PIP/Santa/Preparing for Christmas?

Standing outside Krampus's workshop seemed an odd place for it, but Santa took a deep breath of the crisp arctic air and smiled. He had a good feeling about the new Krampus. That didn't mean that he would leave him to his own devices like he had the last Krampus. That had been a disaster. Still, in all, he was feeling good about being Santa in nearly every way; and was looking forward to making a holly jolly Christmas for the children.

"I suppose I should get back to preparing for Christmas," he said to his head elf where she waited by the door. "Hey, Penny?"

"Umm..." said Penny, "if you want to." She took her place beside him. "Really, though, other than returning the Eye of Odin to the Oculus so the elves can continue with the list; there isn't much left for you to do."

Santa thought about it for a time. He was mostly whole, but there was still the occasional lapse in knowledge that was occurring, like this one. There really wasn't much for him to do. All of the gifts had been ordered and organized by his previous incarnation. Likewise, the sleigh was in perfect order; his route planned for maximum efficiency . . . there was nothing left to prepare for. He was ready for Christmas; and it was still December first . . . for a few more hours at least. It occurred to him that tomorrow was Saturday. It would be odd, but he would skip the second and the third. In the blink of an eye it would be Monday the fourth of December 2017. When it was, though, what would he do?

"I suppose there isn't much for me to do, is there?" he asked.

"Not really," said Penny, "Your predecessor wanted you to have an easy go of it this year. He wrapped everything up before he went and got you. We actually prolonged your life a few times to make the time for it."

Santa frowned. "Prolonged my suffering, you mean."

"I...well," said Penny as she nervously fidgeted.

"No," said Santa, "that wasn't fair of me. I was suffering, but it did mean that I got to spend a little more time with my family. I'm more disappointed that they had to see me in that state longer than necessary than the fact that I suffered longer. It may be for the best, though. It should have given them a bit more time to be emotionally ready for my death." Santa grew quiet, lost in thought. "That's it!" he said suddenly, "my family! I could go back and make things right with my family!"

"Yeah," said Penny cautiously, "I guess you could. Most of them don't believe anyway; so you wouldn't be draining too much faith power from the operation. It's a good thing the population has increased as superstition has decreased or we'd be in real trouble about now. We probably will be in the future regardless. Right now we're only getting power from Misty and Haley."

"Haley still believes in Santa...I mean me?"

"Yeah," said Penny, "it's flickering, though. You know if you give them proof it isn't faith so...no power, right?"

"Yes," said Santa, "I am aware. That small amount of power is worth losing to see my family again."

"You can see them without letting them know you're Santa," suggested Penny.

"How could I explain that I...Randal, that is; that I came back from the dead and looked completely different." Santa sighed. "No, it's all or nothing, I'm afraid."

"What are you going to do?" asked Penny.

"I'm going to return the Eye of Odin to the Oculus..." said Santa, pausing dramatically before continuing. "Then I'm going to go see my family. It appears that my funeral will be on Monday. How fortuitous?"

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