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It was a dark, eerily silent night. All was calm–or so it seemed. In a small clearing in between five oddly-placed pine trees, a sinister light began to glow. From that light emerged a dark figure, skeletal and demonic. The figure let out a low, rumbling laugh. Soon, everything would be set into motion.
In a familiar suburb in Boston, Lucy and Gabriela exited their house, ready to begin another night of Jolly Month fun. Gabriela turned to her sister with her first suggestion.
“Let’s go to the mall!”
And so, the two sisters made their way to the mall. Once there, they began browsing the toy aisle, stopping when something caught their eye: an old-fashioned Nutcracker toy. The girls decided that’s what they wanted to buy.
“Let’s buy the Nutcracker!”
The cashier on duty looked down and held back a groan at the two Asian girls in front of him. Instead, he asked, “What do you kids want?”
“We want this Nutcracker,” Lucy stated, holding up the toy for the cashier to see.
“Where are your parents?”
“They’re at home,” Gabriela explained. “Don’t worry, we can pay for it.” She held out a handful of money to prove it. Whatever, the cashier thought. The sooner he got these two out of here, the better. That’s when he noticed what they were wearing, and he couldn’t help but comment on it.
“You two know it’s July, right?”
Gabriela just smirked and stage-whispered to her sister, “He doesn’t know it’s a Jolly Month.” The two of them snickered, further incentivizing the cashier to ring up their purchase as quickly as possible. And here he thought Asians were supposed to be smart.
The demon moved silently as a shadow, blending into the darkness so as not to be spotted until he reached his destination. Soon enough, he found it: an unassuming house adorned with a few Christmas decorations despite the fact that it was the middle of summer. The demon knew of a great power residing within that house. All he needed to do was find a way to obtain it.
The shadowy being smirked. This was going to be fun.
Lucy and Gabriela practically skipped out of the store, the former holding the box containing their newly purchased Nutcracker.
“I can’t wait to play with the Nutcracker!” Lucy exclaimed.
“Me either!” Gabriela agreed.
“Hello there, children,” a strange voice purred, causing the girls to jump a little. They looked up at the owner of the voice: a rather strange-looking man wearing an ill-fitting tophat and overcoat. The man continued speaking. “Do you like…” he opened his coat, “chocolate?” There, on full display on the insides of the man’s overcoat, were dozens of selections of chocolate. Lucy and Gabriela grinned.
“Yes!” both girls cheered.
“Well, then,” the man purred, “why don’t you two take some free samples of the finest quality chocolate you’ll ever taste? Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Choco-Keeper.” The two girls happily obliged, selecting whatever chocolates struck their fancy until Gabriela had her arms full.
“Thank you, sir!” Lucy and Gabriela beamed as they skipped away.
“You’re ever so welcome, girls,” the Choco-Keeper replied. “Just be sure to tell your friends.”
Luzcretia and Silas were enjoying a quiet night in, unaware that they were being watched. The shadowy figure peered at them through the window, being careful to keep itself concealed. He observed the two adults, trying to sense the power he had been seeking.
Hmmmm… These two were powerful, but not the power he was looking for. Was that power not here? Well, no matter. They’d have to return sometime. He could be patient.
“Where should we go next?” Gabriela asked as she tried to balance all the chocolates she was carrying in her arms.
“Hmmm…” Lucy pondered, tapping her chin. “Let’s go visit Robyn!” But before they could take more than a few steps, they were stopped by a certain trio of teenage girls.
“Hey, freaks,” Ruby sneered. “What are you doing here?”
“And are you still wearing those dumb outfits?” Sapphire scoffed. “You know it’s July, right?” Lucy and Gabriela glanced at each other before shrugging.
“Oh, what have you got there?” Emerald asked with a smirk, making a grab for the chocolates Gabriela was holding.
“Hey! Those are ours!” Lucy protested as Gabriela jerked them out of Emerald’s reach.
“Oh yeah?” Ruby smirked, which Sapphire and Emerald mirrored. “And what are you going to do about it?” Lucy and Gabriela said nothing as the Gemstones advanced on them with triplet predatory grins.
It was a peaceful night in the house. Luzcretia and Silas were curled up on the couch together, just enjoying each other’s company. As much as they loved their girls, it was nice to get a bit of peace and quiet every now and then. They were completely unaware that they were not alone in the house.
The shadowy being was watching them from a dark corner. He was waiting for the ones who held the power he coveted. But then he had a thought. If the two adults lived in the same house as these beings, they must care a great deal for them. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage?
Yes… Perhaps if he used these two as leverage, he could get the power he seeked without a fight. The figure let out a low, rumbling laugh before teleporting behind Silas and Luzcretia. He reached his hands out, ready to grab them, being careful not to draw attention to himself until it was too late for them to do anything.
Luzcretia and Silas both sensed something. Some malevolent entity just behind them, about to make a move. They dodged just before it could. Looking in the entity’s direction, they witnessed a skeletal, demonic being take form from the shadows. It was clear to see that this being couldn’t be up to anything good. Well, Silas and Luzcretia weren’t going down without a fight.
Silas and Luzcretia grabbed whatever weapon was in reach, brandishing them threateningly. The demonic being let out a roar. The two parties charged at each other.
Robyn, a young woman with short, pink hair in pigtails, leaned on the counter of her little shop, humming a little tune to herself. She looked down at the sound of tiny footsteps and was shocked at what she saw.
“Hi, Robyn,” greeted a more-downtrodden-than-usual Lucy and Gabriela, who had their hair tied together in a knot.
“What happened to you two?” Robyn asked before proceeding to find a comb, getting to work on untangling Lucy and Gabriela’s hair while the girls explained what happened. Feeling sympathetic to the two young girls, Robyn gave them each a peppermint hot chocolate with extra whipped cream after she finished disentangling them.
“On the house,” she said with a wink.
“Thank you, Robyn!” Lucy and Gabriela chorused, beaming. Gabriela seemed to remember something.
“Oh, yeah! Go to the Choco-Keeper and get some chocolate!” With that, the two girls skipped out of the store with their hot chocolates, leaving behind a confused Robyn.
“...Choco-Keeper?”
The house was a mess. Neither Silas, Luzcretia, or their assailant had gotten out unscathed. The three had found themselves at a stalemate, of sorts. The demon poised himself for another attack, and Silas and Luzcretia readied themselves. But they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
“Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!” Lucy greeted before noticing their “guest”. “Uh…” The shadowy being abandoned his fight with the adults, floating up to Lucy and Gabriela too quickly for anyone to stop him. This was it. This was the power he was searching for!
“Who are you?” Gabriela asked.
“I am Krampus,” the demon answered.
“Do you like the Jolly Month?” Lucy asked. Krampus only let out a low, rumbling laugh at that.
“I suppose you could say that.” he said cryptically. Lucy and Gabriela beamed at that.
“Do you know the Jolly Dance?” Gabriela asked. She and Lucy then proceeded to launch into said dance without waiting for an answer. Krampus decided to seize his chance; to get this great power now, while they were distracted. He advanced on them, his bony hands reaching out to the two oblivious girls, only to be stunned by the very power he coveted. Krampus recoiled, but was otherwise immobilized. Silas took the opportunity to run a fire poker through the demon.
Krampus roared in pain and shock as light started to emit from his body. More and more beams of light erupted from the demon’s body until it engulfed him. Krampus let out a small, sinister chuckle before he was vaporized. He may have failed at seizing the power within the two young girls, but he was not the worst threat they could (or, rather, would) face.
Lucy and Gabriela finished their Jolly Dance, opening their eyes to see what their new friend thought of it. But he was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did Mr. Krampus go?” Lucy asked.
“He had to go home,” Luzcretia answered quickly.
“Oh, okay,” Gabriela said, sounding a little disappointed. But, of course, the Jolly Twins were never ones to stay down in the dumps for long.
“Can we watch TV?” Lucy asked. Luzcretia and Silas agreed, and soon the family was sitting in the living room watching some random show on television. After a while, Lucy and Gabriela turned to their parents with a question.
“Mom? Dad? It is Jolly Month, right?” Luzcretia checked the date on her phone, which read “July 15”. However, seeing her daughters’ innocent faces, she found that she didn’t have the heart to disappoint them. So this is what she told them:
“Of course! It’s the Jolly Twin Month!” Lucy and Gabriela were ecstatic.
“So it is a Jolly Month!” they exclaimed, bouncing excitedly in their seats.
“It’s Jolly Month?!” one of the people on the TV asked before launching into the Jolly Dance, much to the confusion of his partner.
“Again?! Really?!”