The Workshop: A "The Santa Clause" Fanfiction. (Bernard x Female OC)

The Snow Globe Clause (Reprise)

It was a good thing we also hid our snow globes, it looked like they had completely wiped us out... as long as they didn't find them too. Gnomes were sneaky after all.

Bernard just stood there, his mouth open. "I- I can't even believe this." He looked at Kenny, his face shocked, but angry. "How the hell did this happen?"

Kenny seemed to be both (still in) shock by the room around us, and that Bernard actually just said that. "I... I have no idea. We had elves standing guard out front even... "They were doing night watch but were gone in the morning. I didn't even know until they missed roll call this morning."

"Do you think they took them... the gnomes?" I asked in a quiet voice.

Kenny nodded, his face etched with concern. "I don't know how else we could explain this. I checked the whole Workshop and I couldn't find any place of entry."

"How did gnomes manage to take two of the North Poles' best-trained elves? Furthermore, how did they manage to take, Every. Single. Snow globe?" Bernard yelled before clasping one hand on his forehead and the other clutched in a fist. "It doesn't make sense," He added weakly, his hands falling to his sides and shaking slightly. "I've let Santa down- no... I've let everyone down."

"Bernard this isn't your fault- The gnomes did this, you did everything to prevent it-"

"But I didn't do enough!" He clenched his fists again. "I was having tea parties when I could have been- I don't know- something?!" Although he said it in a passive way, I knew it only came from him being stressed.

"Well we need to go do something- We have to get them back! What will even happen to the North Pole if-" I started plotting out loud but was interrupted by the room shifting around us with an uneasy crumbling noise. Bernard quickly stepped forward to stabilize me as Kenny clung to a shelf.

"That..." Bernard spoke in a quiet soft voice, the rumbling answering my question before he did. "This place runs on magic, without it, it'll crumble."

"But wait, there's still mine... and yours," I pulled at the ends of my hair, pacing side to side. "My dad's is still here... right?"

"That's centuries of ancient magic... this place won't function even if you still had those ones. We need to confirm that they are still hidden though. Bernard, lead us to the location where you hid them." Kenny looked like he was trying hard to regain his cool composure, speaking clearly and firmly, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.

"But, what if we're being watched?" I stopped as they began walking out of the depressing room.

"They probably will be distracted for now, I can't imagine there would be any gnomes left here." Kenny explained, as calmly as one could in a moment like this. "They're selfish, remember? They're probably hosting a party in their village."

"If they break even one of those-" Bernard muttered, shaking his head before bringing us down the hall, up several flights of stairs, and through so many different doors and rooms that I'd never even seen before. He stopped first in a room, and at the bottom of a large chest under a bunch of old random papers. "Your Dad's is still safe," Bernard said with a stiff sigh once he checked it.

Next, he brought us down the stairs, down to a basement, and through a secret passageway. He stopped by a very tall dusty shelf filled with very old dusty books. Carefully he pulled out one of the books, careful not to disturb the dust or leave any fingerprints. Turns out one of the books was actually a box, and inside that box was another box, and inside that box was, not a snow globe, but a key, which he took to unlock a door next to us, and lead us down a few more flights of stairs.