Episode 7: A Christmas Carol
Snow fell from the sky in soft snowflakes. A thick blanket of it covered the ground and everything in the forest: the trees, the bushes, the rocks, and every single building Kelna. Though the air chilled the people to the bone, it had no effect on the Christmas cheer in their hearts. Tomorrow was Christmas Day. The people that walked around outside simply bundled up and went about decorating their houses for the holiday.
Querl, Kiara, Kopi, Able and Tam walked through the city, singing Christmas carols.
The mayor had asked several people to sing. Querl wore a white and purple jumper, Kopi wore a blue winter coat and Kiara wore a pink coat, white earmuffs and light pink mittens. Tam was wearing a red and green Christmas jumper and Abel was all bundled up in a grey coat and a yellow woolly hat, scarf and a pair of gloves for the winter weather.
Querl led the way as they walked through the city towards the garage, waving to the people still decorating their houses for the season.
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
'Tis the season to be jolly
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Don we now our white apparel
Fa la la, la la la, la la la!
Sing the ancient yuletide carol
Fa la la la la, la la…..la…"
The reason the carollers trailed off was because when they reached the garage and went inside, they stared in surprise at the lack of decorations on Sorun's door, making it look quite dark and dismal. No wreath hung from the door and not a single light.
"What in the blue blazes? Sorun's room is as bare as a baby's bottom!" Tam exclaimed. Querl sat his carol book down and ran up to Sorun's room. He immediately assumed the worst, thinking Sorun was hurt or sick in some way. He knocked hurriedly on the door.
"Sorun. What's wrong? Are you ok?" He called.
"Oh, you mean other than being bothered by carollers, who aren't even in tune by the way!" Sorun's voice snapped from inside.
Querl blinked in surprise. Okay, so Sorun wasn't injured or ill, but his temper seemed to have flared. Abel winced as he and the others approached.
"Whew. What's gotten into him?" He asked the others.
"What do you mean? He's always grouchy." Kopi replied.
"Yeah, but not at the holidays." Abel protested.
"Yeah, you always decorate for the holidays." Tam added as they circled around Sorun's door. Sorun emerged from his house with his usual frown, dressed in his pyjamas and slippers. He certainly didn't look ready to decorate the tree later that evening. Every year the people of Kelna decorated the big tree in the middle of the city, then on Christmas day they give out the presents they brought to each other around the tree.
"Uh, I hate decorations." Sorun responded to Tam's statement as though it was obvious.
"Okay. But you're still coming to the big party tonight, right?" Tam asked.
"Everyone helps to decorate the tree." Kopi said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You call that puny little twig a tree?" Sorun laughed scornfully.
"Count me out!" He added with a glare.
"But we always decorate as a family." Kiara protested sweetly.
"Yeah, and you always put the star on top of the tree." Abel added.
"He's right, Sorun. That very important task belongs to you." Querl said. Sorun really did like putting the star on top of the tree; it was his favourite part of the holidays. But his anger trumped out his desire to do his favourite thing.
"You know what? I hate tasks. I hate stars, mistletoe, candy cane stockings, and fruitcake!" He stepped back into his room, emphasising every word.
"I. Hate. Christmas!" He slammed his door shut.
"How can someone hate fruitcake? It's delicious." Tam asked, shocked.
"Oh Querl. You need to do something. It just won't be the same if we can't all celebrate together." Abel whimpered.
"I'm sorry Abel, but I don't see what we can do."...
Later that evening Kiara was in her room finishing wrapping her presents. Sorun used to love Christmas and she just couldn't understand what had caused him to despise the holiday he once cherished. She turned on the radio in hopes it would play some nice Christmas songs.
"Where are you Christmas?
Why can't I find you?
Why have you gone away?
Where is the laughter you used to bring me?
Why can't I hear music play?
My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too?"
Kiara turned the radio off with tears in her eyes. One tear rolled off her check but, unknown to her, it didn't hit the floor. Wiping her eyes clean Kiara picked up her presents and went to join the others. The teardrop started to glow red, blue and green all at once before zipping out the door towards Sorun's room, growing slightly as it flew...
Inside, Sorun was slumped in his chair.
"Fa la la la la, la la la…lame!" He sighed and picked up his cup filled with eggnog instead.
"How do you deck a hall anyway?" He growled. He took a sip of his eggnog, but his nose wrinkled.
"I hate eggnog." He thought for a moment. "But I also hate being thirsty." He took another drink of the eggnog, but his nose still crinkled.
He never noticed the teardrop, now the size of a tennis ball, coming right through his door like a ghost. He slumped back in his easy chair, his thoughts wandering. The orb, now having its target in sight, tried to slip into Sorun's cup. But Sorun saw some of the light in the corner of his eye, and he spun around to check for an intruder.
The orb, however, disappeared.
Sorun settled in his chair to drink his eggnog, but he felt a tap on his hand. He turned to look behind his chair, but saw no one. The orb, meanwhile, quietly slipped into his eggnog and disappeared. Completely unaware, Sorun took another drink of his eggnog, looking around suspiciously. His first thoughts brought up some kids and Christmas pranks, but he just continued drinking.
Two seconds later, his eyelids got heavy.
"Suddenly…feel…sleep…" Sorun mumbled, dropping his eggnog cup…and fell to the ground right after it...
Sorun yawned a little and groaned, sitting upright. However, he immediately found his room had gone completely dark.
"Who turned out the lights?" he growled tiredly, reaching for the lamp on his table. He turned on his lamp and saw that nothing seemed out of place. But his attention became drawn to the fireplace as bits of wood and soot fell from the air vent. Sorun cringed, feeling bit of fear crawl up his back. He knew for a fact it wasn't rats.
"What's up there?" Sorun called, creeping towards the fireplace. "I-I got a blue belt in kung fu a-and I'm not afraid to use it! Ha-hai!" He punched up at the vent. But a cloud of soot and a gust of air made him tumble backwards and onto his butt.
"You really should clean that thing once in a while." Someone coughed. Sorun groaned and rubbed his head, looking up.
"Kiara?" He said in confusion.
"I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past. Don't you see my pretty wings?" She giggled. It was then Sorun noticed the pink furry dress, snowflake wand and fairy wings. Spirit Kiara suddenly noticed the soot spots on her dress and magically converted her wand to a hand broom to dust it all away.
"I shouldn't have had that second glass of eggnog." Sorun groaned, a little overwhelmed by it all.
"Oh, go away. You're nothing but a figment of my indigestion." He growled. Spirit Kiara rolled her eyes and flew over to him.
"No silly. I'm one of the three spirits that's going to visit you tonight. It seems like you've lost the true meaning of Christmas. So our job is to help you find it." Spirit Kiara said, dusting Sorun off. Sorun groaned, pushing the spirit away.
"I think I'll pass. Feel free to use the door on your way out." He huffed. Spirit Kiara flew up beside him, her hand broom going back to a magic wand.
"Oh, I'm not leaving until I take you on a magical journey back in time!" She flew about the room, spreading pink sparkles like pixie dust and glowing brightly. Sorun winced as she tapped him with her wand. When he opened his eyes he was in his old bedroom before he moved into the garage. He suddenly jumped when his alarm clock went off, and he spun around to his bed.
But before he could move, another arm shot out from his bed and the hand slammed down onto the clock.
"What the heck?" Sorun breathed.
"Oh, I hate mornings." Another, younger, Sorun groaned as he sat up. But his face brightened. "Except for Christmas morning!" He smiled.
"Hey. It's me." Present Sorun said in shock.
"Yes it is you." Spirit Kiara said cheerfully. "But a it's you from very long, long ago." She added.
"Presents, here I come!" Past Sorun cheered, quickly getting changed for the day.
"Christmas was always your favourite time of year." Spirit Kiara reminded. Sorun watched as his past self started singing "Jingle Bells" while pulling on his favourite scarf.
"Past me is so annoying." He groaned, only jumped when his past self suddenly went right through him.
"Weird, right?" Spirit Kiara giggled.
No duh. But, now I guess I don't have to worry about hiding. I hate hiding. Sorun thought.
"Wait till you see this!" Spirit Kiara waved her wand, and the bedroom changed to the snow-covered Kelna. Sorun involuntarily blinked in wonder.
"Neat, huh?" Spirit Kiara giggled. People decorated the tree, rode around on sleds, made snow angels in the ground, threw snowballs and decorated cookies. Spirit Kiara waved her wand, and now she and Sorun stood right in the middle of it all. Sorun started to smile.
"Hey, I remember this." He sighed. This is how Christmas was every year. Hanging out in the snow with the others, unwrapping presents, having snowball fights until it was time to go inside the town hall for cocoa and tell each other stories. Sorun sighed happily. These were the good old days.
"And here you come now." Spirit Kiara said, pointing as Past Sorun hurried over the bridge. Past Sorun replied "Merry Christmas" to all the people that greeted him. But he had his eyes set on his stool at the far end of the area.
"The sooner I get to my chair, then the sooner I get to open my present." Past Sorun chuckled. He darted for his chair, but kept stopping because people stepped in his way. They called "Merry Christmas, Sorun", and he responded with a half-cheery "Merry Christmas" back, but soon after started running off to his chair.
But when a snowball hit his head, he couldn't help but try and throw one back.
Unfortunately, he got pelted so many times he became covered in snow. A Durlan skipped by with a bowl of vegetables for the chef to bake into dinner, but paused when he saw an unfinished snowman. He took the carrot he had and stuck it in the snowman's face, nodding in satisfaction. He skipped away, unaware that Past Sorun shook all the snow off him and spit out the carrot in his mouth.
Past Sorun moved off to his chair, but a man suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him out to dance with the others.
Spirit Kiara and Sorun watched, the latter unamused while the former giggled. Past Sorun tried to get to his seat but to no avail. Spirit Kiara sang and danced around, smiling.
"Come on, let's dance." She said. Sorun kept his arms crossed and his face in a frown.
"I hate dancing." He replied coldly. Spirit Kiara smirked.
"Really? That's not what it looks like to me." She said and pointed her finger towards the dance. Sorun followed her point to see his past self stop and suddenly start moving, whooping and laughing with the others. Sorun watched a little fondly, remembering how much fun Christmas used to be for him. All the dancing and the merriment and the fun.
It was the one time of year that he could count on for having a good time.
Whatever happened to it all?
"Oh yeah." Sorun inwardly sighed. The same thing that happened every year.
"Gather around, everyone!" The Past Mayor called, laughing at everyone's delight. The people hurriedly ran from the dance floor and to their seats, watching Past Sorun amusedly as he kept dancing.
"Hurry up, Sorun! It's time to open your presents!" The Past Mayor laughed. Past Sorun finally stopped dancing and sprinted over to his seat, laughing and smiling broadly.
"Whoa. This was a long time ago." Sorun breathed.
"Oh please let me get it." Past Sorun prayed.
"Get what?" The kid sat next to him asked.
"What I asked for for Christmas. A jet pack." Past Sorun said.
"Whoa!" The kid gasped.
"I know. It's gonna be the best." Past Sorun sighed blissfully. He smiled in anticipation as the Past Mayor came by. The Past Mayor greeted Past Sorun with a warm "Merry Christmas" and handed him his presents before moving on to the others. However, as Past Sorun stared at the presents, they all looked much too small to be what he thought.
"All right, open them up!" The Past Mayor called.
The people all tore the wrapping paper off the boxes and gasped in awe at the contents. Sorun had got a goo gun, new sneakers, a jacket and some new video games but not the jet pack he had asked for. Sorun looked on sadly.
"All I ever wanted was that jet pack. Every year I asked people for it, but…did it ever come through?" He asked her.
"Let's find out." Spirit Kiara pulled up her wand and magically pulled down a calendar. She flipped through it, through many Christmases that followed that one. Each time Sorun only saw his past self not getting a jet pack for Christmas.
"And then a few years later. And every year after that." Spirit Kiara noted, mostly to herself than Sorun.
"Well, there was always what happened last year." Spirit Kiara said, waving her wand to change the scene. Sorun's eyes widened.
"Oh no, please spare me that." He begged.
But he was forced to watch the scene anyway. Past Sorun sat, his arms crossed and waiting for his presents. Then, a kid approached with a large box in his arms.
"Hey, look Sorun look! The Mayor asked me to give this to you! Take a look!" He grinned. Past Sorun looked down and his eyes brightened up at the sight of the box's shape.
"Finally!" He opened it hurriedly and looked inside. Only to have the contents explode in his face. The kid laughed, hugging his sides.
"Kidding! Here's your real gift!" He handed Past Sorun his new watch. Sorun clenched fist, he snarled and stomped off, wiping soot from his face. The others stared after him, some of them shrugging.
"Isn't Christmas about getting what you want? Well I want a jet pack. Why do I even bother to celebrate Christmas if all I ever get is the same useless stuff? I. Hate. CHRISTMAS!" Past Sorun growled, kicking snow and stomping across the bridge to go home. He threw the watch to the ground and marched off, kicking snow.
He didn't look back, therefore not noticing Past Kiara gingerly pick up his discarded watch and stare sadly after him, obviously hurt.
Sorun and Spirit Kiara watched as Past Sorun stomped off, wiping away angry tears and muttering bitterly under his breath. Spirit Sorun gasped softly.
"And that's why you decided to hate Christmas?" She asked.
"Why get your hopes up? If all you get is disappointed." Sorun sighed sadly.
"Well what's there to be disappointed about when you're surrounded by such a big happy family?" Spirit Kiara asked with a smile, pointing to the happy people at the Christmas tree.
"Ha. More like an annoying family. I could have used that jetpack to fly away for some peace and quiet." Sorun scoffed, turning away. Spirit Kiara smiled.
"Well, if you wanted to fly, then let's go. You've got somewhere to be." She said and flew up and lifted Sorun by the back of his pyjama shirt, despite his protests.
"Man! You are heavier than you look!" Spirit Kiara groaned and laughed. Sorun yelped as he dodged rooftops, went through smoke and got tangled in Christmas lights.
"Whoa! Watch it!" He shouted. He clambered onto Spirit Kiara's head as she made a sharp turn upwards to avoid flying into a tree trunk. She fought to keep a grip on him and still get him off her face as they flew higher and higher. Spirit Kiara laughed and giggled while Sorun just yelped and shouted. He flinched when a flock of birds rushed by.
Spirit Kiara looked down when the birds passed and noticed she was missing something.
"Oh, Oops." She looked down at Sorun as he fell. He shouted in terror.
"I hate falling!"...
Sorun grunted as he landed right in a snowman. He pushed himself upright. He never want to do that again. He groaned.
"Nice of you to drop in." A familiar voice said. Sorun turned his head and stared.
"Abel?" It certainly looked like Abel. Except now he wore a green robe with a fluffy white trim and a wreath with candles, like a glowing crown, rested over the top of his hat.
"I'm afraid you are incorrect, in your assumption, for I am the Ghost of Christmas Present." Spirit Abel corrected.
"Then where are the presents?" A very bitter and very cold Sorun grumbled. Spirit Abel helped him to his feet.
"I'm here to show you how your hatred of Christmas is going to affect all Kelna." He gestured to the scene before them and Sorun saw the circle of stools, the lights hanging around the lantern posts, the roaring fire and the large Christmas tree. People decorated the tree and hung stockings. It looked exactly the way Sorun saw it outside his window.
"What are you talking about?" Sorun demanded.
"Every Christmas I would just put up a couple of decorations. And the Mayor would make me put a star on top of the tree." He sighed. Even when he frowned and glared, it was clear in Sorun's eyes. He loved having that tradition.
"Every action, no matter how small or how big, has a reaction." Spirit Abel said. He then took a candle from his hat and gestured before them. "Behold!"
Sorun turned and noticed the chef running up to the tree, carrying a box of decorations. Spirit Abel came up and the scene suddenly froze.
"Because you decided not to help decorate the tree, the chef had to step in and help with the ornaments instead of baking his traditional ginger men cookies."
He swirled his candle and a picture of a plate and cookies appeared. Spirit Abel waved the candle again, sending up a long, large, complicated math equation mixed with Christmas symbols.
"Which had an exponential effect on the rate of Christmas cheer per person that when multiplied by the square root of total chaos to the…"
He looked to Sorun, noticing the dumb and almost drooling look.
"Sorun, why do I bother? Just watch." Spirit Abel sighed. He stuck the candle back into his wreath crown and jerked his thumb back to the scene. The glowing writing disappeared and the chef rewound backwards a ways before he came back running.
"Attention! I have more Christmas decorations! Whoa!" He suddenly slipped on a patch of ice and the box flew forward. It slid across the ground and hitting another box next to Abel and Kiara. Abel peered inside and his eyes lit up. "Oh, the star for the top of the tree!" He smiled and held up said star, its golden color emphasised by the firelight.
"Oh, but Sorun isn't here. Hey…..hey I'll take care of it!" Abel said and ran towards the tree, very excited to help. Suddenly Abel's foot caught a box of decorations and he hit the ground, the star flying from his hand. Everyone watched, shocked and surprised as the star hit one of the lights and the entire string of them started popping like popcorn kernels.
When the last one popped out, the wreath it sat next to jumped off the lantern post and rolled off to hit the fireplace at the edge of the circle.
The stockings fell from their hooks and right on the edge of the fire. Unfortunately, by some unfortunate stroke of bad luck, a spark hit the wool stockings and they burst into flames.
"The stockings!" Someone cried. It didn't stop there; the wreath rolled right under a ladder and knocked it down, which in turn knocked down the Christmas tree. Everyone scattered and yelped as the tree tumbled past, hitting the fireplace and the stockings and snuffing out the flames. Abel stared at the mess he caused.
"Well, at least the fire's out." He laughed sheepishly. His response: a deadpan look from the others. And then, the tree burst into flames! "Out of the way!" A man shouted as he ran in with a bucket of water. He and a couple others threw buckets of water onto the burning tree until, in a burst of smoke, the fire died out.
Everyone came forward, surrounding what was left of the now-blackened Christmas tree.
But there was no berating of Abel or shouting or crying. Instead, everyone just stared sadly.
"This wouldn't have happened if Sorun were here." Kiara sighed. Nobody could disagree, especially not out loud. Sorun stared too. He never expected something like this to happen at all. Spirit Abel smiled knowingly at him.
"Everybody plays an important part, you see?" He said. Sorun sighed. He sincerely hope that's sarcasm for his sake.
"Yeah. I see." He replied. Spirit Abel rolled his eyes, sensing Sorun's slightly snarky tone.
"Not yet you don't." He said and suddenly put his hands over the grump's eyes, fully blinding him in darkness. Sorun growled and pushed his hands away, ready to snap at the spirit. But when his vision focused, he saw not the outside Christmas area but the inside of the town hall. All around, beautifully decorated presents rested on tables and crowded the room.
There must've been hundreds for everyone in Kelna.
Upon hearing a familiar voice, Sorun turned to see Kiara lovingly tending to a couple of the many presents.
"There we are." She nodded in satisfaction. "Now it's just the way Tam likes it." She smiled as she looked to a new present. "And Kopi will be delighted with her present." She added. Spirit Abel watched with a soft smile at Kiara's tender care over the presents. Being a spirit, he would've known all along that Kiara arranged and took care of the presents in that room.
Kiara, on the other hand, looked shocked.
"Kiara organises all of our presents herself?" He asked in disbelief.
"And arranges them perfectly for the Mayor and the people of Kelna. Takes her all night." Spirit Abel added. Sorun looked around. Over two hundred presents. Kiara arranges that many presents every year. It explains why Sorun never saw Kiara on Christmas eve. It's because Kiara, in a simple act of love, put her heart and soul into every gift.
Sorun came forward, mesmerised by it all.
"Sorun." Kiara sighed, staring at a lone present on the small table beside him. He took the hat off its stand. "Me, Kopi, Querl, Tam and Abel made a gift I know you'll love, if only you'd give it a chance." She sighed and forced a small smile.
"Well, maybe this year will be different." She said and put it with the others. Sorun stared on sadly. He never knew just how much work Kiara put into those silly, or perhaps not-so-silly, gifts. But now, after seeing just how hard Kiara worked to make him and the others happy at Christmas, Sorun felt his chest constrict.
He never intended to hurt Kiara by refusing the gift.
He just…he was just being selfish because he wanted to avoid his family. Which meant he wanted to avoid his sister, who tried so hard to show that she truly loved her little brother, despite his temper.
"Kiara. I didn't know." Sorun whispered guiltily, stepping towards her. But Kiara turned and walked off to another stack of presents, checking it for any imperfections. Sorun looked down, feeling even more guilty than before.
"She can't hear you." Spirit Abel said, as if the fact would lighten the ache in Sorun's heart.
"It's time to go." He reached up, took a candle from the wreath on his head and blew it out...
When Sorun opened his eyes, Spirit Abel and room disappeared, leaving him in a snowy, windy environment.
"Hey, Abel? Where did you go?" Sorun called. He turned and walked in one direction, hoping he'd run into someone. Unfortunately, he did. He hit something hard and fell back into the snow. When he looked up, he jumped at the sight of a cloaked figure. It spoke to him in a deep and muffled voice Sorun couldn't understand, pointing at him.
"Abel? I-is that you?" He asked nervously. But the figure shed his hood to reveal Tam's face; his long sleeves fell back to show off his muscles.
"Sorry bro. Just finishing up the holiday fruitcake." He smirked and popped the last bit in his hand into his mouth and swallowed. He crossed his arms with a smirk.
"But I already know your feelings on that." He added.
"Tam?" Sorun asked.
"No! Not 'Tam' ya lump of coal." Spirit Tam said. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Future. And the future is now." He snapped his fingers, causing the scenery to change into Kelna. Sorun looked around. The city was still covered in snow and the burned-out tree still remained where it fell. Snow softly fell from the sky and settled on the ground and houses.
But, strangely enough, the city was deadly quiet and almost spooky.
Even the trees looked like they came directly from a horror movie.
"This? This is the future?" Sorun asked, peering through a window. But no one seemed to be home; the house was dark and dreary.
"In a matter of speaking." Spirit Tam said as he walked towards the town hall. Sorun jogged after him.
"It's tomorrow. It's Christmas Day." He said. Sorun stopped suddenly in his tracks.
"What?! Christmas Day? Then, where is everyone? They should all be here." He asked. The stools were broken and the fireplace was cold. What was left of the decorations lay in scattered and broken bits. The decorations still up looked utterly pathetic. Surely this couldn't be Christmas Day? Christmas Day was a joyful and fun time in Kelna.
A time when everyone would romp and play in the snow during the day and then gathered in the town hall for cocoa and stories.
This….this was too quiet to be Christmas Day.
"They all left early this morning. They wanted to do something to help you get your Christmas spirit back." Spirit Tam replied to Sorun's question. Sorun hurriedly followed the spirit to the town hall window. As Spirit Tam and Sorun looked in the window at the empty and cluttered town hall, voices echoed in the cold air.
"I know what would make Sorun really happy! How about we all go get a new tree in the morning? One of the huge ones from the West Forest! That would cheer him up!" Abel's voice said.
"That's a great idea!" Tam's voice agreed.
"For Sorun!" Kopi voiced.
"That will make everyone happy!" Kiara's voice laughed. Sorun stared as the voices echoed to nothing.
"And….what happened?" He asked fearfully.
"They never came back." Spirit Tam said.
"Never came back? W-what do you mean?" Sorun asked, staring at the Spirit. He looked down, and then it hit him. "The West Forest..." He muttered ran off, Spirit Tam following casually...
Sorun pushed through dead bushes and jumped over gnarled tree roots as he ran, scanning the grey trees and white snow for his family.
"Kiara!" He called. "Kopi! Abel—OW!" He grunted as he hit a tree root and slid to the ground. Spirit Tam easily leaped over the root and jogged on.
"Need to do more cardio, bro." He said. Sorun groaned and pushed himself to his feet. He noticed a green scarf on a bush branch, and his pain instantly left him. He noticed something else in the snow, and he walked up to retrieve a pair of gauntlet blasters.
"Kopi wouldn't go anywhere without these." He mumbled to himself and reached down to grab them, but when he looked up he paused and gasped softly. All around the clearing were scarves, weapons, axes and lengths of rope. A large tree had fallen, at more rope was wrapped around it to prepare the fern for transportation.
But there was no one to pull it back to the city.
Sorun slowly walked up to some white earmuffs. He lifted it and held it close to his cheek. He could smell the perfume Kiara always wore: pine needles with a hint of some kind of flower.
"Where are they?" Sorun whispered. He looked up to Spirit Tam, currently standing on the stump of the fallen tree. The spirit turned and pointed without a word. Sorun followed Tam's point. Straight to the high mountains. Sorun jumping back. But he nearly fell over the edge of something and he stumbled forward.
He looked down and saw a sea of lava below him.
Sorun looked around and saw the spirit sitting on a boulder, reading a book casually as though not aware of the dangerous situation.
"Where about the others? I thought you were going to take me to the others." Sorun asked. He jumped when Spirit Tam suddenly appeared behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, I have." Spirit Tam said, waving a hand towards the cages above their heads. Sorun watched, horrified, as his family appeared in each and every cage, looking dismal and sad despite most still dressed for the holiday. So were the people of Kelna.
"Oh no… All of them. They were all captured… trying to make me happy." Grouchy moaned. "When Querl came looking for them, he got caught too." Spirit Sorun said, gesturing to a cage closer to them. Sorun stared at the sorry sight of his friend in one of the cages. Querl sighed sadly, his head hung. Sorun sighed, the weight of the news hitting him hard.
"I've been so selfish." He admitted.
"Well, on the bright side, looks like you'll all get to spend one last Christmas together after all." Spirit Tam smirked, crossed his arms and disappeared, leaving Sorun all alone. But not for long.
"Merry Christmas to me!" A creepy voice said as a shadow passed over Sorun. Sorun spun around to see Balto approaching.
"Tam!" Sorun called. But the spirit didn't return and Sorun jumped away before Balto could capture him.
"Time for you to meet Santa Claws!" Balto laughed and tried to claw at Sorun, but the teen jumped up to the rock wall just in time. He scrambled up the wall, dropping rocks onto Balto when the wolf-man followed him. Balto swung his razor sharp claws wildly, attempting to snatch the teen.
"You are going to look great on top of my treeeeeeeeeeaaaahhhhhh!" Balto screamed as he lost his grip. He jumped and just landed on the edge of the cliff instead of the sea of lava Sorun then noticed he too was losing his grip. He could barely hold on when he noticed Spirit Tam on one of the cages. The dreaded cages.
The people captured and to be succumbed to whatever tortures Balto had in mind.
Poor Querl, unable to do anything to help and forced to watch his best friends suffer. None of this would've happened if it weren't for him! Sorun almost screamed.
"No! It can't end like this!" Pleaded pleaded as gravity dragged him down into the lava. He desperately clawed at the stones, but his grip slipped.
"I can change!" His vision went black...
"I can change… I can change… I can change…" Sorun murmured, flailing a little. He groaned as he opened his eyes.
"Where am I?" He rubbed his eye and looked around. He gasped when he saw his easy chair, his eggnog cup and everything just as he left in his room.
"I'm back and I'm alive!" Sorun cheered. He stood up hurriedly, looking outside as the rays of dawn hardly peeked over the horizon.
"It's not Christmas morning yet!" He sighed in relief. He checked his clock and smiled broadly.
"There's still time to set things right!" He said and ran to his door...
Querl, Tam, Kopi, Kiara and Abel yawned as they stepped outside to get ready for the festivities. But they paused at the sound of someone happily singing Christmas carols.
"What is that?" Kopi asked tiredly. As they walked towards the square, they all gasped in totally surprise. A new tree stood tall and proud in the centre of the circle. Decorations glittered in the cool sunshine. New wreaths hung on the lantern posts. New stockings hung above a roaring fire. A table with breakfast food was set up off to the side, and someone built a snowman near the tree.
Someone else was humming happily.
"What the 'Dickens'…..? Who did all this?" Kopi laughed. Her answer came from around the back of the tree, holding a cake in his hands.
"Well, well, look who's finally up." He smirked.
"Sorun? You did all this?" Querl asked, a little surprised. After his outburst last nigh he had thought Sorun would be over the moon that the decorations were wrecked.
"Yeah, I even baked a fruitcake!" Sorun announced happily, earning a gasp from all his teammates.
"He's completely lost it." Kopi announced.
"No, I haven't." He insisted and put the fruitcake down on the table. He gave them a warm smile but his eyes held guilt.
"I realised I was wrong. Christmas isn't a time for hating. I was so busy focusing on what I wanted that I didn't see the real gift was having a family that cares…even though I'm a jerk sometimes."
"We do care about you." Kiara assured.
"We were even going to get a new tree for you but I guess you beat us there." Abel said. Sorun remembered the trip he took with the Ghost of Christmas Future, and he held back a shudder.
"Yeah, well…it can get pretty dangerous out in the forest." he said. Querl chuckled softly, assuring Sorun that there were no hard feelings. He pulled out a colourfully wrapped box.
"Merry Christmas Sorun." He said, handing the box to Sorun.
"I know it's not the jet pack you always ask for, but we all made it just for you." He said.
"Thanks Querl." Sorun said, remembering what the Ghost of Christmas Present had showed him. He ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box and his eyes lit up.
"New sneakers!" He exclaimed. With sincere happiness, he shed the shoes he currently wore and put on his new one, smiling. It's definitely not a jetpack, but as long as the guys made it, it's pretty special to him. Sorun looked down, a little nervous, and then suddenly wrapped his arms around Querl in a hug. Querl froze before he chuckled and returned it.
Sorun suddenly remembered.
"Oh!" He exclaimed, pulling away and lifting up the final surprise. He held it up for his family to see: a new star made out of spare parts from the garage.
"I made it for all of us." He said, climbing the ladder to the top of the tree. Querl and the others watched fondly and cheered when Sorun put the star on top.
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" He shouted.
"He's got his Christmas spirit back." Tam sighed.
"By my calculations I'd say you're right" Abel added with a smile.
"Yeah. He's definitely changed for the better." Kopi nodded. Sorun started climbing back down the ladder, excited to spend the day with his family. Then, something clicked in his head.
"Hey, wait a minute. If they knew I wanted a jet pack…" He mumbled and looked down to his friends, who all smiled broadly when Sorun had seemed to catch on.
"Remember! It's just for you!" Querl called from the ground. Sorun smiled widely. He suddenly jumped off the ladder.
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" He shouted as the soles of his new shoes morphed into rockets and caught him to fly around in the air. They remembered! They really remembered! Sorun whooped and laughed as his rocket boots swung him around the tree…and right into the snowman. Everyone gasped, a few of them wincing in sympathy.
"Oh no." Querl groaned as they gathered around.
Sorun growled as he sat up, his usual frown back on his face.
"I hate snow! And I hate being cold! And I hate…..carrots? But most of all, I hate that Christmas…is only once a year!"
They all laughed, singing carols around the tree and enjoying each other's company...
Merry Christmas!
ROLL CREDITS!