around him to heal his wounds. It was a blissful warmth and Westley welcomed it gratefully.

Except for one thing: He was very stiff, like he'd slept for a week in the most awkward position imaginable. It seemed to have to do with the light; the longer he was immersed, the stiffer he felt.

Startled, he opened his eyes and saw the face of his uncle Renaldo, anxiously working over him. He was gigantic!

"Uncle," he wanted to ask, "Why are you so large?" But he still couldn't speak! He saw Toto on his shoulder with his sharp beady eyes fixed on him and Muta the white cat sitting by him, licking his own wounds.

"Renaldo, are you sure about this?" Toto murmured.

"This is the only way I know to save him," the man answered, "I have to change him—his name, too. The Cat King will hunt him down forever for this, fool that he is. It's too dangerous to be him anymore."

Westley could feel his legs coming together like a soldier, his feet pointing upward; his left arm folded itself across his stomach while his right crept underneath his back. It was as if his body was no longer his own!

'What's happening to me?'he screamed in his head as something grew out of his head. He turned his eyes to his uncle and friends, but even his own eyes defied his will and slowly forced his vision forward to the ceiling. They would never move again.

"It's complete," announced Renaldo quietly, "As far as the Cat Kingdom is concerned, Westley Moon is dead." He carefully picked up his stiffened nephew and held him up.

"But what are we going to call him now?" asked Toto.

"Something that will throw the cats so far off the scent they'll chase their tails in circles," Renaldo smiled, "He'll be a baron: Baron Humbert von Gikkingen."

Author's Review:
You know, I'm slightly disappointed with myself; this sounds like something anyone else would come up with! (sigh) I hope I'm not starting to lose my touch…

I actually debated on whether or not to put this prologue up, but decided to go ahead because even if we know most of the story already, Haru still doesn't! ;)

Please leave reviews or what-have-you, but it's Christmas, so please be kind! I'll update as soon as I can.