Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon (luckily, because I'd completely mess it up). In addition I don't own the main idea for this FanFiction either, as it has been greatly inspired by maydei's oneshot "The Truth will prevail", which is amazingly written, so make sure to give it a read ^^
Other than that, Merry Christmas (and a happy new year) and I hope you'll like this (rather short) "Christmas special".
Too Little Colours To Describe The World
Chapter 7
"Christmas special"
Goldstars and red apples don't make a christmas
Legs were moving, nails were being bitten, hands were fiddling with sleeves. Curious eyes were dancing from one light to another and soft music was playing in the background.
It was Christmas. And it was almost present time.
Now, Touko, ever the curious, had already figured out what she was going to get (her mom should get better at hiding things). She was pretty happy (though it wasn't a Pokémon or Pokéball, so that was a bummer!) with what she was going to unpack, however, that wasn't the main cause for her excitement (After all, the suspension was alread gone. Right?).
The most amazing thing wasn't the presents that she'd get not all too soon.
It was the one presenting them.
It had been two years ago when Cheren had arrogantly announced that Santa Claus wasn't real and, of course, he had backed it up with scientific evidence. Or, well, he had dubbed it scientific evidence. Touko's mother, not having any of that, quickly pointed out that he hadn't used any real data. And therefore, it was more of a hypothesis. Plus, who knew, maybe Santa Claus used Palkia or Dialga to help him bend space-time? He couldn'T possibly prove that, right?
Well, Cheren had quickly rebuked that those two were as non-existent as Santa Claus himself. Though, he had been thrown into quite the turmoil at this argument (the fact their existence was confirmed just three years later made it even funnier).
Anyway.
Bianca and Touko had obviously listened to their friend's hypothesis and of course, neither had been particularly happy about it. Bianca had been on the verge of crying and Touko had simply pointed out that he was wrong, because, well, he was Cheren.
So yeah. They had gotten into quite a fight. Which had ended in Touko promisingto get some real evidence. Thus, the three had parted ways and on one snowy evening it was finally time to put Santa's reality to test.
Touko had simply tried to rip off Santa's beard. She succeeded and revealed a rather unbearded person beneath it, also known as her very own father.
Cheren had gotten his own evidence too, by finding out the exact time when "his" Santa magically appeared in his living room and the one of the other two girls did and then comparing the time. Whatever space-time magic he had access to, this was impossible. Right? Right? What exactly were Palkia's and Dialga'S powers? Maybe he could find out...
It was sufficient to say that none of the three believed their parents afterwards anymore. Although Bianca was in denial for at least three months, until Touko and Cheren managed to debunk the existence of an Egg-bringing Easter-Buneary too. Hard times indeed, for poor Bianca.
Their parents had tried to be furious, but, oh well, you really couldn't blame them, could you?
But whatever. No Santa Claus meant her dad was coming home tonight.
She didn't have to wait for much longer, she knew as much. The clock was ticking and he was already ten minutes late. Not, that that wasn't her dad's typical behaviour.
Soon Touko's mother entered the room, dragging a bag filled with presents (mainly candy though) behind her, for dramatic effect. She was even wearing a white beard (that's called commitment!). Of course, Touko had been a bit confused by that, but then again, she really wanted that new doll and thus, she ignoratnly jumped up and rushed to her personal Mrs. Santa. Her mother barely had the time to put the presents beneath the Christmas tree before Touko had fallen upon them, demanding to be allowed to rip the wrapping paper apart like an angry mankey on steroids.
Touko didn't even notice her mother's sad smile while she happily opened her gifts.
Five minutes and the carefully wrapped presents were not so carefully wrapped anymore and Celine made her daughter put away the shreds.
Another five minutes later and Touko finally realized what exactly didn't feel right.
"Where's dad?"
The girl's voice was filled with so much childish innocence, although, if one listened close enough, and her mother did, one could hear this wavering sound of...fear. She even put her new doll away.
A sad smile crept upon Celine's lips and for a moment she faltered. She really had hoped her daughter would simply...forget. But she hadn't. Arceus, how was she going to…
"Listen, sweetie, it's..."
Her voice got lost in a deep sigh as she knelt down, in front of her daughter who had already cast aside all her new toys in favor of her hands. Her blue eyes looked at her mother fearfully but there were no tears just yet. After all, she didn't accept the truth just yet.
Celine sighed again. And then she pulled out her Pokétch.
"You see...Dad...Dad's right here!"
She pointed onto the black screen. Touko followed her finger rather unimpressed. Then she frowned.
"But he's going to come, right?"
Celine's Pokétch fell to the floor. She bit her lips. Looked away from her daughter.
"Mo..."
"Sweetie, I...I told you that he wouldn't be able to make it..."
Celine felt so bad. But he had really tried to make it. He really had. However, Sinnoh's snowstorms were to be reckoned with and whatever miracles Christmas movies liked to portray...no airline would fly in that storm.
"But...You say that every year. Every year!"
Touko scrambled to her feet, knocking over her new doll in the process.
"He's coming, Mom, right, Mom? He has to!"
Celine's eyes fell to her hands, neatly folded in her lap.
"Not...Not this year, Sweetie."
Again, she bit her lip. Arceus, she had to get rid of th…
"But...It's Christmas!"
Another sigh. Another injured lip.
"I know, darling."
And then she simply hugged her daughter.
"It's Christmas!"
"Yes. Yes, it is."
"He's going to come, right? He has to come, mom! He has to!"
"Lady Concordia?", a shy voice whispered. Surprised, the young woman turned around, her eyes searching for the source of the words. She quickly found it, barely inside the room and pressed against the door frame. The blonde sighed melancholically and put aside the book she had just grabbed when her eyes fell upon the small shilouhette desperately trying to hide behind his hair. Then her expression softened and a sincere smile played around her lips. Swift steps brought her closer to the scared boy hugging the wall, who was intently watching the waving seam of her dress.
"What is it, N?", she asked, bowing down a bit once she had reached him. He was still uncomfortable around humans, although it had already been a full year since Ghetsis had declared him his adopted son. Though, considering the shade of his hair, many believed there to be more than just a simple adoption.
Not, that Concordia headed such rumours. That was more Anathea's cup of tea.
For a second the boy just starred at her frightened, like a deer caught in headlights, before he remembered the things...father had told him.
Oh how he remembered.
He tried to stand up as straight as he could. He tried to stop his hands from shaking. He even tried to look the woman in the eyes, but soon gave up his endeavours. Ghetsis wasn't around after all, right? But what if the walls had eyes…
"The...I…The grunts...I was wondering...", he said. He didn't really know how to phrase things. Talking still felt weird and Ghetsis had told him that he couldn't just talk like "normal" humans.
he was a prince after all.
"Don't worry so much", Concordia softly said. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, trying to assure him. Immediately, he flinched.
Her hand retreated and a sad smile took over her face.
"It's fine. You don't need to be careful around Anathea and me, remember?"
"But Ghetsis..."
"Ghetsis isn't here, is he?", her soft voice inquired. Now she fully knelt down, trying to look into the boy's eyes, but failing to do so. He tried to hide behind his hair and once again Concordia decided they should buy him a cap of some sort.
"Don't worry so much, N. Trust me."
She extended a hand and he regarded it. For a slip second she believed he would actually take it. But N was N and Ghetsis was Ghetsis and Traumas were Traumas.
He shied away.
Concordia sighed another time. Well, at least he finally dared to ask his question.
"What are all the grunts talking about?"
"Huh?"
"The grunts...they're all talking about this thing and I..."
N stopped mid-sentence. He stepped further back. His father had told him asking questions about humans was taboo for him at the moment. He shouldn't get the wrong idea after all. He was scared. But it was so weird and he really wanted to know and Zorua and he had always wondered what those lights were about and...
"Do you mean Christmas?", Concordia asked, knowing full well what the grunts were talking about. Team Plasma didn't have an official Christmas celebration, so the grunts had, more or less, secretly organized their own. Everyone was excited. But really, the only reason Ghetsis allowed it was because some of the sages themselves attended.
N's silence was answer enough.
"Christmas is a celebration. It originates from a religion I'm sure you'll learn more about during your lessons at some point."
She tried to smile when she saw his eyes light up.
"But for most people it's just a day to celebrate coming together with your family. Young children get some gifts, you meet your family and friends..."
Now, N's eyes started to look mesmerized.
"...you have a nice dinner. All that sort of things. However, of course, it's not all that cheerful on the inside..."
Ghetsis had told Anathea and her plenty of times about their mission. They were to raise N and they were to make sure he didn't ignorantly believe in the shiny and beautiful surface of human society. They had to tell him about everything. And Concordia wanted to, she really did, but then….she hesitate.
It just didn't seem fair. Seeing him all get excited at the simply mention of "friends and family"...She didn't want to ruin this for him.
So she didn't.
"It's fun. Really."
She smiled again. Whatever had happened to him, he was merely a child. N seemed to be deep in thought after she had finished speaking and Concordia was about to turn away, when his shy voice asked another question.
"Do...do you think I will get presents?"
Her heart sunk.
"They….You see N…No. But Christmas isn't about presents, after all. Right?"
Another smile. N's stares was evidently analysing it to figure out why it looked so weird.
And then he asked another question. This one broke her heart. The boy was a prisoner in his own castle.
But really it was Ghetsis'.
"Do you think father will let me play with my friends?"
Another sigh. She turned away. Sometimes she wondered what Ghetsis really wanted.
"No. I don't think he will."
It was late evening when Celine found her daughter sitting in the living room. All her new toys were spread out in front of her. And a lot (a lot) of wrapping paper.
"Sweetheart, what are you doing?"
"I'm re-wrapping my presents."
"Yes, I see that. But why?"
She stopped to stand next to her and looked down at her daughter's tiny hands, struggling with some tape.
"It's not Christmas without dad, so I'm re-wrapping them. If it's not Christmas, I shouldn't get presents."
There was this childish determination in her voice that made Celine smile once more.
She loved her daughter.
She truly did.
"Sweetheart, you can't...We can't move Christmas just like that..."
"Why not? You said dad can't come because of a snowstorm!"
Now her daughter looked up at her, open mouth and wide-eyes. Of course they could move Christmas. HTey had moved her birthday once too, so wehre lay the problem?
Celine sighed. And then she sat down next to her daughter, clumsily trying to wrap a Lego-set.
"I know, but...He has an appointment with Candice and won't be able to come home this winter."
At once, Touko dropped the package in her hand and starred at her mom.
"But...Why not?"
Celine bit her lips. This was more difficult than she had expected.
"It's...complicated, sweetie. That's all."
And when she saw her daughter's eyes fill with sorrow, she added:
"But you've got me, right?"
It was a sad evening for N. He could hear all the grunts and from what he had learned so far, they were excited.
He wanted to be excited to. And he was. In a weird way.
Most importantly, it was in vain though. There was nothing to be excited about. There were no celebrations. N had just been send to his room by his latest tutor. There was nothing else for him to do and Ghe...Father didn't want him to leave his room. It was too dangerous, according to him.
And there was nothing to do. He had already read the books he had been given.
So N did what he did best. Counting. He had even figured out a way how to count until 1023 with just ten fingers!
He had been doing just that for quite some time (he came all the way to 873!), when he heard rustling outside the window, leading to nowwhere but darkness.
N had never known humans lived beneath the earth. Or, that some did. It always perplexed him. There weren't many Normal-type Pokémon that did that.
But regardless, it made him miss his old home. He wanted to see the trees and bushes and flowers again, but all he had were ugly pictures and weird, long names, that tried to describe reality. His teacher had told him everything could be described.
N didn't agree with that. His tutor had told them he'd change his mind eventually.
Anyway. The rustling was weird. So, he decided to check out the source of noise. He found it fairly soon.
It was Zorua.
His best friend, Zorua. Standing there, outside his window, scratching at it, begging to be let in. A few other Pokémon were accompanying him. He recognized some of them, some others he had never seen bevore. Not that it mattered. Pokémon were friends, or rather, most were.
N's breath hitched. And then his eyes lit up and he frantically searched for a way to open the window.
Eventually he found one.
"What are you doing here?!", N whispered once his friends had made their way into his room, nervously glancing at the door leading to the hallway. Ghet...Father had told him he wasn't allowed to let Pokémon into the castle. He had tried to do so several times.
At some point, he had started to regret it.
"Remember the lights we always talked about?", his black-furred friend answered, ears twitching.
"We wanted to know more about those lights!"
Zorua send out pictures of kids, happily playing in the snow and of trees lighting up the winter night.
Of course N remembered. They had always wanted to know what all of it was about. And now he did.
Somehow, it made him feel sad. But his friends were here! Right?
"Why are there no lights here?"
Zorua's question pushed N back to reality. His heart sank. Why not? Ghetsis hadn't told him why he wasn't allowed to celebrate Christmas. He hadn't said anything about why celebrating things was bad, but maybe Lady Concordia had made it out to be a bigger deal than it really was…MAybe she had lied? Humans lied a lot, right? G...Father had said so. And lying was bad.
Though, he didn't think Lady Concordia was bad. She seemed nice. Of all the humans, he liked her and Anathea most. But what if they were just a cruel as all the other humans Ghetsis talked about so often...
The boy's obvious sadness washed over Zorua in an unexpected intensity and the Fox-Pokémon quickly decided to switch the topic away a bit.
"But do you know why the humans are always so excited?"
Zorua sat down in front of his friend. The old man had always told them how much Green Hair would learn if he came along. So eventually, his best friend had given in. It was only supposed to be for a few hours each day. But, well...The man started demanding more. And he started talking. He started talking about the world. The evil humans.
And how it was Green Hair's duty so save it.
And again, N eventually gave in.
But at least he was going to find out stuff for them!
"It's...It's for a celebration I think. It's about family and friends and presents...", he said. Out loud. The moment the boy realized, he felt his cheeks heating up and for a second, Zorua just looked at him confused. Then he started laughing. And all the others joined in. Even N, after he had nervously scratched his neck.
At some point, they all stopped and the ever so curious Zorua just couldn't help but ask:
"But, if it's about friends, then where are yours?"
and at first it seemed as if N would lose he newfound joy in that instant. But then he realized that he knew exactly where his friends were.
"Right in front of me."
It was fun. They were having fun. Just like in all times. But N's palace wasn't meant to be a place for fun and the walls did indeed have eyes. That once in a while checked on the young prince.
Ghetsis was furious when he saw the wild brat in his room, surrounded by Pokémon, acting like he had when the sage had first found him.
He had thought the boy to be above such things by now. Hadn't he given him a name? Hadn't he give him a place to stay?
The sage was disgusted.
And so he took action.
Quickly he had assembled a few loyal subjects. Just as quickly they had marched towards N's room. And just like that, the happy family gathering was broken up. WIth cursing and shouting and the sounds of heavy boots.
The doors burst open. Ghetsis' one eye sparked with anger as he strode towards his son with heavy steps.
"Did I not tell you how to behave?", he hissed, as he grabbed N by the collar. Instantly, the assembled Pokémon scattered as soldiers tried to chase them away. Most fled through the window.
Not all though.
One of them decided to hide beneath the bed.
"Did I not tell you you're not allowed to interact with Pokémon?!"
The man's voice made the boy quiver in fear. What, how...No. No, no, no, he should have known…
The man starred his son in the eyes, anger and disgust being the only words he was saying that N could truly make out.
What was wrong, it was just a small gathering, why couldn't he…
"DID I NOT?!"
Ghetsis started shaking the boy, trying to get some kind of answer from this infuriating child other than his blank and inhuman eyes starring back at him.
Of course, Ghetsis couldn't hear him apologize. And at some point N was too scared to even think of that. All he could think of were his friends.
He felt them running away. He saw some of them trying to evade the grunts. His shaking intensified.
"TALK TO ME!", his father roared, as he started to pull him away from the carpet he was sitting on.
And while he was scrambling to get to his feet, he could, for a split second, see his best friend's blue eyes glowing in the shadows.
Zorua hadn't left.
Yet.
"Please don't leave!", he whispered, as the door came closer and everyone else had been scared off. But his friend didn't answer and lowered himself deeper into the shadows.
"Please don't leave, Zorua! Please don't leave!", N started to frantically called out as he got dragged him away. And of course, Ghetsis didn't hear him. They shared the same name. But they didn't share the same gift.
Panic stricken Zorua watched his friend getting pulled along by this man, claiming to care about him. It was terrible to see. If he were a Zoroark, he'd attack that man.
But he wasn't. And his friend was long gone while all he could do was cower in the shadows. And his friend's words rang in his ears.
Please don't leave.
"No, never", Zorua answered, hoping, that somehow is words would reach the frightened boy.
"NO. NEVER!"
"We really shouldn't wake him this late in the evening...", Concordia whispered, but Anathea was having none of it. She intentionally made the door creak as she opened it and sneaked into the lavishly decorated room.
It looked like a study, for someone in a position of power. For someone like Ghetsis. There was no sign of it being inhabited by a child. Other than the sobbing, coming from the other side of the room.
Anathea had never been happier that she had made a secret copy of the sage's key.
"You see! He's not even asleep in the first place!"
She pulled her sister into the dark room and closed the door again, locking it from the inside.
Anathea enjoyed defying Ghetsis' orders. She just didn't like doing it openly.
The two sisters weren't the first ones tasked with raising this child.
The sobbing stopped. The boy was probably too scared of whoever had entered the room and tried to still his breathing, though he did not quite succeed in that.
Anathea almost chuckled. Almost. Then she remembered why N behaved that way and she stopped herself.
"Come on now! We're scaring him!", she said, before making her way through an empty room. Once she had reached the bed, she sat down at its edge and softly whispered the boy's name, hoping hhe would trust them, after half a year, that he would finally trust them...
"N. N. I know you're awake."
His reaction wasn't the one she had hoped for. First he froze and when she reached out to push his blanket aside he fled to the other side of the bed, his grey eyes looking at the woman fearfully. She sighed.
"I told you we should give him some space...", Concordia murmured. However, she followed her sister suit nonetheless and looked at the pair of eyes starring at them underneath covers, made from silk.
They boy's cheeks were red and whether that was because of Ghetsis or because of crying, neither of the sisters knew.
Ghetsis' beating never got too bad – at least, not in his perspective. He would never scar his future thing, he argued. Never.
How utterly ironic.
"Hey. N. Remember how Concordia told you about Christmas?", Anathea asked, before producing a small package seemingly out of thin air. It was wrapped in a white paper sheet and bound by nothing but a red ribbon, seemingly taken from one of the woman's wardrobe.
"We brought you a present!"
She smiled. She knew he was scared, but she also knew he didn't dislike them.
There was just this knowledge that he didn't.
N had always admired Anathea's smile. It was the most sincere thing he had ever seen – courtesy of growing up with a trickster Pokémon. He was automatically drawn to it and the present...was so intriguing. He had never seen something like that before, other than from afar. It beckoned him to come closer.
And so, after quite some consideration, N left his protective layer of blankets and cautiously grabbed the package.
He retreated once he had it, but he never fully returned to his own castle.. Not unlike a wild Pokémon snatching berries from one's hand.
N looked at the present in wonder, unsure of what to do. He liked the way the ribbon looked. The pattern...There was something so precise about it…
But both women encouraged him to open it. And so he did.
Carefully he opened it, making sure to not break the paper in the process and then, finally, he revealed a…
Cap. A simple cap. He looked at the two women. What was…
"It's a cap", Concordia said, guessing his thoughts,"You can put it on your head."
He stared at her for a moment. The way she sat there and smiled...She seemed sad. Was she sad? She communicated sad things, but then again, he knew humans didn't use the right way to talk to each other. Was she really sad? The other woman seemed to behave differently, her eyes looked different and for some reason, so did her smile. She sat up straight and her sister didn't and something was off.
Was the woman trying to hurt him? Was this really just a simple piece of clothing, was this…
"Here, let me help you", Anathea said. She picked up the cap and moved closer, just to put the item on his head and arranging his hair properly. Then she pat his head and gave him a bright smile.
"You see. It's just a cap. Nothing to worry about."
N saw her smile, of course, and felt as if it posed a question to which he had to response. So, he tried. He tried to smile. It was a weird smile, him barring his teeth at all, and it failed to reach his eyes, but the two girls would take it, no matter what. Anathea even chuckled, before snatching his hand and pulling him closer.
"It's like we're having our very own Christmas, right here!", she mused. Concordia nodded. And her smile lost all the sadness it had carried.
N, however, looked at them with big eyes. Retreated a bit (although he made not move to remove the foreign item on his head).
Then he glanced at Concordia. For a second his eyes rested on her, before he cast them down again, too afraid to insult them.
Ghetsis had told him starring at things was insulting. But how was he supposed to understand everything, if he didn't stare at it...
"But Lady Concordia said, Christmas isn't about presents. It's about family and friends."
he was scared now. Had he said something wrong. Maybe they thought just like Ghetsis and they started shifting their bodyweight already and…
"Of course it is. But that's why we're here too, after all. We're family. Right?"
Just like always, Touko was up early. Just this time, she didn't want to leave her bed. Why would she?
Christmas sucked. She hated it.
She hadn't even bothered to collect her presents yesterday.
Biting her lip she turned, looking outside. It rained. It rained! It didn't even snow!
The brunette was grumpy. This all sucked. She even ignored the doorbell, rung three times in quick succession. She even ignored her mother's repeated calls. Chirstmas sucked. Today sucked. Everything sucked.
However, Touko couldn't ignore her best friend storming into her room.
"TOUKO, TOUKO, TOUKO, TOUKO!", the blonde exclaimed, throwing herself onto Touko in a failed attempt to hug her.
"EEEEEK! Get off me!"
Struggling for air Touko struggled out of her friend's hug and jumped out of her bed. Her mood changed, that was for sure, but Touko didn't exactly know how. Was she annoyed? Not really. Was she angry? Not really either…Anyway. She had gotten out of bed and that had been Bianca's goal all along.
However, she didn't quite smile just yet.
Bianca knew how to change that though.
"I have great news, Touko!", she exclaimed, getting up herself.
"My dad came home?!", Touko asked, jumping up once more, her eyes filled with hope and excitement. Her expression faltered once she saw that her friend wasn't looking at her anymore.
"No...", Bianca said, her voice taking on a strange, evasive tone. But then she looked up again, her infectious smile spreading across her face like it always did.
"But mine is!"
Seeing, that her friend's disappointed expression didn't change, she quickly added:
"My dad's a meanie, just like yours! And he is overweight, old and bald, just like yours! It's a prefect match!"
Touko still didn't buy it. She sat down on her bed once more, playing with her blanket's seam. Life sucked. Not even some as cheerful as Bianca could change that.
"Hey...", Bianca murmured. She sat down next to her friend and although he smile lost intensity, it wasn't gone just yet.
"I made my dad dress up as Santa Claus a second time just for you! And Cheren and I even wrapped your presents for you! It's going to be just like Christmas!"
At this, Touko finally looked up. And her sadness dwindled just a little bit.
"R...Really?"
"Of course! It's going to be amazing!"
AN: So, here you go. The Christmas special. Is it cheesy? Yes. Do I mind? Not really. Plus, we all need some cheesy Christmas stories in our life (imo at least).
I hope you enjoyed the rather short read (that must feel really refreshing, actually) and read you the next time ^^
