SZ: Heya readers! And welcome…*puts on a Santa hat*to another Christmas chapter for GSE!...well technically GSESS but still!
Z0: It's the same thing! Now we can use this to full advantage!
SZ: VERY MUCH SO! Plus like some of the other chapters Ben and co are back..it takes place AFTER the current arc in GSE.
Z0: Anyway, its Holiday time. We at least wanted to wait for it to actually be December by the time we write this.
GT: Aye! *surrounded by a fort made of emptied eggnog cartons, cans, and jugs* ...What? I love eggnog.
SZ: And let us get our holiday cheer on. We own jack aside from original content, so Z0...let loose the Christmas trees!
Z0: AHAHAHAH! *pushes button as christmas trees fly like rockets*
"No no no…" Makoto rushed around the house quickly early in the morning, "No, it needs to be perfect…Well…perfect as can be…" she muttered.
"Mmm…wha' happen…?" Noel yawned as she poked out her room's window.
"Careful, Noellie! We're setting things up!" Makoto called out.
"Eh?" Noel blinked at that, "What for…?"
"Uh...Hello?" Makoto spoke, reaching into her tail as she pulled out a calendar before pointing at a page, "It's December!"
"Mmm?" she blinked, rubbing her eyes, "It's…that time of year again already?"
"Yes!" Makoto declared.
"This seems wrong…normally, I'm the excited one for certain times of the year…" Noel noted waking up even more.
"Hello~ It's Christmas, a wonderful time of the year for Holiday cheer and family…"
"Is this 'cause you learned in Japan Christmas is a romantic holiday?" Noel asked.
"Eh kinda," Makoto shrugged, "That...and a few days ago, I called daddy to bring in our families for Christmas!"
"Eh?"
"Well for one; our families don't know about Christmas, and my family hasn't officially met Ben's family," Makoto explained as she put the calendar away, "So I figured 'Why not do both?!'"
"Oh…this is a big deal," Noel nodded.
"I know!" Makoto smiled, "Our families are meeting! Ben and I are essentially together forever now, so better late than never."
"Romantic," Noel smiled, "Wait…all our families…here…in our home?" she realized.
"I take no responsibility for the other parents." Makoto added, "So they can handle their folks. Your's are a treat to have around so I know you'll be fine."
"...Excuse me. I need to get changed," was all Noel said before she pulled her head back inside, "La-chan, wake up! Our Famille is coming for Christmas!"
"Mmm…sleep…." she grumbled.
"...You might get presents."
"Presents?" Lambda repeated as she sat up almost immediately...her hair a complete mess as she wore a shirt with a picture of a heart in the center, a corgi riding a phoenix in the middle of it, "...explain."
"...Oh that's right," Noel realized, "You don't know about Christmas either…"
"Christmas?"
"Oh well, good thing Magister Tennyson does a whole small lecture complete with movies and hot cocoa for people new to Earth," Noel smiled.
"...Hot cocoa," Lambda smiled a bit at that.
"Ugh….What's that racket?" Bullet groaned as she stepped out, wearing a grey tank top and shorts as she rubbed her eyes, "...and why does it smell like pine?"
"Oh Bullet-san! Morning!" Celica greeted, a small santa hat on her head as Ragna was busy trying to get a large pine tree into their shared home, "You're just in time to help Ragna-san get the Christmas Tree in!"
"The what tree?"
"Christmas Tree, you've been here for how long…how do you not know the one holiday that people will literally pause a World War for?" Ragna grunted, dragging in a decently sized tree for their place of work and lodging.
"You know why…" Bullet muttered, "Also...surprised you and Mercury know about it."
"Eh. Ben and his friends wouldn't stop bugging me about it last year," Ragna shrugged, "Plus I told Celica about it, and next thing I knew? I'm out getting a tree."
"We want the place to look festive for Santa's arrival!" Celica beamed.
"Who?"
"Santa! He brings gifts to all the good people of the world!" Celica explained, "And he makes sure to know if you've been naughty or nice."
"...N...nani?" Bullet blinked at that, now fully awake as she looked at her in confusion and shock, "Th...There is someone...who spies on you wherever whenever to determine how you behave?"
"...yes…" Ragna spoke as he took a moment to observe her reaction, "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good..."
"So be good for goodness sake~" Celica added.
"So you better watch out, better not cry, cause I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town~" Ragna finished singing that last part…a little too ominously…on purpose.
"..." Bullet literally began to sweat bullets as she visibly shook, looking like a deer in the headlights before she zipped back into her room, the sound of multiple locks being heard.
"Ara? What was that about?" Celica blinked.
"Dunno…" Ragna smirked.
"Speaking of, we need to have a talk about how you sing…" Celica spoke.
"I'm not going caroling," Ragna sighed simply.
"Oh that's what you think~" Celica smiled.
"...ugh. Fine. I need to pick up the nog anyway," Ragna sighed, "Oi, Bullet! Watch the place! Me and Celica are heading out!"
"SHH! He might be hearing!" Bullet hissed from her room.
'...Oh I am gonna have fun with this…' Ragna thought with a grin.
"Oh Lambda, so glad you could join us!" Magister Max smiled as he set up the same presentation he gave the others last Christmas.
"Want to know about Christmas," Lambda stated, holding Bluey in her arms as she wore a red shirt with a green skirt and a simple pair of white shoes, "Also sister said this would make me look...festive."
"Ahh...well you're on the right track, Lambda," Magister Max smiled as he patted her head a bit, "Let's get you up to speed on what's going on."
"Hai…" Lambda nodded, looking on in interest as she began to follow him.
"No, I am not going to attend a Christmas party," Jin complained walking past as Tsubaki followed.
"Oh yes you are." she replied.
"No...I'm not."
"Yes. You are."
"No...I am not!"
"Oh don't be such a Grinch, Jin."
"I...what? Wh-what's a Grinch?"
"Wait…have you not attended the seminar?" Tsubaki blinked...before she grabbed him by his ear.
"AH! Wait…wh-what is the meaning of this?!" he panicked as he was dragged to Magister Max.
"Morning you two," he smiled, "I saved a seat for Jin, expecting this."
"Eh?!" Jin exclaimed before he was forced down into an open seat.
"Sit, learn." Tsubaki spoke, "That's an order." she stopped him from talking.
"Hey," Jin turned to see Kagura and Alf sitting there drinking hot cocoa, both annoyingly slurping it slowly.
"No…" Jin began before blinking as he realized…his arms were strapped to the seat, "No!"
"Yes…yes!" they both replied happily before returning to their obnoxious slurping.
"GAHHHHH!"
"...I'm sure it'll be fine," Tsubaki shrugged.
"Mmm.." Lambda shrugged as she took a seat next to Hibiki.
"Now, the basics of Christmas," Magister Max began, "Firstly, Yes…I was Santa Claus once."
"I knew it!" Kagura cheered.
"But it was magical nonsense…and we don't like to talk about it," he finished with a chuckle, "For the most part, consider that just a myth."
"And there have been multiple tellings of said myth," Tsubaki added as she stood next to him.
"We needed to really hammer out the details for this one after Kajun had a mild stress induced panic attack over the concept and trying to explain it," Magister Max replied.
"Why am I not surprised?" Jin deadpanned with a sweatdrop.
"This is par for the course…" Lambda muttered.
"Yes, most understand it but for the like minded, Magister asked me to help with these details," Tsubaki explained, "Last thing we need is an Alien officer thinking…there actually is a magical Jolly man spying on the whole world. I wish this didn't need to be specified…but if Kajun, an Earthling, can go off that cliff…who's to say?"
"I still have many issues!" Kajun shouted off screen.
"It's a story!" many Plumbers complained in shared annoyance.
"Nerds are weird," Alf muttered.
"Totally," Kagura nodded.
"Eh still. This should be a fun ride," Alf shrugged before taking another sip, "Last time I've seen anything Christmas related was the old Rankin Bass movies on TV...wait. Do they still play those?"
"Yep," Magister Max nodded.
"As I'm told, Magister has it exclusively on repeat along with other classic movies," Tsubaki added.
"Tennyson family tradition," he smirked.
"That can't possibly hold up," Jin muttered.
"Oh, Christmas movies never get old," he replied.
"They are entertaining to watch with family, bring a good message, and gives you different perspectives on Christmas," Tsubaki added, "Now onto the next point. Origins of Christmas: History vs Myth."
"We have a couple good movies for the later half of that, but the first half will be mostly facts that are true," Magister Max spoke, "So sit back. These will be short and sweet but take a second for questions."
"Mmm," Lambda nodded.
"Question before we begin," Hibiki spoke up as he held a hand up, "Yayoi-san mentioned that there are multiple tellings of this Santa character."
"There have been yes," Tsubaki nodded, "Which is why some of the videos we will be sharing will feature him, two of which being two different origins of his."
"Soka," Hibiki noted.
"Kill me…" Jin groaned. He then turned to Alf, who looked at him, "It's an expression…" he growled.
"Oh fine fine…killjoy," Alf replied as he turned away.
'I will prove this living rug is evil…' Jin mentally grumbled.
"Honestly, I miss having a normal Christmas," Naoto noted as he was helping put up some tinsel around the house, "...well semi-normal but still."
"It's the one time of the year even our villains chill out," Ben noted as he got the last box of decorations.
"If even the fabled World Wars can pause for this one joyous of Holidays, even the comically goofy Animo can take a week off," Skurd muttered.
"Which is a relief for us," Mai added, her normal ribbon replaced with a green and red one while wearing a red sweater with a reindeer on it, "Especially since our parents are coming."
"I still gotta check with Grandpa to see if he set up some place for them to stay for the month," Ben muttered.
"Your Grandpa really does a lot for us," Naoto spoke up, "And you're sure he's still not Santa Claus?"
"Sure I'm sure…maybe…honestly, given his wife and Gwen are made of magic…wouldn't be shocked if he, like…absorbed so much holiday cheer…he's actually Santa now…" Ben muttered.
"Minus the holly jolly fluffy beard," Makoto added as she helped Robotboy put up the star in the tree.
"But he does like to wear red…" Mai muttered.
"...the beard is all he's missing…" most muttered in realization.
"Magister does eat a lot of cookies this time of year…" Robotboy noted, "Maybe he is Santa?"
"What? No…I mean…he was once when I was ten…" Ben muttered.
"Aha!" Robotboy cheered.
"Ano...m-moving on!" Noel called out from the kitchen, "Naoto, what were Christmases like for you?"
"Honestly? Spent a good chunk of them with my cousin and Aunt," Naoto shrugged, "Things were….distant between me and my clan."
"...clan?" Rook repeated.
"Oh yeah...I forgot to mention I'm technically the heir to a clan back in my original world," Naoto muttered.
"EH?!" the others exclaimed.
"But technically my clan doesn't exist anymore thanks to my sister, so...I try and not talk about it as much."
"Oh…" they all replied in unison again.
"So I just lived on my own with my sister sharing the same building-we lived in an apartment- after my aunt lent it to me," Naoto finished, "She always came to visit around Christmas and stuff."
"So small family," Makoto summed up carefully, "But the family you had was close."
"Eeyup," Naoto nodded.
"Well we've kind of made a big one." Mai spoke.
"And I wouldn't trade anything for it," Makoto smiled a bit
"So you can treat our family as yours till you can find your original one." Noel added, "It's how we all made it through some hard times. And now we have our old and new families."
"...yeah. I guess that's true," Naoto chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, "Thanks guys."
"Eh no problem man," Ben shrugged.
"Anyway, let...us…" Naoto began as he sniffed the air, "...What smells like baking eggnog?"
"Oh that's my new recipe!" Noel gasped as she rushed for the oven, "I remember when Rook and Makoto commented that Eggnog tastes like liquid pastries...so I decided to make Eggnog croissants!"
"...Yes," Mai stated immediately.
"Is that really a w-" Skurd began before tensing when Mai turned to him, a sharp look in them as she held up her icy Elixir, "...nevermind."
"...Okay, while she's distracted, who remembered that Noellie gets twice the gifts because her birthday's Christmas?" Makoto whispered.
"Her birthday's Christmas?" Naoto asked in surprise.
"Huh…Did not know that," Max admitted, "I honestly guessed Valentine's Day given how much she likes romance. Right, Steel?" he looked around after a moment of no response, "...Steel?"
=I'm busy!= Steel replied from the fireplace.
"Steel, what are you doing?" Max asked.
=Setting up defenses for SCP-4666!= Steel replied, poking out of the fireplace, his white turned black from the ashes and soot.
"Steel, we've been over this. It's just an online community that writes articles about a fictional organization," Max groaned with a facepalm.
=That's what they want you to think!= Steel countered as he zipped back into the chimney =We're having little kids here and I am not going to be the one blamed for not having enough defenses from the Yuleman!=
"..." Max gave a sheepish Mai an annoyed look.
"I've already said sorry for introducing him to it," Mai sighed.
"Apparently not enough…"
"...Oh! Will Jenny and Sari be joining?" Robtoboy asked.
"Probably. Sari did say she was heading back to Detroit to spend time with her pops and the Autobots," Makoto shrugged, "As for Jenny…I'm sure she's busy back at Hope's Peak."
"Like this, Mahiru?!" Jenny called out, both her and Kibo currently holding up a large Snowman's head above a rather large body.
"Almost!" A girl with short red hair and freckles replied, holding up her camera as she focused on the snowman, "Just a bit more to the left so I can get it and the tree in one shot."
"I'm impressed you used all the snow we shoveled away just for this," Kuon noted, wearing a long black winter coat.
"Well I wanted to help Mahiru out for a Christmas photo, so I figured a Snowman would fit perfectly," Jenny shrugged as she and Kibo slowly moved and lowered the snowman head onto the body, "That...and Kokichi…" she began before a snowball hit her, Kibo, Mahiru, and Kuon in the face, "!?"
"Neeheehee!" Kokichi laughed as he stood on top of a literal snow castle, "Left yourselves wide open!"
"...convinced Kibo to make that…" Jenny finished.
"And I regret it almost instantly…" Kibo muttered before another snowball hit Kuon in the face.
"You can't touch me now, Kuon!" Kokichi laughed, "I am Kokichi Ouma, and I am the wizard of blizzard!" A few seconds passed before he was literally bombarded by snowballs, "Ahh!"
"Yosha! Got him!" Jan cheered as he and the rest of Akane's siblings poked out from behind a mound of snow.
"..." Kuon walked over to Kokichi, "Beaten by a bunch of kids…is your pride shattered yet? Don't worry…it can shatter even more," he whispered, "Kids…practice those moves I showed you and told you to never do on classmates."
"Hai, Kuon-Niichan!"
"Hey, that's not fair!" Kokichi complained as he shot up, "I happen to be great with kids!"
"Eh…" the little ones all shrugged, some shaking their heads no.
"Remember to sweep the legs first," Kuon waved as he walked off to join the others.
"HA!" Jan cheered, sweeping Kokichi's legs out and knocking him over and face first back into the ground, "Attack!" with that, they all jumped onto him in a dogpile.
"Ah! Help! Gah!"
"Aw, you're pretty great with my little sibs!" Akane beamed.
"I am just used to dealing with very strong willed folks. With kids, it's easier." Kuon replied, "They don't know how difficult being an adult is yet, so you can just be simple with them. Sides, with my weird strength they can't hurt me. Your brother chewed on my hand for hours trying to break the skin. Only thing to happen is he somehow swallowed my ring." he looked at Zaruba, who shuddered at the memory.
"I've seen many haunting things...and yet that will scar my memories for centuries…"
"I don't know how…but you ruin everything Kuon! Curse you Kuon!" Kokichi sobbed as he was still being pummeled.
"...you're enjoying it, aren't you?" Mahiru asked, her and Jenny looking over at Kibo.
"You may not tell...but I am smiling from ear to ear behind my scarf, yes," Kibo admitted.
"This is why I love kids, their smiles and laughter just embody the spirit of the Holidays." Kuon chuckled.
"Hmm….yup. The Rudolph one is just as how I remembered it," Alf nodded as another Christmas short finished up on the screen.
"Bumble…" Lambda whispered, looking like a deer in the headlights as she hugged a shaking Bluey.
"Yeah, that one is still a little creepy," Alf nodded, "And it's a wonder why some kids have a fear of claymation." he patted her leg, "But don't worry. Bumbles are only scary when they have teeth. When you get a toothless one, they're as cuddly as your little ghost bunny."
"...r...right…" Lambda whispered as she began to calm down a bit, "And...I liked the music…"
"Something to expect when it comes to Christmas specials," Alf nodded, "Oh! Speaking of...Maxxy-boy, I have a special in mind, and I believe Jin will benefit from it."
"No I won't," Jin argued.
"...yup. You need the Grinch treatment," Alf deadpanned.
"What the hell is a Grinch?!"
"Probably gonna find out," Kagura stated before slurping up his hot cocoa.
"Hmm, good idea. It is a classic," Magister Max chuckled, "I think we got it on here, it's part of my personal playlist for at home viewing."
"Oh this will be good," Alf grinned as he walked back to his seat, "You're a moody one..Jinny boy…"
"Grr…: Jin growled in annoyance at that.
"Mmmm~~~ So good~!" Mai whispered in pure glee, currently munching on a seemingly normal looking Croissant.
"...Did….did Noellie's cooking improve?" Makoto blinked as she and the others looked on from nearby.
"They didn't look censored…" Max added.
"It doesn't look like dark matter…" Ben muttered.
"...There has to be something more to it," Naoto muttered, "...Someone take one and see what the inside looks...like..." he trailed off when the others looked at him, "...seriously?"
"You're the one who suggested it," Max replied.
"...ugh. Fine...but you guys have to pay my hospital bills," Naoto whispered as he walked over to Noel, "Hey, uh...is there anymore?"
"Hai!" Noel beamed as she turned, presenting a croissant to him, "Here!"
"Oh...well thanks," Naoto muttered as he picked it up and took a bite, chewing a few times before swallowing, "...hey…this is g-"
*THUD*
"Well that didn't take long!" Max gawked.
"Hmm…" Skurd pondered as he slid down, moving to the unconscious Naoto as he examined the croissant, "...Well, it still looks like dark matter...on the inside."
"Is this by chance some kind of chocolate-filled croissant?" Makoto asked.
"Hai," Noel replied, "I added in Christmas chocolate in the center to make them feel more like chocolate pastries."
"Because of course you did," Ben shook his head.
"Paon?" Funkfreed tilted his head as Mari hopped off his head, slid down his trunk, and poked at the downed Naoto, who gurgled while rolling away from her.
"Eep!" Mari squeaked, her tail wagging as she followed after Naoto, poking him to make him roll again.
"Pretty sure...my stomach is a toxic waste dump…" Naoto wheezed, "Someone call...a portal to HQ…"
"Oh Mari no! Don't play with him like that!" Noel called out, chasing after them.
"...Kajun?" Ben spoke as he turned on the Omnitrix's communicator, "We need a Groundbridge...Naoto ate something Noel made."
=Oh dear….what did she make this time?=
"Eggnog Chocolate Croissants."
"The outside looks alright, but the inside is where the cooking comes in," Makoto added.
"Ah mou~! Funky, not you, too!" Noel called out.
"Even the Elephant-Sword is joining in," Max noted before pausing for a moment, "...And I swear since you guys came back from your trip, I have had to use a lot of sentences I thought I'd never say."
=Okay, I'll open one, but I'll need a sample of what she made to see if there's an equivalent to an alien cuisine= Kajun informed =I still can't believe her lasagna is a delicacy on Apoplexia…=
"You and me both…" Rook whispered as he walked into the kitchen and picked up one of the croissants from a tray before putting it in a plastic baggie, "I will take Naoto over then...hopefully, I'll be back in time."
"Fetch!" Noel called as a tennis ball bounced past them before Mari scurried after it while she walked over, Funkfreed in his sword state on her hip, "Phew. Got them to stop chasing Naoto-san. I hope he feels better later."
"Kill me…" Naoto wheezed as Rook picked him up, a Groundbridge opening near them as the two went in.
"...So...I get the rest?" Mai asked hopefully.
"Yes," the others replied in unison.
"YAY~!" Mai cheered.
"Oi, Bullet! We're back a-" Ragna began as he walked in while carrying some bags...before he yelped when he was suddenly lifted up by his leg, "WOAH!"
"GOT YOU, YA…!" Bullet began as she ran in...only to stop to see Ragna hanging upside down, "Oh…damn it."
"You better not have busted those jugs of eggnog in there," Ragna warned, gesturing to his dropped bags, "It's a pain getting specific brands of it and to stockpile for the beginning of the year."
"Noted…" Bullet muttered.
"Also...why the trap?!"
"To make sure this 'Santa' guy doesn't get in," Bullet replied, her eyes darting back and forth.
"Eh?"
"I studied on him a bit while you were gone...It is bad enough he spies on you, but the fact he can sneak in without detection? NO...I am NOT taking that chance."
"Oh god…" Ragna groaned, facepalming, "Also get me down, damn it!"
"...Fine," Bullet muttered as she undid the knot, letting Ragna fall face first into the floor, "Now I need to reset that trap…"
"You are going to see the old man, first, to clear all this up," Ragna grunted as he got back up.
"I need nothing cleared up!" she argued.
"Did I mention the Old Man is actually Santa and that's why no one can beat him?" Ragna asked, hoping she would take the bait.
"Let's go," Bullet stated, her gauntlets already on as she cracked her knuckles.
"You realize you so much as breathe on that old guy funny and you will earn the total unending blood rage of Ben who can become an Ultraman and/or a literal God…leave the gauntlets…Leave-Leave! The! Gauntlets!" he chastised as if to a child.
"...Mmm…" Bullet frowned in annoyance as she slipped the gauntlets off and put them on her desk, "There...happy?"
"Not in particular, no. Wait…empty the pockets…" he added with a motion from his hand to give up any extra weapons, gadgets, or devices to hurt others with.
"...Mmm…" Bullet pouted a bit as she reached into her pockets, pulling out a combat knife, a pair of gold knuckles, a blaster, a chain...and a book on 'how to impress a man,' "?!"
"What th-"
"Nothing!" Bullet shouted as she quickly picked the book up and tossed it into her room.
"You know what? It's the holidays, so fair enough; I saw nothing," Ragna sighed.
"Is everything okay in there?" Celica asked as she poked her head in, "We don't want to keep Ester-san and Tora-san waiting."
"Right! Come on you!" Ragna sighed, grabbing Bullet by the arm and dragging her off, "Need to do a drop off to the old man to clear some stuff up about Santa."
"Oh~ Okay! I'll see ya when you get back then!"
"Save me a glass of 'Nog!" Ragna called out as they left.
"What even is Eggnog…" Bullet muttered.
"...Oh you are in for a treat…"
"Now Luna...promise me you'll behave," Gwen spoke as Kevin stopped the car right in front of the Omni Team's house, "It's Christmas after all…"
"Hai...Christmas…" Luna nodded, wearing a pair of red and green ribbons in her hair, "Luna will be a good girl...and get that life-sized plushie of Jubei-sama from Santa!"
"I give it an hour," Kevin stated.
"Hush…" Gwen whispered, "Let her try."
"It's the longest I've seen her behave…" Sena added as he took control of his and Luna's shared body.
"Well that is the point of Santa: to get kids to behave." Kevin muttered.
"Oh, is this the part where you give the Christmas is etc by business nonsense, rather than just enjoy the holiday? The Rebel act isn't always so charming."
"No, I'm not," Kevin assured.
"Mmhmm…" Gwen replied playfully.
"Wha…it hurts you believe I'm such a Scrooge," Kevin replied.
"The McDuck kind, maybe," Gwen giggled.
"Um…Is that an elephant?" Sena asked.
"Huh?" the two looked out the front window to see Funkfreed, Noel on the end of his trunk as she was putting up a set of Christmas lights on a higher part of one of the trees in the yard.
"Oh, hi~!" Noel waved to the car upon noticing it.
"When did they get an elephant? Why did they get an elephant?" Kevin groaned as they got out while Noel got onto the elephant's back.
"Strangely, that elephant looks familiar," Gwen noted, her eyes briefly glowing, "And its aura is strange as well. It says 'elephant'...but it also says 'sword.'"
"Heya~!" Makoto waved once she noticed the car, "Oh Btdubs? That is Funkfreed, Noellie's new pet/weapon! We call him 'Funky' for short."
"How?!" Kevin asked.
"Paon~!" said 'Funky' greeted, waving his trunk.
"Hmm…that is…a freaky story." Makoto muttered, "To properly explain, I must ask how much you understand the Multiverse?"
"Well, there is the theory about it that there are an infinite number of realities formed from a multitude of different actions such as the results of a coin flip or even saying 'no' in one and 'yes' in another," Gwen replied as Zed sniffed Funkfreed, who patted the alien dog in return.
"...no…" Kevin began as it dawned on him.
"Tell ya more once ya get in," Makoto grinned.
"...She's messing with me. I swear she's messing with me," Kevin frowned in annoyance as Gwen and Sena walked past him, "Ben, your woman's messing with me!"
"When isn't she?" Jetray joked from where he was with Robotboy hanging some more decorations on the roof, "But what is it this time?"
"You got an elephant from another universe!"
"You mean Funky?" Jetray asked, "Well…Yes and no. He's technically an elephant, but he's not really one."
"What does that even mean?!" Kevin gawked.
"Oh! Funky, can you slice this watermelon up?" Makoto asked as she held up a watermelon.
"Paon~!" Funkfreed nodded before turning his trunk into a sword and quickly cut it up before changing his trunk back into a trunk to take a slice to eat.
"...Did you guys go to freakin' One Piece?!"
"Oh, so that's where I recognize you from," Gwen realized, petting Funkfreed's side, "And explains your strange mana."
"Paon~"
"Noellie treats him much better than his original owner," Makoto nodded a bit, "Lord knows he's helped get us out of a few situations…"
"Wait…you…did you...?" Kevin asked.
"We met Luffy and the gang, too," Makoto added, "We even helped save Zoro."
"...Jealous. I am so jealous of you guys right now…"
"Thanks!" Makoto grinned, "Oh, and Ben got a form from there, too."
"What? Did he get a Fishman?" Kevin asked before a green flash went off and Garumaru landed beside Makoto, Robotboy on his shoulder, "!? …Mink?"
"Mink," Garumaru confirmed.
"...how…?!"
"Carrot."
"Then why aren't you a rabbit?"
"Well they aren't rabbit people; they are Animal people," he argued.
"...Damn. You're right," Kevin muttered.
"We also learned Haki," Makoto added.
"And Rook's pretty much mastered it," Garumaru added.
"..."
"Should we mention the Rokushiki he also mastered or when we went to Boku no Hero Academia?" Makoto added.
"...Please tell me you have spiked eggnog," Kevin groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose to fight off the migraine.
"In the fridge. Top shelf on the right. Normal 'nog is on the bottom shelf on the left," Makoto replied.
"It's not much, but figured we'd need it for you and Ragna at least," Garumaru added.
"Thanks…" Kevin groaned as he walked in, "...Why does it smell like someone had made something with eggnog?"
"Noel/Noellie," Garumaru and Makoto sighed.
"She made Eggnog Chocolate Croissants to be precise," Skurd added.
"Don't ask…" the couple sighed.
"Oh...fair," Kevin muttered as Gwen and Sena walked in next, "Where is Rook anyway? I was gonna ask him…"
"Had to take a new friend of ours to HQ," Max replied as he walked by.
=He tried Noel's croissant= Steel called from upstairs =And I've added alarms to all the windows!=
"Eh? Why?" Sena blinked.
"He thinks something from the internet is real and if after kids," Mai sighed, "Just ignore his paranoia."
"And Mai was the one who introduced him to it," Garumaru chuckled.
"Hmm…Hey, Ben, think we need a firepit in the back?" Makoto asked.
"Maybe for some outdoor fires to keep warm out without going back inside," he replied, "Could find some good rocks that will stay warm even if we forget to keep the fire going." he walked out and tapped his emblem, switching with Darukania, "Alright. Time to see what's good for a good firepit."
"...Let me guess, he got a lot of new samples from different universes," Gwen spoke, a hand over Kevin's mouth.
"Yep. That's one of three he got in one world. Really nice place now that this curse laid on reincarnations was ended," Makoto shrugged.
"...You went to a Legend of Zelda World?" Sena asked with stars in his eyes.
"Wait, that's a thing here?" Makoto asked in surprise.
"Technically, while we were busy world travelling, we learned that it was part of a game that's not supposed to come out in a few years," Mai explained.
"No spoiling, either," Makoto added, "But best thing is getting a lot of my old collection early by several years."
"I still say that's a bad idea," Mai deadpanned.
"You didn't argue when Noellie showed hers," Makoto pouted.
"Because do you want to say 'no' Noel and make her cry?" Mai countered.
"Fair point."
"...Still mad she named that one squirrel after you?" Mai asked.
"I am not a chubby dummy that hides berries in my tail that fall out," Makoto pouted.
"...Speaking of Noel, where's that gun-toting goober at?" Kevin asked.
"I think she went to her room," Max replied once he walked past them again, "Her parents are coming and I think she wanted to get a cuddle session in with all those plushies she and Lambda brought back."
"They collected a LOT of Corgi and Pokemon plushies," Makoto explained to the trio.
"No spoiling!" Noel called out from her room.
"Says the little lady with the Corgi Pokemon plush in her arms!" Makoto called back.
"The what~?!" Luna squealed out.
"My fluffy electric doggo!" she called out, running back in as Luna chased her.
"Let Luna in! She wants to see the Corgi Pokemon!"
"No! You'll spoil yourself!"
"Hello pot, meet kettle," Makoto and Mai deadpanned.
"Ano...Luna? The Life-sized Master Jubei Plush?" Sena remembered, making Luna stop banging on Noel's door.
"Mmm…Okay…Sorry," Luna sighed.
"...Not a full blown tantrum yet," Kevin noted, "So that's good."
"Santa watching her?" Max guessed.
"Yep," Kevin replied.
"Luna will be a good girl!" Luna declared before an explosion went off in the backyard, "...That wasn't Luna!"
"You buffoon! You used a Bomb Arrow! Not a Fire Arrow!" Skurd's voice snapped from the backyard.
"Excuse me? You were the one who handed me the arrow!" Ravadoh's voice countered.
"I did not! You were so lost in your own ego you didn't pay attention to what arrow you grabbed from me!"
"...Before you ask…" Makoto began once Kevin and Gwen looked at her, "This form gives Ben a MASSIVE ego…"
"I demand Karma!" Skurd declared before they faintly saw a green flash.
"GYAAAAH~!" Stitch screamed as he ran in and climbed up onto the ceiling, "COLD! WET! TOO COLD AND WET!"
"...What was that?" Luna asked, "...And why was it so adorable?"
"No…No…" Kevin spoke as he began to pale, "It's…"
"Aloha Cousin!" Stitch cheered, hugging Gwen's legs and lifting her up.
"Woah!" Gwen yelped in surprise, "Was wondering when you'd get this one…!"
"We went to a version of Hawaii with alien genetic experiments," Mai explained.
"It...was amazing~" Makoto grinned.
"You stay away from my car!" Kevin ordered.
"Mm?" Stitch tilted his head.
"Don't you give me the cute act! You are a destructive force of nature and evil…"
"What's point? Stitch knows what he is," he argued, putting Gwen down.
"Oh you are…" Kevin began.
"No messing up the house before family arrives!" Makoto ordered.
"But…!" Kevin began before Makoto grabbed a handful of chestnuts and gripped her hand, cracking them all open at once, "..."
"...We'll be good," Stitch and Kevin meeped in unison, the former latching onto the latter's leg.
"Good," Makoto smiled, grabbing a nearby bowl as she let the crushed chestnuts fall into it, "And hey. I can make a chestnut pie with this."
"...Ben?" Kevin whispered to Stitch once Makoto was out of hearing range, "Don't know if I told ya this, but your girlfriend...honestly scares me."
"Ih," Stitch agreed.
"Oi, old man Tennyson!" Ragna called out as he stepped out of the elevator, holding Bullet over his shoulders, "I got one more for ya for your little Christmas lesson!"
"Oh, I should have seen that coming," Magister Max sighed.
"Put me down…" Bullet frowned a bit from Ragna's shoulders.
"Okay," Ragna replied, dropping her.
"OW!"
"Hey. You asked," Ragna shrugged as a glaring Bullet got up, "Anyway I'm off...I left Celica back in Undertown and we're supposed to meet up with Tora and Ester."
"Take care now," Magister Max waved, "So never heard of Christmas before, have we?"
"Yes…" Bullet sighed.
"Freaked out about Santa and his ability to know things?"
"...Maybe…"
"Rope trap meant to snatch someone by the leg and hang them upside-down?"
"Yeah…"
"Oh boy, it's like Kajun all over again," Magister Max sighed, "Come on, Kiddo, you'll get the hang of it. And I think Ragna might have been messing with you."
"I think I'm starting to realize that…" Bullet muttered as she began to follow him to where everyone was sitting...before she noticed the very irked look on Jin's face, "...what's with him?"
"Oh he got seated next to the party kids in the class," Magister Max explained.
"You get me so well, boss man~!" Kagura laughed.
"He also learned what a Grinch is," Hibiki added from his seat.
"We'll give you the quick version of the Santa bit, and you can watch the movies on this tablet," Magister Max explained, "Before you ask…yes…I was Santa once. But it was magical nonsense and never again. No, I don't spy on people. I mean…no more than I do as the boss of this place."
"...f-fair I suppose…" Bullet muttered as she sat down...before looking out the side to see Lambda sipping hot cocoa while holding a pair of reindeer plushies in her arms, Bluey resting on top of the head of the dark-brown furred one with the red nose, "What…?"
"My plushies," Lambda stated, moving a bit to keep them away from Bullet.
"N-No I meant…"
"Mine, rule of dibs," Lambda added, Bluey giving a squeak of agreement.
"Now, now," Magister Max chuckled, patting the blonde's head, "No need to get so defensive, Lambda. You don't want to get coal this Christmas, do you?"
"Huh? Coal?" Bullet questioned.
"Yep. If you're good, you get presents, but if you're bad, you end up with a lump of coal," Magister Max explained.
"Naughty and Nice Lists," Lambda added, "The list determines the gift." she looked Bullet up and down, "You're totally on the Naughty list…"
"Oi!" Bullet growled.
"Alright, settle down now," Magister Max frowned, "Lambda, it's not nice saying stuff like that, especially when you're both new to this holiday."
"Sorry," she bowed her head as Bluey pulled out a carrot and offered it to Bullet.
"Uh…Thanks?" Bullet thanked, accepting it.
"See? Good job, Bluey," Magister Max chuckled while petting the Blupee's head, earning a coo of content from the blue ghostly bunny.
"Wait…So her birthday is on Christmas day?" Kevin asked, he, Ben, and Max relaxing in the garage as Kevin was doing some small tune ups to Ben's car.
"Yeah. Was a big surprise," Ben replied, "But we all agreed to make sure she had both Christmas presents and birthday presents. Only hard thing is making sure to pick which is Christmas wrap and which is birthday wrap."
=Not exactly= Steel noted, earning confused looks =Some of my traps for SCP-4666 got tripped…by Noel looking for her birthday presents=
"Seriously?" Kevin asked.
=Yeah. So far, she got snagged by three of my leg snare traps=
"I forgot about this," Ben facepalmed.
"Ben, what's going on?"
"Seems Noel likes to look for her birthday presents and it was a real nonsensical month dealing with hiding them," Ben explained.
"Oh come on, we went to a lot of trouble to find her something," Makoto complained, walking in, having overheard most of it, "And she always finds stuff, she'd oddly good at this."
=Eventually she's gonna get stuck in another trap= Steel argued before holding an arm up to the side of himself =Wait for it….=
"AH!"
=That…was the pit trap into the oiled walls= Steel explained =Don't worry! It's non-toxic and non-flammable. It also smells of air freshener…it's actually rather soothing=
"Steel…why?"
=What? I've read the theories on how to stop his crazy kidnappings of kids and one of them involved making him chill, so I thought of what I'd do to chill. A nice scent and a refreshing oil polish=
"...Help?" Noel's voice called out, "It's dark…and smells like a new car."
"...I'll get a rope," Makoto groaned before pointing a finger at Steel, "And get rid of your traps."
=Never!=
"Steel…"
=D'oh…fine! But if we wake up and all the adorable short ones are missing, don't blame me! In fact…I get to say I told you so!= Steel declared as he floated off to disable his traps.
"Huh…Thought I'd have to use my Sheikah Slate on him and magnetize him to the ceiling to get him to agree," Makoto admitted.
"I feel like he's plotting something…" Max sighed.
"Well he better not wrap up our families into this nonsense," Makoto warned.
"Wait, your what now?" Kevin asked, closing the hood of the car.
"Something I got from the same place Ben got three aliens at once," Makoto replied, pulling it out, "Were you looking to check the underside of the car?"
"Yeah, actually," Kevin noted before Makoto turned on the Magnetism Rune and made the car float, "!? …" he looked at Ben, "Seriously, dude?"
"What? All of us who went on it found one or two or a few things," Ben replied.
"Including this one alien form that Ben needs Makoto there for," Skurd chuckled.
"We don't speak of that one in public," Ben complained.
"But we are not in public," Skurd countered.
"That was an extra weird day." Makoto muttered.
"Huh?" Max and Kevin pondered.
"Don't ask!" both exclaimed, blushing.
"Oh come now. You two were quite the united force with her we…" Skurd began before Ben dunked his arm into the bucket of soapy water set aside to clean the car after the tuneup, "BLRBL!?"
"And now my curiosity has been piqued," Kevin noted.
"Try it…and I'll shoot you the one upside to this: My super strength going up twenty fold," Makoto warned.
"What?!" Max and Kevin gawked.
"Oh you want details…but do you want them at the cost of your spine, Levin?" Makoto smiled.
"Why do the girls I know get scarier over time?"
"I have no clue," Max replied, patting his shoulder in assurance and sympathy.
"Good, now boyfriend comes greet family!" she grabbed Ben's arm and yanked him away.
"Woah!"
"I swear she's gotten more energetic since we came back from our trip," Mai muttered.
"I'll say…" the two boys muttered.
"And this brings us to the concept of Good Will Towards Men." Tsubaki began, "Christmas has always been this holiday with the intent to just show kindness to others. Famously there have been events where even wars will have ceasefires during this day. None more famous then the events of the First World War, where even then the two armies called a day of peace on this day due to how much it meant to all of them."
"See, this is why I love this holiday," Alf explained to Kagura, "This…this is the best part of Earthlings."
"And I already love it," Kagura smiled a bit, "A time where no one fights and not at war with each other…I can't count how many people I've seen in my old time that could've used some holiday cheer."
"And you feel happy knowing the people will be able to experience the holiday," Hibiki noted as he looked over at Kagura.
"Damn it," Kagura nodded, "Also…it is a crime that we lost the gloriousness that is Eggnog."
"That we can agree on young blood." Magister Max smiled, he then looked at his watch, "Alright Tsubaki I can handle the rest from here. You have a very important appointment to keep today."
"Oh!" she remembered, "Right we need to pick up our families!"
"Shouldn't you take your boyfriend to meet your folks?" Kagura asked teasingly.
"No…no no…" Jin shook his head, "Make me watch the Grinch again…I'd rather listen to the endless ear-grating rhyming!"
"I liked it." Lambda spoke as Tsubaki grabbed her hand and pulled her up before pulling her to the door, "Right! Time to go…" she spoke up as Bluey waved goodbye.
"...I have no say in this, don't I?" Jin sighed.
"Let me answer that with a resounding…" Alf began before making a whip cracking noise.
"You are a horrible mistake of evolution…" Jin spoke before he was picked up -seat and all- and carried off, "Oi…OI!"
"...seriously, Eggnog can't be that important," Bullet whispered to herself.
"You shut your dirty mouth." Alf spoke while turning to her.
"Hey hey…easy buddy." Kagura held him back, "You say that…but have you…tried it?"
"It's a drink?" Bullet raised a brow.
"...Hibiki, two glasses of nog. On the double!" Kagura declared, "No wait…make that three."
"Four, I'm double mugging this!" Alf added.
"Of course, Kagura-dono," Hibiki nodded as he began to walk off.
"Hey~!" Makoto greeted just as the car owned by Ben's parents stopped near the house.
"Oh Ben, Makoto!" Ben's Mother Sandra greeted as she got out and hugged them both, "Oh its so good to see you after hearing about your trip."
"It's great to see you too~!" Makoto beamed as she returned the hug, "Oh it's been so long~"
"It really has," Ben's father Carl chuckled as he got out next.
"Hey Dad," Ben smiled, hugging his father.
"Oh…you really know how to start your own life of mistakes and learning." Carl chuckled.
"We have," Ben and Makoto admitted.
"But we make it work," Ben shrugged.
"Well it's still amazing we get to finally meet your family Makoto." Sandra spoke up, "You've spent so much time with us, it's only right that you drag Ben along to spend time with your family."
"And they absolutely love him," Makoto smiled, "Especially Daddy, my little brother, and two of my little sisters. Oh and Sandra? You are just gonna ADORE little Mykoto."
"Oh your baby sister you told me about." she smiled, "Oh she sounds just adorable!"
"She totally is!" Makoto squealed.
"Well we need to go pick up Makoto's family, so we'll be back in a flash." Ben smiled.
"We'll help out around here while your out." Carl offered.
"Oh don't worry Gwen is here doing that, its kind of her default." Ben chuckled.
"It kinda is," Makoto nodded before a Groundbridge opened near them, "Oop. That's our 'ride'!"
"I still am left amazed at this alien stuff…" Carl chuckled.
"Yeah this one is…like…stupid useful." the couple agreed.
"So hopefully it shouldn't take too long," Ben added before he and Makoto rushed into the portal.
"See ya guys later!" Makoto waved just as the portal closed.
"We're here!" Ben called out as he and Makoto walked into the Plumber HQ hangar where they often made portals to enter the HQ.
"Just in time." Tsubaki smiled as the rest of those who were off to pick up their families gathered.
"Grr…" Jin growled a bit in annoyance.
"Shush." Tsubaki responded simply, "You're joining us, no debate, no complaining, and no moping. You are here as a decoration," she smirked.
"I feel insulted…"
"Well prettyboy boyfriends are meant to be seen…not heard." Makoto added.
"Wait does that include Ben?" Noel blinked.
"What? No, my man is handsome, not pretty." Makoto argued.
"I don't see it," Jin bluntly stated.
"Speak for yourself man. I make it work," Ben countered with a smirk, "Maybe if you got rid of that icy perma-scowl, people will like ya more."
"I don't need people to like me." Jin argued.
"Mmhmm…" Makoto nodded, "And yet you wonder why your brother talks like your the one who brings shame to the family."
"My brother what?" he blinks.
"It takes us a lot to convince him to let you attend parties and stuff." Ben added just as a ship began to land, "Tsubaki really argues it with him."
"You mean to say I'm not invited…then you…" he turned to Tsubaki, "Force me to come anyway!?"
"You greatly need to socialize." she replied simply, "You need more friends besides the boys."
"He is not my friend!" he pointed to Ben.
"Jin…you're one of the boys…" Ben argued, patting his shoulder, "Accept it."
"Grr….ugh. At least I know Taro…" Jin began as the back of the ship began to open.
"Is that Jinny I see?" Taro's voice spoke.
"...no…" Jin began in dread, slowly turning to see Taro running over to them, "No….!"
"Buddy!"
"NO!" Jin snapped before Taro grabbed him into a side hug," PERSONAL SPACE!"
"Wow…you got even moodier," Taro noted.
"Yeah…he's kind of grown more antisocial." Tsubaki sighed, "Ben's helped."
"For better or worse…has yet to be seen." Ben chuckled.
"Eh I'd buy it," Taro shrugged as he let Jin go, "Still…good to see you guys again. Oh Mai Mai, your parents and your friends' parents should be coming here in a few minutes…Mrs. Yayoi and Mrs. Hazuki had to drag their husbands from work just to get them to come."
"Yup…that sounds like dad," Mai sighed.
"Seems accurate." Tsubaki nodded.
"Well next time they can just ask Ben to kidnap them so they don't have time to argue." Makoto offered.
"Well good to know," the voice of Tsubaki's mother spoke, making the group turn to see her and Rin walking over while the former's husband rubbed his sore ear...all while he and Hoichiro carried a pair of briefcases.
"I still can't believe I'm being dragged into this…" Hoichiro whispered.
"Well we have been meaning to take some days off of work," Tsubaki's father stated, "And from what I understand, Christmas is a time where you take time off of work to spend time with family."
"Yep." Ben nodded, "It's one of the few Holidays celebrated by almost all of the world outside of several religions. But even then some still celebrate it for fun rather than religion, it's just a general good time to be with family, goodwill to your fellow man, giving for the sake of generosity, and the age old tricking kids into behaving nice so they can get a gift from a fictional old jolly Elf."
"We celebrated it once when we first landed in this time." Makoto added, "It was really great!"
"This sounds like…a rather fantastic Holiday…" Tsubaki's father noted.
"Chances are you guys lost it cause…your timeline…kinda…" Ben muttered.
"Sucked…it sucked Babe." Makoto finished for him.
"Totally/Oh of course/No argument/The worst!" the others agreed.
"What was that bit about a jolly elf?" Hoichiro asked.
"Oh good, I get to give the lecture again." Magister Max chuckled while walking in, "I love explaining this holiday to visitors to Earth."
"Everybody, I'd like you to meet my Grandfather and Magister of this section of the Plumbers, Max Tennyson." Ben smiled.
"He might look like a regular happy old grandfather, but he still suits and arms up to fight evil alien overlords and invasions, with nothing but an energy rifle." Makoto smiled.
"Oh~! Really?!"
"And cue the twins in three…two…one…" Makoto counted down.
"Oh, I love this part." Magister Max chuckled, bracing himself as two blurs tackled into him…but he didn't fall over, "Ooh…not bad," he chuckled, "You sure got some strength like your sister."
"Oh~! Oji-san caught us!" Mekoto awed as she and Mokoto looked on at Magister Max with stars in their eyes.
"Of course he is! He's Ben-Oniichan's Ojisan!" Mokoto beamed.
"Well ain't you two just adorable." he chuckled, "You're like two adorable little cannonballs."
"My grandpa might not look it, but he's still got what it takes to hold this job as a defender of the planet." Ben smirked proudly, "Back when I was still learning to fight he taught me how to handle myself and master my many powers. Plus I'd like to see another guy his age tangle with stone golems and a literal Aztec demon."
"Oh you did most of the work there Ben," Magister Max argued, "I'm not young enough to punch above my weight class anymore." he held the twins under his arms before putting them down, "But enough bragging, we're here to welcome our extended family."
"It is indeed an honor to finally meet you…" Tsubaki's Father began before grunting as he was snatched in a bear hug and lifted off his feet.
"He's a hugger." Tsubaki smiled.
"Duly…noted," Tsubaki's father grunted.
"Well now, seems we arrived to th' party early."
"Eee~! Daddy!" Makoto beamed, rushing off before jumping into her father's open arms.
"Woah now! Heh…great to see ya too, my little acorn!" Mack laughed as he returned the hug just as the rest of Makoto's family and Noel's family walked over.
"Eee~!" Noel was next as she rushed to her parents and hugged them both, "You're here!"
"It is good to see you, my petit angel," Clair smiled as she and Edgar hugged her back.
"When your mother and I learned of Christmas, we couldn't wait to experience it ourselves," Edgar added with a chuckle.
"Bah!" Mykoto squealed out a bit from Mikoto's arms.
"Little Mykoto is just as excited," Mayaka giggled a bit.
"Who wouldn't? It's a holiday were ya get presents!" Mukoto beamed.
"And spending time with family if I recall from a book I had read," Mikoto added.
"I'm honestly lookin' forward to this Eggnog my little acorn kept talkin' about," Mack admitted with a chuckle.
"Oh I got you covered." Magister Max spoke, "Trust me, a good deal of folks get hooked on it each year. We order in bulk at this base."
"But we would like to teach you a bit more on the Holiday, at least for those family who rushed here without learning what Christmas is." Tsubaki offered.
"We're just gonna watch Christmas Movies," Noel smiled, "It's really sweet and gets you in the spirit for the holiday!"
"Movies?!" Mekoto, Mokoto, and Mukoto beamed excitedly at that.
"You'll love 'em! Lots of them have cheery Christmas songs. And others are just pure happiness and fluff!" Makoto smiled.
"OOH~!" Mekoto and Mokoto awed in amazement.
"WE WANNA SEE!"
"NE NE! I WANT TO SEE A CUTE ONE!"
"Well ya got them really excited about it now," Mayaka chuckled.
"It's all in the fun," Makoto smiled.
"Well if that's the case, then let us be on our way shall we?" Mr. Yayoi spoke up with a small chuckle.
"Joy…" Jin and Hoichiro deadpanned silently to themselves.
"None of that." the girls all spoke in unison.
"I was dragged from a busy schedule at the police department," Hoichiro deadpanned.
"I had no say in the manner," Jin added.
"Oh don't be such Scrooges," Mai rolled her eyes.
"What?" Hoichiro raised a brow.
"...It's nothing like a Grinch, is it?" Jin frowned.
"Hmm…I thought I forgot a movie." Magister Max muttered, "Well, time to get to it then!" he began helping in pushing.
"He's…so…strong…" Jin grunted.
"We Tennyson men might not be super strong, but we are built tough!" he grinned.
"I am honestly scared to see what you could do in your prime!" Jin admitted.
"Hahahahahaha!" Taro laughed as he and the others began to follow, "Your gramps rocks, Ben!"
"I get that," Ben grinned.
"...This…is Eggnog?" Bullet raised a brow, looking at the cup she was given as Kagura and Alf…already had a few cups, "...it looks like discolored milk…"
"Try…hic! It…" Kagura slurred a bit.
"...there's alcohol in this, isn't there?"
"Not normally, just if you get the normal kind…or ya irish it up." Alf explained.
"Why are you okay?" Bullet asked.
"You kidding? It takes way more than this to get me hammered. But…he used my flask…so…for a human." Alf looked to Kagura, "Oh he's probably gonna pass out from that much concentrated booze."
"Hibiki! Another round!" Kagura declared as he rose his cup into the air..before he fell over onto his back, "..I'm o-hic! Kay…"
"...he'll be okay, right?" Bullet asked.
"Not the first time he's gotten wasted like this," Hibiki sighed, "He once drank an entire gallon of rum in one sitting."
"I should warn you…it took me a while to make something that can give me a good holiday buzz…and not all the ingredients are…edible to humans." Alf added.
"So…he's going to die of liver failure?" Bullet asked.
"Maybe…" Alf shrugged, "I would get him examined by a doctor…"
"Bones! We don't need no marrow…turn it into a-hic- distillery! Let's keep the party going!" Kagura cheered.
"Hmm…maybe it came out too well." Alf muttered.
"...ugh. If I'm gonna get drunk...bottoms up I suppose," Bullet sighed, taking a deep breath before drinking her entire cup in one sitting.
"Woah woah! Slow down…you gotta savor it," Alf stated before Bullet dropped her cup, standing their frozen in place as she had a blank stare on her face, "...uh…you o-" he began before Bullet grabbed a nearby pitcher of Eggnog and began to down it, "Woah now!"
"Th…this is amazing!" Bullet exclaimed, pausing in chugging down the drink, "It's nothing like I tasted before!" she beamed before drinking more of the Eggnog.
"Heh…mission a-" Alf began with a grin before Bullet slammed the now empty pitcher down, "Woah now!"
"More…" Bullet whispered, her mouth practically drenched in Eggnog as she rapidly looked around, "I must have more…!"
"Hibiki…get the tranq rifle." Alf spoke.
"I hate that we have one at the ready like this." he groaned.
"Well, while I love Kagura…we both know he needs to stop drinking my alien beer." Alf argued, "And frankly I'd rather we have it and not need it…then need it and not have it."
"I…suppose that's true," Hibiki muttered before Bullet grabbed him, "?!"
"The nog?! WHERE IS IT?!" Bullet snapped as she rapidly shook him.
"..." Hibiki blinked for a few moments before clearing his throat, "23-19! We have a 23-19!"
"Wait wh-" Bullet began before she was tackled over by P'li, "GAH!"
"I got her! Get the jacket!" P'li shouted as Bullet struggled to move him off her, "Yeah…you aren't going anywhere anytime soon."
"LET ME GO! I MUST FIND MORE NOG!"
"Trust me, I love the stuff…but you don't see me goin' crazy." Alf spoke as he held up a needle, "Now…go sleepy," he pricked her arm.
"Ite! Wh…oh…pretty…colorsh~"
*THUD*
"...Well. That was fast," P'li blinked.
"...I still say get the straight jacket," Alf spoke.
"Agreed," Hibiki muttered.
"...I feel like my deputy did something stupid…again," Ragna muttered, pausing in putting down some boxes.
"No offense, but even for folks from your time, Bullet seems…a little extra strange," Ester admitted as she helped, her jacket larger than usual.
"She tries to deny it, but agreed," Ragna muttered.
"But you know she's nice when she can be," Celica argued as she walked over.
"When she isn't being a moody hothead," Ragna countered, "But from what I can assume…she probably grew up around mercs, so she probably doesn't know what 'normal' normal is."
"Hmm…That's a good point. I at least grew up kind of normal thanks to my Mom…" Ester muttered, "It helped me not fall for all the nonsense with my Dad's people."
"I think everyone has their own sense of what 'normal' is," Celica noted with a smile as she opened one of the boxes and pulled out a wreath, "Oh, this is adorable! What is this anyway?"
"It's called a wreath," Ester explained, "You tend to hang them up on walls, streetlights, and anywhere people can get a good view of."
"Oh~"
"Speaking of lights…" Ragna began as he reached into another box, pulling out some Christmas lights as he held one end up, "Tora, you mind helping with...wait. Is Tao distracted?"
"I may have 'accidentally' dropped a ball of tinsel near her," Tora replied, "My successor she may be, but she's still a kitten."
"...That'll keep her busy for a bit," Ragna whispered as Tora took the end of the Christmas lights he held out to her.
"Nya," Tora nodded before she became a blur, jumping from building to building as she began decorating a VERY large tree within the middle of Undertown.
"Alright, that's good!" Ragna called out, holding the plug in one hand before plugging it into a nearby generator, "Nobody mess with this or so help me…!" he growled, "...And I'm looking at you, Argit!"
"I didn't…!" Argit began from nearby.
"I know you…and you're not gonna steal everyone's presents while they're sleeping just to make a quick buck."
"I wasn't thinking that!"
"Remind me to call Somna to knock him out until Christmas morning," Ragna whispered to Celica.
"You know she'll charge you the same rate as her normal therapy sessions," Celica reminded.
"We're good for it," Ragna assured…before looking at her, "Right?"
"Yes, we're good for it," Celica replied, being the accountant for their job.
"Oh thank God, Zed, and all the other deities celebrated by the people down here," Ragna sighed in relief, "I didn't want to suddenly find my bank account empty because Bullet decided to buy nothing but spicy food and god knows what else."
"Oh she tried that before," Celica replied, "She didn't like what I did when she tried."
"...Wait, what?" Ragna asked.
"Why do these get used on Christmas anyway, Ester?" Celica asked, already having gone over to the Kraaho leader.
"Um…I don't fully know why, but I think it dates back to when Christmas was called Yule," Ester replied.
"Wait a second. What did you do? Celica? Oi! Celica, what did you do?" Ragna asked, growing worried now.
"Is that so?" Celica asked, not even paying attention to Ragna at the moment as she and Ester talked.
'Oh god…She knows the same way to horrify someone that the nun who raised me, Jin, and Saya knows!' Ragna thought, turning pale a bit, "Uh…I gotta check in with Thrax. See if there's any trouble with the bar and see if he needs help with a gift for his wife." 'And getting those memories suppressed under his special Eggnog mixed with his Tetramand Moonshine!'
"Hm? Did someone say something?" Celica asked.
"Not sure," Ester replied, "Hey…Where'd Ragna go?"
"He must have gone for more decorations," Celica guessed.
"Ahh…fair en-"
"NYA~!" Tao yelped as she rolled by, now trapped in a large ball of tinsel, "Nya…shiny tin-sell has Tao trapped!"
"Shiny~!" the Kaka Kittens called, chasing after her.
"Oh dear," Celica whispered as she and Ester ran off to help her.
"...I'll bite. Why did we buy two more trees?" Max asked as he put down two more pine trees in the front yard.
"Because we still believe Jin and Ragna-who will be coming by later with Celica and Jubei-are gonna end up using our tree and someone else's as swords to fight with," Rook answered.
"Seriously?" Max asked.
"We mentioned it on a trip to a beach planet for a two day vacation and it kinda stuck in our heads," Ben explained.
"It sadly does not seem like a stretch of the imagination given their violent tendencies," Rook added.
"You know I can hear you, right?" Jin frowned in annoyance from the nearby window.
"Glad to know! Use these trees for when it happens, not the one in the house!" Ben replied.
"..." Jin pulled out Yukianesa and made a gesture with his hand before Ben yelped as a large snowball twice his size landed on him, "Hmph." he closed the window and walked off.
"PFFT!" Ben spat some snow out as he poked his head out of the snowpile he was in, "Of c-c-c-c-c-c-course you realize, th-th-this means war!"
"...Could get Ro' to ask Jin to make it snow when Tsubaki comes back," Max suggested before holding a hand up and catching Steel in his flight to the two trees, "They've already been checked, Steel. No SCP in there."
=Phew. Alright then…= Steel sighed in relief, his optic droopy =Mind charging me up real quick? Since I learned that they left to pick up their fam-and those little siblings of Makoto's-, I've kinda gone into overdrive on security checks=
"You haven't been bothering mom and dad, have you?" Ben asked as Max started to recharge the BioLink.
=Nope. BTW, I thought you went with the others=
"..."
"...Echo-Echo thing?" Max guessed.
"I was the one in the trunk that he woke up to help finish things up here while he went out with the others," Ben replied.
"Ahh…that explains it," Max noted with a nod before a Groundbridge portal opened nearby, "And speaking of whom…"
"Ahh!" Mukoto yelped as he tripped and fell into the snow, "Ahh! C-Cold!"
"And I'm off to the trunk," Ben stated as he turned into Echo-Echo =Had my fill of Eggnog at least. See ya in a week or when it's time to do a new backup=
=That is still creepy to me= Steel noted.
"Ohh~!" Steel looked down to see the twins looking up at him.
"Ne, ne! It's a floating eye with arms!"
"But it's all shiny and blue!"
"Sugei~!"
=...Yep. Definitely not gonna let any scary things get these kids= Steel declared.
"You better not," Makoto's voice frowned a bit as she and the rest of the group stepped out of the portal.
"Whoo~ Y'all been busy, I see," Mack noted as he looked up at the decorations covering the front of the house.
"Oh that's quite bright and colorful," Clair complimented.
"Hmm…It seems almost worthy enough of a painting," Edgar noted.
"Hm? How so?" Clair asked.
"It feels there's something…missing," Edgar replied, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Well, we were about to have Jin make a nice layer of snow on everything," Max noted.
"Snow?" the twins asked, their tails starting to wag.
"Oh no. He said 'snow,'" Mayaka rolled her eyes with an amused smile.
"Oh no…" Mukoto paled a bit before seeing the twins looking at him…or rather the pile of snow he had fallen into, "...Uh…"
"Snow~!" they cheered as they ran over and jumped into the pile, poking out with several snowballs they quickly threw at Mukoto.
"Pfft!" Mukuto spat as he was pelted, "Ah! Ooh! Cold!"
"...You had to introduce them to snowball fights," Mack whispered to Makoto.
"Hey, hey, hey. You were the one who taught us how to make the perfect snowball, daddy," Makoto countered.
"...Okay, fair point," Mack nodded before he got pelted by a stray snowball, "..."
"...Oopsie," Mekoto whispered.
"Sorry, daddy!" Mokoto called out, her ears drooping.
"...We're gonna need a lot more snow," Mack noted, a sly grin on his face.
=Hey, Tsubaki, I think I saw Jin going to the kitchen= Steel noted.
"Eh? But…Jin's right…" Tsubaki began as she looked…to see the Jin next to her had shattered into shards of ice, "...Oh that clever…"
=I was wondering why he was in the house when I thought he was at the base= Steel chuckled before swooping over to the twins and whispered =There's a guy with blond hair inside that can make snow. Grab the little silver and blue robot boy called Robotboy and work with him on asking the blonde guy to make lots of snow when you see Tsubaki near him. Make sure to use the big watery pleading look at quiver the lips when you say 'please'=
"Oh~! Hai!" the twins nodded in excitement, running after Tsubaki as she was already heading on in to have a few words with him.
"Oh those two are gonna be all over the place today," Taro noted as he and the others began to proceed into the building.
"Ahh…s-say," Mukoto shivered as Mikoto helped him up, "Thanks, sis…"
"Just be sure to get the snow out of your hat when we get inside, brother," Mikoto smiled a bit.
"But...Ah don't have sn-" Mukoto began before Mykoto tapped his straw hat, causing him to end up covered in snow once more, "...Ah w-w-walked into that one…"
"Bah!"
"And yer baby sister approves," Mayaka giggled.
"Alright, alright! I'll make snow!" Jin's voice called as he soon walked outside, grumbling with Yukianesa in his hands.
"Yay~!" the twins and Robotboy cheered, running after him.
"Oh~! Ma fille, is that the little one from the pictures you showed when we first found one another again?" Clair asked, stars in her eyes.
"Oui, Mere," Noel replied, "That's Robotboy."
"Hmm?" Robotboy blinked as he stopped, "Yes, Noel?"
"Oh, he is so cute~!" Clair cooed as Noel picked him up.
"Robotboy, this is my Mère," Noel introduced, "Mère, Robotboy."
"Oh! Hello, Noel's Mère! I Robotboy!" Robotboy greeted with a smile and wave.
"Oh~! Bonjour!" Clair greeted.
"And like that, ma cheri is hooked," Edgar chuckled.
"Ah! Why is there an elephant in the kitchen?" Taro asked.
"Ah! Funkfreed, get out of the kitchen!" Noel called, "We still need to melt the chocolate before you can have any of the fruit for it!"
"Paon!"
"Funkfreed the Elephant-Sword! Don't make me come in there, mister!" Noel warned, "And if Mari Mika is in there, make sure she comes out, too!"
"Paon…"
"...Your daughter has a pet elephant?" Hoichiro raised a brow at Noel's parents.
"This is the first time we've heard of it," Edgar replied, blinking twice before the feet of an elephant coming from a sword walked out of the kitchen, a pouting Mari wrapped around the bendable blade before the sword fully turned into a pouty Funkfreed, "...Ma fille?"
"Animals love her and her sister," Makoto snickered, "Even if they're originally a sword that got the power to transform into an elephant."
"Oh! That is right!" Clair gasped, "Noel, where is your sister?"
"Hai?" Lambda spoke, poking her head out the door.
"...Is that her?"
"Oui."
"?" Lambda blinked at that before Clair was suddenly before her and had her in a hug, "?! ...Sister?"
"Oh right, I should have prepared you more." Noel spoke, "La-chan, these are my parents, and this is La-chan, short for Lambda, my sister."
"Parents?" Lambda repeated before looking at Clair, "...Mother?"
"Oui!"
"...mmm," Lambda smiled a bit as she returned the hug, "...this is nice…"
"Aww~" Noel smiled happily, "This is all I ever wished for, just for this moment."
"...Noel, ma chere?" Edgar spoke up, "Get Robotboy and join your mother and sister...I need something to draw on…"
"Paon?" a trunk holding a blank canvas was offered.
"...Me fille, you have a good elephant," Edgar chuckled.
Noel giggled with a smile, "And a good mink and La-chan has a good Blupee."
"Blue-what?" Clair asked before Bluey popped into appearance on Lambda's head and gave an adorable wave at them, "Oh~! So cute!"
"Gh?! Is that a gh-gh-ghost?" Mack asked with wide eyes.
"No. Bluey's a Blupee," Makoto replied.
"Oh phew…" Mack sighed in relief, "Thank god…last thing I need is a ghost hauntin' me…"
"Oh, the ideas flowing," Edgar whispered, "I may need two more. One for ma chere with our two girls, one with our girls' pets, and one with all six together."
"And we've lost Edgar," Hoichiro muttered, glancing around.
"We have your rooms all set up this way," Mai explained.
"Oh. Well thank you, dear," Rin smiled before she sniffed something, "...Oh something smells good…"
"Hmm?" Makoto blinked as she sniffed the air for a few moments, "...Ben, I think your mom's baking something."
"I believe she was making fruitcake after you all left," Rook spoke up.
"Fruitcake?" the mothers repeated.
"Oh no," Ben facepalmed.
"Oh! I love your mom's fruitcake, Ben!" Makoto beamed.
"Uh, I gotta go check on what dad's up to," Ben quickly spoke as he ran off.
"What was that about?" Tsubaki's father whispered, earning a subtle shrug from Hoichiro.
"...Mikoto, watch yer sister for me," Mayaka spoke up, gently handing Mykoto to her second eldest daughter, "Ah think Ah'm gonna go help in the kitchen."
"Hmm…now feels like a good time…to go do some superhero stuff," Max muttered, armoring up and flying off.
"Hmm…just about…" Sandra whispered, an apron over her as she was looking at a cake being cooked in the oven.
"Mom!"
"Hmm? Oh Ben honey," Sandra spoke, looking up to see Ben running in, "You got back awfully quick. I was just…"
"Please tell me you're not making fruitcake."
"Well of course. I always make one every year."
'Oh no…' Ben mentally groaned.
"Wait…Were you hoping to make it this year for Makoto?" Sandra asked.
'...Roll with it,' Ben thought, "Yes! I was wondering if you could…show me some tips?"
"How's about we both help y'all with it, darlin'?"
"GH?!" Ben tensed up a bit, turning to the side to see Mayaka walking in, "M-Mrs. Nanaya…"
"Oh come on, now. Y'all can call me Ma," Mayaka giggled a bit, "And if yer plannin' on making my daughter a cake fer Christmas, Ah'm more than happy to help give ya a few pointers."
"Oh, you must be Makoto's mother!" Sandra realized, "Sandra Tennyson. A pleasure to finally meet you."
"Mighty nice ta meet ya," Mayaka replied, "Mayaka Nanaya. Now what's this here fruitcake I'm hearin' 'bout?"
"Oh it's just a little something I make every year on Christmas," Sandra replied as she looked back at the oven, "Your daughter tried it last year and she absolutely loved it!"
"Oh really now?"
'For once, let Animo be loose…I'll even take Vilgax over this horrible lie I've trapped myself in…' Ben looked up at the ceiling, or more properly to whatever omnipotent being controlled his random luck.
*DING!*
"Oh! It's done!" Sandra beamed, slipping some oven mitts on as she opened up the oven and carefully pulled the cake out.
"Hmm…" Mayaka sniffed, "Smells mighty nice."
"Wait until you taste it once it cools down," Sandra smiled as she carefully put the cake on a plate, "And in the meantime…Ben?"
"Y-Yeah?"
"While the cake is cooling down, let's get to helping you make a cake for Makoto."
"Right…because…that is what I said…" Ben muttered, 'Foot…meet mouth…'
"Oh this should be good," Skurd chuckled.
"Ow!" Rin flinched, quickly putting her poked finger into her mouth.
"That happened to me a lot when Ben taught me this," Noel admitted, she, Lambda, Clair, Mai, and Rin making the strings of popcorn on thread.
"This seems quite delicious," Clair noted.
"Oh, it is. The candy spray helps keep it fresh enough to eat after Christmas," Noel explained.
"Why do we even do this?" Rin asked.
"Originally, it was to feed animals during the harsh winters when trees were decorated outside with garland made of fruits, popcorn, and nuts," Lambda replied, earning a raised brow from Noel, "Ah…I read some older traditions during a break between movies."
"Aw~ It was meant to help little animals in the winter? Oh, now that is precious," Clair noted.
"I know, right?" Noel giggled.
"Hey...mind if I give it a shot?" Taro spoke up as he walked over, "Seems like a simple task to do."
"Ow!" Rin winced once more, "Please…?"
"So I just gotta put this popcorn all along this string, right?" Taro asked.
"Yep," Mai replied before flinching as she quickly put her own finger in her mouth.
"Alright," Taro nodded, slipping his gloves on as he picked up the bowl of popcorn and a needle. He then began to move his fingers a bit, causing the bit of string to go through the hole in the needle as he began to control it to go through each piece of popcorn.
"...I forgot how scarily good you are with string," Mai muttered.
"Well I can't do a dozen different amazing things like Ben, but I can still be cool when the moment allows," Taro chuckled, "I mean last week at the flea market, I had to make a net to catch some unruly customers…something about a Black Friday."
"Oh don't remind me of that day," Mai groaned.
"You know what that was about?" Rin asked.
"Think people who go mad with shopping fever the day after Thanksgiving and results in a lot of violence from normally sane people," Mai explained, "Because of how effective Ben is at getting people to stop fighting using his aliens, our team is normally put on detail to help keep people safe during it. Just me alone, I had to handcuff and detain seventeen men and twenty-nine women, get treated for several bruises from punches and slaps, cuts from fingernails digging into my skin, and thirty-six cases of being bitten! The majority of those being from the women I had to handcuff and detain!"
"That's why I stink bomb everyone!" Ben shouted loudly from the kitchen, able to hear her little rant.
"Not all of us have the power to turn into Swampfire's people or Pesky Dust's people, Ben!" Mai countered back.
"Ah! Were you okay, dear?" Clair asked in concern.
"Hai, hai," Noel assured, "I mainly stayed on Funkfreed shooting tranquilizer rounds."
"Paon?" said elephant trumpeted, sitting outside as the twins, Platinum, and Robotboy were playing jump rope with him using his trunk to hold one end as the other three switched who jumped and who held the other end of the rope.
"Just telling them how good you did this Black Friday," Noel replied, earning a happy trumpet and a giggle from Noel, "Oh, he's such a good sword."
"Mmm…" Lambda smiled a bit in agreement.
"My life's sense of weirdness is all sorts of…different…" Mai muttered.
"Was it any different back at school?" Taro questioned.
"Oh…you don't even know half of the things I've been involved in," Mai countered, "I got lost in the Multiverse with a Destroyer of Worlds as my tour guide."
"Still mad about what happened to the spear I made you!" Kajun called out from another room.
"It got fixed and upgraded!"
"Yes…but that was after you lent it to Sari!"
"Aw…" Mai grumbled.
"Was this 'Destroyer' cute?"
"Mom~!" Mai exclaimed, blushing as Rin giggled.
"We try not to talk about him…lest we end up summoning him," Noel added.
"He's very powerful," Lambda added.
"Very much so!" Makoto called out from outside before sputtering went off, "Oh, you are gonna get it, Mukoto!"
"I'd rather not fight him if I can avoid it!" Ben added.
"You make him sound like some kind of All-powerful troll," Taro noted.
"Eh…" Mai shrugged.
"Ok how's progress on…" Ragna began as he stepped out of the elevator…only to stop for a moment, "...ugh. Alright…what did she do?"
"Hm? Who did what?" P'li asked, trying to not look in his direction as he was carrying Christmas decorations.
"Seems she's developed an addiction to eggnog. We had to put her on Detox," Qrow informed, he and Dasheng on Monitor Duty.
"She's on Cam D-3," Dasheng chuckled, pointing his tail at the monitor in question showing Bullet in a straightjacket…and pants, "I suggested the pants. Wouldn't want her to get carpet burn from the padding."
=LET ME OUT!= Bullet barked.
"..." the arachnachimp pushed a button on the console, "Someone spilled some Eggnog on the floor."
=I'LL GUT THEM!=
"Adding another hour," Dasheng chuckled as he depressed the button, "This is as funny as Tsubaki's last time in Detox before Alf got hired as the on-site psychiatrist."
"Oh those poor Solenopsis Cacaos," Qrow cringed, "I mean, they were a dangerous invasive species…but even they didn't deserve the carnage that happened."
"You were laughing just like most of us were when Jetson took the wrong turn in the vent inspections and dropped a Hershey's Kisses in there by mistake," Dasheng countered.
"How many times did she get put in detox?" Ragna asked.
"No clue," both replied before Qrow cracked up laughing and rewound one of the screens, showing it to be on Undertown…where Tao and the Kaka Kitties were all tied up in the ball of tinsel…and sound asleep while hung off the tree.
"Dammit, Tao!" Ragna snapped, "Okay, how'd they get up there?"
"I believe the leader of the Kraaho and the Kaka Village Guardian were trying to help get her out…and the kittens ended up getting caught in it and…well…" Dasheng paused as he motioned to the tree.
"Oh…that oddly makes sense…" Ragna nodded before noticing Argit scooting closer to the tree, "..." he pulled out a phone and hit the speed dial, "...Celica? …Yeah, call Somna. …Yeah, he just took a present." he put a hand on the receiver, "Can you zoom in and enhance the image?"
"Sure thing," Qrow replied, typing on the console before the image of Argit was enhanced.
"...Yeah. It's one of your presents," Ragna replied to Celica.
=Oh…wait, what?!= Celica snapped before she hung up.
"Oh, we've got a present thief!" Dasheng gawked before blinking twice along with Ragna and Qrow as they watched, on screen, Celica charging in from off-camera and delivering a dropkick to a fleeing Argit, "Oh! Nice entrance."
"...I'm…legit surprised she could do that…" Ragna owlishly blinked.
=Ugh….what ha-=
=INAZUMA KICK!=
=Inazuma wh-GAH HA!=
"...Uh…" Qrow gawked as they kept watching, "Should…Should, uh…we…uh…Should we get a 23-19 on her?"
"No, no. This isn't that bad," Ragna replied, a notebook out as he wrote in it, "Oh, that's a good hold…I think Thrax's wife taught her that elbow drop…"
=Ahh it doesn't bend that way! Ahh It doesn't bend that way!=
*CRACK!*
=AHH! NOW IT DO-HOES~!=
"...Well, always be weary of the nice ones…" Qrow whispered.
"And never try to steal her Christmas presents…or birthday presents…or-or just any present from her in general?" Dasheng asked, looking at Ragna.
"Oh, she remembered how to use a chair from the fight that erupted near Hokestar's store," Ragna noted, seemingly ignoring the two at the moment.
=Okay…Christmas Eve. This is in the prime time for that SCP-4666 to strike= Steel whispered to himself, doing patrol around the snow-covered house =But I'm fully prepared. Once night hits, I'll put the whole house into Lockdown Mode. Hopefully those celtic runes I found online for protection that I drew on them will help=
"You think Steel's planning something for when we go to sleep?" Ben asked.
"Do you always shout 'let me tell you something' when you go Rath?" Max countered.
"Had he figured out your plans to head on home to spend Christmas Eve tonight with your mom and Uncle Fergus on the other side of the states?" Ben asked.
"He will when it's time for the bridge," Max replied.
"Is it time yet?" Mukoto asked.
"Not yet. You have to wait for tomorrow when everyone's awake," Makoto replied before squeaking as her tail quickly shot into her arms.
"Follow what you preach," Tsubaki warned, taping her paper fan in her empty hand, "And remember, morning is all about Christmas, then the afternoon is Noel's birthday."
"Which I am fine with," Noel nodded, a Santa cap on her head as she gently rubbed Mari, the mink currently laying on her lap.
"And go to bed in your own beds tonight," Tsubaki reminded, giving a look at Ben and Makoto.
"What? Us?" both asked.
"You know why…"
"No…we…don't…" they both spoke slowly, "Shut up!"
"..."
"...D'oh, fine," the two pouted.
"...I swear she gets that from her mother," Tsubaki's father whispered from nearby.
"What was that, dear?" her father froze as a slender hand gripped his shoulder like a vice.
"N-Nothing, dear…"
"I thought so," Mrs. Yayoi smiled, letting go of his shoulder as she walked off.
"I just realized the only potential downside…so many Moms in one room…" Ben whispered to Makoto, both having wide eyes.
"...Oh yeah…ooh…" Makoto cringed in realization, "...Yeah, probably best we rest in our own rooms for tonight…"
"Shh…don't say it outloud…What if we get the Looks of Disappointment…"
"Oh shoot. You're right," Makoto cringed.
"I'm sure this should be fine…it's not like we haven't developed a codependent habit of one being the big spoon and the other the little spoon…especially with how long we shared one in the smoothie store…" Ben whispered, "Oh we are so doomed…"
"...I give it an hour after bedtime," Jin muttered.
"I will turn into a guy that will give you a big time issue with the annual Tennyson Snowball War today," Ben warned.
"Or you'll miss-pick and end up as Heatblast and melt your fort like last year," Tsubaki reminded, making him pause.
"...It's teams this year, right?" Ben asked.
"With how many people there are this year, yep," Gwen replied, "Grandpa actually rented a large area of the park to hold it."
"Speaking of, where is Oji-san? And what's this Snowball War thing?" Luna asked.
"He's probably helping secure a comfy place for everyone to stay." Gwen spoke.
"I mean…this place barely fits us most days…" Ben muttered, "Less after the basement which could have served as guest accommodations…was turned into a Laboratory."
"I'm not sorry!" Kajun shouted from the basement.
"Oh like when you turned part of our game room t-" Ben began.
"Point being…" Makoto spoke as she put a hand on Ben's shoulder, "We'll be in a place to spend Christmas together, but not feel so cramped up."
"True," Ben agreed, "...We're still gonna bury her in snowballs, right?"
"Oh totally," Makoto assured.
"Pick on the nerd…Luna likes it!" Luna smiled.
"...Just so you know…I'll remember that…" Kajun spoke in a rather...calm, yet ominous, manner.
"...That has me worried," Kevin bluntly spoke up, "Why does that have me worried?"
"Eh…" Most shrugged, already used to this constant sense of danger.
"But….ugh. Nevermind…"
"You get used to the constant back and forth and nonsense," Makoto argued, "I mean…you're lucky you escaped before we showed up."
Kevin was about to counter before he stopped. While he had to deal with Luna and that loud mouth Bang….least it wasn't like the chaos that normally occurs around Ben and his group here in Bellewood, "...touche, squirrel girl…"
"Knowing Grandpa, he's already at the makeshift camp at the park," Ben noted.
"Alright, listen up! We call this the Tennyson Snowball War because it started all the way back in 1865 by my Great Grandpa Fergus Tennyson and my Great Uncle Algonquin Tennyson," Max informed, dressed up as a military Santa Claus, as he stood before a tent with a board set up with various photographs pinned to the board while the families were all standing before him in the park, "It was just them at first before cousins, aunts, uncles, and even their parents got pulled into it. Since then, on Christmas Eve, all those we consider family that are able to come congregate to Bellwood for this annual tradition with the winning member or members if teams are formed that year…" he held up a thick leather bound, hardback book as thick as the dictionary, "Gets written down in this book. If you're curious as to why it doesn't look old and decrepit is because every two generations, we find an exact copy of the book and transfer it all while the previous copy is placed into a security box where they are displayed in the Bellwood Museum during December with several photos and portraits made of the event." a moment passed, "...I'm serious about the museum thing. My grandpa when he was Ben's age pulled nearly the whole town into one." he opened the book and quickly flipped through it, "That was the year Roderick Sweede won."
"Ooh…this should be fine…" Mack grinned a bit.
"Now for the rules for those invited for this year that haven't partaken in previous competitions," Max informed, putting the book away before pulling out a stick and tapped the board, showing a drawing of stick figures making forts out of snow, "You have fifteen minutes to build forts from snow. If your fort collapses or melts, you're out." he then tapped a drawing of stick figures throwing snowballs, "The War will last for three hours with five minute hot chocolate breaks. Eggnog for those who have trouble with chocolate…" everyone but Alf tried to not look at Tsubaki, the Melmacian simply patting her arm, "...or request it instead of hot chocolate. During the fifteen minute build time, you can also form teams in order to improve your chances of victory. Each direct hit someone receives will be a point for the thrower or team if they've formed one. The vests you've all been provided have a sensor that goes off when a snowball makes direct contact with your torso and back while the provided gloves will register if you had thrown a snowball with both recording the dimensions of that snowball so we'll know who gets a point. Headshots are not allowed after the War of 1907 where one person, whom we have never figured out, hid a rock in a snowball and left a child concussed and bleeding." he paused for a moment as all the teenage girls and mothers made all the males a bit unnerved by the sudden killer intent they gave off before tapping the board showing a stick figure with a '1' above them writing in a book as other stick figures were cheering, "The player or team with the most points after the three hours win and will be able to write their names down in the Book of the Snow War."
"Hmm…very interesting," Mr. Yayoi noted, "...Tsubaki?"
"Yes, father?"
"...Let us prove to them how good the Yayois are as tacticians."
"Of course," Tsubaki replied.
"Kids, don't y'all done forget that hittin' the head with a snowball ain't allowed here," Mayaka warned her younger kids, "If'n Ah hear one of y'all did it, yer not gonna like th' punishment."
"Yes, Ma/Momma," Mukoto, Mekoto, and Mokoto meeped.
"...Um…How will this work for me and Luna?" Sena asked.
"I think you'll be counted as a team," Gwen noted.
"So Luna has to get lots of points without hitting someone in the head with snow and Luna gets to be in a book where Oji-san is, too?" Luna asked before pumping a fist, "Yosha! Luna's gonna win!"
"Hmm…" Celica pondered for a moment, a pair of earmuffs over her ears as she wore a poofy black coat, "...oh oh! Me, Ragna, and Jin will be on a team!"
"What?" Ragna and Jin deadpanned in unison.
=I fear for their fort= Steel whispered to Max.
"Dude…they got the guy with the ice powers…"
=Yeah, but you can't deny wanting to pelt him with snowballs when he went with us to help your mom do cleanup at Dredd's former company before N-Tek absorbed it after we beat him up= Steel whispered.
"...Oh yeah. Almost forgot about that. Took me hours to unfreeze my butt," Max muttered, his eye twitching in memory before turning to Kajun, "Up for teaming up?"
"But of course, Maxwell," Kajun replied, "I believe I've developed a formula for victory this year."
"So the evil scientist and her pet Alien super being…" Jin muttered.
=Just for treating us as one being…you go first Frosty= Steel spoke up =With extreme distaste=
"Mmm…" Makoto mumbled, glancing between her family and Ben.
"Indecisive?" Ben asked softly.
"Y-Yeah…"
"Don't be, babe," Ben assured, "You and your family should do this year together. I won't be going easy on you, though."
"...Oh, in that case…" Makoto began with a squirrely grin, "Let the best family win, Ben-kun…"
"Don't worry," Ben moved over and stood next to his Grandfather, "We will."
"The gauntlets have been thrown," Magister Max smiled, "Tennyson's victorious!" he cheered.
"Wait…are the two people with the power to control all of us…a team?" Jin blinked with wide eyes of realization.
"Uh-oh…" Ragna agreed with slightly wide eyes.
"Oh come on, it won't be that…and they've vanished…" Tsubaki blinked, "How did they do that? No offense to Magister…but he is a big man."
"Never underestimate my husband's side of the family," Sandra shook her head, wearing a whistle and sporting a flag on her shoulder reading 'Referee 1,' "It's why I tend to stay out of it all after my first time."
"So…Magister is part Ninja…and he has Ben as his partner…" Makoto muttered, "...We might wanna scatter."
"We have a fifteen minute time limit to make a fort," Tsubaki reminded, "It…It won't be that bad once things are set up…right?" she looked to Sandra, "Right?"
"There's a reason why for years it was Ben and Gwen vs their Grandpa," she replied simply.
"Yep. And I am so glad that I've started taking over preparing the drinks for the breaks since that started," Carl chuckled, setting up a cart with various paper cups, cardboard holders for said cups, and lids while several hot water pots were steaming on top of it.
"Why do you think I warned Clair and Mayaka were talking about last night while Edgar was doing a portrait of your adorable pets and Steel?" Sandra replied, gesturing to those humans mentioned with 'Referee' and either '2,' '3,' or '4' on them as well.
"And it seems Team Vermillion has started their fort," Edgar noted with a chuckle.
"Huh?" the other teams all looked to see Noel, Lambda, and their pets all wearing matching blue Santa hats had already gone off to a farther area of the place and setting up.
"Wh-no fair!" Makoto exclaimed as the teams hurried off and began to set up their forts.
"Snowball fight!" the twins cheered as Mack scooped them up.
"Which fort we buildin', pa?!" Mukoto asked.
"Can't say! We'll have to wing it as usual!" Mack laughed.
"I already have the schematics up, father," Mikoto smiled a bit as she held up a set of blueprints.
"And this is why your sister's the brains!"
"That's one well prepared family," Kevin muttered as he, Gwen, and Luna were already setting up a fort.
Mayaka laughed, "We done lived on mountains. 'Course we're expert on buildin' them snow forts for winter fun!"
"Oh…right…" Kevin muttered.
"Come on, Bakevin! We're falling behind!" Luna called out as she kept putting snow on their fort, "Luna wants to win and she is trying very hard not to cheat!"
"Magic is allowed," Sandra explained.
"Huh?!" Luna gawked.
"Why do you think it was Ben and Gwen vs Max for a long while?" Sandra asked as she gestured to Gwen who was using some magic to construct a small tower for the fort before Edgar blew his whistle.
"Snow only for the forts, Mr. Kisaragi!" Edgar called.
"Put the dang sword away, Jin!" Ragna barked, "We need snow, not ice!"
"Ice is easier to control over snow!"
"Then take this as time to improve your control over snow then," Celica offered with a smile.
Jin raised a finger to argue, only to blink for a few moments, "...That….actually sounds better…"
"...fine. We'll roll with it," Ragna shrugged.
"Atta boy!" Jubei laughed from nearby, standing near a fort that was currently being built by Kagura, Naoto, and Alf.
"Wh-master!?"
"What? You always wanted t' fight me in someway outside of training," Jubei shrugged with a grin, "May as well take this chance!"
"I mean…I respect that…but why team with them?" Ragna asked.
"Well…we are the odd ones out," Alf spoke, "It only made sense when most of you have legitimate family."
"That much is true," Kagura nodded as he was sculpting a part of the fort, "...That and Hibiki decided to opt out to make sure no one cheats…and help serve the drinks."
"Man makes a perfect Eggnog," Alf added with a nod.
"Mmm…" Bullet muttered from nearby, sitting on a stump as she wore a black snow coat and jeans, "And I didn't even get any…"
"We…are giving her a period of denial to wait and see if what triggered her reaction was the regular Nog…or the Irish'd up version," Alf explained, "We…don't want to take any chances as she is an odd girl influenced by borderline magic from an alternate timeline/dimension."
"I am not odd!" Bullet argued.
"Kid…you walk around half naked and get flustered when people call you out on it," Alf pointed out, "Either wear pants…or accept you are a weirdo like the rest of us."
"Mmm…!" Bullet pouted as she turned around on her stump, her back turned towards everyone to hide the embarrassed blush on her face.
"She is gonna be a difficult one to work with," Alf spoke up, "Thankfully…as long as she's pouty, she's less violent."
"That and we had to confiscate her gauntlets," Kagura added.
"Eh. Not like she'd beat me anyways," Makoto shrugged from offscreen.
"Excuse y-!?" Bullet turned to glare at Makoto, only for her eyes to widen at what she saw, "What…the…?"
"What's gotten into h-oly sweet Melmac!" Alf gawked once everyone noticed what the Nanayas had built.
"We're ready!" the twins called from the two towers of the intricately built snow castle.
"Such intricate details. I…need…drawing materials!" Edgar declared.
"Paon~" Funkfreed called as he walked over with Noel on his back before Noel pulled out an empty sketchbook and charcoal before letting Funkfreed take them with his trunk and offered it to the artistic father.
"Merci!" Edgar thanked as he quickly started to draw.
"Th…how?!" Naoto gawked.
"What? I grew up in the outskirts of the Hierarchical cities, meaning we had snow a ton more often than not," Mack shrugged, "You either go hillbilly or you work on stuff to do with snow."
"And that is why daddy is awesome," Makoto giggled.
"This seems like more than a little creative." Alf pointed out, "This is bordering on crazy, and I know crazy. I kidnapped a Tiger from the zoo and prank called the President in the 80s."
"Eh. Not the craziest I've seen," Kagura shrugged.
"No…th-that should be literally impo…" Bullet began before frowning, looking between Alf's team and Celica's team for a moment.
"...Oh for…" Ragna began with a groan, "Come over here, deputy! We're gonna need all the help we can get to win!"
"...If it means showing Nanaya up, then fine!" Bullet snapped, getting up as she rushed over to Celica's team.
"Yay! We'll win for sure!" Celica cheered as Bullet began to help with the packing of snow for the fort.
"I am so glad you warned us beforehand," Clair noted, blinking a few times owlishly at the forts being built.
"Hmm…yes. Very detailed," Edgar whispered, looking up at the forts before going back to his drawing.
"...I can see where the enjoyment of art comes from," Lambda noted, smoothing the top of a snow brick as Bluey was thumping another with his foot to smooth its top.
"Alright, place your bets! Place your bets!" Patelliday called as many of the Plumbers currently on-duty were looking at the screens showing a live feed of one of several cameras of the park, "Same minimum and maximum as previous years! No betting children! We don't want a repeat of Agent Samson and Agent Amel-Ia's kids, thank you very much!"
"Sir, what are you doing?" Razorclaw asked, raising a brow in surprise.
"What we do every Christmas Eve here in the Bellwood base: bet on who wins the annual Tennyson Snowball War!" Patelliday laughed, "It's been a time-honored tradition of betting non-monetary values likes favors, shifts, and the like!"
"One month of latrine duty on Kisaragi's team getting out first!"
"A favor on Lambda going full armored the moment her ghost bunny gets startled by a snowball hitting him!"
"Two weeks of Monitor Duty on Ben melting a fort again!"
"Ah man~! I was sure that Ben and Makoto were gonna team up!" P'li groaned.
"Good luck with my latrine duty for the next three weeks," Ma'antis cackled.
"Ah geez…"
"Gh!" Bullet grunted when a snowball hit her in the chest, "Grr…I will hit you eventually, Nanaya!"
"Just remember, no headshots!" Makoto reminded.
"Alright! Ready, kids?" Mack called as his kids all scooped up a pile of snowballs with their tails, "Aim!" they squinted an eye while holding up a thumb ahead of them, "And fire!"
"Stop getting pelted!" Ragna complained as he ducked behind a pillar to avoid the snowball barrage, "This is a not-literal fire fight!"
"Go, Funkfreed!" Noel cheered as the elephant picked up a snowball-a glove on his trunk-and threw it, hitting Kevin in the back.
"Ah!" Kevin yelped before spinning around, "Oh you're in for it, big guy!"
"Funkfreed full retreat!" Noel ordered as they turned and ran.
"Ready?" Gwen asked, her eyes glowing as she had a mana-construct of a catapult by her.
"Ready!" Luna saluted after putting the last of the snowballs she and Sena had made into it.
"Returning Fire!" Gwen called as she sent the snowballs into the air.
"Eek!" Noel yelped as Funkfreed quickly switched his lower half with his sword self, speeding up to avoid the first bits of the snowball shower.
"Ready?" Lambda asked, earning a nod from Bluey as he helped up a snowball to her, "Thank you."
"Hah! We got the edge in range!" Kevin called out, only for Luna to point up as the snowball flew in a large arc before coming down and hitting him in the chest and knocking him down.
"Idiot…" Luna sighed.
"Yay," Lambda cheered as Bluey waved a flag with a chibi version of her on it before yelping as the snowball barrage hitting her in the back, "Ah!"
"Retreat!" Tsubaki's dad shouted as Tsubaki ran out towards their fort.
"So many factions…Oh man, this is so fun!" Makoto smiled before yelping as several snowballs hit her, Mack, and Mukoto in the backs, "EEEK!"
"Forgot to keep an eye on your flank," Hoichiro chuckled before rolling out of the way of several snowballs thrown at him by the twins.
"Ohh~! He's really fast!" Mokoto awed.
"Ne, ne! Let's get him, sis!" Mekoto declared, scooping up several snowballs in her tail and threw them at the surprisingly swift adult.
"Attack!" Makoto ordered, throwing her own snowballs.
"Mmm…Given the distance and speed…" Mikoto muttered as she scooped up a single snowball, reeled her arm back, and threw it, causing it to arc before landing directly on the center of Hoichiro's back.
"Yay!" the twins cheered, hugging her legs.
"Bwahahahaha!" Mukoto cracked up laughing, putting a hand up to catch himself only to miss the pillar and fall off into a mound of snow, "Gah!"
"Ah, was wondering when his luck would shift," Mack noted, scratching his cheek sheepishly.
"He lasted longer than normal," Makoto added, "But I wonder, what is that boyfriend of mine and his Grandpa planning?" the family all tensed as they heard a loud sound in the distance before a small cloud of displaced snow lifted up.
They could faintly see the image of Big Chill flying up into the sky…before vanishing into thin air. Before they could respond, the same sort of crashing sound went off on the other end of the park, with the faintest image of a man in his later years sneaking into the trees with rather impressive skill and speed.
"Oh…so…they…are somehow the most dangerous solo forces in this game…" Makoto chuckled sheepishly, eyes wide and blank.
"Uh-oh~!" the twins meeped, hugging each other with wide eyes.
"How did ya not know this?" Mack asked with wide eyes.
"Ben outed himself by accident. He was the first one out because he was going for one alien…but got Heatblast and melted his fort," Makoto explained, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with a drop of sweat going down the back of it, "In retrospect? I love him 'cause he's a goof who screws up. But I also forget…he's still kinda the strongest being and fighter we got…trained by who used to be the strongest normal human on Earth."
"So…we're facing something utterly unstoppable." Mikoto summed up.
"Oh that's not good," Alf noted with wide eyes as Jubei cracked up laughing.
"Oh, this takes me back to when my wife and I last had a snowball fight," Jubei noted, wiping a tear from his laughter with his sleeve, "She did the same thing."
"How'd you best it?" Alf asked.
"Oh, I simply dug in deep…"
"Yes?" Kagura and Alf asked.
"...curled up…"
"Uh-huh?" Naoto raised a brow.
"...And kissed my furry behind good-bye!" Jubei beamed, causing all three to facefault.
"Ooh~ That sounds like a wise idea~" Big Chill's voice chuckled. The four turned to see him materialize behind them, "This year's game is fun. I rarely get to work with Grandpa."
"Oh…it's a real treat," Magister Max spoke as the four turned to see he somehow snuck up on them as well.
"..." Jubei calmly held his paws up before jumping up, performing a somersault…and then shot down into the snow, burying himself in it.
"...And this guy's one of the greatest heroes in your time?" Alf asked as he and Naoto gave a sheepish Kagura deadpan looks before three snowballs hit him in the chest followed by the flying blanket of snow.
Clair blew her whistle, "Fort destroyed! The team of Jubei, Alf, Kagura, and Naoto is out!"
"Oh those sneaky little…" Gwen frowned, "No wonder we haven't seen them in the last two hours!"
"This is bad, isn't it?" Sena asked.
"Well, destroying a fort is worth the combined total of points the person or team had at the time," Gwen explained, "And with how often Jubei hit everyone just a minute before the breaks came…"
"You know…I wonder if Ben screws up so much to keep things fair…or if his luck just changes this drastically because your Grandpa is smart enough to account for his luck?" Kevin sighed.
"You'll never know~" Big Chill taunted.
"Stop that!" Kevin complained.
"Nevah~"
"Ben…"
"Sorry~"
"Should Luna start throwing wildly?" Luna asked.
"Nope," Gwen replied, "So Ben…I bet you weren't aware of the Mr. Smoothy's that just opened up in the college campus."
"Wait, what?"
"Oh, yes. It's quite interesting. Apparently with the different area, they have several unique recipes," Gwen continued.
"Okay, note to self: take a day off to visit your campus and…" Big Chill's voice began before yelping as a snowball hit him in the chest, revealing a smear of snow in the air.
"Fire!" Kevin shouted.
"Take this!" Luna shouted as she started throwing at the white patch in the air with Kevin.
"Oh you tricky cousin!" Big Chill exclaimed, turning solid and started dodging the tosses, "There wasn't a Mr. Smoothy's, was there?!"
"Oh no. That's honestly true. It also names the drinks after Lovecraft characters. The Ktulu is surprisingly good," Gwen replied.
"I think I should visit my old Alma Mater sometime…" Big Chill muttered.
"Be on the lookout now," Tsubaki's father warned as he and Tsubaki looked around their fort, "I was not prepared for the grandfather to be this skilled."
"Oh…right, well I've been around him so long…I'm sort of used to his doing amazing things. Be glad he doesn't have access to his firearm collection. Noel has gotten as good as she has thanks to his training," Tsubaki explained, "The sheer fact he can control all of us and not lose his mind alone is a testament to his will power. Ben especially…"
"Who's talking about me?" Big Chill asked, "I can feel it in my wings!" he yelped as a snowball hit him in the back, "Ah! Forgot to vanish! Forgot to vanish!"
"Left yourself open, hun!" Makoto laughed before ducking underneath another snowball, "Miss me~"
"GAH!" Bullet snapped in anger before several hit her jacket, "Gh!" she looked around rapidly for the thrower, "What the…?" two more hit her from behind, "Oi!" she threw and hit a tree, "..."
"Jin, are you…?" Ragna began.
"No, those weren't me," Jin replied.
"Oh, it must be Magister Tennyson!" Celica realized before cringing, "Ohh…It's Magister Tennyson…"
"...Ah cr-" Ragna and Jin began before they were bombarded by snowballs, "Gah!"
"Okay…cards on the table, Old Man…are you some kind of retired ninja?" Ragna groaned.
"Oh don't be silly, I could never stick to that Ninja diet…I love my daily intake of meaty foods!" his voice laughed, "But if you're asking do I know how to Ninja…well that's actually a long story from a time stationed in Japan."
"Does this include this ability to throw your voice?" Jin asked.
"Oh no, that one I learned from an old friend on another long trip across Europe," he explained, "It's also where I learned most of my crackshot skills. I learned trap making during a trip to Africa."
"Wait…traps?" the two brothers blinked.
"RAGH!" Bullet roared as she charged out, holding a massive snowball over her head, "This time your mine, B-KYA!" she screamed as she ended up falling down into a hole in the snow, the snowball she was carrying completely blocking it, "..."
"...Should we call that an out?" Clair questioned, looking at Sandra.
"Mmm…Give her five minutes then disqualify her due to being unable to continue," Sandra replied.
"So we're like…lucky you are old and retired, right?" Ragna added.
"Well I sure ain't in shape like I used to be!" Magister Max chuckled, "You saw this belly; I always make a great Santa for local events."
"He's not wrong!" Big Chill called out, tossing some snowballs at the twins, earning laughs as they ran around and avoiding them, "Makoto, your little twin sisters are hard to snowball."
"Just be glad we're waiting for the ten minute mark before we let them go all out!" Makoto called.
"Wait, what?"
"Oh son…" Mack began with a grin, "We've been goin' easy on y'all…"
"?" Sandra, Edgar, and Clair looked at Mayaka.
"Where's th' fun if'n someone wins too fast?" Mayaka shrugged
"...They've been holding back?" Kevin paled, "...Kid?"
"Yeah?" Sena spoke.
"Put that magic wand of yours to work and help me reinforce the walls before we're pelted by snow boulders!"
"Ah! R-Right!" Sena nodded, pulling out Muchorin.
"Father, we may need to take out Makoto and her family faster than normally planned," Tsubaki whispered to her father.
"You think there might be a kink in their fort?"
"Possibly. There's always a kink in any type of fortress…"
"Never Grandpa's/Dad's," the Tennysons all spoke.
"Fifteen minute mark!" Sandra called, looking at her watch.
"Hoo boy," Mai whispered from her fort.
"Seems we'll need to take their fort down in five minutes or deal with whatever it is they plan to do with those twins of theirs," Hoichiro noted, "Every place has at least one weakness, be it in the structure itself or someone involved with it."
"Meaning we need to find a weakness in their fortress…or take out their heavy hitters," Mai muttered, 'The one time mom decided to vanish on us…'
"Seems they're all focusing now on taking out the Nanaya Team," Patelliday noted.
"Kitchen Duty on them getting to the ten minutes!"
"Latrine Duty on them not getting to the ten minutes!"
"I…I still can't believe this is all over frozen water," Razorclaw muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Hey hey. It's more than frozen water," P'li argued, "It's what you do with it when ya put your mind to it!"
"Oh brother…" Razorclaw rolled her eyes.
"Thirty seconds to the ten minute mark!" Edgar called.
"Oh this should be good…" Mukoto grinned as he rubbed his hands together, "Soon we c-"
"We're out of snowballs."
"...eh?" Makoto, her father, and her other siblings blinked as they looked at Mikoto.
"We're out of snowballs," Mikoto spoke, pointing at a now empty spot near them…and an empty water bottle.
"How?" Makoto asked.
"I believe we were sabotaged," Mikoto stated, "Given what daddy said, it sent everyone into a nervous frenzy to try and topple our fort, so someone decided to take care of our stockpile while we weren't paying attention."
"Love the Sherlock Holmes energy…but if we could speed up to who and what do we do?" Makoto offered, "Again totally love it, just…time crunch here."
"Hmm…" Mikoto began to ponder as she looked around...before looking out to see a bit of snow disturbed near their fort, "...I see…they used the snow to hide themselves…but who…"
"Hey~!" the Nanayas looked over at Mai's fort, seeing Rin waving a bit at them with a bandana over her head.
"Eh heh…did I forget to mention mom was the one who trained me to use my spear properly?" Mai spoke, sheepishly rubbing her cheek with her finger.
"You left yourselves open~" Rin added with an 'innocent' smile.
"Oh that sneaky lady," Mack chuckled.
"Well…this is a setback," Makoto muttered.
"Indeed," Mukoto agreed.
"...We'll get to making more snowballs!" the twins panicked as they were fast in making more snowballs.
"Attagirls!" Mack cheered before yelping as he was pelted several times, "Oof! Gah! Ooh-hoo-hoo! That one went down the jacket!"
"We've got 'em on the run now!" Ragna called, "Just need to toppel that fortress and…"
=Hello=
Ragna paused as he looked down at the base of their fort, seeing Steel waving at him in a tiny jacket and gloves on his 'hands,' "...Oh what now?"
=This structure is pretty impressive given its base structure= Steel noted =But I've noticed something=
"Huh? What's wrong?" Celica asked.
=You guys have a small structural issue in the right side= Steel replied.
"Eh?!" Celica gasped as she jumped down, "Where?"
=Right here= Steel pointed at a spot =If someone pokes it, the whole thing could collapse=
"Eh? Are you sure?" Celica asked, "It doesn't seem that fragile."
=Of course I am! I'm an advanced artificial intelligence powered by TURBO Energy= Steel assured =But if you don't believe me, you could always poke it yourself=
"Okay, I will," Celica nodded before poking the spot Steel was pointing at…before yelping as the fort collapsed right on her with Ragna and Jin, "EEK!"
=Warned you!= Steel called, having quickly flown off to avoid the collapse.
"And the Team of Ragna, Jin, Celica, and Bullet is out!" Mayaka called as Edgar blew his whistle.
"MMM!?" Bullet exclaimed from the hole she was trapped in.
"Grr…" Jin's eye twitched as he was covered head to toe in snow.
"Phwa!" Celica gasped as she poked out of the snow before seeing the look Jin was giving her, "S-Sorry…" Ragna poked out between the two, enough snow on his head to make it look like he was a beard and hat, "Eh?! Santa Claus!?"
"If I am, I know who's getting coal this year," Ragna grumbled.
"And we're at the ten minute mark!" Clair called as Sandra handed her fellow judges some helmets behind a wall Mayaka made from the snow.
"You two ready?" Makoto asked.
"We've got the snowballs!" Mekoto replied with a salute, she and her twin before a pile of snowballs they managed to make.
"Attagirls!" Makoto cheered as Mikoto reached into her tail and pulled out two bags of pop rocks and two cans of mountain dew and handed them to the twins, "Let 'er rip, girls!"
"YAY!" the twins cheered as they opened the pop rocks first.
"What are they doing?" Sena pondered, trying to look at the Nanaya fort.
"Hold on," Kevin noted, pulling out some binoculars and looking through them, "...Are they giving those kids pop rocks and soda?"
"...Oh, I just realized what's going to happen," Gwen realized, earning looks from her two teammates, "When Ben was their age, he ate a lot of sweets before the war began. It was his first time getting to write in the book."
"...Oh shoot," Kevin's eyes widened as the twins finished off the soda and started shaking in place.
"Duck and cover!" Mack called, quickly jumping off the fort with his kids aside from the now hopping twins.
"...Oh this can't be g-" Mai and Tsubaki began.
"WAI~!" Mekoto and Mokoto cheered before a literal swarm of snowballs began to shoot out of the Nanaya fort at an absurdly fast rate.
"...OH THAT'S JUST UNFAIR!" Kevin and Luna snapped in unison.
"DUCK AND COVER!" Max freaked.
"It's almost kinda cute how much energy they have," Big Chill noted, floating high above them in the sky.
"You might want to take another look," Skurd spoke up.
"Huh?" Big Chill blinked as he looked up…and saw a literal swarm of snowballs heading towards him, "..."
"It's almost like the swarm of arrows from 300…" Skurd whispered with wide eyes.
"Oh no," Big Chill squeaked before a familiar beeping went off, "Double oh no." a red flash went off.
"And there's the triple," Skurd cringed as Ben struggled to stay in the air only to be pelted by the snowballs and fell, landing in a large pile of snow.
"Phwa!" Ben gasped as he poked his head out along with his arm with Skurd on it, a Heatblast hand poking out of the Slimebiot to help warm them up.
"Forgot to keep track of your time, eh?" Makoto asked, peeking out of the snowpile.
"Eeyup," Ben admitted.
"And those two little girls are racking up a ton of points for their team," Carl noted, nudging the cart to the right before a pile of snowballs landed where he and the cart had been, "Though they seem to have lost all sense of aim."
"Yup…That's what happens when ya give 'em so much sugar," Mayaka sighed, "...Lord knows we have t' hide th' candy from 'em every Halloween…Mack…"
"Aw come on, hun! It was one Butterfinger!" Mack exclaimed, poking out of the pile.
"It was a king-sized one, Pa," Mukoto reminded, his tail poking out of the pile.
"Oh…right," Mack cringed.
"I was not…expecting this…" Kajun muttered from a small snow wall that kept herself and Max protected from the snow onslaught…well as best as it could as more and more of the wall began to break apart.
"Really glad we went with our idea of a snow fort," Max noted, "And the location of it, too."
=Those kids are nuts!= Steel yelped.
"...Was that a joke?" Max asked.
=Huh? What was?= Steel asked before yelping as he was engulfed in snowballs =Whoa nelly!= a few moments passed before Steel got out of the pile =Right then…Is it time?=
"Yes, Steel," Kajun replied.
"Good luck, man," Max noted, earning a salute from Steel as he zipped off without notice.
"...What's h-ahh!" Ben yelped as he got pelted by more snowballs.
"Abandon fort!" Luna yelped.
"Aw crud," Kevin groaned before a snowball barrage hit several spots on their fort, causing it to collapse.
"And that's another team out," Sandra noted.
"Only a few teams left," Clair noted.
"Yep. And the biggest obstacle is getting those twins tuckered out," Edgar noted.
"Eh, don'tcha worry 'bout that," Mayaka noted with a giggle, "Them girls are gonna be crashing at the five minute mark."
"Kids are crazy!" Kevin complained.
"Aw~Luna couldn't get in the book…" Luna whined.
"There's always next year," Gwen assured, patting Luna's head.
"Did we ever count for two little girls on a sugar rush?" Tsubaki asked.
"Unfortunately…we did not," her father cringed just as they barely jumped off their fort in time to avoid the collapse from the snowball blitz.
"And Team Yayoi is down! ...oop. And there goes Team Hazuki's fort!" Sandra called.
"Those children are literal typhoons of energy," Hoichiro muttered.
"This was rather fun," Rin giggled, "This will be fun to do again next year, ne?"
"WAI-WAI-WAI-WAi-WAi-WAi-Wai-Wai…Wai…Wai…" the snowballs began to peter out until everyone began to hear mumbles followed by light snores.
"What'd I tell y'all. Five minute mark on th' dot," Mayaka giggled as Edgar had a calculator in his hands.
"Um…Oh! Looks like it's currently a tie between Team Tennyson and Team Nanaya," Edgar noted.
"Wait...but what happened to N-"
"Mmm~" they all looked to see Noel buried in the snow...with Lambda and Funkfreed buried in big mounds of snow.
"Ah…They got distracted by the cuteness of two hyperactive little squirrel girls," Ben chuckled.
"If there's one massive weakness those sisters have? It's losing all focus when there is cuteness," Makoto giggled as Bluey popped up on Lambda's behind, being the only thing not buried.
"Protected…the…bunny…" Lambda's muffled voice groaned as Mika poked out of Funkfreed's pile.
"Well, seems it's all down to Team Nanaya and Team Tennyson," Carl chuckled as he handed out warm drinks to those who had lost.
"And yet oddly still no sign of the younger Max," Mrs. Yayoi added as she and Hibiki were helping hand out the drinks.
"...hey…that's right…" Ben and Makoto blinked a bit, "Kajun, what are you planning?!"
"Hmm?" Kajun blinked, poking out from what remained of their fort, "What do you mean?"
"You're planning something," Makoto called.
"I'm not sure what you're speaking of," Kajun replied, putting a hand on her cheek with a confused expression.
"...Babe, she's being coy," Ben deadpanned.
"Yup. Coy," Makoto added.
"You're being coy, Kajun!" both called.
"Better check in on the girls and take 'em to their Ma," Mack muttered, quickly getting back onto their fort and picked up the two snoozing twins, "Aw~This never gets old."
"I know, right?" Grandpa Max chuckled, "It's always bittersweet when you feel they'll always be that little and then they grow up in a blink of an eye."
"I know, right…wait a minute…" he blinked before turning to the side, seeing Grandpa Max standing there, "...Clever man…"
"Thank ya," Grandpa Max chuckled, "But I won't throw a ball at a father holding their kids. Let's take them over to your wife before we let the snow fly."
"Mighty kind of ya," Mack nodded with a grin before both tossed a snowball, nailing Makoto and Ben in the back, "And one for the road!"
"Ahh! Cold! Very cold!" the couple yelped in unison just as Mack and Grandpa Max walked off.
"Hopefully, you don't stay cold at the end," Kajun noted.
"Sis, yer friend is weird," Mukoto muffled out from the pile, his tail still being the only thing sticking out.
"Yeah…she's a real weirdo…" Makoto agreed.
"...Where is your fort, anyway?" Mayaka asked.
"Oh, over there," Ben replied, thumbing at a direction.
"I believe I saw that 'Steel' character flying that way during the twins' frenzy," Mayaka noted.
"Wh-?! Oh geez!" Ben panicked as he rushed off.
"Stop that roomba!" Skrud declared.
"Steel…lacks common sense," Makoto explained simply.
"How so?" Mikoto asked.
"Ever hear of this site called the SCP Foundation?" Makoto asked.
"I dabble in it from time to time," Mikoto replied.
"Yeah. He thinks it's a real thing."
"That explains the traps I've been disarming," Mikoto noted, "I thought they were made by your friend Kajun for testing all of you. But now that you mention it, most of them did look like they were meant to repel SCP-4666."
"I still have no idea what that one even is," Makoto groaned.
"Think of a Krampus-like figure that leaves presents for good kids and bad kids have their whole families slaughtered and they end up kidnapped and be his elves until they can't keep it up and end up being made into the presents for good kids."
"..." Makoto slowly blinked at that...before facepalming, "Oh for Celestiasapien's sake, Steel…"
=Ya-duh-duh-duh…Doo-doo…= Steel hummed to himself, leaning against a tree near an intricately made snow fort.
"I still say this is a bad idea," Max deadpanned from nearby.
=You just keep hidden, Max. I've got a good plan on this without breaking any of the rules= Steel assured.
"From what I'm hearing, you got this from a cartoon, didn't you?"
=What? No…=
"Then why the carrot?"
=Just 'cause it 'may' have been animated doesn't mean it's not a strategy from this planet's greatest mental combat strategist who practically pioneered the idea of five dimensional chest mental manipulation= Steel replied, pointing the carrot in his hand at Max.
"Was it Bugs Bunny?"
=Shut up. He's-a comin'= Steel replied as Ben came out onto the scene.
"Phew. He hasn't set off any explosives," Ben sighed in relief.
"There he is!" Skurd exclaimed, pointing at Skurd.
=Hello~= Steel waved.
"Alright, Steel, what are you planning?" Ben frowned a bit.
=Whatever do you mean?=
"You are a crazy alien computer being who gets his ideas from comic books, cartoons, and the internet…why wouldn't I be worried?"
=Says the guy who beat up a robot made specifically to fight him by using video game attacks= Steel countered.
"...Okay, fair point. But it doesn't change the fact that you're up to something," Ben replied.
"You're not intending on calling in Bluey to be frightened and cause Lambda to come upon us, are you?" Skurd asked, noticing the carrot, "Because the team he was on is already out due to the devious little twins on their sugar rush."
=Seriously, I have no clue what you're talking about. I'm just here taking a moment to enjoy a neat fort while hiding from the twins= Steel replied =...They're not still on a rampage of snow, are they?=
"No, conked themselves out after five minutes," Ben replied.
=Ahh...ok good=
"Yeah w-" Ben began before he noticed the snowman, "..."
=...What?=
"...Max is in there, isn't he?"
=No idea what you mean?= he shrugged.
"..." Ben and Skurd shared looks.
"Like Kajun, he's being coy," Skurd deadpanned.
"Yeah you're being coy."
=Who me?= Steel pointed to himself.
"YES!"
=Hmm…nope=
"Okay seriously, Steel. What are you up to?" Ben asked as he looked around the area, "Considering Max is nowhere to be seen…he's hiding in the snowman…or in the snow!" he shouted as he turned, "...okay…or he's in the trees!" he shouted as he looked up, seeing only a lone bird looking down, "..."
=You done making yourself look stupid?=
"When has he ever stopped?" Skurd added.
"Hey…" Ben frowned.
=It's true. You technically don't have your better half on you= Steel countered.
"Oh you are really wanting to poke my buttons, huh?" Ben asked as his Omnitrix beeped, signifying it recharged.
=It's not all that hard= Steel shrugged =I mean, you couldn't do a thing to me even with a heavy-hitter like Rath without her here to hold your hand to make sure you went the right way=
"Le Gasp! The gauntlet has been thrown!" Skurd dramatically added.
"Oh really? It's gonna be like that huh?" Ben asked with a smirk, "Well…I got the perfect Alien for you then, Steel."
=Oh please. Like the-= Steel began before a green flash went off...and the sound of a snickering Stitch went off =...Oh no…=
"Hi~" Stitch waved.
=Wait…This is the form you can't get yourself out of without outside help, right?=
"It is," Skurd replied.
"Hey…" Stitch grumbled.
=So…he's basically stuck…=
"Yes…but…" Skurd began in a devious tone, "You are…stuck with said form~"
=No…we're all stuck with this form?= Steel asked =Including the girls who find this adorable blue koala dog thing irresistible?= he argued =So…I think this is called a standoff. Can you annoy me…before I can rat you out?=
"Yes…but can you defend yourself and Maxwell in the process?" Skurd countered.
Both just went silent as Skurd and Steel glared at one another intensely, as if waiting for the other to strike. Stitch…just felt offended since it seems these two forgot he was there. He grew his extra arms before quickly scooping up four snowballs and began to throw them at Steel, who quickly flew around to avoid the onslaught.
=Gonna have to try better than that~!= Steel laughed.
Stitch growled before poking at Skurd, "Oi! Ijabakakibba!"
"More arms? Gladly," Skurd assured as he moved to Stitch's back and produced FourArms's arms.
"Oooh~hoo~hoo~!" he happily cheered.
=Oh, you think that's gonna make any difference?= Steel asked =Come on~! Come on~! Bring it on! You couldn't hit me no matter how many hands you've got! You couldn't even hit the side of a barn!=
"Oh ho! Oh you are gonna get it now!" Skurd snapped.
"I feel like I've been entirely forgotten," Max's voice deadpanned.
"Hm?" Stitch pondered before blinking his eyes a few times until they became amber in color.
=Huh? That's new= Steel noted as Stitch looked around before grabbing four snowballs and threw them into the trees, causing Max to yelp as all four barely missed him =Wait a second…Are you tracking his heat?=
"Ih!" Stitch confirmed with a smug grin.
=...Oh you cheeky little d…= Steel began before he was pelted in the optic by a few snowballs =AHH!=
"Does that count as a headshot?" Skurd whispered.
"Uh…" Stitch scratched the top of his head before shrugging.
=I was distracted by you doing that!=
"Well regardless, we are victorious!" Skurd declared, "Ha! Take that you overgrown roomba!"
=Hey, the whistle hasn't blown yet= Steel replied =Plus, I don't know about you, but…= he waved a hand at them =No, no=
"Eh?" Stitch pondered.
=Oh no. It's not for you. You couldn't handle what I know about Sumo Slammer=
"Hm? Sumo Slammers?!"
"Benjamin…don't you fall for it."
=I mean, it is some pretty primo info…=
"What?"
=Oh, no no no. You wouldn't be able to resist if I said anything=
"Meega can! Meega can! Tell! Tell!" Stitch demanded as Steel floated around.
=Hmm…Nah. Not worth telling you=
"Rrrrrr! Tell!" Stitch growled.
=Nnnnope~!=
"You tell now!" Stitch barked as he began to throw snowballs at Steel, who quickly moved out of the way…as all the snowballs he threw hit the side of the fort's base and caused it to start shaking, "Uh-oh…"
"Benjamin…If that man were here, I would gladly request you get a boot to the head!" Skurd declared before both screamed as the fort collapsed on them.
=Oh, and for what I know? Sumo Slammers is a franchise you love!= Steel laughed as he flew off.
Sandra blew her whistle while looking through binoculars, "And Team Tennyson is disqualified just three seconds before the game ended!" all the refs proceeded to blow their whistles in unison, "And snowballs down! Game over!"
"Wait, what? How?!" Makoto gawked as a loud snarl and screams made her look to see an angry Stitch running after Max and Steel, "Oh-hoh…" she looked to a smiling Kajun, "You are a sneaky strategist."
"It helps to have someone who shares my love for logic…and also has shown me the worth in watching the classic Looney Tunes."
"AHA! I KNEW IT!" Makoto declared as she pointed at her.
"What…that is a charming Rabbit," she smiled teasingly.
"Well, this was an upset this year!" Grandpa Max laughed.
"Indeed," Sandra agreed, "Our winners of this year's Snowball War are the Team of Kajun, Max, and Steel!"
=Oh, that's great! Now, uh…= Steel inhaled before shouting as he and Max were holding onto the top of a tree Stitch was shaking =GET US DOWN FROM HERE!=
"And that's this year's war, folks! Now let's see…" Patelliday muttered as he looked at his tablet, "Congrats to J'ohnnson and Tea'rk for getting out of Latrine Duty for the next year for their bet on them using pop rocks and soda to put those little girls on a sugar rush, Ma'antis on getting out of Monitor Duty for a year on his bet on two of the top three remaining contestants being the Tennysons and the Nanayas, and the overall winner and free of all but basic patrol duties are Blukic, Driba, Vipress, and Razorclaw."
"Say what?!" P'li gawked.
"...What?" the Apopplexian asked, raising a brow.
"I convinced her to vote for Kajun's team," Vipress snickered, "No offensssse to Lady Tsssubaki, but I didn't expect to her win."
"Hooray! No more duties outside of our normal lab ones!" Driba cheered.
"Uh…Driba? Y'all reckon that Kajun won't be mad we done betted?" Blukic asked.
"Yes….no….maybe?" Driba replied in confusion…and dread.
"...She's gonna be mad when she finds out."
"You mean if she finds out."
"...I like 'if.' 'If' is good," Blukic noted.
"Rassa frassin…" Makoto and Ben pouted as they sat on the sidelines.
"No good cheating roomba…" Skurd muttered.
"And yet their strategy was sound," Mikoto noted.
"Still don't mean th' roomba weren't sneakier than a sidewinder in th' summer heat," Mukoto pointed out.
"Can't believe I totally forgot Max had a stealth mode," Makoto pouted.
"Yeah, I've mastered Stealth Mode. So many times I needed to sneak out of chore duty," Max chuckled, his helmet down as he walked over, "You would not believe how easy it is to just walk into a bad guy's base while invisible."
"That explains that one time I heard pencil neck scream about a ghost," Ragna muttered.
"It's a hobby. During my lunch break, I sneak into his secret base in that one back alley bar they think is a secret," Max explained, "They think the place is haunted, but are too scared to look for a new place thanks to you, Sheriff."
"Nice," Ragna chuckled.
"Alright, folks! Let's give a round of applause for our winners this year!" Grandpa Max called as the group began to clap, "Now, as per tradition, you three may now write your names in the book for this year's War!"
"Of course," Kajun nodded as she, Max, and Steel approached.
"Can't believe Luna lost to a nerd…" Luna silently pouted to herself.
"Mmm…" Bullet and Jin frowned a bit in annoyance.
"Well, now we know what to do next year," Gwen patted Luna's head in assurance.
"Ah, even if we didn't win, it was pretty fun," Alf chuckled, "And a lot less messy than the Ashball games back on Melmac."
"Heh heh. You wanna talk messy? Try my daughter's room when she was little," Jubei chuckled a bit...before a small sigh escaped his lips, 'Ahh Kokonoe…'
"Wait, you have a kid?" Alf asked.
"Course I do," Jubei replied, "It's what you do when you're married."
"You're married?!" Alf gawked.
"I have a complicated relationship with my wife," Jubei shrugged.
"Is she A: Potentially Evil, or B: So Chaotic Neutral it's hard to say she's anything other than your wife?" Alf asked.
"You are oddly good at this…" Jubei blinked.
"Thank you," Alf thanked as the trio signed their names on the spot Grandpa Max pointed at in the large book.
"This was an interesting yet fun experience," Mr. Yayoi noted, "I commend your friend Kajun for the strategy, Tsubaki."
"It was quite the surprise," Tsubaki admitted, "I never expected it from her."
"Same here," Mai added with Noel and Lambda nodding in agreement.
"Better luck next year?" Robotboy offered from Clair's lap.
"...next year," Lambda nodded.
"Next year." many smiled.
"But no Stitch!" Skurd complained.
=Agreed!= Steel added.
"Alright alright," Ben chuckled.
"Just know Ben…next year?" Makoto began with a grin, "Me and my family are gonna win…but win or lose…" she held her hand out to him, "It'll be a blast."
"It's a game amongst family." Ben smiled, accepting the offered hand, "One giant and weird family."
"And we ended up becoming one truly big family in a way," Celica added with a smile
"...family…" Bullet whispered, her eyes gaining a soft yet sad look in them as she looked at Ben and Makoto's family, an image of her and a group of people in almost similar attire to hers laughing around a campfire appearing in her mind, "..."
"...you okay?" Ragna noticed her expression.
"?! ...Y-Yeah," Bullet replied, turning her head away from the white-haired Grim Reaper, "Just thinkin' 'bout how this made me more eager to wring pencil neck's pencil neck later."
"Fair enough," he replied, deciding not to pry into her personal issues, "Let's just enjoy the day with some friends. Something we can do now."
"...Yeah. For now," Bullet nodded a bit.
"Come on, it's my job to be the grump…well mine and Jin's, but I have fun with it. Jin just has zero sense of fun or relaxation," Ragna sighed.
"I heard that!"
"You were meant to!" Ragna called back.
SZ: Hoo..this was even doozier than the last Christmas chapter.
GT: Especially at the end with the reveal of an annual tradition.
SZ: Mmm hmm…still, this was a really fun chapter to write and stuff.
GT: Aye. *hears Steel freaking out* Seems he realized that he wasn't gonna be at the house tonight.
Z0: Well too bad for him. By the way…*checks door to the world where SCP's are real* You remembered to lock that door right GT?
GT: Yep. Good and tight with several different languages carved onto it for protection and several men of strong faith in their religion performing hymns and prayers.
Z0: Oh then good we can go to sleep without worry of our…faint of heart and weak of mind getting in there. Last thing I need is to force the weirder things back from whence they came.
GT: Only thing I took out of it was the pizza box. *opens it and pulls out a slice of ham, bacon, and pineapple pizza* Yummy.
Z0: And you are sure that you're sure…cause last time you were allowed to take one thing…you let an unkillable giant lizard out…that I had to kill before shoving it back.
SZ: *busy playing on my Switch*read and review folks, hope you enjoy…and you will be mine Zilla!
GT: I am sure I am sure. I even made sure I avoid 682's cell this time around.
Z0: Alright well let's call it a night. *walks off while carrying SZ, not seeing a very happy looking yellow slime slithering out from under our desks*
GT: …*gives SCP-999 a lollipop* Good little happiness maker. Merry Christmas, folks. And a Happy New Year to you all, too!
SZ: Merry Christmas a-NO! I H…that's it!*grabs a captains hat and a harpoon*GT, Z0! WE'RE GOING WHITE WHALE HUNTING!
GT: Oh goody! I'll get my harpoon. *reaches into desk and pulls out a photo* …Oh…Uh…Z0? *shows Z0 a photo of SCP-096* …Yeah, we should get to whale hunting pronto.
Z0: Ah…*raises fist and punches something back into the door* This is my day now…