LAST TIME ON THE OMEGA KID: The Omega Kid valiantly fought off Alfie and his pet monster, Blargh, after they launched a Christmas Eve attacked on a department store. As the villianous baby high tailed it to the North Pole in search of Santa Claus, Jerry dropped a bombshell on Rick: Saint Nick may not be a myth after all. And now, the Secret Origin of Santa Claus!INT. JERRY'S APARTMENT - EVENING
Jerry's apartment is on the 25th floor of a high rise on the East Side. The view from his windows is beautiful.
Jerry is sitting in his comfortable chair. The boys are next to him. DANIA WALLACE (30's, hip but nerdy) has joined them. There's a tray of cookies and hot chocolate. Rick sips his chocolate, Lawrence helps himself to three cookies.
LAWRENCE
Ok, so about these presents.
RICK
Enough with the presents, dude.
LAWRENCE
Fine, fine.
RICK
Can you please explain what's going on? Alfie's going to the North Pole. Big deal. Maybe he'll catch a cold. Good.
JERRY
Unless, of course, he actually manages to capture Santa Claus.
RICK
Santa Claus is not real!
DANIA
That's not exactly true.
Dania walks to Jerry's bookshelf. She thumbs through a few volumes before finding the right one. It looks ancient and weathered. She tries handing it to Jerry.
JERRY
No thank you. You tell them.
Dania sits back down and opens the book.
DANIA
You boys know there was a real Saint Nicholas, right?
Lawrence takes out his smartphone and pushes some buttons. He reads off the screen:
LAWRENCE
"Saint Nicholas: bishop in the village of Myra, part of Turkey. Known for secret gift-giving and became the model for Santa Claus."
JERRY
Kids today don't need to read, huh?
DANIA
Right, Lawrence. But that's only part of the story.
BEGIN FLASHBACK SEQUENCE:
EXT. VILLAGE OF MYRA - DECEMBER, 320AD
A small village by the sea. We're seeing it in its prime. People are bustling about. Men unload boats packed with livestock, vegetables and grains. Kids run through the dirty streets, laughing loudly.
At the heart of the village is a beautiful but modest church. Standing at the entrance is SAINT NICHOLAS, an older man with a flowing white beard dressed in bishop's robes and towering hat. When the kids come running, he gives them a stern look. They stop running and get quiet as they walk in front of the church. The moment they're past it, though, they're right back to goofing off. Nicholas watches them run away. The stern look melts into a big smile.
DANIA (V.O.)
Myra was a thriving village when Nicholas took his post.
EXT. MYRA - FEBRUARY, 321AD
Same village. Slightly less bustling. Specifically, we don't see as much livestock or grain coming off the boats.
DANIA (V.O.)
The famine began slow.
EXT. MYRA - JULY, 321AD
Similar scene. There are less boats and less loads coming off them. Less bustle. People look upset.
DANIA (V.O.)
Despite the hope that it would turn around, it only got worse.
EXT. MYRA - NOVEMBER 321AD
Now things are really bad. There is one boat and almost nothing is being unloaded. The few people out and about look miserable. The kids on the street aren't running around.
DANIA (V.O.)
By the last months of the year, it seemed like all was lost. Any joy had given way to hopeless despair.
Nicholas stands at the church door, looking at the dying village, overcome with sadness. He turns and goes inside.
INT. CHURCH - NICHOLAS' PRIVATE CHAMBERS
Nicholas unlocks a chest he keeps in a corner of the room.
DANIA (V.O.)
Nicholas knew this was no ordinary famine. He resolved to find the answers and save Myra.
From inside the chest he pulls out clothes: dark red robes and a matching stocking cap. He takes off his bishop hat.
EXT. MYRA - NIGHT
The streets are empty. A figure moves in the shadows. It's Nicholas in his red robes and stocking cap pulled low.
DANIA (V.O.)
That night he made his way through town, checking every store, every house, every corner. It was all dark and quiet. Except...
A dimly lit shop at the end of the village. Nicholas makes his way over and looks in the window.
INT. BUTCHER SHOP - CONTINUOUS
The BUTCHER is alone, wearing sinister robes. The floor of his little shop is open to reveal a cellar beneath it. There's a roaring fire down there. He throws livestock and grain into it, while performing a ritual.
DANIA (V.O.)
Nicholas was horrified but he'd read about this in his studies.
INT. CHURCH - NICHOLAS' PRIVATE CHAMBERS - LATER
Nicholas opens the locked chest again and pulls out the same book Danie took from the bookshelf, only it looks new.
DANIA (V.O.)
The Butcher was trying to wake dark energies in hope of eternal life. He was plunging the villagers into hopelessness so that the dark feelings would feed the energy.
Nicholas flips through the book.
DANIA (V.O.)
Yet there was another energy buried deep in the Earth. A powerful, good energy. An energy that needed to be fed feelings of joy and goodwill. If Nicholas could raise it, the dark energy would be no match.
INT. CHURCH - NICHOLAS' PRIVATE CHAMBERS - DECEMBER
Nicholas toils away in private, making toys out of wood and putting them into a sack, one by one.
DANIA (V.O.)
Nicholas knew the power of children to be joyous. He worked all month, in preparation for Christmas Eve.
EXT. MYRA - DECEMBER 24TH - NIGHT
The village is once again quiet. Nicholas makes his way to the first house he sees. Quietly he sneaks in the back door.
INT. HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Really it's more like a one room shack. The parents are asleep in one corner and their son in the other. Nicholas quietly tip toes towards the boy. From his sack he takes a small wooden horse and lays it next to the sleeping child.
EXT. MYRA - CONTINUOUS
Nicholas exits the house and makes his way to the next one.
DANIA (V.O.)
And so he went from house to house.
EXT. MYRA - CHRISTMAS DAY - DAYBREAK
The streets are still empty. The sky is overcast and gloomy. Then the door to the first house opens and the boy runs out with his toy horse. One by one the doors of the houses open and the children pour into the street with their new toys, running and playing with more zeal than ever!
The parents also come to the door and the joy is infectious. They all gather around, wishing each other Merry Christmas!
EXT. NORTH POLE - CONTINUOUS
An icy, barren landscape. Nothing but snow and darkness. Suddenly a glow begins from deep within the Earth. There is a great quake and a small fissure opens. A BRIGHT BALL OF LIGHT bursts out and flies into the sky!
EXT. MYRA - CONTINUOUS
Everyone is still laughing, some parents have even joined the children in their games.
The Butcher is also out but he is not happy. He looks to the dark sky and THE CLOUDS PART. The dreary day becomes overwhelmingly BRIGHT. Nicholas walks past him. They look at each other. Nicholas winks at the defeated Butcher.
Nicholas then gathers the crowd and leads them toward the port. The sun shines extra bright on the only ship. Nicholas encourages them to go aboard. A few men go first. There is a moment of silence as everyone waits.
When the men come out, their hands are full of vegetables and grains. One of them is herding too many pigs to count.
DANIA (V.O.)
Year after year, Nicholas would play his secret role, insuring the good energy would always come out at least on Christmas. Long after he passed, the legend lived on.
QUICK MONTAGE THROUGH THE CENTURIES
Children in all parts of the world waking up to find Christmas toys: England in the Middle Ages, Italy during the Renaissance, America at the turn of the 20th Century, Africa during the 1990's and so on...
END FLASHBACK SEQUENCE.
INT. JERRY'S APARTMENT
Rick and Lawrence are sitting there, minds sufficiently blown. The cookies: uneaten. The hot chocolate: gone cold.
DANIA
That's how the idea of Santa Claus created a very real thing. Recent accounts confirm that the energy source takes Nicholas' shape in his honor.
Dania closes the book. The boys are still too enthralled to speak. Jerry snaps his fingers. They turn to face him.
JERRY
Alfie is a pain but he's smart. If he's up there when the energy comes to life tonight and he captures it, things could be bad.
RICK
So what do we do?
LAWRENCE
I know! We're going the North Pole, aren't we?
CONTINUED HERE!
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