C7
They arrived at the North Pole and entered the entrance and landed perfectly on the sleigh platform. Everyone is eager to see Santa except for Hiro when entering the halls and taking a few turns before reaching his office. Betty and Noel turned to the six who were standing beside each other.
"Alright, you guys ready to see the big man himself?." Betty asked.
"Oh, I'm super duper ready." Violet grinned excitedly.
"I'm ready as ever." Penny shares the same enthusiasm.
Wilbur rubs his hands together. "I am absolutely ready to see Jolly Saint Nick."
"Can we go in now?." Merida is super eager to enter.
"Yeah, my excitement can't be controlled much longer." Rider said excitedly.
Hiro rolled his eyes. "This is stupid."
"You're stupid." Noel snaps at Hiro and his bad attitude.
"SnickerDoodle, he still has time to find his belief. Don't encourage his attitude." Betty tells her husband. "Alright, let's enter."
Pushing the double doors to reveal the beautiful Christmasy office, Scott was sitting behind his desk looking over something until he started hearing multiple squealing that made him alerted and looked to see Team Future. Violet, who is dancing on her tippy toes, while Penny can't help but to shake like a rattle in excitement. Merida happily jogging in place as Wilbur can't help but to have that look of an excited five year child. And Rider was trying to keep his cool but couldn't.
"Hi, Santa!." Violet quickly rushed over but got pulled down by her ankle.
"No, I call dibs sitting on his lap." Merida said when running to him.
Penny trips her and uses her super speed to reach Scott. "Get real, Merida, I've been much good this year than you."
Wilbur quickly shocks Penny with his powers resulting in her shaking from the electricity before sitting on his lap. "Yo, Santa, I've been a good boy this year and…"
Violet pulls her boyfriend off of Scott and quickly gets on his lap. "Santa, what I want for Christmas is…"
Penny roughly pulls her off and has her flown out of the exit. She jumped on his lap and happily grinned. "I want…"
Merida kicks her off. "Santa, I…"
Hiro shakes his head in disgust and disapproval while standing beside Rider as the two watch the four fight over the chance to sit on the supposed Santa Clause's lap in great amusement. Hiro looks at the well fitted lava themed skeleton with curiosity.
"How come you are not over there making a complete fool of yourself?." Hiro asked.
Rider chuckled and folded his arms. "I'm way too heavy to sit on his lap, Hiro. But watching them fight over this is kind of entertaining. Besides, I know what I want and I can tell him without resorting to that childish behavior."
The commotion grew louder as the four friends jockeyed for position, each one more insistent than the last. Scott, trying to maintain his composure, cleared his throat. "Alright, alright, calm down!. You can all tell me your wishes, one at a time, and we'll go from there. After the work is done."
Betty looked at the scene with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Kids, kids, remember why you're here," she said, her voice carrying the authority of a mother trying to manage a room full of over-caffeinated toddlers. The four stopped bickering and turned to face her.
Violet fixed her sweater. "Right. Sorry, Santa. Penny?. Merida?. Wilbur?."
Penny, red-faced from the electric shock, nodded. "Yeah, sorry."
Merida, with a competitive glint in her eye, took a step back. "Aye, we've got important business to discuss."
"Exactly. So, what is it." Wilbur spoke.
"Right." Scott cleared his throat. "As you all know that Christmas is just around the corner."
The four looked at each other, their excitement slightly dampened by the reminder of their mission. Hiro, still skeptical, raised an eyebrow. "What do you need us for, exactly?."
"Protection." Scott looks at Hiro. "Hiro Hamada. The genius and leader of the team."
Hiro rolled his eyes. "Whatever, fake clause."
"Excuse me?." Scott looks at Hiro.
"You heard me, what kind of protection can we provide to someone who can supposedly deliver gifts to the whole world in one night?" Hiro retorted, crossing his arms.
"Hiro!." Penny spoke through her teeth angrily.
Scott held up his hand calmly. "It's okay, Penny. Hiro, I understand your skepticism, but I assure you, we have a very real problem on our hands. Do you kids know of...Krampus?."
"Yeah, everyone knows where Krampus is. The opposite of you." Wilbur spoke before eyeing a large plate of cookies. "Can I?."
Scott nodded with a smile. "Help yourself, Wilbur. Now, Krampus wants to take Christmas. He just sent a kill bounty on me. I need you six to be here at the North Pole until it's time for me to hit the night."
"You can count Team Future, Santa." Penny proudly says. "Krampus isn't going to have your head on our watch."
Scott nodded in approval. "That's a good thing to hear."
Merida munched a big soft sugar cookie. "So, where's Mrs?."
As soon as Merida mentioned Scott's wife, Carol entered in her signature Mrs. Claus attire with her hair tied in a bun. Her appearance alone has got their attention yet again.
"You called?." Carol smiled before getting roughly hugged by Violet.
"Oooo, I always knew you weren't some fat woman." Violet snuggled her face in Carol's coat.
"Well, I still don't know to this day why Mrs. Claus is always described as an overweight woman who loves to bake goods." Carol responded while hugging Violet.
Rider shrugged. "Maybe that's the best way to sell holiday cookies."
Carol chuckled, patting Violet on the back. "Could be."
Hiro rolled his eyes. "This is stupid. I can't believe you guys are buying this crap?."
Carol looks at Hiro with confusion. "Excuse me?."
"Uh, hello?. I didn't stutter. You and that guy aren't Mr. and Mrs. Claus. They don't exist." Hiro folded his arms with anger.
Carol recognizes the particular teen who isn't into the wonderful holiday and turns to see Scott. "This is the boy you've been mentioning during your naughty and nice list."
Scott nodded gravely. "Yes, Hiro is strongly debuting and not believing in us. Let alone hate Christmas."
"Hates Christmas?!." Carol pulls Violet off of her and approaches Hiro. "What's the hate about Christmas?. Christmas is the greatest time of the year. Three weeks out of school. Snow days. Presents and dinner. You can't hate on that. Do you know how many kids always asked Scott to make Christmas a holiday for all twelve months?."
"Eighteen?." Hiro guessed without trying.
Carol raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, not quite. But you're getting there." She leaned closer to him, her voice dropping to a whisper. "But you know what's even more magical than those things? The joy of giving. The warmth of family and friends. And the possibility of miracles happening all around us."
"Oh, sell that BS to my girlfriend and friends, I'm not buying that foolishness." Hiro boldly spoke.
"Hiro!." Penny angrily spoke through her teeth.
Wilbur steps in and pushes Hiro out of the way. "Forgive my buddy, Mrs. C. He's just not in the spirit of the season." He then looks at Hiro with a serious, threatening look. "If you cost us to get our gifts, I will give the electric chair without the chair."
"You're not helping, Wilbur." Penny sighs.
"Santa, might I suggest that you personally hang with Hiro and try to get him into the holiday spirit." Betty suggested.
"Now, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Betty. This is why you're the head elf. Always being steps ahead." Scott got closer to Hiro. "It would make a good idea if I can help you believe in me."
"Don't count on it, fat boy." Hiro shoots back.
Merida rolls her eyes, "Oh, for the love of Christmas, can we not start with the insults?."
"Indeed." Carol looks at the others. "Would you kids care to have me give a massive tour of the workshop?."
"Yes!." Violet cheered, her enthusiasm lighting up the room.
"I'm all in." Penny quickly spoke.
"Please lead the way." Wilbur rubbed his hands together.
Merida grabbed more cookies and milk. "I thought you never asked."
Rider grinned excitedly. "You had me when you said workshop."
Carol nodded. "Great. This way."
As Carol led the five out of the office, Hiro shook his head in disappointment before Penny quickly and roughly stepped on Hiro's right foot.
"Ouch!." Hiro started shaking his foot. "What's that for?."
"You're going to apologize to Santa, and you're going to do it now." Penny whispered fiercely before returning with the others.
"Ah, Penny. A very good girl. Not a single bad bone in her body." Scott started praising. "Always honest, loyal, and knowing what's right and wrong. Let alone an ideal American patriot. A wannabe Captain America if you would."
"Yeah, my girlfriend is a straight country girl scout." Hiro looks at Scott. "I still say you aren't who you claim yourself to be."
Scott clapped his hands together. "Well, I think it's about time we show you the magic of Christmas. And maybe, just maybe, you'll believe in me." He winked.
While Scott had one on one time with Hiro and Carol giving the others the tour of the workshop, Jim and his crew were touching down on the cold snowy grounds of the North Pole and ready to go. Jim landed the ship and turned off its engines before unbuckling his seatbelt. He walked his way out of the piloting room and made his way past the living room and went to the loading dock where the others were. His teammates/family were talking about how to kill Santa and who gets the first hit.
"I say we stun him and then kill him." Shego spoke while standing with her arms crossed.
"I can use the Force and force choke him. Granted, I have never performed before but I know how to do it." said Ahsoka.
"Why don't you use my hammer and hammer him to death and take his skull as proof that we achieved the bounty?." Drack spoke like a typical krogan warrior.
"You can't pass off a skull and say it's the head of the individual that is on the bounty, stupid." Stitch had his blaster on his back. "No, we just shoot his organs and cut his head off from his body and show it as proof."
"I seriously can't believe you guys are talking about how to do Santa and I literally told you four that he isn't anything what that poster said." Jim protested.
Shego, being Shego, put her hand on her hip and spoke with sass. "And this is from someone who is an earthling but never was born or raised on earth."
"Hey, I know enough to not believe everything the galaxy's poster says!." Jim shot back.
"Hey, the bounties never lie or misinform anything. Why do you think that Ahsoka and myself were an excellent bounty hunter duo?." argued Stitch.
Jim looks at his fluffy blue little friend. "Yeah, and I was your last bounty after you guys were misinformed that the man put it up on me. You two honestly believe that I was a murderer on the loose, where it was just a bald face lying and deceiving."
Ahsoka looks at the ground, a hint of guilt crosses her face. "How were we supposed to know that your father figure/mentor, Long John Silver, was only lying about the bounty of you to trick people into finding and capturing you just so because he wants you back."
"Well, you could've asked me, but no, you had to jump to conclusions like the rest of the galaxy does." Jim says, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "All because he wants me back being a space pirate and rejoining his crew. Never happened."
"Even though he paid you out of the slave market when you were just eight years old." Drack points out.
Jim nodded, "And even after that, he didn't care about my wants and dreams that don't align with pirating and just wants me to be his cabin boy for the rest of my life. That's not love or care. That's just manipulation."
The room went quiet, each member of the team mulling over their own thoughts. The excitement of the impending mission was now tinged with doubt. Ahsoka was the first to break the silence, "Look, we can't change what happened with your bounty. But we can be more careful and get the full story before we jump into this one."
"Well, that's good to hear." Jim activated his full head helmet to wrap around his whole head. "Let's get going."
Jim approached the only door out of the Stingray and unlocked the door with his handprint. The round door opened itself by splitting into two halves and then going down to its downward entrance to be an easy walk in. The ramp digitally appeared and five walked down embarrassing the cold.
Shego rubbed her biceps and shivering. "Jim, you didn't say anything about the North Pole being cold!."
Jim smirked, "Well, it's a good thing that Stitch installed thermal heat sensors in our clothes." He looks at Stitch. "Active away, Stitch."
Stitch nodded and pushed a button on the control pad on his wrist. Instantly, their clothing adjusted to the freezing temperature. "Thermal regulation activated."
"Oh, much better." Ahsoka happily says. "So, where do we find this... Santa's Workshop?."
Jim presses the smooth flat button on his helmet to vibrate and scan the area. His scanner pointed out an energy signature and activated the pinpoint location guider. "This way you guys."
Jim leads his team forward in this direction while making himself be sure that none of them would lay a hand or blast on Santa and prove to them that there's nothing negative about him. To be honest, he is indeed excited to meet the man in red and white and give him his wish list. As a child his mom always tells me tales about Santa Clause every year despite the fact that the planet we once lived on didn't have any snow but only sunny and rainy days.
"I hope nothing happens to our ship/home." Stitch spoke while trying not to fall through the deep snow.
"Don't worry, Stitch, cloaked the ship." Jim assured him.
The group trudged through the thick, crunchy snow, each step leaving a distinct imprint in the otherwise untouched landscape. The wind picked up, carrying the scent of pine and something...sweet. It reminded Jim of the gingerbread cookies his mom used to make. They found themselves facing a high cliff that they needed to reach to continue their path. Jim looks to see a thick wall of ice and uses his strategic mind and uses two people for the right job.
"Ahoska, use your lightsabers to carve a nice large block of ice from that thick ice wall." Jim ordered the ex-Jedi.
Ahsoka nodded, and with a graceful flick of her wrists, she summoned her twin lightsabers. The white beams sliced through the frozen surface with ease, creating a large square that fell to the ground with a thunderous crack. The steam from the melted ice curled around their feet.
Jim looks at Drack. "Drack, use your Krogen strength to lift and carry that thick block of ice by the cliff, so we can climb up on it and get on the cliff."
Drack nods, his eyes gleaming with excitement at the prospect of showcasing his brute strength. He grabs the ice block with ease and moves it under the cliff. The group then carefully climbs onto it, using it as a stepping stone to the top.
"Tell me something, Jim." Shego resumed walking. "What are the types of things people consume on this odd day called Christmas?."
"Well," Jim began, "it's a celebration, so they eat cookies, drink eggnog, and share a big feast."
"What's an eggnog?." Ahsoka spoke.
Jim chuckled, "It's a traditional human drink made with milk, eggs, sugar, and usually some form of alcohol. It's kind of sweet and creamy. From what my mom tells me."
"Alcohol?." Drack raised an eyebrow, his interest peaked. "I like the sound of this eggnog."
"He had me at a feast." Stitch smacks his mouth at the thought of food. "What is in the feast?."
Jim's eyes lit up at the thought of explaining the wonders of Christmas to his alien companions. "Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, rolls, and for dessert, pumpkin pie."
"Pumpkin pie?." Shego echoed, her curiosity piqued. "I've heard of that. It's supposed to be pretty good, right?."
"Oh yeah, it's delicious." Jim nodded. "Back on Montressor if we're lucky, traders would have the ingredients from traveling earth from time to time, and my mom is the lonely person that buys the goods. She makes the best pumpkin pies. Well, at least in my opinion."
They walked over to see a few thick ice sickles blocking their path before Jim used his blaster to shoot them down before his team resumed walking. As soon as they took that step in the entrance, all five started sliding straight in a long iced twirl slide.
"Oh, I hate these things every time we go on foot!." said Shego, holding on to the slippery ground as possible.
"You just make sure you don't fly off this slide." Drack called. "Up ahead, this thing is taking us up in the air."
They all held on tight as the icy slide grew steeper, their speed increasing dramatically. At the top, the slide curved sharply, launching them into the cold sunny sky. Finally the ride ended as soon as they landed on solid ground.
"Man, that was fun." Jim secretly in relief.
"Speak for yourself." Stitch spoke while gathering himself.
As they dusted themselves off, they found themselves seeing an open entrance and walked towards that path leading them to a large opening. They looked at a large body of deep flowing water that was the obstacle to reach the other side. Jim looks at his scanner and sees that this is the only option to continue to their destination.
"We have to cross you guys." Jim spoke and automatically prepared to hear that one protest from one particular member.
"Are you out of your flarking mind?!." Stitch had that extremely uneasy look when eyeing the flow of water.
Jim smirks, "Don't worry, we're not crossing that by swimming."
"Right. Cause I'm most certainly not going to get my clothes wet." said Shego before looking down on the icy ground. "Bet I can cut ourselves a nice raft."
"Let's do it." Jim nodded.
Shego's hands began to glow in green energy as she sliced through the ice, creating a large, flat raft. "Now, about reaching the other side."
"Got it." Stitch sticks a flat device on the ice and then throws the twin to the other side. Suddenly a beam connected to each other and pulled the raft forward. "Classic push and pull device. Way more accurate and proving than your lousy method of 'The Force' is illogical, Ahsoka."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny the practicality of the tool. "Just for the record, I could totally use the Force to make this thing fly."
"Could have, should have," Drack grunted, "But we're not taking any chances with your Jedi methods."
Reaching the other side and making more ground, The Universe Guardians started to see a bulky ten feet tall white furry monster on a hill roaring at them before climbing over to the side.
"What is that?." Shego asked the question for anyone to answer.
"I believe that was a Yeti." Jim answered. "Bigfoot's cousin."
"Bigfoot?." Stitch scratched his head.
"Hmmm, basically this is this planet's Wookiee." Ahoska points out.
"Are Yetie's hostile, Jim?." Drack asked.
"Not usually, but they're protective of their territories." Jim replied, eyeing the spot where the creature was. "Best to keep our distance."
"And how often does that work with us?." Stitch points out.
"Good point." Jim walks through the opening entrance.
As soon as they reached the other side, four Yetis jumped down in front of them looking very aggressive and dangerous. Jim and the rest pulled out their weapons and started fighting once the Yeti in the middle charged at him.
"Watch out!." Jim used his rocket boots to shift quickly to the right from being attacked.
The Yetis were fast despite their bulky frames. They swiped at them with their massive paws, each one powerful enough to swipe a person off their feet. The team worked in tandem, dodging and firing their weapons in a synchronized dance of combat. Shego's plasma blast sizzled through the air, striking a Yeti in the shoulder, causing it to roar in pain but not slow down.
Stitch fires his blaster as soon as he connects his support gun holder. "Come and get it, furballs!."
The Yetis roared in response, charging at the group with surprising speed. Ahoska used the Force to pull a tree branch down, tripping one of the beasts as it rushed towards her. The creature stumbled, giving her the opportunity to deliver a swift kick to its side, sending it crashing into another. Drack going all warrior body slammed one down before putting a bullet in the forehead.
Jim fired his blaster at the supposed ring leader after Stitch threw a sticky grenade. "And bye-bye."
Ahoska killed one by slicing off its limb and then shoveling both lightsabers on its side. "Good riddance."
"Now, that was impressive!." Shego said, a hint of admiration in her voice. She jumps on top of one of them before wrapping her legs around its neck and snapping it.
The remaining Yeti, enraged by the loss of its comrades, lunged at the group with a fierce battle cry. However, it was met with a barrage of fire from the combined forces of the Universe Guardians. The creature's fur caught alight briefly before it collapsed, defeated. The team took a moment to catch their breath, looking at each other with a mix of relief and excitement.
"And here I thought Earth didn't have dangerous creatures." said Stitch while putting his gun back on his open holster back.
"It's not over yet," Drack reminded them, his eyes scanning the surrounding woods, "Those were just the welcoming party."
"We should keep going and watch our surroundings." Ahoska looked at her leader. "Right, Captain?."
"Yes, we should." Jim nodded. "Come on."
Back with Team Future, everyone except for Hiro is having one heck of a wonderful time at the Workshop. Wilbur, Penny, and Rider were all over the toy factory either helping the elves or messing with the toys. Violet is hanging out with Carol and really getting along well as the two do love karaoke. Merida was at the Naughty and Nice list looking to see if the people she knows back from her home country are either good or bad, despite the elves protest of her looking at and being meant for Santa's eyes only. And as for Hiro, he is currently in the room of snow globes with Scott to the point he has no clue why he takes him here of all places.
"Why did you drag me to this room?." Hiro crossed his arms in protest. "I see plenty of snow globes at Hobby Lobby and other stores."
Scott, who is checking each self, spoke up. "These Snow Globes aren't your average snow globes, Hiro."
"Pardon?." Hiro raised his brow.
Scott picked up a snow globe, the scene inside depicting a serene winter village. With a twirl of his wrist, the globe activated, and the scene inside came to life. The tiny villagers began moving, the snow fluttered in a perfect flurry, and the lights twinkled as if by magic.
"These are Christmas memories," Scott explained. "Each globe holds a piece of special Christmas moments for every person or family."
Hiro rolled his eyes. "Great, more magic."
"Not just magic, but memories," Scott corrected. "Precious moments frozen in time. They're like portals to Christmas pasts."
Hiro rolled his eyes. Scott sighed. "Hiro, why do you hate me?."
Hiro looks at Scott with a frown. "Oh, like you don't know. You just prove right there that you are a fake."
Scott's expression grew serious. "I'm not fake. I am Santa. I didn't grow my beard out and gain obesity for nothing. Even though it magically happened."
"I hate Christmas!." Hiro yelled and walked out.
Scott sighed. "Oh, boy." He looks at the particular shelf. "Where is that snow globe?."
He spots it at the very top, almost out of reach. It's the globe that holds the memory of Hiro's family. He stretches out his hand, his fingertips just brushing the cool glass. With a bit of effort, he pulls it down. The globe felt heavier than the others, filled with more than just snow and glitter. It contained the essence of love and warmth from Hiro's past.
"This will most definitely put him back in the holiday spirit." Scott looks at his elf. "Please, have this wrapped and put it in a nice box of Hiro's favorite color and hand it back to me."
The elf nodded and scurried off with the globe. Meanwhile, Hiro walked through the corridors of the Workshop, feeling more lost and frustrated than ever. He stumbled upon a room where the elves were busy crafting gifts. The sight brought him a bit of nostalgia, reminding him of his childhood days when he would help his mother in wrapping gifts after coming home from Walmart. He shook his head in refusal and continued walking. Upon walking he saw four literal shadows passing him by which made him stop in his tracks. Hiro followed the shadows going towards the same direction he once was with Scott as it alerted him big time as the shadows didn't have any hosts.
"Oh, crap." Hiro dashed back to the snow globe room.
"Here you go, Santa." The elf hands him the small navy blue box with a tied bow.
Scott took the box and felt a warm sensation in his heart. "Thank you, this will be perfect." He knew it was risky, but he had a plan. He knew the globe would be a key to unlocking Hiro's true feelings about Christmas.
Suddenly the two heard loud growling and then saw five dark figures formed up from the floor as they were bulky with large horns and having bull-like features.
"Oh, boy." Scott had that look of an anxious man.
Hiro activated his suit and flew to tackle one of them. "Run, Scott!."
Scott didn't argue, he turned and dashed out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him. The creatures were fast, but not as fast as Hiro's robotic speed. He dodged their charges and delivered swift kicks, but they were too strong, barely even flinching at his blows. Hiro kicked one off of him and then flew out to grab Scott off the ground. The other figures started firing dark energy from their mouths which made contact with Hiro and made him hit the floor hard with Scott.
"Great, my suit is malfunctioning temporarily. Are they dark magic?." Hiro asked while looking at his suit's hologram body in his visor showing him multiple parentheses warnings.
"No, it's not magic," Scott panted as he helped Hiro back up, "It's something much more sinister."
Noel, after hearing the noise and seeing his Santa in trouble, immediately ran to find the others who were at the wrapping station wrapping up gifts to help. "Santa is in trouble!. Santa is in trouble!."
"Wow, darling calm down." Betty calmed her husband. "What's wrong?."
"It's Hiro and those... creatures!." Noel's eyes were wide with shock.
"Creatures?." Penny stopped wrapping.
"Yes, they look like something out of a nightmare," Noel said, still panting.
"Take us where they are." Rider cracked his knuckles.
"Follow me!." Noel led the way as they all dashed down the corridor.
Hiro fired a few hits to prevent the things from getting closer. "We have to get a far away distance from these things."
Scott nodded and started to run. "Looks like we will have to leave the Workshop."
"That sounds perfect." Hiro looked at a wall and blasted a massive hole in it. Then he grabs Scott and flies out. "I know they are going to follow us."
Scott nodded as they soared over the snowy landscape. "But we can't just run forever, we need to find a way to deal with them."
"Hey, I'm a hero. We do things my way." Hiro responded before firing his back missiles at the creatures who now have wings.
"Wow, your suit has a lot of upgrades." Scott looked at him with amazement.
"How do you know that?." Hiro looks at him.
"Uh, duh. I'm Santa. I see everything." Scott points.
The creatures, now in pursuit, had indeed sprouted wings and were gaining on them rapidly. Hiro gritted his teeth and pushed his suit to its limits, the engines whining as they shot through the night sky. The cold wind bit at their faces, but the adrenaline kept them focused. Hiro flies down to shaped rocks and uses them as obstacles to keep the things off their backs. It works. Penny and the others looked at the damages being made in the room and it looked insane.
"Krampus is going all out in trying to off Scott." Carol looked all worried.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Claus, Hiro is with Santa. He won't let anyone harm him." Wilbur spoke before Violet spoke.
"Really?. The one who doesn't believe in him or value Christmas like the rest of us?." Violet looks at her boyfriend with that look.
"Hiro is more than just that, Vi." Wilbur said, trying to defend him.
"This is serious. We have to find them." Merida spoke before munching another tree cookie.
"Merida, don't eat all the cookies," Carol scolded her. "We need to focus on the situation at hand."
"The five of you are going to have to go out there and retrieve them back. The clock is ticking for Christmas." Betty points out.
Merida, Wilbur, Penny, Rider, and Violet looked at each other, determination set in their faces.
"Alright, let's do this," Merida spoke up.
"No, not like this." Carol looks at them in seriousness. "You five need weapons. Christmas weapons."
The team exchanged puzzled glances before Betty guided them to a super security locked vault and saw three weapons hovering inside each clear cylinder. One was a golden chain with a round solid Christmas tree medallion with music notes all around it. The other being an old-school drum and a pair of brown drumsticks. The third one being an archery bow in a candy cane themed design.
"These are ancient Christmas weapons dating back to the Motherland that is Africa." explained Betty.
"The necklace is called the Necklace of Caroling that creates offence or anything based on the songs that are being sung by the holder." Carol looks at them. "Question, who knows every Christmas song lyric by heart?."
Violet raises her hand. "Me, obviously." She smirks.
"You know every single piece of Christmas songs to a tee?." Carol looked very surprised. "Without messing up the lyrics?."
"Yep, I'm a master of karaoke and I love Christmas songs. That's why I'm always the designated singer during Christmas parties." Violet grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she reached for the necklace.
"This drum literally belonged to the Drummer Boy. Playing his drum of any tune creates what the drummer is playing come to life. Who plays drums and stays on tempo?." Betty looked at the three.
"I'm an excellent drummer back home. My mom says that I'm gifted in drumming." Wilbur proudly spoke. "Hand them over."
"Very well," Betty said with a smile, handing him the drum. "Just remember, you play it, you bring it."
"And the bow," Merida's eyes lit up as she approached the third weapon. "It's a beauty. What does it do?."
"Ah, the Candy Cane Bow of Sweetness," Carol said with a smile, " Carved by the canes from the forest of Candy Cane Lane. It magically fires arrows that are candy cane arrows that explode on impact."
"Explodes?." Merida raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, but in a festive and non-lethal way," Betty assured her, handing the bow over. "Think of it as spreading Christmas cheer with a bang."
Merida took the bow, feeling its weight and admiring the intricate candy cane design. "I like the sound of that."
"And what about us?." Rider pointed at himself and Penny.
"Yeah, we don't get any awesome Christmas weapons?." said Penny.
"Don't worry, you two," Carol said, walking to another part of the room, "You'll be getting something just as good."
She pulled out two sleek, glowing sticks from a hidden compartment. "These are the Staffs of the Jingle Bells. They can create a shield of sound that protects from dark forces, and when combined, they create a sonic blast that can stun or disorient foes."
Penny's eyes went wide. "Cool, like a lightsaber but with sound!."
Rider nodded in agreement. "We can totally jam with these."
"Great." Carol clapped her hands together. "Let's go. Betty. Noel. You'll stay put and get things ready for Christmas Eve night. Christmas must go on."
With a nod, Betty and Noel headed back to their stations as the rest of the team geared up. Violet placed the Necklace of Caroling around her neck, the music notes glinting in the lights of the Workshop. Wilbur slung the Drummer Boy's drum over his shoulder and picked up the drumsticks, tapping out a quick beat. Merida held the Candy Cane Bow in one hand. Rider and Penny each took a Staff of the Jingle Bells, feeling the power of Christmas resonate within them.
"Alright, Team Future." Penny had that heroic look on her face. "Time to save Santa and Christmas."