- Chapter 84 -

A Very Turtle Christmas

It was Christmas Eve, and the Hamato/Lee siblings were gathered in the living room of the lair, discussing plans. Mikey was all serious for once, a grim expression on his face.

"So... Let's go over the plan one more time, just to be sure everyone's tracking," he began. "Donnie, you and Vee have got the illumination duties. We've been skulking in the dark long enough."

"Roger that," Donnie replied.

"Raph, you, Karai, and Hisako are on security detail. We're countin' on you to handle anyone who gets outta line."

"I'd like to see 'em try," Raph smirked, punching his fist into his palm.

"Kagome, you've got catering. You handle the food, drinks, whatever else we need."

"You got it," Kagome gave a thumbs up.

"And last but not least, Leo... It's your job to keep it all coordinated. Once we cross that line, we're gonna need someone in charge to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. That's you."

"I'm on it," Leo promised.

"Okay. We all know what we have to do, so…" Mikey grinned. "Let's make this the greatest Christmas party ever!"

Everyone cheered happily, breaking apart as they scattered to get their jobs done.

"This is so bizarre," Karai admitted.

"What, you've never seen Christmas planning before?" Mikey asked.

Karai shook her head. "Nope. Shredder always saw the holidays as a waste of time. Just another cold day better spent training."

"Well, not with us," Mikey grinned. "We love the holidays! And since we ended up missing Christmas last year, we're making up for it this year."

"That and he refuses to let anyone who has ever missed a holiday have a horrible one," Hisako chimed in. "The second he learned I'd never even heard of Christmas, he started making big plans."

"Oh yeah," Mikey confirmed. "Big time."

"So why don't you have a job?" Karai asked.

"Me? I've got the most important job of all. I'm the errand boy. You need it, I grab it."

"Not to mention the fact that he seems to have forgotten something," Raph cut in.

Mikey blinked. "What, I did?"

"Well, your T-Phone alarm is going off," Donnie said. "It's saying 'Pick-up Gifts'."

Mikey perked at that. "Oh, right!". He vaulted over to his phone, turning off the alarm before grabbing his winter gear. "I'll be back soon! Text me if you need anything!"

"Meet us at my place when you're done!" Kagome called after him.

"Got it!" Mikey called as he took off.

Shortly after, the group headed to the Lee mansion, where they got to work setting things up. Donnie and Vee climbed to the roof, where they began stringing up the Christmas lights.

"Here's hoping Kasumi's place can handle all these lights without blowing the power grid," Vee remarked.

"Considering I've been the one who helped fix most of the wiring, I'd say so," Donnie replied.

Donnie got to work stapling the lights in, before being stopped by a pigeon that looked up at him, cooing.

"Move it, bird," Donnie snapped. "You're standing in the way of progress. Ol' Donnie's got some serious Christmas lighting to install before the big party."

The pigeon cooed at him loudly.

"Shoo!" Donnie yelled, waving the bird off. "Shoo!"

"Huh," Vee mused. "I think that was Jimmy."

"Pete's cousin?"

Inside, Kagome was trying on her outfit for the party: a knee-length red Santa dress and hat with matching heeled boots. She stepped out to where the others were waiting.

"What do you think?" She did a quick twirl. "I look damn good, don't I?"

Raph stammered for a bit, face red before Leo discreetly kicked him in the shin.

"You look great!" the red turtle blurted out.

Kagome giggled. "Thanks, Raph." She held up two other dresses. "Hisako! Karai! I have dresses for you as-"

Hisako's tessen snagged the dress, knocking it out of her hand and stapling it to the wall.

"No," Hisako said bluntly. "You know I hate wearing dresses, Kagome. Especially skin-baring ones like that."

"Oh, right…" Kagome winced. "Whoops."

"You didn't have to throw your weapon at it," Karai pointed out.

"You're right, I didn't," Hisako didn't sound remorseful in the slightest.

"Where did you even get three Santa dresses?" Leo asked.

"It was part of my latest photo shoot. I asked for some extras for the party," Kagome rubbed the back of her head. "I was so into the holiday spirit that it slipped my mind that Hisako wouldn't want it."

"Well, I'll take the other dress," Karai decided. "I mean, why not?"

Kagome handed it over at that, after which Raph decided to change the subject.

"Gettin' about that time. I'll run by Syd's place and pick up Hope."

"Just try to hurry back," Leo insisted. "We're gonna get swamped here soon."

-X-

Shortly after Raph left, April and Casey arrived to find the remaining Hamato/Lee siblings at work, singing a little ditty to the tune of Deck the Halls.

"Christmas Eve and all is ready!" Kagome sang. "Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!"

"No Bebop and no Rocksteady!" Donnie continued. "Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!"

"This time next year, despite the weather," Vee chimed in. "Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!"

"We'll say bye-bye to the Shredder!" Leo finished. "Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!"

" Let me guess," Casey began. "Part of the hip-hop Christmas album Mikey's been yammering about?"

"Yep," Vee confirmed. "He's a goofball, but the damn song is beyond catchy and gets stuck in our heads."

"He spent hours trying to work out a Grinch parody about Shredder," Kagome recalled. "Couldn't get it to work."

Karai snorted at the idea. "Oh, that would fit perfectly."

"He definitely is a mean one," April agreed.

"And his heart is an empty hole," said Vee. "And if I was given the choice, I'd definitely hang out with a seasick crocodile."

Kagome came out of the kitchen, setting a punch bowl full of eggnog on the table. "This is the kid-friendly eggnog. Everyone under 18 drinks out of this."

"Kid-friendly?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, the recipe I got called for rum."

Casey smiled. "Oh, sweet."

"Arnold Casey Jones Junior, don't make me tell your mom," April warned. "Because I will."

-X-

Raph returned with Hope in his arms just as other guests arrived; Angel, Irma, and Woody, the latter with some pizza boxes in hand.

"Fancy pad you got here, Kagome," Woody mused. "Maybe I shoulda brought caviar instead of pizza, huh?"

"Oh, no," Leo shook his head. "You know what Mikey would say: No party's a real party unless it's a pizza party."

"Fair enough," Woody's gaze turned to Karai. "Hey, aren't you that girl that smashed our window and tried to attack these guys with the giant robot?"

"I was confused, brainwashed by the Shredder," Karai answered. "I see the truth now."

Woody looked at her blankly before his face brightened. "Rad. Want some pizza?"

"Angel! Irma!" Kagome took the girls' coats, hanging them up. "Glad you guys could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it," Angel replied with a smile.

Raph set Hope down with a few toys, looking around. "Mikey isn't back yet?"

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Leo replied. "Assuming he hasn't stopped at any toy stores… again."

As a matter of fact, Mikey was just now exiting the toy store with the final gift he had to pick up, slinging a bag over his shoulder. He started making the trek to the Lee mansion, admiring the sights and sounds of Manhattan.

"Man, there's nothin' like the Big Apple at Christmastime," he mused. "I love it."

"Stop! Thief!"

Mikey perked to see a man running off with a woman's purse, laughing.

"'Tis the season for scumbags…" he sighed, getting his weapons ready.

"Happy Holidays to me!" the crook laughed before being dragged into an alley by something.

"What the?!" Mikey ran over at that, seeing him get thrown into a wall.

"What the hell…?!" the crook grunted out, looking up to see a tall, lanky, but powerfully built man with long, black hair wearing a long, black coat approach. The lower half of his face was covered by a red-and-yellow striped scarf. "What the… who the hell are you?"

"Someone who doesn't take kindly to people like you," the man replied, his voice deep and gravelly. "Thieves. Criminals. Parasites of the city who prey on the weak. Stealing a woman's purse, on Christmas of all days?"

The crook scoffed. "Christmas is just another cold day. What's so special about it?"

The man grabbed the crook by the neck, slamming him against the wall.

"Christmas is supposed to be a time of compassion. Of kindness. The one day of the year in this rotten world where even the most rotten people can stop and be decent for a change. Even the goddamned Nazis took a Christmas Truce."

The thief scoffed. "Big whup. What are you gonna do? Spank me? Gimme a lump of coal?"

"Actually…" The thief watched in horror as the man lowered his scarf, revealing a maw of razor-sharp teeth and a long, blackish-blue tongue. "I'm just gonna eat you."

The man screamed before breaking free. "It's the Ghoul! It's the goddamned Manhattan Ghoul! "

As he took off, he bumped into Mikey. Seeing who he was, he grabbed his shoulders.

"You gotta help me, man! It's the Ghoul! He's back! He's gonna eat me! Save me!"

Mikey looked up, seeing the figure standing there menacingly.

"Hello." the figure waved, his voice sounding less like a shallow grave and more like a teenage boy.

The man blinked in confusion before being downed with a neck chop from Mikey, who smiled happily at the figure.

"Kieran!" he greeted. "Good to see you, dude. How ya holding up?"

"Pretty good, all things considered," Kieran shrunk down to his normal size, his hair growing shorter and his features becoming less monstrous. "Think I botched my intimidation though. Coming up with dark, gritty one-liners is tough. And so's my shifting." He rubbed his throat, wincing. "How are you?"

"Me, I'm just out getting some last-minute shopping done. By the way, did Leatherhead tell you about our big Christmas shindig at Kagome's place?"

Kieran froze. "I...think he mentioned it."

"Kieran!" Kieran stiffened at that, turning around to see a familiar feline approach.

"M-Mr. Hob, sir!"

"That was sloppy work there, kid. That grab was too slow and you reached out too far to grab the guy, you were almost spotted," the cat-man said sternly, but not unkindly, "And what did I tell you about making those speeches?"

"Y-Yes sir, sorry, sir."

Hob sighed. "You're never gonna drop that 'Mister' crap, will you?"

"Heh, I guess not."

"Hob! Hey!" Mikey waved. "Well, this works out perfectly. I'm on my way back to Kagome's house for our Christmas party. You and the Mutanimals are more than welcome to tag along."

"That's...nice of you to offer, Mikey, but we really need to get going," Kieran replied.

"Hold your horses, kid," Hob cut in. "We were planning to go to the shindig tonight ourselves. And you could use some social interaction."

"No!" Kieran shook his head. "It's not a good idea to have me there. Cooking meat, all the humans... you might as well put a shark to work in a bait shop! Besides… I'm a total bore at parties."

"You should see how Donnie tries to socialize," Mikey quipped. "But seriously, Hob's right, Kieran. You should come."

Kieran was still against it. " I... I can't-"

"I know you're scared, but you shouldn't distance yourself from people," Mikey told him gently. "You keep isolating yourself from humanity, you'll eventually stop caring. And then you'll really be a ghoul."

Kieran blanched at that, an impressive feat considering his complexion. "I'm not getting outta this, am I?"

"Nope," Hob said bluntly.

"...Well, tell Doc Rock to bring the poison, just in case things get…freaky."

"Relax," Mikey soothed. "If all else fails, you can chill with Hisako on the roof or something. She disappears up there when things get to be too much."

Kieran nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"We'll see you then," Hob said. "C'mon, Kieran."

"Yessir." Kieran followed him away.

Sometime later, the various Mutanimals accompanied Mikey back to the mansion. By this point, the Hamato Clan had arrived, having brought in several cases of soda.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Mikey said. "Lines at pick-up were murder, and I had to pick some guests up."

"Guests?" Donnie asked.

Pete strolled in, a saran-wrapped container in one wing and dragging a karaoke machine in the other. "Honey, we're home!"

The others followed, Kieran in the back hoping nobody noticed him and he could sneak off.

"Jimmy came by not too long ago and told me about your party, so I came prepared," Pete held out the container in his hands. "I brought worm goulash and karaoke!"

Kagome put on a forced smile. "Uh, thanks, Pete. That was very thoughtful of you."

She took the goulash, heading back into the kitchen before offering the container to Hisako. " Throw this away in the outside garbage. "

" Pete's cooking? " Hisako asked mentally, getting a nod.

She immediately chucked it. It landed with a thud, a much heavier thud than usual. " And it's done. "

"And we thank you," Kagome told her.

Last but not least was Sam, who entered with a guest, a little girl around twelve with long black hair that reached the middle of her back and blue eyes.

"And who's this?" Leo asked.

"This has been a meeting long overdue," Sam smiled. "Guys, I'd like you to meet my little sister, Leanne."

Leanne stepped forward, offering a hand. "It's nice to meet you all-"

As she walked, her foot caught on something on the floor, everyone cringing as she face-planted with a loud thunk.

"Oof!" Kieran let out.

Leanne immediately got back up, blushing as she dusted herself off. "Just once, can I take more than two steps without falling all over myself?"

"You okay?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Leanne assured. "Happens all the time."

"Let's just say she's uncoordinated," Sam remarked.

"Yeah, my hand-eye coordination is awful," Leanne agreed.

"I focus mine with video games," Mikey said.

Leanne's gaze fell on Hisako, and she immediately smiled. "You must be Hisako! Sammy told me all about you."

Hisako cringed. "He did?"

"Oh yeah. He was going on about liking you and-"

Sam immediately clapped a hand over his sister's mouth. "Zip it!"

"Oh…" Hisako relaxed. "That's all?"

Sam nodded. "Your pre-Turtle past is on a need-to-know basis. And she doesn't need to know."

Hisako breathed a sigh of relief. "That makes me feel better."

As this was going on, Kieran was in the corner trying to blend in with the floor molding.

"Kieran! Glad you could make it." He looked up as Kagome came over, offering a glass of something red. "Here, red meat. I put it through the blender for you. You don't seem like an eggnog guy."

"Uhhh… y-yeah, thanks," Kieran took the glass. Almost immediately, a worm crept out of his coat collar and slithered toward the glass. With a gasp, he swatted at it. "No! Bad evil, flesh-eating parasite!" The worm retracted back into his body with a hiss, Kieran sighing. "I swear, I have half a mind to skin that darn cat. What the devil was he thinking?"

"Probably that you should be part of the festivities," said Kagome.

"Well, he's making a huge mistake. I mean… I only just got my powers under control. Now I'm in a house surrounded by fresh meat and humans!" His eyes glazed over as he went on. "Sweet...juicy...humans… with sweet, juicy human flesh…" He promptly downed the glass, sighing in relief. "That's better."

"Are you… gonna be okay?" Kagome asked in concern.

"I-I'm fine, really! I just need something to focus on."

In the corner, Pete had just hooked up the karaoke machine. "Who's first?"

Makoto raised a hand, only for Jade to lower it.

"Oh, no," she insisted. "Not you, Mako."

"What?" Raph asked. "He not a good singer?"

Akemi snorted. "Let's just say the last time he went to a karaoke bar back in Tokyo, animal control was called in because they mistook his singing for an injured manatee."

Raph winced. "Ouch."

"Want me to mind trick him into not singing?" Hisako offered.

"I've got a better idea," Pete grinned.

-X-

The party went on, Pete taking a turn singing 12 Days of Christmas horribly while the others distracted themselves from the pain by mingling and goofing around.

"Hey, guys!" Mikey called out, getting their attention. They looked to see him standing in the doorway, a piece of mistletoe above his head. He pulled some breath spray out, spraying it in his mouth and grinning. "Who wants a smooch?"

He closed his eyes and puckered up. Grinning mischievously, Hisako picked up Midnight and held her up to Mikey's face. The dog licked his face, including his puckered lips, several times, and eventually, Mikey opened his eyes. He recoiled, gagging and wiping his mouth.

"Ugh!" he spat, disgusted. "I've been poisoned! I have dog germs! Get hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Donnie told him. "They say a dog's mouth is one of the cleanest places in the world."

Mikey raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe my mouth is less clean than an animal that chews on its own butt and you-know-what?"

Miko and Midnight just snorted curtly in response. Off to the side, Airi and Raph were playing with Hope, who was trying to fit a triangle into a circular hole. Raph chuckled at the sight before gently guiding her hand to the correct hole, just as Erika came over.

"So, how's my baby sister doing?"

Airi glared at Erika, offended by that label.

"I am not a baby, Erika!" She pointed at Hope. " That is a baby."

Hope pouted and huffed in response, crossing her arms.

"I think she took offense to that," Raph mused.

Off to the side, Herman was talking to Splinter, Kasumi, and the rest of the adults, having gotten inebriated on the adults-only eggnog.

"So I sez to Hob…" the crab mutant hiccupped, "I sez, 'General if you wanna win this war... yer gonna need to contract more crabs.'"

Kasumi gently took the eggnog cup out of his hand. "I think you've had enough."

"I'll tell you when I've had enough, soldier!" Herman snapped. "Private Taylor! Back me up here!"

"Sorry Captain, you're on your own," Kieran replied, walking away.

"Perhaps I can be of aid," Splinter gave Herman a slight nerve pinch, knocking him out.

"In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have substituted sake for rum in the adults-only batch," Kagome mused.

"Wouldn't have made a difference," Slash reached into Herman's crate, pulling out a flask of hard liquor. "He came prepared in case there wasn't any special nog."

"Of course…" Kagome sighed.

Meanwhile, Kieran was talking to Hisako and the rest of her siblings, giving them updates on how he'd been doing.

"...And that's pretty much what I've been up to for the past few months," he concluded.

"I'm glad you're fitting in," Hisako told him. "And that you got over that misunderstanding with Pete."

"Hob took you under his wing, huh? Considering he's not too crazy about humans, that's surprising."

"He's exasperating with all his high-maintenance anxiety, but he's starting to grow on me," Hob admitted.

"Hey, if you had a Karen for a mom like he does, you'd be anxious too." Raph pointed out.

"Can we please not mention her?" Kieran asked. "I may not care for how relentlessly cheery the holidays are, but I don't wanna bring the mood down that much."

Raph nodded. "Right, sorry."

"But yeah, the Mutanimals and I got off to a rocky start..." Kieran went on. "But now...Well, I actually feel like I'm home."

A worm slid out, drinking from his glass. "Oh for cryin' out loud..."

"Eh, let it go, kid," Hob told him. "It's gettin' into your body one way or another."

"Yeah, it's alright," Hisako agreed. "They look kinda cute like that honestly."

"Guys!" Airi called. "Over here!"

They turned to where she and Raph were still playing with Hope, the baby standing up before taking a few small steps. Raph was recording the spectacle on his cell phone.

"Syd would never forgive me if I didn't catch her first steps." he mused.

Hope began teetering. Surprising everyone, Hob darted over, catching her before she fell and gently setting her back on the ground. She babbled happily, reaching up for him as Kieran looked on nervously.

"Uh-oh… Mister Hob..."

A moment passed before Hob just smiled, gently picking her up.

"Cute kid," he mused before sitting down. "Seeing these innocent little kids, all this happiness... it brings me back to my old pre-mutation days, before I wound up on the streets."

Airi tilted her head quizzically. "Did you have a kid?"

Hob nodded.

"A little boy took care of me for a while. His name was either Billy or Danny; my memory before I changed is a blur." he sighed. "He was nice to me, but his mom was a total witch. Threw me out in the snow after the kid forgot to clean my litter box. I ended up becoming your basic nasty alley cat... and then I wound up being exposed to the ooze."

"Yeesh," Tai mused. "No wonder you weren't too crazy about humans."

"Yeah," Hob just nodded.

"Maybe you should find Billy," Airi suggested, deciding the first name was the right one. "I bet he misses you."

Hob shook his head. "It's been over fifteen years, kid. I dunno if he's even still in the city. Even if he was, I'm not the same cat he knew."

"So?" Airi questioned. "Master Yoshi's different, but we still love him."

"She's got ya there," Raph noted.

Hob thought it over, then shrugged. "Eh, what have I got to lose?" He looked down at Airi. "Who would've thought I'd be giving sound advice from a six-year-old?"

Airi smiled. "As my daddy says, sometimes the younger generation can provide a fresher perspective."

"Can't argue with that," said Leo.

Off to the side, Angel was hanging out with April, Casey, Irma, and Kagome.

"So, who's that boy you've been hanging out with lately?" April questioned. "You two an item?" "Of course not, April!" Angel insisted, blushing. "Chet's just a friend."

"Chet?" Casey asked. "As in Chet Manley? The reptile fanboy from school?"

"He's not a fanboy," Irma corrected. "He's studying to be a biologist. He wants to focus on reptilian species." "I was his bio partner once," April remarked. "He wouldn't stop talking about reptiles. Everything was 'Komodo dragons' this and 'anacondas' that."

"I heard his mom tried to get him some baby turtles when he was born, but the pet shop sold their last five." Casey mused.

"Last five…" Kagome muttered before it hit her. "If Splinter hadn't bought Leo and the others that day, Chet's mom would've! How about that?"

"Huh," Irma remarked. "Funny how things work out."

As this was going on, the Turtles and Karai secretly spied on Hisako and Sam sitting off to the side, Sam revealing amusing anecdotes about his past.

"Okay, so yeah. When I was eight, I drank a glass of orange juice, and it randomly gave me heartburn. I had no idea what was going on, so I was flipping out, running around the house screaming 'My heart's on fire! My heart's on fire!' And of course, Dad's too busy laughing to tell me what's really going on."

Hisako was fighting back giggles at the tale. "Heart's on fire. Oh, that's a good one."

"That's not even getting into the first time I ran on a treadmill during Guardian training. I was dumb enough to turn it on full blast and got flung across the room. Good thing the wall was padded."

Hisako snorted hard again, the image coming to mind as she giggled. "At least that explains some of your head trauma."

Sam looked at her, seeing that for once, she had an absolutely radiant smile that reached her eyes, making them a shiny silver instead of a dull gray.

"You know, you really oughta do that more often."

"What?" Hisako asked. "Laugh at your childhood trauma?"

Sam shook his head. "Smile."

Hisako froze up, blushing in response. "I… I smile."

"Not like this."

Hisako turned even more red at that. From their hiding place, Mikey turned to the others.

"Guys, I really think she likes him," he mused.

"Well, I'll be damned," Donnie noted.

"Maybe one day she'll admit that to herself," Leo mused.

They departed at that, only for Donnie, who was in the lead, to stop short, staring at something ahead.

"D, what are you-?" Vee looked ahead at that, seeing what had stopped him. "Oh."

Ahead were April and Casey, embracing and sharing a kiss under the mistletoe. Donnie's eye was twitching violently, veins popping in his forehead as he raked his nails along the wall hard enough to leave visible scratch marks.

"Uh, Donnie?"

Kasumi walked in to see what he was doing. "Donatello, please stop clawing the paint off my walls."

Donnie did so before storming into another room, his siblings following as he grumbled to himself. "Who the hell does Casey think he is? I met April first. I saved her from Krang God knows how many times, and he thinks he can muscle in?"

"D, dial it back," Leo ordered. "You're sounding like Shredder."

Donnie paused for a moment. "I... I don't want anyone hurt. I just…"

"We get it," Raph assured. "But she likes Casey. and if you really care about April... you'll at least respect her choice."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed. "You don't always get the one you think you deserve. That's how life works, Don. But when you really care about someone, you forget about what's best for you, and you do what's best for them."

"Even if it feels like my heart's been ripped out?"

"Even then," said Leo. "At the end of the day... love is putting the needs and wants of others ahead of your own. Even if it hurts."

"Just keep your eyes and heart open, bro," Vee chimed in. "You'll find Miss Right before long."

Donnie thought it over for a moment, before taking a deep breath and nodding. "You're right... I'm not gonna let history repeat itself. April made her choice. As long as Casey makes her happy, that's what matters."

"There ya go," Mikey patted his back. "Now cheer up. It's Christmas."

"Right," said Leo. "Let's get back to the party."

-X-

They returned to the party just as Pete was lining up the next karaoke participant.

"Kieran Taylor, come on down!"

Kieran stiffened.

"C'mon, show 'em that voice of yours!"

"You can sing?" Hisako asked.

"N-No! No!" Kieran stammered. "Of course not! Me!? Sing!? That's crazy, Pete doesn't have any idea what he's talking about! Anyone got more meat juice?"

"I'll fill it up for you," Kagome took the cup. "It should be done by the time you're done singing."

"Seriously, Kagome?!"

Kagome shrugged. "Hey, you want and need something else to focus on, don't you? This is something else."

"Well if you don't wanna, I'll do it," Pete raised the mic. "Ohhhhhh…!"

"Gimme that mic!" Kieran ran over, swiping the mic out of Pete's hands. Pete grinned as Kieran caught his breath, regaining his composure. "Vince Guaraldi, please."

Pete pressed a button, soft piano music playing as Kieran began to sing.

" Christmas time is here / Happiness and cheer / Fun for all that children call / Their favorite time of year / Snowflakes in the air / Carols everywhere / Olden times and ancient rhymes / Of love and dreams to share… "

Everyone was surprised at Kieran's voice. He was no master vocalist, but he was good.

"Whoa…" Donnie let out.

"The Ghoul's actually good…" Leo whispered.

"It's amazing," Vee mused.

As Kieran stopped during the solo, Pete nudged him. Kieran turned to him to see him holding a blue blanket, rolling his eyes before going with it.

"I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel." Pete raised an eyebrow at him. "I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents, sending Christmas cards, and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed."

"Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem," said Pete. "Maybe Lucy's right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest."

With that, Pete walked off, leaving Kieran to get ready for the next part.

"Sleigh bells in the air / Beauty everywhere / Yuletide by the fireside / And joyful memories there / Christmas time is here / Families drawing near / Oh, that we could always see / Such spirit through the year…"

Everyone exchanged confused looks at that.

"Pete became obsessed with Peanuts over the holidays," Leatherhead explained. "He's been watching A Charlie Brown Christmas non-stop."

"Ah, that makes sense," Hisako noted.

Once Kieran's singing was finished, Mikey stood up. "Okay, party people, it's time for the gift exchange! You ready?"

Everyone cheered as they circled the tree, with Mikey donning a Santa hat and preparing to pass out gifts.

"Ho-ho-ho!" he laughed before handing Hisako the first one. "This is Turtle Santa's first gift, little girl. Hope you enjoy it."

Hisako opened the present to reveal a cute blue alien plushie with antennae sticking out of its head, wearing a green cap and dark green pajamas.

"A Little Orphan Alien?" she grinned. "Sweet!"

"Yep," Mikey nodded. "Pre-ordered and reserved it a few weeks ago. They sold out faster than hotcakes."

"Lucky me. Thanks."

More gifts were passed out. Donnie got a brand-new chemistry set, Mikey some of the new Ninja Turtle action figures, and Vee a new set of books. Kieran looked over the books.

"Ooh, Mask of the Red Death and Other Tales! Good choice."

"Yep," Vee smiled. "I've always preferred Edgar Allan Poe and the classics."

"More of a Lovecraft guy myself," Kieran noted.

"There's a shocker," Raph deadpanned.

"And Charles Schultz."

Raph blinked.

"He wrote Charlie Brown," Hisako clarified.

"Ah," Raph nodded.

Karai opened her gift, revealing sticks of incense.

"Those are from me," Leo said. "They work perfectly for meditation."

"Great," Karai smiled. "Can't wait to try 'em."

With that done, Leo opened his gift to reveal a brand-new tea set.

"And this is from me." Raph handed a box to Kagome, who opened it to reveal a half-heart necklace. Kagome smiled at the sight.

"Raph, this is so sweet."

"Glad you like it," Raph noted.

-X-

Once the gift exchange was done, the party wound down, the guests filing out, with Sydney picking up Hope on her way home from work. The assembled Hamato/Lee family stood on the porch, waving them off.

"Merry Christmas, everybody!" Mikey called.

Author's Note:

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Leanne - Lara Woodhull (Hinami Fueguchi from Tokyo Ghoul, Myu from Arifureta, Mirai from Senran Kagura, Yu Ebina from Hanebado!, Eco from Dragonar Academy, Maika Tsuchimikado from A Certain Magical Index, Melwin from Cat Planet Cuties, Clara from Princess Jellyfish)

Please R&R. Until next time!