Holiday Crisis
By: Shmeilia Rockie
Chapter 15: Into the Future
* * * *
"He's so beautiful..." April drew a deep breath and pressed her fingers to the monitor. Inside a dimly lit bubble floated a tiny, shapeless form. "So beautiful."
She looked up at Bernard, who stared unblinkingly down at it in dumb-struck silence. Seeing that he was practically in shock, she next looked to Destiny. The younger girl giggled and shook her head. "That's him all right. That's my big brother. Ugly, ain't he?"
"Destiny! Watch your tongue! He's still got some developing to do. That's all." She gave Destiny a loving raspberry and turned back to stare at her tiny child.
Bernard finally blinked, and looked down at his wife with an extremely vacant look in his dark eyes. "We're going to have TWO children."
"Quick one, isn't he?" Nurse Merope Sr. moved the device in her hands so they could get a closer look at the embryo. "Definitely up to par with the situation. Yep." A machine next to her beeped, and she turned her attention to a paper it spit out. She read it carefully. "Hmm, just got back the DNA analysis, if you care to know anything."
"There's nothing wrong with him, is there?"
"Well..." Destiny started, but April cut her off by smacking her shoulder rather forcefully.
The nurse put on some reading glasses and examined the document more clearly. "Oh, no. No, not at all."
"Is he part elf?" Bernard finally snapped out of his trance.
"No, I'm afraid not." Bernard's face fell slightly. Only Destiny noticed, but she chose not to say anything. "He's... Half warlock? Is that correct?" She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow in a way very similar to the Merope did when she thought someone was a bit off. (It must have been genetic.) Bernard licked his lips and nodded. "And part human."
Destiny rolled her eyes. "I could have told you that...."
"Funny, though, you didn't." Bernard stared at her sternly, making her cringe. He still hadn't forgiven her for withholding information about her brother. She grew quiet, her bubble of happiness thoroughly popped. He reminded her of her stressed-out, uptight father more and more every day, and she hated it.
She felt a surge of emotion well up within her suddenly, and she turned away to prevent them from seeing the tears form in her eyes. She fought to keep her voice steady as she excused herself and bolted from the room. As an unexpected panic overcame her, she ran blindly down the hallway and out into the light. Orange and red leaves whirled around her in a blur, the shops and houses of the Halloweentown section of Holidayopolis became mere streaks, passing by unnoticed. She ran to the outskirts of town, where the shops melted away to be replaced by dark, knargled trees condemned to forever loose their dried leaves. There, she collapsed, exhausted from running. She kicked and screamed until the tantrum had worn off, leaving her simply tired and empty.
From the silence that followed her outburst, she simply lay there on the cold wet earth. Somewhere off in the distance, a crow cried and took flight. The sound of rustling feathers filled the heavy air for a moment, and then... Nothing.
Then it dawned on her. "I want to go home." The words came out in an inaudible whisper. Louder, she repeated it. "I want to go home, don't I? I WANT TO GO HOME!" Another wave of panic hit her and she fell into another fit, caused by all the emotions she hadn't let herself feel before. "I want to return to my own time where my parents aren't my friends, and my brother isn't a little amoeba thing, and Maigri's nice to me, and all I hafta worry about is what kind of grade I'm making in Math class!" She pounded the ground with her fists in something close to total hatred. "This world's all screwed up! I wish things just made since again!"
She calmed once more and sat up. She laughed nervously and wiped a tear out of her eye. "I'm being silly, aren't I? But at least I'm getting this out now instead of around anyone. They think I'm this cheery girl all the time, but I... I'm so lonely..." She wrapped her arms around her and sniffed. "I've never been away from home for so long before. Sure, this is home, but it's not the same."
The silence set in again. It was a cold and indifferent silence.
Her communicator beeped, making her jump in fright. She pulled it out of her bag and turned it on, and was stunned to see who it was. "Daddy?"
"We need you here, Destiny." That was it. No "Hello, doing well?" or "Are things settling down there yet?"
"Now?" She was stunned. This was like an answer to her prayer, but so soon? She'd meant like in a week or something, not right that second.
"You have one day." He hung up.
* * * *
"You don't need to do this, Santa..." Diana leaned over the computer console to watch the pair of feet sticking out from under it. "I could have figured it out on my own."
Charlie crawled back out long enough to grab a miscellaneous tool. He smiled that charming smile at her and returned to work. "I'm sure you could have, Diana. I'm just doing what I can to help out."
She crossed her arms and pouted jokingly. "Always the nice guy, aren't you, Mr. Calvin?"
"Careful, there," he laughed. The sound was muffled under the console. "I AM married, you know."
"And I have pledged to live my life in eternal celibacy, so there." She smacked on her gum and blew a large bubble that miraculously didn't splatter all over her face when it popped. She watched him for a few more minutes in silence before speaking up again. "So, this thing is supposed to do what?"
"Shouldn't you know? You built it, didn't you?"
"Yes... But I just followed the directions, really." She brushed a strand of silvery-blond hair behind her ear. "I'm an outdoors kind of woman, not well up-to-date with technology."
He looked up at her, confused, and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He licked his lips. "Well, who wrote the directions?"
She hesitated. "Uh, you did, actually. You in the future, that is. With the assistance of the wise elf Curtis."
His brow furrowed. "You mean to tell me, Curtis and I designed this whole complex by ourselves? Just the two of us?" She nodded. He considered this for a moment before going back to work. "Stranger things have happened, I guess. After all, we did build space ships once upon a time."
She tugged at the dog whistle around her neck distractedly. "How long exactly have you been surrounded by all of this magic?"
"Since I was six, I think. I don't really remember, it's been so long. It's in my very blood, my very soul. Dad used to tell me I'd make an even better Santa than him, simply because it's been a part of my life since practically the very beginning."
"That and your naturally sweet disposition." She nodded and smiled, though he couldn't see her.
"Flattery will get you nowhere, you know." He finished the job and snapped the panel back on, and then wiped his face with a towel. "Now, let's see what this thing can do, shall we?"
* * * *
"I'm concerned, Bernard. She ran out in such a hurry..." April and Bernard left the main road into town, heading toward the forest. She took his arm. "I think you upset her."
He threw his hands up in disgust and rolled his eyes. "What did I DO?"
"If you don't already know, you probably never will." April cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Destiny, where are you?"
Out of the semi-darkness she hobbled, shoulders slumped over in a very uncharacteristic way. She held up her hand weakly. "I'm right here. You don't hafta yell."
"Oh, Destiny, you look terrible!" April ran to Destiny's side and put her arm around the girl. "What's wrong?"
"Father called," she huffed. "He wants me to go home. Says it's urgent." Never mind that five minutes earlier she'd wanted to go home so incredibly badly. They didn't need to know that.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
Suddenly, April became aware of all the things she hadn't had the chance to do with her future daughter. There wasn't enough time! "But...No! This is too sudden. You can't just leave!"
"If it's urgent, it's urgent, April." The two girls looked up at Bernard with dismay in their eyes. "She needs to take care of her own, and since we've got things under control here, she should go. As much as it may..." He paused. "Hurt."
"Oh, Bernard, I'm so sorry!" Destiny flung her arms around his neck and hugged him as she would her *true* father. "I really, really want to tell you so much, but I can't! I would get into so much trouble back home. Please, please forgive me!"
This outburst caught him totally off guard. He awkwardly patted her back. "It's okay, Destiny. I'm not mad anymore. I forgive you, really." He shot April a cat-in-the-headlights look. She only smiled in response. Finally, he held her at arm's length, but his eyes and voice were comparatively softer. "Does Merope know yet? Is she even going with you?"
"No, and yes." She rubbed her puffy eyes. "I need to find her and let her know. Soon. Would you two help me find her?"
"Sure."
* * * *
So, in great sadness, the whole gang had gathered together to see Destiny and Merope off. Okay, so it wasn't the whole group... Charlie and Curtis were working on setting up computer equipment in Council Castle, Judy had her shop to run, Sarah was off with her boyfriend somewhere, and Aggie had to perform her duties as mayor of Halloweentown. But Bernard, April, Luke, and (surprisingly enough) Maigri had shown up to bid them goodbye. Luke was still a bit creeped out by seeing his baby stand before him as an adult, but the initial shock had worn off a while before. He shook her hand somberly, "Take care of yourself, Jackie."
"I will, don't worry." Merope looked to Destiny, who had tears glittering in her eyes. "Are you ready?"
*sniff* "I guess."
"Oh, wait, Destiny." Bernard reached into his bag. "Charlie wanted me to give this to you, with regrets that he couldn't say goodbye in person." He pulled out the infamous snow globe and handed it to her gently. "He said he no longer needs it, and that you clearly did. Whatever he meant by that."
"Thank him for me, please." She grasped the object with both hands tightly. "I'll really miss all of y-"
She was interrupted as a portal opened up before them. A bolt of lightning flashed through the air, and they disappeared.
* * * *
Bernard slowly became aware of two things: He lay flat on his back in a pool of some cold liquid, and he had a huge headache. He opened his eyes, but couldn't see a thing. "Where am I? What happened?"
Then a face swam into view. A young man, about sixteen, stood over him. It shocked him to realize that this boy looked almost exactly the same as he did when he was that age (in human terms). The kid waved his hand over Bernard's face. "Are you okay, Dad?"
"Dad?" He repeated and attempted to sit up. He felt dizzy and nauseous, and had no idea where he was, how he got there, or what was going on in general. He squinted at the young man. "Do I know you?"
He frowned and helped Bernard get off of the table he landed on. He surveyed the damage, which he guessed could have been a lot worse. "Oh, you're not Dad. You're too young to be my father. So who are you?"
"I'm Bernard. Who are YOU?"
The boy pursed his lips. "I'm not sure I should give you my name. You must be my father from the past, and I don't want to give you any info that might erase me from the timeline or something."
Bells went off in Bernard's head. He pointed in awe. "You're my son, aren't you? The son Destiny didn't tell me about."
"Figures she wouldn't mention me." He picked up a broom and after rolling his eyes and sighing over-dramatically, started sweeping up broken glass. "It doesn't really matter now, 'cause I guess I've already come into existence. My name is Chris; I am your son."
By: Shmeilia Rockie
Chapter 15: Into the Future
* * * *
"He's so beautiful..." April drew a deep breath and pressed her fingers to the monitor. Inside a dimly lit bubble floated a tiny, shapeless form. "So beautiful."
She looked up at Bernard, who stared unblinkingly down at it in dumb-struck silence. Seeing that he was practically in shock, she next looked to Destiny. The younger girl giggled and shook her head. "That's him all right. That's my big brother. Ugly, ain't he?"
"Destiny! Watch your tongue! He's still got some developing to do. That's all." She gave Destiny a loving raspberry and turned back to stare at her tiny child.
Bernard finally blinked, and looked down at his wife with an extremely vacant look in his dark eyes. "We're going to have TWO children."
"Quick one, isn't he?" Nurse Merope Sr. moved the device in her hands so they could get a closer look at the embryo. "Definitely up to par with the situation. Yep." A machine next to her beeped, and she turned her attention to a paper it spit out. She read it carefully. "Hmm, just got back the DNA analysis, if you care to know anything."
"There's nothing wrong with him, is there?"
"Well..." Destiny started, but April cut her off by smacking her shoulder rather forcefully.
The nurse put on some reading glasses and examined the document more clearly. "Oh, no. No, not at all."
"Is he part elf?" Bernard finally snapped out of his trance.
"No, I'm afraid not." Bernard's face fell slightly. Only Destiny noticed, but she chose not to say anything. "He's... Half warlock? Is that correct?" She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow in a way very similar to the Merope did when she thought someone was a bit off. (It must have been genetic.) Bernard licked his lips and nodded. "And part human."
Destiny rolled her eyes. "I could have told you that...."
"Funny, though, you didn't." Bernard stared at her sternly, making her cringe. He still hadn't forgiven her for withholding information about her brother. She grew quiet, her bubble of happiness thoroughly popped. He reminded her of her stressed-out, uptight father more and more every day, and she hated it.
She felt a surge of emotion well up within her suddenly, and she turned away to prevent them from seeing the tears form in her eyes. She fought to keep her voice steady as she excused herself and bolted from the room. As an unexpected panic overcame her, she ran blindly down the hallway and out into the light. Orange and red leaves whirled around her in a blur, the shops and houses of the Halloweentown section of Holidayopolis became mere streaks, passing by unnoticed. She ran to the outskirts of town, where the shops melted away to be replaced by dark, knargled trees condemned to forever loose their dried leaves. There, she collapsed, exhausted from running. She kicked and screamed until the tantrum had worn off, leaving her simply tired and empty.
From the silence that followed her outburst, she simply lay there on the cold wet earth. Somewhere off in the distance, a crow cried and took flight. The sound of rustling feathers filled the heavy air for a moment, and then... Nothing.
Then it dawned on her. "I want to go home." The words came out in an inaudible whisper. Louder, she repeated it. "I want to go home, don't I? I WANT TO GO HOME!" Another wave of panic hit her and she fell into another fit, caused by all the emotions she hadn't let herself feel before. "I want to return to my own time where my parents aren't my friends, and my brother isn't a little amoeba thing, and Maigri's nice to me, and all I hafta worry about is what kind of grade I'm making in Math class!" She pounded the ground with her fists in something close to total hatred. "This world's all screwed up! I wish things just made since again!"
She calmed once more and sat up. She laughed nervously and wiped a tear out of her eye. "I'm being silly, aren't I? But at least I'm getting this out now instead of around anyone. They think I'm this cheery girl all the time, but I... I'm so lonely..." She wrapped her arms around her and sniffed. "I've never been away from home for so long before. Sure, this is home, but it's not the same."
The silence set in again. It was a cold and indifferent silence.
Her communicator beeped, making her jump in fright. She pulled it out of her bag and turned it on, and was stunned to see who it was. "Daddy?"
"We need you here, Destiny." That was it. No "Hello, doing well?" or "Are things settling down there yet?"
"Now?" She was stunned. This was like an answer to her prayer, but so soon? She'd meant like in a week or something, not right that second.
"You have one day." He hung up.
* * * *
"You don't need to do this, Santa..." Diana leaned over the computer console to watch the pair of feet sticking out from under it. "I could have figured it out on my own."
Charlie crawled back out long enough to grab a miscellaneous tool. He smiled that charming smile at her and returned to work. "I'm sure you could have, Diana. I'm just doing what I can to help out."
She crossed her arms and pouted jokingly. "Always the nice guy, aren't you, Mr. Calvin?"
"Careful, there," he laughed. The sound was muffled under the console. "I AM married, you know."
"And I have pledged to live my life in eternal celibacy, so there." She smacked on her gum and blew a large bubble that miraculously didn't splatter all over her face when it popped. She watched him for a few more minutes in silence before speaking up again. "So, this thing is supposed to do what?"
"Shouldn't you know? You built it, didn't you?"
"Yes... But I just followed the directions, really." She brushed a strand of silvery-blond hair behind her ear. "I'm an outdoors kind of woman, not well up-to-date with technology."
He looked up at her, confused, and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He licked his lips. "Well, who wrote the directions?"
She hesitated. "Uh, you did, actually. You in the future, that is. With the assistance of the wise elf Curtis."
His brow furrowed. "You mean to tell me, Curtis and I designed this whole complex by ourselves? Just the two of us?" She nodded. He considered this for a moment before going back to work. "Stranger things have happened, I guess. After all, we did build space ships once upon a time."
She tugged at the dog whistle around her neck distractedly. "How long exactly have you been surrounded by all of this magic?"
"Since I was six, I think. I don't really remember, it's been so long. It's in my very blood, my very soul. Dad used to tell me I'd make an even better Santa than him, simply because it's been a part of my life since practically the very beginning."
"That and your naturally sweet disposition." She nodded and smiled, though he couldn't see her.
"Flattery will get you nowhere, you know." He finished the job and snapped the panel back on, and then wiped his face with a towel. "Now, let's see what this thing can do, shall we?"
* * * *
"I'm concerned, Bernard. She ran out in such a hurry..." April and Bernard left the main road into town, heading toward the forest. She took his arm. "I think you upset her."
He threw his hands up in disgust and rolled his eyes. "What did I DO?"
"If you don't already know, you probably never will." April cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Destiny, where are you?"
Out of the semi-darkness she hobbled, shoulders slumped over in a very uncharacteristic way. She held up her hand weakly. "I'm right here. You don't hafta yell."
"Oh, Destiny, you look terrible!" April ran to Destiny's side and put her arm around the girl. "What's wrong?"
"Father called," she huffed. "He wants me to go home. Says it's urgent." Never mind that five minutes earlier she'd wanted to go home so incredibly badly. They didn't need to know that.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
Suddenly, April became aware of all the things she hadn't had the chance to do with her future daughter. There wasn't enough time! "But...No! This is too sudden. You can't just leave!"
"If it's urgent, it's urgent, April." The two girls looked up at Bernard with dismay in their eyes. "She needs to take care of her own, and since we've got things under control here, she should go. As much as it may..." He paused. "Hurt."
"Oh, Bernard, I'm so sorry!" Destiny flung her arms around his neck and hugged him as she would her *true* father. "I really, really want to tell you so much, but I can't! I would get into so much trouble back home. Please, please forgive me!"
This outburst caught him totally off guard. He awkwardly patted her back. "It's okay, Destiny. I'm not mad anymore. I forgive you, really." He shot April a cat-in-the-headlights look. She only smiled in response. Finally, he held her at arm's length, but his eyes and voice were comparatively softer. "Does Merope know yet? Is she even going with you?"
"No, and yes." She rubbed her puffy eyes. "I need to find her and let her know. Soon. Would you two help me find her?"
"Sure."
* * * *
So, in great sadness, the whole gang had gathered together to see Destiny and Merope off. Okay, so it wasn't the whole group... Charlie and Curtis were working on setting up computer equipment in Council Castle, Judy had her shop to run, Sarah was off with her boyfriend somewhere, and Aggie had to perform her duties as mayor of Halloweentown. But Bernard, April, Luke, and (surprisingly enough) Maigri had shown up to bid them goodbye. Luke was still a bit creeped out by seeing his baby stand before him as an adult, but the initial shock had worn off a while before. He shook her hand somberly, "Take care of yourself, Jackie."
"I will, don't worry." Merope looked to Destiny, who had tears glittering in her eyes. "Are you ready?"
*sniff* "I guess."
"Oh, wait, Destiny." Bernard reached into his bag. "Charlie wanted me to give this to you, with regrets that he couldn't say goodbye in person." He pulled out the infamous snow globe and handed it to her gently. "He said he no longer needs it, and that you clearly did. Whatever he meant by that."
"Thank him for me, please." She grasped the object with both hands tightly. "I'll really miss all of y-"
She was interrupted as a portal opened up before them. A bolt of lightning flashed through the air, and they disappeared.
* * * *
Bernard slowly became aware of two things: He lay flat on his back in a pool of some cold liquid, and he had a huge headache. He opened his eyes, but couldn't see a thing. "Where am I? What happened?"
Then a face swam into view. A young man, about sixteen, stood over him. It shocked him to realize that this boy looked almost exactly the same as he did when he was that age (in human terms). The kid waved his hand over Bernard's face. "Are you okay, Dad?"
"Dad?" He repeated and attempted to sit up. He felt dizzy and nauseous, and had no idea where he was, how he got there, or what was going on in general. He squinted at the young man. "Do I know you?"
He frowned and helped Bernard get off of the table he landed on. He surveyed the damage, which he guessed could have been a lot worse. "Oh, you're not Dad. You're too young to be my father. So who are you?"
"I'm Bernard. Who are YOU?"
The boy pursed his lips. "I'm not sure I should give you my name. You must be my father from the past, and I don't want to give you any info that might erase me from the timeline or something."
Bells went off in Bernard's head. He pointed in awe. "You're my son, aren't you? The son Destiny didn't tell me about."
"Figures she wouldn't mention me." He picked up a broom and after rolling his eyes and sighing over-dramatically, started sweeping up broken glass. "It doesn't really matter now, 'cause I guess I've already come into existence. My name is Chris; I am your son."
