Summary: When Rafaela behaves badly to her family and refuses to celebrate Christmas, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future teach her to appreciate Christmas.
Snowflakes began falling in New York from the sky as the streets were dazzling with the bright streetlights flickering the night. A thick blanket of snow covered the ground and the rooftop buildings. All of the citizens strolled on the sidewalk with smiles on their faces while chatting conservation and visiting in or out of buildings for last minute Christmas shopping.
In the Crete Fortress, the mystics were using their magic to decorate their home for the holiday. Saldana wore a white knee-length nightgown with long oversized sleeves. Lee wore a sleeveless blue nightgown with dark blue knee-length pajama pants. Donna wore a short-sleeved purple nightgown with dark purple knee-length pajama pants. Ellie wore a dark orange tank top over a fitted orange tank top and dark orange pajama pants. The family began singing the Christmas coral.
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 gay apparel
Fa la la, la la la, la la la!
Troll the ancient yuletide carol
Fa la la la la, la la...la...
The mystic family stopped singing when they realized that Ella isn't joining their singing nor helping them with the decorations. As they walked up to the stairs, Saldana knocked on the door. Lee, Donna, and Ellie stood right behind their mother.
"Rafaela. Is there something wrong?" Saldana asked worriedly.
"Oh, you mean other than being bothered by you guys singing nonstop, I'm peachy!" Ella snapped from her bedroom.
Saldana blinked in surprise for her second daughter's temper.
"Oh boy. What's gotten into her this time?" Ellie whispered to Lee and Donna.
"Yeah, she's grouchy, but never on the holidays." Donna whispered back.
"Come on, Ella. You can't be such a scrooge on Christmas Eve." Lee said.
Ella opened her door with her usual deadpan face. She wore a red top with a leopard-print dark red sleeves and black trouser-shorts with red trim. She definitely didn't look ready to decorate the fortress at all.
"Uh, I'm not being a scrooge." Ella said. "I can't always be jolly and happy like the rest of you."
"Yeah, we noticed." Lee said slowly. "But you're still joining us for the Christmas presents tomorrow, right?"
"Every year, we will open up presents from the tree together." Donna said matter-of-factly.
"Drink eggnogs and eating sugar cookies all the time?" Ella laughed dryly as she glared at Donna. "Yeah, count me out."
"But we always spend Christmas as a family, Ella." Ellie protested sweetly.
"Michelle's right, Rafaela." Saldana said. "We will spend time together as family without Caesar being with us like the past years."
Ella really did like spending good time with her mother and her sisters, but her anger got the best of her ever since her father passed away from an accidental death.
"Well, too bad. Just like every year, things are not same without dad!" Ella said. "So. I. Hate. Christmas!"
With that, Ella slammed his door shut.
"Mother, we got to do something." Lee said with a sigh. "It just won't be the same if we can't celebrate together."
Saldana thought for a moment, but she has a secretive plan inside her head.
"I never thought I'll be doing this, but I know a secret spell." Saldana said.
Lee, Donna, and Ellie sat on their knees as they watched Saldana slowly waving her glowing hands around with curiosity inside the dojo.
"What exactly is this spell, mother?" Donna asked.
"A Christmas Spirit spell." Saldana replied. "It was designed to show one the true meaning of the holiday."
Saldana's glowing hands began sparkling and a glowing ghostly white orb shot from in between her hands, much to her daughters' amazement. Saldana grinned as the orb was circling around the mystics like a comet.
"You really think this spell will work?" Ellie asked.
"Definitely." Saldana said. "It's the only way to revive Rafaela's spirit back into her."
After Saldana finished the spell, the ghostly white orb moved out of the dojo with fast speed and flew off right into Ella's bedroom.
Inside her bedroom, Ella was looking down at a picture frame of her father picking up her five-year-old self on her bed.
"I miss you, dad." Ella sighed. She got up and set the picture frame down on the shelf. "I just wish you were here with us."
Ella didn't have time to notice that the ghost white orb coming right through her door like a ghost. It quietly slipped into Ella's soda mug and disappeared.
Unaware, Ella sat back on her bed and took a sip of her soda mug. Then suddenly, her eyelids slowly got heavy.
"Suddenly...feeling...sleepy..." Ella mumbled.
Ella dropped her soda mug to the floor and fell on her pillow.
Ella yawned and sat up on her bed with a groan as she immediately found her bedroom was completely dark.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Ella growled tiredly.
Ella reached for the light switch on the wall and blinked in surprise when she noticed her entire room has changed into a completely different dojo.
"Wow." Ella breathed in awe. "This place looks very familiar."
Ella became drawn to the gust of swirling orange wind made her tumble backwards on the floor. She rubbed her head with a groan and looked up to see a familiar girl standing right in front of her. She has blonde hair tied in two low pigtails and wore a long-sleeved orange knee-length overcoat trench coat with dark orange knee-high boots.
"Ellie?" Ella said with a raised eyebrow.
"Not exactly. I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past." Ellie said.
"Something told me not to drink soda before bed." Ella groaned. "Oh, go away. You're just a figment of my indigestion."
"Not gonna happen." Spirit Ellie said as she moved her face closer to Ella's, making the red mystic step back a bit. "I'm one of three spirits that's going to visit you tonight. You have lost the true meaning of Christmas. So, our job is to help you find it."
"Yeah, I think I'll pass. Feel free to use the door on your way out." Ella said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, I'm not leaving until I take you on a magical journey back in time!" Spirit Ellie said as she flew up above Ella.
Spirit Ellie waved her hand back and forth with a grabbing shape and pointed bright orange sparkles at Ella, who quickly closed her eyes. But when Ella opened her eyes, she found the dojo looked the same.
"Well, congratulations, dimwit." Ella said with a smirk. "Nothing happened."
Ella suddenly jumped when the slide door was wide open. But before she could move, a five-year-old girl started yawning out loud in her red pajama dress.
"O. M. G." Ella breathed.
"Yes, it's Christmas!" Five-year-old Ella said with a bright smile. "Presents, here I come!"
"Hey." Present Ella said. "It's me."
"It is you from long, long ago." Spirit Ellie said. "Christmas was always the one time of year when you put your smile on your face."
Ella watched as her past child self started singing "Jingle Bells" while pulling on her dark green Christmas hat. She jumped when her past child self suddenly went right through her.
"Weird, right?" Spirit Ellie giggled. "But wait till you see this!"
Spirit Ellie waved her hand back and forth with a grabbing shape and pointed bright orange sparkles in the air, changing the dojo into Opal's decorative living room. Ella blinked with a wondrous face as Spirit Ellie giggled. They turned to look around into the room. Coral and Opal made decorated cookies. Saldana decorated the tree with her magic. Shori, Leona, Donatella, and Michelle were drinking vanilla flavored eggnog.
Spirit Ellie waved her hand back and forth with a grabbing shape and two mystics stood right in the entrance of the room.
"Hey, I remember this." Ella sighed with a happy smile. "Those were the good old days."
"And there you are now." Spirit Ellie said as she pointed her finger at Past Ella.
Past Ella greeted "Merry Christmas" to her family and joined her siblings with a cup of vanilla flavored eggnog.
"Gather around, everyone!" Past Opal called with a delightful smile. "It's time to open your presents!"
Caesar, Saldana, and Coral sat to their seats as Shori, Leona, Rafaela, Donatella, and Michelle sprinted over to the mats while laughing and smiling excitedly.
"Man." Ella breathed. "This was a long time ago."
"Please let me get it." Past Ella prayed. "Please let me get it. Please let me get it."
"Get what?" Past Ellie asked.
"What I asked for for Christmas." Past Ella said. "A spellbook."
"Whoa!" Past Shori gasped. "But isn't it the one grandma has?"
"Yup." Past Ella sighed blissfully. "I wanna cast more powerful spells, so I can advance faster with my magic."
Opal moved her hand around in a circle and pointed it in front of her grandchildren to hand them presents. Shori, Leona, Rafaela, Donatella, and Michelle stared at the green box with the red ribbon with curiosity.
"All right, open them up!" Past Opal called.
Shori, Leona, Rafaela, Donatella, and Michelle tore the lids off the green boxes and gasped in awe.
"A toy train!" Past Shori cheered.
"A stuffed animal!" Past Ellie echoed.
"A kimono dress!" Past Lee said.
"A binocular!" Past Donna smiled.
Ella looked down with brightened eyes and opened the lids off the green box hurriedly.
"A spellbook!" Ella smiled happily as she held a midnight green and gold-striped spellbook.
"I was impressed by your practice in spell casting with Coral's teaching lessons, so your father agrees on giving that marvelous gift." Opal explained with a smile.
"Thank you, daddy!" Past Ella grinned.
Ella and Spirit Ellie watched as Past Ella went to hug Caesar tightly with a huge smile on her face.
"And that's why you decided to hate Christmas?" Spirit Ellie gasped softly.
"Because my dad was gone." Ella sighed sadly. "What else do you expect?"
"But there's nothing to be sad about when you're surrounded by such a happy family" Spirit Ellie said, pointing to the happy mystic family at the Christmas tree.
"But it's still not the same." Ella scoffed as she turned away from the family. "I wish my family could have stayed together if it wasn't for Lady Shade taking my dad's life away."
"Well then, let's go. You've got somewhere to be anyway." Spirit Ellie said with a smile.
Spirit Ellie waved her hand back and forth with a grabbing shape and pointed bright orange sparkles at Ella, sending her to fly high in the air and then started falling down to the ground.
Ella got up on her feet and looked around to find herself back into the living room inside the Crete Fortress.
"Nice of you to drop in." A voice spoke.
Ella's eyes widened wide as she knew that voice anywhere.
"Donna?" Ella said with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm afraid you're incorrect as usual."
Ella looked behind to see a familiar girl standing right in front of her. She has short brown hair with sideswept bangs and wore a long-sleeved purple knee-length overcoat trench coat with dark purple knee-high boots.
"For I am the Ghost of Christmas Present." Spirit Donna corrected. "And I'm here to show you how your hatred of Christmas is going to affect the whole village."
"What are you talking about?" Ella asked.
"Simple. Every action, no matter what, has a reaction." Spirit Donna answered. "Behold!"
Spirit Donna moved her index finger in a circle and pointed bright purple sparkles at the living room, making Ella see Ellie carrying a decoration box.
"Because you decided not to help decorate the tree, Ellie had to step in and had to help with the ornaments, instead of baking her traditional sugar cookies." Spirit Donna explained. She then began writing something with her magic rapidly. "Which had an exponential effect on the rate of Christmas Cheer per mystic. That when multipled by the square root of total..."
Spirit Donna stopped writing when she noticed that Ella was looking at the writings with a bored look on her face.
"Ella, why do I even bother? Just watch." Spirit Donna said with a sigh.
Ella and Spirit Donna watched as Ellie was running with the Christmas decoration box.
"I got the Christmas decorations!" Ellie said to Lee and Donna.
Ellie threw the decoration box at Lee, who waved her hands in circles and pointed her magic to levitate the Christmas decorations around the tree. Donna looked at the box to a golden yellow star decoration inside.
"Oh, a star." Donna said. She moved her index finger in a circle and pointed her magic to levitate the golden yellow star in the air. "But since Ella's not here, I'll put it on the tree."
"No, I will!" Ellie cried. She waved her hand back and forth with a grabbing shape to snatch the golden yellow star from Donna with her magic. "I wanna put it up there!"
"You did that last year!" Donna snapped as she snatched the golden yellow star from Ellie with her magic. "It's my turn!"
Ellie and Donna began fighting over the star decoration while Lee was trying to stop them from arguing. But their magic accidentally released the golden yellow star, causing it to crash into the lightbulb on the ceiling. The lightbulb began to pop and set out sparks over the Christmas tree that burned the perennial plant on fire. Donna and Ellie gasped with wide eyes.
"Out of the way!" Lee shouted.
Lee waved her hands in circles and pointed her magic to release a stream of water at the Christmas tree, causing it to turn into a cold, black ash. Ellie, Donna, and Lee walked towards the cold ash with sad faces.
"This wouldn't have happened if Ella were here." Lee said.
"You see, every mystic plays an important part." Spirit Donna said.
"Yeah, so what's your point?" Ella asked with a frustrating voice.
"This." Spirit Donna replied.
Spirit Donna moved her index finger in a circle and pointed bright purple sparkles to change the living room into the dojo. Ella's eyes widened wide when she watched Saldana carefully checked each present with happiness.
"Wait a minute. Mom wraps all of our presents herself?" Ella asked with a gasp.
"Every gift from all around the world." Sprit Donna answered. "She always got great taste."
"Ella, your father made a special gift he know you'll love." Saldana said with sorrowful eyes as she held Ella's present. "If only you give it a chance."
"Mom, I'm so sorry." Ella said with a guilt look on her face. "I didn't know."
But Saldana continue wrapping gifts with her magic.
"She can't hear you. It's time to go." Spirit Donna said.
Spirit Donna moved her index finger in a circle and pointed bright purple sparkles on herself, disappearing instantly into the room and leaving Ella alone in the darkness.
Ella turned her head sideways while looking for someone in the darkness.
"If this is your idea of a joke, then I'm not laughing!" Ella shouted in annoyance.
Ella spun herself around to see the black hooded cloak with no face, making her scream and fell to the ground.
"Ellie? Donna? Is...that...is that you?" Ella stammered.
A hand grabbed the cloak and drew it away to reveal itself as a familiar girl standing right in front of Ella. She has black hair pulled into tight buns on either side of her head and wore a long-sleeved blue knee-length overcoat trench coat with dark blue knee-high boots.
"Konnichiwa." Spirit Lee greeted.
"Lee?" Ella said with slightly wide eyes.
"Not exactly. I'm the Ghost of Christmas Future." Spirit Lee replied. "And the future stands now."
Spirit Lee lifted her hand in the air and waved it in circles to release bright blue sparkles that transformed the darkness into a quiet, grim-looking Crete Fortress. The mystic family was nowhere to be found and the lights were flickering dimly. Ella looked around into the dark, empty fortress.
"Is...this the future?" Ella asked with a gasp.
"In the manner of speaking." Spirit Lee responded. "It's tomorrow. It's Christmas Day."
"Christmas Day? Then where is everyone?" Ella gasped in surprise.
"They all left this morning." Spirit Lee answered. "Wanted to do something to help you get your Christmas spirit back."
Ella searched around the fortress.
"Then what happened?" Ella asked in worry.
"They never came back." Spirit Lee answered simply.
"Never came back? What do you mean? Where are they?" Ella asked in fear.
Spirit Lee didn't respond when she waved her hand in a circle and released bright blue sparkles to teleport herself and Ella in front of the Shadow Clan building.
"No! It can't be!" Ella cried out.
"And as for your family." Spirit Lee said.
Spirit Lee waved her hand in a circle and released bright blue sparkles to teleport herself and Ella inside the building main room, where Ella's older and younger sisters were tied up together in tight chains.
"They were all captured, trying to make me happy." Ella said with a guilty face.
"When Saldana came looking for them, Lady Shade got her too." Spirit Lee continued.
Ella then saw Saldana being tied up in chains with a sad face.
"I'm been selfish." Ella said with a sigh.
"But on the bright side, looks like you'll all get to spend one last Christmas together after all." Spirit Lee said.
With that, Spirit Lee instantly disappeared into nothingness, leaving Ella lower her face with regret.
Just then, Lady Shade appeared behind Ella that made the red mystic kunoichi lift her face up and turn around to face the Shadow Clan leader.
"And merry Christmas to me!" Lady Shade spoke as she lifted her black energized claw in the air.
Ella immediately stood into her offensive stance and prepared to unleash her magic, but her hands and her strength were completely normal.
"Oh no! Our powers!" Ella gasped with considerable surprise.
Ella ran away from Lady Shade as she can, but she suddenly got tied up in chains. Her eyed widened wide in fear when Lady Shade walked closer towards her.
"No!" Ella screamed. "It can't end like this! I can change!"
Ella fell down onto the floor inside her room.
"I can change. I can change. I can change." Ella murmured as she waved her hands wildly.
Then finally, Ella opened her eyes from her dream.
"Where am I?" Ella wondered. She looked around to find herself back in her bedroom. "I'm back!"
Ella got up from the floor and looked at the clock that read 5:30am.
"And it's not Christmas morning yet!" Ella said with a smile. "There's still time to set things right!"
When the Christmas morning came rising through the fortress windows, four mystics walked out of their bedrooms. They came together into the living room, where they saw the Christmas tree illuminating with beautiful decorations and a large plate of frosted sugar cookies on the table. Saldana, Lee, Donna, and Ellie stared at the tree and the cookies with delighted surprise.
"Well, it's about time!" Ella said with a smile.
"Rafaela? You did all this?" Saldana asked.
"I even baked the sugar cookies!" Ella said, gesturing her hand to the plate. She slowly went up to her family. "And I'm sorry. I was busy feeling down about our dad that I didn't see the real gift. Having a family that cares although I'm aggressive."
Saldana, Lee, Donna, and Ellie smiled.
"Merry Christmas, Rafaela." Saldana said as she handed out a red present to Rafaela. "Your father made it just for you."
"Thanks, mom." Ella said. She opened her present and held out a pair of red smooth bracelets in her hand. "Two bracelets!"
Ella placed her bracelets on her wrists and hugged Saldana with love and care.
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Ella said to her family.
Wait a minute, if Saldana knew dad wanted to give me bracelets. Ella thought to herself.
"Remember, it's just for you!" Saldana said.
Ella knew what she meant. She closed her eyes and instantly the bracelets started to glow brightly. When she opened her eyes, the bracelets manifested spiraled red energy shields.
"Best. Gift. Ever!" Ella smiled excitingly.
THE END.
Enjoy and review. Happy New Year's everyone!