A Christmas Covenant
The silent snowfall in the empty forest was interrupted by a burst of prismatic light in the shape of a dome. When the dome vanished, two blond women in their early twenties stood in the center of a circle of melted snow.
The first woman had dirty-blond hair and was dressed in a blackish silver bodysuit. She had a cybernetic arm and the irises of her eyes flickered through the colors of the rainbow. She glanced at her cybernetic left arm, and a holographic readout appeared.
"Holy freaking crap this world is cold," her companion complained. Though she was pale skinned with long blond hair, the outfit she wore was clearly not designed to be worn in cold weather. It was bright red, and resembled an Indian Sari most closely. Her midriff was quite bare, and to top it off she was barefoot, although there was no snow within the radius of the circle that the two were standing in, this did not change the ambient temperature.
The poorly dressed woman glanced over at a nearby pile of brambles and made a striking motion towards it. There was a burst of flames from her fist and the dried brambles were ignited with a roaring fire. She scooted closer to that.
"You've gotten quite good at that," her companion noted.
"Korra's a good teacher," she replied, controlling her breathing to spread warmth throughout her body. "Why are we here, D.D.? You said that this mission was of the utmost urgency."
"It is, Rachel," she replied. The hologram pinged.
"And this world is perfect for what we need," she tapped a button on her arm and a table covered with a red and green tablecloth and covered with over a dozen different kinds of food from multiple worlds appeared just next to the fire that Rachel had lit up.
D.D. pressed the button again and a tree covered in lights appeared on the other side of the table. Rachel stared blankly at the spread, and the steam rising off of the hot dishes.
"We're here to…Celebrate Christmas?" Rachel demanded incredulously.
"It is something of a tradition between myself and Reepicheep," D.D. replied. "We've been doing it for several years now. It is…A respite. Our lives are dedicated to fighting the Light of Ruin and the Pantheon of Discord. We need the emotional recharge to help us stay stable. Typically Reep does all of the work. Finding the World to celebrate in, acquiring the food. But after…"
"After the Battle for the Wood Between Worlds," Rachel supplied, suddenly softening. "You didn't want him to do all the work."
"It's funny," D.D. said quietly. "It is not even my holiday. Nor yours if I understand correctly."
"No, I celebrated Christmas," Rachel said. "My dad's Jewish, but my mom isn't. We do both the Chanukah and Christmas thing. I liked it that way. Made us feel…part of something bigger to do both, you know?"
D.D. nodded. "It is why I have kept the tradition with Reepicheep. It wasn't my holiday. Until it was."
"That's what a family is," Rachel replied.
"Agreed."
There was another burst of Prismatic Light and suddenly an armored reptilian warrior stood next to them.
"Whoa…That's really cold," he murmured. "You do know I'm a reptile, right? I get sluggish in the cold?"
"Sligguth!" Rachel said, embracing her friend, she grabbed his scaly arm and dragged him closer to the fire.
"Oh," Sligguth said. "Warmth. That is nice. Thank you, Rachel."
The Serpent-man glanced down at the flames. "Did you do this?"
Rachel nodded.
"You've become quite skilled with that talent," he said.
"I still prefer my Grizzly Bear Morph," she admitted, "But it's nice to have this skill as backup."
"Any sign of Tobias?" she asked hesitantly.
Sligguth drooped slightly. "I've heard rumors…across the Multiverse. Stories of a hawk or some other animal….Saving someone's life, or leading firemen to victims or the like, but nothing concrete. The last rumor I heard was in a place called Arcadia Oaks. Believe me Rachel, I never stop looking for your lover, but it is very difficult to find a shapeshifting hawk in a rather large Multiverse."
"If we are meant to find him," Rachel said quietly. "We will. We've suffered such losses this year…"
"The Battle of the Wood Between Worlds was…" Sligguth said quietly. "Depressing."
"But we have done good as well," D.D. interjected. "We returned John Carter to his home, and if not for that, the losses at that battle would have ended our alliance for good."
"And we prevented the Yeerk invasion of the Trek and Gateworlds," Rachel said.
Another burst of prismatic light appeared, and a very large mouse, with a feathered cap and rapier in the shape of a treble clef appeared next to them.
"There is always a reason to celebrate my friends," Reepicheep said. "By the Lion, Christmas is the holiday of hope in the stark cold darkness. Is that not what we all fight for? Hope?"
"Always," Rachel said.
"Why took you so long, sir," Sligguth asked, frowning.
Reepicheep glanced at the device on his left forepaw. "Confounded contraption. I'm still not used to it. I found myself on Barsoom, Metamoor, and the EverRealm before I finally wound up here."
He turned towards D.D. "I fear I may never become accustomed to this contraption milady."
"You will not have to, my friend," she replied determinedly. "We will reclaim the Wood Between Worlds from the Pantheon."
"Here-here!" Sligguth cheered, as Rachel brought him a cup of hot chocolate from the table.
"We didn't expect the Light of Ruin and the Pantheon of Discord to remain allies, since their goals are no longer synergistic. It was a tactical error, but one that won't be repeated. We've gain so many allies in our fight. We will reclaim what they took."
"Of that," Reepicheep said, snatching up a nearby goblet of cider. "I have no doubt. But enough shop talk. A Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays to all!"
"And a toast to Hope," D.D. Warrior Lady said, picking up another glass.
"To Hope!"