Ryder and I were setting up decorations for when our guests arrive. I was wearing my usual glasses, a red sweater with a Christmas tree on it, some plaid pajama pants, and slippers. Ryder decided to ditch the cloak and wore a blue sweater.

I finally finished decorating the mantle. I hanged some Christmas lights on the edges and placed some stockings over the fireplace. I dusted my hands off. "All done. How are you coming along, Ryde?" I turned around and my jaw dropped.

Ryder managed to finish setting up everything. Lights were hung up on the walls, a large rug in the center of the room with a Christmas tree image, the actual Christmas tree in the corner with lights and all, and party snacks set up on the foldable tables. He was sitting on the couch with a smirk. "Pretty good."

I blinked, then chuckled. "I just had to give you ninja speed." I smiled at the audience. "Hey there everyone, PM64 here, or Brad if you want! Another fine year for cheer and merriment! And this time, we don't have to worry about any villains ruining the holidays this year!"

Ryder rolled his eyes. "Yes, because you didn't want to get frostbite like you almost did last year."

"I like the cold and all, but even I have a limit!" I shook my head. "Anyway, I decided to do something a little different this year. But I'll explain once the others arrive." I crossed my arms. "Speaking of which, when is everyone getting here?"

"Jango said he will be here soon. Diego and Chase…no clue. I'm not even sure how they're going to get here all the way from Silvac."

"Eh, I'm sure they'll figure something out. What about Laura?"

"That, I DO know. After last year, she wants to stay away from the cold for as long as possible. She said she was vacationing in Cinnabar. But, we'll have a video link up so we can still chat with her."

"That's good." I grabbed some hot cocoa that was sitting on the coffee table and drank it. "Mmm, delicious."

Suddenly, a blue light appeared to our right. A portal of blue flames swirling. Stepped out first was Amanda, with her signature scar on her face. She wore a purple jacket and white earmuffs. She carried a few presents.

Next out was David and Zach. They both wore black jackets and white scarves.

Out next was Terry and his family. Terry wore a green sweater. Ben wore a yellow sweater and a pair of glasses. Anna wore her usual beret and a red and white striped scarf. Walter wore a similar sweater to his youngest son. Claire wore a white sweater and red scarf.

Next was Chromo, who just wore a simple white scarf.

Then out came Katie who immediately ran up to me and hugged my leg. "Hi, Uncle Brad!" She wore a pink winter jacket and white scarf.

I smiled at the adorable Pichu and crouched down to rub her head. "Hey Katie. Have you been a good girl?"

"Uh huh!" she cheerfully exclaimed with a tail wag.

Finally, out came Jango. Like last year, he wore a white hoodie, black shirt, and gray pants. Scourge, whose flame body was a brilliant sapphire, was perched on his shoulder. "Sup people," he greeted. The portal closed behind him.

Scourge bowed. "A pleasure to see you all in person."

Ryder bowed back. "And to you as well." He crossed his arms with a smile. "You all have changed quite a bit since last year."

"I wouldn't say a bit, but thanks," Jango said with a smile.

Chromo took his scarf off and placed it on a rack. "You have a very lovely home, Brad." He grabbed some pretzels off the snack table and at them.

Zach ran over to the table, spying some cupcakes on top. "Cupcakes!" He jumped up and down, trying to reach for the top.

Katie smiled and ran over. She jumped off Zach's head and onto the table. She grabbed a cupcake and passed it down to him. "Here you go!"

"Thank you!" he said before munching happily on the cupcake. Katie got her own and munched on it.

"Don't eat too much, you two," David warned.

Terry laughed and patted his back. "Oh, let them eat a little sugar. It's the holidays!"

"Sounds good to me!" Anna shouted before bolting to the table and jumping up, grabbing some sugary snacks. Terry face-palmed himself, leading his brother to laugh.

Walter chuckled. "Don't let her eat too much, boys. You know how she gets eating sugar."

Claire made her way to the couch and sat down, grabbing some cocoa with her paws. "Thank you for inviting us," she thanked me before taking a sip.

"Hey, wouldn't be fun without you guys."

We jumped upon hearing a crash outside. "What was that?!" Jango shouted.

Ryder narrowed his eyes. "I have an idea who it might be…" He walked over to the door and opened it. "Diego…"

"Yo, what's up?" he asked with his usual grin. He was hanging from a tree, along with Diana, Rebecca, Chase, and Derek. Diana wore a purple jacket and black snow pants. Rebecca wore a light blue winter jacket and a jean skirt, as her fluff kept her lower half warm. Chase wore a black winter jacket and snow goggles. Derek was wearing a gray jacket with black snow pants and his usual cap. Diego was dressed up in a deep blue jacket and black snow pants.

Diana had snow covering her face, which she wiped off, revealing her annoyed expression. "'Hey guys, you know what would be a great idea? Propelling ourselves from the airport on a dangerous rocket car!'" She was clearing mocking Diego with her tone of voice.

He stuck his tongue out. "Admit it, you had just as much fun as the rest of us."

"Yes…for the first five minutes until you said the brakes fell off!" she shouted.

"Well, I did make it in roughly seven minutes."

Derek waved his hands in the air. "Again!"

Chase chuckled. "Yeah, let's NOT do that again, 'kay pal?"

"Okay!"

They got down from the tree and made their way inside. Diana threw off her jacket and snow pants, revealing her purple sweater and jeans. She rubbed herself as she made her way to the couch. "I need to warm up."

Claire handed her some cocoa. "Here you go, dearie."

"Thank you, Mrs. Bandero." She drank the delicious hot drink.

Diego placed a candy cane in his mouth and chewed on it. "You have to admit, making a rocket car out of junkyard scrap WAS impressive."

"I thought it was," Rebecca said with a cheery smile.

"Thank you, Rebecca!" Diana rolled her eyes and silently continued to drink her cocoa.

Derek ran up to Katie and Zach. "Hi Katie! Hi Zach!"

"Hi!" they both greeted.

Katie handed him a cupcake. "Here you go!"

He smiled. "Thanks!" He took it and threw into his mouth, munching loudly.

"Derek, close your mouth when you chew," Diego scolded.

Derek's eyes widened with his cheeks puffed out. "Sowwy!" he apologized with food still in his mouth. He swallowed quickly and licked his lips with a satisfied grin.

I patted his head with a smile. "We should probably set up a link with Laura."

"Already on it," Ryder said as he headed to the computer. A screen came down from the ceiling. "Alright, calling her right now."

We waited for a bit as static appeared on the screen. After a moment of waiting, Laura appeared on the screen. Like Ryder said, she was on Cinnabar Island. She wore sunglasses and a flora patterned dress. Next to her was a platter of batteries.

She tipped her sunglasses down with a smirk. "Sup dorks."

Ryder rolled his eyes. "Laura…I see you're cozy."

"Oh yeah. Cinnabar is a wonderful place to kick back and relax." She grabbed a few batteries and ate them. "No more missions and certainly no more blasting off."

Jango crossed his arms. "You really could've joined us."

"Perhaps, but my gears can only handle getting cold for so long. No, I'm fine over here."

"If you say so. Well, we're going to begin the special in a minute. You in?"

She shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not. After all, we've called a Christmas truce."

"Very true." I clapped my hands together. "Alright gang, get comfortable so we can begin." They nodded and sat down on the couch and seats.

The kids were still eating the snacks. Jango grabbed them Katie and Zach by the scruffs of their necks and brought them over. Diego grabbed Derek and Anna by the tails and dragged them over.

I shook my head before sitting down and clearing my throat. "Alright…hello everyone, and welcome to our Second Annual Christmas Special! And this year's going to be a little different compared to last year's fiasco."

Laura laughed. "Yeah. I remember punching that guy so many times in the face."

"Good for you, Laura. Anyway, I wanted to try something different. Christmas is a time of sharing. You people love reading my stuff and it really makes me happy seeing so many happy faces. And you've all come to know my characters and found them entertaining. So, I've decided, why not learn more about them? You can ask about anything. Like maybe a bit more about my characters. Or maybe the original plots to some of my stories. Because trust me, there's a lot that has been changed over the past four years. Or maybe you just want to know more about my character's personal life. You decide.

"You can ask up to about three to five questions. I'll try to answer all of them. I only ask you keep them appropriate." I leaned back in my seat. "Well, that's all I have to say. Let's all enjoy this Christmas together!"