*Happy, up-tuned, jingly version of Justice League theme*
Hunters of Justice Chibi!
Kringle's Angels
A warm, festive atmosphere had taken over RWBY and JNPR's apartment in Metropolis, one that was shared across the entire city. Red and green lights were strung across the walls, joined by leafy wreaths and garlands. Ornaments, some elaborate and others simple, were hanging off of them, the most reflective glistening in the light. At the center of the apartment, stretching all the way up to the ceiling, was a colossal evergreen tree, one covered in lights, ornaments, garlands and more, topped with a white star.
"Can you guys believe it's Christmas Eve already?" Ruby asked, wearing a red Christmas sweater that occasionally made her itch.
"Yeah, I know! It came by so fast!" Nora exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the sofa in her pink sweater. "I was afraid we were going to miss it!"
"What I want to know is how did we even get this thing in here?" Weiss pointed out, wearing her normal attire as she leaned back to take in the entire Christmas tree.
"Oh, Weiss. Weiss, Weiss, Weiss," Yang began, smiling smugly as she wagged her finger back and forth while wearing a yellow sweater. "Never underestimate the skills of a Xiao Long."
"All you did was call Raven and ask her to teleport it in," Blake pointed out, also wearing her normal attire, to which Yang shrugged.
"Details," Yang nonchalantly dismissed, causing her partner to roll her eyes exasperatingly. Blake returned to her reading, while Yang leaned back into her chair. A moment later, Jaune and Ren returned from the kitchen, carrying trays of steaming hot cocoa that they passed around to everyone.
"Merry Christmas, everyone," Jaune said as he took a seat on the sofa next to Pyrrha as Ren sat next to Nora. Like Ruby, they, too, were wearing colorful Christmas sweaters that matched their Auras.
With everyone gathered around in the living room, feeling the heat of the roaring fire wash over them, they settled into a comfortable silence. Christmas-themed tunes came out from the speakers around the room, and most of them felt the spirit of the season fill their souls.
Not everyone was as enthralled, however.
"Remind me again why we're celebrating Christmas?" Weiss requested, causing everyone but Blake to groan exasperatingly. "Oh, don't give me that."
"Seriously, Weiss? We've been over this, like, five times," Yang pointed out, leaning forward while placing her cup of hot cocoa on a table next to her chair.
"Yeah, really," Ruby added, puffing up her cheeks. "I mean, come on. What's not to like about Christmas? The lights, the trees, the gifts. Everything just feels so…happy."
"More like sappy, if you ask me," Blake interjected while still reading her book, causing Ruby and Nora to pout. Weiss, meanwhile, nodded and leaned back into her chair.
"All I'm saying is that there isn't really any reason for us to celebrate Christmas, of all things," Weiss stated, narrowing her eyes at her teammates. "Halloween, I get, but last time I checked none of us were Christian."
"So?" Nora asked, causing Weiss to give her a flat stare.
"So, culturally speaking, it doesn't make any sense for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ."
"Also, Christmas has been completely taken over by commercialism," Blake declared as she turned a page. "It started out as Christians taking over Saturnalia in order to convert people, which they chose as the date when their Lord and Savior was born, and now the entire holiday revolves around a jolly fat guy wearing soda brand colors who delivers presents to kids."
"Only if you're good, otherwise you get coal from Santa," Jaune pointed out, causing Blake to glance up at him from over the top of her book.
"Fantastic," Blake dryly said. "Point is, I agree with Weiss and see no real reason for us to celebrate Christmas. I'd much rather celebrate Winter Holiday."
"We can do both," Pyrrha politely suggested, and Weiss sighed while shaking her head.
"Still, Pyrrha. It doesn't refute the fact that, culturally, this isn't our holiday," Weiss declared, then took another sip of her drink while closing her eyes.
"Neither was Halloween, yet you celebrated that with open arms," Nora pointed out, giving the former heiress a flat look. "I distinctly remember you trying to give out all of our candy to the first kids in costumes who showed up."
"Halloween isn't a religious holiday," Weiss retorted, her eyes still shut. At the same time, a faint blush erupted across her cheeks, but neither she nor anyone else felt the need to elaborate further.
Ruby pursed her lips, then turned towards Ren who had remained silent across the entire debate. Seeing as how he was wearing a Christmas sweater, Ruby asked him, "What about you, Ren? How do you feel about celebrating Christmas?"
Ren took another sip from his cocoa, then placed it against his lap and looked out across the room. Everyone was looking at him expectantly, then he said, "Honestly, I agree with both of you. On the one hand, Christmas has a far deeper origin than any of us can truly claim adherence to, but at the same time the holiday itself has shifted tremendously. As such, its meaning can be quite varied. To me, Christmas means spending time with the people I love, and that's enough for me."
"Aw, Ren!" Nora cooed, then wrapped her boyfriend in a tight hug. Ren looked down at Nora and smiled before patting her head with his free hand, and the two settled into a tight cuddle that everyone else found adorable.
Weiss and Blake thought over his answer for a minute, then nodded.
"I suppose I can understand that," Weiss admitted.
"Yeah," Blake added, then leaned back and returned to her reading. "Still, I feel that the rest of you went a little overboard."
"Hmmph," Ruby huffed, then after a moment returned to her cheery demeanor and swayed her head back and forth. "Ooh, I wonder what Santa's gonna get me this year! I know I've been a good girl."
"Ugh, seriously Ruby? I can understand wanting to celebrate Christmas, but for the last time, Santa Claus does not exist," Weiss declared.
"Yes he does! I helped him last year when Rudolf's nose got stung by a bee! We used my eyes as lanterns! Or was it the year before?" Ruby wondered aloud, tapping her chin in thought before shrugging and moving on. "Still, Santa Claus exists! He gave me that nice silver globe of Remnant I have on my desk. How else do you think everyone gets their presents?"
"Their parents and loved ones buy them?" Blake offered. "You do realize, Ruby, that Santa is nothing more than a marketing gimmick meant to sell stuff, right? I mean, the only reason why he wears red and white is because Coca-Cola started using him in advertisements back in the 30s and those are their colors."
"Actually, Blake, they only standardized the look," Weiss pointed out.
"My point still stands. Santa Claus exists as a monument to consumer culture and nothing more," Blake declared, and Nora blew a raspberry.
"Jeez, preach on a higher mountaintop, why don't ya, Grinch?" Nora mumbled under her breath. Rather than take offense, Blake merely rolled her eyes.
"Okay, fine. You may not believe in Santa Claus," Ruby declared, then stood up and walked over to the kitchen, "but I've still prepared everything for him! We've got chocolate chip cookies, a glass of milk, everything he needs!"
Everyone looked at the set up Ruby had arranged, and immediately noticed that the glass was only half full and the plate was covered in crumbs.
"…Ruby, how many did you eat?" Pyrrha politely asked.
"I got hungry, don't judge me," Ruby replied, causing everyone to let out an amused chuckle or smile.
"Come on, Rubes, let's make Santa another batch," Yang said, causing Ruby to cheer as her elder sister walked up to join her in the kitchen. Everyone else remained seated, content to absorb the company of their peers for as long as possible. After however many months of chaos, hardship, and loss since they arrived on Earth, it was nice to just sit back and relax.
Only for that relaxation to be shattered as an alarm blared, followed by loud explosions coming from the roof.
"OHMYGOSH!" Jaune shouted, jumping up into the air then falling flat onto his back on the floor.
"Aah, what is happening?!" Blake shouted, covering her ears to protect herself from the loud, shrill alarm.
"Oh, no need to worry guys!" Ruby calmly informed them as she skipped over to everyone, somehow pulling out Crescent Rose from behind her back despite not having it on her person. "That's just our home defense system going off."
"Home defense?" Weiss asked, her question punctuated by the launching and subsequent explosion of a missile. "What did you all put in it?"
"Oh, you know. Alarms, motion cameras, radar, machine guns, surface-to-air missiles. The basics really."
"I helped set it up!" Yang proudly declared, brandishing Ember Celica at the same time as another volley of AA fire went off.
"…Why did you feel the need to install that much?" Blake incredulously asked.
"Titans Tower."
"…You know what, fair enough."
"No, not fair enough. How much did this security system cost us?" Weiss demanded, only for Ruby to shake her head and place her hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, Weiss. Don't ask questions which you don't want the answers to," Ruby advised.
"But I do. I do want to know how much of our money you spent on this. It's bad enough that you buy a brand new gun for your collection downstairs with every other paycheck! You have, what, five different AK-47s?"
"Hey, don't insult my hobby," Ruby protested, furrowing her brow before raising a finger. "Also, I only have one AK-47. The others are an AKM, an AK-74, an AK-103, and an AK-12. If you're going to insult me, do it right."
"Whatever!"
The gunfire stopped, followed by a loud crash on the balcony outside. A dust cloud obscured their view from the window. Looking at each other, the Huntsmen and Huntresses brandished their weapons and went outside, encircling the cloud and covering it from all angles. None of them could see at first, but soon the dust began to dissipate. First they saw that the craft, now covered in fresh bullet holes, was a bright red sleigh. More dust flew off into the night, revealing that the sleigh was pulled by nine reindeer, one of which had a bright red nose. Finally, as the last of the dust settled, they saw a man slumped over in the driver's seat, leaning against the largest brown sack they had ever seen, one that was packed to the brim with boxes to the point where it was almost overflowing. The man was fat, wearing a thick, slightly burned, red and white coat and hat, and at once everyone realized who he was.
"Oh no…" Yang mumbled, her eyes widening in recognition.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Weiss flatly declared, her arms dropping in disbelief.
"Guys, did…did we shoot down Santa?" Ruby tearfully asked, looking towards everyone while hugging Crescent Rose close.
"Yes, yes we did," Nora answered. Everyone stared silently at each other for a moment, then Santa Claus fell off the sleigh and onto the ground.
"…Ow…" he groaned in obvious pain. Everyone stared at him for a moment, then they dropped whatever they were holding to rush over and grab him.
"I am so, so sorry, Santa!" Ruby tearfully apologized for the fifteenth time as the rest of RWBY and JNPR provided first aid.
"Tis alright, Ruby. You meant no harm," Santa softly replied, using his good arm to gently pat the top of her head. "'Twas my fault. You eight are heroes, and heroes go to many lengths to protect themselves from those who wish them harm. I should have seen such an elaborate defense coming."
"Can you move your left arm?" Blake asked as she gently poked the limb in question. Santa tried, only to gasp in pain after a slight movement. The faunus hummed, then shook her head and looked at the others. "Yeah, it's definitely broken, or at least heavily bruised. Frankly, I'm amazed it wasn't any worse. Your…sleigh took a lot of punishment, and I think one of Blitzen's antlers was shot off."
"Probably explained why he kicked me," Jaune muttered as he nursed a black eye, Pyrrha next to him while Nora, Ren, and Yang tended to the reindeer and sleigh outside. As in Nora gently petted the animals while Ren and Yang inspected and patched up whatever damage they could find.
Ruby bit back a wail, feeling absolutely horrible about the entire thing. One moment she was gushing over how awesome Santa Claus was, and in the next the defense system she designed and implemented nearly killed him.
"Miraculous as it is, you're pretty banged up," Weiss declared as she finished looking over his bruised, and surprisingly chiseled, body. "I don't think it's safe for you to move just yet."
"Oh, that won't do!" Santa declared, trying to push himself off the sofa but finding himself unable to due to the pain shooting through his body. "Gagh, no… No, this won't do…"
"What, what's wrong, Santa?" Ruby asked, and Santa Claus sadly looked towards the young Huntress.
"I still have presents to deliver tonight," he revealed. "But in my current state, I'm afraid I won't be able to."
"Oh, no! Not the presents!"
"Why is this real?" Weiss mumbled under her breath, still unable to fully wrap her head around the fact that Father Christmas was strewn over her sofa.
"Indeed. Without those presents, many a child will have their Christmas ruined this year," Santa sadly declared, looking downcast and heartbroken. Ruby and everyone else looked at him sadly as well, then Weiss saw a determined look enter Ruby's silver eyes. Before she could say anything, though, Weiss immediately pulled her partner and leader to the side, away from receptive ears.
"Ruby, no," she denied.
"But you don't even know what I was going to say!" Ruby replied, but Weiss' gaze merely hardened.
"Yes, I do," Weiss countered while pointing at Ruby's face. "You were going to offer yourself, and us by extension because let's be honest none of us are going to let you do this on your own, to go in Santa's stead."
"Well, someone's gotta do it!"
"Not the people who shot down Father Christmas!"
"Oh, so now you believe he's real."
"That's not the point, Ruby!"
Ruby stared at Weiss, her face hardening to a surprising degree. After a moment of silence, Ruby said, "Look, I know this looks bad, but Weiss…It's our fault Santa's like this. We shot him down—"
"You shot him down."
"We shot him down," Ruby stubbornly insisted, "so it's our responsibility to make things right. Someone's gotta save Christmas, and if you're not going to help me, then I'll do it by myself."
Weiss and Ruby looked at each other. A heavy pause followed, then after a moment Weiss sighed and shook her head.
"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," she muttered. "Fine, we'll…ugh, we'll save Christmas."
"Yay! I knew you'd understand!"
Ruby hugged Weiss tightly, then together they walked back to the main room. Everyone was assembled around Santa Claus, applying bandages, splints, and slings to his injured body. As Ruby walked up, Santa looked at her, at first confused but then seemingly coming to an understanding.
"Santa, please let us fly your sleigh tonight in your place," Ruby offered, bowing her head. "No one else should suffer because of us."
Santa looked at Ruby for a moment, then at everyone else. They were all looking at Ruby incredulously, then after a moment they nodded in agreement. Blake was the last to do so, still clearly wrapping her head around the entire situation, but even so she did agree. Despite his injuries, Santa Claus laughed.
"Ho ho ho!" he bellowed, only to stop himself and wince from the fire in his ribs. "Ooh, it hurts to laugh. In any case, I thank you, Ruby Rose. By all means, if you feel that you must, you are free to drive my sleigh tonight."
"Can we even pilot it? I've never driven a sleigh before," Blake pointed out, only for Santa to scoff.
"Oh, no need to worry. It has autopilot and GPS!" he revealed.
"…Your sleigh has GPS?"
"Of course! What, did you think I stayed behind while the world around me moved forward? I may be old, but I'm not stagnant. Can't afford to be, not with how many people there are in the world these days. You should see the renovations to my workshop."
"…Sure, why not?" Blake dryly declared. "Come on, let's just…let's just get this over with."
"We'll stay back and tend to Santa," Jaune offered, speaking for his team.
"Thanks, Jaune," Ruby said. Before they stepped out to get on the sleigh, she stopped and snapped her fingers in realization. "Ooh, I almost forgot!"
"Forgot what?" Weiss asked, only for Ruby to disappear in a burst of petals. When she returned, she was holding three stacks of matching red and white clothes, and instead of her Christmas attire, Ruby was now wearing a Santa Claus version of her Huntress outfit from back when they first attended Beacon.
"If we're gonna save Christmas, we need to look the part!" she declared. The rest of her team looked at her silently, then Yang shrugged in acceptance and took the outfit to change into it.
"How long have you had those?" Weiss asked, looking at the clothes incredulously.
"I was gonna make us wear them tomorrow for pictures," Ruby revealed. "Now come on! Let's get changed and get out of here!"
Weiss and Blake looked at each other for a moment, then sighed in resignation before taking the offered attire and changing into it. Looking at each other, a sense of embarrassment filled them. At the same time, they did admittedly look very cute, so at least they had that going for them. Once they were all ready, they piled onto the sleigh, where they saw it had a simple yet fancy-looking control board. There was a bright red button that said "Auto-Pilot" on it, and after looking at the rest of her team, Ruby excitedly pressed it.
"I wonder how fast this is going to beeee~!" Blake shouted as the previously docile reindeer took off like a rocket into the night, joined by Weiss' screams and Ruby's and Yang's joyous laughter. Team JNPR looked on as they flew off into the horizon, waving for as long as they could see them. Once they were gone, they turned around and walked back into the apartment, where Santa Claus was currently testing his arm.
"Don't worry, Santa! Nurse Nora is here to take care of you!" Nora declared as she inexplicably changed into a nurse's outfit. Santa looked at her with a warm smile on his face, joined by Jaune and Pyrrha, only for Ren's eyes to widen in utter horror as he broke out into a cold sweat.
"Why, thank you, Nora. I am very much—" Santa Claus started, only for Nora to pull out Magnhild and raise it above her head.
"Now, let's test out your reflexes!"
"NOO!" Ren shouted as he and the rest of his team lunged for Nora while Santa Claus screamed in fright.
None of team RWBY had ever moved this fast before in their lives, at least out in the open. The wind rushed past their faces, and their hair was flying about wildly. Amazingly, their hats remained atop their heads despite not keeping a hold on them. For Weiss and Blake, they were too busy holding onto the sleigh for dear life, while Ruby and Yang were treating the entire thing like a roller coaster and threw their arms into the air while cheering.
"YEAH! WOO!" the two sisters hollered as the sleigh flew through the clouds, guided by Santa's reindeer.
"GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY THING!" Weiss and Blake screamed in fear. Ruby and Yang merely laughed at their reactions, but soon the sleigh angled down. They flew out of the clouds towards a suburban neighborhood, then landed atop a snow-covered roof.
"Whew, what a rush!" Yang exclaimed as she hopped out of the sleigh alongside Ruby. When she noticed that neither Weiss nor Blake had joined them, the two still glued to their seats like shaking statues, the brawler scoffed and shook her head while placing her hands on her hips. "Come on, guys. Hurry up. We don't have all night. Got a schedule to keep!"
"…Okay…" Blake mumbled, then shakily removed herself from the sleigh. Weiss was right behind her, similarly rattled, but after a moment the two Huntresses were able to compose themselves.
"Alright, let's grab some presents and get to work!" Ruby announced as she reached into the bag and pulled out a series of boxes. To her surprise, she found that the boxes were specifically addressed to the people in the house they landed on, which made sense after a moment of thought. Clearly magic was at work, so there was no need to overthink it.
"So, now what?" Weiss asked, looking around to find a way inside the house.
"Easy, we go into the house!" Ruby answered.
"How, exactly? We can't just break into their house by going through the front door."
"Oh, Weiss, don't worry about it. Besides, I already know how we're getting in," Ruby clarified, then walked over to the chimney and rubbed her gloved hand over it.
"…You have got to be kidding me," Weiss flatly stated, but Ruby's smile merely widened as she shook her head.
"Nope! Besides, how else do you think Santa gets in?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, Weiss. Get with the program," Yang added as she joined her sister. Weiss and Blake stared flatly at their teammates, then each other, before they both rolled their eyes and shuffled.
"Sure, why not? Let's just shimmy down the chimney," Weiss sarcastically declared, only to pause as she looked at the chimney more closely. "Ruby, these are just pipes."
"Yeah, I know."
"How do you expect us to fit in there?"
"Leave that to me!"
"What do you me—" Weiss was interrupted as Ruby took hold of herself and the rest of team RWBY, then the next thing she knew, everything was a blur. Her senses seemed to split and fracture as Ruby turned the Huntresses into a cloud of rose petals which they then used to travel down the pipe and into the house. When they reemerged, Ruby and Yang were confidently posing with smiles on their faces, Weiss was looking around in confusion, while Blake was breathing heavily and leaning against the wall, completely confused.
"…Oh, that makes sense," Weiss admitted.
"I…never want to do that again," Blake said as she used the wall for support.
"Sorry, Blake. We're probably gonna have to do that a lot tonight," Yang admitted, causing Blake to whine weakly.
"How'd you know that would even work, Ruby?" Weiss asked as they set off to carefully place the presents underneath the tree. When Ruby didn't answer, Weiss narrowed her eyes then asked, "You did know that would work, right?"
"Hehe, well…" Ruby began, causing Weiss to look exasperatingly at her partner, only for Ruby to quickly change the subject and say, "Oh, look! Cookies and milk! I call dibs!"
She rushed over to the plate of treats left for Santa, then shoveled them into her mouth. Ruby downed the sweet confections with the glass of milk, and once they were done she grabbed her teammates and pulled them out of the house. They returned to the sleigh and hopped on, Ruby at the center while the rest of her team sat by her side.
"Alright, team RWBY! One house down, a couple million more to go!" she announced.
"A couple million?!" Blake nearly shouted in surprise. "How are we supposed to deliver presents to that many houses in one night?"
"Magic, duh."
"…Ugh, I hate how much that explains things."
"Blake, take my advice and just get used to it. Your life will be easier," Yang told her partner, who numbly nodded in acceptance. As they set off again, moving down the street one house at a time, they couldn't help but wonder how things were going back at the apartment. Hopefully everything was going fine.
"Hmm, hmm. Oh, I see," Nora calmly said as she carefully studied the display. "According to this thingy, you only have a few hours left before the end. My condolences."
"Nora, that's just a regular clock," Santa replied, trying his best to lean away from the crazed girl.
"I know!" she confirmed, waving the grandfather clock she'd pulled away from the wall with one hand in emphasis. "There's only a few more hours until midnight, and then it'll already be Christmas! Better hope your new deputies are moving fast. Now, where was I? Oh, right!"
She then nonchalantly tossed the antique over her shoulder with a clang before pulling out a large blood-pressure cuff. Santa obligingly held out his good arm, which she proceeded to ignore in favor of wrapping it around his neck.
"I no longer believe you have medical training," the portly saint wheezed out between pumps as the "nurse" proceeded to over-inflate the cuff, his face turning even ruddier than usual.
"Never said I did!" she cheerfully reminded him, then poked Santa on his red nose. "Now be quiet, I'm trying to cure you!"
Santa leaned further back, then looked around the room and asked, "Where's everyone else?"
"Oh, they went to go get…medicine," Nora answered, pointedly ignoring the muffled screams from the tied up and gagged members of her team that she had shoved into the closet. Santa could only whimper while Nora's smile grew wider and more crazed.
Figuring everything back home was going just fine, team RWBY continued their global fantasia, delivering presents to all the good boys and girls. Occasionally they'd have to leave a bit of coal, but seeing as how they were bad, none of them felt guilty about it. What was more awkward was when someone happened to wake up as they were doing their work, but they were able to play it off regardless.
"Friend Ruby, what are you doing and why are you eating the cookies I laid out for the Santa Claus?" Starfire sleepily asked as she caught the quartet eating the cookies she had laid out and placing presents under the tree.
"Oh, we accidentally shot him down, so we're filling in to save Christmas," Ruby plainly answered as she ate another cookie. It had a strange but still appetizing flavor, but knowing that Starfire was the one who made it, she wisely decided against asking.
"Oh, okay. That makes sense. I'm going to go back to bed," Starfire announced, then lazily floated back to her room.
"Tell the others I said hi!" Ruby asked, and Starfire waved affirmatively from behind her back as she disappeared. "It was nice seeing her again."
"Ruby, come on. We have a schedule to keep," Weiss instructed. Ruby nodded and finished the cookies before rushing over, then took her teammates out through the chimney.
Taking off once again, they continued their deliveries, making remarkable time despite the number they were dealing with. After only a few hours, they managed to knock the number down from the millions to the hundreds of thousands, and they all felt that they would have more than enough time to finish before the night was over. With each passing house, everyone felt a sense of pride and accomplishment fill their souls, knowing that their work was bringing joy and happiness to so many people. Even Blake and Weiss, the least spirited among them, felt their Christmas spirit rise with each and every household. It was hard not to, especially after seeing how much work went into the decorations, the lights, smells and more. While they might not fully connect with it, they at least now understood.
Unfortunately, as the night went on and the number of houses decreased, their deliveries became harder.
"Dog, dog, dog!" Blake yelled as a large rottweiler barked and charged at them, its mouth covered in slobber. Weiss managed to stop it in its tracks with one of her glyphs long enough for them to drop off the presents and Ruby to eat the cookies. How she had not managed to get sick from all the sugar yet, none of them knew, and at this point they were too afraid to ask.
"Looks like a party's going on in there," Yang said as they saw flashing red and green lights coming out from the windows, accompanied by blaring music. Dozens of people were inside, dancing the night away and getting drunk off eggnog.
"How are we supposed to deliver their presents?" Weiss asked, only for Yang to pat her shoulder and shake her head.
"Leave that to me," she announced, then grabbed all the presents and jumped down.
"What is she…?" Blake started, only for Ruby to groan in realization just before Yang knocked on the door.
"What's up, party people?!" Yang shouted out, holding the presents aloft as the people inside cheered and welcomed her in.
"Of course…"
"I wonder who lives here?" Blake wondered aloud as they looked around the house they were in. It was very colorful, with tie-dyed curtains and lit by warm lava lamps. Beads dangled from doorways, forcing them to carefully brush past them so that they could move around and do their work.
"Anyone else smell that?" Yang asked, taking a few deep sniffs and scrunching up her nose.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I do," Weiss admitted. "It…almost smells like…"
"Hey, guys," Ruby announced, her voice sounding weird and unfocused, "I just ate this plate of cookies and all of sudden this unicorn walked in—AAAGH, NOW THE UNICORN TURNED INTO SNAKES!"
Ruby began to freak out and flail around the kitchen, and everyone looked at her in realization and utter horror, most of all Yang. As she and Blake rushed over to try calming her down, Weiss sighed, closed her eyes, and pinched the top of her nose.
"Great, Ruby's high now," Weiss muttered, shaking her head. "Ugh, this is just perfect…"
"I just…really like how your ears feel, ya' know?" Ruby said as she gently rubbed Blake's ears. "They feel so…soft and warm…hehehehe."
"That's great, Ruby," Blake replied, trying her best to ignore her leader. Weiss was now taking the lead in piloting the sleigh while Yang was trying her best not to laugh at the predicament.
"Oh, no! You're upset! I'm sorry, Blakey!" Ruby wailed, far more emotionally than she normally would as she fell into Blake's lap.
"It's okay, I'm fine," Blake calmly told her leader, who looked up at her with tears in her unfocused eyes.
"You…you sure?" she asked, sniffing a little. Blake sighed and patted Ruby's head, then nodded. This seemed to cheer her up as she sat back upright, but instead of going back to running her fingers through Blake's hair she turned towards Yang's own locks, only her sisterly privilege preventing protest.
"Wow, Yang! Your hair feels so…so…I forgot what I was doing," Ruby admitted, staring off into the night sky for a moment before chuckling. "Hehehe, we're so high…"
"One of us is…" Weiss mumbled.
"I don't get it," Ruby replied, looking back at Weiss as though she was speaking an alien language. Weiss merely sighed exasperatingly, knowing that they would have to deal with this for a few more hours at least.
"This is why you don't go around eating all the cookies you can, sis," Yang advised her sister. "You never know what someone, in this case a pothead, might put into them.
"Ooh, cookies. Speaking of, I'm hungry. Can we stop and get something?"
"No," Weiss answered.
"Ah, come on, Weiss! Don't be like that…" Ruby droned on before losing focus once again. "Hehe, that cloud looks like a rabbit…"
"Ugh…" Weiss groaned, not believing that this was happening to them right now. It was bad enough having to deal with her childish leader, but as it turns out, dealing with a childish leader who was high as a kite was even worse.
"How many more houses do we have left?" Blake asked, hoping to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.
"Just one more, it looks like," Yang revealed as she looked into the bag. "Whoa, that is the biggest piece of coal I've ever seen. Wonder who this goes to?"
"I don't care who it goes to. Let's just…deliver the coal to them and get back home," Weiss said as the sleigh automatically began taking them there.
"Aren't you in the least bit worried about who's supposed get that coal?" Blake asked as the sleigh angled upward. "I mean, for a piece of coal that big, that person must be evil."
"Eh, I'm sure we can handle it," Yang replied while flexing her arm. "Besides, we're Huntresses! If push comes to shove, we can take care of anyone trying to get us. It's not like we're going to Apokolips or something."
All of Team RWBY stared fearfully as the sleigh flew them through the vacuum of space towards Apokolips. Seeing the fiery inferno and massive forges that spewed ash and flame into the vast reaches of space firsthand was far grander and more terrifying than anything they could have possibly imagined. They were shaking in their seats, looking around as Parademons and warships surrounded them.
"Oh, I am coming down at the worst possible time…" Ruby muttered as she looked around, trying to find a way out of this situation.
"Why does Santa have deliveries to Apokolips, of all places? Why?" Blake fearfully asked, rocking back and forth as Apokolips grew closer.
"More importantly, why aren't they attacking? They clearly see us," Weiss pointed out, trying her best to remain calm despite the dire situation they found themselves in.
"I…don't know," Yang answered, looking around as they flew through the atmosphere. A few Parademons flew too close for comfort, some snarling at them and clawing the air threateningly, but none actually attacked them.
Once inside Apokolips itself, their noses were assaulted by a foul stench of death and smog. An intense heat, the greatest they had ever experienced, washed over them, making them sweat profusely. All around them, toiling on the ground and in the factories were the impoverished Lowlies, watched over by those who enslaved them. All RWBY could do was peer over the side of their sleigh, watching sadly as they flew towards a grand palace that the entire planet seemed centered around. Once they landed, they were immediately surrounded by Parademons and Apokoliptians, who brandished their weapons and roared menacingly.
Team RWBY stared at them all, then Yang steeled herself and hopped out of the sleigh. After a moment, the others did as well, defiantly staring them all down and brandishing their weapons at the same time, fully expecting a fight to break out. But that didn't happen. Instead, much to their surprise, they heard a slow clap coming from the palace itself, and as it drew closer, accompanied by heavy footsteps, the Parademons parted to reveal the embodiment of tyranny itself, Darkseid.
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Darkseid rumbled, smiling menacingly as he walked closer, never once ceasing his applause. "Four children from a dead world at my doorstep, wearing…this."
"Darkseid…" Ruby muttered, tightening her grip on Crescent Rose. Upon hearing his name, Darkseid's smile grew, and he continued to clap.
"Ah, so you know who I am. Good, that is how it should be, Ruby Rose," he declared.
"What do you want with us?" Yang demanded, cocking her arm back. "Because if it's a fight you want-!"
"Oh, no. You misunderstand me, Yang Xiao Long," Darkseid interrupted, stopping right in front of them while continuing to clap. "I don't wish to fight you. No, I wish to thank and congratulate you."
"Come again?" Blake asked, and Darkseid turned towards her.
"For countless eons, Blake Belladonna, I have attempted to deal with a troublesome interloper," he revealed. "One who trespasses on Apokolips each and every year, without fail, on this exact same date. Long have I tried to prevent his arrival, throwing everything I had towards him, but never to any success."
"Wait, don't tell me…" Weiss began, and Darkseid's smile grew as he threw his arms to the side.
"Indeed, my greatest foe is the very being you yourself defeated!" he announced while clenching his fist. "Santa Claus…"
"…You have got to be kidding me…" Weiss droned, feeling a migraine form as she struggled to comprehend the sheer lunacy she was hearing. Blake was in the same boat, although Ruby and Yang felt that it was the most awesome thing they had ever heard.
"I am many things, Weiss Schnee, but I am not a liar," Darkseid asserted. "Every year, Santa Claus, the embodiment of joy and happiness, broke through my defenses just to deliver a lump of a coal, the very same one you are carrying right now. Never once was I able to stop him, despite my power, and yet he was inadvertently defeated by you. A group of children who didn't know any better, nearly destroying everything he worked for in one fell swoop. I am impressed."
"…Thank…you?" Ruby said, not really knowing how she should feel about this. Darkseid laughed, the sound booming across the planet, and the rest of his people joined in.
"Leave the coal," he announced as he turned around and walked back into his palace. "You may leave in peace."
"…Okay…" Ruby muttered as the crowd dispersed.
One of Darkseid's sons, Kalibak, came up and reached into the bag in order to grab the coal, an act that seemingly filled him with remorse. Nevertheless, the loyal son carried the coal into the palace, and soon team RWBY was left alone.
"…We should get out of here," Ruby suggested.
"Yes, let's."
All four jumped into the sleigh, then took off at a speed faster than any of them thought possible.
The sun was beginning to rise as team RWBY returned to Metropolis, still trying to wrap their heads around their entire journey. On the one hand, it was largely nice and seeing all the Christmas spirit everyone was displaying lifted their hearts. On the other hand, Ruby ate a bunch of pot cookies, with predictable results, followed by them delivering coal to Darkseid himself, who proceeded to compliment them for shooting down Santa Claus. They honestly weren't sure which hand outweighed the other, but they were certain of the fact that they never wanted to do this again.
"Guys, we're back," Ruby announced as they landed the sleigh on their balcony. Trudging into the apartment, they took off their hats and sighed before looking around. To their shock and alarm, they saw that Nora was wrapped tightly in garlands against the tree, a group of elves aiming candy cane rifles at her while others tended both to Santa and the rest of JNPR. The entire apartment looked like a warzone, one that had only ceased right before their arrival.
"Okay, what happened? Why is Nora tied up?" Yang asked, looking around as one of the elves wandered over.
"Your friend was very…enthusiastic, to put it lightly," he said. "Don't worry, we'll have everything fixed up momentarily."
"…Okay. That's fair," Yang admitted, then turned towards the others. "How bad was she?"
"You don't want to know," Jaune, Ren, and Pyrrha all said at once while Nora merely groaned into the garland wrapped around her face as a muzzle.
"You feeling better, Santa?" Ruby asked as Santa Claus was helped off the sofa by another elf.
"I'm feeling fine, Ruby. No need to worry about me, ho-ho-ho," he replied and laughed jollily. After a moment, though, he winced in slight pain. Clearly Santa would need time to recover, but at the very least he didn't look as though he was going to keel over any second.
"Now, before I leave, there is one more delivery I must make," Santa remarked, causing the rest of team RWBY to look at each other in confusion.
"I don't understand, we delivered everything," Weiss said. "Even the coal to Darkseid."
"Terribly sorry about that, by the way. I was in so much pain, it completely slipped my mind," Santa apologized, but Yang waved him off.
"Eh, don't worry about it," Yang dismissed. Santa looked as though he wanted to protest, but he stopped himself and shook his head before smiling.
He limped over to his sleigh, the elves helping him along as he reached into the bag, To RWBY and JNPR's surprise, they found eight boxes which hadn't been there before, each labeled with their names. He tossed the presents over to RWBY and JNPR, who caught them. Even Nora, although the act caused the garlands holding her up to snap, followed by her falling face first into the floor.
"I'm okay!" she announced, still laying down on the wooden surface. Despite the ordeal Nora put him and the rest of her team through, Santa couldn't help but chuckle at the boisterous girl. Then he moved to sit down in his sleigh, only to stop as Ruby snapped her fingers in realization.
"Ooh, before you go!" Ruby shouted as she disappeared in a flurry of petals. When she returned, she was holding a small device up to Santa Claus, who gently took it in his gloved hand.
"It's an IFF tag," Ruby bashfully explained as she kicked the balcony floor. "That way, you know, this…doesn't happen again."
Santa looked at Ruby and smiled warmly, then rubbed the top of her head. The affectionate gesture caused her to smile, and Santa laughed as moved to sit down.
"Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas!" Santa announced as he fully sat down in his sleigh, followed by his elves disappearing out of thin air. After a pull on the reins, the reindeer ran off into the sky, pulling the sleigh up and into the clouds, out of sight.
"Merry Christmas!" Ruby and everyone else shouted back, waving Santa Claus off until they could no longer see him. Once he was completely out of sight, the eight Huntsmen and Huntresses looked at the presents in their hands, and they wondered what to do next.
"You know, after everything that happened," Blake began, smiling warmly to her friends as she placed the presents down, "I think I finally get it. Christmas isn't about the presents, not really. It's about spending time with each other, the people we love and cherish most. That's what I saw when we were delivering those presents to everyone. They aren't the real point. They simply serve as symbols, tokens of appreciation meant to show how much we mean to one another."
"Yeah, I feel that way, too," Weiss said, smiling as well as she placed her present on the ground. "Honestly, I don't think we need to—"
"AH, HE GOT ME AN XBOX SERIES X!" Ruby suddenly cheered as she opened her gift, followed by everyone else doing the same. "THANK YOU, SANTA!"
Weiss and Blake stared at everyone as they greedily tore into their gifts, then looked at each other flatly before sighing and hanging their heads.
[~][~]
Merry Christmas, everyone! Here is the 2020 Holiday Special for Hunters of Justice. Special thanks to Jesse K and NaanContributor for their help in bringing this to life. I couldn't do this without them.
2020 has come and gone, and by all accounts it was a rough year. But now it's behind us and we can look forward to a - hopefully - much better year. With that in mind, what better way to close the year out than with some lighthearted Chibi fun? I certainly can't think of anything better.
Now, onto the Q&A:
Guest (1): Oh yeah, this story is going to be a long one. You guys better strap yourselves in. As for what remains to be covered, you're going to have to wait and see.
Guest (2): I have seen it, yes, although the tone of that doesn't really fit the more serious tone of this story. Perhaps for Chibi stuff, but not for the main story.
BNGwarrior: Thank you, I'm glad you've been enjoying it so far. As for future arcs, you're going to have to wait and see.
TheWriter946: Please keep in mind that I cannot and will not elaborate on whether characters or concepts will appear in the story. All I can say is wait to find out.
Chaldea: That's the wrong question to ask, really. Frankly, at the end of the day, Salem is immortal and the only who can kill her is herself by learning her lesson. Thus far, she hasn't, so there isn't really anything anyone can do to permanently put her in the ground. That being said, as declared by Ozpin, she's not invincible, otherwise she would have won already.
AMTT94: Thank you, I really appreciate it. We put a lot of work into constructing this version of the DC Universe, maintaining its eccentricities and fun while also remaining easy to understand to the average layman. Frankly, comics can get confusing, and there's a reason why DC has had so many reboots over the years, both complete (Crisis on Infinite Earths) and partial (DC Rebirth). It's inevitable after having dozens of writers juggling the same characters for decades. Things get lost in translation. While it certainly fleshed out the DC world tremendously, it severely limited our ability to really crossover the main DC universe with RWBY, which isn't helped by the fact that there are so many different and valid interpretations and incarnations of the DC Universe. The DCAU, Pre-Crisis comics, Post-Crisis comics, the New 52 comics, the live-action movies, and so on. If I picked one, it severely limited our ability to tell the crossover story we wanted to tell, so we did the next best thing and made a universe of our own by mixing and matching the best elements from a lot of different DC sources. We feel that doing so was the best option and it's worked out pretty well for us so far.
Also, as for Shazam/Captain Marvel, the movie already happened prior to this chapter. Regarding Violet, you are correct that she is primarily based off of her Young Justice incarnation, with some comic elements mixed in for good measure. You're going to have to wait and see regarding what Salem is doing as well. Same with the Green Lantern assault. As for Damian and Ruby, stay tuned for that.
Guest (3): Certainly possible, but don't take that as a guarantee.
Vein Bloodborne: No, the rest of the team are still coming. I'm just saving them for chapters that really focused on the character in question. Right now, all I have left is Blake, Jaune, and Nora, and if there's a chapter that has a big revelation or big moment for them that takes up a significant chunk of the chapter, you can expect that the next thing I write is a Batcomputer File for that character. Granted, it'll be posted to SB first then compiled and posted onto and AO3 later. It's just how it works.
Crossovernaru: Yay, that means I've succeeded. I always want to make sure that I pepper in enough foreshadowing and anticipating to keep you all hooked. As for sharing Shazam's powers, no, at least not anymore. I'm glad you're enjoying the scenes with Luke Fox. He's an important character for this arc and provides a neat perspective on things regarding how non-superheroes are reacting to the crazy events unfolding around them. Same with Violet, she's going to have an impact going forward.
gordhanx: Yeah, the Remnant scene was pretty important in my eyes. Expect to see more of them with greater frequency in the coming chapters as we build up to the Green Lanterns assault. After that, there's going to be a noticeable decline in appearances, though. That's simply because we can't show everything without it becoming repetitive. Each of their scenes thus far was meant to introduce or foreshadow something plot related or outright move the plot forward. There's only so many times I can do that.
Dalivan: That was certainly an inspiration, but it wasn't lifted from it exactly.
Jackalope89: Yeah, exactly. I don't like stories that are relentlessly and endlessly dark. I get fatigued just by reading them long enough. Darkness has its purpose, though, which I intend to incorporate.
Guest (4): Oh yeah, the next chapter is going to be fun.
Guest (5): You'll have to wait and see what I have planned in that front.
Helljumper206: We had that explanation ready for a long time, we just needed the perfect opportunity to show it. A lot of people had been asking why Brainiac wasn't defeated yet, and now here you guys are. They can't, not without risking the lives the trillions. While someone like Darkseid or even Mongol would be more than willing to do that, should they ever come to blows, others including the Green Lanterns are not, which severely hampers their ability to combat him.
Brian.H.H: While the majority of this story is centered around the Justice League, it's not exclusive to it. I'm just using the Justice League as a shorthand for the entirety of the DC Universe. Kind of like how the Avengers is for the Marvel universe. I hope your class went well, and please try to remember to get enough sleep. Sleep is important.
mastergamer14: At most, one or two chapters, and it's set after the movie. This is going to be more of a two-parter depending on how much I want to cover. Don't expect anything major to happen on the Shazam side. Also, no. Violet is not Salem, she is in fact Halo based off the Young Justice incarnation.
Jacob9594: Funnily enough, canon might have proven me right, depending on whatever bomb Ironwood cooked up in Volume 8 to kill Monstra.
Notros: Oh, it's certainly going to be interesting, that's for sure.
6tailedninja: Yeah, I remember that scene. It was pretty funny.
Vein Bloodborne: Yep, lots of stuff happened last chapter. Slow, but important nonetheless. And yes, Halo is mostly based off the YJ version, but not 100%. You'll see more of that as time goes on.
D. : You'll have to wait and see, honestly.
The Viking Stranger: Remember, it's from his perspective as well as the rest of Remnant. To them, splitting an atom is a revolutionary new thing, but as real life has shown, it's not the first time someone has come up with the concept.
R3WY: They'll have villains orienting more towards them as time goes on, but don't expect any OC villains.
Iron117Prime: That they are. You guys are in for a wild ride, that's for sure.
SulliMike23: Yep, I hope to have it happen in the next few chapters. Got a few more build up to do, though. Also, no, that isn't Enchantress. She's around, but Violet is Halo, not Enchantress.
I Am The Prophet: You will have to wait and see.
That's it for this time. Merry Christmas, everyone, and a Happy New Year!