Sonic
the Hedgehog: Merry Christmas
by Serinthia
Draftwood
The
author of this work will accept questions and comments via E-mail at any
of the
following addresses:
serinthia@draftwood.com
based on characters created by Service and
Games (SEGA) and
on characters created by Archie Comic
Publications
This work is protected under various
copyright laws. The author of
this work grants his permission for free
distribution of this work
in its original, unaltered form only. No other use of this work is
permitted.
The snow lay thick on the ground. Deep in the Diamond Mountains, a
rebel
village lay in total ruin. Huts had
been destroyed, fires burned in
the
remains of homes. Blast marks left by
powerful laser rifles scorched
the
surrounding mountains, and a few of the surrounding trees had either
been
destroyed, or were burning. Among all
the destruction, a lone shuttle
sat on
its own with a lone passenger inside.
Commander Packbell sat in front of his
computer in the shuttle
writing
his report. It had been about four
hours since the last of the
prisoner
transports had departed. Whenever he
successfully located and
overpowered
a group of freedom fighters, he always stayed around for a while
writing
the report that would be turned in at Central Command.
The raid had gone very well. His forces charged in, eliminated the
resistance
and captured the survivors. They had
managed to capture 103
freedom
fighters this time around. That brought
Packbell's personal total
to 613
captured freedom fighters. The losses
had been minimal, ten bots on
his
side and fifteen rebels on the other side. As soon as he finished his
report,
he stood up and went outside to survey all the damage.
Everything was in ruin. As he strode through the remains, he came
across
a hut that had somehow managed to stay standing. Upon entering, he
found
the inside to be in utter chaos. Apparently the result of rebels
scattering
in fear as Swat-bots busted in. As he
looked about, he noticed
something
lying on the floor in the corner. Packbell bent down and examined
it.
Christmas tree, he thought to
himself. He had never understood the
concept
of Christmas. The very idea had
appeared to him to be absolutely
pointless. He had judged the holiday to be
inefficient. Nothing important
ever
got done during this time. What was the
point of wasting time giving
gifts
when one could be working to better himself like Packbell did.
Granted,
Packbell did hang around the Command Center often, doing nothing,
but he
didn't call that wasting time, he called that waiting for orders.
"Well," he said, standing
"no Christmas for these rebels."
He pulled his laser pistol and fried the
tree into ashes.
Returning to the shuttle, Packbell headed
back to Robotropolis.
Meanwhile, deep in the great forest, the
freedom fighters of
Knothole
where celebrating the season. Everywhere one looked, there were
signs
of the Christmas spirit. Sonic and Tails were having snowball fights,
Bookshire
was helping Sally decorate the huts, Antoine was trying to decide
what to
give the Princess for Christmas, and Dulcy and Rotor were busy
putting
up a hundred foot Christmas Tree in the center of Knothole. Dulcy
would
move it into position while Rotor calculated the optimum angle in
which
the tree should be positioned so that it wouldn't fall down in case of
a snow
storm.
Once the tree had been set, all the
freedom fighters gathered around
to
decorate it. the decoration of the tree
was something the freedom
fighters
looked forward to every year, and, as with all the years before,
when
the decoration was complete, Tails would fly up to the top and place
the
star on top of the tree.
The ceremony had gone well. Afterwards, Sally, Rotor and Tails went
over to
help Bookshire decorate his tree.
"You know," remarked Bookshire
as they came in "I don't think the
tree
has ever looked better."
"Yeah," replied Rotor "we
did a real good job on it."
"How would you all like something to
drink?" said Bookshire "I've
got
freshly made eggnog in the fridge."
"Great!" said Rotor and Tails.
"No thanks," said Sally
"Eggnog is real fattening."
"Relax, Sal," replied Bookshire
"It's totally low in fat and
cholesterol. I made it without any egg yolks; only egg
whites."
"Well," said Sally "I
suppose."
"Great," said Bookshire as he
went into the kitchen.
"So," said Rotor "What are
you two asking Santa for Christmas?"
"Peace and good will," said
Sally "I ask for it every year. One
of
these years I'm sure my request will be granted."
"I'm asking for some new running
shoes," said Tails "The ones I
have
are wearing out."
"Sounds good," said Bookshire as
he returned with four cups of
eggnog.
After decorating the tree they all went to
bed.
Meanwhile, back in Robotropolis, Packbell
was pacing the hallways,
deep in
thought. He had decided to get Robotnik
something close to a
Christmas
present in order to better understand what the big deal was. If
he was
ever going to overthrow Robotnik, he decided, it would be nice to
know
about these things. However, he had
encountered two problems: (1) how
to give
the gift without Robotnik suspecting it was a present and (2) what
to get
him. He stopped in the hallway a
thought for a moment.
"What does Robotnik want more than
anything in the world?" he asked
himself.
After a few moments an evil smile spread
across his face.
"The location of Knothole
Village," he answered simply. It
would be
a tall
order, but Packbell was confident that he knew who could find out for
him. Turning on his heel, he walked back to the
docking platform to get a
shuttle.
Packbell's shuttle flew silently through
the dark of night. After a
time,
it came to rest at the edge of the Great Swamp. After leaving the
shuttle,
Packbell walked into the swamp. He took
various routes, making
several
turns before he arrived at his destination. He entered a small
clearing,
stood in the center, and waited.
"Well, well, well, its only been a
week," said a voice, suddenly
"does
the high a mighty Packbell need my assistance again?"
Packbell was not impressed.
"Knock it off, Sandra," he said
into the darkness "You should know
by now
that your mysterious front doesn't impress me."
"Very well," said Sandra
"what can I do for you this time?"
"Very simple, really. I would like the location of Knothole
Village,"
said Packbell.
"Knothole? Isn't that where Princess Sally hides out?" asked Sandra.
"Correct," replied Packbell.
"A tough assignment," said
Sandra "You understand that you are
asking
me to betray a member of the royal family."
"Of course," said Packbell
"but I don't see a problem. Unless, you
are
actually loyal the her."
"Of course not!" snapped Sandra
"I'm loyal to no one but myself."
"Then you'll do it?" asked
Packbell.
"I'll have to think about it,"
replied Sandra "What would you give me if I gave you this
information?"
"What do you want?" asked
Packbell.
"Well," replied Sandra "in
that case, get me the Crown Jewels of
Mobius
and I'll think about it."
"Done," said Packbell. As he turned to leave, he heard a rustling
in the
bushes to his right as Sandra sprinted off into the swamp.
"One day," he thought "I'll
find out what she really looks like."
Sandra Nightweaver sprinted through the
Great Swamp as a breakneck
pace. Her black fur blended with the night so as
to make her virtually
invisible. Soon she arrived at her hideout. She sat down at her desk and
opened
a map of The Great Forest. It was going
to be tricky, but she was
confident
she would pull it off. She gathered up
a few things and departed
for The
Great Forest.
As Christmas came ever closer, so did the
spirit of Christmas come
with
it. The Christmas celebration in
Knothole was in full swing. On top
of
everything else, Bookshire had managed to locate a database on his
computer
that had some Christmas music in it by a little known group called
Mannheim
Steamroller. It was a unique kind of
instrumental music that had
been
done entirely with synthesizers as well as traditional instruments.
"I am a little concerned," Sally
was saying to Sonic as they walked
along.
"What about?" asked Sonic.
"Well," she said "What if
Robotnik tries something that will ruin
the
magic of the season."
"Then I'll go bust it up like I
always do." replied Sonic.
"You really think you could handle
anything?" asked Sally as they
stopped
walking for a moment.
"Oh sure," replied Sonic "I
can handle anything. I'm fully
qualified."
"Oh really," said Sally laughing
a little bit "And what are your
qualifications?"
"I'm fast, determined, way past cool,
and sneaky," replied Sonic.
"Sneaky, huh, " said Sally
"Prove it."
"Easy," said Sonic "look
up."
Sally looked up a saw a sprig of mistletoe
that Sonic had hung up
above
where they were standing.
"So," said Sonic "what do ya' say!"
"Well," said Sally, pretending
to hesitate "I suppose."
The two embraced and, after a moment
gazing into each others eyes,
they
engaged in a kiss.
Later that night, a dark figure moved
though the surrounding forest.
Sandra
Nightweaver had been searching for three days, and now she had found
them. She moved closer to Knothole to get a
better look at it.
Bookshire was sitting in front of his
computer playing a video game
when,
suddenly, a quiet alarm went off. Completely startled, Bookshire
fell
back off of his chair. Standing, he
moved over to another monitor
and
turned off the alarm. He examined
the monitor carefully.
"Looks like we have company," he
said to himself. Quickly grabbing
his
coat and cane, he headed out into the
night.
Sandra concealed herself behind some
bushes on the fringes of
Knothole. After examining the place for a while, she
stood carefully and
ran
from the village. Suddenly, someone
appeared before her.
"And just where do you think you're
going?" asked Bookshire,
stepping
into the moon light.
Without answering, Sandra charged forward,
intent on escape. As
she
passed by Bookshire, he quickly stuck out his cane, catching her legs.
Sandra
tripped and fell face first into the snow with such force that it
knocked
her out.
Sandra didn't come around until the next
morning. When she did,
she
found herself in a bed with Rotor, Sally, Sonic and Bookshire standing
over
her.
After a few moments of tense silence Sonic
spoke.
"Who are you," he asked simply.
"No one you need to know about,"
replied Sandra.
"Don't give us that," said Sally
"You're Sandra Nightweaver aren't
you."
Sandra said nothing.
"My father told me about you on more
than one occasion," said Sally
"Breaking
and entering, theft, espionage. I
believe those have been you're
crimes. I believe that you also tried to rip off the
royal treasury at one
point
didn't you."
"Well, your highness, it looks like
you've got me cold," said Sandra.
"Why are you here," asked
Rotor.
"Just gathering a little
information," she replied.
"You're planning to sell us out to
Robotnik aren't you," said Sally
"I've
got half a mind to arrest you for treason right now."
"Go ahead," said Sandra, smiling
"you can't keep me here. Your
father's
high tech prisons couldn't hold me and I don't think whatever you
have
now can either."
"She's right you know," said
Bookshire "Know matter what we do,
she'll
probably escape somehow. So, I suppose
the real question is what
will
she do?"
"Are you really going to sell us out,
Sandra?" asked Bookshire.
"I'm still thinking about it,"
replied Sandra.
"Oh yeah," said Sonic
"Well, think about this. If you
sell us out
we'll
make sure every freedom fighter on the planet hears of your betrayal.
You'll
never be welcome anywhere ever again."
"Perhaps," replied Sandra
"However, aside from that not happening,
what
else would you offer me to keep my mouth shut."
"I'll tell you what," said Sally
"You keep our location a secret
and
I'll consider granting you a full pardon at the end of the war."
"However, your winning the war is not
a sure thing," said Sandra.
"Perhaps, but this a far better deal
than anything Robotnik would
give
you if you were talking to him instead of me," said Sally.
"Like I said before, I'm still
thinking about it," Sandra replied.
"As you wish," said Sally.
The group left her alone, and, later that
evening, she slipped
unnoticed
from the village."
Meanwhile, Packbell was walking through
the halls of the central
command
center, feeling so pleased that he was going to get the location of
Knothole
that he couldn't resist whispering a short tune he invented.
"Jingle bells, 'buttnik smells
Snively is a geek
Compared to me, its plain to see
they're idiots of the week!"
He laughed a little as he finished and
headed for the docking bay
to go
meet Sandra.
Packbell's shuttle landed at the edge of
the Great Swamp once again,
and
once again he took the same route to the same clearing to see what
Sandra
had to say.
"Sandra," he called out into the
darkness.
"I'm here," came the reply.
"Did you get the information I
requested?" asked Packbell.
"Yes," replied Sandra "I
suppose you want it."
"I kind of had that in mind,"
said Packbell.
There was a long pause. Sandra sat in her hiding place trying to
make up
her mind. Finally, she reached a
decision.
"Well," said Packbell
"let's have it."
"Actually," said Sandra "I
don't think I'll tell you."
"What?!" exclaimed Packbell.
"I told you I was still thinking
about it, and I've decided that,
when it
comes down to it, I'm not going to betray a member of the royal
family,"
announced Sandra.
"I don't believe this!"
exclaimed Packbell as he got angry "You know,
Sandra,
if you were a Swat-bot standing in front of me, I'd blast you into
scrap
metal so fast you wouldn't have time to realize what had happened!"
He turned and stormed out of the
clearing. Suddenly, he stopped
and
turned back one last time.
"Know this, Sandra Nightweaver,"
he called out "from now on you are
a
freedom fighter to me, and if you I ever get my hands on you, you will be
treated
as such!"
"And proud of it!" called Sandra
as she sprinted off into the swamp.
Packbell stood there for a few moments
clenching his fists, and
wishing
he had something to strangle. After a
moment he calmed down.
"Christmas sucks," he said.
Packbell turned and walked back to the
shuttle.
A few days later, Christmas Eve arrived
and a sort of pleasant
peace
settled over Knothole.
"Don't the stars look
wonderful," remarked Sally as she and sonic
walked
down the path.
"They sure do," replied Sonic.
"Do you think Sandra turned us
in?" asked Sally.
"Doubtful," said Bookshire
walking up behind them "Despite all the
claims
she's made at being a loner, she still needs some support from the
rest of
us."
"Do you think we'll ever see her
again?" asked Sonic.
"Who can say," said Bookshire
"in this crazy war, anything's
possible. Well, good night you two."
Bookshire turned and walked toward his
house.
"You know, Bookshire's right,"
said Sonic "I don't think she did it."
"You're probably right, Sonic,"
said Sally.
Christmas Eve slowly slipped away...
The next morning was a time for
celebration. The entire morning was
spent
opening presents followed by a huge feast. Everyone got something
they
had asked for. The only thing that had
not come was global peace and
good
will. However, the important thing was
the, in the heart of every
freedom
fighter was the idea, the belief, that one day soon, they would be
able to
celebrate without having to worry if they would make it to the next
year. They would finally have what they fought so
hard for year round...
freedom.
THE END
This is
Bookshire sending a message to all of you in cyberspace, to
everyone
in the country and all over the world, to everyone in this
universe
and where ever life exists... Merry Christmas.
AUTHOR'S
NOTE: The name, "Mannheim
Steamroller" and descriptions of their
music
have been used in this story without the permission of Chip Davis, The
Mannheim
Steamroller, or American Gramophone Records.
