Well, since it's almost Christmas time, I figured, why not do a couple one-shots about Christmas? One about Eureka Seven and one for the Coalition of Authors (go to my profile and read up on that. _). And since this is in the Eureka Seven section, it must be the Eureka Seven Christmas one-shot. It'll have a special cameo appearance from…me! Slop Doggy. (Again, go to my profile, and read my Slop Doggy appearance section. .) This'll take place after the Battle for Capitol Hill in my fanfic, Eureka Seven: A Second Chance, about…3 months after. Enjoy!
Eureka Seven: Christmas Nothings
Eureka stood in the living room of the Thurston house, watching Renton and Axel running around, putting up a tree, lights, and a big circle covered in prickly stuff.
"Uh…Renton, honey?" asked Eureka hesitantly.
"Yes, dear, what is it?" replied Renton, sounding out of breath.
"What are you doing? And where are the kids?"
"Oh, I forgot. You haven't celebrated Christmas, have you?"
"Christmas? What's that?" asked Eureka, looking confused.
"See, Christmas is a time where families get together and exchange gifts, talk, and generally have fun. It's like…everyone's birthday all rolled into one day."
"Oh, I see. And where are the kids?"
"Up in their room, making lists for Santa."
"Santa?"
"Yeah. He's this big, fat man in a red suit. He flies through the air in a sleigh pulled by reindeer and delivers the presents."
"Wow," breathed Eureka, wide-eyed. "I'd love to meet him."
"Sorry, Eureka, but Santa's not real," growled Axel. "He's just a figure parents made up so they could get children to do their chores. See, Santa only delivers presents to good children who do what their parents say."
"Oh," Eureka said, looking crushed.
Renton noticed this and quickly said, "Oh, don't mind Grandpa, Eureka. He's a regular Scrooge during the holidays. I'm sure you'll see Santa before Christmas is over."
Eureka smiled, hugged Renton, and said "Thanks," against his shoulder.
Axel just snorted and went back to decorating the tree.
"Hey, Holland? Don't you think we should radio ahead?"
"Nah. Let it be a Christmas surprise."
"Hey, Grandpa! Eureka and I are going to the mall. We'll be right back!" hollered Renton.
"Sure, don't take too long. And DON'T spend too much money!" Axel yelled back.
"Okay!" Renton yelled as he and Eureka walked out the door.
"Renton, what are we going to get at the mall?" asked Eureka.
"Just some gifts for the kids. We'll let Santa handle the rest."
"'Kay."
At the mall, Renton and Eureka were astonished by the Christmas crowd flooding the mall.
"Man, I hope they don't run out of items before we get the stuff for Christmas," Renton joked. "All right. Let's see what we have to get for the kids."
Eureka pulled the list out of her purse Talho got her after the Battle of Capitol Hill, where Tyler…
"Stop it," Eureka thought, shaking her head. "He said he would be back, so you have to trust him."
Eureka's inner thoughts were interrupted by Renton saying, "All right. Maurice wants a new camera, so let's get him a digital one from an electronic store. Maeter and Amelia want some new clothes and some dolls, so we can get them that at Target. And Linck wants a Transformer, so we can get that at Target as well."
"OK, let's go," Eureka said.
At Target, they got the Christmas presents and were on their way out, when Eureka grabbed Renton's arm and said, "Renton, what's going on over there?"
Renton looked over and saw a long line of kids with their parents waiting to see Santa.
"Huh. Looks like those kids are waiting to sit on Santa's lap."
Eureka's grip on his arm grew to bone-crushing strength. "Santa's here?! Let's go see him!" she cried.
"Ow, ow. OK, OK. Let's go," said Renton, holding his arm.
They stood to the side of the line, Eureka staring at Santa with something between adoration and worship in her eyes; Renton watching Eureka and their gifts, periodically checking the time. After 20 minutes, he said, "Eureka, dear, it's time to go."
Eureka pouted, but she followed Renton. Before they were out of sight, however, she turned and cried out, "Bye, Santa!" The "Santa" on duty waved back slowly, looking confused.
Renton kept thinking on the way back to their house. "Hmm. Maybe I can get "Santa" to pay us a visit this year. Let's see…where can I find a fat man?"
Back at the Thurston residence
"Eureka, can you put these in our room? I have to make some phone calls."
"Sure, dear."
Renton walked over to the phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Bear? This is Renton."
"Oh, hey, Renton. Happy holidays."
"Yeah, you too. Hey, listen. Can you do me a favor?"
"Uh…what's up?"
"Can you come down here to Bell Forest and dress up as Santa for Eureka and the kids?"
"Aw, sorry Renton. I have a ton of work to do. We recently dug up some new archetypes and I have to be here to research them. Maybe next year."
"Yeah…Thanks, though."
"Sorry. 'Bye"
"See you."
"Well, that didn't work out. Now what?" thought Renton. "Hmm…maybe…"
He pulled out what looked like a cell phone, only this cell phone only had one number it could call. He hit the Call button. After a few seconds…
"Hello?"
"Slop Doggy. I need a HUGE favor."
"Holland. We've landed in Bell Forest."
"All right. Let's get to the Thurston house. It's almost time for Christmas."
A knock came at the door.
"Renton, can you get that?" hollered Axel. "I gotta get this ham out of the oven."
"Sure thing, Gramps," Renton said. "That can't be Slop Doggy. It's too early. Who is it? Carolers?"
He opened the door, and was struck speechless. The crew of the Gekkostate was standing outside, grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, who is it?" growled Axel.
"Uh…Gramps? We might need more food…" croaked Renton weakly.
"Don't worry. We brought our own," said Holland.
"Was that Holland?" said Axel.
"Sure was…old man."
"Hmph. Renton, invite our guests inside. They must be freezing."
"S-sure, Gramps. Come on in. Let me go get Eureka and the kids."
Eureka and the kids were up in the kids' room, counting down the moments when Christmas would begin. Renton knocked on the door and went in.
"Eureka, can you and the kids come downstairs? There's a surprise waiting for you."
"Sure, Renton. Come on, kids."
"YAY!"
As the kids ran downstairs, taking them two at a time, with Eureka hot on their heels, Renton's phone vibrated. He took it out and opened it. On the screen was a single message: "I'm here. Where do we meet?"
He hit the "Reply" button and sent back: "In front of the mall." He hit "Send" and smiled as he heard a surprised shriek coming from downstairs. He went down and said, "I have to go back to the mall and get one more thing. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Be careful," said Axel.
"Sure."
He took the gifts from the hiding spot he and Eureka chose a few days ago, and headed to the mall. There, he met Slop Doggy, who looked totally out of place wearing a Santa outfit.
"You know, when I said 'Call for anything,' this isn't what I had in mind. But, all the same, I'm happy to help," said Slop Doggy.
"Thanks. You think you can pull it off?" asked Renton.
"Yeah, should be no problem."
"All right. I have to get some presents for the crew of Gekkostate, so give me a few."
"Sure."
More than a few minutes later, Renton began the trek back to the house. Slop Doggy pulled out a watch, glanced at it, and started following Renton.
When the pair reached Garage Thurston, Renton turned to Slop Doggy and said, "All right. Give me five minutes, then come down the chimney."
"You got it," said Slop, looking…less than eager.
"Come on, cheer up! It's the holidays."
"I guess you're right," said Slop Doggy reluctantly.
"All right. Remember, five minutes."
"I got it, I got it."
"OK. Here we go."
With that, Renton walked into the house. Slop took care not to be seen, walked to the side of the house, put the…rather large bag down, and made a peculiar sign with his hands.
"Transform," he muttered, and in a puff of smoke, he became an exact copy of Santa. Tapping his feet on the ground, he picked the bag up again, and waited.
Renton sat, and enjoyed the loud ruckus his friends were making, joining in every now and then. Every so often, he would check the time. Talho noticed, and said, "You waiting for someone?"
Renton looked up, looking guilty, and said, "No, not really. Just…can't wait until Christmas time."
Talho smiled slyly, but before she could say anything else, the clock chimed out midnight. The kids cheered, and everyone there hollered out at the same time, "Merry Christmas!"
The kids cried, "Time to open presents!" Renton and Eureka exchanged smiles, but before they could say anything, there was a loud THUMP from the ceiling. Everyone looked up, the adults with surprise and suspicion, the kids and Eureka with wonder, and Renton with mischief. There was a loud THUNCK, THUNCK, THUNCK coming down the chimney, and a big, red man fell out in a cloud of soot, and a loud "OOOOWWWWW!"
The kids and Eureka cried, "SANTA!!!" and the adults said, "SANTA?!"
The red man stood up, picked up his bag that, luckily, fell beside him, looked around the room, and boomed, "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!"
Holland recovered, and said, "All right. Who's that under the beard?"
Santa looked confused, and asked, "What do you mean?"
Axel said, "Everyone knows Santa's not real. So what kinda con artist are you?"
Holland reached over, grabbed a big handful of Santa's beard, and yanked…hard.
"Ow, ow, ow! Stop that!" cried Santa, swatting Holland's hand away.
Holland looked shocked for a minute, then recovered and said, "All right, the beard's real. But that doesn't mean you're Santa."
Santa looked at him and huffed. He then turned to the kids and Eureka, who were waiting eagerly, and said, "Now, I believe I have some presents for you." He reached into his bag and pulled out a rectangular box and handed it to Maurice. He then pulled out two long, slim packages, as well as two large, thick packages, and handed them to Maeter and Amelia. Then he pulled out a BIG rectangular box, and handed it to Linck.
"There you go, kids. Open them up."
The kids didn't need any more encouragement, and ripped the wrapping paper off.
"Aw, wow! A digital camera! Just what I wanted!" cried Maurice.
"Dolls and clothes!" cried Amelia and Maeter.
"Sweet! A Transformer! Optimus Prime!" cried Linck.
That pretty much set the whole tone for the rest of the party. Santa would hand out gifts, and there would be ecstatic cries. But the highlight was when Santa gave Eureka a small, rectangular package and said, "Open it up. It's from Renton, not me."
She opened it up, and inside was a diamond necklace. She looked at Renton, with tears in her eyes, and embraced him in a bone-crushing hug.
Finally, Santa gathered up his bag, and said, "Well, I have to go. Got a lot more houses to go to. Have a Merry Christmas. Ho, ho, ho!"
With that, Santa strode to the chimney and climbed up it. The whole household heard thumping on the ceiling, then it was quiet.
"Well, that was fun," said Holland, despite his reluctance to accept Santa as real.
The rest of the night passed with stories and hot chocolate. Finally, the children had to go to bed due to the fact that their eyes wouldn't stay open. Renton walked outside and met with Slop Doggy.
"Thanks, Slop," Renton said.
"Don't thank me. I couldn't fit down your chimney," stated Slop Doggy bluntly.
"Wait. Then…who was in the house?" Renton said, looking shocked. He looked up, just in time to see the silhouette of eight reindeer and a sleigh on the moon. Faintly, he heard, "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!"
Ha ha. Guess who that was? Just a random one-shot I came up with while excited for the Christmas season. See you next time, in the Coalition of Author's Christmas Gathering! Stay tuned!
Be safe and well, and Merry Christmas
Slop Doggy