Merry Christmas! Even though it's three and a half hours past, it still counts as Christmas considering I haven't slept between then and now. I based Larry's bed time off of my own in this story.

I was quickly awaken by a violent shaking at my side. My tired eyes heavily struggled to stay open, as if weighed down by an outside force. Someone woke me up, but I was too groggy to process anything.

"Get out of bed, lazy one!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed at my left. I groggily looked over, but was pushed back into my soft bed. "Come open presents with us!" The same high-pitched voice shouted again right by my head. "You're going to miss out if you stay here!"

I blindly reached over towards the voice, and playfully pulled the source onto the bed with me. "I'm not going to miss out of you do as well," I playfully said, wrestling my smallest brother in my arms. He jumped up, and aggressively wrapped his arms around my neck, forcing me to do the same with him.

"Let me go! I want to go open stuff, but not without you!" He said, speech muffled through the blankets as I squeezed him tightly. Lemmy struggled, but I had him pinned far too tightly. He could only struggle as I had the upper hand.

As much as I wanted to remain in bed, I needed to meet with the rest of the family. My sleep certainly helped, as my mind was no longer clouded, and I felt much more alive. Then I remembered the events from the previous night – Mario coming into my room. I had no idea how anyone else in my family would react to that, but I had to tell them the source of the gift. "I'll get out now," I said, freeing Lemmy from my tight grasp. As carefree as he was, I would not want to tell him that Mario entered the house. He was most likely to mindlessly tell everyone else what happened despite anything I say. I decided that I would just have to think of something when they ask – perhaps that I just found the gift as I went to feed the fire. My last plan would probably work; I'd just have to wait for the right time to reveal it.

Lemmy playfully jumped off my bed, tightly grabbing onto my now-exposed arm. He tugged on it with surprising strength – especially when his small size was taken into consideration.

I groggily pushed the covers off of myself, and then turned towards the left side of my bed. Lemmy was staring into my eyes with his own – large and bright as ever; excited for what was to come. His cheerful spirit instantly lifted my mood, appearing to wake me further. I was almost planted to my bed, but I still managed to push myself out of it – though not without Lemmy's help as he tugged at my arm.

I sat up on the edge of my bed, and rubbed my tired eyes for a moment. The previous night had taken its toll on me, and I felt almost too tired to get up. I needed to, however, as more than likely the rest of my family was waiting for me up at the loft. "Let's go up there," I then happily but tiredly said to my smallest brother. "I'm ready to open up some gifts."

Lemmy, as quickly as he appeared in my room, disappeared to upstairs – where the rest of my family would be waiting. I stood up, and groggily walked the path that Lemmy took – to the right of my door, and up the stairs at the end of the hallway – the same path I walked to place Mario's present under the tree.

I arrived upstairs in the loft after a minute. Surely enough, as expected, the rest of my family was patiently waiting up there, all seated around the pile of presents on the floor. There was one gift that stuck out from the rest – a large cube shape covered in metallic red wrapping paper. No one seemed to notice it, but it was the one Mario brought in the previous night. I had to reveal it to everyone that he came sometime during the night and dropped it off. I only discovered it when I grabbed some wood to feed the fire, according to my story.

I stepped over the plain wood floor towards the rest of my family, and joined Lemmy's side at the base of the tree. He was already holding a small and neatly-wrapped box in his hands, bubbling with excitement to open it. I looked around at the many gifts under the tree – some large, some small. Different colors, shapes, and everything. There were many there – two for everyone, at the very least. I reached over to the nearest one, and read the label. It was rather small and dense, but it wasn't labeled to myself.

"Pass this off to Iggy," I tiredly whispered to Lemmy. He was on my right, and as always, Iggy to his right. He accepted the gift, and smiled at me.

The room fell quiet for a second. My oldest brother, usually the most responsible, chimed to all of us, "Merry Christmas! I'm a bit excited to find out what everyone got."

Before anyone else could interrupt, Lemmy broke the silence by joyfully asking, "Can we open presents now? I really want to find out what we got."

"Sure you can – there's no reason to wait," my oldest brother replied. I smiled at him, and he noticed my glance and grinned back at me. I then reached over to underneath the tree, and pulled a small rectangular box out. It was labeled to myself, but before I bothered opening it, I looked around the room at all the commotion going on. The sound of shredding paper was nearly overwhelming, but that sound was drowned by everyone's conversations. The sights made me happy – I always enjoyed seeing my family members all happy like this, especially when we were all together.

I momentarily glanced around the room to see the rest of my siblings all crowded around the same tree. Lemmy and Iggy were on my right side, while Ludwig was across the tree on the other side nearest the wall, while Morton, Roy, and Wendy each sat close to him, slightly distanced from me. They were all working at the wrapped up gifts in their hands.

I turned back to my own gift after a moment, and smiled at it. In order to relieve all the excitement that Christmas Eve brought along, I gently cut the wrapping paper with my claws. I had no idea what was inside, but the box felt relatively dense. Christmas morning proved to be exciting for everyone, and I needed to take part.

I carefully removed the wrapping from the medium rectangular box, and revealed a rather interesting black box with red accents along the front. There was a picture of a device I use every day at my computer – the keyboard, though this one was rather sleek looing. It read CM Storm along the top of the box, and Quickfire Rapid along the bottom. It was an interesting product, so I set it off to the side, and would further inspect it later. There were more gifts to be opened before we could get the last one done. Despite wanting to open it up as the very last, I happily got up, and walked towards the banister where the large box was placed. I took it over next to Lemmy, and gently set it down behind him. He curiously stared back at it, so I whispered, "That one's to be opened at the very end."

My small brother nodded at me. I was still very tired, though the initial unboxing of that new computer keyboard woke me up slightly. I was interested in testing it out, though I'd want to open everything else beforehand.

I tiredly reached in towards the pile under the tree, and pulled out another gift. This time, the box was of medium-size, labeled for myself, and wrapped in dark blue paper. Its weight wasn't very dense, but it still had some mass to it. As with before, I carefully peeled back the paper with my sharp claws, revealing an ordinary brown cardboard box. I set it down on my lap before glancing around at everyone else in the room. They were still unraveling gifts, creating a large mess at the same time.

"Well this is going to be a bit of fun!" someone shouted from the other side of the Christmas tree – my largest brother, Roy. He was holding a bottle in his hand of some sort, though I could not recognize it. It contained a rich brown liquid. He set it down before I could ask, though I wasn't very interested in the first place.

Sitting next to Roy was my only sister – Wendy. She was in the midst of unravelling a present, but let out an ear-piercing shrill once it was revealed. Everyone else in the room momentarily glared at her, causing her to hide her face. It appeared to be some sort of makeup kit – expected for someone like her to receive. "I'll look ten times as beautiful as I do now," she then announced. No one replied, which most likely angered her. I chuckled, and brought my attention back down to my own gift. The ordinary brown box sat in my lap, just waiting to be opened. I carefully ran my claw down the length of the tape which was holding the box together, pulling it open to reveal a slab of closed-cell foam.

I steadily removed the thick black foam amongst the commotion of my family, revealing a finely crafted yet simple wooden box underneath. "This is really interesting," I mumbled to myself.

Before I could further examine the mysterious box, someone poked me on the right side. I turned, and was met with an excited and happy looking Lemmy. In his hands he held a rather large clear container which contained what looked to be very many different candies. "Want to have some of these?" He asked, joyfully.

"Maybe later," I replied. I hadn't fully awaken at this point, and my stomach still felt heavy rather heavy from the night before.

Lemmy smiled, and softly said to me, "Just ask me if you want some." I smiled at him, and subtly nodded.

Lemmy was the happiest in the family. He would always try his hardest to cheer someone up, and he would always be polite to those around him. These traits were rubbing off on Iggy, as he spent the most time with Lemmy. They were always together, and I managed to sneak quite a bit of time in with them.

My eyes wandered past Lemmy towards the spot where Iggy was sitting. He seemed to be struggling with a tightly wrapped gift, prying at it with his sharp claws to no avail. I kindly offered to assist, but my tallest brother declined before catching an edge on the tape. I smiled at his success, and then brought my attention back to my own gift. The finely crafted wooden box curiously stared up at me, enticing me to open it. I pulled it away from its original closed cell cradle, revealing the entirety of the box. It was about the same size as the keyboard box I unwrapped earlier. There were a couple brass clasps on one edge, along with a keyhole from which a key was inserted – with a curious note attached to the end. I tilted my head, and carefully pulled the key out of the hole. I held it in my hand, feeling the dense weight of the rather small brass key. I then read the note attached, and handwritten in small letters was keep this one to yourself. I pondered the thought as to why, and then scanned around my surroundings. Lemmy was opening a pile of many small gifts, while Iggy was still struggling with his tightly-wrapped present. At my left side, Ludwig was leafing through a thick piano book, while Morton was looking at a rather large Darkland history book. Wendy was mesmerized in the various colors in her new makeup kit, and Roy was handling a set of dumbbells. No one would see me, allowing me to privately open up my secret gift.

I casually placed the key back inside the hole, and then turned it. It stopped with a light yet reassuring "click", informing me that the box was unlocked. I glanced around once more; I was still clear.

I carefully pulled back the box's clamshell lid, revealing more closed cell foam with several compartments cut into it. I gently reached into one of said compartments, and pulled out a small circular device with what appeared to be a Li-Po battery connected to it via small cable. It appeared quite delicate, so I set it back down inside its original closed cell container.

There was a larger cutout in the left side of the box. Within that cutout, I found a receiver with an antenna attached to it and a USB connection on the side. I wondered for a moment, thinking about what this could have been. There were many of the small black circular devices inside the case, which resembled tiny cameras. It would require further investigation which I would perform once the unwrapping session was complete. At the base of the left side compartment, I found a small pamphlet with a label on it. "Here it is," I whispered to myself. The label on the top of the paper read, Wireless USB Spy Camera. I thought it was rather neat, and I now understood the reason for it to be kept a secret. My cover would be blown had I let everyone know what was in my possession, thus ruining my secretive gift. Before I even managed to reseal the wooden case, a small voice interrupted me from my right. "What do you have there? Can I look at it?"

As much as I wanted to accept Lemmy's request, I wanted to remain true to the note on the key. "I'll have to look at it a bit more," I said to him. "I think I'll have to assemble it."

"Okay. I can help you with that later, if you want," he responded. I nodded at Lemmy, but would most likely not mention the devices in the future. I wanted to stick to what the note said, because for some reason I felt it was important.

My small brother turned back to Iggy, who finally seemed to be using his claws against paper instead of tape this time around. "I finally got it!" He exclaimed from the other side of Lemmy. Iggy was loud, though not enough to annoy me. I smiled in his direction, and then took the wooden box off of my lap, and placed it back inside its original packaging. I set it aside, and then grabbed the gift I wanted to open the most. I carefully manipulated the rather heavy gift – from Mario – directly in front of myself. I was going to explain the situation to everyone in a moment, minus Mario entering as I had no idea how anyone would react to that.

Before I had a chance to even survey the room to see if the coast was clear, I heard Iggy shout, "It's cummingtonite!"

As expected, the entire house fell silent for a moment, before a fit of irrational laughter took over from all directions. I had no idea why everyone was laughing. It must've been some sort of inside joke, as I didn't understand it the slightest.

"What's so funny?" I then questioned my smallest brother on my right.

"Cummingtonite, get it?" Lemmy choked out, unable to breathe due to his laughter. I shrugged at him, but was then handed over some sort of rock with a small label attached to the side. I looked at it, and read, Mg2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2. I had no idea what any of that meant, though it didn't surprise me as it came from Iggy. "This is what it is?" I then asked him.

"Yes, it is, Larry," Iggy replied, still giggling under his breath.

"Don't explain the entire thing to him, now, Iggy or Lemmy," my oldest brother said from the farthermost side of the loft.

"We won't," the inseparable pair said in conjunction with one another, snickering simultaneously.

I didn't even bother questioning, as whenever Ludwig said something, it was not argued with. On top of that, I really wanted to open the present that Mario brought along the previous night. The commotion in the room did subside after Iggy's seemingly innocent joke, so I figured to begin.

I stood up, and slightly nervously explained to my siblings, "Here's an interesting gift I found outside last night when I went to get some wood to feed the fire." I stood before the large reflective red box, leading everyone's eyes towards it with my finger. "It's from someone who we don't really like very much," I nervously continued, treading very carefully with my speech. "He was... Well, he seemed to be very nice to me- Us, as he brought along this gift and left a note on it." I could only hope that no one heard my stutter, and that if they did, that it would go unnoticed.

"Wha'does the note say?" Roy asked from the side of the loft. I nervously met eyes with him, catching his somewhat demanding stare.

"I'll read it out to you guys," I responded, picking the letter up from the gift. I quickly tore open the side of the envelope, revealing the edge of a plain white sheet which I unsheathed. I unfolded the paper in my hands, and then took a deep breath as I stared at the message on it. "Here's what they have to say to us. It appears to be from the princess, and then Mario." I announced, beginning on the top of the page. "Here goes... Dear Koopalings. I am well aware that you guys are in my kingdom for the holidays, and despite not technically being allowed there, I've decided to let things slide for now. I haven't had any problems with you being there, so if this good behavior continues, then you won't have anything to worry about up in that house. I wish you all a merry Christmas, despite technically being the opposition."

I paused momentarily, allowing a tear to run down my snout. Peach's words really touched me, especially as I read them in front of my family. No one had made a comment at this point, so I assumed her words had a similar effect on them.

I sighed, and then scanned further down the page. This time, Mario's message appeared, ready for me to read it to everyone else in the house. "Here's the one from Mario," I said, secretively wiping the tear from my snout. They all looked up at me with curious eyes, so I continued down the page, "Luigi and I threw this special gift together for you guys. It's for all of you, so be ready to see it as the box opens. We know it's not much, but it shows our appreciation for your good behavior in the Mushroom Kingdom. Our princess doesn't know about this gift, so you'll all have to thank us personally later on. For now, however, we can only wish you guys a great holiday, and hope you enjoy the gift I dropped off sometime in the morning – probably when you guys were all asleep. Remember: it's for everyone there, so open it together!"

Everyone before me fell silent as I finished off. They clearly had no clue how to react to this. I didn't either, though I did talk to Mario when he came. He was very nice to me, and I only expected something good from him. "We'll have to repay him later on," I quietly said to my brothers and sister.

"Let's just get this box open," Lemmy suggested before everyone else. I looked into his eyes as he walked over, and noticed that they were glossier than usual. Peach and Mario's words clearly affected him the same way they affected me. There wasn't much conversing going on, as my siblings' minds were most likely racing with thoughts – both positive and negative.

We all gathered around the box on our knees. I could observe that everyone was brimming with excitement, though at the same they were thinking about the kind letter. I experiencing very deep thoughts about it, so I could only imagine the same for my siblings. "I'll get this one," I said. I knew it would be a great gift, considering how Mario treated me the night before. "We're going to have to thank him for this one," I added. No one responded, presumably waiting for the reveal.

I started by digging my claw underneath a flap in the wrapping before tearing it open. The metallic paper cleanly tore free, revealing a black cardboard box underneath.

Pull here, a small tag instructed on the top, tied to what looked to be some sort of handle. "Does anyone want to pull it open?" I shyly asked, still affected by the enemies' kind words.

"I think you should do it because you found it," Morton suggested, kneeling down across the box from me. I smiled at him, causing him to glance up and grin. I set my sights back on the cardboard box, and placed my fingers around the tab. "Here it is," I said to everyone, glancing up at the tight circle formed. "I hope it's as nice as the messages."

I then took a deep breath, anticipating what was to come. "I'll open it now," I mumbled, though probably too quietly for anyone to hear. I began by tugging on the tab, though nothing happened. It seemed to be caught in something, so I gave it more force, finally releasing it after a firm "click" from within the gift.

The lid was loose now. I carefully removed it, only to reveal whiteness – some sort of white powder. There was also something sitting on top of the powder – a small note. I reached in, removing the small paper from its original enclosure.

There was a moment of restlessness and confusion. We were just sent a very polite message, and then a box of white powder. I gently scraped the top of the powder with my free hand, pulling it away to feel the consistency-

My ears were met with a loud "pop" right before my face, knocking the wind out of me and sending me back.

I momentarily found myself unable to breathe while gagging a tasteless dust out of my airways. I could feel it coming – death was awaiting. I turned myself over to my front in attempt to free up my lungs, but it was no use. I was slowly suffocating from the dust ejected from Mario's "gift".

Timeless moments passed. My airways slowly cleared, though a sharp pain still resided in my chest. I slowly brought myself to my hands and knees, eyes desperately darting around the room. There was white dust all over, along with a small paper on the floor – the note I found inside the gift. I picked it up once again and scraped off the excess powder, revealing more handwriting.

My heart immediately sank as I made out the words: That's what you guys get for being such imbiciles. Learn how to behave yourselves for once in your worthless lives, and quit bothering us.

I angrily rammed my fist into the wooden floor, sending a shock of extreme pain through my arm with the impact. Uncontrollable tears began falling – tears of pain; tears of loss. I trusted Mario the night before, and now it was all gone.

I crossed my arms over the floor, and sobbed into them. Nothing would be able to cheer me up at this point, especially considering how Mario helped me through part of the previous night. I had to talk about it with someone – mainly to get it out, but also to convince my family to never trust Mario, no matter the circumstances.

I heard various fits of coughing around me amongst the white dust cloud. It was settling, albeit very slowly. My siblings were all around me – most likely feeling the same physical pain I was in, but nowhere near my level of emotional pain.

I heard a prominent light sobbing off to my left, further adding to the pain I was already dealing with. I recognized it as Lemmy, balled up underneath the Christmas tree amongst shredded wrapping paper. I slowly crawled over to him, knowing that if anyone were to cheer me up at that moment, it would be Lemmy.

I made it to his motionless form after a moment. He was breathing and sobbing, but seemed unresponsive to stimuli. I gently tapped his shoulder with my now-bruised hand, causing him to glance up before placing his face back in his arms.

"You alright?" I choked out, trying to check the well-being of my smallest brother. He nodded, but continued sobbing. I gently stroked the top of his dusty head, trying anything to cheer him up. Things were usually not right if Lemmy was sad. He didn't react. Instead, he continued sobbing as before, causing me to shed a couple tears. I looked up, taking my attention away from Lemmy, and gratefully saw Iggy crawling his way over to us. He immediately attended to his favorite brother, causing him to lift his head and smile slightly. They were together once again, allowing me to tend to the rest of my family.

I clumsily stumbled to my feet, then slowly moved myself across the dusty floor, and over to the side of the loft. There was a small area with two deep orange couches on it – exactly where I found the rest of my family members: Wendy, Ludwig, Roy, and Morton. If there was any time to explain Mario's presence, then it was now. They'd hopefully understand, and they would most definitely not punish me for it – especially after how he treated me.

I turned over to my oldest brother, as he was usually highly understanding. I decided that he would be the first I explain the situation to. I had the small note clutched in my left hand, ready to display if necessary.

"Ludwig..?" I nervously said, staring up at my oldest brother with tears in my eyes.

He looked down at me with a menacing glare – one that quickly converted to a concerned look as we made eye contact. "What is it?" He asked, noticing my teary eyes and kneeling down directly in front of me.

I hesitated. I didn't know how he would react, but I needed to talk about it with someone. "When Mario came last night..." He tilted his head, and I was almost scared to mention it. I continued, however, as I couldn't just keep it a secret. "He-He talked to me when I went to get wood... He was really n-nice... To-To m-me." Uncontrollable tears fell as I struggled to speak. I started bawling after a second, causing Ludwig to come in closer and place his arms around me.

"I understand. You don't have to explain anymore," he said in a very calming and soothing voice. My bawling lessened, and I immediately felt reassured.

"We should make him pay for what he did to us," Roy interrupted from the couch. He stared at me, and continued, "For you, Larry," with a silly revengeful look on his face. I cracked a smile at Roy, pleased with his encouragement, despite being a joke. "Thanks," I mumbled to him with a sniffle. "We still have to get him back for all that," I continued, barely audible this time.

"Let's pound him. I'll let you take the final blow," Roy replied, nodding at me.

"Not even that," Morton added. He was sitting next to Roy on the couch, but he had a very different mindset about how to handle the situation. "Maybe we can pay him back next year, and not say anything about it until then."

I pondered that idea. I personally wanted a formal apology from the plumber, but waiting didn't seem like a bad plan. We'd be able to get him back, and best of all, when he least expects it. I looked back over at Morton, and smiled. "I like that one."

Ludwig, having let go of me at this point, joined everyone else back on the couch. From the left side, nearest to the tree, Iggy and Lemmy stumbled over within each other's arms. "We heard that," Iggy interrupted, walking up to me with his arm around Lemmy. "I like it," my smallest brother added.

Covered in dust, gathered around a small area, we all glanced at each other, and then nodded simultaneously.

"Three hundred sixty five days it is, then," I suggest with a sly grin on my face. "The enemy will fall."

So that makes the end of my Christmas-themed short story, though I'm sure it can be enjoyed anytime during the year.

I'm certainly going to write a sequel to this, and you probably already have a good idea when that's being released.

Feel free to leave a review telling me what you think about this story.

Being an avid Minecrafter, I had the sudden urge to build this story's house in the game. PM me if you're interested in the save file, and I can supply you with a download link.