Chapter 11: Seize a Fun Day!

"My name is Xander Whiter, and my family…is AWESOME!"

Bright and early in the morning, Xander springs out of bed in his PJs and runs for the drawers to put on a new polo shirt and jeans, then swings the window of his room open to say hi to the birds.

"Morning, everyone!" Despite his eagerness to start a new day, he manages to be the last of his family to get up, so nobody minds the noise.

Most of the birds fly off, but one of the smaller ones always flutters up to his windowsill and does a few erratic hops before leaving.

He tries, and fails, to pet it.

When the birds are gone, he looks up at them swarming in the sky and smiles, "I wanna fly too!"

He then combs his hair in the bathroom after Zelene's had her turn. She's been applying something called hair dye lately to give her locks a shade of orange.

"Her hair's prettier, purely purple!" Xander then takes a moment to hug her around the legs, "Mornin', big sis!"

"X-Xander…!" Zelene blushed, then let him have his time with her.

"Big sis' legs feel like rocks, but they're nice and warm too!"

After all that was over he ran to Stella's room and hugged the closed door, "I hope you're safe, sis."

Then he ran for the stairs and passed up his biggest sis trotting through the hallway with ruffled hair and a little sag in her steps.

She had enough time to brush him along the head and murmur, "Morning, Xander."

Xander jumped at the chance to try and hug Lunalei, but stopped himself and kept to a simple but extra cheery greeting, "Good morning, bigger sis!"

And with nothing stopping his heart powered by a childish adventurous spirit, he was the first down into the kitchen where his mom was hard at work finishing up breakfast tailor made for everyone.

But Xander immediately noticed there were only four plates out, "Awww, dad didn't make it home?"

Lunis flashed a smile from the side of her face after throwing a dash of pepper onto an omelet with a gymnast's flourish, "A patient he was working on relapsed, so they had to keep him overnight."

"My dad's an incredible doctor!"

Xander recalled getting a few opportunities to see his dad at work, even getting to visit with the patients once their conditions were stable.

"No matter what hurts someone, dad makes them feel better."

In particular, Xander recalls someone who had fractures in their arm bones. With his magical hands, his dad managed to put the bones back together carefully like they were as good as new.

And the patient said, "I-It's a miracle, doctor! I'm…I'm going to be able to play baseball again!"

And Xander remembers, in the tone he believes calm grown-ups talk in, "It wasn't a miracle. You had a dream. Something to believe in. And your body recognized your spirit."

To which the patient said with tears in their eyes, "No. No way. I'm never going to forget what you did for me. When I get back on the field, I'll be naming a swing after you!"

"Dad's so calm and cool, but whenever he gets a compliment from a patient I feel like he's having a hard time not crying."

"He saves lives every day, and never gives up!"

So with a strong belief in his core, Xander gave a thumbs-up to his mom and declared, "He'll succeed, mom!"

Lunis nodded firmly, "Of course! But you know, since he won't be home until later…"

Xander's eyes lit up with a gasp that took all the air out of his lungs, "I get to go to the library with you!"

He jumped around and around in place while his mom laughed fondly at his enthusiasm, "Though, I have a meeting later on, so I called your Aunt Samantha to come pick you up around noon."

"Oh boy!" Xander just got more excited.

And it was infecting his mom, "Ha ha ha! You are such a wonderful, energetic son."

While Zelene and Lunis enjoyed breakfast in the kitchen, Xander took his plate and decided to join Lunalei in the living room to watch the newest episode of Decade Avenger Re:Claim.

With subs, of course.

Xander had waffles topped with strawberries and a honey syrup specially made by his mom, while Lunalei was enjoying a grilled breakfast burrito with peppers, eggs and cheese, and a cup of that icky coffee.

"You have failed your allies! Your hopes! Your dreams! I end your suffering in the most ironic of moments, at the END of this decade!" Bragged the newest arc villain, having already beaten the rest of Decade Avenger's team behind him.

"You pride yourself on suffocating that which cannot be held! But hopes and dreams will persist beyond the eons…! I swear it, upon my fists…! That as this decade turns…"

Lunalei and Xander, with their faces stuffed, shouted alongside Decade Avenger, "THE FUTURE WILL BURN BRIGHT!"

In an incredible display of CGI merging with live-action, Decade Avenger prepared to charge the villain with his ultimate "Blossoming Noon Kick".

Lunalei and Xander were leaning past the edge of the couch as Decade Avenger hit the villain with what could only be described as an explosive sun, causing a spiral of cherry blossoms to wrap around them both and drill into the villain.

But then, in a shocking twist, the villain is revealed to be grabbing the ultimate move with one hand, "No, Decade Avenger. The future will be cold…WITH DARKNESS…!"

And then the villain tore the leg right off of Decade Avenger's suit, leaving him unmorphed and rolling on the ground in pain. Meanwhile, the moon eclipsed over the world, the villain laughing maniacally…

As the credits started to roll without the ED theme.

"Oh my GOD…!" Lunalei blurted out, fumbling to get her glasses back on, "Is this seriously the direction they're going with the series?! A full party wipeout?!"

Xander kept smiling along, believing with all his heart, "Decade Avenger never loses hope, bigger sis! He'll find a way out of this mess!"

Lunalei leaned back and curled her bottom lip, "Yeeeeah, maybe, but they've left no outs open…"

She nudged her glasses up, "Unless…uuuuugh, I'm gonna have to pillage the wiki later to make sure I'm not forgetting something."

At the end of the credits white text appeared saying "To be continued next year"

"WHAT?!" Lunalei shouted.

"Awww…" Xander felt a little disappointed.

"That's BS…! We're in the modern age, you can't keep us in suspense for that friggin' long!"

Xander put his plate down and crawled closer to his sis with his eyes bright and wide, "It's ok! We can rewatch the old stuff until then!"

Lunalei was easily defused, huffing out the excess rage while forcing her glasses back into place and remarking, "Y-Yeah, you're right. Still, friggin' executives, I oughta…"

There was some foul language peppered in that Xander knew better than to repeat for the time being, so he instead admired the vigor in his sister's love for anime.

"My biggest sister has always been the coolest! She's smart, she's pretty, and she can do anything she sets her mind to!"

After that shocking ending contrasting a great, hearty breakfast, Xander helped load everyone's plates into the dishwasher and then jumped towards his mom to give her her customary "Hug O'Apprecition".

Where she spins around laughing with joy while cuddling him against her warm, soft chest.

Then she got prettied up for work in her silver business suit, light beige undershirt, black tie, and high heels. She also puts on some very worn looking monocle glasses.

"Mom says those glasses are very special in a couple of ways."

Xander closed his eyes and blushed at how she looked, "I think she looks very pretty with them on!"

On their way out, Lunis turned around and said to her other two daughters, "Do either of you need anything while I'm out?"

Lunalei answered, clearly having her thoughts elsewhere, "Uhhhh, nah. If I change my mind, I'll use my money to get it."

Zelene just shook her head.

"Oh alright. You two try to spend a little time together, alright?" Lunis says with optimism, but as far as the last few weeks go, the two have been hanging out in their rooms alone.

Xander can tell how emptier the house feels in general, but holds up hope that this will all pass. Because his mom does the same thing everyday with that twinkling smile of hers.

The two drive the car into town, with Xander taking a small nap to rest off some of his breakfast.

They arrive at "Luminaire Archives", a library brimming with Lunis' personal touches. From the simple white and silver exterior leading into the disarming celestial interior. The ceiling was painted with a perfect shade of dark blue and dotted with lights to represent stars, and dangling styrofoam planets.

When the sun's out, there's a giant moon made of glass in the center of the building that filters the light through to give the library a feeling similar to being in a park. While on other days, the lights do the heavy lifting.

"Mom's always said she wants her customers to feel cozy."

And you know it's effective because this is one of few places that can settle Xander down.

Lunis is the perfect librarian, from her stature making it easy to grab books from the high shelves, to her encyclopedic knowledge of everything she's read, letting her make quick and decisive recommendations when asked.

Top that off with her approachable personality and pretty face, and it's no wonder the library tends to reach capacity every day.

But Xander isn't old enough to understand her appeal like that. He sees her working hard, reaching out to help people without a second thought.

Her library has everything a person could ask for, though it took her years of searching and careful purchasing to get to that point.

While she's hard at work keeping everything organized and people's needs met, Xander grabs some of the latest comic books and sits in the "Observatory", a circular area separated from the shelves that lets people look directly up at the moon.

His favorite comics involve super heroes…What, were you SERIOUSLY expecting something else?

He gets pulled into their world and their struggles. All the twists and turns tend to bounce off him, sure, but he understands the most key component of a good superhero story:

"As long as someone needs help, a hero can never give up!"

And seeing them triumph against the odds always draws out the same smile and leg paddling reaction.

After finishing off the latest adventures, Xander went to sort them back properly, and then went to find his mom.

He saw her in the middle of an interaction with a customer. A foreign lady from the looks of it.

"I'm looking for a new recipe book. Preferably American cuisine?" The customer said.

"Sure thing! Just give me a moment to put this box away." Lunis replied in a calm, cheerful manner.

Xander's eyes sprung open and he ran over. With a quick read of the lady needing help, he decided to say "I can help!" in fluent Spanish.

The lady was caught by surprise but then chuckled at his enthusiasm, pointing at him while directing her attention towards Lunis, "Is this your boy?"

Lunis nodded and then turned to him, "Alright Xander, just holler if you need help!"

Then she left on her business, while Xander gently grabbed the lady's hand and had her follow him to the cooking section.

There he snatched a book up and opened it up halfway, "My mom got some REALLY great hot dog recipes from this!"

"Oh well what a coincidence, that's EXACTLY what my family loves. How did you know?" She said, plainly playing along.

But Xander grinned and gave a sincere answer, "Everyone loves hot dogs!"

"Ho ho! Well thank you very much," The lady said, taking the book for herself, "You must be planning to become a librarian like your mother."

Xander shook his head, "Nope! I'm gonna be a great hero, like my mom AND dad!"

"I hope you succeed, child. Never lose that love for your family." As the lady left, Lunis poked her head around the corner to check up on him.

When both of them saw this success, they met up and she raised her hands, letting him clap them as she remarked, "Great work, Xander!"

"Thanks, mom!"

Once the celebration was over Lunis answered her ringing phone and remarked, "Oh shoot, look at the time. It's already noon."

"Awwww…" Xander said with mild disappointment.

Fun times are fun, but it makes the days go by so fast when all he wants to do is more and more fun stuff.

After getting Xander's stuff from the office, Lunis guided him outside where Aunt Samantha awaited.

Twenty years later that and gal's hardly changed at all, a few wrinkles and gray hairs aside. She's let her hair grow out a bit and combed the front bangs, but beyond that she's put on a green coat around her neck without putting her arms through the sleeves and still wears the same type of military grade pants and white buttoned shirt.

She's running a newer model of car these days, the old one finally called it quits a few years back. It's sleek, but has a rusty paint job to make it feel old time.

At the moment she's leaning against the passenger door with a lit cigarette in her mouth, prompting Lunis to sigh and comment, "Still at it?"

Samantha popped the cigarette from her mouth and remarked, "Chill, it was just a quick puff while you kept me waiting."

She quickly dropped it to the pavement and stamped it out, putting on a tough smile as she growled playfully at her nephew, "Grrr, you ready to hit the woods, champ?!"

"You bet!" Xander declared.

Samantha then stood and crossed her arms, "So what time should he be back by?"

"Around dinner'll do!"

"Sounds good, Moons! He'll get a whole day of fun in a five-hour package!"

Samantha then helped Xander into the passenger side and drove off, with Xander spending the whole time they were turning out of this block waving goodbye to his mom.

Then he settled in on the heated seat as his aunt played some old rock and roll music.

She was pretty quiet on these trips, usually pointing out if the local wildlife was doing something funny on the sides of the roads.

She took him out of town and off the beaten path through a slightly bumpy road into the woods.

At the end was a nice two-story house made of cedarwood and steel, built to last, and blending right into the rest of the area.

There was outdoor equipment scattered around all over the place, like a swingset and grill. The trash needed to be taken to the dump already, and the recycles were filled with opened packages and popped bubble wrap.

Nothing beats the fresh scent of pine in the air though.

Xander left the car and carried his bag up to the porch behind Samantha, who looked around and remarked, "Huh, thought the twins were out playing."

She wagged her hand to her right and asked him, "See if ya can find then. I'll let your uncle know you're here, then I gotta get to work."

"Ok!" Xander dropped his bag on the swinging bench and then scurried around the outskirts of the house, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting, "SOL! ANA! Where aaaaare yoooou?!"

He was snagged by the leg and pulled to the ground, then dragged underneath the picnic table.

"Shhh…!" Hushed two girls his age with bright red hair and blue eyes.

Sol wore the charcoal colored shirt and had bracelets with animal constellations on them, her hair tied in a side ponytail, her bangs swept to the right.

Ana wore a blue colored shirt and a beaded necklace with glitter sloppily applied. Her hair goes to her shoulders, and the bangs are swept to the left.

Sol whispered, "Are you trying-"

And Ana followed, "-to get us caught?"

"By who?" Xander wondered, having to force himself to quiet down, "A bear?!"

Sol and Ana's brows drooped in sync, "You could-"

"-say that."

Thunderous footsteps shook the crispy leaves off the ground and Sol and Ana grabbed one of Xander's shoulders each and pulled him in further.

A burly silhouette stomped down in front of them and started sniffing, saying with a growl, "Alright you two…quit hiding…!"

"That's not a bear…!" Xander thought with excitement.

With the slipperiness of a seal, Xander crawled out from under cover and jumped the burly man with a tackling hug, "UNCLE SOLARIS!"

And suddenly the silhouette took the form of a jacked man in a tight shirt and rippling jeans, with hair as bright as fire and a bit of stubble and long, shaggy hair.

Pretending to stumble to the force of his nephew, Solaris backed up and picked him up like he was a balloon and held him up towards the sky, "I don't know who this big boy is! Is that my favorite nephew, Xander?!"

"Ha ha! Put me down, uncle!" Xander laughed.

Solaris shrugged, "You asked for it."

He then brought him down against his chest and held him like a bear would, "Grrr…! I got you!"

"Oh noooo…!" Xander continued to laugh.

After Solaris gave him a big hug he let him go and asked him patiently, "Soooo, do you know where my kids went?"

Xander pointed under the picnic table, causing Solaris to cross his arms and scoff, "You two…Come on. Hidey hole time's over."

As the twins crawled out they dully glared at Xander.

"You-"

"-we will never forget this"

Sol looked at Ana and remarked, "You should've said 'traitor'."

Ana threw her hands up, "Does it matter?"

Solaris shook his head, "It's just dishes, come on now."

Sol and Ana flashed a brief smile together and said, "In the time it took you to find us-"

"-you could've done the dishes yourself, dad."

Solaris bobbed his head a bit, "True, but-"

"AYE!" Samantha barked as she came around the corner, "Don't credit them for their back talk."

She walked up and gently pinched her kids' ears.

"Ow ow…!" The two said lightly.

She quickly let go and crossed her arms, sandwiching the two between the disapproving looks of their parents, though it took a moment for Solaris to want to keep pace.

"Now, I'm heading to work. Get the dishes done, then you can fool around with Xander as much as you want."

"Yes-"

"-mom." The twins said with barely any sincerity.

"Haaa, really getting tired of that…" Samantha then strolled up to her husband and crawled her fingers up his chest, wiggling her brows, "Don't let them drain you dry, spitfire."

"Ooooh…" Solaris widened his eyes and then purred.

Sol and Ana rolled their eyes and groaned, "Uuuugh…"

Xander just stood there and blinked.

Samantha ran back to her car and headed off, leaving Solaris to lead the charge back into the house, "Alright you two, you heard your mom. No more tomfoolery, get it done."

Sol and Ana glared behind them at Xander, who really didn't get their intensity.

The twins pouted with a "Hmph".

Once inside the house, Solaris climbed the stairs and knocked on the wall bordering the living room, "Hey! We got family over!"

Another girl around Xander's age dashed out from behind the door frame with her cute little violet-blue ponytails bouncing at the bottom part of her head. She wore a baggy sky blue shirt with glitter and beige shorts. Her eyes were green and her whole demeanor was cheery like a rainbow.

"Xander! You came back!" She remarked while pre-empting his greeting with a jump to hug him warmly.

"Hey, Vivi!" He said excitedly, "Whatcha doin'?!"

Vivi pulled away and smiled, "Nothing much! You?"

"Well, first I watched Decade Avenger with my sister! Then I got to help my mom at the library! And I just finished playing hide and seek with Sol and Ana!"

The twins raised their brows, "Is that-"

"-what it was?"

Vivi closed her eyes and wagged her fingers, "Naughty naughty. You should take more initiative helping out around here!"

The twins looked at each other and then gestured at Vivi, "Soon enough, we'll be older than you-"

"-And you won't get to boss us around."

Vivi laughed it off with a slightly unhinged squeak in her voice, "Oh you two, ha ha!"

Xander and her walked into the living room, "Well, what shall we do this fine day, Xander? Play a board game? Go on an epic adventure in the pillow fort?"

Xander felt a little dizzy by all the opportunities available to him in this house, "We could bake a cake!"

Vivi's mouth looked like it would melt down her chin as she bobbed her head hypnotically, "Uh huh, uh huh…!"

"With chocolate, and chocolate chips, and chocolate frosting and…!" Xander held his arms up and then pivoted towards the foyer where the twins still resided.

"What do you guys want?"

"Applesauce-"

"-and cinnamon"

Vivi broke out of her trance to murmur, "And odd assortment, but we could make it work! But first we'll need to get the kitchen ready."

Michael, Vivi's brother, came out of the kitchen drying his hands on a towel with a bit of suds stuck to his clothes, "You're all set! I just finished cleaning the dishes!"

There was a lot of loud fumbling and stampeding footsteps as Solaris barreled down the stairs and shoved his face over Michael's, eyes and nose fuming while his voice squealed, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"T-They were sitting there…dirt-ily! I-I couldn't help myself…" Michael said, being slowly pushed into the kitchen door frame.

Solaris, "Get your compulsions in check, dude! What's this going to teach the twins?!"

Sol and Ana happily answered with smug grins, "That whenever something needs done-"

"-Give it time and someone else will do it for you."

Solaris swung his focus between his kids and Michael and then swung his hand out at them.

Michael shrugged meekly but couldn't stop smiling with pride at his work.

Solaris grumbled and then pinched his forehead, "Ughhh, at least you're not-"

"HEY! WOMAN! I NEED MY AFTERNOON SODA BOOST!" Shouted the shrieking goblin that lives in the basement known as Raphael.

Solaris, in the midst of his own crisis, turned around with a lack of patience in his demeanor and shouted, "She's not here! Get your ass up and get it yourself!"

"FOOL! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF DOMINATING x9_ParaSyght?!"

"For the love of myself…!" Solaris furrowed his brows and roared, "I don't care if you're dominating the damn king of the underworld! You've got two legs and feet!"

Vivi gently shoved Xander towards the kitchen while murmuring, "They'll be at it for a while…"

She glanced up at her brother, who looked back and whispered, "I-I'll barricade the door. You four have fun with your cake."

"Thank you, dear brother!" Vivi said.

"WHY DON'T YOU SAY THAT TO MY FACE, YOU OVERGROWN PEPPER!" Raphael shouted.

Solaris started rolling up his sleeves and marching down the stairs, "I'll do you one better! I'll take that tongue off!"

"G-Guys, both of you…!" Michael shut the door behind him and began his futile pursuit.

Meanwhile, the kids enjoyed pillaging through the fridge and cupboards for all the necessary ingredients, with Xander carrying the majority of the load, while Sol and Ana sat on the edge of the kitchen chairs paddling their feet.

Xander remarked, "There's no chocolate chips!"

Vivi gasped, "Well that won't do!"

She then pulled off her necklace and with a dancer twirl she made it extend into a magic wand with an ice cream jewel on top, "I'll be RIGHT back!"

She dashed out the back door while Xander heated the oven and got all the bowls ready for mixing.

He was drooling a fountain as he imagined how massive and delicious and moist and sweet the cake would be.

Meanwhile, many violet lights flashed through the windows.

After Xander had the right amount of ingredients separated out, Vivi returned with a bowl full of chocolate chips and her staff back around her neck.

"There! The pebbles generously offered themselves up to the cause!"

"Great!" Xander congratulated her.

"Vivi can turn inanimate objects into sweet treats! Apparently it's a curse? But sweets are delicious!"

"Her and her brother were part of a group called the 'Planetary Aurians'. My sister described them as real life Decade Avengers, so they must be awesome!"

"But nowadays the two of them live here cause of reasons. I dunno how Raphael fits into it all, but he's very passionate about anime and has given me a lot of great recommendations!"

The two of them worked together to mix all the ingredients into a single bowl, but when it came to the applesauce part Xander became stumped.

"Ummm, how much should we put in?" He asked Vivi.

"Oh, hmmm…" Vivi blissfully closed her eyes and smiled, "There's a lot of cake, so we should use a lot of applesauce!"

"OK!" Xander proceeded to pour the whole container of applesauce into the batter, with Vivi taking up stirring duties due to how heavy it was getting.

Sol and Ana snuck up during the process and tried to flick in some diced carrots to the mix, but Vivi swatted them away and then sharply turned her head back and frowned, "No! Bad! Icky!"

The twins placed their fingertips over their mouth and retreated with a sly chuckle.

"What silly billies they are." Vivi remarked.

Xander watched with some impatience as Vivi made the batter into a swirling pool of delicious delight, "You're so good at this, Vivi!"

Vivi blushed and remarked, "Well, I have been at this a very…very long time."

"You always make the bestest desserts in the world!" Xander remarked, not realizing it was making Vivi blush more.

"Everyone around me is so amazing in their own way. I hope I can be just as great as them someday!" By the time Xander finished his little daydream, Vivi finished stirring and gently spilled the batter into the pan, with Sol and Ana launching one last desperate attack to get carrot into the mix.

"Watch out Vivi!" Xander jumped off the stool to intercept the carrots in his mouth and chew them.

He then fell to the ground and looked like he was dying from the attack.

"Oh no, Xander!" Vivi shouted dramatically.

Sol and Ana hovered over the boy and kept tossing carrots into his mouth, "Kek kek kek…!"

Xander, between swallows, delivered a final message to Vivi, "D-Don't worry about me…save the cake!"

Vivi nodded firmly and then hastily used a spatula to get the rest of the batter out.

With Xander full of carrots (yum), Sol and Ana reloaded from the bag and set their sights on Vivi, who expertly ducked and weaved their barrage to slide the cake into the oven.

Sol and Ana squeezed their ammunition tightly and murmured together, "Dang it."

Vivi shut the oven door, plugged her thumbs into her ears, and then wiggled her hands around, "Not today, fiends!"

Xander stood up and finally swallowed all the carrots in one massive gulp, putting his hands over his cousins' shoulders and saying, "That was fun! Now let's go play a board game until the cake's done!"

Sol and Ana accepted his wishes with minor resistance, and the four wound up having to sneak around Solaris and Raphael still going at it to get board game out of the storage room.

They played for an hour and by then the cake was ready to take out, which Vivi handled on her own.

"Ta-" Her enthusiasm quickly deflated as all four of them saw the cake looked very mushy. Cooked…but mushy, "-daaaaaa?"

Sol and Ana only then realized, "Maybe-"

"-applesauce was a bad idea"

"Hmmm…" Xander stared at the cake for a bit and then ran for the cupboard to pull out a spatula, a plate, and a fork.

He then scooped out some of the cake and took a bite of it with his fork, causing Vivi to exclaim, "X-Xander…!"

Xander felt no pain as he swallowed it down, describing the taste as best as he could, "It's like the applesauce made the chocolate extra gooey! I like it a lot! And we all made it together!"

When he put it that way, who was gonna disagree?

Vivi used her powers to help cool the cake down a bit, and then the three of them enjoyed a bite of it with the same hum of delight.

Xander then smiled, revealing gooey chocolate stuck between his teeth. Sol and Ana immediately pointed and snickered, while Vivi closed her eyes and couldn't hold back her laughter as well.

Xander looked at what he had and couldn't stop smiling, "I got great friends, an incredible family! I could live like this forever."

That was his dream.

And a child's dreams…are very powerful.

Next Time: Newscaster Kairi