AN: Oh hello there Pokemon lovers. Didn't expect to hear from me so soon, did you? Honestly I wasn't expecting to be here either after my explanation in the last chapter, but things have taken a slightly different course than I had planned. In any case, I'm back now and decided that the first order of business was to create a short Christmas Special. Enjoy!
HOLIDAY SCRAMBLE!
The tiny flakes of white had started a few days prior, each one building on its brothers until soon all of Darkwing City was covered in the stuff.
Yellow had experienced snow countless times in the past, but as she walked along the street in the chill breeze, something about all of it seemed different than she remembered.
"It's very pretty, that's for sure," Blue noted beside her. "I've never been the biggest fan of the cold though..."
"Is that why you have those little pieces of paper pinned to the inside of your coat?" Yellow smiled knowingly.
"Heating charms," Blue explained, "it's something my father taught me how to do."
Yellow sidestepped to avoid a large patch of ice which had formed on the sidewalk. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin her good coat. "Your dad can do magic too?"
"Both of my parents can," the older girl nodded, "they taught me everything I know."
Yellow's attention was drawn to a shop display they were passing, where an assortment of chocolates was arranged in alluring patterns. "Do you think they'd like something here?"
Blue looked over the sweets with a critical eye. "Green isn't a big fan of chocolate-it makes him sick to his stomach. I'm not sure about Red; have you ever asked him?"
"No," Yellow admitted, "it probably would have been a good idea to figure out more of his interests before trying to find him a present, huh?"
Blue shrugged as she continued to walk. "I'm sure he'll appreciate anything you give him. A present is a present, isn't it?"
"I suppose you're right," Yellow didn't seem so enthusiastic. "I just want to make sure it's something special, y'know? He's done a lot for me and I want to show him how much I appreciate it."
"Well don't stress about it too much," Blue reassured her friend, glancing over at a shop selling sporting goods. "You've still got until tomorrow to think it over."
If that was meant to reassure Yellow, it wasn't very effective. Christmas Eve was tomorrow, and she still hadn't figured out what her friend would want. She felt like she was failing as a friend for not knowing more about what he would like. What kind of present did you give a vampire?
"What about your gift?" She tried to change the subject, "what sort of things does Green like?"
"He does really enjoy puzzles," Blue noted, "anything that's a challenge to figure out. But I feel like a puzzle would be a pretty lame gift."
"We could always go by the pet store," Yellow suggested jokingly, "maybe he'd like a nice flea collar?"
Blue shivered, though clearly not due to the cold. "Don't make me think of stuff like that. How would you feel if your best friend had fleas? You'd never be able to hug them or anything like that."
"That's true," Yellow conceded, "and I'll bet he's not a big fan of dog treats either, huh?"
Blue shot her an annoyed glance. "Green is a werewolf, not a dog. I'm not going to buy him a collar or a bone or anything like that."
The two walked in awkward silence for a moment. Yellow knew that teasing Blue probably hadn't been a good idea, but she was too nervous to think of anything else at the moment, least of all finding a good gift.
"Maybe it's too cold for this now," Blue suggested after a moment of tension. "Let's go find a place to warm up before we keep looking."
Yellow nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."
-X-
"Dear friends, I gathered you here today to aid in a feat of epic proportions. A challenge so great, it will take every one of us at the peak of our physical abilities."
The speaker, Gold, waved his hand in the direction of the field behind him. "Look behind me, all of you. What do you see?"
The members of the audience were silent for a moment, owing largely to the fact that only one of them could talk in the first place. The "team" that was assembled consisted of Silver, Gold himself and their collective Pokemon. After a tense silence, the former finally opened his mouth. "Um...snow?"
The black-haired boy swung his arm around to point at his friend "That is correct; there's snow. Twenty square yards of perfect, untouched whiteness waiting for my creative genius to be applied to it."
Silver glanced over the field with a frown. Crystal hadn't been kidding when she said Gold was struggling with math. The field was easily three times that estimation, if not more.
"And how, you might ask, are we going to utilize that genius?" Gold was really on a roll now. "By using every last flake of it to build the biggest snowman ever constructed!"
The Pokemon gave a collective rumble of interest. Gold's partners had helped in constructing snowmen in the past, but the biggest one ever? Was it even possible?
"I won't lie to you guys, it'll be tough," Gold continued his monologue, pacing back and forth in his thick winter boots, "but with the power of three trainers and their Pokemon, I'm confident that it can not only be done, but it can be done in a single day."
Part of his friend's words confused Silver. He looked back and forth in con fusion. "Three...?"
"Well of course," the angel grinned, "we just need me, you and Super Serious Gal." His expression was a confident one, but slowly dissolved when he noticed the same flaw Silver had. "Hey, where's Super Serious Gal anyway?"
-X-
"ACHOO!" The sneeze seemed to rock Crystal's entire room, sending her bedsheets into a flutter, which unfortunately included the Smoochum sitting on top of them.
"Oh, sorry Chumee," the blue-haired girl sniffled. "That one was a lot stronger than I was expecting."
"You know," a voice came from the doorway, "they say that whenever you sneeze, it means someone is talking about you."
"Har har," Crystal frowned at her mother, "I think it's a lot more straightforward than that."
"Well in any case, I brought you some chicken soup," her mother smiled, "it works wonders when you have a nasty cold."
"Mhm, I know," the girl nodded as the bowl was placed on a table by her bedside, "just like when I got sick as a little girl. Thanks mom."
"Well you're still my little girl," her mother cooed. "Are you sure you'll be okay staying in bed all day? I don't have to go running errands if you would rather I stayed with you."
"It's okay, I've got Mega and Chumee watching over me," Crystal nodded. She gestured to her Meganium, who was sitting at the end of her bed, a green light being emitted by the flower around its neck. "As long as they're around to use Aromatherapy and grab stuff I need, I'll be fine."
"Alright, if you're sure," her mother nodded, "but if you need anything at all, I've got my Pokegear with me, so just give me a call."
"I will," the girl agreed. With that her mother stepped out, leaving her and the Pokemon to their own devices.
"Just great," Crystal sighed glumly, "And I was hoping to go gift shopping with Yellow and Blue today." She pulled the covers back up to her pajama-clad shoulders. "And there was something else happening today too. What was it? I can't quite remember..."
-X-
"This complicates things," Gold frowned. "I was hoping we would have Super serious Gal and her ridiculous task management skills to make this go faster. This'll set our plans back a bit." He shook his head and tried to grin. "No matter, we're going to get this thing done with or without her help."
Silver sighed. Sometimes Gold's plans made him miss glaring details about what was going on.
"First off, we'll need to start with the base," the eager trainer decided. "I'm thinking we'll make it it at least twelve feet wide to make sure it supports the other two."
His collective crew's eyes widened in disbelief. There was no way they could really make a snowball that big, could they?
"Cheer up crew, it's much easier than you might think. First we just have to gather up as much snow as we can into a pile, then I'll show you how to make a snowball out of it."
The team set to work with a nod, scooping up as much snow as they could and bringing it to a central point. The bigger Pokemon helped the most with this, although a few of them seemed to be struggling.
"Explotaro, you can't carry cold things around with your flames burning that hot," Gold scolded as his starter's pile melted into slush. "Try using something else to lift it if your paws are too warm."
It was slow going, but eventually the group had managed to form a decently-sized mound in the middle of the field. Gold checked the time on his Pokegear and smiled. They were making good time.
"Now for the fun part," he informed everyone. "Since we can't roll a ball big enough on our own, we're going to carve it right out of the pile."
The Pokemon perked up. This was an idea none of them had ever considered. Carve a snowball? Would that even work?
"Just follow my lead," Gold nodded, pulling his pool cue out from his bag. "We want to make it as round as possible, got it?"
Silver frowned, not knowing what he was supposed to do to help with something like that. Before he could point this out, however, Gold was already charging the pile.
"Let's do this!" He called out, and the team followed behind him.
-X-
"I've never had the chance to celebrate Christmas around people," Red admitted as he and Green sat in the back of the Oak Medical Clinic.
"Kinda grew up on your own, didn't you?" Green observed. "Ever since you were a little kid?"
His companion nodded, lifting up a packet filled with deep red liquid. "You're sure your sister doesn't mind me having this?"
Green shook his head, "Nah, we don't have to do transfusions too often, so it's really just there as a precaution, or in case the hospital needs a new supply."
Red nodded, lifting up the cup beside him and taking a sip. The sensation of drinking blood out of a cup was a strange one, but it still worked somehow. "Well it's better than the alternatives," he glanced at his friend. "You don't think it's weird, do you?"
The werewolf boy shrugged. "One predator to another, I'm not going to judge you over your dietary quirks. You do what you've gotta do."
Red nodded in appreciation, setting the cup down. "I've been meaning to get more since Ruby and I fought. The kid might be a psychopath, but he knows how to fight."
"Lots of training from his father, I'd wager," Green frowned. "He doesn't seem so strong nowadays with his magic necklace gone though."
It was true. After the events during Homecoming, Norman had confiscated Ruby's necklace upon learning what he had been doing. With the spell broken, the girls who had gushed over him slowly broke away as though they had never been his admirers in the first place. There were no angry accusations from any of them, but it left a bitter aftertaste in the mouths of several other students.
"I don't know that I fully blame him for what he did," Red admitted. "He can't have had an easy life before now, and all he really wanted was to make some friends."
"Interesting way to go about it," Green scoffed, scribbling some notes he had been putting together for his sister, "makes you wonder what he'll be trying to pull next."
"Yeah," Red nodded, gazing at the ruby liquid, "I wonder..."
-X-
Ruby was on his way to the hospital. Technically, he was on his way back to the hospital, but that was beside the point.
The last few weeks had been hard as Ruby tried to make amends for the way he had acted when he first arrived in Darkwing. None of the kids really wanted to talk to him after the stunt he had pulled, save for a select few. The only students who really seemed to want to be around him were two of the younger boys who were friends of Sapphire.
Sapphire. Something inside him winced in shame whenever he thought about her. He hadn't been able to see her since the day he had bitten her, partially due to the medical situations which had surrounded the both of them at the time, but also due to his own inhibitions. What if Red had been right after all? What if after all that talk on the roof, she really did see him as the monster he was?
He shook his head and adjusted his grip on the wrapped box he held. Now wasn't the time for doubts, but for action. Soon enough he found himself inside the building and making his way up the stairs to the second floor. He knew the path by heart-he'd nearly followed it through many times in the past. This time, however, something new greeted him. Next to the door of room 209 sat a heavy-set man with chestnut hair that perfectly matched Sapphire's. They had never met in person, but Ruby knew this must be her father.
"She's resting," Professor Birch informed him as he entered the hall. "The doctors won't even let me go in to see her."
"How is she?" Ruby questioned, moving to stand beside him.
"Better than she was when they brought the two of you in, but not quite enough for them to let her leave yet," the larger man explained tiredly. "If all goes well, she should be able to come home for Christmas Eve tomorrow."
Ruby nodded mutely, not trusting himself to speak. It didn't take superhuman abilities to guess what the Professor was going to say next.
"You hurt my daughter, Ruby," he noted simply. "I don't just mean physically, but emotionally. She used to be so upbeat and full of energy, but after whatever happened between you, she's barely spoken a word, even to me. I would be a fool not to be concerned, so I want to hear what you have to say."
The Professor turned fully to face Ruby, the concern evident in his eyes. "What happened between you? What could have done that?"
Ruby looked down sadly, unable to meet that piercing gaze. "I tricked her. I betrayed her trust, and I told her what I was."
"A vampire?" The Professor supplied. So he didn't know the specifics then.
"A liar and an untrustworthy piece of scum." Shame flowed with the words as physically as air.
Professor Birch was quiet for a long time, clearly deep in thought. "And...is that what you think she sees in you?"
"I can't see why she wouldn't," Ruby's head was raised once more. "After what I did to her, is there anyone who could still see me as a good person?"
"There is," the Professor replied quickly, shocking the young boy. "And she's laying in that room right now."
"That can't be," Ruby shook his head in disbelief. "Weren't you just saying that she hates me?"
"She doesn't hate you," Professor Birch shook his head, "but it may take her a while to trust you again, and the first step is to make sure you know who you want to be."
Ruby looked at him in confusion. "I'm..not certain I follow, sir."
Professor Birch braced his hands against the seat of the chair and rose slowly. "Ruby, I may not be some sort of life councilor, but in my work I've learned enough about the human psyche to know that nobody truly wants to be hated. You've made some mistakes, sure, but the beauty of life is that it's ever-changing. Whether for good or for bad is up to you. So if you really want people to appreciate you, give them something genuine about yourself to respect."
Ruby was silent for a long time. Was this what he was missing? Could change really be as easy as deciding to be a good person? Maybe the Professor was right.
"Thank you, Professor," he bowed respectfully. "And I promise you that I won't let you down."
The Professor chuckled. "I'm not the one you should worry about letting down. In any case, I've got faith in you. Spell or not, Sapphire spoke very highly of you when the two of you were together. If it were me, I'd make it a high priority not to let that talk go to waste."
"I will sir," Ruby nodded, bringing forward the gift he had brought, "and if it's not too much trouble, would you mind giving this to her when she wakes up?"
The Professor's eyes sparkled knowingly. "I think that can be arranged. How thoughtful of you, by the way."
"Thank you Professor," Ruby turned and headed toward the stairs. For the first time in weeks, that sense of guilt no longer seemed to be gnawing at his heart.
To become a better person, he thought with a smile. I think I can manage that.
-X-
There was nothing quite like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold day to make everything seem a little brighter. To Yellow, it was just the thing to take the edge off of her nerves.
"So I have to ask," Blue looked up from her cup, which had already been drained dry, "what is it between you and Red? It seems like the minute he got here the two of you have practically been joined at the hip."
"We're not together that much," Yellow protested, "...are we?"
Blue wiped a bit of foam from her lip before replying. "It was the two of you that saved Crystal from that psycho killer, helped me to calm down Green when he was on a rampage and stopped Ruby from turning every girl in the school into his personal harem. That, plus all the time you spend together at school, and it's no wonder that people are starting to spread rumors."
"They are?" Yellow's eyes widened in disbelief. "A-are they really? What kind of rumors?"
"Well, the kind of rumors you would expect to hear if a boy and a girl spent a lot of time together," Blue answered carefully. "There are students around the school who seem to think that you two are...a couple."
For several long seconds, there was total silence in the cafe. Then, the magnitude of what her friend had just said hit Yellow. "WHAAAAAAAAT?!"
"Oi, keep your voice down," Blue hissed urgently. "Like I said, they're only rumors. Just because people talk doesn't mean there's any truth to it." She hesitated. "Right?"
Yellow was sure her face was so red it looked like a tomato. "I...I don't...we're not..."
"Slow down kid, don't hurt yourself," Blue sighed. "Geez, that last bit was a mistake. If it's not a question you want to answer, that's fine."
Yellow inhaled deeply, trying to restore her composure. "It's okay, it's just not something I've thought about a lot, especially in the last little while."
"Why's that?" Blue's voice was quiet as she delicately tried not to upset her friend again.
"It's hard to explain," the blonde's voice still wavered slightly. "The night of Homecoming, something happened to him. For a few seconds I could see something...change inside of him, and it scared me."
"Something...changed?" Blue wasn't following. "What do you mean by that?"
Yellow shook her head, remembering that brief moment when she had seen something change. She remembered the look in his eyes, the hunger she had seen there. Looking back, she could almost remember the scent of blood which had filled the space for that moment. "I really don't know."
Blue looked down sadly at her empty cup and sighed. "Well even if there are moments when Red gets a bit...weird, does that make him a bad person? Do you still feel like you could be friends?"
"Of course," Yellow replied quickly, "he's still a good guy, I just...didn't know what to think when it happened."
"I see," Blue nodded, "in that case, let's get back out there. I know exactly what to get for the boys now."
Yellow raised an eyebrow at this. "So suddenly? What?"
Her friend chuckled knowingly. "You'll just have to see..."
-X-
"Finally," Gold panted. "Hours of hard labor and it's finally finished. We did it."
He gazed up at the construct before him-thirty feet of snow, tree branches and chunks of coal the size of softballs. His ultimate creation was finished.
"Isn't it beautiful, Silver?" He grinned proudly as he turned around, "I would go so far as to say that this is the greatest accomplishment we've ever...eh?"
Instead of the red-haired boy, Gold found only his own Pokemon team standing behind him. The six of them were huddled together, Explotaro's flames keeping them warm in the chill night air.
"He didn't even tell me he was leaving," Gold frowned, slightly hurt, "I mean, that's not unusual, but I thought this was going to be our accomplishment together..."
Explotaro yawned, looking up at the snowman. Gold nodded slowly as he followed his gaze. "Yeah, you've got a point there. I'm sure he still had fun making it."
The winter breeze sent a shiver up the black-haired boy's spine and he sighed. "Well we did good work. Time to head back home." A flash of red had his team returning to their pokeballs, leaving Gold to stand alone.
"Now I remember what I needed to do," he smiled, "I've got a special delivery to make."
Looking around to make sure nobody could see him, he pulled off his coat and spread his wings. A quick dash later, he was soaring away from his masterpiece.
There were more important tasks at hand.
-X-
Sapphire woke up the morning of Christmas Eve in excitement. Finally, today was the day the doctors would be releasing her from the hospital. She was growing so tired of the food, the smells and having nurses help her with things such as changing clothes and eating. The former was particularly embarrassing, especially with the hospital gowns patients were required to wear.
Her surroundings came into focus as she yawned. A few get-well cards sat on the table beside her, sent by family and friends. She especially liked the one Emerald had made, which included a hand or paw print from each of his Pokemon. She wasn't quite sure what the seventh one was supposed to be though. It looked like it might have been from a Mightyena or other doglike Pokemon. Maybe Emerald had found a new friend; she couldn't wait to find out.
Amid all of that, she noticed that something new was resting there. A small wrapped box was placed in the center of her little display which hadn't been there when she went to bed.
"Dad must have been here," she smiled, "well I'm sure he won't mind if I open this now."
Fingers moving gently, she peeled back the wrapping paper to reveal the cardboard box underneath. When the lid came off, she was shocked to see what was inside. Her father wasn't the most imaginative gift giver at the best of times, with some of his notable presents being a book about Pokemon anatomy, a dusty old Unovan tribal skirt that she had never worn, and a pile of-eww-fossilized Carracosta droppings. Never would he have thought to give her a pair of mittens.
They were a beautiful shade of blue and obviously hand-knitted. As she lifted them out to slip over her hands, she found that they were just the right size and not at all itchy. The most thoughtful part, in her opinion, was the scarlet thread in both gloves which formed her initials. Obviously, whoever had made these knew her very well. But who had done it? Mittens still on, she carefully searched the box and came up with a small card tucked into the side.
I know it's not much, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you. I look forward to seeing you when you get home. Merry Christmas!
The cursive letters were written in a scrawl which the girl had become quite familiar with in the last few months. The card had clearly been written by Ruby.
Holding the soft yarn of the gloves up to her face, she smiled. It was a start.
-X-
Red wasn't sure how it had happened, but someone had managed to sneak a present into the living room without him noticing. How had they gotten in without him or his mother hearing? It was almost as if the gift had just floated straight in through the window. But that was impossible, right?
In any case, he wasn't going to protest a free gift. Unable to restrain his curiosity, he carefully opened the package and looked inside. Sitting there was a small metal pendant in the shape of a crescent moon.
"Well that's odd," Red frowned, "I mean, it's cool, but who would have picked that out?"
He thought about it a bit more, then realized the answer was incredibly obvious. "Of all the tacky moves he could have pulled..."
Frowning, he marched outside, heading toward the Oak clinic. Within moments he was intercepted by the very person he was looking for.
"What is this supposed to be?" He frowned as Green approached. "Of all the random gifts someone could think of..."
"I ought to ask you the same question," Green huffed, pulling out a necklace of his own in the shape of a silver cross. "Were you trying to make fun of me with this?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Red shook his head. "I didn't get you anything."
"Trying to deny it now, are we?" Green's eyes seemed to glow with an eerie light. "And you're gonna try pinning this all on me? Not likely."
"I'm not sure I like your tone," Red snarled. "What say we take this somewhere else, wolf boy?"
"Bring it on, garlic-breath!" Green dashed forward, sending the two into a dash across town.
A few blocks away, something occurred to Yellow as she and Blue were walking home. "Hey, did you make sure we gave the right present to the right boy? We didn't label them and they both look the same."
"Don't worry," Blue shook her head confidently, "my memory is perfect; there's no way I mixed them up."
Both girls failed to notice the cloud of dust billowing up in the distance as two friends brawled together on Christmas Eve.
-X-
"This sucks," Crystal sighed, still cooped up in bed. "It's Christmas Eve and I can't even go out and do anything."
Mega's head drooped low. Clearly she was disappointed that she hadn't been able to help more.
"It's okay girl, I'd be a lot worse off if you weren't here to help out," Crystal reassured her, "you've done everything you could."
Feeling somewhat better, Mega settled back down contentedly beside her trainer's bed. It wasn't until a knock came at the door that any of them stirred.
"Mom will get it," Crystal said hurriedly as Chumee moved to jump off the bed. "Let's just relax for a bit."
Any thoughts she had of relaxing were quickly interrupted moments later when a knock came at her door.
"Are you up dear?" Her mother peeked her head around the edge of the door. "One of your friends brought you something."
"Oh?" she tried to sit up a bit more in he blanket-covered bed, "who was it?"
"They wanted it to be a surprise," her mother chuckled, bringing out a small wooden tray with a bowl on it. "And what a thoughtful gift, too. It looks like I'm not the only one who knows chicken soup is just the thing for a cold."
Crystal looked at the tray in surprise. "Someone made that for me?"
"Yep," her mother set the board down on Crystal's lap. "I'll leave this here for you. There's something else with it too."
As she stepped out, Crystal inspected the tray. Peeking out from behind the bowl was something soft and white. Further inspection revealed the object to be a long, beautiful feather. She smiled, knowing precisely who had made the soup.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Gold." She looked out the window, hoping faintly to catch a glimpse of the boy leaving. Far off in the distance, she thought a retreating speck might have been him, though it could just as easily have been a bird. In any case, she was happy to know that someone had remembered her today.
And that was the best gift of all.
FIN
Well that was fun! Just wanted to let you all know that I'm back early from my adventures, and to share the holiday spirit a bit. Hope you all enjoyed this special chapter, and I look forward to starting things up again. Hiatus is officially over, so feel free to send in questions and suggestions again.
Anyway, it's good to be back, and I'll see you all later!
