Kingdom Hearts Christmas Special: After The Keyblade War

Chapter Four: Making A Present

Leaving no time to waste, Kyle quickly goes into Santa's workshop along with Jack Skellington, and they quickly get to work on a present for Ventus and Trish. "So then young man, what kind of present do you have in mind for your parents?" says Jack cheerfully. Kyle thinks for a minute and then he snaps his fingers. "I know! Something awesome, but with heart to it, something surprising but sweet, something that'll be unforgettable, something that'll really get them by surprise!" Jack Skellington applauds and he laughs full heartedly. "Ah, I like your spirit! All right then, let's get to work!" For the next few minutes, many different things were tried, but none of them came close to what Kyle envisioned. Jack made a Jack o' Lantern with a Christmas Hat that said Merry Christmas, have a jolly new year! Kyle liked it, but said that it would be a little over the top for Ventus and Trish. Then Jack made a Guillotine Potato Cutter, for help whenever there's food to be cooked. Kyle liked the idea, but said it wasn't quite up to his expectations. Kyle himself made a few things but wasn't quite impressed yet. They both kept hard at work, and all the while, Santa and Sora were watching, with bright smiles on their faces. "Wow, look at them go." Santa agrees. "Your right about that. I haven't seen such a determined face before, and Jack is doing admirably as well." They both kept on looking, curious as to what Kyle and Jack would come up with.

Meanwhile, in what seemed to be a cave in the middle of nowhere, the two mysterious figures that had appeared before Riku came and sat down near the entrance, and there they reported themselves to another hooded person. "Master Xylek, we've encountered Riku, and he seems to be the only one aware about our presence. But don't worry, he still doesn't know that your alive." Xylek took off his hood and looked towards the full moon, smiling a satisfied smile. "Good work, I expected no less from you two." The hooded woman then crossed her arms and sighed. "Seriously Xylek, what are we waiting for? It's already been three months, let's just go and take care of them already!" The hooded man growled angrily. "How dare you treat our master with such disrespect, why I never-" Before the hooded man could finish, Xylek raised his hand calmly and then looked at his two comrades. "It's all right, there's no need. And to answer your question my dear, we must be patient and observe their actions." The hooded woman paced back and forth impatiently. "But I'm tired of waiting!" Xylek smiled. "Patience. After all, their hard work defeating Dark Orion has to come with at least a moment of peace. Let them have their festivities and let them have their rest, because when they least expect it, we'll make our return. And make no mistake, we will attain Kingdom Hearts' power as our own, and then the heroes of light will have to do our bidding." With that, Xylek laughed, and the other two hooded ones simply bowed and then went inside the cave.

Back at the workshop, Kyle and Jack had already made quite a mess out of the place, with gift wrapping paper scattered everywhere, bits and pieces of things here and over there, and Kyle and Jack themselves were looking quite silly. Santa and Sora had been watching all the while as they helped themselves to some hot cocoa and cookies. Jack then snapped his fingers. "Eureka! I got just the thing Kyle! This time it's bound to be what your expecting!" Kyle nodded. "All right, then let's do it!" They quickly arranged parts here and there, left and right, up and down, until they finally finished their craft. "Well, what do you think Kyle?" said Jack with a beaming sense of pride. Kyle was awe struck, for Jack had helped him make a pedestal containing wooden carved figurines of Ventus and Trish holding hands, and above their heads it said Merry Christmas, to the most important people in my life. Even Santa and Sora were dumbstruck. Kyle immediately hugged Jack and smiled, with tears of joy in his eyes. "Oh thank you Jack, this is exactly what I had in mind, thank you thank you thank you!" Jack smiled and nodded. "Anytime my friend. And you didn't do so bad yourself." Kyle smiled and held up two wooden Wayfinders that he made for Ventus and Trish.

Santa smiled and he put his hand on Kyle's shoulder. "Very good work, the both of you. I'm very proud of what you made." Kyle smiled and nodded. "Thanks Mr. Claus, now all I have to do is get back home and make sure to hide the presents until it's Christmas! Thanks for everything Santa, and you too Jack!" Jack smiled and bowed down. "It was a pleasure helping out a fellow friend. Be sure to come back soon!" Kyle raised his fist in determination. "You got it! Come on Sora, let's go meet up with Riku and the others so we can go home!" Sora nodded. "Right!" With that, they said their farewells, and they made their way back up the snowy hill and through the door to Halloween Town. "Well Kyle, at least now you've got the presents made, now we just have to wait until it's Christmas!" Kyle smiled, but before he could say anything, Heartless appeared out of nowhere, and Kyle almost dropped his presents. "No! I can't let these presents break!" Sora gasped and summoned his Keyblade. "Heartless!? What are they doing here? I thought the battle with Dark Orion had made them go in hiding! Kyle, we have to find-" But Sora wasn't able to finish saying what he was going to say, as he was pounced on by Neoshadows. Kyle then summoned his Keyblade. "Don't worry Sora, I got your back!" He was about to go headfirst towards the hordes of Neoshadows when all of a sudden he heard a familiar voice. "We've got your back too, a-hyuck!" As he looked back, he noticed Riku, Donald and Goofy, ready to fight by Kyle's side. Kyle smiled in relief. "All right guys, let's do this!"

Elsewhere, in Radiant Garden, Ventus and Trish were panicking, for they couldn't find Kyle anywhere. They had asked Kairi where he was, but she did as Kyle said, and she came up with something. She told them that he was wandering through town, enjoying the Christmas lights. Ventus and Trish nodded, and they went searching for Kyle, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where could he have gone?" Ventus said in frantic panic. Trish looked down sadly. "I don't know Ven, but don't worry, I'm sure he can't be too far away, Kairi herself said that he was here in town." Desperate, Ventus and Trish kept looking all around town, but no sign of Kyle was found. They asked the citizens, but they said they hadn't seen him, and so they kept on searching, and even went so far as to go into the outskirts of town to see if he was anywhere there. "Where could he have gone?" Trish asked, looking side to side over the snowy wilderness of the outskirts. "I don't know Trish, but don't worry, we'll find him." Ventus said in a comforting tone, and with that, they resolved to keep looking for Kyle until they could find him. They were determined to look for their beloved son.

Back at Halloween Town, Riku was taking out Heartless as fast as he could, while Donald cast powerful spells to keep them at bay, and Goofy threw his shield at a couple of Heartless that were about to enter Halloween Town. Sora used Strike Raid to take out a few dozen that had been chasing him, and Kyle stood his ground, skillfully taking out each Heartless, and he made sure to stay near the presents so that the Heartless wouldn't destroy them. "I'm not going to let you destroy my Mom and Dad's presents, not while I'm standing!" He kept on fighting valiantly, and then a strange new Heartless appeared, taking the form of a giant armored Gargoyle, and with its steel wings it struck the ground, and everyone flew upwards, being affected by the attack. But Kyle refused to let any Heartless ruin things, and so with all his might, he unleashed the power of the Dark Light and he pierced through the Heartless Gargoyle's armor and practically defeated it in one blow. He caught his breath, and soon after everybody came to him, relieved that he was alright. "That was amazing Kyle, how did you do that!?" Donald said in amazement. Kyle smiled cheerfully. "Simple. I used the power of the Dark Light." Riku nodded and he caught his breath. "You always keep on impressing me Kyle. Keep up the good work." Sora smiled and then he clapped his hands together. "All right guys, let's go back to Radiant Garden!" They all agreed, and Riku opened the portal of darkness and they went through it, and into Radiant Garden.

As soon as they arrived, Kyle looked around to make sure that Ventus and Trish weren't around, and then he smiled and sighed of relief. "Whew, okay, they aren't around here, so I can go back home quickly and hide the presents. See you later guys!" Everyone else smiled and waved goodbye as Kyle quickly ran home, his heart racing and his face beamed with happiness and joy. He made sure no one was around and kept running, and then, when he went up to his house, he looked through the windows to make sure that Ventus and Trish weren't home, and then he went inside and hid the presents as best as he could in his room, and then he took a shower and put on his pajamas and took out his paper so that he could pretend he was writing a Christmas Wish List to Santa. A few hours passed, and he heard Ventus and Trish come home, and then he went downstairs to greet them. "Mom, Dad, your home, what took you so long!?" Ventus and Trish immediately smiled and tears of joy flooded from their eyes. "Kyle, your home!" Trish said as she hugged and kissed Kyle over and over, and Ventus stroked Kyle's hair. "You had us worried, where were you!?" Kyle smiled. "Oh, I was walking around town looking at the Christmas lights, and then I came home and took a shower and then went to my room to write a wish list to Santa!" Ventus smiled of relief and nodded. "We're just glad your safe. Now come on, let's drink some hot cocoa." Kyle nodded. "Okay!" Kyle was happy, for now he knew that his plan had worked. Now all that remained was to wait for Christmas Day.

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With the presents finally in place, Kyle has finally achieved his goal, and without Ventus and Trish knowing. The time of giving and the time to celebrate is soon to arrive. How will Ventus and Trish react to Kyle's presents? And what else will occur? Find out in Chapter Five: "A Christmas To Remember."