Part Four
Elsa instinctively created a wall of sharp icicles to
separate them from the ferocious wolf that was Merlock the Magician. In the
short time they had to come up with a plan, Kevin instructed all of them,
“Quick! Get into Kimbyr’s TARDIS!”
“I don’t think we can get away from him, Kev,” Kimbyr
contested. “Something tells me he’ll just keep coming after us, no matter what
world we’re in!”
“We’re not gonna leave,” Kevin told her. “In fact, I’m
hoping he does get into the TARDIS.”
His statement drew perturbed gazes from the others, wondering what he must’ve
had in mind, beaming with such confidence. They didn’t have time to ask as
Merlock managed to successfully leap over Elsa’s ice wall, prompting the heroes
to take refuge inside the tall, black rectangular solid and close the door
behind them.
Merlock’s talisman glowed, transforming him back into his
anthropomorphic form, before shouting to the monolith in front of him, “You can
run, Gladiator, but you cannot hide from me!”
He proceeded to use his talisman to teleport himself inside Kimbyr’s TARDIS,
specifically the empty console room.
And then, out of nowhere…
SNAP!
Merlock’s foot was caught in a mousetrap. He let out a
long, loud howl of agony.
Hobbling on one foot and desperately trying to rip the
trap from off his toe, his other foot soon became victim of another mousetrap lying on the console
room floor. It was then clear to the magician that the entire floor was littered with mousetraps. “This will not stop me!” he declared and
transformed into a falcon to fly over them all.
It was a clever solution. Unfortunately, it didn’t last
long.
Whoever laid the mousetraps must’ve anticipated his
flight solution, as a bucket swooped down from the ceiling and smacked against
his feathered body. Merlock was grounded once again, his tail snapping into yet
another mousetrap just as he hit the floor. To add insult to injury, the bucket
that struck him landed over him, trapping him underneath it.
Instinctively, he transformed back into his humanoid
form, which turned out not to have
been such a bright idea. The bucket got stuck on his head. And, as he fought to
get it off, he triggered all the other mousetraps on the console room floor,
getting his appendages caught in every single one.
Growling underneath the bucket, Merlock admitted his
defeat. He activated his talisman and teleported away, taking with him the
bucket on his head and all the mousetraps attached to his body, including the
one on his butt.
Once he departed, Kimbyr and her friends stepped back
inside the console room.
Kimbyr was impressed by the trap laid out by Kevin. “How
the heck did you find the time and resources to set all that?!”
“I’ve had a lotta experience with it,” Kevin said. “I
just hate that I didn’t get to use the rest of my old blueprints.” He showed
everyone one of his design plans, drawn out in the style of a house with each
room having a specific trap. No one was certain whether to be impressed or
disturbed by McCallister’s ingenuity.
Regardless, they were grateful for it, as it was enough to
fend off a powerful warlock. In spite of the victory, Howard remained
skeptical. “Is he really gone? Like ‘gone for
good’?”
“Only one way to find out,” Kimbyr replied. She opened
the door to her ship and gave them a view of the outside. The blizzard created
by Merlock had ceased. Much of the snow was already beginning to melt from the
dramatic change in climate.
It was a welcoming sight to the Arendelle residents –
Kristoff, Sven, Olaf, Anna, and Elsa. “Everything’s returning to normal,” Elsa
said with an air of relief. She looked to Kimbyr, Kevin, Howard, Shyla, Noelle,
Woody, and Buzz and told them with a thankful heart, “I don’t know where you
all came from, but you saved our kingdom. Thank you…Thank you all.”
Howard wasn’t sure why he did, but he smiled from Elsa’s
gratitude. The smile widened even more after she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
As ice-cold as the kiss felt, it gave him a warm feeling on the inside. It
wasn’t like he did much to deserve it. He only refused to give up Woody and
Buzz in exchange for the Turbo Man.
But, maybe, that was enough.
-----------------
With help from Kimbyr’s
TARDIS, Noelle and the reindeer (including Snowcone) traversed through the
multiverse and arrived at the home of Andy (Woody and Buzz’s owner), where it
was late in the evening. Noelle delivered the toys to Andy’s room in Santa
fashion, with Kimbyr serving as her “helper elf.”
“Thanks for everything, ladies,” Woody whispered to them.
“Take care, my friends,” Buzz saluted. “I hope our paths
cross again.”
“They will,” Kimbyr reassured the toy spaceman. And, with
a wink, she uttered, “To infinity and beyond, right?”
Woody and Buzz climbed in bed with Andy, nestling
themselves beneath the boy’s loving arms. It was a scene that touched both
Kimbyr and Noelle, but they hadn’t the time to fully appreciate it. Howard,
Kevin, Shyla, and all the reindeer were waiting on the rooftop alongside
Noelle’s sleigh and Kimbyr’s TARDIS.
However, just as they returned…
“Congratulations!” a voice near them boomed, nearly
causing Noelle to fall from the roof.
It turned out to be Scott Calvin, fully adorned in his
Santa regalia.
“You wanna give us a warning next time, Santa!” a still-shaken Howard griped of
Scott’s unannounced arrival.
“Sorry,” Scott muttered in embarrassment. “I just wanted
to congratulate you all on a job well done. I also wanted to give you this,
Howard.” He reached into his bag and retrieved something that sparked much
jubilation from Howard: a Turbo Man action figure, already gift-wrapped (in
Turbo Man-themed wrapping). “Just as I promised,” Scott said. “Merry Christmas,
Howard.”
Howard couldn’t believe he was holding it in his hands –
for real, this time, with no sinister ploy. Despite his joy, something nagged
at the back of his mind: “Was this whole thing a test for me? Get the toy
spaceman and cowboy back to their kid and keep them away from the evil
magician?”
Scott coyly shrugged. “I don’t know whatcha talkin’
about, Howard. I just needed a way for Woody and Buzz to get back home.”
His coy response made Howard chuckle. Typical Santa, he thought.
“Well, I also
need a way home,” Noelle spoke up. “I’m not exactly in my own realm here.”
“Now that I can
help you out with,” Scott volunteered. “I know my way around the North Pole –
many of ‘em.” He climbed onboard Noelle’s sleigh and took control of the reins.
Sitting beside him, Noelle began to cry, something that Scott quickly noticed.
“What’s the matter, kid?”
“Nothing,” she said, smiling as she wiped away her tears.
“It’s just…having you with me on the sleigh…reminds me of my dad.”
Scott smiled back at her. He then
whipped the reins, sending the reindeer and the sleigh soaring to the night sky
and vanishing into the clouds.
---------------------
Kimbyr returned Howard home in
her TARDIS. It was the night of Christmas Eve back in his world. He could see
his wife and Jamie through the living room window, decorating the tree (which
Howard always put the star on). He could see the disappointment in their faces,
spending the entire day waiting for him to return on what they were told was a
quick stop to the office.
“I don’t think this is gonna be enough to make up for
today,” he lamented, holding the Turbo Man gift in his hand.
“It will, Howard,” Kimbyr assured him. “Because they’ll
see how much you went through just to get it.”
Howard accepted her reasoning with a simple nod. “Thank
you for everything,” he told her. “I’m sorry for ever doubting you.”
Kimbyr took no offense. “Sometimes it takes to see to
believe.”
She watched Howard go into his house, surprising his wife
and son, who weren’t the least bit upset about him coming home so late –
especially not once they saw the Turbo Man gift he handed over to the ecstatic
Jamie. After many hugs and kisses from his family, he helped put the star on
their tree.
It was a heartwarming scene to observe for not only
Kimbyr but Kevin as well, reminded of his own family back in his own dimension.
“I think I’m finally ready to go back home,” he told Kimbyr. She figured this a
long time ago, and she knew just when and where to drop Kevin off: at the
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
There, he was reunited at exactly the right time with his
mother, Kate.
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