Nextgen Kids: Eve of Apocalypse

Operation: FROST, Chapter 2

Hi, welcome back to stuff!

Chapter 2: The Unwanted Spirit

Mr. Dru's Candy Store

Cleveland's candy store was crawling with excited kids and filled with colorful Christmas decorations. Since it was nearly Christmas, it was having a sale on candycanes and gingerbread men. Cheren and Aurora had just arrived, and Panini immediately ran over to greet them. "There you are, Cheren! Anothuh 5 seconds and Ay wouldn't have saved yer spot."

"Almost surprised you did." Cheren smirked.

"So where's the Gingerbread Town?" Aurora asked.

Francis approached them and said, "It's over here, come on!" And they hurried over.

A bunch of other kids like the Gilligans and Dimalantas were standing around a huge, round table covered with a green curtain. Cheren and his friends squeezed through the crowd. Their eyes were wide with wonder: it was a great, expansive town made of gingerbread. There were tiny gingerbread men "walking" about the streets, and also in little candy cars. There was a robber gingerbread man being chased by police, and around the fountain square (of chocolate water), there was a carnival taking place.

"Coooool!" Timothy Gilligan drew out with awe.

"Wow, Mr. Dru!" Aurora said to the candy man as he approached the crowd. "This must've taken days!"

"Boy, do I have the strong desire to eat it." Cheren said, unable to bear staring at the tasty town for much longer.

"Heh, and Sigmund said I was lazy." Mr. Dru laughed. "I mean, it isn't PERFECT, but I figured it was now or never."

"Why's that?" Aurora asked.

Before she got an answer, the doors to the store were kicked straight open. Panini looked up first, then tapped Cheren's shoulder. "'ey, Cheren, guess who." He and everyone else looked up. In stepped the smooth, grinning man from Goofy Goobers, the toothpick in his mouth and the nickel flicked up and down in his hand.

Mr. Dru perked with slight fear as he and his buff guards walked in. "Ahhhh, don'tcha just love the holidays?" the man asked slyly. "Spendin' time with the ones you love and seein' their happy faces when they receive yer gifts? I was just here to finish my Christmas shoppin'. I wanted to buy Mama the best of gifts... and low and behold, there it is."

"Yer not thinkin' of TAKIN'-" Panini was about to yell.

"Okay, step aside, kids." Mr. Dru shuffled the crowd away as the men stepped forward. "All yours, Sirs."

"WHHHAT?!" Panini screamed.

A bunch of the men took the table from different angles, lifting and carefully carrying it off. "Just carry that haul out through the garage." The slim man spoke. "I don't wanna wreck any walls, it's the HOLIDAYS-"

"Hehehaha!" Hikari Gilligan was joyfully running down an aisle, carrying a string of wrapped lollipops. "Ooof!" The 5-year-old bumped into the man's legs, falling to her bottom. She looked up, seeing the man's creepy grin peering down on her. Timothy gasped when the man raised his leg, and the boy quickly ran to shove his sister out of the way before the man kicked down.

They both looked up, seeing his expression hasn't changed. "It's the holidays, kiddies, so Ah'll let it slide. But remembuh this: name's Nickel Joe." He flipped his coin. "And seeing as yer minds aren't fully developed... I should let ya know: lots of the world is all about business. Oft times it's best not ta bother people in their business." He held his right, nickel arm out and took aim at a shelf, getting ready to flick. Still keeping his grin, he flicked the nickel like a bullet, and the shelf exploded on contact.