SHONEN ALLIANCE AND THE ULTRA ALLIANCE
THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL
Part 3
OPENING THEME: Limit-Break x Survivor (Dragon Ball Super)
Histoire had had the idea to contact the Ultra Alliance and invite them to spend Christmas with the heroes of Hyperdimension, and the Supreme Kai of Time had happily accepted the invitation. Now, the various heroes of the Alliances were out and about, enjoying each other's company and the hope of a festive holiday as Vine prepared to borrow Largo's car for a short trip. The night before, Largo had contacted his friend at the town paper and presented their evidence. By now, an article exposing the sale of the park and blaming it for the cancellation of the Festival of Angels had been typed out and the papers were printed and ready to distribute with the article as the front page story. By the end of the day, the entire town would know the story and the events that would come as a result of the information would be unavoidable.
In spite of this, the night before, Vine had discovered where the offices of Toshiro Hounda were located and intended to pay a visit to the businessman to see what he could learn. There was no point now as there was no turning back from the decisions made the night before. There wasn't even a guarantee that Vine would get a chance to speak to Hounda, but he had nothing to lose as he pulled on his black jacket. After some thought, he elected to leave his cape behind and headed for the door. Selvaria stopped him just before he headed out.
"Why are you doing this, Sir Vine?" she asked as he turned to her, "nothing you learn'll change anything. Whatever is going to happen will happen."
"I know. At this point, I know I'm just doing this for myself," Vine admitted, "but… I have to know, Sel. Something's been bugging me ever since I looked over that bill, and whether everything works out like we hope it will or not, if I don't try to figure out what that something is, it's going to keep bugging me."
"Alright, but hurry back," Selvaria said, "festival or not, I know we're not going to be alone for Christmas, so I'd like to get some alone time with my husband before then." Vine chuckled as he kissed her goodbye.
"I won't be long," he promised.
"Get all lovey dovey after we get back. We need to hurry," Noire called out suddenly. The two heroes were surprised to see her and Kirito of Ultradimension walking towards them, "don't look so surprised. I told you last night I wasn't comfortable with any of this. I want to know what the truth is just as much as you do."
"I was kind of hoping you'd let me come along too," Kirito admitted, "I know I don't know a lot about what's going on, but from what I do know, I kind of agree with you two. Something's not right about all this."
"Alright," Vine nodded in agreement, "let's go then."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Vine drove while Noire sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window while Kirito sat in the back. The three had been quiet for nearly an hour since leaving Largo's when Noire finally broke the silence.
"Vine, do you think what Neptune said yesterday… do you think she was right," she asked.
"Hard to say. Kyoko does like to eat so I wouldn't put stealing Nep's pudding past her, though it's more likely Peashy did it," Vine answered, "and before you start yelling, I know that's not what you meant. I don't know Noire. I mean, that's the way it's supposed to be, right. The greedy, selfish, black-hearted Scrooge tries to ruin Christmas in the name of profit but the pure hearted heroes foil his dastardly schemes and all learn about peace on earth and good will to men and all that. Sounds like a movie my kid sister would love to watch."
"But this isn't a movie," Noire protested.
"Can't argue with that. Given how the Ultradimension crew came out of nowhere last night, I think we crossed over into bad fanfiction awhile ago," Vine joked, "seriously Noire, why is this bothering you so much? I mean, I can tell you why it bothers me, I've played the role of selfish, black-hearted Scrooge so I can empathize, but I have a hard time believing that the beloved Goddess of Lastation has ever been the selfish ruiner of Christmas."
"It's just that…" Noire replied, sighing deeply, "a few years ago, there was a town in Lastation that held its own festival every year for Christmas, but that year, the town was in financial trouble and had to cancel it. I thought it'd be great if I stepped in and funded the festival myself. I thought 'that's the thing a loving Goddess is supposed to do, right. Step in and help out when her people are down.' Surely all the people would be so happy that their Goddess helped them in their time of need."
"I'm guessing that didn't happen," Kirito spoke up.
"They thought I was bribing the town officials to cancel the festival," Noire revealed in dismay. "Everyone was so furious that my share energy actually fell pretty sharply as a result of it, all because someone misunderstood my intentions. That's why I'm so worried about this. What if we're doing the exact same thing to this businessman."
"Guess we'll know soon enough," Vine replied, "how about you, kid?
"I was just thinking," Kirito replied, "we think this guy is trying to get rich by building a hotel over the park, right? But there's no reason anyone would come to that town other then the Festival of Angels which can't happen without the park. In that light, wouldn't you think that a hotel would be more likely to lose money then make it? You'd be better off just not building one at all and not losing money on construction and maintenance on something few people ever use."
"Can't argue against the practical answer," Vine admitted. Just then, the car went over a decent size bump and the three heard a loud thump in the trunk of the car.
"The hell was that?" Noire exclaimed as Vine pulled over. Walking back to the trunk, Vine popped the trunk and checked inside. He was surprised to find Peashy, Rom, and Ram and the Ultradimension If and Compa (who for anyone who doesn't know are children versions of Hyperdimension's IF and Compa) all hiding in the trunk, Peashy of whom was dazed with a sizable bump on her head.
"What're you kids doing in here?" Kirito asked as he and Vine began lifting kids out of the trunk.
"We wanted to come to," Ram declared firmly as Vine pulled her out and set her down on the ground, "but we thought you dummies'd tell us no."
"Are you mad at us, Vine?" Rom asked timidly as Kirito set her down next to her twin.
"A little," Vine replied, picking up Peashy, "one of you could have gotten hurt back here."
"But… Vine, Peashy did get hurt," Compa protested, sobbing.
"Yeah, but it's Peashy. She's got a number skull than Naruto so she'll be fine," Vine replied. As if on cue, Peashy sprung to life, head-butting Vine in the chest and knocking the wind out of the Darcsen Alchemist. "Gah, my point is made."
"VIN!" she shouted as Vine struggled back to his feet, "WE WANNA GO TOO!"
"You know, you could try asking rather then trying to knock my lungs out of my chest," Vine coughed.
"Please, Mr. Kirito," Compa pleaded.
"Wha… why're you asking me?" Kirito staggered nervously.
"Come on, Rom, turn on the water works," Ram suggested, "Vine's powerless against that!"
"Oh brother, we all know you're going to cave and say yes so just say it already," Noire ordered.
"Fine," Vine sighed, "everyone get in. We're burning daylight!" He ordered as the kids all let out cheers.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
The rest of the trip went uneventfully and soon, the group arrived at Hounda's office. The group now sat in a reception area waiting. Rom was sitting on Noire's lap while Noire flipped through one of Rose's books that had been in the car, Kirito sat with his arms folded, watching Compa, Ram, and Peashy draw in blank notebooks Noire had found, while Vine sat, quietly, deep in thought, unaware that IF was sitting next to him trying to imitate his pose.
Surprisingly, the secretary who had greeted them when they'd arrived soon beckoned them, to enter Toshiro Hounda's office and Vine, Kirito, and Noire stood to enter. "You kids wait here. We won't be long," Vine ordered as the three of them went in.
As they entered the office, the first thing they saw was a decent sized model of a park. Vine realized quickly that the park was the same park they were there to inquire about, but it looked very different. The benches which had been worn and broken by age and use in the park were polished and new in the model. Sidewalks navigated the model and a sand box and swing set were set up in a clearing near the pond which had a half a dozen little model ducks sitting in it. Lamp posts lined the sidewalk and were dotted around the park in such a way that Vine was certain the entire park would be lit at night. A well crafted wall surrounded the park with a gate on each side of the wall, each with a sign above it that read "Angel Park". As the three looked at it, Vine noticed several framed photographs sitting on a desk. One showed a young woman and man with four children, one boy and three girls, standing between them and a second showed the same man and woman, now much older, standing together with their now grown children on either side of them. It was the third photo, however, that caught Vine's gaze. A little boy and girl skating on a frozen pond. The same photo from the Festival photo gallery from sixty years ago that they had found the day before.
As he approached it, a thought occurred to him, but he was interrupted by a gentle, elderly voice.
"What do you think?" he asked. The three heroes turned to find an elderly gentleman with silver hair smiling at them. Vine recognized him from photos he had seen the night before. This man was Toshiro Hounda.
"It's beautiful," Noire responded.
"If you don't mind me asking, sir," Kirito spoke up, "what is it for?"
"These are my plans for the restoration of Angel Park," the man revealed, walking over to the table, suddenly looking quite sad, "assuming that the town council still chooses to go forward with the sale, but never mind that. This is what your friend said you'd want to know about."
"Our… friend?" Noire questioned.
"Yes, the young, silver-haired lad who stopped by my office yesterday. He was quite interested in my plans for the park as well," Mr. Hounda revealed, "I believe his name was… Jack." Vine fittingly froze at the mention of the name.
"You've gotta be kidding me," he muttered under his breath.
"Hold on. So… this is your plan for the park? You're going to restore it? Not build a hotel over it?" Noire asked.
"No, my dear," Toshiro replied, "I would never allow anything like that to happen to this park. It is far to special a place."
"Because of this?" Vine asked, pointing to the black and white photo on the desk.
"Precisely because of that," Toshiro responded, approaching the desk and tenderly picking up the photo, a tear forming in his eye.
"What is that, Vine?" Kirito asked.
"I saw that photograph in a photo gallery the newspaper published from the Festival of Angels 60 years ago. The little boy… he's you," Vine revealed.
"Indeed. I was seven when that photo was taken, but that's not why this photo or the Festival of Angels are so precious to me. You're a sharp man, Vine. Do you have a guess who the little girl in this photo is?" Toshiro Hounda asked.
"I don't," Vine replied.
"That's my wife," Toshiro revealed, "I certainly enjoyed the Festival every year, but my dear Ami loved it. In 40 years of marriage, we never missed it. It didn't matter what we were doing or how much I didn't want to. Every year on Christmas Eve, we would drive down and look at the lights, then on Christmas Day, we would attend the Festival of Angels. My wife would always say that she imagined it was the closest thing in the world to Heaven on Earth."
Kyoko said something like that, Vine remembered, realizing that Toshiro was crying as tear drops dropped onto the glass of the frame.
"Four years ago, my sweet Ami… was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. No one thought she would last the year, but she held on for four years. Last Christmas, we went with my children and grandchildren to the Festival of the Angels. A month and a half later, I came home early to surprise her with flowers for Valentines… I thought she was asleep… but no. My dear Ami… had gone to join the angels she loved so."
By now, Noire and Kirito were both tearing up to. Vine felt sick. What had they done?
"Last month, the town mayor, a friend of mine, called me. She told me… that if something wasn't done, the Festival would be no more, and so, I made an offer on the park. If the park were mine, I thought, I could ensure that the Festival of Angels was never in danger of disappearing ever again. We had our reasons for keeping it a secret, but… now that has backfired. A few hours ago, my friend informed me… that an article had appeared on today's paper, revealing the sale and blaming it for the cancellation of the Festival of Angels. A natural assumption to make, I suppose."
"But it's wrong!" Noire exclaimed desperately, "can't we tell them the truth? Get all of this cleared up!?"
"It is a work in progress," Toshiro revealed, "but… while I will likely be offered to buy the park again in the spring. The council is far to nervous to carry through with the sale before Christmas. I fear there is no saving the Festival this year."
"No," Noire gasped in dismay.
"Mr. Hounda, can you help me understand why this is necessary? Why cancel the festival in the first place," Vine finally asked. This question made Mr. Hounda grow tense. Walking behind his desk, he opened a drawer and pulled out a large envelope which he handed to Vine.
"I ask that you don't open this repulsive thing in my office," he requested, "but it will answer your question."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
The group had gone to a restaurant after for lunch, but while the children ate hungrily and happily, the adults had no appetite. Noire was pushing a piece of chicken around her plate with a salad fork, Kirito had only taken a bite out of his sandwich, and most of Vine's fries had disappeared into Peashy's mouth while he was occupied with the envelope he'd been given.
"What the hell is in this thing to make Mr. Hounda so upset," Vine finally asked aloud, opening the envelope. Everyone fell silent as Vine pulled out a stack of papers. He looked it over then handed them to Kirito who looked them over and handed them to Noire.
"What's it say, Vin!" Peashy demanded.
"Don't worry about it, Pea," Vine replied calmly as Noire looked at him in disbelief. The top page of the stack held a petition demanding that the Festival of Angels be cancelled, claiming that it was inappropriate for such an event to be held on public property. The following ten pages contained 90 to 100 names each of people who had signed the petition. The three quickly realized why Mr. Hounda had been so upset and found themselves sharing the feeling.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Why!?" Noire exclaimed angrily. Kirito had stayed inside to watch the kids, while Noire and Vine went outside to discuss what they had discovered.
"I don't know," Vine replied, leaning against the car, deep in thought as he continued to look over the petition.
"What does that even mean? Inappropriate for public property!? What's 'inappropriate' about Christmas decorations and a festival!?"
"I don't know," Vine sighed in reply.
"Damn it! What do we do now!?" Noire cried out, desperately hoping for an answer. Vine had none to give.
"I don't know," he replied after a long sigh, "I don't think there's anything we can do. That must've been why the town council and Mr. Hounda decided to keep the sale under wraps. They didn't want whoever created this thing to know about it."
"Any idea who made it?" Noire asked.
"Hard to say," came the reply, "there're just south of 1000 names attributed to this thing arranged alphabetically rather then by date of signing, so there's no way of determining who if any of them was the original, not that it matters. I am willing to bet though that if we did track down the origin, we'd find it wasn't created by anyone living in the town."
"Then why even take this seriously if it's not people from town who're complaining?" Noire asked.
"Think about it. If a million people started criticizing you for something, even if all of them lived outside of Lastation, wouldn't you feel inclined to listen?" Vine asked the CPU.
"Well sure, but…" Noire protested.
"The town probably doesn't have more then a few hundred people living within its borders," Vine continued, for the leadership of such a small town to suddenly have 1000 people telling them they're doing something 'inappropriate', whatever that means… that's to many voices to just ignore, even if they probably should."
"Then… is there really nothing we can do?" Noire asked.
"We'd have been better off doing nothing from the beginning," Vine sighed, "If Mr. Hounda had bought the park, it'd be private property and the town council'd have no say over what he did with it. With his wealth, he could've hosted the festival for decades with out even paying petitions like this a second glance. Maybe he will next year, but… thanks to us, hope for the Festival going forward this year are all but dead."
Before the conversation could continue any further, Kirito exited, bringing the children along with him.
"Alright, I think it's time to go home," Vine suggested, trying his best to act like nothing was bothering him. The younger heroes agreed whole-heartedly.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
It was getting quite late when the traveling heroes arrived in Largo's home town. The kids and Noire had all fallen asleep as the car carefully navigated the dark, night-time street coming to a stop in front of Angel Park as Vine looked over the park.
"So what do we do now?" Kirito asked.
"At this point, there may be nothing we can do," Vine replied, "this isn't something we can send Goku at and have him punch it until it doesn't get back up."
"I don't know. Goku could probably do some damage to the people on that petition, but… you're right, it wouldn't do any good," Kirito replied.
"We may just have to accept that this is one situation where our team can't…" Vine stopped as something in the park caught his eye. One glance at Kirito told him that the Black Swordsman had seen it as well. What appeared to be a giant butterfly was making its way through the park.
"Uh, is that common in this world?" Kirito asked.
"Unfortunately, yes, and it's not a good thing," Vine cursed, "that's a familiar! If it's here, a witch can't be far behind!" Vine realized, giving chase as Kirito followed.
ENDING THEME: CONNECT (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
A.N. I know it's a bit odd to finish this Christmas story in April, but I couldn't just leave it half finished. I'll post the final Chapter next week and hopefully finally get rolling on Book of the Shadows again afterwards.