Movies

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this story.

Character(s): Vector, Espio, Charmy

Aggressively throwing the door open, Vector dragged himself – or what was left of this shell he was carrying around after such an exhausting day – over to the couch, his feet abandoning his unsteady frame at the last minute as he collapsed unceremoniously onto it, face-first. Rather than switch to a more-comfortable position, the overly-fatigued detective heeded his muscles' screaming protests and allowed himself just a minute to relax, calm his nerves, and simply breathe.

He don't know how long he ended up laying there, but he knew his body needed it; even now, he didn't care enough to straighten up his slumped form, content enough with the slightly-uncomfortable, yet satisfactory break as he gradually gained a clear focus on his mind again. Right now, all the Team Chaotix members had to stay sharp, and remain in tip-top form, their bodies as ready, their minds as agile, and their detective skills as keen as they always had been. Still, Vector wasn't sure how long he – how long any of them – could keep this up, chasing their tails in circles as they endlessly searched for work that just wasn't here.

It was always bad in winter, but it was never this bad. In previous years, they had scraped by, taking as many cases as they could find, the traffic of customers just enough to keep the electricity bill going. Then again, scraping by is not the equivalent of a prospering life, of a stable or steady revenue. And now, it's even worse; now all three of them were always on their feet, racing throughout the city and scrambling around for any odd job that anyone would be willing to offer.

They haven't had much luck this winter, but they'll get through somehow, even if it was bad. And it was bad.

So bad that they had to harshly cut down on their spending, and thanks to Charmy's threats to cry and scream as loud as he could had he and Espio cut the cable, a much more important utility had been shut off, one that the Chaotix Detective Agency heavily relied on: the phone. They received most of their cases via this communication outlet, and now they've willingly severed their main ties with a majority of their customers. Not the best business decision he ever made, Vector will admit, but when Charmy threatens to do something, you'd better believe that he'll go through with it; and Vector just really didn't feel like going through the endurance test to see if he could handle Charmy's shrill voice constantly wailing and whining at him, piercing his ears throughout the entire season.

Looking on the bright side, though, at least they have entertainment. Might not have the means to pay for it, but at least they have it.

Vector was about to get up – after who know how long – but before he could lift himself up from his position, a muffled sound echoed throughout the house, one that made him curse under his breath and want to rip the pillow his head was currently resting on. Resisting the urge to make his desires a reality, Vector quickly peeled himself off the couch and made his way over to the phone, the phone Espio was supposed to disconnect a few days ago.

"Hello." Vector hoped his voice sounded more welcoming than what he perceived it as; right now, he didn't have the strength – nor did he care – to feign a hospitable tone that sounded convincible enough to sound true. No one responded; if they didn't want him to hang up, they better soon, for his patience was running on a short fuse at the moment. "Hello!"

At first, silence was all that answered his frustrated cries, and then – all of a sudden – sound.

"What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere!" Vector stared stupidly, not knowing how to respond to this stranger . . . singing. He already didn't know how to respond; the singing made it worse! Immediately, a few thoughts flew through his head of what this could possibly be: a solicitor trying to catch my attention with a catchy tune? A nut job that enjoyed singing to random people over the phone? Or just a stupid prank? Vector didn't get a chance to voice any of these suspicions before the singing continued.

"What's this? There's white things in the air. What's this? I can't believe my eyes; I must be dreaming! Wake up, Jack! This isn't fair! What's this?"

"Okay, I've had enough of this!" the detective exclaimed, slamming down the phone back onto its stand, trying to piece together what just happened. He eventually gave up, dismissing the strange occurrence with a wave of his hand as he started on his way back to the couch. He didn't get too far before the phone rang again.

Are you serious?! All I want is a break!

"What?!" Vector half-asked, half-screamed into the other person's ear. Surprisingly, they weren't intimidated by his tone, for they answered almost immediately.

"Um, excuse me, sir, but can I ask you for help?" She had a voice similar to Cream's, Vector noted, though this young girl's voice sounded a lot more annoying right now.

Vector sighed exasperatedly, finding himself unable to turn her down, regardless of how much he wanted to. "What do you need?"

"Well, me and my friends accidently put this magical hat on top of a snowman and now's it's alive!" she explained, her voice rising in pitch as a vague panic seeped through her calm demeanor.

Meanwhile, Vector couldn't find the capacity to care. "And that's a problem how again? Seriously, stop wasting my time, and give me a real case to work with!"

After a brief stutter, the girl tried once more to convince him. "Wait, sir, you don't understand; it – " Vector hung up before she could finish. At this point, he couldn't care less and just wanted to take a nap. And he would, right now; even if that phone rings again, he will not – I repeat, will not – pick. It. up.

Yet, even after steeling his nerves to fight against the temptation, what does he do once the phone rings? Well, pick it up again, of course. "What do you want?"

"I don't have any food!" a hyperactive voice replied, the deepness of his voice leading Vector to believe he was talking to a grown-up. One with an actual case on his hands, it seems. Maybe we can actually get somewhere with this.

"What kind of food do you need?" Vector asked, grabbing his notepad and sliding the pen into his hand, readying himself to take some notes, his mind conveniently forgoing the fact that they didn't have the excess money they would need to spend for this job.

"Anything within the four main food groups."

As he was about to write that down, Vector did a double-take. "There are five main food groups, sir."

"No, there are only four: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup!" the guy on the other side listed, almost proudly.

And Vector gave up right then and there; without even bothering to answer, he hung up the phone, returning it to its stand. After a day like today, he really, really didn't feel like dealing with this. He doesn't even know why he did in the first place. This time, as he made his way over to the couch, the phone didn't ring. The house was finally still, silent, and peaceful enough for him to lie back down, close his eyes, and attempt to get some sleep before Espio and Charmy returned with news of how their patrol went.

He was close to falling asleep, and would've in a few seconds time, but the phone rang. Again. This time he refused to answer, deciding to let it fade out into silence as he dug his head into the pillow, his attempt to block out the annoying, incessant noise unsuccessful. The ringing just got louder, and louder, and louder; and soon, it evolved into other sounds, eventually taking the forms of two very familiar voices.

"I can't get him to wake up, Espio. What should we do?"

"Just drop the phone on his head; that works every time."

Vector, at once, startled out of his slumber. "I'm up, I'm up." That phone's been dropped on his head for more than enough times; he didn't need to feel the sensation again. "How'd your patrol through the city go?" he asked, trying to divert the conservation away from him.

While keeping his eyes fixed the TV (hmmm, funny, Vector didn't remember turning it on), Charmy answered, not as energetic as usual, but certainly more so than he's been for the past few days. "Really good, actually! We got a few really good jobs, and the lady that offered them gave us a big donation!"

"Yeah, enough that we can get the phone working again," Espio nonchalantly chimed in, his voice lost on the crocodile as he stared at the TV screen with a deadpan expression, shaking his head slowly as he let his body fall back onto the couch, ignoring the young bee's frustrated comment of "Move over, Vector! You're taking up all the room!"

Right now, he was too busy focusing on the TV to care. "What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere!"

Smokestep: Well, this is cutting it close. Movies Referenced – Nightmare Before Christmas, Frosty The Snowman, and Elf. And my god, this chapter was hard to write. And surprisingly long (the longest one so far). Either way, hope you all enjoyed!

Responses To Reviews:

ABCSonicKirbyWarriors: Interesting. In both of the reviews you've made, you apologized about not reviewing. Interesting, very interesting. But I digress. Anyhow, thank you for this review; I look forward to the next.

Twin-books: Oh, no, whatever shall I do? Oh, well, if I have to assist you, then so be it. Also, I'm extremely unconventional; I can write (and have written) about some weird, random things. Anyway, thank you for your comments; I'll keep the whole description thing in mind.

ShinyShiny9: Well, it's good to know that I can nail Amy's character if I absolutely have to, so thank you!