The IGNOites had been having a lovely Christmas afternoon together, having decided to stick around and enjoy this holiday village and focus on finding a way back home later. As expected, none of them could remember the events of the past repetitions…not even the struggles they had endured, and ultimately overcome, just the night before. As far as they were all concerned, 'yesterday' they were back in IGNOLand the day before the annual Christmas celebration at Castle Bones, going about their usual business…and today, the idyllic village they had found themselves in was as perfect as perfect could be.
They were currently wandering through the wide expanses of the tree farm – even if they couldn't take one back to IGNOLand, they were still very festive to look at growing in their natural habitat.
As they wandered along, Bradios began to whistle a jaunty little tune.
"Hmmm…hm-hm hmmm-hmm hmmmmm~ hmmm-aaah!! Hey!!", he winced as LG elbowed him.
"Stop that, it's annoying."
"Geez, fine…"
They continued walking in silence for a few moments, until…
"Hmmmm…hmmm-hmm hmmmmmm-hmmm hmmmmm–Ack!! Stop hitting me!!"
"Stop humming that stupid song and I'll stop hitting you!!"
"Okay, okay!! Damn!!"
They walked along further still, but the silence was once again short-lived.
"Hmmmm…hmm-hmm–DAMMIT!! Now you've got me doing it!!" LG shouted, ruffling his own hair angrily. "It's bad enough I've had that dumb song stuck in my head all day thanks to you, but now you've even got me humming it you stupid cyborg!!"
"Wait…all day? But I've only been humming it for less than an hour..."
"No, no!! I remember, because I was barely out of bed this morning when I couldn't get that fucking noise out of my head, and–"
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment…LG mentally recounted the day he'd had so far, since waking up in that kind old woman's house. It was true…even if Bradios had been humming the tune since they first rejoined the group, it wouldn't explain how LG was thinking of the song since first thing in the morning.
The more he thought about it, the more LG realized how familiar the melody was…but he swore it wasn't something he'd ever heard in IGNOLand. It seemed like the kind of holiday staple you'd hear playing on every radio station this time of year, but the stations had all been paid big bucks to heavily promote their new album - The Straight Experience Presents: Another Kind of White Christmas. So why did LG feel like he'd been hearing this song playing incessantly for days on end?
"Hey, what are you two hanging back for?", called Bones, who had continued walking ahead with the rest of the group while these two stopped to argue. "We should get a move on. Too damn cold to just be standing around out here."
Bones hugged his shoulders tightly – while his mantle seemed like a thick, fluffy scarf, his choice in clothing nonetheless left his bare arms exposed to the elements. Bones fancied himself a hardy man, used to the cold of his homeland and braving weather of all types during his lengthy sea voyages…but that didn't mean he enjoyed just standing around in the bitter cold without his blood circulating heat to his unprotected skin.
It was then that SG2 noticed something she probably wouldn't have seen if Bones hadn't drawn attention to that part of his body…there was what appeared to be a large scar peeking out from his torn sleeves. She climbed up on his back to get a better look – something Bones was used to by now and paid little mind – and sure enough, it was a wound. While it had healed, it still looked incredibly recent…why had she never seen this before? Bones was always walking around like that, showing off his sexy toned arms to the world – surely a scar of this size would have been extremely noticeable. It almost looked like he had been stabbed in the shoulder with a bl–
"–!!"
The tiger's eyes went wide as all the information flooded back into her brain…she remembered. More than that, she remembered remembering. Like reviewing a secret video tape caught by the IRC Studios cameras, SG2 replayed the footage in her head…she recalled everything she and her friends had gone through the night before. The Santaur, the Deerberus, the snowy labyrinth filled with nightmare creatures…and Linda. The seemingly innocent girl from the inn had shown her true colors, brutally stabbing Bones right there in the shoulder…right there!! It couldn't have been a dream, that scar proved it!!
"Aaah…AAAAAAH!!!!"
The tiger screamed – it was her way of coping with the shock of experiencing all those horrible memories at once. All the other IGNOites stopped walking and stared, as Bones turned his head to look at the confused creature clinging to his arm.
"The Hell's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"L-Linda…we have to stop her!! It's all happening again!!"
"What's happening? Who's Linda?", asked xL, with the others echoing his question.
"It's right here, look!! This scar on your shoulder – where'd you get this scar?!"
"What are you going on about?", Bones asked in disconcerted tone. "I don't have any scars on my......what the Hell?!"
He pulled back the tattered cloth of his shirt, exposing the rest of his shoulder…sure enough, there was a sizeable mark stretching from his shoulder to his upper arm. This was no inconsequential scratch that he'd gotten in a bar fight that he'd long since forgotten…to take a cut this deep in his squishy humanoid form would have been dangerously memorable, indeed.
"Y-you're joking…right…?"
Bones recalled the circumstances behind this wound in a flash…he remembered that Linda had stabbed him and attacked his friends, and he remembered everything that happened before that. The discussion managed to jog everyone else's memories in the process – they couldn't believe they had almost wiped the circumstances they'd struggled through yesterday from their minds...they had already forgotten remembering!!
"She did this to us…she's the one who trapped us here!! When I get my hands on her, I'll–"
"My my…you really are something special, aren't you…"
As though she had been there the entire time, Linda faded into view. Her pose was carefree as could be, examining her fingernails apathetically. Most notable this time, however, was that she wore a…very different outfit than the one they'd all remembered her in. While her 'maid clothes' were quite conservative and had a very old-world charm, she was now dressed in rather skimpy dress. The blacks, purples, and a touch of red gave her a sort of 'sexy in an evil kind of way' appeal…and upon her head was an unusually distinct crown. Describing her appearance as 'out of place' with the rest of the setting would have been a major understatement.
"You…!!" Bones snarled, drawing his battle axe. "Who are you?!"
"If I told you, you'd only forget again…you wound me so."
The Konungur nodded to his comrades – not that they'd even needed such a signal to bear down all their wrath on the one who had subjected them to so much torture already. However…just as before, they were suddenly frozen in their tracks by the muscle-seizing pangs of sleepiness.
"F-fight it…don't fall asleep, whatever you do…or we'll forget everything again…!!" screamed SG2.
But it was much easier said than done…the IGNOites felt their eyelids closing without even realizing it, then snapping awake again moments later. But why was this happening? This time, it was still so early in the day…they had so much time left to turn this situation around, so why were they so exhausted? LG and Bradios looked at one another…they seemed to have realized it at the same time. There had been an overarching element prevalent through all of this…
""The music!!""
"Remarkable…truly remarkable!!", Linda laughed with surprise. "I didn't think you'd pick up on that…but it matters little by now. My lullaby will send you off to a dreamy slumber, and you'll forget eee~verything all over again…as many times as I need you to!!"
Linda threw up her hands and moved like a conductor…sure enough, the music grew louder and louder, so much so that they could practically feel the ground vibrating beneath their feet. It was a struggle to even move their arms against the sleepiness to cover their ears, but that, too, was no use…they'd been hearing this song for so long, through all the repeating days, that like LG had said…it really was stuck in their heads. Even if they blocked their ears from the music playing…the song would just continue inside their heads. If only they could drown it out somehow…some other music, any other music…!!
"That's…it!! Other music!! LG, xL, everyone!! Gather…The Straight Experience!!"
Everyone remembered the times they'd spent carolling during the previous repetitions…The Straight Experience always stole the show with their own spins on the classic music. If they sang loud enough, their infamously love-'em-or-hate-'em catchy melodies were sure to block the lullaby from the IGNOites' minds!!
"Sing, sing as loud as you can!!"
Everyone was dead tired…the last thing they'd felt like doing was singing. But this wouldn't be the first time they had to force themselves to take the stage after a late night of partying (or vigilante crime-fighting) before a show!! They'd just do what they always did - take a deep breath and belt it out from the bottom of their hearts!!
"Aaahh"
"Aaaaahhh"
"Aaaaaaaa~~~hhh"
"Aaa~~aaaa~aaaahhh"
"AAAAAAAAAA~~HHHH!!"
After some warm-up harmonizing, the troupe set to work singing one of the latest hits from their Christmas album – A Not So Silent Night.
"OooooOOOOhh yeah…baby toniiiiight…we're gonna be loud…"
"Make sure nobody's aroooouuund…"
"Oooh baby, love is in the air…"
"Stockings hung by the chimney with care…"
"But there's only one thing I wanna stuff…and I know just once ain't enough…"
"Outside snow's fallin' all the same…but in here you're just callin' my name…"
"And we know…tonight's gonna be"
"""A not so silent night…while I'm holdin' you so tight…"""
"OooooOoohh what fuuun it is to ride when I got someone like you by my side…"
"Tomorrow…we'll wake up to a"
"""""Winter wooOOOnnderlaaAAAAaaannnd~"""""
Even singing acapella, their harmonies were perfectly on point…but it still wasn't enough to drown out the haunting melody bearing down on them all. Linda wasn't going to give up easily.
"It's no use…we don't have any instruments!! Just our voices aren't enough!!"
"Wait…instruments?!"
And then…all attention was turned to Iris.
"What…m-me?!", she said, her face pale with confusion.
"You're the only one here with an instrument, and you're a fan of The Straight Experience!! You must know the tune of the song!!"
"I mean, of course I do, but I don't know that I could play it–"
"Iris, please!! You're our only hope!! I have faith in you!!", LG reassured her with a wink and a smile.
Iris swallowed hard…there was a lot of pressure riding on her small shoulders. But since LG was her favorite member of The Straight Experience, she couldn't help but blush at his kind words. Even though he was also a person she worked with every day at her fashion job, for some reason, he was painted in a whole different light when it came to the boyband.
"Alright…I-I'll try!!"
As the boys continued to sing, Iris started to play along to the tune as best as she could remember…fortunately, this was a song that was constantly playing on the radio this time of year, and even with Linda's lullaby droning on in the background she was able to put her mind to it and focus on her playing. The IGNOites grimaced at how terrible and off-key her plucking was, but what matter was that it was working. The more they thought about how awful Iris was at playing the banjo, the less they focused on the other music in the background…
"Nnngh…impossible!! Fine then, I'll just have to go even louder!! ", Linda cried, escalating the music to levels so intense that it could barely even be called a lullaby anymore.
"Come on, everyone, sing along!!", urged Tim. "You all know the words!!"
It was true – tracks from Another Kind Of White Christmas were fast on their way to becoming holiday staples on the IGNO City airwaves. Even the likes of Bones and Karma who would never admit to listening to such poppy trash knew the tune and the words…it wasn't long before every one of them had joined in, singing along like a good ol' fashioned carolling session.
"""It's that special kind of yuletide…and I'm gonna warm you up inside…"""
"""""TomoooOOOOrrrooooww we'll wake uuUUupp to a…"""""
""""""""""""WiiiiiiIIiiiiinter WooooOOOOooonderlaaaAAAAaaaaaaand~~~""""""""""""
"No, no, NO!!!!!" screamed Linda, straining her voice over the clashing cacophony ringing through the air. "MY MUSIC, MY MUSIC!!!!!!!!!"
All the while, Bones was walking steadily towards her…she hadn't noticed until now, but they had all regained full control over their bodies. And Bones was…grinning. Grinning at her with an inexplicable combination of eagerness and malice…
"S-stay back…I can make you happy, remember? We could have a life here, in this world, where it's Christmas forever…", she stammered, floating back for each step forward Bones took. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it? The perfect Christmas?"
"Y'know, Linda, I've learned something today…", he said, steadying his grip on his axe. "This kind of 'perfect Christmas'? Overrated as fuck."
Linda was shaking at this point…was he seriously going to bring that axe down on her?! He was getting closer and closer…her music had no effect whatsoever anymore, and she'd already used up as much magic as she possibly could on the nightmare creatures the day before!! Expending any more would break the entire spell over the snowglobe and everyone would be free…she couldn't do that, she couldn't let the Krampus down!! But Bones kept getting closer, and closer, and before she knew it he was right on top of her…he was going to, he was really going to–
"BAM!!!!!"
At the last second, he dropped the axe and leapt forward with an extremely heavy punch, directly to Linda's face. She spiraled through the sky and was sent rocketing a considerable distance away…but the IGNOites weren't done with her!! As her body landed and skidded backward through the snow, they were right there to keep her surrounded. All she could do was stay there, on her knees in the dirty slush, holding the side of her cheek as drops of scarlet blood trickled from her lip.
"Wh…why did you…?"
"Hmph. You're not worthy of Beinskerandi." he said, retrieving and resheathing his weapon.
Bones turned his back on Linda, his business with her finished.
"Should we really just…leave her here?", SG2 asked, wondering if she really deserved to be spared.
"It's fine…we've done enough. I imagine whatever magic she's using will break if she loses consciousness. …oh, and Iris? You can stop playing the banjo now. Seriously."
"S-sorry!!", the fairy stammered, her strumming quickly ceasing.
"I can't believe…I failed him…Krampus, I'm sorry…but I can no longer sustain…the magic…"
And with that, Linda collapsed in the cold snow…and her magical hold on the world of the globe began to crumble. All around them, the village began to fall in shambles…turning to dry ash and blowing away. And where the music had stopped, the air filled with the sound of…cracking. Cracking?! The IGNOites slowly turned their heads upward…sure enough, long gashes were quickly spidering like broken glass through the sky itself!!
"Shit…shit!!"
"Run!!"
"Where?!"
It was true…there was nowhere left to go!! The entire world was breaking apart around them…what was going to happen now? No one had planned this far ahead!! All they could do was cower as the sky itself began to fall……