ZERO

RUMOR HAS IT that the fifth shop from the entrance in City Square is magical and enchanted.

No one knows why that's the case though. All they know is that as soon as you swing open the door, you get greeted by a wave of excitement, a sense of wonder that gets your feet moving across the tiles of the ground effortlessly, your eyes scrutinizing each and every toy on the shelves as your hands fiddle with them, one after another.

With exhilaration flowing in your veins at a rapid speed, you feel as though you're transported back to the past where you're once again a child. Having the great urge to jump in joy as your eyes sparkle at the sight of the new toys, you'd find yourself running across the shop and reaching for that particular toy that has gotten the most of your attention, hands clasping onto it while you merrily go, "I'm definitely getting this".

Grinning widely as you move to the cashier area with quick, excited steps, you come face-to-face with a guy who greatly reminds you of someone, causing the longing for your childhood to come back.

"Hi," you'd start off and before you know it, the words come rolling out of your tongue. "Are you . . . Santa?"

For the first few seconds, he doesn't reply and you'd guiltily think, what am I even saying? Santa doesn't bloody exist.

The whole idea seems absurd because how on earth can Santa, the guy whom all children would believe in before they start growing up, exists? It's crazy. Even 'crazy' would be a damn understatement.

So you'd start stuttering, mentally thinking of ways for you to apologize appropriately for your weird behavior and before you can actually mutter out a quick 'sorry', you see him smiling. As if that itself isn't already enough, you hear him laughing.

Like Santa Claus.

The both of you simply end up having a staring contest and just when you think it's over and you can finally leave with your selected toy, you hear him speak.

Like who?

Like bloody freaking Santa Claus.

But well, to be specific, he sounds like North from Rise of the Guardians, an animated movie released in 2012.

(Okay, fine, North is actually still Santa).

"That'd be ten bucks, my child," he'd say and with yet another huge smile on his face, he winks. "Remember to be nice and not naughty!"

So maybe that's why the fifth shop from the entrance in City Square is said to be magical and enchanted.

Santa's working in there after all.

• • •

HE HAS ALWAYS felt as though he is Professor Utonium, the father and creator of the Powerpuff Girls. Except 1) he's not a scientist and, 2) he cannot create animated people.

At least that's what he thinks.

Also, here's a warning – he's always underestimating himself.

He finds himself in the workshop at the oddest hour of the day (or night, depending on how you view it), eyes about to close as he scrutinizes the toys on the tables one by one.

As always, the toys are in the best quality, with every single one of them being neatly smoothed (no rough edges at all) and perfectly assembled. There's simply nothing more perfect than the toys in his eyes, despite how they are lacking something important.

Ah, yes. Magic.

He, amongst the rest of his great friends, is a master craftsman and toymaker. Someone who, unlike his said great friends, can create amazing toys (though he's lazy and he'll, at times, end up asking his other great friends – he has a lot of friends, contrary to popular belief – for help). By 'amazing', it refers to him imbuing those toys with magic or magical abilities.

He personally prefers toys that are imbued with magic instead of magical abilities. There is just something about giving emotions to the toys that appealed to him more. But of course, some toys are just better off being given magical abilities instead of mere magic.

Like say, for instance, the six wooden nutcrackers in front of him.

He has never understood why the magic he imbues into nutcrackers has always been so little. Even when they come in a huge group (maybe like in a group of twelve), the magic he'd inject would still be lesser than the amount given to a single toy train or, a stuffed gingerbread toy.

It is like an algebraic expression that he'd never figure out.

(He hates algebra, don't mind him).

While there's a common perception that giving lesser magic is equivalent to an easier task that could be completed faster, that's not entirely the case.

Not that he has difficulties managing his magic or anything of that sort when a fixed amount is needed. He manages his magic just fine, thank you very much.

So look, here's the thing – imbuing magical abilities (instead of pure magic that would evoke emotions or even memories) to some toys is already a risky process but what's even riskier is nutcrackers needing to be imbued with magical abilities as well.

What he is trying to say is that yes, it is true that imbuing magical abilities is risky because of how an exact amount is needed for it to work – no less or more – but those amount are flexible. It doesn't matter if it goes a little below the amount or a little above because everything will still work as well like how it should normally work.

Nutcrackers, though, are a whole new thing for him. They require precision and there's absolutely no room for flexibility. It also doesn't help when the degrees of extra magic imbued would result in a different outcome. It makes everything worse because no one – not even him, for Christmas' sake – knows what will happen if you, for example, imbued a small extra amount.

(Okay, he actually knows what would happen to the nutcrackers if he injected a tiny amount extra).

He doesn't even dare to think about what would happen if he imbued an average amount that would get a toy train moving or even a huge amount. It honestly scares him.

With a loud yawn, he gets to work after cracking his knuckles. He places the six nutcrackers in front of him and cautiously, he starts imbuing magic to them, all the while chanting "no mistakes; no errors; no fault" repeatedly in his mind.

As he nears completion of the laborious process, he hears the door being swung open, catching him off-guard. Still imbuing magic to the nutcrackers, he snaps his head to the source in annoyance with narrowed eyes and heated glare that could metaphorically pierce through someone.

Then, he curses after a loud gasp and turns back to the nutcrackers frantically, blaming himself for getting sidetracked. But before he could even comprehend how much extra magic he has imbued, he finds himself facing an explosion and having himself thrown to the other side of the workshop.

Perhaps it is because of his fatigue that made his eyes flutter close or maybe it is because of the impact of the thrown (he's pretty sure he has injured his ribs or something), but the last thing he sees before he's sucked into a dark abyss is six large figures walking out of the workshop, through a huge hole they've made by breaking down the walls of the workshop.

Six large figures that seemed like the six nutcrackers, to be exact.

Remember how he thinks he cannot create animated people? Yeah, well, he actually can.

In fact, he could be the second Professor Utonium even though he isn't a scientist because Professor Utonium created the Powerpuff Girls by accidentally spilling a mysterious substance called 'Chemical X'. He, on the other hand, accidentally created nutcrackers who are alive by imbuing more magic than needed.

Scratch that, he doesn't even have to be the second Professor Utonium. Why be that when you can be the first Santa Claus (who is known as North) who created those wooden nutcrackers who are now alive?

Yes, he's actually Santa or, if you prefer, North. And yes, that's right, he's actually the same guy who works in the fifth shop from the entrance in City Square.

• • •

status: unedited

[1] finally ... an update. i sincerely hope u enjoyed reading this??? if u didn't then it's fine bc i know how bad this is like i literally word vomited haha. but regardless, do comment down your thoughts!

[2] anyway, not sure if this is of any importance but this chapter is just the first prologue. the second one will be the next chapter, where u will get to read about ur dearest flo and her cousin

[3] thank u for reading this & pls know that i love u dearly for doing so. with that said, i have absolutely no idea when the next update will come so ... bye before anyone kills me!