Molly's Point of View
"It's Christmas! Yay!" I squealed.
'Yes, I think that we already established that when you screamed it while running through the gummi ship. We should be there soon. Why don't you stop screaming and let your parents sleep, if you didn't wake them up already.' Oh, right. Sorry.
Today is Christmas. Mommy and Daddy are taking me to Destiny Islands to meet Daddy's parents. I bet today is going to be so cool. I've never had grandparents before. Daddy says that we're going to be there sometime today. He also said not to open my present. But he never said anything about shaking it.
'Molly, no! No shaking your present.' Just a little? 'No!' Fine.
Brittany's Point of View
I'm spending Christmas at The Land of Departure with Grandpa Eraqus, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Yuffie, and Riku. I arrived yesterday and don't want to get up, but know I have to. Christmas just isn't as exciting without Alison and Molly. My fondest memories of Christmas include the anticipation of Molly and Alison opening my gifts, and today, that excitement has been taken away from me. I can't believe this. Dad came in my room, letting in the light from the hall.
"Doesn't anybody knock anymore?" I groaned, putting a pillow over my head. "Come on. It's Christmas. Don't you want to get up and spend time with your family?" He asked. "I want my real family." I huffed, instantly regretting it. The fact that Sora and Kairi raised me is a touchy subject for both of my parents. Nonetheless, the pillow did not come off my head. A selfish part of me still wanted Sora, Kairi, and my sisters. I expected Dad to walk away. Instead, he lifted the pillow off my head, and pulled me out of the covers and into a hug. He stroked my hair gently.
"Must be tough, being away on Christmas from the people who you lived with for years, huh?" He mentioned. I hugged him back, tears spilling over my face.
"Yeah." I muttered. "Well you know, your mother and I spent a lot of Christmases away from you." He added. Is he seriously trying to pull the guilt card on me? He is, isn't he. Well it's not making me feel any better. I want... I want...
"I want my dad." I muttered. His grip tightened around me.
"I know you do. I just... I can't please everyone Brittany." He sighed. "Go away." I said, pulling out of his embrace. "No. You're coming with me." He insisted, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of my room. I slapped him across the face.
"Get away from me." I growled. He glared at me with a glare that would give Kairi a run for her money. I shrunk back, afraid of what he would do. Tears poured out of my eyes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm..." I apologized frantically. "Whatever. Come out when you're ready. If you don't come, your mother and grandfather can deal with you." He said coldly.
I have to get out of here. On the other hand, I won't be able to goto Auradon Prep. On the other hand, living with Mal sucks. On the other hand, Molly and Alison would want me to stay here. On the other hand, Dad hates me now. On the other hand, I do have people who love and care about me here. On the other hand... there is no other hand.
"Moogle." I said. Moogle appeared.
"I'd like to do some last minute Christmas shopping." I explained.
Alison's Point of View
Dad took Mal, her friends, Vanitas and I to The Castle That Never Was. Also, Dad invited Isa and Braig. Guess which one came and which one was spending Christmas with Lea? Am I cursed or something?!
"Hey there, squirt." Braig greeted ruffling my hair. His eyes are back to brown. That's about the only thing normal about him by human standards. I turned to my dad.
"Did he have to come?" I groaned. "Alison, Braig has been a good friend to me over the years. Deal with it." He replied, shooting Braig an apologetic look. "Hey I'm not completely terrible. I brought you a present, plus a tree to put it under. It's in the Grey Area if you want to put some presents of your own under the tree." Braig mentioned. I didn't want to reply, so I didn't, walking away to gather my presents for everyone who's here.
Braig's Point of View
"So, are we going to tell her?" I asked Xehanort. "Not yet. We'll tell her later." He replied. "Wait too long and you'll traumatise the poor kid. She'll have to know one way or another." I sighed. "Let's wait and see what happens today. Perhaps she won't be as upset then." Xehanort suggested. "Keep telling yourself that. By the way, I should probably tell you what I got her. You're probably not going to like it.
Riku's Point of View
Brittany finally came into the dining room. She was smiling, but it didn't really seem to reach her eyes. Of course she would pretend she was alright even though she wasn't. She's Yuffie's daughter.
"Brittany, is everything alright?" Eraqus asked, immediately sensing that it wasn't. What Brittany does now is out of my control.
"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" Brittany asked, continuing her charade. "You just seem... never mind. It's nothing." Eraqus replied. Brittany sat down at the table, and we started eating breakfast. People started to chatter, but Brittany and I remained silent, exchanging looks.
Molly's Point of View
We just got out of the gummi ship. "Sora, you told your parents we were bringing Molly, right?" Mommy asked. "Uh... Maybe?" Daddy laughed nervously. Mommy looked like she was about to kill- I mean destroy him. Mommy's Disney too. "Sora, do your parents know that I'm coming?" Mommy asked, trying to control her rage. "Um, they know that I'm coming?" Daddy said sheepishly. "Let's go." Mommy sighed, pulling Daddy's ear. Mommy winked at me. We both knew that Daddy didn't tell them because she had called them and asked, and because he forgot, we decided to prank him.
Mommy knocked on the door. An elderly lady with brown hair and green eyes opened the door. "Hello Sora. Oh, and Kairi's here too. You should've told me." She said, accusingly. I giggled. She looked down at me and picked me up.
"Oh, and who is this bright and beautiful child who Kairi had to tell me was coming?" She asked sarcastically. "You told her?! But I thought-" Daddy exclaimed. "You didn't think Sora. That's the problem." Mommy smirked. "Hello Molly. It's nice to meet you. I'm Grandma." She introduced. "Hi Grandma. I'm delighted to meet you. If you ever need to know about any people that Daddy plans to bring, but forgets to tell you, you can always ask me." I smiled, giving her my ultimate Molly smile. "Kiss up." Daddy muttered under his breath. "Come on in. Your siblings are here, and they've been waiting so long to see you again." She said to Daddy. "They're here too?" Daddy groaned. "Oops. Did I forget to tell you? My mistake." Grandma smirked. "You're loving this, aren't you?" Daddy sighed. Grandma put me down and we went inside.
"Yo, Sora! Great to see you again Little Bro." A man with blond hair and blue eyes was sitting on a chair greeted. There were five other people in the room. An elderly man with grey hair and blue eyes, a woman with blond hair pulled back into a pony tail with green eyes, a man with black hair and brown eyes, a teenage girl with brown hair, blue eyes, and black glasses, and a girl around my age with black hair and green eyes. "Finally. Mom insisted on waiting for you before we do anything." The blond lady smiled. The teenager was staring at me.
"She's so adorable!" She squealed. "Hey everyone. It's been a while. Everyone remembers Kairi, and this is my daughter, Molly. Molly, the old guy is your grandfather. Hi Dad. The blond guy is your uncle, Daichi, the girl with the glasses who's gaping at your adorableness is your aunt, Miku, the lady who has her blond hair in a pony tail is your aunt, Umi, the man with black hair is her husband, Nakago, and the girl is..." Daddy trailed off. "Our daughter, Hoshiko." Aunt Umi introduced. Hoshiko waved. I waved back.
"You missed a lot Sora. I don't see why you can't stop by every once in a while." Uncle Nakago mentioned. "Hoshiko, Molly, would you girls like to play out back? I'll call you back in when I have a snack ready." Grandma suggested. "Okay Grandma. It was nice to meet you Uncle Sora." Hoshiko agreed, taking my arm and dragging me to the back door. In the backyard, there was a swing set. Hoshiko sat on one of the swings and I sat next to her.
"I know Uncle Sora through reputation only. Daddy doesn't like him, so Uncle Sora doesn't come to any family gatherings. That's what Mommy says anyway." Hoshiko explained. Aunt Miku came out. "Trust me, you guys do not want to go in there. Kairi and Umi are probably coming out to get away from the war zone in five, four, three, two, one." Aunt Miku said. Mommy and Aunt Umi came outside.
"I am so sorry about this. I'm sure that things will die down in a few-" Aunt Umi started, but then we heard yelling. "I'll let my parents know we're taking the kids to the park. You get a head start." Aunt Umi said. "Molly, Miku, Hoshiko, we're going to the park." Mommy announced. "Alright. It's not as cool as the island though." Aunt Miku sighed. Aunt Umi came out.
"Alright, so Mom said that as long as we're back by five, she doesn't really care where we go." Aunt Umi announced. "Can we please go to the island Umi?" Aunt Miku asked. "Pretty please?" I added. "What do you think Kai?" Aunt Umi asked. "I think it's a great idea." Mommy agreed. We went to the beach and rowed to the island on a boat. When we got there, we all got out of the boat.
"Miku, stick with the kids. I don't want them getting hurt." Aunt Umi ordered. "I will." Aunt Miku confirmed. We ran to play.
"Come on." Aunt Miku said, climbing a ladder. Hoshiko and I followed her. We went to the place where Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka asked Daddy questions in Daddy's dream in Kingdom Hearts one.
"Let's go to the paopu tree!" Hoshiko suggested. We climbed down and went to where the bridge was. Aunt Miku had to help us up. We walked across the bridge and climbed on the paopu tree.
"Bet I can climb to the end of the tree and get a paopu. Watch." Aunt Miku laughed. She climbed out to the edge of the tree and reached for the paopu. Just as she was about to touch it, she slipped and fell, grabbing onto the paopu. The paopu fruit was slowly breaking. Mommy and Aunt Umi were rushing over to the bridge. Without thinking, I quickly climbed the paopu tree and reached for her hand.
"Grab on!" I screamed. She grabbed my hand just as the paopu broke off the tree. I tried with all my might to hold on to her. She put the paopu in her mouth and grabbed on to the tree. Mommy and Aunt Umi were here now.
"Molly, get down and let me help her." Mommy ordered. "You're too heavy!" I argued. I looked at the water and did the only thing I could think of. I jumped in.
Brittany's Point of View
After breakfast, we opened gifts. I got an amethyst necklace from Grandpa Eraqus, which is really cool, a 1,000 munny gift card for Moogle's from Ven, a 2,000 munny gift card for Moogle's from Terra, purple fingerless gloves from Aqua, which are awesome, and my parents got me the Hunger Games trilogy books. I'll have to thank Sora and Kairi. They totally suggested it to Mom and Dad. I got Grandpa Eraqus a Darth Vader mug, which he has no idea what to do with. Dad laughed and said that we could watch Star Wars later just so Grandpa wouldn't be so confused. Apparently, Star Wars is big in other worlds too. Don't ask me how that works, I have no idea. I got Ventus a skateboard. Grandpa mentioned repeatedly that he hoped it wouldn't take away from Ventus' training. I got Terra a bottle of root beer. He really likes his root beer. I got Aqua blue nail polish, light pink lipstick, blue and brown eyeshadow, and mascara. I saw Grandpa tense when he saw the makeup. I wonder if he didn't let Aqua wear makeup. I gave Mom an ornament that I made. I figured she might like it was seeing that she missed my arts and crafts days. I gave Dad a keychain shaped like a star. He put it on his keyblade, and the keyblade transformed into a reverse of Purple Star. Where there was supposed to be silver was purple, and where there was purple was silver. Kind of like what Kingdom Key D was to Kingdom Key.
Shortly after that, Dad took me out of the room. I brace myself for the yelling that's sure to follow.
"Listen, about what happened this morning, I'm sorry. I'll try to be a better father." He apologized. I hugged him.
"You're perfect the way you are." I said.
Molly's Point of View
Right before I was about to crash into the water, I cushioned my fall with my light, but I made it flexible so it still looked like I was falling so that no one else would see. "Let go!" I called to Aunt Miku. She did so and I did the same for her. We swam back to the island. Mommy, Hoshiko, and Aunt Umi ran to us. Mommy hugged me while Aunt Umi hugged Aunt Miku.
"I think it's about time to head back." Aunt Umi said. No one argued.
Alison's Point of View
We started eating dinner. My day included getting angry at Xigbar, getting angry at Dad, getting angry at Mal, and getting angry at Mal's friends. 'What else is new.'
"We can open gifts after dinner." Dad decided. That made Carlos and Jay eat quickly. I rolled my eyes.
Brittany's Point of View
Dad just happened to have the entire Star Wars series on his gummi ship, so he got them and we all watched it. There's no way in a million years that I would've been able to do this with Kairi! Alison would've loved this.
Best Christmas ever.
Molly's Point of View
When we got there, Daddy and Uncle Nakago were still fighting, but they stopped when they saw Aunt Miku and me, soaking wet.
"What happened?" Daddy gasped. "I might've sort of fallen off the paopu tree." Aunt Miku explained. "And I might've sort of jumped off the paopu tree." I added. "I told you that island isn't safe. You shouldn't let Hoshiko play there." Uncle Nakago said to Aunt Umi. "The island is fine. Miku and Molly aren't hurt, just wet." Daddy argued. Hoshiko clung to me.
"Mom, Sora and Nakago are fighting again!" Aunt Miku tattled. "Boys! Enough! You see your daughters? You're getting them upset." Aunt Umi growled. Daddy and Uncle Nakago looked at Hoshiko and I, then at each other.
"Look, I'm sorry I got so upset. You have your way of doing things, and I do too." Daddy apologized. "Indeed. I apologize as well. I will agree to disagree." Uncle Nakago agreed. "Sora, what are we going to do about Molly? We didn't bring an extra set of clothes for her." Mommy mentioned. "Hoshiko and Molly are around the same size. Hoshiko leaves some clothes here in case she ends up sleeping over. She can wear something of Hoshiko's." Aunt Umi suggested. "Thanks Umi. I owe you one." Daddy smiled. "You always say that, and you never do anything for me." Aunt Umi teased. "Oh yeah? What about that time that I bought you another ice cream when yours fell to the ground?" Daddy reminded. "You begged Riku for that money, so technically Riku bought it." Aunt Umi laughed.
Alison's Point of View
We're opening presents. I got a book on keyblades from Dad, a wallet from Carlos, a new dress from Evie, a necklace from Jay, a 5,000 munny gift card for Moogle's from Vanitas, and a bobby pin from Mal. Everyone else had opened their gifts and now there was just one gift left. Mine from Braig. I had been avoiding it, and now it was time to open it. I reached for for it cautiously. I stared at it. Braig rolled his eyes.
"I did not prank your gift." He assured me. I decided to just get it done and over with. I opened it and gasped.
Molly's Point of View
After I got changed, we ate dinner and opened gifts. I got a Barbie doll from Aunt Umi, Uncle Nakago, and Hoshiko, a butterfly pillow pet from Mommy and Daddy, a hot air balloon lego friends kit from Uncle Daichi, 5,000 munny from Grandma and Grandpa, and the paopu fruit from Aunt Miku.
"Share it with someone special." Aunt Miku said. "I will." I replied. "Who will you share it with?" Mommy asked. "You're silly Mommy. Brittany and Alison. Who else would I share it with?" I laughed. "I should've known." She smiled.
Best Christmas ever.
Alison's Point of View
Inside the box that I opened was a familiar blue genetic experiment. Stitch. He was sleeping.
"He was causing way too many problems in Radiant Gardens. Figured I would dump my problems out on you." Braig smirked. Stitch stirred. He opened his eyes and saw me.
"Thank you! This is best Christmas gift ever!" I squealed. "Who are you?" Stitch asked. "I'm Alison. I'm going to take care of you." I said. He crawled out of the box. "Naga. I go home." Stitch replied. "Sorry Buddy. You were causing too many problems. It was either send you away or kill you." Braig apologized. Stitch growled.
"His name is 626. Hope you like it." Braig smirked. "That's a number, not a name. His name is Stitch." I said. "Stitch? Why Stitch?" Stitch asked you. "Because that's the name I chose for you." I replied. "That's so cool. You got a pet." Jay laughed. I hugged Stitch because he's cute and fluffy.
Best Christmas ever.
Merry Christmas everyone!
JJ: Yay!