With the Burton family acting in full force, the creatures were haven't a hard time regenerating fast enough.

"This is getting kind of old..." Riku said as more monsters came forward.

"Yeah..." Sora agreed. "Especially when Roxas is so close by."

"Sora." Terra looked at his son. "You can tell where Roxas is?"

Sora nodded. "Uh huh. Just a short trip through the shadows. I'm pretty sure I could get to him easy."

"If we make you a path, do you think you can through?" Aqua asked.

Sora nodded. "Definitely."

"Alright." Terra said. "Let's do it."

Once the monsters had been beaten back enough, Sora starting disappearing into the ground.

Riku wasn't ready to let him go. "Wait-" He felt a chill through his body as he was pulled along for the ride. It was nothing like he had ever felt before. But then, anytime he was with Sora was like that.
It was like being pulled through a vacuum and stretched like a rubber band. By the time Riku had his wits about him again his vision was blurry, but his feet were once again on the ground.

Roxas sat huddled under what he thought was a table. Before he could make it out of the building, everything had been swallowed in darkness. He wrapped his arms around himself and stayed as still as possible. The cold made him shiver, and he clenched his jaw shut to keep his teeth from chattering. He could hear a scraping noise every now and then. A low growl echoed through the building.

'Where is everyone?' Despite his situation, Roxas was concerned about the whereabouts of Xehanort and his assistants. He had not heard any screaming in a long time.

"..as."

Roxas bit his lip. What was that?

"Xas…Roxas…"

The voice filled his mind. He couldn't do anything to escape it. It sounded inhuman, like a parrot imitating a person. The voice was high pitched and strange.

He felt an icy claw on his back.

"ROXAS!"

Sora separated himself and Riku from the shadows just in time to knock the large claw away. It faded back into the darkness. Sora's keyblade cast a glow on the floor, giving Roxas enough light to see his brother and his friend.

"S-S-Sora!" Roxas said, rubbing his arms. "I'm s-s-so g-glad you're here!"

Riku shivered. 'Shadow travel. Definitely not my favorite mode of transportation.'

What's more, he could tell they weren't alone in the dark. "Sora! On your left!"

"Huh?" A rush of cold alerted Sora to the materializing claw. He slashed at it, and again it disappeared into the darkness. "Woah...Where is it now?"

Riku looked around. "Not there...Not here...Jump back Roxas!"

The claw appeared again, this time from the ceiling. It swung across the room like a scythe.

"AHHH!" Roxas ran for his brother, clinging to Sora's jacket. "Can we get out of here. Please?"

Sora nodded. "Kay. Riku grab on to-"

Rows of sharp teeth rose from the floor.

Roxas screamed, and Sora shoved his brother Riku's way as a large set of jaws swallowed him.

"SORA!" Riku yelled.

The large mouth disappeared into the floor, leaving Roxas and Riku in the dark.

Riku shuddered. Sora had been their only defense. Now, it was only a matter of time before the Krampus got them too. He could feel it pulsing through the walls and floor. Roxas was at his left, he could sense him. Fear was creeping through him. Riku tried to keep calm. 'Now's not the time to fall to pieces...There has to be a way out of here..this room...this...' He grabbed hold of Roxas' hand. 'I got it!'

"Hold on, Roxas." Riku began to run, pulling Roxas along. 'I just got get lost for a minute...'

They continued to run until finally, they were in a different place all together: The Hinterlands.

"Wait, how'd we get here?" Roxas asked , looking back. The cluster of buildings was nowhere in sight. "Actually, no I don't care. I'm just glad to be out of the dark."

"What happened to the guys that kidnapped you?' Riku asked.

"They all sort of ran off. There was a fire...some equipment blew up...Plus, I don't think they were expecting that monster to come out of there. I don't know how they did that without splitting me in half either."

"Splitting you...?"

"Into two different people, like they did with Uncle Ven. But hey opened that thing somehow anyway."

"We have to put you somewhere they can't get to you then. Not that it's much better, but I recommend Christmas Town. You have your phone?"

"No. Dude, I'm wearing a sheet."

"Take mine. Watch the time, and don't stay there more than ten hours. Have someone walk you over to the next town."

"Why can't I stay more than ten hours?"

"Sora. Sora stayed longer than ten hours. Would you like to turn into a changeling and then explode into a huge monster?"

"I dunno. I mean, you get a cool key thing..."Roxas swung his arm. "Like swoosh!" A brilliant light filled the forest, and Roxas found himself holding a very large, very shiny keyblade. "Oh shi-"

"What!? Roxas, how did you do that?"

"How should I know?"

"All I said was swoosh! What is this?"

"Looks like just about everyone in the Burton family is a keyblade master."

"Yeah...Wait, Dad too?"

"He, your Mom, and Sora...I don't know about your uncle. Maybe not since he was split apart."

Roxas swung his weapon around. "This is so cool! Maybe I can make it shoot fire!"

Riku went pale at that. "Or...You could just not. At least go train with the master first. Please."

Roxas put his arm down, causing the keyblade to disappear. "But...What about Sora? He got eaten by that thing..."

Riku shook his head. "I know it looked that way, but I know Sora is alright. I could sort of tell. Anyway, after I take you to Christmas Town, I'm going back to let your parents know you're alright."

They made it to the clearing and entered through the Christmas tree door.

The fell into a pile of fresh snow, just outside of the town's gates.

Roxas wiped the white stuff from his face. His lack of clothing left him exposed to the elements in ways he wasn't to thrilled about. He stood slowly, looking for Riku. "Riku, what-"

Riku, his stoic, knowledgeable, nonchalant friend had apparently gone through some sort of change. Roxas bit his lip to keep from laughing, but it was no use. "Looking good there, Riku."

Riku sat up. "What are you...Ah!" His hands were hidden behind black gloves with white trim. His sneakers were now leather boots, and his clothes were hidden under a long red cloak with a pointed hood. "What is this?! And what's with all these zippers and chains?!"

Roxas snickered. "Oh wow...You look like the Hot Topic version of Santa."

Riku sighed. "Good grief...Come on, let's just keep it moving."

As they walked, Roxas amused himself with coming up with other jokes.

"Final Santasy...Metal Santa..."

By the time they reached the workshop, Riku was more than happy to be rid of Roxas. Of course neither of them knew what to think once they walked in. Confetti fell from the ceiling, trumpets blared, and elves cheered. Considering how glum everyone had been during his last visit, Riku was surprised they were capable of this level of spirit.

Santa and Mrs. Claus were amongst the festivities.

"I thought this day would never come." Santa said. "The legend has finally come true."

Riku tugged at the pointy hood. "Uh yeah, legend...Right."

"And you defeated the krampus!" Someone cried.

Roxas laughed nervously. "Not exactly, but he'[s working on it. Right, Riku Claus?"

Sora found himself wrapped in darkness. Given his practice with melting his body into the dark, it was hard to decipher where the space he was in ended, and where he began. It was as if he was melting into the dark. With no light source or sense of balance, Sora was left to his thoughts. But even was weren't too clear. Here, wherever he was, he could only feel a sense of fear.

It was dizzying, maddening. The last time he had felt something like this was when he ate too much 'red' in one sitting-It was an intoxicated feeling.

'Sora...'

'…...'

'Oh, boy. Why does everyone keep getting stuck?'

'….'

'HEY! SORA!'

Sora knew that voice. 'Uncle Van?'

'Ugh. I'm Vanitas.'

'Where am I?'

'On the other side.'

'Wait, I'm dead? But, I thought I was undead. So-'

'No, you aren't dead. You're on the other side of light. In the darkness.'

'I don't really get it. Is this were you live, Uncle Van?'

'When I'm not in dreamland, yeah. Just think of it as another world. Anyway, you're a little too close. You need to get back to the light.'

'How?'

'How should I know? I don't get to see the 'light'. I'm not tangible. Just see yourself out, before you get stuck in here, like me.'

'How'd you get stuck?'

'When the doc split me and your Uncle apart. He got a hold of him just like he did with Roxas. But things didn't work out the same way . Ventus and I weren't split properly-we have a little bit of each other. Maybe a lot. Sheesh, why am I even talking to you? Get out already.'

'I'm sorry.'

'For what?'

'That you and Uncle Ven were split apart. It must be lonely int hat dark all the time.'

'What do you care about my feelings? Just leave already!'

"SORA!"

'?'

'See? There's your ticket out of here.'

"SORA! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?'

'Riku...?'

'Follow that voice. Leave.'

Sora felt something tugging at him.

'Vanitas!'

'What?'

'Hold on tight, okay?'

The next Vanitas, he was sitting on the floor beside Riku and Sora.

Sora pinched his on face, to make sure it wasn't just a dream. "Ha! We're back in the real world."

He looked down at Vanitas, who was confused. "Look Uncle Van! You're tangible!"

Vanitas could feel the floor beneath him, solid and cold. He looked back and forth between Riku and Sora. "I'm...what?"

"Solid." Riku remarked. "You're solid. But how is that possible? I mean, I thought you were part of Ventus."

"I was solid once before." Vanitas said, flexing his fingers. "When I was split from Ventus. It was only for a moment, and then I found myself in Darkness."

"I think Krampus is part of that darkness." Riku said. "I think they're one and the same."

Sora frowned. "I understand what your saying. But, how are we supposed to fight the dark? I mean, it's there all the time. It's all around us right now!"

"I'm not sure we can. Maybe the only thing we can do is get it back through the door. Let's get back to the others. Do you think you can transport all three of us, Sora?"

"I can try."

Aqua and Terra jumped back as the three boys materialized out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here?" Aqua asked, pointing her keyblade at Vanitas.

Sora stood between them. "Mom, Uncle Vanitas is solid! Isn't that great?"

"Where's Roxas?" Terra asked.

"Christmas town." Riku clarified. "He should be fine there."

"Good." Hope was relieved. "What now?"

"We get the Krampus back to where he came from." Riku said.

Together they ventured back into the building, beating back any monsters that appeared. Vanitas stayed in their company, as Sora insisted. It wasn't long before they found the door that Xehanort had constructed, and to their surprise: Axel.

"What are you doing here?" Riku asked.

"Repenting, I guess." Axel replied. He appeared to be fixing the door. "I wanted to save Roxas, so I tried to stop them from splitting him apart. But the amount of energy the operation generated forced the gate to darkness open anyway."

"Great." Terra crossed his arms. "How did we get it back open and stick that monster in it?"

Axel mended two cables. "We'll need a large spark to get it going. It uses a lot of power."

"If its power you want, that's what you get." Aqua said materializing her keyblade.

Lightning watched as the Burtons brought the power back on with the use of their keyblades. 'I'll be glad to get as far away from all this as possible. No more magic and monsters for me.'

"This must be really strange for you, Light." Hope said.

Lightning shook her head. "You have no idea."

The building shook.

Riku looked towards the door. "Krampus is coming. I can feel it."

Darkness rushed into the room and took the form of a large monster.

The Burtons readied their weapons while Lightning, Hope and Axel focused on keeping the gate running. Sora could only keep his eyes on the monster. Massive in size and freezing cold, all Sora could feel was fear. It was as if the monster was made up of emotion, and perhaps, that is why he attacks could not damage it properly.

But Riku could. His keyblade, Way to dawn, could enter the dark. It was because he was a scowl, because he had gone so long without fear. He beat the monster back to its most basic form; a crystallized bundle of nerves.

Once the Krampus was broken down to its truest form, Aqua, Riku and Vanitas covered it in a block of ice. Then, together they used Aeroga to levitate the mass back through the gate and into the darkness. With the gate closed, they breather a combined sigh of relief.

"Well..." Vanitas said. "That happened."

Lightning nodded. "Yeah. Apparently. And you are?'

"Half of Ventus." He explained.

With the Krampus gone, they had a moment of silence. With the power returned, it was much easier to see, and return to town. Xehanort's followers were found unconscious all around the building, but Xehanort himself had yet to be found. Lightning arrested them as accomplices in Roxas' kidnapping before taking he leave from the Burtons.

After a family vote, Vanitas returned back to the manor were his other half waited. Their reunion was oddly quick, as Ventus confessed he had never felt alone when left to his thoughts. While averse to the thought of Vanitas staying with them, Aqua also believed he had nowhere else to go. Sora consented that Vanitas take his place while he lived in Halloween town. Roxas wasn't all that happy to see him either once he returned home, but figured he deserved a second chance.

As Christmas was upon them, Riku and Sora returned to Christmas Town. Riku's attire changed once they entered, once again making him 'Final Santasy'. Sora instead took this as a sign that he was not a humbug after all.

There was little celebration in Christmas town, as preparations were underway to get the packages across the globe. Santa didn't believe he could take on the task.

"You, Noel are the only fit to drive that sleigh now. It was you who defeated the Krampus, and made the legend true. Look at all the holly that surrounds us. It is a sign."

"I didn't do it alone, Grandpa. I had help. That being said, I don't think I can deliver all those presents by myself." He turned. "Can you help me, Sora?"

Sora was surprised. He beamed with joy. "Ofcourse!"

That made Santa a little uneasy. Things were bad enough when Jack had tried to take over Christmas. Would the Pumpkin Prince be a help or a hindrance? Despite his doubts, Santa Claus entrusted his grandson and friend with his sleigh.

And Riku would never forget that night either. Soaring at the speed of light across the globe with Sora as his companion. Sneaking into houses one by one...with Sora's powers it was easier than he imagined. As for the gifts, with the use of his keyblade Riku bestowed dreams upon the children of the world. These dreams were of happier times, or glimpses into the future. While they weren't tangible as toys, Riku believed that unlike his grandfather he would rather give children options than playthings.

Of course he still left toys to those he thought deserved them. It was a long night and by the time it ended, all Riku wanted to do was sleep the next day. But fate had more in store for him. For in his childlike form he had confided to Sora the one thing he had ever wanted for Christmas. And Sora made sure he received it.

Riku went downstairs to find his entire family waiting with presents. They all, with the exception of Hope and Mrs. Claus, looked horrified. As Riku's mother explained, she had been kidnapped by a spiky haired figure int eh dark of night, only to wake up in her won living-room. Riku's father gave a similar account. Hops had gone along willingly, as did his mother.

Having finally received the one thing he always wanted all Riku could do was laugh as if he had not done so in a long, long time.

Final Santasy is the silliest thing I've written in a long time. Forgive me.

And so, we are done with the Pumpkin Prince 2.

I apologize for the wait.