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parttimehero · 27 days ago

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❄️🎄— Nørth Pøle Døwn —🎄❄️

▲—A Muddled Renditiøn—▼

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'Twas the day of December 24th, Christmas Eve. The most exciting, and to some, nerve-wracking day of the month. Everyone is preparing to make the next day the most wonderful time of the year!

Rippen, on the other hand, just sees it as another bright morning to wake up to. He'll probably make a tasty breakfast and take a little stroll to his part-time job. The weather was quite nice out for a walk this past week. This morning, though, he woke up before his alarm, a newer habit that's been reoccurring for months now. His body heavy from slumber, an arm wrapped around his treasured stuffed poodle, Freddy. Drowsily, he fluttered his eyes open, excepting to be greeted with the shining sun beaming its rays through his window. But instead, a more worrying sight beheld him, it made him quickly sit up from his bed, then he got up to move towards the window.

A blizzard had brewed over the night and released its chilled wrath upon the small town. Rippen was wide-eyed by the sight until a knock at his door snapped him out of his trance. He exited his room and made his way to the front door of his apartment. No tree stood in his living room, and he didn't have time to decorate his place, sadly. He would've loved to, but it simply slipped his mind due to his two jobs. There were... other reasons as well, but that shouldn't cloud his mind now. He reached the door, but before he could open it, the knob jiggled and the door swung open, Larry waiting behind it.

He can't say he was too surprised to see him, just surprised that he wasn't inside his place already. "Oh! Good morning, Larry! Merry Christmas Eve! Do you say that, or is it just "Merry Christmas"?" Rippen greeted his friend. Of course, Larry didn't give a vocal response. Just a look.

To break the silence, Rippen decided to ramble. "So, what are you doing for Christmas? Going to go visit some family or—you know funnily enough, I don't believe you've told me much about your family. Weird, right? We've known each other for years, and yet I don't even know if you have siblings or not—"

Larry interrupted him by loudly tapping his watch, urging him to wrap up.

"Oh, right! Sorry. Are you sure you don't want breakfast first? I can make it real quick." He rubbed the back of his neck from bashfulness. He tended to feel that way when someone points out his motormouth or when he catches himself.

His question was answered when Larry came inside. Maneuvering around his coworker and strolled his way towards a table, plopping himself onto one of two chairs. It made Rippen giddy as he hurriedly pulled out a pan from one of the bottom cupboards in his kitchenette.

"Up for some delectable holiday pancakes? I know I am." He asked while he grabbed some pancake mix he left on the counter. He was gonna make them one way or another today, as if he didn't already make them at some point once every week.

He donned an apron and hummed a tune as he put together the duo's breakfast. The apron wasn't really necessary, but he liked wearing it while baking or cooking. It was quick, as he promised. He plated the food and added holiday-themed syrup art upon them, along with the help of some whipped cream and strawberries. He proudly showed off his culinary skills as he set the plates on the table and took his seat.

The both of them enjoyed their food, Larry more rushed than Rippen. He didn't notice as he rambled off again. His coworker nodded along. Was Larry actually listening or just pretending? Many didn't know for sure. Plenty felt pity for him being stuck with such an annoying force. But was he truly annoyed? He did wish for Rippen to hurry up either way.

After finishing up, Rippen kindly took the cleaned plates as Larry hopped off his seat and waited by the front door. He hastily scrubbed whatever was left on them and began to march his was towards the door until he was stopped by Larry. He was confused at first until Larry scanned his clothes. Rippen sheepishly chuckled, forgetting he was still in his pajamas.

He went back to his bedroom and stripped his pajamas off. But before getting his clothes on, he snatched his calamine lotion and slathered it onto his body. He then dressed himself up in his usual attire, but with an added festively ornate, button-up vest for the day. He rummaged through his jewelry box on his dresser and pulled out a holly berry brooch, attaching it onto his vest. Just before exiting his room, he remembered something else. He looked to his dresser, his old MUHU resting on top of it. He paused to think for a moment.

I don't need it. But what if? Maybe—just in case.

He nabbed it and clipped it onto his belt. As he left the room, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror from his bathroom. His hair was an absolute tangled mess. How could he not tell? Then again, he had a reoccurring forgetfulness to him. He wished he could help it, but alas, it was one of the mainstays of his character. He found his hairbrush and began to tug at his mess, yanking it to his style.

He also noticed his teeth. Those needed a good brush, too. After finally taming his mane of hair, he splurted his minty toothpaste onto his scrubbing tool and drew the bristles of it across his teeth. Yet, no matter how much he regularly cleaned his teeth, the yellow staining of his dirty habits would never dissappear. He scratched himself as he continued. The lotion was dawdling its time to take effect.

Once he completed all his tasks, he wrapped himself in a proper coat like Larry. He was ready for the day ahead of them. Locking up his apartment, they departed down the stairs of his level and opened the building's front door. A huge gust of wind rush passed the duo, followed by a flurry of snowflakes. When the wind knocked the air out of Rippen's lungs past, he let out a goofy giggle and triumphantly charged his way through the layers of snow outside. Larry followed behind, struggling a bit due to his stature. Rippen took notice and turned behind him and enveloped his arms around Larry. Heaving him up and carrying him to Rippen's clunky, yellow car. Larry was flustered by the act, but let it happen. He knew Rippen just wanted to help. He also didn't really mind too much.

He unlocked the car door and gently sat Larry in the passenger seat. He was also about to buckle him, but Larry raised an eyebrow. Rippen removed his hands off the seat belt and awkwardly laughed his way out of Larry's side of the car. He got into the driver's seat and jammed his key into the ignition, giving it a good turn. But he was met with his car sputtering, he tried again. More sputtering. Again. Again, and again.

Rippen gave a sheepish grin towards Larry, letting out another awkward chuckle.

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The yellow car pulled up to the front of the Odyssey and sputtered its engine off for the day. Switching off the holiday tunes, Rippen and Larry emerged from the ride and made their way inside. Rippen stopped in his footsteps as Larry reached the door. His attention was drawn to Penn, just outside of Slushee Inferno, shivering in his spot. Rippen also took note of the fact that there was plenty of snow covering the kid's boots and the redness of his face. Was he waiting for him to show up? For how long?

"W-What t-t-took you s-s-so lo-ong, h-huh?" Penn snidely remarked, heavily shivering.

He was clearly freezing. It was obvious not just by him shaking like a leaf but by his attire. He was wearing his trademark studded leather jacket, but now with a thin sweater underneath. A beanie stretched over his head, and some of his spikey hair that was tucked under it peeked out. He should be wearing his winter coat and many more layers than that, and what? No gloves, either? He could see Boone and Sashi inside, and yet they didn't come check on him?

Rippen was deeply concerned. He wanted to give the poor boy his coat but knew it would be rejected. He'd probably throw it into the slushed street. So he'll just answer him and hope he'll rush inside afterward.

"We just had a marvelous breakfast, giving us the energy to stop your evildoing! We're going to need plenty of it to stop you and your crew of up-to-no-gooders!" Rippen put on a faux cockiness as he tried to subtly boost the boy's confidence. He also gestured very dramatically as he spoke.

Penn cringed when Rippen uttered the words "up-to-no-gooders." He shook his head in a displeased and annoyed manner as he stomped his way inside the convenience store.

Larry eyed Rippen, letting a small huff as he entered the theater. "What? At least I didn't mention my car shutting off in the middle of the road. And, hey! We got the chance to peek at that neat shop's window with the most adorable little Christmas tree." Rippen followed shortly behind him, the warmth of the building greeting them both. Phyllis was hoisted in the air, working on the MUT's conduits, like any other day.

"Phyllis! You still haven't given me any hints for what kind of gift to get you. You still have some time to change—"

"Would like you to keep universe from becoming unbalanced and collapsing because of your negligence." She responded without losing focus of her work.

Rippen was quite taken aback by that answer. "Negligence? I've been on a winning streak since day one of being here! Please tell me what I'm doing wrong." He felt disheartened

"Stop coddling enemy, perhaps?" Blunt as ever.

"What, Penn? I'm not coddling him! W- Where did this even come from? Phyllis?" He looked around in faux exaggerated confusion, and his sights landed on Larry. His coworker unsubtly averted his gaze as he sipped from his hot cup of coffee, made with the communal coffeemaker.

Rippen felt even more hurt by the fact that Larry was talking to Phyllis behind his back. He understands that Larry has much more experience and understanding than him, but he would've hoped that he could at least talk to him first. Tension spread through his body. He took a deep breath, clasping his hands together.

"Look, Phyllis, this situation is so much more complica—"

"No time for debates. It is time for work." She descended from her work and headed inside the auditorium.

Rippen was completely stationary as her footsteps departed. His eye gave out a slight involuntarily twitch. Larry took notice as Rippen deeply inhaled as much air as he could, then releasing it. He rubbed his hands together and followed her, Larry, right after him.

Down the aisle and onto their respective platforms, standing in place. They waited to be zapped into whatever random dimension they had save today... and waited. So did Phyllis, and she raised an eyebrow. Rippen fiddled with his brooch in anticipation of the zap. He looked back at Phyllis for some sort of answer. She tapped her chest.

"Oh! Whoops, sorry!" He let out an awkward chuckle and hurriedly ran down the aisle towards a box of half-melted metals and pins. He removed his brooch from his vest, carefully placing it inside for the time being, and he rushed towards his spot. "Why didn't you say something before? I mean, it would've been more time efficient if you—"

He was cut off once again by being instantly zapped along with Larry when taking one step onto the platform. It nearly knocked the air out of him as he rose off the ground and into the portal.

ZAP

Cold air nipped at Rippen's rosy face, but oddly enough, he seemed unbothered by it. He felt warm and fuzzy inside. It must've been the thick red coat he was wearing. He touched the fabric and admired its feel, his mind racing to figure out the texture. Not immediately registering his stomach, which was now filled out like a bowl of jelly. But his eyes were drawn to the long, white, fluffy beard that covered his chest, his hands latching onto the next. Combing his fingers through it. He always got so excited to see what style his beard would change into when he zapped.

His head felt a bit itchy, so he snuck a hand underneath his new hat and gave a scratch. A pom-pom stuck to the tip of it dangled in front of his face, moving from the adjustment. His pupils dilated in response, and he raised both hands towards the pom-pom, giving it soft pats back and forth. A throat clearing sound interrupted his focus.

Rippen shook his head, putting on a more serious and concentrated face. He blew a puff of air to knock the pom-pom out of his face. But as soon as he turned towards the source, his "serious" face melted at the sight of Larry. Now dressed in festive wear, ears pointed and somehow even shorter than ever before.

"Oh. My. Goodness! Larry! Look at you! You're so adorable, I just wanna—" He abruptly stopped himself, clearing his throat. "My apologies. That was very demeaning. You look very nice, Larry." He put his hands behind his back and rocked his body back and forth slightly with his tiptoes then to his heels.

The awkward silence lingered between the two for a few beats. "Larry, could you please check the specs?" Rippen politely requested.

The rundown of the mission:

Release the captured elves and reindeer

Retrieve the presents

Recover the naughty and nice list

Launch the sleigh before a blizzard hits at midnight

08:32:05 PM

Then, a very slow realization finally hit him. His red suit, the beard, Larry's elf-like attributes, and all the Christmas themed decorations littered upon the snow...

"Wait, wait, wait! Am I—thee Santa Claus? As in, delivers happiness and good cheer to all the children around the world!?" His voice getting higher with excitement. Larry gave a nod.

Rippen released a screech of exhilaration and pranced around, the snow crunching beneath his feet. "Oooh, I can't wait to deliver all those presents to everyone, everywhere! Getting to cry out "Merry Christmas" for all to hear! Maybe a little girl looks out her frosty window and sees me riding off into the night sky—Oh, Larry, we're gonna have a gay ol' time—"

He stopped again when he saw Larry's face, waiting for him to wrap up his spiel of the moment. Rippen contained himself for now, saving that energy for their triumph later on. "Ah— well, that's—a lot to cover on such short notice. But it's nothing we can't handle! Right, buddy?"

Before Larry could open his mouth, a reindeer snatched his hat and began to munched on it. He let out a huff of annoyance in response. Rippen gasped at the creature, jogging over to pet the large animal. The reindeer nuzzled into his hand, letting out snorts of contentment as it continued to chew the hat. He cheerfully asked. "Care to join us?"

The reindeer grunted in enthusiastic agreement. Why wouldn't it help Santa Claus? Rippen giggled with glee. "Oh thank you, you majestic moose!"

The definitive reindeer snorted in bafflement, Larry also jerked his head in shock. Rippen's grin froze in place as he eyes switched between the two staring at him.

"Whut?"

Larry simply held his hand out and gestured at the animal, hoping Rippen would understand. After his gears slowly turned, he understood his mistake. "Ooooh, I'm so sorry. I've never seen an actual reindeer before—or a moose—I don't know why I called you one. Can you forgive me?"

The reindeer gave a throaty "yes."

"Well, let's go-ho-ho!" Rippen exclaimed into the northern wind. Pointing his finger into a random direction and charging, the reindeer galloped with him. Larry rushed behind them.

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09:05:02 PM

The trio arrived at an abandoned workshop, and the Christmas tree-shaped door closed them off from entering. But not for long. Larry instructed their newly added ally to bust down the door, with an offering of a candy cane he found in the snow. The reindeer happily obliged as Rippen questioned if candy was good for reindeer. Larry didn't answer.

Rippen followed their furry companion inside the darkened building and scanned through the wreckage left behind. While searching, Larry was still outside in the bitter cold, peering through the freshly formed flurries at something in the far distance. A form fixed in place against the gusts of wind. Larry squinted suspiciously, seemingly waiting for something to happen.

"Um, Larry, I think you may want to come check this out." Rippen's voice echoed, beckoning Larry. The sidekick took a moment to give one last good look before making his way inside.

As he cautiously walked towards Rippen, he was shown a myriad sights you wouldn't typically see near Christmas time. A teddy bear impaled against the wall by a candy cane, a toy plane that's crashed into a poor gingerbread house, and a headless baby doll shambling from the shadows. It's cries of "mama" resonating from its broken body, but no mama could fix this. Birch branches were littered along the ground and splattered across the walls was a substance colored a deep crimson. Larry swiped some of it off with his finger and brought it to his mouth, giving it a lick. Peppermint.

He gave a quick look back out the distant door. The form appeared to have drew closer.

He arrived at Rippen's side, both staring at a large sack that was dripping with peppermint. Rippen more unnerved than Larry's stoic face. Larry picked up a candy cane and carefully unraveled the string, keeping the sack closed, both stepping back as it opened. What spilled as its innards was pitch black pieces of coal.

"What could this mean?" Rippen almost hesitantly asked as he kneeled down to inspect the coal. Larry gave the impression he already knew.

"A message."

A cold voice answered as the form from before raised a very large candy cane above Rippen's head, ready to land a devastating blow. Rippen whipped his head around in alarm to be greeted by the sight. Letting out a gasp.

Before the mysterious figure could take a swing, Larry tackled them to the ground, or at least, their head. The body swung the weapon frantically, but luckily, Rippen was out of reach and seized the body, disarming it, quite literally. The reindeer's snacking was interrupted and bellowed in fright from the commotion, backing into a corner.

The duo held both pieces up to get a good grasp on what their looking at. It was a short snowman, still trying to attack them and demanding to be released. The bulbous head trying to bite at Larry, he retorted by nearly biting off the attacker's carrot nose. A fearful yelp left his mouth as his branch arms immediately stopped attempting their feeble assault.

"Why did you ambush us?" Rippen ordered, putting on a more deeper, stern tone.

The snowman urged in a hushed tone. "Because if I didn't thwack you, they'd melt me!"

"They? Who's they?"

"They came in the night, the menace of the North Pole, the sugary shadows. the rogue gingerbread army."

"That sounds—delicious!" Rippens's stunned face morphed into a more delighted look by the thought of warm, tasty gingerbread cookies. He could practically smell them now.

He snapped out of his sweetened thoughts. He needed to focus. "Take us to their location. Now. Please."

"No! I didn't even want to get involved, I'm not going to do some heel turn just because you said please!"

Rippen and Larry shared a look with each other. He motioned his sidekick to follow him. A smile formed on Larry's face as he smeared the head against the wall, peppermint sticking to his face. "If you won't talk, maybe Alfie will make you."

Larry's smile quickly dissipated, wondering who Alfie was. "Who?" The snowman questioned.

The two stopped in front of the reindeer, who caught a whiff of the minty smell that was now seeping deep into the snowman's head. Licking his lips, the animal approached with his tongue hanging out, drooling from the anticipation.

The snowman began to struggle against Larry's grip. "No no no—wait! I'll take you, I'll take you! Just please for the love of all things, Holly and Jolly, keep that thing away from me!" He cried as the reindeer was inches from his rather tasty looking nose.

With a nod from Rippen, Larry swiveled away from the hungry reindeer and started their trek out the door and to the army's location, the reindeer trotting very closely behind. Rippen striding by his side.

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Inside the toy factory that once belonged to Santa Claus was now overrun with bitter gingerbread soldiers. Loading fruit cakes heavy as bricks and confetti into candy cane cannons, gumdrops being slung from tall candy cane slingshots. Many reworking popcorn garlands into whips with painfully sharp star toppers at the ends, and snipers loading their candy cane guns with frosting and plenty of sprinkles. Candy canes are a big theme around here.

But the back kitchen is where the main event for the villainous trio that was orchestrating this whole operation. Numerous gingerbread men mixing batches upon batches of gingerbread and pouring it onto a gigantic baking sheet. Boone overseeing them with a clipboard, checking off some boxes.

"That icing better be prepared before the oven is done, or else you'll be fed to the reindeer!" He bellowed at the soldiers, many becoming panicked and speedily worked. "Gumdrop squad! If those go to waste, you'll be stuck in the oven and be cooked to a blackened crisp!" Those gingerbread follow suit of the others.

Sashi wasn't back there at the moment. She was sent off to check on the elves and reindeer by Boone, making sure none have escaped. It was mainly an excuse to get her out of the way, Boone didn't see her as useful due to her cowardice. He wondered if she'd even go guard the weaponry like he demanded.

"Come on! Hurry up already—you guys are taking forever!" Penn whined at his soldiers as they were hard at work. He slouched in his elaborately candy decorated throne made of gingerbread.

Boone rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Well, if someone didn't need their "royal high chair" so badly, we would've been done now."

Penn grumbled "dramatic effect" under his breath, impatiently tapping his stub of a hand on the arm of his seat.

"Seriously, Penn, those yuletide yucks aren't going to see it or even care! This is all for your precious, fragile ego. Just like this unnecessarily elaborate plan. We've wasted too much time on that chair and your little temper tantrum with that list earlier." Boone was already exasperated by all the time-wasting bickering that was about to begin. He shouldn't entertain his colleague's tiffs, but it was a hard habit to kick. Especially when Penn was wrong like he typically was.

Penn stood up from his gingerbread encrusted seat. "It's not unnecessary. It's thematic! It's not my fault you never had a childhood!" He raised his voice for all his ginger-henchmen to hear. He decided to ignore that temper tantrum comment, not like it wasn't the first time he's heard that.

Boone snorted. "Oh yeah, having your parents threaten you with some goat-man is a real good sign of a healthy childhood."

Penn couldn't help himself but to keep pushing. "Well, if your parents actually disciplined you, maybe you wouldn't have turned out as such an asshat. Ever think about that, hmm? Maybe you needed some Kram—"

"HE'S NOT EVEN REAL!" Boone's bellow echoed throughout the kitchen and even escaped into the shop. Gingerbread men gasped they looked at each other, muttering amongst themselves, unable to comprehend what he said. Boone whipped his around to the whisperings about him. "Get back to work! No lollipop-gagging!" And back to work they went as the two in charge scowled at each other.

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The trio, plus one snowman, arrived at the once cheerful toy factory. The snowman's head was now skewered onto the antlers of their furry ally. He wasn't exactly thrilled about his new arrangement. His body slid behind them, now lacking his spindly branches for arms. Disarmed for safety reasons.

Larry mounted onto a great pine tree and began to scale to the very top for a good view. When reaching the top, he pulled a pair of toy binoculars he found embedded in some snow bank. Scanning the area for gingerbread stragglers or any poor elves that were doomed to freeze in the bitter cold. Instead, an unguarded post caught his eyes. He stealthily descended the tree and motioned his partner towards the building. Rippen clicked his tongue to get the reindeer's, or as he dubbed it earlier, Alfie's attention. Alfie stopped his grazing and bobbed his head to the snowman's dismay.

Before entering, Larry leaned on the doorframe and peaked inside. It seemed to be some sort of weaponry, one that wasn't empty of any enemies. A lone gingerbread person stood and stared at the artillery. Rippen was about to whisper a plan of action for the two of them until Larry rolled inside, the bells on his outfit signaling to the gingerbread soldier that someone was here. She turned to be faced with advisory: her principal as an elf. Sashi leaped from fear and quickly grabbed a pair of candy cane nunchucks to defend her post. Larry didn't even feel the need to grab any weapon. It was only Sashi.

Rippen slowly entered, holding his hands slightly up to show he beared no weapons. "Sashi, there's no need to get violent. You're outnumbered. Just tell us where the elves and reindeer are being kept, okay?" He spoke to her in a gentle tone.

He kept slowly and carefully drawing closer to her, hoping she'd let her guard down and give them answers. Not sure if it was the sheer height of him or that he was too close for comfort that triggered her out, but she whipped her nunchucks wildly around in response. Rippen jerked away from her line of sight, and Larry just nonchalantly took a step back. He really was unfazed by her. As she kept waving it frantically and letting it thwack around her body, the beatings were so violent that when it hit her torso once more, it snapped her cookie body in half. She fell to the floor as her legs stood straight up for a few short moments until it fell flat in the opposite direction.

Horror and worry crisscrossed Rippen's face as he made his way to her side, kneeling next to her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She shrugged. "I didn't really feel anything."

He huffed a sigh of relief. It looked horrible when her body violently snapped like that. He was incredibly thankful she couldn't feel it, although it did raise plenty of concerns about how and why gingerbread people worked the way they did. But he had to put those thoughts aside for now. She was no longer a threat to anyone, and thankfully, herself.

Larry was already preparing himself as he grabbed what seemed like half of the artillery, draping a belt of seemingly normal ornaments around his waist. He was packing plenty of heat for this cold takeover. After being assured of Sashi's wellbeing and acquiring intel of the elves and reindeer's whereabouts, Rippen joined Larry in taking up arms, grabbing a pair of wrapping paper blasters.

While Alfie, now donning a pair of stockings filled to the brim with tools for defense, sniffed some of the candy-coated weaponry. Their snowman companion huffed in impatience as he waited for their arming-up montage to end. He noticed the MUHU that was attached to the belt of the blabbering Santa he was stuck with. "What's with that there, doohickey you got there." He motioned his head in that general direction.

"Oh, this?" Rippen swayed the side of hip with the device. "It's my MUHU." He responded enthusiastically. He noticed the snowman's confusion. It made sense. Why would he know what that is. "Well—um, I use it to call my family, basically."

"Oh. That must be handy, I'm sure they just bombard you with plenty of calls." Their snowy captive sarcastically and snidely replied, even rolling his eyes at the sheer words he spoke.

Rippen's usually cheery demeanor faltered at that moment. "Well, that'd be nice, I wouldn't really mind that at all." His eyes gave way to sorrow as he looked off into nothingness, lost in his own thoughts. "No one has actually called me in quite some time now. I mean, they have their own lives. It's understandable, really."

He shook his head, knocking any wayward thoughts out of his mind for the time being. "Anyways. After we wrap all this up, you can be on your merry way back to your family—"

"Who says I have a family?" The snowman sharply cut him off, narrowing his pebbled eyes. Rippen tried to quell the situation. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to assume—"

Yet again, his captive cut him off mid-sentence. "You see any other snowpeople around here!?"

There really was no point in responding. This frosty guy was getting heated. Yet, Rippen kept trying. "N-No, I haven't—"

This time, he cut him off with a chilled shout. "That's because I wasn't built with a family, just alone in the cold!" His expression of cold rage slowly melted into a more empty, solemn look. "Watching as everyone else around me has a grand ol' jolly time, especially on every Christmas. It blackeneds my already black coal of a heart!" By the time he finished, he looked away, trying not to make a big deal out of his circumstances, trying not to let that bother him. But Rippen could very well tell that it did indeed bother him.

A simple, well-meaning question popped into that noggin of his. "Why don't you build your own family? I mean, perhaps it's a bit difficult with those sticks for arms but—"

"Oh yeah! How come I've never ever thought of such a simple solution before! Oh, thank you, great and wise Santa!" Huffs of bitter sarcasm exuded from the snowman. "You should know why."

But Rippen didn't. He wasn't the real Santa, just an impersonator taking his place for the night. It did make him think: Why doesn't Santa make him a family, or any of the elves? Why create someone to just end off forever alone? Why force that onto someone who didn't know the lonesome life that awaited them?

Larry motioned towards the door and the mission at hand while he wrapped up the upper half of Sashi in super durable wrapping paper. No way was she ripping through that, not like she even wanted to anyway. But the snowman's words echoed in his mind, occupying his thoughts.

"If you continue to help us, I'll help you make a family. Does that sound fair?" It seemed like a fair bargain to him.

The snowman's eyes lit up as Larry hid a question behind his gaze that'd he'll bring up later. Yet, the frosty captive hesitated for a moment, contemplating his limited options of how he wanted to proceed. Rippen can see that very faint flicker in his eyes, even if those very same eyes were made of coal.

"Deal."

This night was going their way. "Great! Thank you for your continued help, Mr. Snowman. Actually, sorry, what is your name?"

"No, you got it right. Mr. Snowman."

"Oh... cool." Rippen nodded off.

The awkward pause was thankfully cut short by their second newly added ally. "I know a secret back entrance. We rescue the elves and take the gingers by surprise."

Larry seemed suspicious of him. Villains typically have the back entrance covered. Then again, it was Penn in charge. He supposed he just simply had to trust the very snowman that almost clobbered Rippen, which shouldn't be too difficult at the slightest. Before leaving, Rippen checked back on Sashi, still wrapped tightly on the floor, looking quite tired. At least she was safe and out of the way of any harm, just deeply humiliated and still lacking a pair of legs. "Merry Christmas, Sashi. Stay out of trouble, okay?"

She sighed before responding. "Sure thing, Mr. Rip—I mean, Claus!" Quickly correcting herself. She typically fumbled about the whole name difference thing when zapping to other worlds. A chuckle escaped Rippen lips as they all bounded out the door, Mr. Snowman looked back at her with confusion.

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Two lone gingerbread men stand against the freezing wind to fulfill their duty: guard the super secret back entrance. Something that seemed achievable and thankfully only lasted till midnight. Unfortunately, it was going to be their last night. At least with their heads attached.

Just as quick as the cold wind, Larry swoops through and, in a single blowing kick, is able to snap both heads of the poor guards. The loud crunches of their heads crumbling off their necks echo throughout the snowy night. Rippen strolls up behind Larry as he snaps a hand of one of the guards. The rogue gingerbread men are still in shock. At least they aren't lying in the snow in pain. He hands the stub off to Rippen, who in turn uses it to bypass the biometric scanner locking the door. Rippen had some questions on how gingerbread would work on something that would require finger and handprints, but by now, he knows to just go with it.

The group sneaks into fortified factory and are kept on high alert, especially since one of the sneakers is a reindeer whose hooves are quite harsh upon the ground. But so far, they were surprisingly successful in their stealth mission. After passing many unsuspecting gingerbread men and searching through many vacant halls and rooms, they find a suspiciously guarded door.

An idea pops into Rippen's head. He fishes something out from one of the stockings that adorned Alfie. One of the items was simply a long piece of string, the other item, a mistletoe. He began to swing the string around and tossed it over a low hanging ceiling beam, still having a grip on the other end. The mistletoe hanged above the two guards. It took a minute or so for one of them to notice, an attention-grabbing cough cut the concentration of the other guard. The first one gave a quick glance up as a hint. When the other guard took notice of the mistletoe, a flirtatious look was shot back. The two decided they must follow the rules of the mistletoe and their hearts. A sugary kiss was shared between them, so sweet, yet so bitter when it ended. Maybe it didn't have to end there. Maybe if they left their post just for a few minutes, nobody would notice. The two giggled as one of them hopped up and grabbed the mistletoe. Both gingerbread men were giggling away as they sneaked off.

Larry was flabbergasted that worked, and so was Mr. Snowman. Both of them stared at Rippen in astonishment. He looked back at them with a cheeky grin sprawled across his face. "Make love, not war."

Rippen leads them into the now unguarded room to find the elves, amusingly enough, trapped in a giant mistletoe. The reindeer were all hogtied with wreaths, which was just plain animal cruelty. A new low for those kids. Rippen and Larry made quick work on freeing the two groups, Alfie sat by any reindeer that panicked will being unwreathed, soothing them.

Elves cheered when they were finally released from their suspended, green prison. "Thanks, Santa! We were trapped in there for hours!" A blonde elf showered the Santa imposter in gratitude, along with the others, even the reindeer expressed it in their own way. Rippen was flushed with pride and fulfillment. Hearing praise for his heroing always made him so giddy, even after years of doing this job. Larry, on the other hand, didn't really care for praise. It just halted his work. Yet Rippen always tried to rope him into the glory with him. He wanted his sidekick to be recognized too.

Release the captured elves and reindeer

Retrieve the presents

Recover the naughty and nice list

Launch the sleigh before a blizzard hits at midnight

Rippen didn't let it all get to his head. He could get too cocky and distracted if left unchecked. He still had a mission at hand. "Do you know where they put the presents? As well as the naughty and nice list?"

One of the other elves piped up. "I heard they were going to burn all the presents! So they must be in the kitchen, the oven is big and hot enough to burn them all!" All the elves shrieked in fear of all their hard work turning to glittery ashes. Rippen quelled their terror and instructed them to sneak out and prepare the sleigh as Larry gave each and every one of them a weapon, only needed if they got caught. The elves prepare and saddled onto the reindeer, all ready to save Christmas.

One elf answered the other half of his question. "I think the list may still be in your office! But I wouldn't be too surprised if it was heavily guarded, so be careful, Mr. Claus!" After giving that info, she followed suit with the others.

"Alfie, you go with them. Larry, you think you can handle getting the presents?" Larry gave a hardy nod and was already on his way to the kitchen. "Elves, after the sleigh is set, make your way towards the kitchen. That sack must be huge, so it may be beneficial for him to have some extra hands." He knew Larry could handle it, but he didn't want anything to go awry, so just in case. It had to be too heavy to load on the sleigh alone. The elves took note as they left. Rippen headed towards the office, which must be on the second level.

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The kitchen smelled of sweet delights as the open, hot oven crackled in anticipation for something to bake, to create. The gigantic baking sheet was drawing near the mouth of the burning machine as Larry stealthily made his way through the kitchen and caught sight of the huge sack of gifts, tucked away in a corner, awaiting its fate. He scanned the room for another way to move the sack without anyone noticing. The way he came was too far and far to noticeable. An emergency backdoor was made known to him. It was the perfect way out.

As he made it to the presents, Boone's voice sounded off as he went down some sort of checklist. "Batter? Check. Giant cookie cutter? Check. Gumdrops? Check. Icing? Check—"

"Yadda yadda yadda! Let's get this show on the road—or sleigh on the—whatever! Let's get this going already!" Penn interrupted his coworker as he laid in the rich guy pool-sized baking sheet covered in gingerbread batter. Larry was intrigued by the unusual sight.

A ginger soldier meekly asked. "Sir. Do you want us to triple check the safety—"

"Nope. Send him in. He should be fine." He wanted all this to be over with. They were really cutting it close to midnight with this dumb plan.

"But sir—"

"Just do as you're told! Send him in!" Boone lashed at the soldier, thwacking the cookie with his clipboard, crumbs fell from his head.

All the gingerbread men heaved the huge metal sheet into the oven, one of them scolding their hands. Penn shut his eyes tightly and endured the heat as the oven was slammed shut, locking him inside. Larry was wide-eyed by this plan. He didn't really understand what they're trying to do, but he also didn't care. His mission was to get the presents out.

Easier said than done. Of course, it was going to be heavy. He wondered how Santa was able to lug such a huge sack around. It must be such a pain to deal with. After what felt like hours, which was actually minutes, dragged right up to the door. He was about to open the doors until a huge THUNK echoed throughout the kitchen. He froze in place.

THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.

The pounding came from within the oven. All the gingerbread men looked on with fear and dread as Boone looked on with morbid curiosity, with a tinge of surprise. A grin grew upon his face as he stood there, waiting.

Larry hastily hauled the sack out the door and was greeted by the elves and reindeer, Mr. Snowman, now attached back onto his body, and the sleigh awaiting the gifts. He didn't have time to be surprised or ask how they knew to be here. He only kept hauling. The elves helped out, giving all their strength to pull and heave it onto the sleigh. After doing so, the elves look as if they all ran a marathon. "Santa really should've done this part. He's like, really good at it." One elf wheezed out.

Release the captured elves and reindeer

Retrieve the presents

Recover the naughty and nice list

Launch the sleigh before a blizzard hits at midnight

Larry had no time for breaks. He directed them to hide the sleigh from sight until Santa came. Then they'll be ready to trek the mountain to the launch pad, with so little time to spare. All the elves sighed and huffed as they began hopping onto the reindeer attached to the sleigh, Alfie leading them. Larry went back inside for Rippen.

He broke into a sprint as the pounding continued. His concentration only broke as soon as the oven door was ripped off its hinges and was thrown through the air, pausing his run. Horrid, manical laughter bellowed from with the burning oven, a shadow of something large and monstrous lingered within. Larry stared into the burning void, seeing his ghastly eyes. He had to look away. He had to get to Rippen. Fast.

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11:45:04 PM

Rippen was quite taken aback to see no one was guarding the office, but that didn't mean vigilance could be thrown out the window. He needed to stay cautious. The inside of Santa's office was completely and utterly cozy. It was like stepping into a fairytale log cabin. There was even a fireplace that flickered to life as soon as he stepped inside. The aroma of pine and cookies filled the air as searched for the list, scouring the desk first. Nothing.

A snowglobe did catch his eye, and he decided to give it a shake. The fake snowflakes wildly flowing through the distilled water swishing around in the globe delighted the hero. The little snowman family that resided within it reminded him of his promise to Mr. Snowman. His mind drifted away again, thinking about that immense loneliness that he imagined his ally has to live with, those words echoing around in his mind. His eyes solemnly followed the falling snowflakes as the watered stilled. That deepened, dull pain of everyday living. The deafening quiet that loneliness brings. Just knowing there's a possibility of family yet unable to reach it... it wrenched at Rippen's heartstrings. He was clouded with melancholy, as a multitude of thoughts swirled around in his brain like snowflakes in a snowglobe. But he had to stick to the mission. He didn't have the time for sorrow. He must save Christmas.

He set the globe down as he continued his search for the list, gravitating towards the reading nook. Passing by a bookshelf, a tossed pedestal laid upon the floor along with many ripped books, hinting towards some animosity that lingered here. Ink was spilled upon the wood as a quill was drenched in the black puddle. A thick book that had a festively ornate hardcover with an exceptionally high number on the spine was near the disarranged mess. He picked up and was sure enough. It was the list!

Release the captured elves and reindeer

Retrieve the presents

Recover the naughty and nice list

Launch the sleigh before a blizzard hits at midnight

He flipped through the pages of what was basically a tome of everyone in the world's name. It even included their what they wanted for the big day. Rippen was amused reading some of the wants of names that clearly belonged to children. The heavy book offset his stance, and the pages rapidly tossed all the way to W, which gave him an idea. His eyes raked through the pages until he landed on what he was looking for.

Watanabe Sashi. NICE.

"I guess I should ask for something realistic. Some supplies for sketching and stuff are okay for me. Also, anything Goodbye Pony related is fine, too. :)"

It was so simple, yet so sad she had to specify. What would she want that wasn't realistic enough? Rippen's interest was piqued as he flipped to H.

Henchman Boone. NAUGHTY.

"Once again, I ask for the plans for all Tesla Cybertrucks. I can do it better. We both know this."

What an odd request. Rippen has a wild guess that Boone wasn't exactly going to be happy with receiving coal. A genius idea popped into his head, Larry! He could finally know what to get Larry for Christmas! But... he didn't know his last name. After all these years, he still didn’t know. His giddiness was instantly crushed as he turned the pages. He could still ask Larry before they launched. Like he would answer, he always favored being aloof and mysterious. One last read-up before heading off, he landed on S.

Scillan Penn. NAUGHTY.

"I want my parents back."

Those thoughts came rushing back like a snowstorm. It had only been nearly 4 months since that day, yet it still haunted the pair. Penn living alone, dealing with the dread of coming back to an empty home. Rippen struggling with the guilt of splitting a family apart across dimensions. Obviously, Penn was suffering more than Rippen. Even the thought of him being in a worser state than Penn made his stomach twist in knots. He wasn't. He could never truthfully think that. All he could think was that he hurt a child. A child was suffering because of his actions. What kind of hero was that? To tear a family asunder for the great good of the universe? Rippen was that kind of hero. He didn't feel like one.

How could Phyllis and Larry just set that fact aside? A hero's actions changed the life of a literal child to a desolate, lonely one. How could they move on? How could they look at Rippen and see him as a hero? Say he was doing the right thing? These thoughts he's fought to keep locked up finally flooded out and spiral into the recesses of his mind. It was his fault they were trapped there for, possibly, forever—it was my his fault!

His face burned with guilt as he slammed the book shut, and the sheer force of his strength from the slam boomed throughout the office. His chest grew heavier with anxiety and shame, while his breath got caught in his throat. His body trembled as he held the book close to him, sinking his nails into the hardcover. The ink and quill caught his gaze once again, distracting him from his emotions that were boiling over. He slowed his breathing as the gears in his brain turned, the implications of Mr. Snowman's words whirled around those gears.

I'm Santa Claus. This is my list. I could change it!

Release the captured elves and reindeer

Retrieve the presents

Recover the naughty and nice list

Change the list?

Launch the sleigh before a blizzard hits at midnight

He picked up the ink-drenched quill and adjusted his posture as he swung open the book, scouring for the S pages. But before he could, Larry entered in a frazzled state as he stumbled upon his coworker. "Larry! I can chan—"

CRASH

Larry signaled Rippen to get the heck out of here. As slammed, the book shut once more and pocketed the quill, following Larry out of the office and rushing towards an exit. The army of gingerbread men waited for the duo to reveal themselves, ready to attack, trying to ignore the loud crashing sounds. Larry swiped two of the ornaments around his waist and chucked them towards the cookies, explosions of blown glass and glitter cover and cut into the soldiers. Rippen uses his free hand to grab one of the wrapping paper blasters in his back, Larry yanks the other one off him. Both shoot at more gingerbread men, two groups being instantly wrapped up and incapacitated. The duo were putting up a good fight, seemingly outdoing the army to the point of trying to recuperate from the battle. Rippen and Larry took as a sign to fallback and race to the sleigh. They don't have the time to win this fight completely. It wasn't the mission.

11:57:03 PM

The two made it outside. The wind was much stronger and more freezing than ever before, nearly knicking the air out of both of their lungs. A heavy snowfall began to rush past them as they trekked forward towards the sleigh, the elves fleeing for shelter from oncoming blizzard that was brewing. Finally, they made onto their one-way ticket to winning. A scent caught Rippen's rosy nose as he sniffed the air. "Mmmm, fresh gingerbread?"

As they boarded the sleigh, the ground trembled as heavy footsteps reverberate from within the factory. Everyone froze in place as a hulking, horned figure RIPPED through the building and towered over them. It was a giant gingerbread goat-man. It was Penn.

"LOOKS LIKE KRAMPUSNACHT STARTS TONIGHT!" He bellowed through his jagged fangs, steam emitting from his body and become entangled with the frosty air. He began to stomp his way towards the heroes, heaving a giant sack filled to the brim with coal. Larry grabbed the reins and cued the reindeer to bolt full speed ahead, Alfie responded with the glow of his antlers. The rest of the herd glowed with him as they began to gallop towards the mountain. Penn raced after them, he will not let them escape his grasp, especially with all the time it took to complete his new form.

They all rounded the spiraling mountain as snow flew off the path from the sleigh's runners, cutting through it. A chorus of the reindeer's beating hooves echoed throughout the cliffs, along with the makeshift gingerbread hooves of their pursuer. Rippen kept trying to open the book, but the wind had other plans as it continually blew it shut each time. Larry intrusted the reins to Rippen as he whipped out his wrapping paper blaster and fired away. Penn held up his arm, blocking his face, the festive paper wrapping tightly around it, only to rip it off moments after. The ornaments had a similar effect: useless. Everything he had on him was useless against the giant gingerbread goat-man.

"I must say, Penn! I really do dig the new look!" Rippen attempted to flatter and distract the rampaging boy as he struggled against the wind. "Dig my new drip?" He motioned to his Santa attire. This distracted Penn for a moment by making him cringe so hard he almost lost his footing. Unfortunately, that only enraged him more as he picked up his speed. Rippen's cocky smirk drew back from the exchange.

I know I can fix this. All of this!

He used his brute strength to pull the book open, unfurling the pages. He frantically digged in his pocket, grabbing hold of the inky quill that surely turned his coat's pocket into a makeshift inkwell. As he flicked through the pages, Larry looked over at his struggle, trying to decipher what he was doing at possibly the worst moment. Finally, the S pages made themselves known to the hero. The struggle didn't end as the wind tried it's best to keep the ink off the page with the villain's name.

"Come on, come on! I can do this! Please just let me do this!" Racing panic consumed his mind. A cold sweat began to form upon his brow. His hand was shaking, not from the cold but from the pure emotional turmoil of simply trying to write against the blizzard's wind. The feathered pen between his fingers tried loosen itself from his hold, but he will not let this be.

The reins began to fall off his lap and nearly onto the snow of the mountainside. But Larry wasn't going to let it get away that easy as he hastily snatched it, his body now across the lap of his colleague. Thankfully, Rippen was too occupied to notice the ruffled look on Larry's face. As Larry adjusted himself back to his seat, now closer to Rippen, he finally got a better look at what the hero was doing. Truly getting a good look at the frantic state of rosy face.

"PLEASE, I CAN FIX THIS!" Rippen's voice broke into the cold, bleak air. A gentle hand was planted on his shoulder, the touch breaking his concentration. When he looked, his eyes met with Larry's gaze. Instead of being met with stoicism, those very eyes showed a sympathetic warmth he wasn't used to.

"Rippen."

Larry's voice was calm, having a soft undertone to it.

"It's too late. The list has been made"

The last words Rippen wanted to ever hear at that very moment. It wrenched at heart, giving pause to his breath.

"We will find another way. Together."

Those eyes... they spoke louder than Larry's soothing voice. He was earnest about what he said, even though he utterly despised that boy, he will help find his parents. Those eyes told him everything will be okay.

Reluctantly, Rippen closed the book. Letting the quill between his fingers fly away into the snowy night. A quiet moment was shared between the two, their eyes locking onto each other, sharing in deep understanding. Then they had to be reminded that they were being chased by a humongous gingerbread man in the shape of Krampus, said villain, aiming his sack of coal of the do-gooders and heaving it at them. Larry steered the herd and sleigh just barely out of harm's way, nearly tipping over. They were drawing closer towards the launch pad. They were so close they couldn't lose now.

11:58:13 PM

Before they could figure something out, Mr. Snowman climbed from out of the sack to the complete surprise of the two. "What in the holly jolly Christmas are you doing up there, Mr. Snowman!?" Rippen's voice cracked as he shouted in confusion.

Mr. Snowman stared down at Santa and his elf, his pebbled eyes giving a sorrowful yet valiant look. "Tell my family I did this for them!"

"Wait—"

The snowman already leaped off the sleigh and towards the enemy at hand. Gusts of flurries rushed past him as he removed the mittens off his sticked hands, his piercing fingers ready to gouge out some cookie. Right before colliding with the very same gingerbread man that threatened his life only hours ago, he blurted: "Snowing somewhere!?"

Penn didn't have any time to react to the snowman flying towards his face. The impact was the equivalent of a giant snowball to his crumby dome. The sheer force knocked both of them off the mountain, and they barreled towards the ground, hundreds upon hundreds of meters below them. Penn's long-winded scream sharply broke as he broke into pieces when his body finally hit the ground from the long descend. He was lucky he couldn't feel his body snapping in on itself. Mr. Snowman wasn't as lucky as his body splattered against the snow, his face warped into the ground. His response to his literally body melting was laughter. Pure unhinged laughter. His gaze was drawn to the stars above him, millions looking back at him. Tonight, he no longer felt alone as he became one with the snow and one with the night.

Penn stared into bight sky and let out of yell of utter rage, his broken off limbs writhing around with all-out anger at his failure. "I WAS SO CLOSE!"

Continuing in his angry writhing, something drew closer to him, heavy steps crunching beneath the sheet of newly formed snow from the blizzard. As dark clouds crept across the sky, a cloaked, horned figure stood above the villain, golden eyes piercing his candied ones. A clawed hand grasped onto Penn's face, the long, sharp nails digging into the cookie. It pulled him off the ground. He could now see his own body now. As he closed in on the figure's face, he got a glimpse of Boone's annoyed head, tucked beneath the stranger's arm.

The face he was made to gaze upon brought back a flood of memories and nightmares from his childhood. Half-man, half-goat, all terror. The creature opens its maw, releasing breath of foul odor and its lips peeling back to reveal its gnashers. The jaws clamped shut on Penn's head, his faux horn being crunched off and swallowed by goat-man. His head and headless body trembled from pure fear as the crunching continued. A goatish bleat bellowed from the fearsome Krampus, who watched as the sleigh high above made it near the mountain's peek.

11:59:39 PM

The reindeer's hooves clopped against the launch pad's runway as they raced against time and were prepared for flight. Alfie led them straight off the ledge, all becoming weightless upon the air.

11:59:49 PM

The blizzard was catching up the them, practically nipping at the sleigh. All the duo could do was hope, hope that they'll make it out before they could be knocked out of the sky with all the presents for the world. The dark, freezing clouds began to surround all the living things that were flying into the night. Seemingly trapping those who dared escape its grasp.

11:59:59 PM

12:00:00 AM

Release the captured elves and reindeer

Retrieve the presents

Recover the naughty and nice list

Leave the list alone

Launch the sleigh before a blizzard hits at midnight

Alfie and his herd pierce through the clouds with the sleigh in tow. The silhouette of their flight was being shined upon by the moon that brightly hanged in the midnight sky. The reindeers bellowed out in cheer in their successful take-off, the collective antlers glowing even brighter than before, almost as blinding as the moon itself. Larry hopped up from his seated position, throwing his arms up in the air, the bell on his hat jingling along. A smile beamed across his face, and he looked over to Rippen, expecting to see the same expression as his. Yet, he was met with a disheartened visage, peering down below. Snowflakes whisked past as they were zapped out of the world, successfully saving Christmas for everyone.

Almost everyone.

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ZAP

The smell of stale popcorn that wafted through the air in the Odyssey was the first thing to greet the dynamic duo. As they descended onto the platforms before them, Rippen's face was unchanged from the zap, even when he went to retrieve his holly berry brooch from the he box filled with half-melted metals, it was still there. Larry followed by his side as they made their way out of theater.

"Sometimes, hero must continue forward. That is what makes them a hero." Phyllis' voice caught Rippen's attention. He turned to see her stoic face for a minute before she had put out a few sparks that broke out of whatever she was fixing. The fire extinguisher's chemicals swiftly snuffing out the future fire.

Her words rang in his ears, residing within his mind as they left the building and out into the ongoing blizzard. Even though clouds blocked it, the sun that shined behind them still momentarily blinded Rippen's sensitive eyes. The sight from the trio departing from the neighboring building, Slushee Inferno, caught his blindsided attention. They all appeared disappointed from their failure, Boone muttering angrily about his unreliable coworkers. Sashi was just as downtrodden as usual. Penn is what really took hold of Rippen's attention. Frustration desperately tried to hide the deep pain that dwelled behind the boy's eyes. All three are splitting off into the storm.

Rippen truly wanted to give them all a ride, but he knew none would take it. Freezing in the cold was nobler than taking a ride from your enemy. So, instead, Larry was the only one to join him in his beat down yellow car.

After dropping off his dear sidekick, he returned to his empty apartment, barren of any Christmas cheer. Before he started his mission, he would've loved to come back home and decorate to his heart's content. Now? This place didn't feel like home. He no longer felt the spirit of Christmas.

He strolled up to his fridge, grabbed some carrots, and then turned away from his apartment and trailed back outside, into the biting frost of the blizzard. Flurries surrounded him as he took his time in the snow, rolling piles of it into large spheres, enough to make three snowpeople. He decorated them with rocks he found, plunging some sticks into each of their sides for arms. Adding the last touches by inserting carrots for noses.

He took a step back to admire his work. Pride became somberness as he stood against the freezing wind. He knew he didn't have the same magic touch as Santa Claus, but hopefully, this was close enough. If only he could meet them.

Hours passed as the blizzard raged on well into the night in Muddleburg. A pajama-cladded Rippen fiddled with his MUHU while he sat on his bed, staring longing at the communication device.

Maybe I should give them a call...

"They wouldn't answer." He placed on the nightstand, switching his lamp off and settled in for the night. As he nestled beneath his plush blankets, his eyes drifted away, watching the snowflakes flutter just outside his window. Like being in a snowglobe.

Trapped.

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'Twas the day of December 25th, Christmas day! The most exciting, and to some, even more nerve-wracking day of the month. Everyone wakes up and makes special memories during the most wonderful time of the year!

Rippen, on the other hand, decided it was best to sleep in this exceptionally bright morning. Even if his body and mind were wide awake, he chose to keep his eyes shut from the world. His alarm went ignored as he turned it off until it was needed for tomorrow. He went back to attempted slumber with his cherished Freddy in his embrace, drowsily fluttering his eyes back shut. But a sweet aroma of pancakes began to linger throughout the apartment, much to his surprise. It made him drowsily rise from his cozy bed and, as if he were in a trance-like state, followed the scent towards the source.

Before he could even reach the kitchenette, vivid colors flashed before his eyes. Lights and garlands were strung around his home and a small, familiar looking tree that sat on his coffee table. A soft smile replaced his impassive expression, eyes lighting up at the thought and effort put into this sweet gesture.

Larry was flipping away at the delectable holiday pancakes, swaying his body to the melody of a vinyl he put on. He paused as he seemingly sensed Rippen's presence and quickly turned around on the stool he stood upon. Both share a tender gaze, exchanging warm smiles as the music played between them.

When the pancakes were done to perfection and festively adorned with strawberries with dashes of whipped cream, the pair sat down on the couch and partook in the richly sweet breakfast. These little moments made making it through the twisting paths of life all the more splendid. At least, in Rippen's eyes, it did. While Rippen cleaned up the aftermath of their meal, Larry snuck away to grab some hidden gift.

After dumping the dishes into the sink, he caught one glimpse at Larry's slyness and instantly became flustered. "Oh, Larry, you didn't have to go through the trouble of getting me something." The only response he got was a firm pat on the couch's cushion, Larry inviting him to sit next to him once again.

Rippen happily obliged as he sat down, the present instantly dumped onto his lap. Even though Larry didn't show it on his face, he was clearly eager for his friend to tear into the gift he got him. A goofy giggle escaped Rippen's lips as he carefully ripped the vibrant paper and opened the box underneath. His hands fell idley onto his lap as he stared at what was tucked inside, letting out an exaggerated gasp of awe.

"Larry... you can knit? How come you never told me?" He was genuinely shocked he didn't know his friend had such amazing knitting skills that were displayed on the sweater. Gently taking out of the box and immediately donning the comfy garment. Larry let another smile take over his face, maybe even letting an expression of accepted flattery linger.

Tears made themselves known in Rippen's eyes, trickling down his cheeks. Those tears were accompanied by quiet sniffles that puffed out of taller hero. Larry wasn't too taken aback by that reaction. He knew very early on that his colleague was a more sensitive fellow than others. He laid a tender hand on Rippen's back, small circles being lightly drawn behind to help soothe him.

Rippen looked back at his friend with those big, wet eyes. "Oh dear Larry, you have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you so much." Phlegm caught in his throat.

He rose from his spot and walked back into his bedroom. A Larry puzzled stayed in place and waited for his return. Once Rippen did return, it was with a present of his own to give. Larry rolled his eyes, notably with a smile on his face as the hero handed over the neatly wrapped offering. "I hope you like it, even though it's not as nice as yours."

Larry absolutely despised it when his friend was self-deprecating. He was great and genuine at whatever he put his mind to! Why couldn't he just embrace himself? Not everything was about perfecting heroism and justice. He gladly accepted the offering and tore into it, much to Rippen enthusiasm. When he laid his eyes on the gift, he tentatively picked up and observed the peculiar article of clothing.

"At first, it was going to be a sweater, funnily enough. But, um, I was having some difficulties—so it became a scarf instead. A—um, naff looking scarf. If you don't like, that's totally understandable. I can buy you—"

"I like it." Larry's voice cut through Rippen's prattling, his neck already swaddled with the long, shoddy scarf. It was more like both his neck and half of his face were swaddled in warmth.

"Oh."

A subtle blush washed over his pale green face, a daffy grin spread across it at the same time. A lightbulb went off in his brain at the same time, his eyes sparked with determination. He dashed towards his bedroom once more, coming back with wrapping paper and ribbons, along with something in his pajamas' pocket.

"Larry, would you care to join me?" He invited the befuddled sidekick to just up and leave his home and go off on some random adventure. At least, that's what Larry's guessing. Of course, he tags along.

Both slip on their shoes, zipping up some thick coats and making it out the door. Passing a mistletoe that hanged from his door frame, Larry gave it a brief glance at it as they exited. Footsteps departed down the stairs, and the duo entered the outside world towards the car.

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The Scillan home reflected the state of the soul inhabitant: empty of any family. That wouldn't be the case if the villain allowed his aunt and uncle to watch over him while his parents were trapped. But to hell, if Penn let those two stay in his home! He'd rather sulk in the alone in the dark until he was reunited with his parents. Which sadly may take a while.

The redhead spent his slumbering in his snug bed. An arm was hanging out of his sheets, a framed picture of a family trip slide from his grasp and onto the floor. Snowflakes passed by the window as he planned to snore the day away, no point in celebrating. When he was younger, he would wake up early and shredded open his presents, lashing out when he didn't get the exact toys he wanted. Yet his parents were so patient with him. Although, he didn't go off freely without proper discipline. How he wished they call all just sit down on the couch and watch an old movie together. No presents needed. But, it looks like he'll spend the first of possibly many Christmas without his parents.

A knock at the door threw off his dreaming of desired Christmas morning. Sluggishly, he ripped his blanket off him and stomped through his room and down the stairs. Descending from the attic gave him the time to build up his frustration, holding a terrible amount of animosity for whoever dared disturb him on this bleak Christmas day. He arrived at the front door, unlocking it while giving out a warning.

"I swear Boone, if it's you, I—don't make me grab my baseball bat again!"

But when he swung the door open, hoping to whack anyone still standing there, no one stood in place. Only a nicely wrapped purple present, topped with a matching lavish bow, sat on the ground. Greedily, he snatched it up and brought it inside, reading the tag that was attached.

"To Penn, you need this more than me. — a friend."

It couldn't of Boone, for one thing, they never called each other friends. The other thing was that Boone had neat, almost robotic handwriting, nothing this terribly written belonged to him. It definitely wasn't Sashi either. She didn't know where he lived or at least to his knowledge she didn't know. Her handwriting was bad but not this atrocious. So, who could it be? More importantly, what's in the box?

He plopped himself down on the couch and ripped open the mystery gift. What he hesitantly pulled out puzzled him, some sort of circular device. He pressed the triangular center, which in turned began to call someone. He rapidly tried to cancel the call but a hologram interrupted his attempts. The sight that lied behind the holo-screen made the blood in his veins freeze like the cold outside.

It was his parents, in some sort of desolate wasteland with monstrous pine trees attacking them. His mother seemingly noticed that she's been called while tearing off a pine monster's arm off. "I told you to never call us again! I swear when I get my hands on you, I'll rip off your pe— PENN! Oh sweetheart, I'm so happy to see you!" Her full attention drawn to her son.

His father jerked his head towards the sight of his long-distance son. He snaps his pine-riddled advisory's neck, and ran up the the two. "Penn, hey pal! How are you handling your new job? We know it's all very sudden and difficult to process, but—"

"I'm okay! What about you two?" It felt relieving to shed his bratty, villainous persona and just be himself. A kid. A kid finally spending time with his family.

"We're doing just fine, honey. Oh—hang on a second, let me take care thicket of treehemoths." Vonnie momentarily pausing their conversation by hefting a huge rock and hurling at the group. "JINGLE BELL ROCK!" Brock joined in with his wife, rolling up his sleeves. "I'll deck your halls!"

Penn sat back and watched his parents fight of the horde, all failing to lay a hand on either one of them. He felt great amounts of joy to finally see this other life that he was thrusted into, they made it look easy. He could get so much advise from them, suggestions for ambush tactics and he could even talk to them about his day! They can try to get back into the groove of being semi-normal family once more. Sure, it was long-distance, by several dimensions, but all that mattered is that they're together. Like on this Christmas morning.

All was witnessed by a certain, dark-haired hero and stout sidekick, both watching from the yellow car. The sight was rewarding for Rippen, finally he saved Christmas for everyone. They can all continue forward.

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