Cherry and Atticus were in Cherry's house together as it was December and close to Christmas. They stared out the window as Bud tried to shovel the snow, but it seemed like the snow was endless with no chances of stopping.
"This is going to be terrible," Michelle frowned. "What if Santa Claus can't make it to town this year?"
"Oh, Mom, there's no such thing as Santa Claus..." Cherry replied as she and Atticus were older now and didn't believe in him anymore, at least, she didn't. "You don't have to pretend with us, we know it's just you and Daddy giving us presents, and the orphanage gave us presents before that Christmas we spent with Donald Duck and his nephews."
"Actually, he is real, sweetie." Michelle said.
Cherry rolled her eyes. "Sure, Mom... And I bet he has a dog of his own called Santa Paws."
"You never know, but Santa is real." Michelle replied.
"What makes you say that, Mrs. B?" Atticus asked.
"Because I've seen him once." Michelle said.
"Right..." Cherry replied. "In a childhood dream... Like your bubby telling you that Santa lets the animals talk on Christmas morning."
"I just wish I could find a way to show you that he's real." Michelle said.
Bud soon came inside and shivered. "Man, it's colder than your mom on a bad day out there!"
Michelle hummed slightly with a smirk as she decided to make hot chocolate to warm up her husband.
"I heard that this weather is so severe that they might postpone Christmas back in the North Pole." Bud frowned.
"Oh, my..." Michelle frowned back.
Cherry just rolled her eyes while Atticus looked worried. Atticus and Cherry's medallion's soon started to glow.
"Looks like you two got work to do." Michelle said.
"But there's a blizzard outside." Cherry replied snarky as she was sure that snow would keep them from leaving the comforts of home.
The medallions soon transported the four of them to the North Pole along with Patch and Mo.
"Maybe this'll help her Christmas spirit." Michelle said to Bud as she went to make hot chocolate.
Cherry, Atticus, Mo, and Patch soon appeared in the North Pole with coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots.
"What the-" Cherry asked out of confusion.
"Man, it's so cold..." Patch shuddered. "I feel like my tail's gonna fall off!"
"Where are we?" Mo wondered.
"Why, you're in the North Pole." A male voice said.
"Who said that?" Cherry asked as they looked for the source of the voice, and where they soon saw a chubby man in a red suit and a white beard.
"Santa Claus!" Patch cheered.
"Okay, how much did my mother pay you?" Cherry rolled her eyes.
"You don't believe in me, do you, Cherry?" Santa Claus asked the perky goth.
"How do I even know you're the real Santa?" Cherry scoffed and folded her arms.
"When you were four-years-old, you wanted a book to read that didn't have a princess in trouble only to be saved by a brave knight and wanted something with vampires, werewolves, or ghosts, and it wasn't until later in life, you began to read The Bailey School Kids and Goosebumps." Santa replied.
"Santa, it is you!" Cherry gasped.
"This is so amazing!" Mo smiled.
"Hello, you all, it's so wonderful to see you all," Santa smiled back. "Even you, Patch."
"It's an honor to meet you, Santa." Atticus smiled.
"Of course, an honor to meet you all as well." Santa smiled back.
"Santa, you seem kind of skinny right now..." Mo replied. "Have you lost weight?"
"Oh, please don't tell the Missus," Santa said nervously. "I'm off to see Donner and the new faun for my team."
"Can we come?" Patch smiled.
"Well... I suppose that would be fine," Santa smiled back. "I've been expecting you all, you seem to be sucked out of your Christmas Spirit and need to be reminded that Christmas magic is real."
Everyone looked to Cherry and they soon walked off together into the forest to see a certain cave.
"Okay, I guess I deserved all those eyes to look towards me." Cherry said.
"You have been a bit of a humbug lately, Cherry..." Patch replied.
"I guess I have." Cherry said.
They soon went deep into the forest as there was a buck who was looking down to his doe as she had given birth to a special little faun. It was almost like when Bambi had been born, only no one said 'Hello, Young Prince'.
"Now, we'll call him Rudolph." The buck told his mate.
"Rudolph is a lovely name," The doe agreed. "Rudolph."
The baby deer soon lifted his head after hearing that name.
"Look, he knows his name already!" The buck beamed.
The baby deer smiled to his parents before his nose seemed to glow bright and red. "Papa... Mama..."
"H-He's got a shiny nose!" The doe gasped.
"Sh-Shiny?!" The buck replied. "I'd even say it glows!"
Rudolph smiled to his parents as his nose glowed and he didn't seem to have a problem with it even though they did.
"Well, we'll just have to overlook it." The doe said.
"Now how can you overlook that?" The buck scoffed. "His binker blinks like a blinkin' beacon!"
"Ho-Ho-Ho!" Santa chuckled as he soon came into the cave. "Well, Donner, where's the new member of the family? After all, if he's going to be on my team someday, he's gotta get to know me," he then spotted the red-nosed faun and came toward him and petting him. "Well, hello! Aren't you the sturdy little fellow?"
"Santa..." Rudolph looked up at the jolly old elf.
"He's smart too." Atticus smiled.
"I'll say." Santa chuckled in agreement.
Rudolph smiled back and his nose seemed to glow brighter than ever now.
"Great bouncing icebergs!" Santa yelped.
Cherry soon put on sunglasses since she was sensitive to bright lights.
"Whoa." Patch yelped.
"I'm sure it'll stop as soon as he grows up, Santa." The buck told the man.
"Well, let's hope so if he wants to make the sleigh team someday," Santa replied before looking down to Rudolph. "You see, little fellow, every year I shape up my jingle bells for eight lucky reindeer."
'I feel a song coming on.' Mo thought to herself.
There were soon jingling bells heard from nowhere.
"Oh, boy." Cherry muttered about a song.
"Jingle, Jingle, Jingle, you will hear my sleigh bells ring, I am old Kris Kringle, I'm the King of Jingling!" Santa began as he took reigns for Rudolph's father to wear at first. "Jingle, Jingle, Jingle, you will hear them go, They are not just plain deer, they're the fastest deer I know!~"
The buck soon flew into the air and Rudolph tried to join him only to flop onto the ground.
"You must believe that in Christmas Eve, he will pass you by~" Atticus sang as he checked on Rudolph. "He will dash your way on his Christmas sleigh flying through the sky~"
"Aaugh!" Cherry yelped as Atticus sang, but Mo, Patch, and Rudolph liked it.
Rudolph then tried on the reigns and walked around as his nose glowed.
"Jingle, Jingle, Jingle, you will hear his sleigh bells ring, he is old Kris Kringle, he's the King of Jingling!" Patch sang.
"Please stop singing..." Cherry begged.
"I am old Kris Kringle, I'm the King of Jingling! Ho-ho!" Santa finished his song before leaving.
Cherry groaned and fell to the floor.
"Bye... Bye." Rudolph told Santa.
"Oh, Santa's right," The buck sulked. "He'll never make the sleigh team. Wait a minute! I got it! We'll hide Rudolph's nose!"
"Hide it?" Mo asked out of concern.
"Yeah! Come here, boy," The buck told his son before rolling up a fake black nose over Rudolph's shiny red nose. "You'll be a normal little buck just like everybody else! Why, a chip off the 'ol antlers."
Rudolph didn't seem to like having the fake black nose.
"Now, now, you'll get used to it," The buck told his son. "Now put 'er there, son."
Rudolph nuzzled up against his father.
"Aw, gee." Donner smiled.
The doe soon licked her son which showed his nose. The buck looked to his mate before she looked innocent in response.
"I think he looks fine just the way he is." Patch said.
"Yes, you shouldn't try to change him." Atticus asked.
"Now, I think I know what's best for my son." Donner told them.
"Oh, Donner." Mitzi sighed to her mate as she loved their son just the way he was.
Atticus and the others soon decided to stay with Donner, Mitzi, and Rudolph to keep the baby deer company.
"I wonder how his nose got red," Mo said as she pet the growing young deer. "It's very special and unique."
"It's one of a kind." Patch smiled.
"It sure is." Atticus smiled back.
Mitzi smiled to them while Donner wasn't too sure about his son being so different from the other reindeer.
And so, Donner began to teach Rudolph everything he needed to learn about being a reindeer.
"Now, I'm going to tell you all the ins and outs of being a reindeer," Donner told Rudolph. "How to fight off enemies, things like that."
Rudolph simply stood there as his red nose glowed like a light bulb. Atticus soon heard something big coming.
"Giant!" Cherry cried out before hiding behind a tree.
Patch rolled his eyes as he looked unimpressed with that. There was a roar heard and Donner soon took his son as they had to hide now. Atticus, Mo, Cherry, and Patch soon joined Rudolph and Donner.
"What are we hiding from?" Patch whispered.
"Who else?" Donner whispered back as they hid. "The Abominable Snowman of the North, he's nasty and hates everything to do with Christmas."
"I guess it's better than The Grinch." Cherry deadpanned before she soon saw how big the abominable snowman was.
The snowman snarled and walked off, luckily never seeing any of them.
"Okay, you can all come out now." Donner told his son and the others.
The others came out and saw the giant footprint in the snow before Rudolph sat in it.
"Whoa." Mo said.
"You all need to be careful of him." Donner warned.
"Atticus can handle that big bully." Mo said.
"Next time he comes over, I'll give him the what to." Atticus smirked as he put up his dukes, looking ready to fight and even punched the air which made Cherry flinch and duck.
"You must be either rather brave or rather stupid." Donner said to Atticus.
"I'd pick the latter." Cherry replied.
Atticus gave her a look before smiling bravely back to Donner.
"Maybe one of us should stay with Rudolph." Patch said.
"You wanna do it, boy?" Atticus asked his dog since he was a fellow quadruped animal.
"Why don't you stay with him, Atticus?" Patch suggested.
"Well, I guess that might be fine," Atticus replied. "Cherry, you remember how when we lived in the orphanage, people made fun of me for liking Nancy Drew books."
"It's true," Cherry told Patch and Mo. "They thought it was weird that he read books for girls."
"So you understand how other fauns might react to Rudolph's nose." Mo said to her boyfriend.
"Yeah..." Atticus sighed. "It's really sad when someone gets made fun of just for one tiny difference."
"I might as well go meet the elves," Cherry shrugged for herself. "If we are in the North Pole, I might as well adapt to my surroundings."
"Sounds good." Patch nodded in agreement.
Atticus looked around for Rudolph and went to him, since, well, he wasn't hard to find for having a shiny red nose.
Cherry walked along in the snow before she saw what looked like a workshop and poked her head inside to see the elves working on toys to give to the children on Christmas Eve, and where she saw that one of the elves was a bit slow on making a toy.
"HERMIE!" A sharp voice called out to the misfit elf who looked more like a human than an elf himself. "Have you finished painting that yet? There's a pile up a mile wide behind you! What's eatin' ya, boy?!"
"Not happy in my work, I guess." The elf sighed.
"Aw, poor guy." Cherry frowned.
"What?!" The head elf glared.
"I just don't like to make toys." Hermie told the head elf.
"Oh, well, if that's all-WHAT?!" The head elf snapped again. "You don't like to make toys?!"
"No." Hermie shook his head.
"Hermie doesn't like to make toys." The elf told the other elves.
The other elves passed this among each other like it was an abomination. "Shame on you!" They all soon jeered at the misfit elf.
"Mind telling me what you do wanna do?" The head elf asked.
"Well, sir, someday, I'd... I'd like to be a dentist." Hermie smiled.
"A DENTIST?!" The head elf repeated which made the other elves laugh.
"That doesn't sound so bad." Cherry said.
"You know, we need one up here," Hermie said as he took out a book on Dentistry. "It's really fascinating, you have no idea. Molars and bicuspids and incisors!"
"Now, listen you!" The head elf glared. "You're an elf and elves make toys! NOW, GET TO WORK!"
A whistle was soon heard, telling the workers that it was time for a break.
"Ten minute break!" The head elf told the others before glaring at Hermie. "Not for you! Finish the job or you're fired!"
"Whoa." Cherry said.
The other elves left as Hermie lazily painted the wagon before stopping to read his Dentistry book as he wondered why he was such a misfit.
"I think I found Rudolph a friend," Cherry said to herself. "I wonder how things are going for him anyway?"
