Teaching the Unpredictable 11

Yeah, it's a late chapter in terms of an update, but think of this as an early Christmas gift…or Hanukkah…Kwanza…or whatever it is that you celebrate.

This is only a Christmas Special as that and the next chapter would be way too long if combined.

This Occurs 3 YEARS IN THE FUTURE!

Happy Holidays everyone!

(The Star on Top)(Christmas Special)

Everyone was a frantic buzz as they prepared for the holidays. Some celebrated Kwanza and others celebrated Hanukkah, but most of the décor was Christmas related. It bugged some of the more religious folks in the pit but no one really ever brought it up.

However this year things were a little different. There were a few new recruits that had stirred something up…and it was going to be very messy.

~o~ Grendel ~o~

'After three years of doing this, you'd think everyone would be used to it.' I thought idly.

'You aren't the type of person people 'get used to'.' My subconscious yawned.

'Quiet you,' I scowled briefly, 'I think it's…natural.'

I was skipping down the hall which wasn't too out of the ordinary. But I was also dressed in a Santa hat along with an elf costume…which was kind of abnormal. However it wasn't in my nature to care about what others thought of me so naturally I wasn't going to. I skipped all the same into the small Rec Room kitchen and froze mid-skip.

"What the fuck happened to the cookies?!" I screeched.

There were crushed crumbs everywhere! Chocolate Chips were melted and splattered on the walls and powdered sugar was coating the counters. I walked forward just as I heard footsteps coming down the hallways.

"Grendel," Duke shouted, "Watch out for the-!"

Too late, my foot had already hit the wire causing a rapid fire of eggs to come out of nowhere. I squealed in shock and opened my eyes just in time to see the bag of flour hit me square in the chest and explode all over me. I spit and frantically tried to clear my vision…as the whole alpha team started falling into peals of laughter. I scowled and loomed over them in livid rage.

"Who the hell did this?! Who's the wise guy huh?" I screeched.

Everyone fell silent and began looking to one another with small smiles. However those smiles faded when after a few minutes no one had come forward. Fuming and waiting for an answer I waited a little longer before giving up. "You know what, screw this. I'll get all of you back for this." I seethed and stomped out the room leaving tiny white powder footprints in my wake. I stomped past Snake Eyes, not even caring to say hello or even stop to explain myself. He soon fell into step beside me, watching me from behind his mask undoubtedly amused, bewildered, and concerned.

I offered no explanation and instead walked down to the Beta level rooms to wash all of this shit off. He continued to follow me, not once leaving my side. As I entered my room and began peeling off clothes he then did wait outside as I showered. It took the entire bottle of my shampoo to get out every trace of egg and flour. I changed into a fresh pair of camouflage cargo pants, combat boots, black shirt and an army jacket.

I had lost weight since training with Snake Eyes, but still had some good weight. I turned and lifted my shirt to examine the scars. The tiny rivets still poked out of my back…but thankfully were in a controlled state of dormancy…thank god for that.

I walked outside and saw Snake Eyes waiting for me. He walked over and picked a stray egg shell out of my hair and throwing it aside before stepping back and tilting his head slightly to the left.

"Someone decided to be funny and pull a prank," I pouted, "They desecrated the kitchen, the cookies, and then decided to rig eggs to fire and a bag of flour to drop down on them. It sucked…and I still don't know who did it."

Snake Eyes drummed his fingers on my shoulder sympathetically. I shrugged him off and walked down the hall. He followed after, probably still having questions. He tapped my shoulder and signed, 'Why are you still upset?'

"I haven't pulled a prank in months…" I growled, "And I certainly don't do things like that."

He tilted his head so I elaborated. "At least I keep it between myself and whoever was the intended recipient. If they tell someone else that's their business…but I don't…humiliate the person." I grimaced, "I hate being laughed at."

'What about the one guy you glued to his staff?'

"Okay he threw me off the catwalk the day before and into the aquatic equipment testing pools. I think he deserved that one." I huffed defensively.

Snake Eye shook in barely detected amusement. I swatted the ninja's shoulder in retaliation…only for him to catch my hand and pull me into his arms. I sighed and rested my head against his chest. I had to admit I was addicted to the black clad man's body heat. He smiled too…I could tell.

"So what do you celebrate?" I asked him when we parted, "For the holidays and such?"

'Well…we don't celebrate it the same way.' He thought for a moment as we walked, 'We actually celebrate Christmas Eve more than the actual day. Even then, it's not for a religious purpose; more for spreading good will as most of us aren't Christian. So, back in Japan we celebrated the Eve and treated it a lot like Valentine's Day…it's a day of showing the love for an individual…a girlfriend or wife to be exact. We still exchange gifts…but we hold more importance in O' Shogatsu, New Year's in Japan. I think that we hold it at a higher standard than Christmas.'

"So you treat Christmas Eve like Valentine's Day…Christmas Day is usually low key and a mellow day of generosity…and then you go ballistic for O' Shogatsu?" I counted off on my fingers.

'You could be a tad less crude with the summarization.' He signed a bit wearily.

I blinked and then went red with embarrassment. I had to get the bluntness under control. "Sorry, I mean…it doesn't sound all that bad actually. I kind of wish America was like that…" I murmured.

'Isn't it already like that?' he signed in bemusement.

"For some lucky families I suppose," I mused, "but I grew up around a large family where Christmas Eve was a time for splitting into groups and getting gifts with the rest of the late last-minute shoppers."

Snake Eyes laughed silently. 'Wouldn't that ruin the whole Santa…thing…?' he asked.

"No, up until I was nine I was convinced my dad was a secret double agent of Santa," I paused, "I wasn't all that aware of the whole military shindig yet…I actually convinced my fourth grade class too when he saved an upperclassman who fell trying to climb a tree to show off. So instead of being normal and going with the whole 'my-dad's-a-ninja' aspect, I remembered when I saw him setting out the presents last year, put two and two together, and managed to convince them all he was a secret Santa spy agent."

Snake Eyes stared at me for a long time and I met his gaze with my own blank one. "If I'm like this now what do you think I was like as a child?" I dead-panned.

Snake Eyes just shook his head and we once again began to walk and talk.

~o~ The Next Day ~o~ (Christmas Eve)

The best part about Christmas Eve, is that the world usually doesn't need to be saved from utter destruction. Storm Shadow often wrote letters to Snake Eyes now that he was doubling for us, and briefly mentioned that Firefly, in all his sadistic glory, was a Christmas extremist. We shouldn't have to worry too much according to Storm. So I had planned on sleeping in…until a scream from upstairs ever so rudely woke me up.

I responded with a strangled cry of my own as my nose connected with the steel flooring. I growled out in annoyance at whoever was indecent enough to do that. Taking a glance at my alarm clock I groaned. It was four o'clock. I pulled a jacket on over my sports bra and stormed out the door and upstairs to the Rec Room in that and some black spandex. Whatever chewing out I was going to do died in my throat as I saw what had happened. The day before Christmas Eve was usually spent putting up and decorating a tree for the Alpha team's room. The same for most Rec Rooms…they set up whatever was the most dominant religion in the squad. Most of the beta squad celebrated Hanukkah so I usually just came up here and helped the Alphas.

However it seemed like all our work was for nothing. The tree was on its side and its branches were crushed. Not only that, but the lights were snipped, the ornaments were crushed, the tinsel was shredded and the star…I knew that it was a family Christmas heirloom of Lady Jay's.

Said woman was on the floor holding the mangled mass of metal no longer recognizable as a star and crying over her lost and sentimentally precious possession. Scarlett and Flint held the mourning woman and she merely let the star drop from her fingers and ran from the room. I looked on sadly at her. When I looked back I saw everyone looking at me with angry expressions.

"What…?" I asked.

"How could you…?" Scarlett seethed.

My own temper flared. "You think I did this…?" I snarled, "I would never…ever…do something this terrible."

"You did say you'd get us all back yesterday." Ripcord retorted, naturally siding with his girlfriend.

I gave them in an exasperated look. "Yeah, in the form of stuffing pudding in your boots." I snapped lowly.

They looked unconvinced. "Why would I do this?" I noticed Snake Eyes in the corner, "Snakes?" I pleaded.

He turned his head away and I bit my lip. Backing away, I scowled and turned to walk back to my room. Why...why of all people would Snake Eyes not believe me…? That was a low blow…especially for him. The cold shoulder was rather frosty from him…I let out another growl and just as I quickened my pace I felt a hand grab my arm. I turned to see Lady Jay surprisingly.

"I know you didn't do it," she said shakily, "I'm sorry for all of this. But," she handed me the mangled star, "Could you fix it?"

"I can try…how did you know I didn't do it?" I asked.

"I screamed because I saw the guy fleeing the scene," she then laughed through her tears, "Then I heard you squawking beneath when you fell."

"Oh…" I murmured, "I'll, uh, do my best." I gestured to the star.

"Thank you, and um…don't be mad at Snake Eyes." She smiled, "He wasn't…that wasn't him."

"Pardon me?" I double took.

"That was Duke…we uh, we stole his suit while you two were talking the other day."

"Why?"

"Duke wanted to get back at him for when he cut the butt out of all his jeans for April 1st. Then he dragged me into it too." She smiled.

"Ah…that was…that's kinda…" I trailed off.

"Weird."

"Yeah."

We fell silent before laughing together. "Does he have another suit?" I asked.

"We took his extras and the backups of his extras to Maudy…"

"The sewing girl in Management?"

"Yup."

I laughed and smiled at her. "Seeya later Jay." I waved.

"Bye," she replied and ran down the hall.

~o~ Lunchtime ~o~

I had made about thirty trips around base before lunch rolled around. God, trying to get supplies was impossible around the pit. After completing that and dropping off the star with Shannon, I ran pages for the workers and logged some information for later uses. It was interesting when you got to learn all those secrets everyone wanted to know but couldn't. Government could be a pretty fun bitch depending on where you were at in terms of vocation.

I did notice a certain lack of a black-clad ninja throughout the day though. I had to assume that meant Duke and Lady Jay hadn't been kidding after all. I felt bad for him, as he never really went out of his room without at least his mask…

And his bodysuit, weapons, backups, and some light medicine just in case…

I sighed as I got a tray from the cafeteria and began going down the halls to his room. Being secretive and shit was probably just Snake Eyes being Snake Eyes…or a ninja thing in general. One had to wonder what they did for fun as kids. If you live in a strict temple and are learning 'the ways of the ninja' as Ripcord put it, I'd imagine it'd have to be pretty…harsh for lack of a better word.

'Do you honestly think he'll let you in?' my subconscious piped up.

'Why wouldn't he?' I replied idly.

'Jesus,' she moaned, 'he doesn't want to be seen. That's why he's staying in his room.'

'I'm just bringing him some food.' I argued.

'There's a good chance he wouldn't even open the door…not even if you were Scarlett.'

'Now would be a good time to pipe down.' I hinted in annoyance at that little insinuation.

I made it to the ninja's front doors…yes doors with an s'. I briefly knocked on the doors and waited. There weren't even any sounds indicating movement. I sighed. "Snake's, open up…I've got food." I said.

There still weren't any answers. With a disgruntled huff I switched tactics. "Hello, food? As in they have pizza up for grabs today…?" I knocked.

After a few minutes without even a small scuttle I once again switched tactics. "SCARLETT!"

"WHAT?!"

"GET THE FLAMETHROWER!"

"…WHY?"

"SNAKE EYES WON'T EAT!"

"ONE MOMENT!"

I smirked with satisfaction when the door opened up to reveal the ninja himself bare to the world save for a pair of underwear and shorts. Blonde hair and narrowed blue eyes were beautiful features that complimented him. However he was still using medicine for the disfigurement. It was healing up nicely and since about eleven months of treatment had passed already his face was beginning to reshape itself to its former looks.

There weren't many things I found wrong with the disfigurement from personal experience…however in my case it hadn't been near as bad. A ripped and torn back was a lot easier to hide and deal with than severe facial disfigurement…but I wanted to be just as understanding.

He glared at me and raised an eyebrow until I presented him with the pizza. His eyes lit up, unhidden and everything. However the time span of it was rather short, he quickly hid his delight…I usually took every opportunity to make him smile I got…which were far and few in between. He snatched it up and slammed the door shut; slammed right in my face to be exact. Just seconds later Scarlett came charging down the hall with a big-ass flamethrower and fully equipped gear…goggles, gloves, even a fire-retardant ponytail…the whole shebang.

"Um, sorry Scarlett…you were a bit too late…" I chuckled sheepishly.

"Aw man…" she growled, "I guess I can just go drag Tech out of his lab since I'm all decked out anyway." She mumbled and wandered back down the hall.

I sighed with a small smile and walked down to the other levels only to hear more crying. I raced down the halls and to the Beta Hall Rec Room. I stopped at the sight of Cipher on the floor crying like Jay had the other night. She was curled up on the floor hugging her knees to her chest as tears rolled down her face. Cipher rarely came out of the holodeck or the programming labs, which was her major contribution in the military. She wasn't a very tough girl emotionally, so many found themselves protective of the woman.

I was no different.

"Erin," I gasped, "Are you alright?"

She shook her head and choked back a sob. "S-someone broke the M-Menorah…" she cried and pointed to the snapped candle holder.

"They also p-put out the flames and stole the oil…" she wailed as she fled the room.

"Whatever bitch did this…" I vowed, "Is going to pay."

I bolted for the stairs. Feet pounding against the linoleum, I pumped my legs faster and faster.

"Hey, watch it!" a voice shouted but it was too late.

I smacked into whoever it was and sent us both crashing down to the bottom of the stairwell. I landed on the mystery man and he grunted in annoyance. He immediately shoved me off and I yelped and backed away at the sight of the white-clad man.

"S-Storm Shadow?" I asked.

"Who else would I be?" he snapped.

"S-sorry…we're just having a bit of a crisis…" I sighed as he restarted his walk up the stairs.

He paused and looked at me. "I doubt it is a serious 'crisis'."

I stuck my middle finger up at him and scowled. "Someone's trying to sabotage Christmas…and Hanukkah…and maybe Kwanza." I bit my lip and put my hand down.

"Put that finger up again and you will not have it anymore." He threatened.

I ignored him. "Someone destroyed Lady Jay's Star, broke into the Alpha Rec Room and desecrated the cookies and decorations, pulled a prank on me," he opened his mouth to make a remark but I ignored him, "And now they broke Cipher's heart by snapping her Menorah into pieces…" I paused, "The poor girl fled the room in tears."

He stiffened. "Is she alright?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" I teased.

"I don't," he snarled.

"Mmhmm," I grinned.

"…If you say a word of this," he began.

"My lips are sealed…but on one condition." I wagered.

"I could just kill you." He growled and was suddenly holding his sword to my throat.

I hardly blinked. "But you're not going to so here's the thing," I backed up and began to think, "We need to catch this guy."

"Who said I was helping?" he roared.

"I did, now let's go Snow Boy." I yanked him to the doors by his hood.

~o~ Main Cafeteria ~o~

'Note to self, never grab Storm Shadow by the hood…ever.' I mentally lectured myself.

'I wonder if it's broken.' My subconscious sighed.

'I hope not…' I sighed and nursed my throbbing wrist.

Storm Shadow came out of the Kitchen and sat down across from me. "It's the same story in here. The cookies were smashed and all the ingredients are missing." He muttered.

"Storm Shadow…?" a small voice came from the doorway.

Erin, or Cipher, stood there with a small shy blush on her cheeks. She hesitantly walked forward and I noticed an almost undetectable blush on Storm's face. "What are you doing at the base?" she asked.

"I um, I'm helping Ghost find the guy that…" he trailed off.

"We're trying to find the guy who's been destroying the decorations and stuff." I butted in.

"Oh," he eyes lit up, "Are you going to stay for long?"

"Maybe…" he said lowly.

"If you can, please stop by," she leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek, "Thank you for helping Grendel. It means a lot to all of us." She began walking into the kitchen. "Bye, you two."

"We're splitting up." Storm Shadow declared.

"Why?"

"To cover more ground."

"…Are you whipped?"

*SMACK*

"FUCKING HELL!"

~o~ That Night ~o~

I sighed in defeat. We hadn't managed to catch the guy who had destroyed everything…It sucked so much. Everyone seemed on edge and in low spirits. No one had managed to catch the guy before he struck the Omega Levels. They were giving up too. They had also destroyed all of the ornaments that the Delta Scientists had made.

"The only thing left is the tree…" I sighed.

'Screw sleeping, we should guard the tree.' My subconscious suggested.

"You're right," I agreed aloud, "Let's do it."

I hopped out of bed and pulled on my boots before bolting to the lifts. As I began the decent I thought back to everything. No one had attacked the Omega or the Delta Rec Rooms…it made one wonder…

The life suddenly jerked to a halt and opened up to the pitch black darkness of the unlit man deck. I darted behind some shipments and began my stakeout. It didn't take long for something to happen…it wasn't exactly what I was expecting it to be though. A black clad hand shot over my mouth and dragged me against the wall. I struggled and silently kicked until a familiar drumming on my shoulder registered. I looked up to see none other than Snake himself.

I glared and smacked his shoulder. He raised a finger to his lips and moved me over a little. He pointed toward the unlit tree. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but when they did I had to swallow my gasp. I frantically looked around until I spotted the emergency light switch. I jabbed Snake with my elbow and pointed. He nodded and stood. Lunging and hopping from box to box in a silent and deadly way, I found myself mesmerized. It was hypnotic to watch what ninjas really did when out of your range of vision.

He got to the switch and I flicked on the breaker box beside me. After a generic 'thumb up' signal he flipped the large hand-switch and shuttered the lights on. We both looked on in shock at the sight of about forty to fifty men and women from the GI Joe surrounded by the shattered remains of the tree ornaments.

"You guys have a lot of explaining to do." I said and they all looked away in shame.

~o~ Christmas Day ~o~ 3 AM ~o~

"For the last time, why were you trying to ruin everyone's holiday?" Hawk thundered.

The guilty crews were still chained up in front of the tree surrounded by angry members of the team. "It's your fault!" a new voice piped up.

A young woman stood up along with an even younger boy. It wasn't an uncommon practice for certain locals to be brought in for translation and mapping that couldn't just be found and kept accurate.

"How is this our fault?!" a random man from the crowd shouted.

The boy spoke up, seeming to gain his courage. "You pulled that nasty prank on us last year! None of you stopped…" tears formed, "None of you helped…none of you showed a smidgen of respect for the pain you caused." He yelled.

The crowd shrunk back. I did too. He had a point.

It was tradition to pull a Christmas prank on the new recruits but last year things got out of hand. Something went wrong. Originally everyone was supposed to be led on a wild goose chase ending in them all getting soaked in ice water and snow…but it all went wrong. Kiahk was a time in January that the Egypt people celebrated Christmas…well their version of it. But due to the lack of time and dependability, they had to celebrate it with the others which explained why the girl and boy were also upset with us.

The whole thing ended up snapping the items for the holiday and soaking the food for their festival. They had all been crushed…people had gotten hurt.

And we all had just laughed. No wonder they were pissed.

This was revenge.

Hawk fell silent and everyone followed suit. I sighed and on a spontaneous spur of determination I latched on to Snake and made my way into the circle of people. With everyone now focused on us it was hard to stay serious and keep my cool. I knelt down and undid the chains of one group and helped them up to their feet.

"You know what," I stuck out my hand, "We deserved that. Good job kid, you made us look like fools."

He gave me a wary look before taking my hand and shaking it. "Thank you," he nodded.

That seemed to open the floodgates. Everyone began following that example and flowing into the circle. They let them out of their chains and exchanged apologies or expressed anger at some of the extremities that had occurred in both instances. I leaned against Snake Eye's side and smiled softly. "I'm just glad this is all over." I smiled.

He looked down at me and signed something. I grinned. "Opening our presents while everyone's distracted," I considered, "Oh hell, what are we waiting for?"

I laughed as we both snuck away from the chaos to cause some Christmas mischief of our own.

~o~

4,108 words and eleven pages later this baby is complete! Over the course of three days no less! I hope you guys enjoyed and have a happy holiday!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!

Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate!

Good Tidings to those who celebrate Kwanza!

For the Next one…Blame Google Translate

Merīkurisumasu and Shiawasena Kyūjitsu to those is Japan...!

Well, for whatever you celebrate,

Have a great December,

Songbird 0.o