Oh Deer! Ch.4
8 am. Christmas morning.
The Sonic Team awakened to the smell of a fragrant holiday breakfast prepared by usually early risers, Tails and Amy Rose. The gang minus Rouge, who offered to help prepare breakfast, went into the dining room with Sonic who was carried by Knuckles and took their place at the table.
Sonic looked around the table at his friends with a look that a proud father would have at his son's sports victory. "Man, its Christmas and I can't be more proud of you guys. You all pulled it off and I know Santa is grateful to you. I thank you so much for thinking about how happy those toys made the kids today."
"This may be the only time you'll hear this faker, so grab your recorder. Although I wanted to throw the child whose gift I placed under the tree out of the window along with the gift, it did make me feel good to know that I'm still carrying out Maria's wish to make you all happy in some capacity. In short, it was an honor to help, Sonic."
"Thanks Shadow." Sonic replied gratefully.
"Yeah Sonic, It was so cool to play Santa! I hope we can do it again next year!" shouted Charmy.
"No we don't! Last night made me develop a fear of chimneys! And I doubt Santa would want a repeat of what happened to his reindeer and Sonic wiping them all out."
"Really Vector, You have a fear of chimneys? Let me guess, you slipped on something on the roof that caused you to stumble over to and down a chimney?"
"Vector got stuck in the chimney because he forgot he had the toy bag on his back and I had to jump in his head while Espio tugged on his legs to help him down!" Charmy explained with laughter.
"I'm just glad it's over. At least you guys didn't get mobbed by a bunch of kids on a sugar rush! I thought I was gonna die!"
"You're always so melodramatic, Knuckles!" Rouge said as she, Tails, and Amy walked into the dining room with some of the breakfast dishes. "Can you and Vector be dears and grab the rest of the dishes? Thanks."
"Breakfast is served, dig in!" announced Amy.
While the Sonic Team sat to enjoy their full breakfast spread, in the North Pole, Mr. And Mrs. Claus was were preparing their home to spread some cheer to their new friends.
"I have to hand it to Sonic and his friends; I didn't think they would have completed the deliveries on time, especially if they didn't know my route."
"Well dear, Sonic is known as the fastest living creature and he and his friends are special people, heroes even. I had faith in them. In fact, I would love to personally thank each of them by inviting them here for dinner and give a token of thanks."
"I like that idea. I'll drop them a line and hopefully, we'll be playing hosts to our friends tonight."
"Well, let me set things up to make our guests feel at home."
Santa made his way to his study. Mrs. Claus with pep in her step with excitement about playing hostess went towards the dining area. Once there, Mrs. Claus brought out only her finest table setting usually set out for close family gatherings and set the twelve seat dining room table with them. After the table was set to her liking, she set off to prepare a holiday feast fit for this special group of heroes.
With the Sonic Team...
Breakfast had concluded and the gang content with full stomachs went into the living room of the Prower home and over to the tree to exchange gifts.
"Hope you guys had fun shopping for your Pollyanna." Rouge opened for the team to get their gifts ready to hand out to their secret recipients.
"We sure are! Sonic, I know I'll love the gift you got me so," Amy turned to Rouge. "Sonic can go first."
"Heh, sorry Amy, I...you're not my Pollyanna, Knuckles is." Sonic scratched his head and chuckled nervously.
"Wait, I'M that special someone?! Please tell me you're joking!" Knuckles shouted!"
"Oh. I guess it was wishful thinking, oh well..." Amy said with her head hung solemnly.
"Here ya go, Knux! Hope you like it!" Sonic handed Knuckles a wrapped present that bore the natural fur color of the guardian.
Knuckles opened the present to find a new pair of orange, yellow, and green colored spiked gloves and a matching fedora to match his shoes. 'Well, you really put thought into this one; a bit too much.' Knuckles thought silently. "Thanks...Sonic?"
"You're gonna be the talk of Angel Island with those and you're welcome." Sonic finished with his signature grin. "But here's the gift for that special person...Amy?" Amy looked up at Sonic with a hopeful expression.
"Yes, Sonic?"
"I got you a little something." Sonic pulled out a small, velvet textured box from his quills and gave it to Amy. Amy opened the box to find inside a sparkling emerald and diamond pendant. She gasped. "Oh Sonic, you really got this for me? I knew it; you really do care for me."
"Of course I care for you Ames. It's just sometimes you lay your affection on so thick, it's smothering you know? Let up a little, I'll come around, ok?" Amy became lost in Sonic's emerald colored orbs for a few seconds before being interrupted.
"Sonic's been holding out all year and finally let his true feelings for Pinkie come out. Did you plan this specifically for Christmas, Sonic?" Rouge commented.
"So hopefully, we'll never again have to watch her throw silly tantrums when Sonic doesn't want to be bothered with her." added Shadow.
"Can we get to the gift giving already?" Sonic asked of his rivals with annoyance.
The Pollyanna went on with the participants minus Shadow who reasoned that he didn't know anyone well enough to find a suitable gift, giving gifts to a randomly chosen person within the group. A few notable gifts received were a $150 gift certificate to Sweet Eats Candy Shoppe from Amy to Charmy, who for sure will use the entire gift card to load up on sweets to last him for months. Another was three customized Piko Piko hammers with different color schemes for Amy from Espio. Then there's Espio's gift, a genuine three piece ceremonial samurai sword set. Espio's eyes lit up at seeing the thoughtful gift given by Rouge. Rouge's gift from Vector caused everyone to fall out in laughter. She received a coupon book good for 10 free hair removal sessions at a local day spa. Of course, she was none too pleased. In fact, she ripped up the coupons and threw them in Vector's face.
Halfway through the Pollyanna, something landed on the roof of the workshop with a loud thump. This caused everyone to stop and Tails went outside and flew onto the roof to find a long, cylindrical shaped tin can. Tails shook the tin and concluded that its contents may be a paper product because of the tin's light weight and hollow sound it made when shaken. "I wonder what's in here. My guess is a letter or a map. I'll wait to get inside so we all can find out what's in here."
The front door to the workshop opened and Tails walked inside holding up the cylinder. "Well everyone, this is what made the noise."
The team focused their attention to the tin. "What are you waiting for Tails, open it." said Sonic. Tails twisted off the lid and reached in to grab what looked like a scroll. The fox opened the scroll to its full length and looked to see where the scroll came from. "It's a letter from…Santa?" Tails looked at the group with a confused look. "Santa didn't make his yearly toy run and stayed home, so how did this end up here?"
"Maybe he has a special ability nobody knows about?" asked Charmy.
'I have to remember that Charmy is but a child who thinks as such.' Shadow thought as he shook his head at Charmy's answer.
"We'll never figure out how Santa pulls off the feats he does so Tails, let's just say it's another one of Santa's mysteries." Amy reasoned.
"It's addressed to all of us. It says, Dear Sonic and Friends, you are invited as guests of honor to a holiday dinner hosted by Santa and Mrs. Claus to show our gratitude for your help in bringing joy to many children on this Christmas day. Please accept this invitation and hopefully we'll see you at 7 pm tonight." Tails finished.
"Well, I didn't have plans tonight, so dinner with the Clauses is cool with me. You think they'll put chilidogs on the menu? I mean, he knows who's been bad or good all year so he should know our likes and dislikes."
"I too didn't make plans for this evening and am free for dinner. I highly doubt that they'll serve chilidogs Sonic." said Espio.
"Oh good; I didn't feel like having to cook dinner anyway! It's a date, Santa!" Amy.
"I guess it's safe to speak for the majority and say that we'll all be dining with the Mr. And Mrs.?
"Yes Rouge. If you all are ready now, we can be on our way."
"I am ready. Besides, there's nothing else to do around here anyways. I'm plenty sure there's much to do at Santa's factory." Tails assumed.
"I'm with you fox boy. Alright folks let's move it! 'Maybe I can get that private tour and see where the Mrs. keeps her jewel stash hidden somewhere in the joint...'
Everyone huddled around Shadow, but Sonic caught off guard, was picked up by Vector and thrown over his shoulder.
"Hey tall, dark, and scaly; what gives! Put me down, I can manage! This is embarrassing you know!"
"Right; and Santa's reindeer are in their stables partying it up and marching around in a Conga line! Hold still blue wonder!"
The gang burst out in laughter at Sonic's predicament, even getting a stifled chuckle from Scrooge's spawn himself, Shadow.
"Make sure someone gets a picture of him and put it up on an Instagram!" Shadow suggested.
*SNAP* "Got it!" Knuckles said waving around a camera.
"Good boy. Chaos...control!" With that command, the gang is but seconds from Santa's toy factory/home.
The gang stood before the Claus home once again. This time however, they wasted no time in alerting the Clauses to their presence. Mrs. Claus welcomed the Sonic Team inside and escorted them directly into the dining area. Santa stood waiting at the head of the table with a warm smile and rosy cheeks. "I'm pleased that my invitation has reached you. Welcome back my friends. Please, sit." The team obliged and each took a seat before an elegant place setting and a lavish feast that stretched the length of the long table.
"Mrs. Claus, the table is beautifully set and the meal looks very good. I can't wait to try it."
"You said it Amy! Somebody pass the ham and cranberry sauce!" Knuckles reached for the bowl before getting his hand smacked away by Rouge. "Where's your manners echidna? Did you leave them on Angel Island with that big green rock of yours?"
"It's not a rock! You will respect the Master Emerald, you dusty, cave dwelling thief!" Knuckles shouted with a vein 'popping' out of his forehead.
"Do you two mind? We're guests for crying out loud!" Espio said quieting the treasure hunters.
Mrs. Claus chuckled lightly at the bickering Mobians. "You all deserve far more than a mere dinner and a gift. May your good hearts be filled with an abundance of love and happiness throughout your life." Mrs. Claus said humbly.
"Awh Mrs. Claus, it's what we do. We offer help to those in need and want nothing in return." Sonic chortled.
"Speak for yourself." Rouge said with a sing song voice.
Rouge received rolled eyes and a few sneers at her for her comment to which she simply brushed off. Dinner was then eaten in relative silence.
As soon as dinner was finished, Santa excused himself to retrieve a medium sized box. The Sonic Team was complimenting their gracious hostess when Santa returned and called for everyone's attention. "From the looks on your faces, I will assume that dinner was to your liking; and for that I thank you dear." Santa looked to his wife who blushed slightly and gave a bow. As I stated in the message, I not only had dinner for you all, but I wanted you to have something to take home with you as a memento of this occasion. As a sincere thank you for being heroes to the children who would have stopped believing in me because I wasn't there when they expected me to climb down their chimneys to put presents under their trees, please accept this token and may it always remind you of how special to us you are. Each received a small golden reindeer ornament with the team's initials on the red bow tied around its neck that could be passed on through generations in their families.
"Well, look at that…" Sonic turned his ornament around in his hand to see all sides of it and was amazed. "Santa really, you didn't have to go through all this trouble to thank us. Knowing that we helped save your hide is plenty gratitude enough. I'll always be there for you whenever the need arises, right guys?"
Vector had an incredulous look on his face as he listened to Sonic's reply. "Would you just listen to that glory hog boast when we did all of the work?"
"Oh, low blow, Vector. You know I would have been right along with you guys if I hadn't gotten hurt." Sonic said feigning disappointment.
"He's right. Sonic's heart was in the right place when he asked us to help him out and that's as good as if he was on the toy run with us." Tails defended.
"No truer words spoken, young man."
"Thanks Santa."
Sonic looked up at Santa with a twinkle in his eyes before speaking. "I was wondering Santa if I could visit the reindeer. I wanna see how they're healing."
"Of course you can visit them. I'll bet they would be excited to see you. Whenever you're ready, the stables are on the left side of the factory."
Sonic with the help of his buddy Knuckles, limped into the stables to find Santa's reindeer either eating or drinking, grooming, or resting. Sonic walked over to their enclosure. The reindeer named Prancer came towards Sonic. Sonic reached out to pet Prancer who dipped his head accepting. "Hey there, fella. I am glad you're on the mend. I'm sorry I was so careless and hurt you and your buddies, but I made it up to you and Santa and had my friends fill in for you guys and we got those presents to the kids on time. Christmas is saved and Santa's reputation is still solid. You all get better soon and I promise I'll be nowhere near you next year so we don't have this happen a second time, ok? Take it easy, reindeer." Sonic ended and he and Knuckles turned and walked out of the stable and back to the factory.
"Hey, the boys are back from sharing a sentimental moment with the reindeer. Care to share with us your conversation with them?" Rouge teased.
"Can it you bothersome bat! The reindeer look good considering what happened to them a day ago, Santa." replied Knuckles.
"Yes, they are coming along nicely. A good rest is all that's needed for them to be back in tip-top shape. Well gang, I propose giving you all a tour of my workshop where most of the toys you delivered are made, what do you say?"
Tails and Charmy spoke for the group with an answer of, 'YEAH!' "Looks like the kids have spoken; please follow me."
Santa and Mrs. Claus led Sonic and the gang on a tour of the factory. They were amazed at the sight of numerous conveyor belts moving with various toy parts atop them to be assembled and packed for shipping by elf helpers hard at work standing on either side of the lines.
While the gang was engrossed in watching the elves work their magic, Charmy's focus was on a conspicuously large red button settled on the wall closest to the entrance of the factory. "Hey Santa, Charmy shouted, "What's this here big red button do?" Charmy stretched his finger towards the button.
"No Charmy, Don't press that button, you'll...Oh Dear..." too late. The red button was pressed and all of the power to the factory fizzled out leaving the Clauses, the elves, and the Sonic Team in the dark and slowly getting cold. "Santa, the belts stopped moving...again!" "There's another extended break for us! Come on boys, take five…hours!" "Now, we'll be backed up for sure!" were comments made by a few peeved elves. "What's going on?!" "What happened to the lights?!" "Charmy, didn't he tell you not to press that button?!" were some of the gang's reactions to instantly being thrust into darkness.
"Charmy, that button was an emergency shutoff to the factory should the conveyors or any other machine in the assembly area malfunction. The fail-safe is programmed to restore power five hours after activation." Santa explained.
"Sorry guys, hehe..." Charmy said nervously.
"Oh, you'll be sorry alright!" yelled Vector as he tried to find Charmy. As he moved about in the darkness of the factory, he slipped on a toy that was left on the floor and fell on his back with a loud thud.
"CHAAAAARMY!"
The end.