Disclaimer: I do not own Legion. I do own Ebony Dent.
Yes, another scary, holiday story. I decided to start this one earlier than the last one. This is in case I'm not able to post many more stories for the Christmas track list II before Christmas. I actually have a couple of gift stories to work on. But here.
Chapter title comes from one of the Donkey Kong Country games.
Chapter One: In A Snowbound Land.
It was one of the biggest buildings in all of Fair Weather Valley. It was also the oldest. Three floors big and as wide as the eye can see. Built of wood, bricks, glass, and perseverance. Rather gloomy looking on this snowy December day in the year 3009.
"Wow." Was all seventeen year old Garth Ranzz could say. He wore dark blue and white winter gear with lightning bolts.
"Yeah, what he said." Concurred the twenty-something Garth Ranzz. He wore blue and white winter gear, also with lightning bolts.
"It's…" Seventeen-year old Imra Ardeen trailed off, not sure what to say about said building. She wore pink and white winter gear.
"Not too bad. It's rustic." Twenty-something Imra Ranzz offered that sunny outlook. She sported red and white winter gear.
"It's creepy." Little Ayla Ranzz said. She sported powder blue winter gear and carried a sock monkey in her arms.
"It's ugly." Seventeen year old Tinya Wazzo said. She sported black and white winter gear with her hair tied back in a pony tail.
"It's too dark." Twenty-something Ayla Ranzz said. She sported winter gear decked in light blue and white.
"I don't like it." Little Ebony Dent said. She sported black winter gear.
"Cool." Eighteen year old Brin Londo said, in orange and black winter gear, as they all breathed in the dark majesty of the Fair Weather Valley Inn.
The Legionnaires and their parallel universe counterparts would be spending their holiday vacation here. From December 19 to after New Year's, these Legionnaires and a few others would be spending the Christmas season.
"So… we're really spending Christmas here, then?" Ebony asked the older of the two Garths. To distinguish the two, we offer this:
*The younger Garth Ranzz spotted orange hair and electric blue eyes, with a scar shaped like a lightning bolt over his right eye, that occasionally lit up. He sported a goatee under his chin and a cybernetic right arm. The spoils of war. The electricity he generated as Lightning Lad was blue.
*The older Garth Ranzz spotted scarlet red hair and regular blue eyes, with no scars, although he did sport a tattoo of the Legion "L" and two lightning bolts on his left arm. He didn't have a beard, but certainly was scruffy enough. He actually lost his right arm but had long since had it re-grown. The electricity he generated as Lightning Lad was yellow.
"Yep. 14 glorious days and glorious nights." The older Garth explained. "We get to freeze our butts off out here while the other half of the Legion gets to freeze their butts off back in Metropolis." What he said was true. This holiday season, there was a split decision between which Legionnaires would be able to vacation outside of Metropolis this Christmas. However, they couldn't vacation anywhere offworld, considering the fact that Earth has a wide and very well known habit of attracting the worst kind of trouble. And not all the Legionnaires were allowed to leave Metropolis. There were some who needed to stay behind in Legion HQ in case of any alerts. The two Brainiacs took easy advantage of that. Garth smirked. "Looks charming though, don't you think?"
"No." Ebony replied. She was actually standing behind his leg.
"Hey, what's wrong? Scared?" Garth asked.
"Yes." Ebony quietly replied. Garth found that a bit funny, knowing her personality.
"Is the mighty Miz Dent going yellow?" He joked.
"Yes, I admit it." Ebony quickly replied and turned her gaze away from the inn. Garth felt a twinge of pain when he realized the seven-year old was being serious.
"Well, that makes two of us." Garth said, trying to sympathize with her. "Place kinda makes my skin crawl."
Tinya and the older Ayla were surveying the outside of the place for themselves. The two had their arms folded.
"Looking at this place hardly gives you a feeling of Christmas. Halloween maybe." Ayla said.
"And Tax Day." Tinya added. Ayla looked confused.
"Tax Day? Why Tax Day?" Ayla asked.
"Have you ever tried doing taxes for the Legion?" Tinya replied. She shivered at the horrible memories of that April.
"The inside's very lovely, actually." The younger Imra said. We're going to pause to once again explain the differences between the older and younger Imra.
*The older Imra had short blonde hair and normal sized blue eyes.
*The younger Imra sported long blonde hair and large, almost alien pink eyes.
"Well, that explains it then." Tinya sighed.
"What?" They asked.
"The outside's so ugly because they spent all the money on the inside." Tinya joked. Then she began to mope. "I just don't know why we had to go here. I mean, we could be spending the holidays at the slopes of Neo Aspen, our lounging at Emerald Coast or the La Razza Canal or even the Southern Islands. Not this dump."
Imra rubbed her eyes.
"We've been over this before, Tinya. We drew straws and Rokk got the longest." Imra finished explaining.
"But there won't even be anyone else here!" Tinya finished. "Cos had the fortune of renting the entire place out to ourselves, so now there won't even be any cute guys to pick through."
Tinya suddenly felt colder than before when a pair of steely wolf eyes began giving her a glare.
"Fair Weather Inn. Founded in 1923. Wow. The fact that it's still standing is nothing short of a miracle." Ayla said, amazed and wondering how this building managed to stay so long. She turned around. "Uh, should we be helping them unload the bags?" Ayla pointed to her boyfriend, Brin Londo, and Tinya's Brin Londo, getting all the stuff out the hover van. And now we pause, once again.
*The younger Brin Londo was WAY more feral than the other, having fur, fangs, pointed ears, claws, and wolf eyes. His hair was long and black with two white stripes.
*The older Brin Londo had short brown hair, and while he sported claws and fangs, that was it, although he was hairy, but not furry.
The younger Brin was dictating the older Brin as he was trying to get the bags and packages out.
"You're good. You're good. You're-no, no, no, NO!"
"Gah!"
CRASH!
"They can manage." Tinya said. She began laughing with Ayla.
The little Ayla, about eight years old, was trying to build a little snowman when her brother hoisted her up and placed her on his shoulders.
"Doesn't it feel good to be back in farm country, Ayl?" Her brother, the younger Garth asked, smiling that he got to spend the holiday with his once twin, now his little, sister.
"Yeah, a little bit." Ayla smiled back. "How do you think mom and dad are doing with Mekt?"
"I'm sure they're fine." Garth explained. "I just talked to them before we left. They seem to be doing okay."
"They ask if you're wearing clean underwear?" Ayla asked, causing a tomato blush in Garth's cheeks. "I'll take that as a yes."
"You know I could just as easy drop you in a snow drift and no one would ever find you." Garth jokingly threatened.
"You'd have to tear my off your head first!" Ayla clamped down tight on Garth's head, with her hands and teeth.
"Aah! Get it off! Get it off!" Garth started running around with Ayla biting down. He was obviously joking and chose to indulge his sister's sense of humor.
"Nevah!" Ayla said, her words muffled by Garth's hair. The two dropped into a pile of snow under a tree. Laughter floated up from below the tree and Ayla was beaming with happiness, being with her brother. And vice versa. Garth straightened up and picked Ayla back up, know holding her.
"Now this trip would be perfect if we could lose a certain blonde floozy." Ayla said, muttering the last part.
"Good luck with that." The younger Imra replied, kissing Garth on the cheek and receiving some very deadly glares from Ayla.
"Hmm. The only girl I know who takes an insult with smiles." Ayla smiled as she gave that back handed compliment. "Oh wait, scratch that." She turned her head to the older Garth and Imra, also known as Mr. and Mrs. Ranzz. The three watched as the two dopplegangers kissed on the lips.
"That is the future, Ayla. Get used to it." The younger Garth informed her.
"The only future I'm getting used to is THAT one." Ayla pointed to her gorgeous, adult counterpart, who was bending over to help her boyfriend.
"Oh that's a good future." Garth joked.
SMACK. Upside the head.
"Ow!" Garth cried.
"Don't be gross." Imra said.
Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Ranzz finished their nauseating display of love.
"Hey." Imra said.
"Hey. Where are the Magnoheads?" Garth asked, referring to older and younger Rokk Krinns.
"Getting the rooms, making sure everything is set with the innkeeper." Imra explained.
"Hey, um, would you mind helping with something?" Garth asked.
Meanwhile, Ebony had snuck back into the hover van, in the back seat, hoping that no one noticed and she could spend the rest of the vacation hiding in the van so she wouldn't have to go inside.
Tap-tap.
Ebony turned around and saw the older Imra tapping on the glass.
"Mind if I come in?" Imra asked.
"Go right ahead. It's a free coun-I mean, planet." Ebony said. Imra opened the door and popped her head in.
"So, I take it you don't like our accommodations?" Imra asked.
"No, I came back in here to look for my sketch book." Ebony lied. Imra rolled her eyes.
"Oh, then I guess Garth lied when he said you told him you were scared." Imra said.
"I guess so." Ebony flatly stated.
"Ebony..." Imra had a habit of referring to Ebony by her first name, unlike Garth, who had a habit of relying more on nicknames like "Kid", while she referred to him as "Monkey Boy".
"Okay, yes, I'm scared. I'm seven. Don't people expect me to be afraid of big, dark places like this?" Ebony asked.
"Well yes, sometimes, but when they're as smart as you that's when people tend to ask questions." Imra countered.
"Yes, I am very smart, aren't I?" Ebony sarcastically talked of her inflated ego.
"Oh yes, the smartest." Imra joked. Ebony laughed a little. "So, what's wrong?" Imra asked again.
"Well, it's just that, um..." Ebony trailed off.
"You know you can talk to me about anything, remember?" Imra reminded her.
"I know." Ebony muttered, but she did not want to think of Imra as her mother. She had a mother. A beautiful, caring mother. A dead mother. "It's just, this place kinda reminds me of the hotel from that Stephen King movie."
"Stephen King movie?"
"You know, the one with Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, The Shining? They've got the psychic kid who meets the two girls in the hallway, and the elevators filled with blood?"
"Oh! Who let you watch that?" Imra asked, shocked that someone would let a little girl watch such a movie.
"I watched it on the Late Theatre one night." Ebony said.
"Be that as it may, you are far too young to have seen something like that." Imra said. Ebony hung her head down. "But still, you don't have anything to worry about. That was a movie." Imra lifted Ebony to see her gaze, and smile. Imra's eyes looked warm. "You're with friends. And despite how this place looks we'll have a wonderful time. I promise."
Ebony mulled this over.
"Okay. But only if you promise." Ebony said.
"I swear."
"So, how's everything?" Garth stuck his head in. "You okay, kid?"
"Oh I see, you get your wife to do the dirty work." Ebony sardonically implied. "Real mature, Grunge Butt."
"Well, Sunshine Lass, when you say it like that it makes me have second thoughts about that gift." Garth smirked.
"What gi-"
SMACK.
Snowball on top of her head.
"Yeah, I guess I walked into that one."
...
Their eyes surveyed the Legionnaires going in. One noticed that the two Imras suddenly looked back, as if they felt something wrong.
"Don't worry. I've got it covered."
The two then turned back, exchanging glances and shrugging it off as nothing.
"They won't suspect a thing."
"I just wish there were more."
"What are you, suicidal?"
A pair of gloved hands dug into the bark of the fir tree, and a puddle of pus began to seep out.
"Hey, watch it!"
The tree began to die as oozing pus began to leak out and the bark rotted away and died.
"Save it for the Legionnaires."
