A/N: Before I get started with this Christmas fic, I'd like to give a few shoutouts. First of all, I'd like to give shoutouts to Momijifan Low-Ki, WhosAnonymous and CVGWJames for supporting my Sonouge fics. It makes me feel good knowing that there is a market for this pairing. Second of all, I'd like to give another shoutout to CVGWJames as well as jurassicdinodrew for supporting the Sonic Journeys series. I'm going to try to have the fourth episode out next year; I was just really wrapped up with My Hero Academia fics. Next, I'd also like to give a shoutout to Ryuujin96 not only for giving LOTS of support to my ongoing MHA fic Gonna Kiss You On the Boulevard, but also for making the time and effort to review a couple of my Sonic fics. Again, I'm not in this for the fame, but it really makes me feel good to know that somebody out there recognizes and appreciates my efforts. Fourth, I'd also like to give a shoutout to Sanryokyoko for not only putting out some interesting Sonic fics, but also for reviewing some of my own. Thanks for the support! Finally, I'd like to give a shoutout to the lovely KagamiPINKAgreste not only for getting me more into Miraculous, but for everything else she's done for me this year. In the words of Fleetwood Mac: "You Make Loving Fun"!

All that aside, Merry Christmas, and to all a jolly time!

Sonic the Hedgehog drove his cobalt blue 1970 Chevy Camaro Z/28 down a long and lonesome highway in the Kingdom of Mobius. There was but a light dusting of snow on the ground, and the temperature wasn't frigid, but to him, it felt enough like Christmas. Also in tow were his best friend Miles "Tails" Prower, his other really good friend Knuckles the Echidna and Tails' girlfriend Zooey. Speaking of towing, Tails had also hooked up an anti-grav trailer to the Camaro because a couple of the gifts that they were bringing were too big to fit in the car's trunk. Thus far, everyone seemed to be in accord, except for one person…

"Sonic, remind me why we're havin' this party at Bat Girl's place again?" Knuckles crossed his arms.

"Well, Rouge said that Shad would be more comfortable havin' it there. Besides, Amy's supposed to be showin' up to this get-down as well, and I hear talk that she's got the hots for Shad."

Zooey put a finger on her cheek. "I've never met Shadow or Rouge before, so I don't really know what they're like apart from what Sonic has said."

"Shadow can seem like a cold-hearted, unforgiving person, but he's really not that bad," said Tails. "He just needs somebody to love. As for Rouge, she's really friendly, but don't be surprised if she gets really touchy-feely or makes flirty comments at you. Also, their robot friend Omega is pretty cool, though he has trouble understanding the customs of carbon-based life forms."

"Sounds like an interesting bunch."

"Hey, I can dig Rouge bein' touchy-feely!" said Sonic.

Tails smirked at Sonic. "Of course, you could!"

"Yeah, well as long as she doesn't touch or feel me, I guess I'll tolerate her presence," said Knuckles.

Soon enough, the Camaro pulled up to the front gate of a massive, worn-down mansion that appeared to have been built centuries ago. Sonic rolled down his window and pressed a button on an intercom box next to the gate.

"Who is it?" asked a familiar voice.

"Rouge, it's Sonic. I got Tails and a couple more here for the Christmas party."

The gate opened, and Sonic drove up to the front door of the mansion. After he shut off the Camaro's engine, him and the rest of the gang hopped out, opened up the trailer and prepared to unload presents. They then headed to the front door. As soon as they got there, it opened, and…

"BIG BLUE!"

Rouge the Bat wrapped her arms around Sonic and kissed him, and he gladly returned the gesture even with all the redness going to his face. Besides, considering how soft, warm and cuddly she was, how could he resist? Nevertheless, once they broke away, there was something he was concerned about…

"Rouge, I'm glad to see ya, but…why are ya wearin' your witch outfit? It ain't Halloween."

Indeed, Rouge was dressed as a witch, with a dark purple/orange strapless dress with an orange sash, dark purple opera gloves, black leggings, dark purple pumps and a dark purple/orange witch hat with a pink heart-shaped buckle, but she had a ready answer for Sonic with a smile on her face:

"So, Sonic, there's something I've never told you…"

Sonic blinked. "Yeah?"

"See, I'm a devout Wiccan, and Christmas is really just the Christian version of various pagan rituals meant to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Besides, I think most so-called 'Christians' are evil."

Tails raised an eyebrow at the last part. "Um…Rouge…why do you think that?"

"Yeah, my mom taught me that no religion is inherently evil," said Zooey.

Rouge kept smiling and waved her hands about, palms forwards. "Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely welcoming towards people of other religions, and I truly believe there are good Christians out there!" She then frowned and crossed her arms. "Having said that, my issue is with people who call themselves 'Christians', and yet they use their religion as an excuse to deprive people of their civil liberties, whether by attacking LGBTQ rights or trying to strip women of their right to an abortion."

Knuckles clenched his fists. "Now ya know how I feel!"

Rouge's smile returned, and she pinched Knuckles' cheek. "And that's why we get along so well, hon!"

Knuckles blushed. "OK, no need to be so syrupy!"

"But I'm happy to see my Knuckie!"

Sonic put a hand on Rouge's shoulder. "'Scuse me, Mama, I'm happy that you're happy to see all of us, but where do ya want we should put the presents?"

Rouge let go of Knuckles, who rubbed the cheek that had been pinched. "Oh, put them in the living room! Shaddy should already be there!"

Without further question, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Zooey proceeded to unload their presents from the Camaro and its attached trailer, Tails helping Zooey to unload a particularly large present from the trailer and onto a small anti-grav trolley. They then carried them into the mansion, which – in contrast to its aged, worn exterior – was pristine and shiny on the inside, with black-and-white checkerboard tiled floors with imported rugs, imported crystal chandeliers and marble columns, among other amenities. Sure enough, Shadow the Hedgehog was awaiting them in the living room, sitting on a leather couch, watching one of his favorite Executioner movies, while the scents of cedar and juniper caressed everybody's noses. A Christmas tree had indeed been set up, albeit with decorations in line with Wiccan culture, such as sun symbols and and pentacles.

"So, you pathetic mortals actually made it here on time," said Shadow. "Who's the fox girl?"

Sonic pointed to Zooey. "Shad, this is Zooey. She's Tails' girlfriend. Zooey, this is Shadow the Hedgehog."

Zooey smiled and waved at Shadow. "Hi, Shadow! Nice to meet you!"

Shadow said nothing; he merely glared at Zooey.

"It's OK!" said Zooey. "I won't hurt you!"

Shadow continued to glare at Zooey, causing her to chuckle nervously. Tails put a hand on her shoulder.

"Believe me, this is normal for him. You'll get used to it."

Shadow crossed his arms. "And if you don't like it, I don't care."

"Shaddy, are you being mean to anybody?" said Rouge.

"No, that would be impolite of me."

Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips. "Good, because then I'd have to punish you!"

"Hmph."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Excuse me for a second!"

Rouge headed to the front door to receive her latest arrivals, another trio of familiar faces…

"Amy! Cream! Big! Glad you three could make it!"

Amy Rose smiled. "I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

"We're glad to see you too, Auntie Rouge!" said Cream the Rabbit.

"Chao!" said Cheese, Cream's pet Chao.

"Froggy says 'hi', too," said Big the Cat.

"Come on in!" said Rouge. "Sonic and his friends are here already!"

Amy, Cream and Big prepared to bring some presents in, too.

"SONIC!"

"Hey, Ames!"

Amy gave Sonic a hug, which he gladly returned. In contrast to how she was usually perceived, this wasn't one of her infamous windpipe-crushing fangirl hugs, but rather, a friendly yet warm and cuddly one.

"Good to see you!" said Amy.

"Likewise, Mama!"

"Hello, Mr. Sonic! Hello, Mr. Tails! Hello, Mr. Knuckles!"

"Hey Cream!"

"Chao Chao!" said Cheese.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles joined in a group hug with Cream and Cheese.

"Hi guys!" said Big.

Sonic broke away from the group hug. "Hey Big, what's happenin'?"

"Not much. Just taking a break from ice fishing to join the Christmas party."

"By the way, nice to see you again, Zooey!" said Amy.

Amy gave Zooey a hug, which she gladly returned. Tails dropped his jaw.

"Wait…since when do you two know each other?"

"Amy goes to this Fuzzy Puppies Meetup group that I'm a part of!" said Zooey.

Tails stroked his chin. "Makes sense."

Everyone turned around when they heard Shadow clear his throat, only to discover that he was right next to them.

"Not to interrupt this, but I wanted to say 'hi' to Amy as well."

"SHADOW!"

Amy gave Shadow a big hug, which he returned with a smile on his face. Zooey, Cream and Rouge let out a collective "awww" when they saw the Ultimate Life Form showing a softer side of himself. As for Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, they tried to suppress giggles, knowing that this ostensibly cold-hearted artificial hedgehog was displaying genuine happiness.

"Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, I can hear you giggling over there. Stop."

Amy broke away from the hug. "Shadow's right. There's no need to make fun of him!"

Sonic smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Mama! We're just happy that Shad's happy, ya know?"

"Hmph." Shadow crossed his arms.

"Miss Amy, we'd better get the rest of the presents in here!"

"Right!"

With some assistance from Team Sonic as well as Shadow and Rouge, Team Rose brought the rest of their presents in, by which time, the third member of Team Dark had shown up…

"SHADOW, ROUGE, MY PERIMETER PATROL IS COMPLETE," said E-123 Omega. "NO UNAUTHORIZED LIFE FORMS OF ANY COMPOSITION HAVE BEEN DETECTED, ALTHOUGH MY DATABANKS CONTAIN NO ENTRIES REGARDING THE BLONDE FOX GIRL."

Zooey waved at Omega. "Hi, I'm Zooey!"

"GREETINGS, ZOOEY. I AM DESIGNATED 'E-123 OMEGA', ALTHOUGH YOU MAY REFER TO ME AS 'OMEGA' IF BREVITY IS WHAT YOU AIM FOR."

"Nice to meet you, Omega!"

"THE PLEASURE IS MUTUAL."

"Hey Rouge, so…when do we get started openin' presents?" asked Sonic.

"First, we join hands in the Welcoming of the Sun Ceremony!" said Rouge.

Everyone gathered in a circle and joined hands with each other, while Rouge recited the following prayer:

"O, Horned God and Mother Goddess, bless this ceremonial gathering of friends, that the sun may return and brighten our days with warmth. And lead us not into wrath, but rather to the company of peace and love. Amen."

Everyone let go of each other's hands.

"Now then…" Rouge pulled out a pad of sticky notes and a pen from her cleavage. "Please, write your names down and put them in my hat."

Everyone – including Rouge – wrote their names down, while Rouge took off her hat so they could all put their names in. She then drew the first name:

"Big, you're up first."

Big stepped up. He looked around for a bit, trying to decide who to give a present to first, until…

"Here you go, robot."

Big handed Omega a box, which the robot opened. Inside was an Optimus Prime G1 action figure.

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PURPLE CAT. TRANSFORMERS IS MY FAVORITE TELEVISION PROGRAM. I FIND YOUR GIFT VERY LOGICAL."

"I know, right?" said Sonic. "Optimus Prime is one of the coolest cats on the block!"

"I agree," said Tails. "I just wish that Michael Bay had used a Peterbilt 352 to represent him in the live-action movies."

"You're welcome, robot!" said Big. "Cream, here you go."

Cream opened her present, which turned out to be a stuffed frog. She smiled when she saw it.

"Thank you, Big! I love collecting stuffed toys! Now I have a new friend to play with!"

"Chao!"

Big smiled. "You're welcome."

Cream gave Big a hug, which elicited a collective "awww" from everybody except Shadow. After the hug, Big then turned to give out his next present…

"Merry Christmas, Sonic."

"You too, my man!"

Sonic opened his present up. It was a trophy with a little statue of him and a plaque that said "GREATEST HERO EVER". Naturally, he smiled when he saw it.

"Thanks, Big! You're one cool cat, ya know that?"

"You're welcome, Sonic!"

"Hmph." Shadow crossed his arms. "I'm the coolest."

Next up on Big's list was Zooey:

"I hope you like it," said Big.

"I'm sure I will!"

Zooey opened her gift, which turned out to be The Complete Works of Shakespeare, only it was in Klingon.

"qathlo', Big!" said Zooey.

"qay'be'!"

Everyone else gave each other strange looks, not expecting either party to be fluent in Klingon. Meanwhile, Big continued his gift-giving spree with a most unlikely face…

"Here you go, Shadow."

"Hmph."

Shadow opened his gift, which was a DVD boxset of the first season of an Executioner animated series. He dropped his jaw when he saw it.
"I…I had no idea this existed! Big, thank you!"

"You're welcome, Shadow."

After Shadow, Big gave a gift to Tails next, which turned out to be a 50-Mobium gift card to KFC/Taco Bell/Pizza Hut. He smiled.

"Thanks, Big! I enjoy making a run to Taco Bell every now and then!"

"You, into Taco Bell?" said Sonic. "Tails, you're a bag of surprises, ya know that?"

"What? I love their Chicken Chalupas, especially the Naked Chicken Chalupa!"

Sonic shrugged. "Ah, fair enough."

After Tails came another Flight-type character, namely Rouge.

"Awww, how nice of you!"

Rouge proceeded to open her gift, which was a Tsuyu Asui Nendoroid. She gasped when she saw it.

"OH MY GOSH, she is so ADORABLE! Thank you so much, honey!"

"You're welcome, Rouge."

Big chose to give a gift to Knuckles next.

"Whoa, this is a huge gift!" said Knuckles. "This oughta be good!"

Knuckles did his best to open it. It turned out to be a Frogger arcade cabinet.

"Hey, I love this game! As far as I'm concerned, the arcade version's the only way to go! Thanks, Big!"

"You're welcome, Knuckles."

Last, but most certainly not least was Amy:

"Ooh, I'm so excited!"

When Amy opened her gift, it was a green strapless dress, along with a matching hair band and pumps. She gasped when she saw it.

"OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!"* exclaimed Amy. "This is such a CUTE outfit!"

"I got it because it matches your eyes."

"Thank you SO MUCH!"

Amy gave big a hug, which elicited another collective "awww" from everyone, even Shadow.

"All right, who's next?"

Rouge proceeded to draw…

"Shaddy, you're up!"

Shadow's first recipient was obvious…

"Big, since you got me that DVD boxset, you're first."

"Ooh, I can't wait to see what you got me!"

Big opened his gift from Shadow, which was a box of Fish Magnet bait.

"I've never heard of this bait before," said Big.

"I looked at a lot of reviews. They say it's guaranteed to attract and hold fish."

"Thank you, Shadow!"

"You're welcome."

Shadow's next gift was someone rather unexpected…

"Well, Faker…here you go…I guess…"

"Thanks, Shad!"

Sonic opened his gift, which was a 100-Mobium gift card to Joey's Pizza.

"Hell yeah!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "They make the best chili dogs in all of Mobius! You the man, Shad!"

"You're welcome, I suppose."

Rouge smiled and clasped her hands to her cheek. "Awww, Shaddy! That was so sweet of you to put aside your differences with Sonic to give him that!"

"Hmph. I only did it because I didn't want to let you down."

"Still, you're such a sweetie!"

"Anyways…"

Zooey was the next recipient of a gift from Shadow.

"How nice! I didn't expect a gift from you!"

"Hmph."

When Zooey opened her gift, she found a stun gun. She smiled.

"Thank you! Sometimes, I travel to dangerous areas, so it's nice to have this!"

Shadow nodded. "You're welcome."

Rouge cleared her throat and smiled. "Shaddy…"

"What?"

Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips. "Why did you get her a dangerous weapon like that?"

Shadow crossed his arms. "The world is full of rotten people. A girl like her needs to be prepared."

"He's got a point, you know!" said Zooey.

Rouge stared at Zooey, who kept a smile on her face. Soon enough, Rouge broke down smiling as well.

"Ah, what the heck!" said Rouge. "Just promise you'll be careful with that, OK, hon?"

Zooey gave a thumbs up. "Will do!"

Next up was someone who was near and dear to Shadow…

"Here you go, Rouge."

"Awww, you're so sweet!"

Rouge opened her gift, which was an emerald-encrusted coffee mug. She let out a loud, drawn-out gasp when she saw it.

"Shaddy, this is SO BEAUTIFUL! Thank you SO MUCH!"

Rouge gave Shadow a big hug, which he gladly returned. Everyone let out another collective "awww" when this happened.

"You're such a good little Shaddy baby!"

"You're welcome, Rouge. I'm honored to be your little Shaddy baby."

"Awww!"

Once they broke away from the hug, Shadow turned to his next recipient…

"Amy…Merry Christmas."

"Awww, thank you, Shadow!"

Without hesitation, Amy opened her gift, which was a book from the people who hosted a podcast titled Tales of Mystery and Imagination, titled The Most Mysterious and Imaginative Tales: The Book of the Podcast 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination'. She gasped when she saw it.

"OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!* This is like my FAVORITE podcast EVER! Thank you SO MUCH!"

Amy wrapped her arms around Shadow and kissed him, and he gladly returned the gesture despite turning green in the face. Once again, there was a collective "awww". Eventually, she broke away from the kiss, but kept her arms around him, as did he.

"Amy, this is the happiest day of my life! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Shadow!"

"Amy…please call me Shaddy."

"Awww, what a cute nickname!"

"Thank you! Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Hold on, Shaddy!" said Rouge.

"Yes?"

"I wanna get a picture of you and Amy together!"

Amy looked at Shadow. "Can we?"

Shadow nodded. "Fair enough."

"Grand!" said Rouge. "Smile for the camera!"

Shadow and Amy stood next to each other, each with an arm wrapped around them, putting on their best smiles while Rouge took their picture. Then, Amy let go of Shadow so he could give out his next gift…

"Merry Christmas, Cream!"

"Thank you, Mr. Shadow!"

"Chao!" said Cheese.

When Cream opened her gift, she got an interesting surprise: a Nerf gun plus extra darts.

"This is really nice, but…are you sure this is safe?"

Shadow smiled. "Of course! Just don't shoot anyone in the face, OK?"

"Right! Thank you again, Mr. Shadow!"

"You're welcome, Cream!"

Cream and Cheese also gave Shadow a hug, thus eliciting another collective "awww". After Cream was Shadow's other teammate in Team Dark.

"Here you go, Omega."

"THANK YOU, SHADOW."

The gift that Omega got was a typical Shadow gift: an Iron Maiden CD compilation titled Somewhere Back in Time: The Best of 1980-1990.

"MY DATABANKS INDICATE THAT IRON MAIDEN IS A POPULAR HEAVY METAL BAND. HOWEVER, I FIND THEIR POPULARITY ILLOGICAL GIVEN HOW FEW RADIO STATIONS PLAY THEIR MUSIC."

"Omega, just because a band isn't popular on the radio doesn't mean they're not a good band. Iron Maiden's the best metal band ever."

"MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATE THAT I WILL NOT REGRET LISTENING TO THEIR MUSIC. THANK YOU, SHADOW."

"You're welcome, Omega."

After Omega, it was Tails' turn.

"Whoa, this is a pretty big box…"

"I'm sure you'll like it."

Tails opened his gift. At the top of the cardboard box that was inside, there was a rectangular mahogany case, which he took out and opened. Inside was a Colt Python snub-nose in blued steel with fake pearl grips that had Tails' "twin tails" emblem on them. Tails smiled when he saw the gun.

"AWESOME!"

Rouge, however, was less than impressed, as evidenced by her angry frown and her fists on her hips:

"Shaddy, what did I tell you about giving guns to little children?"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Clearly, you underestimate this child. If you've seen his combat and technical skills, you'd know that he has the mind of a 24-year old at least."

"Don't give me any sass, mister! Take that gun back!"

"Rouge, I'm pretty sure that Tails is responsible enough to handle a gun."

Tails smiled. "Shadow's right! I know the four rules of gun safety: 1. Treat every gun as if it were loaded at all times, 2. Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire, 3. Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy, and 4. Never fire unless you're sure of your target and what's beyond it."

Rouge growled at Tails. "Tails, don't even…"

"Please?"

Tails smiled at Rouge and gave her "Bambi eyes". As much as she wanted to take his new .357 from him, the fact that he was able to recite the four basic rules of gun safety and that he was giving her that look proved too much for her…"

"Oh, I can't!" Rouge loosened her stance and smiled. "All right, I'll let you keep that gun, but PROMISE me you'll be safe with it, OK, Tails honey?"

Tails gave a thumbs up. "Definitely, Auntie Rouge!"

Rouge giggled. "Oh, you're such a good boy!"

Rouge ruffled the fur on top of Tails' head, causing him to giggle.

"There are other accessories in that box, too," said Shadow.

Tails looked inside and not only found four 50-round boxes of Federal 158-grain soft-point bullets, but also some speedloaders and a cleaning kit.

"Shadow, you're the best! Thank you so much!"

Tails gave Shadow a big hug. Despite being flustered by the gesture, he hugged the fox cub back, earning another collective "awww" from everybody.

"You're welcome, Tails."

"Shaddy, as much as I disapprove of you giving guns to children, I HAVE TO get a picture of you and Tails together!" said Rouge.

Shadow sighed. "Fine…"

"Hey, don't get pouty! Tails is a very nice boy!"

"Hmph."

Tails smiled as he wrapped an arm around Shadow for the picture. Once Shadow broke away, there was one more person left for him to give a gift to…

"Here you go, Knuckles. Merry Christmas!"

"Thanks, Shadow!"

Knuckles opened a long, rectangular box, which contained a hard steel case. Inside the case was a Mossberg 500 ATP shotgun.

"A shotgun?" said Knuckles. "What's this about, then?"

"I know you've expressed concerns about Rouge stealing the Master Emerald, so I decided to give you something to help defend it."

Rouge let out a loud, drawn-out gasp, and then put her fists on her hips. "SHADDY! How DARE you turn against your mommy like that!?"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Rouge, you know perfectly damn well that the Master Emerald is a sacred artifact and that tampering with it can lead to dire consequences."

"Oh, I'll give YOU dire consequences, mister!"

Rouge tackled Shadow to the ground.

"ROUGE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Yeah, you wanna betray me now!?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHP! STAHP!"

"Who's your mommy!? Who's your mommy!?"

"Y-YOU ARE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO MORE TICKLES!"

"Hey Rouge, let me join in!"

"AMY, NO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"This looks fun!" said Cream.

"Yeah, I'm joining in, too!" said Zooey.

"STAHP! STAHP! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

` Meanwhile, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles giggled at the sight of Shadow being tickled by four girls. Soon enough, though, the tickles stopped.

"Now, are you going to take up arms against your mommy again?" said Rouge.

Shadow sighed, green in the face. "No, Rouge."

"Good boy!"

Rouge ruffled the quills on top of Shadow's head. He then crossed his arms.

"You know, if you weren't my favorite person in the whole world, I would've ripped all your fingers off for daring to tickle me."

Rouge growled. "Oh yeah!?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHP! YOU MADE YOUR POINT!"

Rouge stopped tickling Shadow.

"Come on, Shaddy, being tickled isn't so bad!" said Amy.

"Maybe not for you."

"Anyways…" said Rouge, "let's see who's next!"

Rouge drew another name from her hat…

"Omega, you're lucky Number Three!"

"VERY WELL." Omega handed out his first gift. "MERRY CHRISTMAS, TAILS."

"Thanks, Omega!"

Tails opened the small gift that Omega gave to him.

"Oh, joy! A lucky rabbit's foot!"

Cream gasped when she heard and saw what the gift was. As hard as she tried to hold herself together, she broke down crying, much to Amy's consternation:

"Cream, it's OK!"

Amy gave Cream a big hug and did her best to calm her down, no simple task considering that the rosy pink hedgehog felt a great degree of hurt whenever one of her friends cried. Cheese also did his best. Rouge, meanwhile, had some words for Omega:

"Omega, what is wrong with you!? How can you be so insensitive!?"

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME, ROUGE. MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATED THAT IT WAS NOT A REAL RABBIT'S FOOT."

"Hold up, lemme see that…" Sonic took the rabbit's foot from Tails and looked at it. "Yeah, it's a fake all right."

"Huh?" Cream stopped crying.

Sonic smiled and approached Cream. "See? No reason to be sad! Come here!"

Sonic gave Cream a hug, which she gladly returned. Pretty much everyone else hugged her as well.

"CREAM, I APOLOGIZE FOR TRIGGERING YOUR SADNESS CIRCUITS," said Omega. "I HOPE THAT YOUR FORGIVENESS VARIABLE = TRUE."

"It's OK, Mr. Omega; I forgive you!"

"THANK YOU."

"Please, don't scare me like that again though, OK?"

"I PROMISE I SHALL BE MORE CAREFUL WITH MY GIFT SELECTION NEXT CHRISTMAS."

"Omega, dear, mommy still loves you!"

Rouge smiled and gave Omega a hug, which he returned.

"I STILL LOVE YOU TOO, ROUGE. NOW, IF YOU WILL EXCUSE ME, I MUST GIVE CREAM HER PRESENT NEXT."

"It's not going to be anything scary, is it?" said Cream.

"MY DATABANKS INDICATE THAT THIS ONE IS QUITE HARMLESS."

"Well, OK…"

Cream opened her gift next, which turned out to be a stuffed rabbit doll. In contrast to the other one, she received this far more warmly:

"Thank you, Mr. Omega! Now I have another new friend to play with!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME, CREAM."

Cream gave Omega a big hug, which he gladly returned. Once again, everyone let out an "awww" upon seeing this, and once again, Rouge photographed the moment.

"CREAM, IF I MAY, MY RANDOMIZER CIRCUIT TELLS ME THAT SONIC IS THE NEXT MEATBAG IN MY GIFT SEQUENCE."

"All right!" said Sonic.

Omega gave Sonic his present, which turned out to be a ten-pound bag of Huntington Bros. orange teriyaki beef jerky.

"Whoa, that's a lotta beef jerky! What's this about?"

"MY DATABANKS INDICATE THAT MEATBAGS ENJOY CONSUMING MEAT BAGS."

Sonic laughed. "Omega, you're funny, man!"

"I DO NOT HAVE A HUMOR MODULE INSTALLED. NEVERTHELESS, YOUR COMPLIMENT IS APPRECIATED."

A bunch of people laughed at Omega.

"ROUGE, HERE IS YOUR PRESENT. MERRY CHRISTMAS."

"Thank you, Omega!"

Rouge opened her gift from Omega, which was a Tickle Me Elmo.

"Awww, he's so adorable!" said Rouge.

"MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATED THAT YOU WOULD DERIVE AMUSEMENT FROM THIS TOY SINCE YOU ENJOY TICKLING OTHER MEATBAGS."

Rouge giggled. "Thanks again, honey!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME, ROUGE. BIG, HERE IS YOUR GIFT."

"Thanks, robot!"

Big's gift turned out to be a huge box of cat food.

"Oh yay! This is my favorite kind of cat food!" Big threw his arms up.

"MY DATABANKS INDICATED THAT THIS WAS A POPULAR BRAND AMONGST MANY FELINE OWNERS."

"Thanks again!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME."

Omega turned to…

"AMY, MERRY CHRISTMAS."

"Thank you, Omega!"

Amy opened her gift, which turned out to be a framed photo of E-102 Gamma. She gasped when she saw this.

"Omega, where did you get this!?"

"MY DATABANKS CONTAINED NUMEROUS IMAGE FILES OF MY FALLEN BROTHER, IN ADDITION TO ACCOUNTS OF YOUR COMRADESHIP WITH HIM. MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS TOLD ME THAT YOU WOULD APPRECIATE THIS SOUVENIR."

Amy smiled. "Awww, thank you so much!"

Amy gave Omega a hug as well, thus earning another round of "awwws" plus a photo op from Rouge.

"YOU'RE WELCOME, AMY. KNUCKLES, YOU ARE NEXT."

"Well, this oughta be good!"

Knuckles opened his gift, but was rather puzzled to find…

"Boxing gloves?" Knuckles tilted his head.

"THESE ARE NOT ORDINARY BOXING GLOVES. THEY HAVE LEAD PLATES INSTALLED FOR MAXIMUM DAMAGE TO BONE AND FLESH."

"Cool!"

"Hey Knux, that reminds me…" said Sonic.

"Yeah?"

"How are ya gonna pull the trigger on your new shotgun with those ham fists of yours?"

"I know how! DELETED!"

Knuckles punched Sonic in the face, causing him to recoil a bit.

"Ouch! What do you do!?" Sonic rubbed the spot where he'd been hit.

Rouge smiled. "Knuckie…"

"What?"

Rouge frowned. "Don't make me tickle you too!"

Knuckles smiled nervously as his face turned as red as the rest of him. "OK, heh heh, sorry! I was only jokin'!"

"HUMOR ASIDE, I MUST GIVE ZOOEY HER GIFT NEXT."

"Where is it?" asked Zooey.

"THIS MANSION LACKED SUITABLE ENTRYWAYS THROUGH WHICH I COULD BRING IT. THUS, I WAS FORCED TO LEAVE IT IN THE MANSION'S GARAGE."

"Well, let's go!"

Everyone followed Omega to the mansion's attached garage. There, in between Shadow's black 1970 Pontiac Trans Am and a black 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 4x4 was Zooey's gift, which she unwrapped. Inside was a red 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS. She gasped and placed her hands on her cheeks when she saw it.

"Omega, this is such a NICE CAR! Thank you!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME, ZOOEY."

Sonic played a few bars of the Magnum P.I. theme on air guitar. Rouge, however, was less than impressed, as evidenced by the frown on her face and the fists on her hips:

"Omega, why did you give an expensive sports car to this girl? She probably can't even drive!"

"ROUGE, TAILS AND CREAM ARE ABLE TO OPERATE AUTOMOBILES PROFICIENTLY. I FIND IT LOGICAL THAT ZOOEY SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO OPERATE ONE."

Zooey smiled. "He's got a point!"

Rouge glared at Zooey, but once again, she couldn't help but break down smiling.

"Oh, what the heck!" Rouge slapped her knee. "Omega, you may have some of the most ridiculous gift ideas ever, but I still love you!"

"THANK YOU, ROUGE. HOWEVER, WE MUST RE-ENTER THE MANSION SO THAT I MAY GIVE SHADOW HIS GIFT."

"Hmmm…" Shadow stroked his chin. "I wonder what I got."

Everyone went back inside, where Omega gave Shadow his gift, which turned out to be Ghost's debut album Opvs Eponymovs.

"I've heard of this band before, but I've never listened to their music."

"MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATE THAT YOU WILL ENJOY THEM."

"OK, because if not, I'm disassembling you and selling your parts for scrap."

Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips. "Shaddy, threatening people on Christmas is not a nice thing to do!"

"I AGREE WITH ROUGE," said Omega. "YOU MAY WISH TO RECONSIDER YOUR THREAT."

Shadow nodded curtly. "Sorry."

"YOUR APOLOGY IS ACCEPTABLE."

"OK, who's next?"

Rouge reached into her hat again and pulled out the next name.

"OK, Amy, it's your turn, hon!"

"All right!" Amy pumped her fists. "Cream, Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Amy!"

Cream opened her gift, which was a variety pack of seeds.

"Oh, how nice!" said Cream.

"I heard that you and your mom enjoyed gardening, so I figured you could try some new plants!"

"Thank you!"

"Chao!"

"You're welcome, Cream!"

Amy, Cream and Cheese gave each other a big hug, thereby bringing on another "awww". Then, Amy's next recipient was…

"Merry Christmas, Shaddy!"

Shadow smiled. "Thank you, Amy!"

When Shadow opened his gift, he found a board game called NEWK Wasteland Warlords.

"I've never heard of this game before." Shadow scratched his temple with his index finger.

"Well, I heard you were into tabletop gaming, and this one's supposed to be similar to Risk, so I figured you'd enjoy it!"

Shadow smiled. "Amy, you're so sweet!"

Shadow wrapped his arms around Amy and kissed her, and she returned the gesture, once again getting another "awww" from the crowd.

"You're welcome, Shaddy!" said Amy. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's Knuckles' turn next."

"All right, I know this is gonna be good!"

Knuckles opened his present, which turned out to be a copy of Moments of Mindfulness: Daily Inspiration by Thích Nhất Hạnh. He scratched his head when he saw it.

"Never heard of this book before. What's it about?"

"So basically, it not only contains inspirational quotes, but it also gives you daily meditation instructions and blank journal pages. I figured you could use something relaxing to do with your time!"

Knuckles smiled. "Thanks, Amy!"

"You're welcome! Now then, here's your gift, Omega!"

"THANK YOU, AMY."

Amy's gift to Omega turned out to be a white coffee mug with "BEST ROBOT EVER" written on it.

"AMY, THOUGH I DO NOT CONSUME COFFEE, YOUR GIFT HONORS ME."

"You're welcome, Omega!" Amy turned to her next recipient. "Here you go, Zooey! Merry Christmas!"

"Oh, cool!"

Zooey opened her present from Amy. This one was a Fuzzy Puppies G3 expansion set. She gasped happily when she saw it.

"Thank you SO MUCH, Amy! I've been wanting another expansion set for forever, but I don't always have the money for them!"

Amy smiled. "You're welcome, Zooey!"

Zooey gave Amy a big hug, which she happily returned. Once again, everyone let out "awwws" when they saw this, especially Sonic and Tails, who both thought it was wonderful how girls could be so physically affectionate with each other. After breaking away from the hug, Amy gave her next recipient his gift…

"Merry Christmas, Sonic!"

"Thanks, Ames!"

Sonic opened his gift. This turned out to be a golden envelope, and inside were two free entry passes for the Glitter Palace discotheque in Emerald City.

"Dy-no-mite!" Sonic pumped his fists. "I know EXACTLY who I'm goin' with!"

Sonic looked at Rouge and gave her a seductive wink, causing her to giggle.

"Oh, you're such a sweetie, Big Blue!"

"You should only know, Mama!" Sonic turned to Amy. "Thanks again!"

"You're welcome!"

Amy gave Sonic a big hug, which he gladly returned. Even if the Blue Blur wasn't interested in the pinkhog romantically, he just couldn't resist a soft, warm, cuddly hug, and he didn't even mind people giving them "awwws" during this time. Once again, though, Rouge couldn't help but get a picture of the moment. Soon enough, Amy broke away so she could give out her next gift…

"Merry Christmas, Big!"

"Thank you, Amy."

Amy's gift to Big turned out to be An Expert's Guide to Arctic Fishing, by Cole Hans.

"Oh yay!" Big threw his arms up in the air. "I've always wanted to go fishing at the North Pole!"

"You're welcome, Big!"

Amy and Big gave each other a hug, and with it came another round of "awwws". Then, on to Amy's next recipient…

"Merry Christmas, Rouge!"

"Ooh, this should be interesting!"

Despite not expecting a gift from Amy of all people, Rouge happily opened it. This one turned out to be a gift pack of various artisan shampoos.

"Wow, I've NEVER heard of any of these shampoos before! I bet they smell so sensuously good!"

Amy chuckled. "Well, I figured you'd be into these, plus I wanted to do something to show that I have no hard feelings towards you!"

"Awww, thank you so much, Amy!"

Rouge gave Amy a big hug, which she gladly returned. There was, however, one problem…

"Rouge, you're welcome, but…your boobs are smooshing against my face."

Rouge dropped her jaw and let go of Amy when she realized this.

"Oh…sorry!"

Rouge smiled and rubbed the back of her head. Meanwhile, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all giggled at Amy.

"Stop giggling, you guys!"

Everyone stopped.

"Now then…Merry Christmas, Tails!"

"Thanks, Amy!"

Tails opened up his present, which was a toolbox.

"Amy, I like it, but I think I have enough toolboxes…"

"Not like this! This is a bulletproof toolbox used by the Crown Armed Forces of Mobius!"

Tails smiled. "Ah, what the heck! This could be very useful!"

"You're welcome, Tails!"

Once again, Tails and Amy hugged, and once again, another round of "awwws" came and went. Then, it was time for Rouge to draw another name…

"Let's see…ooh! I'm next, and I know just who's going first…Zooey!"

Zooey smiled. "Wow, I'm the new girl and I'm already so popular! I wonder what this is…"

Zooey opened her gift from Rouge, which was a pair of diamond-encrusted bracelets. She let out an emphatic "ooh" when she saw them.

"Wow, these are so pretty!"

"And they're real diamond, too!" said Rouge. "Not that fake zirconia crap!"

"Zooey, those are gonna look so good on you!" said Tails.

"Awww, thank you, Tails! And thank you, Rouge!"

Rouge smiled. "You're welcome, sweetie! Now then, you're next, Tails!"

"All right!"

Tails opened his gift from Rouge, and he gasped when he saw what it was: a big box of Land O'Lakes mint-flavored hot chocolate.

"Yeah, this is the best kind of hot chocolate! Thank you SO MUCH, Auntie Rouge!"

"You're very welcome, Tails!"

Once again, Rouge gave Tails a big hug, which he returned, though he had the same problem that Amy had…"

"Mmmmph! Mmmmmmph!"

Tails flailed his arms about as he tried to avoid being smooshed by Rouge's assets. Of course, Rouge took notice of this and let go of him, but not before he'd turned red in the face.

"Sorry, Tails!" Rouge smiled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "Anyways…Merry Christmas, Shaddy!"

"Thank you, Rouge."

Shadow opened his gift from his favorite person, and he let out a loud, long gasp when he saw what it was: an original, self-released pressing of Diamond Head's debut album Lightning to the Nations, signed by all the original band members.

"Rouge, where did you get this!?"

"I got it from a guy on Discogs, and let me tell you, it wasn't cheap, hon."

"Still…I love you SO MUCH!"

Shadow gave Rouge what was quite possibly the biggest hug that anybody had ever given up to that point, which once again earned a round of "awwws", especially from Rouge:

"I love you too, my little Shaddy baby!"

Shadow smiled. "Thank you! I'll NEVER forget this!"

"Awww, you're welcome! Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Rouge broke away from the hug so she could give her next gift…

"Merry Christmas, Big!"

"Thank you, Rouge."

Big opened his gift and found a Carson FFX-2000 fish finder.

"Awesome! Froggy and I have trouble finding fish sometimes."

"You're welcome, Big! Merry Christmas, Omega!"

"THANK YOU, ROUGE."

Rouge's gift to Omega turned out to be a Miles Davis compilation titled The Columbia Years 1955-1985.

"I HAVE NEVER LISTENED TO JAZZ BEFORE, BUT MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATE A 100% PROBABILITY THAT MY CAPACITY TO APPRECIATE MUSIC WILL INCREASE GREATLY FROM LISTENING TO IT."

"Then I have succeeded, and you're welcome! Now then…Merry Christmas, Cream!"

"Thank you, Auntie Rouge!"

Cream opened her gift and let out a huge "YAY!" when she saw what it was: a stuffed doll of Next from The NEXT Show.

"Auntie Rouge, you're the best!"

Rouge smiled. "Awww, you're welcome, sweetie!"

Rouge gave Cream a big hug, which – unlike the ones she'd given Tails and Amy – didn't involve mammary smothering. Again, this earned a round of "awwws", with Sonic even photographing the moment.

"Anyways…" Rouge broke away from the hug. "Merry Christmas, Amy!"

"Awww, thanks, Rouge!"

Rouge's gift to Amy turned out to be an Instant Vortex air fryer. Amy let out a "shi-sha!" and pumped her fist when she saw it.

"All right! I love fried foods, but I'm also trying to watch my weight, so this really works out!"

"You're welcome, honey!"

Amy gave Rouge a big hug, managing to avoid another chest smoosh this time. Despite their rivalry in the past, both sides were extraordinarily grateful for each other's company today, not to mention the presents. Speaking of presents…

"Here you go, Big Blue! Merry Christmas!"

"Groovy!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Let's dig it…"

Sonic's gift from Rouge turned out to be a set of Goliath nonstick cookware.

"Thanks, Mama, but I got enough cookware! Still, it's really nice of ya to think of me like this!"

Rouge put a hand on her hip. "Believe me, hon, this is no ordinary cookware! It can be used on the stove and in the oven, and it's super-easy to clean!"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Well, when ya put it that way, I'm gonna donate all my old cookware! Thanks again, Mama!"

"You're welcome, honey!"

Sonic and Rouge wrapped their arms around each other and kissed, and they were really going into it. Rouge in particular was feeling the love go to her head, so much so that she nearly failed to notice Sonic grab her voluptuous chest. She gasped when she felt his hand there.

"Big Blue, you cocky little so-and-so!"

Sonic smiled. "What? Ain't a dude allowed to paw his favorite mama?"

"A-HEM."

Sonic looked over at Shadow, who was covering Tails' and Cream's eyes.

"Need I remind you two that we have children at this party?" said Shadow.

"He's got a point, Big Blue." Rouge put her index finger on Sonic's mouth.

Sonic smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh heh…"

"Anyways, why don't we get a selfie together?" said Rouge.

"Right on!"

Rouge laid her cheek against Sonic's, and she snapped a selfie of them together before letting go.

"Last, but most certainly not least…Merry Christmas…Knuckie!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Oh boy, this oughta be good…"

Knuckles opened his gift, and Rouge briefly took the small box from him.

"Knuckie, will you…" Rouge opened the box. "…marry me?"

Knuckles dropped his jaw and blushed when he saw the – candy – wedding ring inside.

"WHAT!? NO! DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!"

Rouge fell to the ground laughing.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" yelled Knuckles. "THAT'S SICK!"

Sonic and Tails had a little giggle at the whole thing, while Amy, Cream, Zooey and Big gave each other curious looks and shrugs.

"Don't worry," said Amy. "It's normal for Rouge to pull stuff like this on Knuckles."

"Hmph," was Shadow's response.

"I HAVE TRIED TO INFORM ROUGE THAT ATTEMPTING TO FORM A ROMANTIC CONNECTION WITH KNUCKLES IS FUTILE AND ILLOGICAL," said Omega. "SADLY, SHE DOES NOT SEEM TO COMPREHEND THIS."

Eventually, Rouge stopped laughing and got back up.

"Now then…" Knuckles crossed his arms. "…do ya have any serious gifts for me?"

"Of course!"

Rouge handed Knuckles a flat, rectangular box, which turned out to be a box of Godiva chocolates.

"BAT GIRL…!"

Rouge smiled. "Knuckie, relax! It's just a box of chocolates!"

"YEAH RIGHT! THIS IS ONE OF YOUR SICK LOVE GIFTS!"

Rouge put her hands out, palms pointed at Knuckles. "No really, it's just a box of chocolates given as a friendly gift!"

"Yeah, and Sonic is the King of Mobius!"

Rouge briefly thrust her hands forwards, but kept smiling. "Look, it's just a box of delicious, sinfully succulent chocolates!"

"Oh, quit lyin' to me!"

Rouge's smile turned into an angry frown, and she put her fists on her hips. "Do you want me to take those back and shove them up your nose!?"

Knuckles grumbled, and then sighed. "Fine…thank you."

"You're welcome, honey!"

Rouge ruffled the quills on top of Knuckles head, causing him to growl briefly, which got Sonic and Tails giggling again.

"STOP IT, SONIC AND TAILS!"

Rouge had an angry frown again. "KNUCKIE…"

"Sorry."

Rouge's smile returned. "That aside, let's see who's next…" She drew another name from her hat. "Ooh, looks like Fox Boy is next!"

Tails smiled. "I know exactly who I'm starting with, and it's not you, Sonic!"

Sonic smirked. "Oh yeah? Do tell me who's first!"

"Merry Christmas…Zooey!"

"Thank you, Tails!"

Zooey opened her gift from Tails, which was a DVD boxset of Happy Fuzzy Ponies Season 1.

"YAY!" Zooey threw her arms up. "I love this show! It's one of my favorites!"

Without hesitation, Zooey gave Tails a big hug and kiss, thus earning another round of "awwws", especially from Rouge:

"Awww, Fox Boy is in love! Come here, you two, and let me get a picture of you!"

Just as Shadow and Amy had done, Tails and Zooey stood side-by-side with their arms wrapped around each other while Rouge took a picture of them. Then, they let go.

"Anyways, Merry Christmas, Knuckles!"

Knuckles smiled. "This oughta be good!"

Knuckles opened his large gift, which turned out to be an UltraDyne UGR-5 ground-based sentry drone kit.

"What's this, one of your robots?" Knuckles scratched his head.

"It's an unmanned ground drone," said Tails. "The basic kit comes with caterpillar tracks for propulsion and a .50-caliber Browning M2 machine gun, but with this advanced kit, you can change the tracks for flotation tires or even anti-gravity propulsion, and it comes with an M134 minigun and a Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher for alternate weapon options. You can even program it to seek specific types of threats, or you can control it yourself with radio controls!"

"Cool! I like bein' able to have something to defend Angel Island, but there's one problem…"

"What?"

Knuckles frowned. "I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PROGRAM IT!"

"Relax, Knuckles! I'll help you!"

Just then, Tails felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tails…" said Rouge.

"Yeah?"

Rouge frowned. "Did you get Knuckie this gift because you think I'm gonna steal the Master Emerald?"

Tails smiled nervously, blushed and waved his hands about. "N-no, Rouge! I meant it more for people like Robotnik or the Roseinians! If it makes you feel any better, I developed an IFF app that you can download to your phone so the drone won't target you!"

Rouge's smile returned, and she raised her eyebrows. "Sounds interesting, but what is 'IFF'?"

"It stands for 'Identification Friend or Foe'. Basically, it's a radio identification system that tells sentry drones or any automated weapons whether a potential target is a friend or enemy. Usually, it involves an infrared beacon, but the app I developed can turn your phone into one."

"Nice! What's it called?"

"It's called 'Prower Portable IFF'."

"Grand! I'm downloading it now!"

"In the meantime, Merry Christmas, Big!"

"Thank you, Tails."

Tails' gift to Big was a roll of adamantium fishing line.

"Ooh, fishing line!" said Big.

"The most durable ever made, too!"

"Nice!"

"You're welcome, Big!" Tails turned to his next recipient. "Merry Christmas, Auntie Rouge!"

"Awww, thank you, Tails!"

Rouge opened her gift, which was a Sonic plush. Her eyes widened, and she gasped when she saw it.

"OH MY GOSH, THIS IS SO CUTE!" Rouge hugged the plush. "It's like having a little version of my Big Blue!"

Sonic smiled. "And now you'll have two of me to snuggle with on cold winter nights!"

Rouge giggled. "Oh, shut up!"

"What?"

Rouge turned to Tails. "Thanks again, Fox Boy!"

Rouge gave Tails another hug, which again resulted in him going into marshmallow hell. Again, she realized her mistake.

"Hey Tails, mind if I get a picture of ya with the hottest mama ever?" asked Sonic.

"Well…as long as it doesn't involve me getting suffocated by her breasts…OK."

"Groovy!"

Tails and Rouge each wrapped an arm around each other as they smiled for the camera. After that, the Two-Tailed Wonder was on to giving a gift to his next recipient…

"Merry Christmas, Omega!"

"THANK YOU, TAILS."

Omega's gift from Tails was a set of Carson MSU-4400 RAM chips.

"THANK YOU AGAIN, TAILS. SHADOW AND ROUGE HAVE BEEN PESTERING ME TO GET AN UPGRADE. THIS IS A VERY LOGICAL GIFT."

"You're welcome! Merry Christmas, Shadow!"

"Hmph."

Shadow opened his gift. Contrary to his low expectations, he nodded when he saw his gift: a Carson RW-120 air ratchet set.

"I've actually been looking for a new one," said Shadow. "Thank you, Tails."

Tails smiled. "You're welcome! Anyways, here's your gift, Cream! Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Tails!"

Cream's gift turned out to be a 100-Mobium gift card for Baskin-Robbins.

"YAY!" Cream threw her arms up in the air. "This is one of the BEST gifts I've ever gotten! Thank you again, Tails!"

"Chao chao chao!" said Cheese.

"You're welcome, Cream!"

Cream and Cheese gave Tails a hug, which he gladly returned as another round of "awwws" came about. Once again, Rouge just had to get a picture of this. Afterwards, it was on to his next recipient…

"Merry Christmas, Amy!"

"Thank you, Tails!"

Amy opened her gift, which turned out to be two free passes for The Glitter Palace.

"OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!"* Amy put her hands on her cheeks. "I've been wanting to go FOREVER, but I could never find the right person to go with! Of course…" Amy looked at Shadow and winked.

"Amy, I love you, and I appreciate your invitation, but I refuse to go because disco sucks."

"Come on, disco's not that bad! Just give it a shot! Heck, we can even go with Sonic and Rouge!"

Shadow crossed his arms. "When you put it that way, I'm definitely NOT going now."

"Please?"

Amy clasped her hands together and gave Shadow the "Bambi eyes" look. As much as he hated disco music, she seemed to really want to take him along, and her feelings meant a lot to him, which eventually resulted in his steel front breaking down…

"All right…I'll go." Shadow uncrossed his arms.

"YAY!" Amy threw her arms up in the air.

"Just know this: if I have a terrible time, I'm NEVER going with you or anybody else again, OK?"

"Shaddy, lighten up! You won't know until you try it! Besides, there is such a thing as metal disco!"

Shadow scratched his head. "That sounds like a terrible idea, but at the same time, it also sounds like it just might work."

"All that aside, I have another present to give out," said Tails. "Last, but way past not least…Merry Christmas, Sonic!"

"Oh yeah!"

Sonic pumped his fists before opening his gift. Inside, he found a box, which contained an AMT 1/25 scale GMC General model kit plus model building supplies such as glue, paints, paintbrushes, tweezers and nail clippers.

"Well, this is one heck of a surprise!"

"I know you said you wanted to find new ways to utilize your creative skills, and I figured that model building would be a great way to do that!" Tails averted his gaze. "Although…now that I think of it, I wonder if I should've gone with one of those snap-together kits that don't need glue or paint…"

Sonic gave a dismissive hand flap to Tails. "Don't worry about it, my man! This shouldn't be no big thang for me!"

Sonic tore the shrink wrap off of the kit, and within seconds, he had the rig painted and assembled.

"TA-DA!" Sonic pointed at the finished model with his hand. "Careful, she's still wet!"

"A-HEM."

Sonic turned and saw Rouge frowning at him with her fists on her hips. He smiled nervously.

"What?"

"Big Blue, I love you very much, and I'm happy you're enjoying your new hobby, but there's no need to show off!"

"Sorry, Mama! I can't help it if I'm The Fastest Thing Alive!"

Rouge shook her index finger at Sonic. "You know, one of these days, you're gonna get a speeding ticket, buster!"

"Um, Rouge…" said Tails. "Can we please see who's next?"

Rouge chuckled. "Right!"

The next name that Rouge pulled from her hat was…

"Knuckie, you're up!"

"All right! Merry Christmas, Zooey!"

"Thank you, Knuckles!"

Zooey opened her gift from Knuckles, which was a DVD box set of Frozen Peas Season 1.

"Nice!" Zooey gave a thumbs up. "I love this show!"

"Really?" Knuckles scratched his head. "I kinda picked that at random…"

"Still, great guess!"

"Anyways, Merry Christmas, Shadow!"

"Hmph."

Shadow's gift from Knuckles turned out to be a 100-round box of .44 Magnum golden alloy bullets.

"Are these supposed to be any good?" asked Shadow.

"I heard they're supposed to drop an elephant with just one round!" said Knuckles.

Shadow nodded. "I'll give them a try. Thank you, Knuckles."

"You're welcome, Shadow! Omega, here ya go!"

"THANK YOU, KNUCKLES."

Omega ended up getting a DVD two-pack of Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo from Knuckles.

"I HAVE NEVER WATCHED EITHER OF THESE FILMS BEFORE. MY DATABANKS INDICATE THAT THEY ARE FOCUSED ON THE DANCE STYLE KNOWN AS 'BREAKDANCING'."

"Hey, Sonic and I have watched these a bunch of times!" said Knuckles. "You'll love 'em!"

"MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATE A 65% PROBABILITY THAT YOUR STATEMENT IS TRUTHFUL."

"What!? Come on, give 'em a shot!"

"VERY WELL. THANK YOU AGAIN, KNUCKLES."

"You're welcome, Omega! Amy, Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Knuckles!"

Amy opened her next gift, which turned out to be an UltraDyne HC-5 grappling hook cannon.

"Nice! This'll go really well with my Piko Piko Hammer! Thank you again!"

"You're welcome, Amy! You're up next, Sonic! Merry Christmas!"

"All right, let's dig it!"

Sonic eagerly opened his gift from Knuckles, which was a pack of Plutonium Powder super-spicy chili mix.

"Outta sight!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. "This'll really give my chili dogs a kick!"

"Yeah, I might just pass if it's that spicy." Tails rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey, ya like your chili dogs with extra cheese, right?"

Tails nodded. "This is true."

"I heard that dairy products drown out spice, so this shouldn't be too much of a problem…I think…"

Tails paused. "OK, I'll try a chili dog with this chili mix, but if it's too spicy, I'm not having any more, OK?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Fair enough!"

"Anyways, Merry Christmas, Big!" said Knuckles.

"Thank you, Knuckles."

Big's gift from Knuckles was a squishy toy frog.

"Oh yay! Now I have another frog friend!"

"You're welcome, Big!"

"Knuckles, are you sure that Big's not gonna confuse that with Froggy?" said Shadow.

Knuckles gave a thumbs up. "I'm pretty sure Big's not that dumb!"

"Hmph."

"Movin' on…Merry Christmas, Tails!"

"Thanks, Knuckles!"

Tails opened his gift, and all his excitement evaporated when he saw what it was: a greenish glowing rock.

"Um…Knuckles…are you sure this gift is safe?"

Knuckles gave a thumbs up. "Of course I'm sure! I found it on Angel Island one day, and it hasn't killed me yet!"

Tails paused and smiled awkwardly. "OK. If you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna put this in Sonic's Camaro for now…"

Tails hurried outside with the rock, while Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips:

"Knuckie, didn't your mother ever tell you NOT to pick up mysterious glowing rocks?"

Knuckles shrugged. "No. Why would she?"

"Knuckie, you don't know where that rock's been! What if it's radioactive!?"

"So?"

"Listen, Knucklehead, do you want a poor little child like him to die of cancer or some other weird disease?"

Sonic smiled and elbowed Knuckles. "She's got a point, ya know."

"WELL FINE!" Knuckles threw his hands up in the air. "See if I ever give anybody else presents!"

Knuckles prepared to stomp his way out the door when Tails showed up.

"What's wrong, Knuckles?" said Tails.

"Well apparently, Bat Girl thinks my wonderful gift to you will give you cancer or something!"

"I hate to say this, but I think Rouge is right. Until I can determine the composition of that rock, I'll have to keep it sealed in a lead box for now. Still, it's a very interesting gift!" Tails smiled.

Knuckles shrugged. "Ah, you're welcome, I guess. Anyways, Merry Christmas, Cream!"

"Thank you, Mr. Knuckles!"

"Chao!" said Cheese

Cream opened her gift, which had far less radioactive potential than Tails', but was nevertheless interesting: a DVD box set of The Adventures of Tomatopotamus: The Complete Series.

"YAY!" Cream threw her arms up in the air. "Another one of my favorite shows!"

"I like that one, too," said Sonic. "My favorite part of that show is when they do the 'Tomatopotamus Says' segments at the end! There's nothing more cool than those!"

Tails stroked his chin. "I dunno, those seemed kinda cheesy, especially the one about inappropriate touching…"

"OK, so who's gonna hand out gifts next?" said Knuckles.

"Hold on!" said Rouge.

"What?"

Rouge put a hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "Knuckie, didn't you have a gift for your favorite Bat Girl?"

Knuckles shook his head. "Nope."

Rouge pouted. "But I was really looking forward to getting a gift from you, Knuckie!"

Knuckles grumbled. "Look, if I give ya your gift, do ya promise not to get weird on me?"

Rouge raised her other hand. "I promise!"

"Well…Merry Christmas, I guess…"

Rouge opened her gift from Knuckles, and she gasped when she saw it: a golden necklace with a ruby pendant.

"Knuckie, this is so BEAUTIFUL! Thank you SO MUCH!"

"Rouge, wait…!"

Rouge tackled Knuckles to the ground and snuggled with him.

"I love snuggling with cute boys!" said Rouge.

Knuckles blushed really hard. "HEY, YOU PROMISED YA WOULDN'T GET WEIRD ON ME!"

"There's nothing weird about snuggling!"

"Rouge, I'm happy that Knuckles' gift made you so happy, but why don't you let him go now so that you can draw the next name from your hat?" said Shadow.

Rouge paused for a bit. "Know something? You're right!"

Rouge broke away from Knuckles, leaving him tingling on the ground.

"So, who's Lucky Number Eight?" Rouge drew the next name from her hat. "Oh look, it's Cream!"

"YAY!" Cream threw her hands up in the air. "Here you go, Miss Zooey! Merry Christmas!"

Zooey chuckled. "Wow, I'm the lucky new girl today! Let's see what this is…"

Zooey opened her gift from Cream, which was The Archie Encyclopedia. She smiled when she saw it.

"Nice! I love Archie Comics!" Zooey got a more serious look. "It's too bad Sonic's series got cancelled, though."

Sonic shrugged. "I dunno, I thought it was really good right up until that Super Genesis Wave jive, then it got really stupid. I mean, what was even the point?"

Tails pointed his hand, palm-up, at Sonic. "Well, that's all because Pen Kenders filed suit against Archie for the use of characters and storylines he'd created and Archie had to retcon everything as a result."

"Nah man, that's some Grade A jive if I ever heard it!"

"Um…Mr. Sonic and Tails, may I please give out my next gift now?"

"Sure!" said Sonic and Tails.

"Merry Christmas, Auntie Rouge!"

"Awww, thank you!"

Rouge's gift from Cream was a pink form-fitting T-shirt with the words "BEST AUNT EVER" printed on the front in white neon-style font. She gasped when she saw it.

"Cream, this is such an adorable gift! Thank you so much, honey!"

Rouge gave Cream and Cheese a big hug, which – unlike the hugs she'd given to Tails and Amy – didn't involve trying to suffocate the little rabbit with her gargantuan assets. Partly because of that, Cream really appreciated the hug. Naturally, this got them a round of "awwws".

"'Scuse me, Rouge, but do ya mind if I get a pic of you, Cream and Cheese?" said Sonic.

"Me too!" said Amy.

"Me three!" said Tails.

"I'd like one, too," said Shadow.

"I WOULD ALSO LIKE A PHOTOGRAPHIC REPRODUCTION OF THIS," said Omega.

"As would I!" said Zooey.

Rouge giggled. "Wow, I'm so popular today!"

Cream stood next to Rouge as they each wrapped an arm around each other, while Sonic, Amy, Tails, Shadow, Omega and Zooey took a picture of them.

"Anyways…" said Cream, "…Merry Christmas, Big!"

"Thank you, Cream!"

Big opened his gift and ended up receiving a copy of Super Bass Fishing 64 for the Nintendo 64.

"Nice!" said Big. "You can never have too many fishing video games!"

"You're welcome, Big!" said Cream.

"Chao Chao!" said Cheese.

"Now, who's next…" Cream looked around briefly. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Omega!"

"THANK YOU, CREAM."

Omega opened his gift, which turned out to be a pair of rings.

"MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS ARE UNABLE TO ASCERTAIN THE PURPOSE OF THESE RINGS," said Omega.

"They're friendship rings!" said Cream. "You give them to people whom you want to be friends with forever!"

"AH YES, MY DATABANKS DO CONTAIN ENTRIES REGARDING THESE 'FRIENDSHIP RINGS' YOU REFER TO. ALTHOUGH I CANNOT COMPUTE WHY YOU WISH TO BE FRIENDS WITH ME, I ACCEPT YOUR GIFT."

"Well, don't we at least like each other enough to want to go on adventures with each other?"

"YOU BROUGHT UP A VALID POINT. MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATE THAT COOPERATING WITH YOU WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO MY PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING."

Rouge laughed. "Omega, stop overanalyzing the gift! Just say 'thank you' to Cream!"

"THANK YOU AGAIN, CREAM."

"You're welcome, Mr. Omega!"

Cream gave Omega a hug, which he somehow managed to return without crushing her. Yet again, this earned a round of "awwws" plus another photo op for Rouge. Then, Cream moved on to her next recipient…

"Merry Christmas, Sonic!"

"Thanks, Cream!"

Sonic opened his gift from Cream, which was a bottle of Dickens Key Lime BBQ sauce. He gave a thumbs up when he saw it.

"Far out! This is gonna be dy-no-mite with that spicy chili mix! Thanks again!"

"You're welcome, Sonic!"

"Chao!"

Once again, another round of hugs ensued between Sonic, Cream and Cheese, and once again, the usual round of "awwws" and a photo op from Rouge came and went. For her next recipient, Cream turned to…

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Shadow!"

"Chao!"

"Thank you, I guess…"

Shadow's gift from Cream turned out to be a copy of Green Eggs and Ham.

"Cream, I appreciate the thought, but why are you giving me a children's book?"

"This is one of my favorite books of all time, and I wanted to share it with someone who enjoyed reading!"

"Chao Chao!"

Shadow stroked his chin. "On second thought, I've never read this one, and I did read my fair share of children's books with Maria…"

"Then this should be really exciting for you!" said Cream.

"Chao!" said Cheese.

Shadow nodded, and despite his best attempts to remain stone-faced, he couldn't help but crack a smile:

"Thank you, Cream."

"You're welcome, Mr. Shadow!

Cream and Cheese gave Shadow a big hug, which he gladly returned. The more the Ultimate Life Form participated in the Christmas festivities, the less he felt like being his usual stone-faced self and the more he felt like opening his heart to the people who were being good to him. He didn't even care when everyone fawned over him, nor when Rouge requested a photo op with him and Cream. He wondered how this holiday could possibly get any better, but wonderment would have to wait as Cream moved on to her next recipient…

"Merry Christmas, Miss Amy!"

"Chao!"

"Thank you, Cream!"

Amy gladly opened her gift from Cream, which was a pair of golden bracelets.

"Ooh, nice!" said Amy.

"They're friendship bracelets!"

Amy clasped her hands next to her cheek. "Awww, thank you SO MUCH!"

"You're welcome!"

Naturally, Amy and Cream gave each other a hug, which earned another round of "awwws" and another photo op from Rouge. Then…

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Knuckles!"

"Thanks, Cream!"

Knuckles' gift from Cream was a pleasant surprise compared to the one he'd gotten from Rouge: a soft foam pillow.

"Nice!" Knuckles gave a thumbs up. "I get pretty achy guarding the Master Emerald, so it's nice to have somethin' cozy to lean on!"

Rouge put a hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "Perhaps I could assist with that, too?"

Knuckles growled. "I like the pillow better, thank ya very much."

"But the pillow's probably not as warm and cuddly!"

"Bat Girl…let's just let Cream give out her next gift, OK?"

"As you wish, Knuckie!"

For Cream, the last person was all too obvious…

"Merry Christmas, Tails!"

"Chao!"

"Thanks, Cream!"

Tails opened his gift from Cream, which was a most welcome one: a big bag of peppermint candies.

"AWESOME!" Tails pumped his fists. "Thank you SO MUCH!"

Tails gave Cream a big hug, which she gladly returned, as did Cheese, thus bringing about another round of "awwws". After this, Rouge drew the second-to-last name from her hat…

"Step on up, Zooey!"

Zooey stepped up to present her first gift:

"Merry Christmas, Knuckles!"

"Thanks, Zooey!"

Knuckles opened his gift, which was a Rambo knife.

"Badass!" Knuckles gave a thumbs up. "Now I can go hunting!"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Don't be a wise guy. What do you hunt with a knife?"

"Name it!"

Shadow facepalmed and shook his head, while Zooey moved on to her next recipient:

"Merry Christmas, Omega!"

"THANK YOU, ZOOEY."

Omega opened his gift from Zooey, which turned out to be an album titled The Best of David Zed.

"I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF DAVID ZED BEFORE, BUT MY DATABANKS INDICATE THAT HE – REAL NAME DAVID KIRK TRAYLOR – IS A FAMOUS ROBOT COMEDIAN AND SINGER."

"You'll like him!" Zooey smiled.

"MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATE A 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999% PROBABILITY THAT YOUR STATEMENT IS TRUE."

Zooey giggled. "You could be quite the robot comedian, too!"

"IF I HAD A HUMOR MODULE INSTALLED, THEN YES, THERE WOULD BE A 100% PROBABILITY THAT I COULD PERFORM THE ACTION KNOWN TO MEATBAGS AS 'KNOCKING THEM DEAD'."

Omega's statement earned a round of laughter from most everybody. In the meantime, Zooey gave out her next gift…

"Merry Christmas, Cream!"

"Thank you, Miss Zooey!"

"Chao Chao!" said Cheese

Cream's gift from Zooey was a Fuzzy Puppies starter kit.

"YAY!" Cream threw her hands up. "I've been wanting to get into this ever since Amy told me about it! Thank you again!"

"Chao Chao!" said Cheese.

"You're welcome, Cream!"

Cream and Cheese gave Zooey a big hug, which she gladly returned. Once again, the usual "awwws" came and went, but the warmth and fuzziness had yet to subside. In the meantime…

"Merry Christmas, Big!"

"Thank you, Zooey."

Big's gift from Zooey was catnip.

"YAY! I love catnip!"

Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips. "OH NO! You're NOT opening that in my house, buster!"

"But catnip is fun!"

"Oh yeah, it's really fun until you destroy other people's property!"

Zooey smiled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, Rouge! If I'd known that you were that concerned about your property, I probably would've gotten something different!"

Rouge loosened her stance and smiled. "It's OK, hon! As long as he doesn't open it in my house, you're fine!"

"Right! Anyways…Merry Christmas, Amy!"

"Thank you, Zooey!"

Amy opened her gift from Zooey, which was a box of World Beverages Saffron Tea. She smiled when she saw it.

"Nice! I heard that saffron's supposed to have lots of health benefits! Thank you very much, Zooey!"

"You're welcome, Amy!"

Next up on Zooey's list was…

"Merry Christmas, Rouge!"

"Thanks, Zooey!"

Rouge's gift from Zooey was a large hunk of quartz on a wooden stand. She let out a long gasp when she saw it.

"Zooey, this is SO PRETTY! Thank you SO MUCH!"

"You're welcome, Rouge!"

Rouge gave Zooey a big hug, which she managed to return without suffering marshmallow hell. Once again, this earned a round of "awwws", but this time, it was Tails who was taking the picture. After this hug was done, Zooey gave her gift to the next person…

"Merry Christmas, Shadow!"

"Thank you, I suppose…"

Shadow wasn't expecting much from Zooey's gift, but when he opened it, he gasped loudly as he got quite the surprise: a Mack Bolan action figure, but not just any one…

"WHERE did you find this Battle-Damaged Mack Bolan figure!? I looked everywhere and could never find one!"

"I found it in a vintage toy store in Emerald City!"

Shadow smiled. "Thank you SO MUCH, Zooey!"

Zooey smiled. "You're welcome, Shadow!"

Zooey gave Shadow a hug, which he gladly returned. This earned both of them one of the heartiest rounds of "awwws" yet, plus another pic from Rouge. Then, once the hug was done, Zooey was on to the next…

"Merry Christmas, Sonic!"

"Thanks, Zooey!"

Sonic opened his large gift, which was a Super Hang-On arcade cabinet.

"Hell yeah!" Sonic gave a thumbs-up. "I've always wanted an arcade machine, and this is right on! Thanks again!"

"You're welcome, Sonic! And now, here's a gift for my handsome boyfriend!"

"Awww, thanks, Zooey!" said Tails.

Tails eagerly opened his gift from Zooey, which made him drop his jaw: a Samsung 500-terabyte external solid-state hard drive.

"NICE! I can always use extra storage space. Thank you SO MUCH!"

"You're welcome!"

Zooey gave Tails a big hug and kiss, which earned a nice, hearty round of "awwws" from everybody. Rouge, having photographed those two already, refrained from doing so a second time. Instead, she turned to the last giver…

"And last, but certainly not least, it's your turn, Big Blue!"

Sonic pumped his fists. "Oh yeah! Here ya go, Big! Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Sonic!"

Big opened his gift from Sonic, which was a 100-Mobium gift card for Old Coast Fish & Chips in Emerald City.

"YAY! This is my favorite restaurant!"

"Aw, now I'm hungry for fish and chips!" said Tails.

"Hey, I'll take ya this week if ya really want!" said Sonic. "Maybe all three of us can go together!"

"That would be nice," said Big.

"Anyways…Merry Christmas, Rouge!"

"Awww, thank you, Sonic!"

Rouge opened her gift from Sonic. Her eyes widened, and she gasped when she saw it: a book titled Most Valuable and Rare Gems of the World, by Kelly Lynne.

"OH MY GOSH!" exclaimed Rouge. "I've been looking for this book FOREVER! Where did you find it!?"

"There was this bookstore that sold rare books in North Lake."

"I love you, Big Blue!"

Rouge not only gave Sonic a hug and kiss, but once again, she got into a full-blown makeout session with him. He didn't care too much. Even if all the heat and redness went to his face, he just loved having his favorite woman lay her loving on him. As a matter of fact, she was so enthralled with him that she let one of her hands travel downwards across his abdomen…

"A-HEM."

Rouge stopped and turned to see Shadow covering Tails' and Cream's eyes again.

"Didn't I tell you that we had children here?" said Shadow?

Rouge kept smiling. "What? I can't help it if I love my cool blue Sonic!"

Shadow glared at Rouge, causing her to frown.

"OK, I can understand if there are children here, but you don't have to give me that look!"

Shadow looked away. "Hmph."

Rouge broke away from Sonic so he could give out his next gift…

"Merry Christmas, Ames!"

"Thank you, Sonic!"

Like Cream, Amy also got a 100-Mobium gift card for Baskin-Robbins.

"OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!"* Amy threw her arms up. "I love ice cream! Granted, I'm more of a soft serve girl, but I'm TOTALLY going with Cream!"

"I'm going with you too, Miss Amy!"

Rouge smiled and raised her index finger. "Don't eat too much in one sitting, OK?"

"We won't!" said Amy and Cream.

"Anyways, thanks again, Sonic!" said Amy.

"You're welcome, Mama!"

Amy gave Sonic another friendly, non-windpipe-crushing hug, which he gladly returned. Once again, another round of "awwws" ensued, though Rouge had already taken a picture of those two before. After the hug, Sonic gave out his next gift…

"Here ya go, Omega! Merry Christmas!"

"THANK YOU, SONIC."

Omega opened his gift, which was a box with five 10-quart bottles of Castrol Robo-X motor oil.

"MY DATABANKS INDICATE THAT THIS IS THE BEST MOTOR OIL FOR ROBOTS. THANK YOU AGAIN, SONIC."

"You're welcome, Omega! Merry Christmas, Zooey!"

"Thank you, Sonic!"

Zooey opened her gift from Sonic, but she frowned when she saw it: the Necronomicon.

"Um…Sonic…are you sure this book is safe to read?"

Sonic smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "Sure! I mean, it's just a book, ain't it?"

Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips. "Sonic, I love you very much, but you're even worse than Knuckie and his glowing green rock!"

"Look, Mama, it's just a book! What could go wrong from reading it?"

Still frowning, Rouge crossed her arms. "Clearly, you're not familiar with the Deadite Wars that happened 300 years ago."

Sonic scratched his head. "The say what wars?"

"300 years ago, an ancestor of mine, Dr. Malachi Prower, conducted an excavation at the ruins of Kandar," said Tails. "He found the very book you gave to Zooey, which contains a series of incantations that bring those creatures that roam the country in our dark hours to life and give them license to possess the living. These creatures are known as 'Deadites', and Malachi made the mistake of reading from this book, which resulted in a number of his colleagues being possessed. As a matter of fact, it eventually resulted in the whole country of Mobius having to fight in what were known as the Deadite Wars. They were long and brutal, and only ended when a mysterious man with an appendage that we would now describe as a 'chainsaw' appeared."

Sonic – who had been listening intently to Tails' story – glanced over at Rouge and Zooey, who both had their arms crossed and whose faces were stabbing him with looks of disapproval. He smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Um…sorry?"

Rouge and Zooey kept giving him those looks.

"Look, I know I goofed, but I promise I'll make it up to ya: why don't I take you two mamas and Tails out to a restaurant of all of your choosing? Hell, everything's on me!"

Rouge and Zooey glanced at each other before turning back to Sonic.

"Well…all right," said Rouge.

"Decent! Come here, you two!"

Sonic pulled Rouge and Zooey in and hugged them at the same time, causing everyone else to give another round of "awwws".

"Sonic, you may have some of the dumbest ideas, but I still love you very much!" said Rouge.

"I love ya too, Rouge!"

"Sonic, thanks for at least making it up to me like this!" said Zooey.

"You're welcome, Zooey! Also, I'm givin' ya 100 Mobiums so ya can buy your own gift!"

"Awww!" said Rouge and Zooey.

As much fun as Sonic was having hugging two girls at the same time, they soon let go, thus leaving him free to give to his next recipient…

"Here ya go, Cream! Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Mr. Sonic!"

"Chao!"

Cream opened her gift, which was a DVD box set of The NEXT Show season 1.

"YAY!" Cream threw her arms up in the air. "This is my favorite show EVER! Thank you SO MUCH!"

Cream and Cheese gave Sonic a big hug. Naturally, he returned it happily, and naturally, the others just had to give out a round of "awwws". Then, on to the next person…

"Merry Christmas, Knux!"

"Thanks, Sonic!"

Knuckles opened his gift from Sonic, which was also a DVD box set, albeit of movies: Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection.

"Awesome!" Knuckles gave a thumbs-up. "I love these classic horror movies!"

Rouge put a hand on Knuckles' shoulder. "Me too! We should get together and watch these some time!"

Knuckles sighed. "If I let ya come over, do ya promise not to make it weird?"

"I promise, Knuckie!"

"Very well."

"Awww, you're such a sweetie!"

"Anyways, it's time for my man Tails to get his gift!" said Sonic. "Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Sonic!"

Tails opened his gift from his best friend/soul brother, which was a most welcome one: a Carson TW-6100 automatic torque wrench.

"AWESOME!" Tails pumped his fists. "This'll save me a lot of time in torquing bolts! Thank you SO MUCH, Sonic!"

"You're welcome, Tails!"

Sonci and Tails hugged each other, which earned them what was perhaps the biggest round of "awwws" yet, plus another photo op not just from Rouge, but from pretty much everybody else as well. Finally, Sonic was at his last gift…

"Well…Merry Christmas, Shad!"

Shadow walked over to Sonic and got in his face as he stared him down:

"If this gift sucks, you're dead."

Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips. "Shaddy, you haven't even opened the gift yet! Please, give it a chance!"

Shadow sighed. "All right…"

Sonic did his best to steel his nerves as he handed Shadow his gift. The Ultimate Life Form scrutinized the gift – which appeared to be a wrapped envelope judging by the shape – before opening it slowly. The Blue Blur did his best to keep a smile on his face as his rival opened the wrapping paper and then opened the blue envelope within. Shadow took out the contents of the envelope, while Sonic waited for him to get on with his reaction. Shadow did indeed react, namely by letting out a loud, drawn-out gasp as he dropped the envelope and nearly dropped his gift:

"Sonic…how did you know I was a fan of this band!?"

Shadow held up his gift: a pair of concert tickets for a band called The Voron Vikings at the Emerald City Palladium on February 4 of next year.

Sonic shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, ya like metal, so I looked up metal bands and just found out about 'em."

Without saying anything else, Shadow swiftly pulled Sonic into a big hug. Despite not expecting the gesture, Sonic happily returned it, and in doing so, discovered that The Ultimate Life Form was surprisingly soft, warm and cuddly for such a tough guy.

"I take back every bad thing I ever said about you!" said Shadow.

Sonic trembled a bit. "Sh-Shad…stop! You're gonna make me cry!"

"No…Sonic…don't cry, otherwise I'll cry!"

Once again, Sonic and Shadow got a hearty round of "awwws". In fact, no other round of "awwws" could've compared to how heartfelt this one was. Much of the group, knowing how bitter the rivalry between both hedgehogs was, couldn't help but feel so warm and fuzzy knowing that they had made up like this. In fact, there was one person who was most elated to see them being so good towards each other…

"Come here, you two!"

Rouge hugged Sonic and Shadow at the same time, causing them to blush really hard.

"Rouge…you're my favorite person, but…do you really need to be so syrupy towards Sonic and I?" said Shadow.

"But you two are my little hedgie babies, and I'm so happy to see you two forgiving each other!"

Sonic smiled. "She's got a point, Shad! Besides, I love bein' hugged by both of ya!"

Shadow smiled. "Oh, what the heck! Rouge, since you've been so enthusiastic about taking pictures, why don't you get one of Sonic and I, plus one of all three of us!"

"Gladly!"

Rouge not only got a picture of Sonic and Shadow together, but one of her with both hedgehogs, as did the others. Shadow then gently grabbed one of Sonic's hands.

"Sonic…"

"Yes?"

"You can call me Shaddy if you want to."

"Well, that is a cute nickname…"

Rouge smiled. "It was my idea!"

"Honestly, I used to hate it, but considering how good everyone's been to me today, I think I'll wear it with pride!" said Shadow.

Amy raised her index finger. "Shaddy, I'm really happy that you're happy, but I have one question…"

"Yes, my dear Rose?"

"Just what is it about that band that made you want to hug Sonic?"

Shadow put a hand on Amy's shoulder. "Amy, the Voron Vikings are the Roseinian Empire's top speed metal band…hell, their top metal band period. Granted, Iron Maiden will still be my favorite band, but these guys come extremely close. Up until now, though, they'd never played a concert outside their home country, so I'm really excited to see them live for the first time." Shadow looked away briefly. "I just wish the band were known more for their music rather than their off-stage antics and frequent run-ins with the Roseinian authorities, though…"

"Still, this seems like something that means a lot to you, and I'm really happy for you! Besides, I've actually been getting into metal myself because of you, so I might actually wanna go to that concert with you!"

Shadow's eyes widened. "Really!?"

Amy gave Shadow another hug and kiss, which earned another round of "awwws".

"Hey Shaddy, I'm curious: what songs did these guys do?" Sonic scratched his cheek with his index finger. "I'm wonderin' if I heard them before…"

"They have a lot of great songs! In fact, they even did a Christmas song! Here's 'Christmas Rock 'N Rollers'!"

Shadow pulled out his smartphone, connected it to the living room's sound system and played "Christmas Rock 'N Rollers":

"Hey there, all you people,
It's now Christmastime!
Gonna rock, gonna roll,
Bells are gonna chime!

Come on, party people,
Santa's on his sleigh!
Big white beard, big red suit,
Soon, it's Christmas Day!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Christmas Rock 'N Rollers!
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Christmas Rock 'N Rollers!"

Naturally, Shadow couldn't help but headbang to the song while doing the "devil's horns" gesture. However, a bunch of his friends covered their ears when faced with the triple-guitar attack of lead singer Timofey Plezner and backing singers Vadim Vtorov and Adrian Mitrofanov, not to mention the rapid-fire rhythm section of bassist Ilya Aksyutin and drummer Gervig Zederbaum:

"Shaddy, turn this off!" cried Amy. "My ears are bleeding!"

"I feel like my head's gonna explode!" exclaimed Tails.

"Yeah Shaddy, this is way too much rock!" said Sonic.

"What the matter?" Shadow kept headbanging. "Don't any of you love heavy metal!?"

"Well, I don't love having my eardrums blown out!" said Rouge.

"Neither do I!" said Zooey.

"Is this even music!?" said Knuckles.

Even Omega was starting to smoke and spark from listening to the music:

"SHADOW, MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATE THAT THIS BAND IS TOO HEAVY. PLEASE DISCONTINUE THIS MUSIC."

Surprisingly, Cream and Cheese were getting into the "VVs", as the band was commonly known among fans:

"Mr. Shadow, this is a great band!" Cream was also headbanging. "Play more!"

"Chao Chao CHAO!"

In contrast, Big didn't seem fazed by the music too much:

"This is an interesting band."

Despite Cream, Cheese and Big not being fazed, Rouge decided that stopping the music was in everyone's best interests, so after taking a deep breath, she hurried over to the sound system and hit the "PAUSE" button with her elbow, causing Shadow, Cream and Cheese to stop headbanging.

"Rouge, why did you stop the music?"

Rouge put her fists on her hips. "I had to stop you from blowing everyone apart with your extreme music! Also, you lost your Christmas music privileges for next year!"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Rouge, the VVs are a perfectly cromulent band. Even Cream agrees with me."

Rouge turned to Cream. "And since WHEN are you into metal!?"

Cream smiled. "One time, I saw Shadow headbanging to metal, so he let me listen to some of his favorite songs, and I became a fan!"

Rouge turned back to Shadow. "Shaddy, you should be ashamed of yourself for exposing children to such angry music!"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Cream just happened on the music by accident. It was her choice to listen."

"Go ahead, keep arguing with me! You'll earn yourself another tickle party!"

Shadow blushed, backed away and made a pushing motion towards Rouge. "OK, you made your point! Call off the tickles!"

Rouge relaxed her stance and smiled. "That being said, who wants a nice holiday meal?"

"WE DO!" Everyone raised their hands.

For the holiday meal, Rouge had made some homemade fried chicken tenders, homemade French fries, brown sugar maple-glazed ham, apple pie and powdered cocoa cookies.

"Now, before we begin, let us toast to the Horned God and Mother Goddess!"

Rouge raised a glass of non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice, and everyone toasted and drank up.

"Also, a toast to King and Queen Acorn for their support of my coven!"

Once again, everyone toasted, and then they served themselves some food, except Omega, who had motor oil instead. As usual, Sonic was really inhaling his food, much to Rouge's chagrin:

"OK, there's no need to stuff your face like that, Piglet Hog!"*

Sonic gave a sheepish smile. "What? Ain't a guy allowed to stuff his face for the holidays?"

Sonic kept devouring his food. Rouge proceeded to make pig noises at him, and he had to stop eating because this was causing him to giggle.

"What?"

Sonic kept smiling as he looked deeply into Rouge's aqua green eyes, and Tails and Knuckles ended up giggling. As much as she wanted to scold her blue boyfriend, she too ended up cracking up:

"Oh, I can't with you guys!"

Sonic's, Tails', Knuckles' and Rouge's laughter proved highly infectious, and everyone was having a most jolly time. Of course, Omega was the only one who managed to remain stone-faced during this time. Nevertheless, he was happy that Shadow and Rouge were being merry with the others.

After the holiday meal, Rouge brought everyone back downstairs.

"So, who wants to watch some holiday movies?" said Rouge.

"ME!" Pretty much everyone raised their hands.

Shadow smiled. "I know exactly what we're gonna watch…"

Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips again. "Shaddy, we're NOT watching one of your cheesy action movies!"

Sonic wrapped an arm around Rouge. "What's the matter, Mama? Ya jealous because Shaddy has such good taste in movies?"

"Big Blue, don't encourage him! We're gonna watch a proper holiday movie!"

"Which one?" asked Zooey.

Rouge smiled. "I know exactly which one!"

Rouge put on Sonic Christmas Blast. Sonic sat on the couch sandwiched between Tails and Rouge, the former also sitting next to Zooey and the latter sitting next to Shadow as well.

A couple more holiday movies later…

"Well, that was fun, but we have to get going!" said Amy.

"Have a good night, Auntie Rouge!" said Cream.

"Thanks for the party!" said Big.

"Chao Chao Chao!" said Cheese.

"OK, have fun!" Rouge waved goodbye.

"Amy…may I come with you?" asked Shadow.

Amy smiled. "Of course!"

Shadow smiled. "Thank you, Amy!"

"Bye, Shaddy! Have a good night, hon!"

Rouge gave Shadow a big hug, which he gladly returned, with one more round of "awwws".

"GOODBYE, SHADOW," said Omega.

"Bye, Omega!"

Shadow waved to Rouge and Omega as he departed with Team Rose, who took their presents with them.

"Yeah…I gotta get goin' too," said Knuckles.

"Are you sure you don't wanna spend the night here?" said Rouge.

Knuckles crossed his arms. "I'm SURE."

Rouge pouted. "But baby, it's cold outside!"

"Good night, Rouge."

"OK, if you insist…"

Knuckles left with his presents as well.

Rouge's smile returned. "Sonic, Tails, Zooey…would any of you like to spend the night?"

"Thanks, Rouge, but I promised I'd spend at least part of this holiday with my mother," said Zooey.

Rouge maintained her smile. "OK, I won't keep you! Have a good night!"

"You too!"

Sonic, Tails and Rouge waved at Zooey as she walked out the door with their presents, while Rouge turned to Sonic and Tails:

"Big Blue, Fox Boy, would you two like to spend the night?"

Sonic gave a thumbs-up. "Hell yeah!"

Tails stroked his chin. "Well, I've never spent the night with my Auntie Rouge before, so this should be fun!"

Rouge giggled. "Glad you two could stay! Sometimes, I wish Shaddy and I had what you two have!"

Sonic pointed his index finger at Rouge. "Hey, considerin' how much he warmed up to me today, you two just might head in that direction!"

"Besides, there's nothing more cool than having that one guy who's almost like a sibling to you!" said Tails.

Rouge stroked her chin."Well, I do think of Shaddy as my little baby, but having him as a brother could be very nice, too! By the way, Sonic, seeing you and Shaddy hug made this Christmas worth it!"

"Really?"

Rouge put her hands on Sonic's shoulders. "Really!"

Rouge gave Sonic a passionate kiss as she embraced him, and he embraced her back, while Tails smiled. It had indeed been the most wonderful time of the year.

A/N:

*-The phrases "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS" and "Piglet Hog" are used with permission from KagamiPINKAgreste.

Also, if anyone wants the full lyrics to "Christmas Rock 'N Rollers", feel free to let me know!

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.