A/N: Man, I was starting to think I'd NEVER finish this story! Now it's finally done!
Suzie: Weeee! A story about meee!
DDM: Ah, yes! I've always had a soft spot you, little Suzie-chan! ;ruffles her hair and gives her some chocolate;
Suzie: ;smiles and sticks her tongue out at the other Tamers;
DDM: Of course, that doesn't mean I don't like you guys!
Henry: Yeah, right…
DDM: Heh… Well, this story was born from a random burst of inspiration around Christmas of 2005. I was looking through my old Fanfiction and I found an amazing Digimon story. I reread it over the span of four days (I printed it out a long time ago), and then I started looking for Digimon pictures, Digimon AMVs, Digimon everything! It seems my old obsession is back with a vengeance.
So, I thought about how close it was to Christmas and how I've always wanted to actually write a Digimon Fanfiction that I can finish (I have a long project I took down a while ago. It's being revamped). So, this was born. It was supposed to be posted in small chapters, but I procrastinated and wanted to update it all on Christmas Eve. I then decided to make it a seven-part mini-series. Sadly, that wasn't meant to be, so I tried posting it the following June, which also didn't work because I was having such a hard time with the second to last chapter. I then thought I'd be able to have everything reading for Christmas 2006, but that yet again failed. So, after a lot of work, I finished the story earlier this year and figured I'd follow through with my original plan.
Now that the long, un-needed back-story is out of the way, here are all the author's notes you will need. I took sooo long writing them, so please read them. I do not want any questions I have already answered, okay? This story is AU, as the Tamers do not get their Digimon back at the end of Season 3 (it was implied when Takato saw the portal) and the Tamer's move Runaway Digimon Express never happened (Runaway Locomon for all you dubbers like me). I love the dub to death and I am using ages, names, and changes (i.e. Lopmon's a girl and MarineAngemon speaks in small sentences) from it. I will, however, be using D-Ark instead of D-Power. This is because the word just sounds better to be… That, and I started writing the story automatically using D-Ark, and now I can't stop.
Ages officially: Takato, Rika, Henry, Kazu, and Jeri are 16; Ryo is 17; Suzie is 8; Ai and Mako are 9; Jaarin (the eldest female Wong child) is 18; Rinchei (the eldest male Wong child) is 20. I hope that will get things clear. Yeah, I know Takato and co. are supposed to be 12 in the original, and yeah, Suzie should've been 7, not five; Ai and Mako should've been 4, yet I made them 6. Get over it. I got it into my head a long time ago that in the dub, the Tamers were all 13 except Ryo, who was a year older, Suzie was 5 and Ai and Mako were 6. The last three have ages that were never confirmed anyway.
Please ignore some of the bad rhymes… It was hard to rhyme sometimes… If there's a number next to something (probably only going to be one of them), you can go to the bottom to see a note about it. If you don't want to spoil the story for yourself (I've done this before), please wait until the end, as they aren't essential, just little notes. If it's absolutely killing you, then go to the end notes and see it. I'll try and make the author's notes long so the end of the story doesn't show up on the page. Either that, or just enlarge the font… Hell, I dunno! Henry's sensei will be mentioned in this, but I'm not sure if he's his grandfather or not (this very well be me meshing Seasons 2 and 3 together due to Cody's grandfather). I'm going to say he is, but remember it may not be correct. I just don't have all the episodes at the moment, so I can't check. You'll also find I love flashbacks. I at first had all the flashbacks I wanted in a notebook; these took me hours of watching and re-watching to copy down. However, this notebook became lost when my mother started cleaning, so I was slightly stuck. I found a wonderful website called Crest of Hope: Patamon's World that has all the scripts for the dub, so I'm going off that now. The actions may not be perfect, but I don't want to go back and do all that again.
As for couples, I'm going for the most canon approach, except with some sweet hints of Suzie/Mako because, well, I've seen it done well and it's cute. I mean, they're only little kids so it would only be a little crush thing. With the other couples, I will be using Jurato and Ryuki. Come now, people, you all saw the last episode of Tamers. I admit people could say it was only friendship between Ryo and Rika, but all throughout the D-Reaper arc we got hit over the head with Jurato, so I'm going with it. I know a large group of you adore Rukato; heck, I must admit one of my favorite stories is a Rukato! However, I can't write it to save my life and on the whole I do enjoy Jurato and Ryuki better. The only Rukato stories I've read and enjoyed are those of Daneel Rush. If you enjoy Rukato and angst, what are you doing here? Go and read his stuff! Tamers Forever is like a freaking novel… I dare you to get through it all in one day. I dare you.
When talking in Bio-Merged form (through flashbacks), it'll go like this:
Example:
Guilmon- Only Guilmon is talking
Takato- Only Takato is talking
Gallantmon- They are both talking
Lastly, I'd like to dedicate this story to three authors: Akuma-sama, The Create Card, and WithoutMorals-Revived, the authors of Digimon: The next generation, Digimon: The College Years, and Digimon Tamers: Dark Wing respectively. These have to be the best Digimon stories that actually use the cannon couples (or couple if you want to get technical), but only one is finished. Akuma-sama, I'm sorry you lost interest in your last arc. It was fun while it lasted, right? TCC, I hope that one day you finish your story, as it had the best blend of the first three seasons of Digimon I've seen in years and the best use of a college story as well. WMR, those last few chapters were amazing, man. You have a gift for writing this stuff, and I hope you can return to the fandom in the future.
But enough with my ramblings and notes and sucking up ;wink;. Suzie, being the main character, would you like to say the Disclaimer?
Suzie: Digital-Dwagon-Master doesn't own Digimon! If she did, thwew would've been another season of the Tamews, and I would've gotten a bigger pawt!
DDM: Kawaii! ;glomps Suzie; Ahem. Well, for this story I'm going to have to make you a little bigger, okay?
Suzie! YAY! Stawtitstawtitstawtit!
DDM: As you wish…
What Is Christmas Spirit, Anyway?
A Digimon Christmas story by Digital-Dragon-Master
Staring Suzie Wong and Lopmon
Co-Staring Terriermon, Calumon, and MarineAngemon
Gather 'round children, all young and all old,
And I'll tell you a tale of a small group so bold.
If you've come for expected, then turn away here,
For the hero is no mystic snowman, no glowing-nosed deer.
No, the champions in this story will be the surprises;
And heroes, you'll learn, can come in all sizes
For when a promise grows dim, and a dream starts to fall,
The biggest heart can found in someone quite… small.
'Twas the week before Christmas in the Digital World,
But this was of no importance to the Digi-boys and girls.
For as far as they knew, there was no December.
No March, or July, no June or November.
The Human World, you see, they all knew not,
Except for a few, a small little lot.
These Digimon had been there and made life-long friends
And this, everyone, is where our story begins…
It wasn't often that the Tamed Digimon met up with one another, but when they did, man, was it a sight to see! They would talk and, if they were naturally playful like Guilmon, Terriermon, Calumon, MarineAngemon, or sometimes Lopmon, run around and play. Others, like Renamon, Impmon, Guardromon, and Cyberdramon would talk. Well, Cyberdramon would more like growl mostly, unless he was Monodramon, then he would play. And Impmon would tease and joke and play pranks on the littler ones, while Guardromon would look on and stare, sometimes trying to comprehend what little Calumon was talking about (the others had all but given up sometimes. After he used a "like eating a rain cloud" simile to describe the taste of a curious colored liquid they found, they all had pretty much stopped trying to decipher some of the meanings).
It was rare that all of them met and that made the occasion all the more exciting and joyful. They would all catch up on what they'd been doing, but none of them would mention the Tamers. It was too painful. Even after three years, it was too painful to think too much of their old partners. Today was one of those days, though. One of those days that one of them was brave enough to mention them, one of those days that the others didn't mind.
They'd met up in a little clearing in the forest that Renamon had recalled her and her partner Rika had traveled in when they went to the Digital World with their Tamers.
"You know," it was Terriermon, the Digimon who had probably spent the most time in the Real World, save Impmon and maybe Renamon, who started this, "around this time of year, there's something back in the Real World called 'Christmas'."
"Christ…mas?" Guilmon and Calumon asked, blinking. Calumon was lying on the red dinosaur's head, his large ears almost covering the yellow-gold eyes on his head.
Terriermon nodded, grinning ecstatically. "Yep! Christmas! It's a big holiday where there's joy and good-will and "Peace on Earth" talk, and it's really cold outside, and there are lights and decorations everywhere, and everyone's laughing and talking, and there are big trees put up everywhere, and there are presents!" Terriermon was rushing through this entire explanation, of course, so it was hard to hear exactly what he said. Of course, Calumon and Guilmon heard the word "presents."
"Oh, really?!" Calumon cried, floating above Guilmon's head. "Does that mean I would get cream puffs?"
Guilmon's tail was twitching back and forth. "And Guilmon Bread?"
Terriermon nodded again, crossing his arms and looking all-knowing in the subject. "Yeah, of course! Everyone gets presents at Christmas!"
Renamon decided to put in her two cents. "Aren't you forgetting something, Terriermon?"
"Eh?"
"Well, Christmas isn't only about presents."
"I said all the other stuff."
"No one could really understand you, though." Guardromon pointed out.
"Thanks, Guardromon…" The dog-bunny grumbled.
"You're welcome." Guardromon beamed back.
Renamon cleared her throat, getting the other Digimon's attention. "You see, Christmas is a holiday in which the humans celebrate the birth of a sort of savior who was born a long time ago. It is supposed to be a very popular story, I've heard. Of course, not all humans celebrate Christmas, but many have a holiday much like it around this time.
"Nonetheless, the holiday is a time where family and friends gather together and spend their time talking and enjoying each other's company. The presents are a way of giving others something to try and show gratitude toward them; however, the greatest way you can show your gratitude is by just being with them and enjoying the holiday." She added as an afterthought, "Most places get a great deal of snow as well."
Lopmon smiled serenely. "Wouldn't it be great if it were like that here?" She asked. "Just a day of peace and tranquility, all the Digimon living in harmony…"
Impmon smirked. "I'm all for the presents myself, but if I get a day to just relax, then I say Christmas all the way!" A pause. "But I could do without all the happy touchy-feeliness…"
MarineAngemon floated on Lopmon's head. "Christmas!" He was a Digimon of few words, that was for sure.
Calumon seemed to spin with joy. "We could make Digimon made out of snow!" He didn't really know what snow was exactly, but he went with it.
"And all the bright lights!" Monodramon put in. He was really different in Rookie form; that was for sure, almost like a little kid (I get this from when he was pressing all the buttons in Ryo's father's car… Yeah, I love that scene).
"Takato and I could just spend the day together." Guilmon added thoughtfully, not even realizing what he was saying. "We could smell all the baking bread and-" He stopped.
An uncomfortable silence followed, none of the Digimon even looking at another. They all missed their Tamers so much…
Impmon coughed, beginning to walk to the river. "Well, it's not like we can suddenly make Christmas come to the Digi-World, right? So we should just stop thinkin' about it…"
Renamon sighed, her arms crossed across her chest as she leaned against a tree. Only a silly dream…
Guilmon followed Impmon, shouting that he shouldn't deny that he want Christmas too. The mischievous imp just ignored him, dipping his feet in the water.
Lopmon was eventually left to stand with Calumon and MarineAngemon in the little clearing, the other Digimon preoccupied with their activities (including Terriermon trying to get Monodramon to use his Crack Bite attack to cut down a tree with very delicious looking fruits on it). She gave a small sigh as the other two Digimon blinked at her, Calumon's ears now small and his mouth frowning.
"I wish we did have Christmas here…" The chocolate-bunny like Digimon sighed. "I really, really do…"
A large Digimon watched this from a nice-sized thrown.
"Christmas she wants, Christmas she gets…"
When the little rabbit wished that, on that warm Digi-day,
She had no idea that winter'd be coming their way.
Meanwhile, far off, in another world,
There's a lot of preparation for one little girl.
A little girl, only eight years old, sat in her room, her fingers dancing on the cellular phone in her hands. The girl, Suzie, had grown up since her adventures in the Digital World, but was still a little girl at heart. She still played with dolls and stuffed animals, and she still wore her hair in two pigtails, even though they went to her shoulders now as her hair had grown. She was taller, but not by much, much to her chagrin. She was dressed in a deep purple karate outfit, complete with a belt. Her grandfather had been teaching her the martial arts after she'd begged him for days. She'd just gotten back from her latest lesson, and her last one for the month. Normally, the littlest Tamer was adorned in a pink Chinese-style shirt, much like the one she'd worn when the Digimon lived in the Real World except long sleeved, and pinkish-purple long pants. She now had much to do to prepare for tomorrow, the day of her school play. Winter Break had already started, but the play was a six days before Christmas. She'd gotten the lead role, so it was very unnerving in a way.
"Hello?"
Suzie grinned widely at the sound of the female voice on the other end. "Hi, Ai! It's Suzie."
"Oh, hi!"
After the debacle with the D-Reaper, Suzie had gotten to know the twins Ai and Mako and they had become fast friends. Ai usually dressed in a red skirt and a pink sweater with her hair in a braid down to her backbone. Suzie wondered how the girl didn't get cold with the freezing weather they were having. Her brother, Mako, wore a deep blue jumper still, but it was made of corduroy and he wore a long sleeved sky blue shirt under it, normally seen with a puffy orange jacket. His hair hadn't changed all that much, except it had become tamed and almost like Takato's, the unofficial "leader" of their little group of misfit Tamers. In Suzie's opinion, he'd become quite handsome.
"I just wanted to make sure you knew about the play tomorrow. You're coming, right?"
"Of course! We wouldn't miss it for the world, right Mako?"
The sound of a muffled, "Fwha?" came over the phone, and Suzie could only guess the younger of the twins (by only two minutes, Mako constantly complained) was eating. She giggled slightly.
"That's yes in Mako language. It's taken me so long to learn how to speak it."
"HEY!" was what came through the cell next.
Suzie chuckled harder as she heard the two argue over the phone. "Well, I'll see you two tomorrow then, right?"
The fighting stopped and both responded in unison. "Yeah!"
"Bye!"
"Bye!" "See ya, Suzie!"
Suzie smiled as she thought of the two of them. They still fought everyday, but it wasn't as violent as it had been when they were six. It was probably a tribute to Impmon, she mused. They also, so ironically, were staying in Hongo with their grandmother, just like they were when Impmon reunited with them three years ago. They were celebrated with their entire family, but couldn't wait for Suzie's play.
The eight-year-old shrugged, setting down the phone and shaking her head. She had more things to do to prepare for the play tomorrow; more people to call, places to go, things to finish. Everything was so hectic. Not only was she the staring role in the play, but she had volunteered to help with the management as well. The costumes had to be picked up from the Dry-Cleaner's, the actors had to be called to make sure they hadn't forgotten the play, the stage hands and special effects crew had to be called to make sure they had everything set up, and the advertisers had to be contacted to make sure they'd actually sold their tickets. Suzie sighed. Had she known she'd be picked for the lead role after the original got food poisoning, she'd never signed for so many jobs.
"I'll do anything I can to help." She'd of-so-coincidently said to the Head of the Drama department. Two weeks ago, the lead had been hospitalized and poor Suzie was the understudy. She learned her part as fast as she could, and the director remarked she had amazing talent. Still, it didn't stop her from wishing the original girl got better. Of course, as luck would have it, she didn't, and the Tamer girl was stuck with the most jobs in the history of West Shinjuku Elementary.
"Mom, can you take me to the Cleaner's to pick up the costumes?" She called while she dialed another number.
"Of course, sweetie!" Came her reply. "Just get ready to leave soon! It's supposed to snow later today."
Suzie inwardly groaned. That was just what she needed…
Suzie arrived at the Dry-Cleaner's soon after she'd called the cast. She still needed to call everyone else, but at least her mother had gotten her there before the snow had started to fall. Of course, it was close enough that they didn't need to drive, but Suzie, being an eight-year-old child and the youngest in her family, wasn't aloud to go out without her mother, father, sister, or one of her older brothers.
Of course, the entire world seemed to be conspiring against her.
"WHAT?!" Suzie cried, looking forlornly at the man in front of her.
He nodded hesitantly. "Sorry, little girl. We managed to save all of the costumes except for one, though."
Suzie almost sank to the ground in distress. It seemed that an intern had been running the machines and had let it run a little too long. There was a melt-down for some reason and, of course, all the costumes she needed were in there at the time. The men had acted rather quickly, though, and rescued all the outfits save one: her's.
"We'll be happy to refund your money." A woman offered.
Suzie moaned. "That won't help. The play's tomorrow!" She hid her face in her hands and shook her head. Why did everything have to happen to her?
Mrs. Wong kneeled down and pulled her daughter into a one armed hug.
"There, there, honey." She comforted. "Jaarin is wonderful at making clothes. If you describe it to her, I'm sure she can recreate your costume in time for tomorrow's play."
That was true, her older sister could make it, but she'd need all day and all the fabric shops were too far away. She'd have to use whatever she had at home…
The girl cringed at the thought of walking out in a lime green and mauve costume, being laughed at by everyone. She would trip over the feet and fall into the other actors, who in turn would fall into the special effects crew, who would accidentally hit all the buttons and levers, making all the special effects go off at once and blind some of the light-sensitive members of the audience…
Okay, that was going too far…
Suzie trudged back to her apartment house, telling her sister the bad news and begging for her to help. Jaarin quickly complied, and Suzie described the costume in great detail. The older girl then shut herself in her room, saying she couldn't be disturbed. Her oldest brother, Rinchei, offered to drop off the costumes while Suzie finished phoning everyone. It was great to have help.
It was at this time that Henry, her other brother and fellow Tamer arrived home from the park. He hadn't changed much since his Tamer days, except for his shaggy almost-shoulder-length hair that he refused to cut. Kazu and Kenta enjoyed teasing him about his "girly hair", when it was actually quite masculine. If you looked closely, you could see he was wiser, and at times he seemed almost like a grown man. Suzie suspected sometimes even he forgot he was still only a teenager.
He had been hanging out with the other Tamers as well, doing her job of asking them if they could make the play at the same time. All of them could come, much to her enjoyment, but it didn't help her mood very much. The heavy snowfall had begun and it didn't look like it would stop anytime soon.
Henry ruffled her hair reassuringly as she sat at the desk in her room. "Don't worry, Suzie, everything will turn out fine."
Well, he hadn't lost his ability to cheer people up, that's for sure.
"I guess." She mumbled, picking up the phone again. "But why does it seem like everything's going to go wrong?"
Suzie was answered by the local news station from the other room. "And the snowfall will continue into the night, bordering the twelve inch mark. Citizens are advised to be ready for a harsh winter, that's for sure. Back to you, Steve.
"Thanks Mark. I sure hope this won't cause any problems for out last minutes shoppers, don't you, Mary?"
"We can only watch, Steve, but those little kids are going to have a lot of fun with all the snowmen they can make."
Suzie's loud moan drowned out the laughter of the co-anchors as her head hit the desk with a 'thud.'
Great! Now all she needed was a Bio-Emergence and this it would be official! Something out there hated her…
It was funny how right Suzie could be,
Even when she didn't want the irony.
But as poor Suzie wallowed in anxiety and despair,
The Digital citizens were getting a surprise wished up by a hare.
Digimon everywhere blinked and stared as a white powder called snow began to fall slowly to the ground in most places, and where it didn't, or where it already was, the Digimon's confusion came from the sudden knowledge of a certain Real World holiday that was only six days away. Shops seemed to crop up around the Southern Sector of the Digital World, while in the other sectors they already existed. A giant tree rose up in the blink of an eye in the very center of every layer, no matter what the climate, complete with decorations. The creatures no longer fought, but were kind to one another and all went to get things for their loved ones.
It was at this time that the small group of Tamed Digimon met in the exact same spot they had earlier, shocked and stunned, none more than Lopmon, Calumon, and MarineAngemon.
"WHAT IN THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" Impmon voiced all their opinions.
A/N: And here's the first chapter! The next ones will be put up one every day for the next week! Part Two of this little series is coming tomorrow!
Next Time: The Tamed Digimon pay a visit to the Sovereign to try and get to the bottom of their little mystery, and Lopmon volunteers for a surprising task. Meanwhile, the Tamers get ready to attend Suzie's oncoming play, but will a surprise visit from another world delay their arrival? The real plot starts next time, in Digimon Tamers: What is Christmas Spirit Anyway?!
Suzie: Wemember to weview!
