| Synopsis
| - Gene LaBostrie tells his son Raoul the tale of Papa Noël. He explains that long ago, the Cajuns did not live in the swamps. The LaBostrie family came from Nova Scotia in Canada. At the time, the British had wanted the French-speaking Acadians to to speak English and swear allegiance to their king. The Acadians refused, and moved south to Louisiana, where they became known as the Cajuns.
- Returning to his family, Swamp Thing embraces them, hoping that this is the last they've seen of these demon pirates. He tosses Constantine a memento from the adventure: Dark Conrad's Jolly Roger.
- That night, Abby Holland is surprised to find presents and candy already in her daughter's stocking. She and the Swamp Thing hear a sound on the roof, and rushing outside, they are just in time to see Papa Noël continuing on his journey of gift-giving.
- Abby Holland is depressed to find that the situation she is in is not merely a nightmare. An otherwordly castle has risen from the swamps in an alternate, hellish dimension. She and her daughter Tefé have been captured by Dark Conrad, a horrifying necromancer and pirate who serves gods known as the Old Ones. Unfortunately, it is all too real.
- However, having moved so far from their old home, the Cajuns were afraid that the spirit of Christmas, Papa Noël, would not be able to find them. So, they built bonfires every Christmas Eve to show him the way. Seeing the fires, Papa Noël can find the Cajuns, and deliver presents to all the children.
- LaFitte and his men appear, having sworn never to rest until Dark Conrad is dead. In the ensuing fight, Tefé is made airborne, and caught by Constantine. The child seems to instinctively realize that he is - in a sense - her biological father.
- Meanwhile, Swamp Thing and John Constantine row through the swamps in search of their friends. Swamp Thing is wary of having to deal with Constantine again, but since he was summoned by the spirit known as Ya-Ya, he must acquiesce. They must find the doubloon that Abby is now wearing as a neclace, because it is key to defeating Dark Conrad. Eventually, they discover the castle, occupying some kind of dimensional rift.
- Swamp Thing creates several duplicates of himself, and attacks the pirate as a distraction, while Constantine yanks the doubloon from around Abby's neck . With the doubloon in hand, Swamp Thing calls upon the spirit of Jean LaFitte, a pirate who had been horribly wronged by Dark Conrad and swore revenge.
- Despite Jean LaFitte's attack, it doesn't get everyone in the clear. Swamp Thing orders his mortal friends to return to the swamp as Dark Conrad easily uses the power of the Old Ones to destroy Jean LaFitte. However, the Swamp Thing had only used LaFitte as a distraction while he grew to enormous size, and crushed the interdimensional castle between his palms.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)