Christmas Special - 1. Make My Wish Come True

Fixed Errors

AUTHOR WARNING:  There are some story spoilers for UE, ATM, and TO for those that are squeamish about that but it's a sweet and 'aww' chapter.  =)

PoV:

1. Rachel Park (Our TO MC On Christmas Eve!)

In-Line Edit 

Holiday Specials

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Tokyo’s bright lights surrounded Rachel, and the happy faces of families walking through the streets were a knife twisting into her chest; the past year had its ups and downs: the events in America, Cube, France, the pirate war, the UK giant tree with the complications surrounding it, Dagon, and the insane Chinese empress—Wu was the most frustratingly useful woman she’d known.

Yseress was off preparing their way into Hell in France with Jeanne d’Arc and her knights after they’d averted the calamity in Japan; there was never a dull moment in her life when it came to Twilight’s machinations.

She looked down at her phone, seeing her father’s message saying it was a shame she couldn’t return with Alexa, Nia, and the others.  Her bunny outfit wanted to try to better understand this new family; plus, she’d grown quite close to Alexa.

Her focus shifted to the only three group members she currently had with her—Anthony, Selvaria, and Galatea—the leviathan had moved Christmas to the 26th due to her mother’s rest schedule; she’d separated to think after things settled down—if she was being honest, she wished it would get a bit chaotic again to distract from the fact this would be her first Christmas without her mother.

Jingles and carols in Japanese were being sung around her, but her translation Feat translated them nonetheless; she’d rather be here in this foreign land than home where every vanished item reminded her that she hadn’t saved her mother yet.

Making her way to them, she noticed Anthony had a second steaming cup of hot chocolate in his hand, snow beginning to fall from the chilly, white atmosphere.

“Hehe.  That’s sweet.  A little mint?”

“Naturally!”  Anthony grinned, offering it to her and sipping at his own as Jaenona appeared beside him from nowhere, bundled up in a cute dress that matched the pair.  “What do you think about Selv’s drip?”

The disguised eldritch girl held up her own drink.  “Do humans often have this rich liquid during times of chill?  It is quite delectable.”

“Uh-huh,” Rachel mumbled, watching Selvaria and Galatea spin in a circle, the leviathan showing off her bright colors with a dull face and tone, as usual.  “It’s very… you.  Umm… what’s that?”  she asked, pointing at the hidden bundle of fabric in her hand.

“Yes—that’s what I was going for—Galatea and I dressed in green and red; oh, we got a special Santa hat for you—see, ear holes—Anthony measured them when you were sleeping so we’d get the right size.”

Anthony choked, and Rachel showed him a curious smirk.  “How sneaky.  Is that right, Mr. I don’t like big ears?”

“Hey!  I said they’re growing on me,” he defensively returned, shooting a glare at the amused leviathan, her large tail weaving with her seal.  “You weren’t supposed to tell; see if I do you a favor again.”

“I thought it was nice.  Will you wear it, Rachel?”  she asked, Galatea’s big black eyes pleading for her to match them.

“Haaa.  Give it here,” she chuckled, slipping it on and testing its functionality.  “You wanted us here, Selv; don’t get me wrong, I loved the excuse to skip out from going home, but what’s the deal?”

“Oh…  Here—Galatea’s been a bad girl, but I love her.”

Rachel’s brow furrowed as Anthony moved closer to see a handwritten letter in flowing cursive, and Galatea’s tail drooped:

Merry Christmas, Selvaria.  I so enjoyed our talk in Cuba, and it’s good to see you’ve been a wonderful woman throughout the year.  Galatea did steal quite a few fish, so that’s coal for the puppy-eyed seal—no exceptions—but you paid for all the ones you knew about.

As promised, I’ve sent you the invitation to the magical north for if you were good!  Oh, by the way, see if you can get Rachel to read this with Anthony.  See you soon!

Love from the north, Mrs. Claus.

Rachel’s shoulders drooped as she lifted her dull stare to the oblivious leviathan, sipping her hot chocolate with a smile.  “Nice ambush…”

“I’m good.  Mua-ha-ha-ha…  Mmm.  This hot chocolate is good, too.”

Her seal did her own mock villain laugh with the swirling blizzard that magically swirled around them, blinding everyone in sight and dampening all sound.

A soft puff of fog exited her lips as the veil lifted to reveal none other than the ‘Grand Frisbee’ Sora—her daughter’s nickname for the vulpes Founder—and ‘Priss The Tyrant’ Elinor—vanity-obsessed, glorious blonde twin’s nickname for the Lich Empress—with their own entourage.

Sora had her teenage daughter, and two others she hadn’t met; one was a nine-tailed vulpes with long red tails while the other fox only displayed a single, massive bundle of fur; she assumed the brunette was the owner of the Null-Void book scanning the environment with the fox mom’s extremely dangerous chakram.

Rachel couldn’t help but be a tad depressed the woman wasn’t able to be on call because she could solve so many of her problems.

Elinor was with a rather shady-looking orange-eyed woman and looming death knight; naturally, Butter was with her, aquamarine irises matching Selvaria’s as she showed off her extravagant—more gaudy than anything—silvery dress that sparkled like her liquid-golden locks.

“Wait,” Anthony pointed at each of their groups as Elinor held up her hand to stop the black armored knight from jumping into action.  “Are these… those people you met during Halloween in the UK, Rachel?”

“Some,” Butter promptly replied, shooting a leery stare at her twin.  “Priss dumped a massive war on me and went on a little genocidal spree to the east—and you call me a glutton?”

“I’d check your fat mass, Sister,” Elinor smoothly responded, returning to the smirk.  “How much did Antonietta make for dinner?  Your gut’s bulging.”

“It is not!”

“Right,” she laughed, showing a similar gleam as China’s Empress Wu.  “I forgot you have a Feat that pulls it all to your chest.”

“Will you ever get over the fact I am your superior in beauty?  Jealousy’s unbecoming of an Empress, Priss.”

“On whose standards?  You just had to deviate slightly from our mirrored appearance when you regained a body because you can’t handle people comparing us since… obviously, I’m superior.”

“Hehe.  Whatever keeps you sane, Sister.”

Emilia giggled at their back and forth, floating over to hug Jaenona.  “Hello!  I’m Emi, and I’m a super amazing fox girl—the strongest in the Vulpes Realm!  Who are you?”

“She’s never going to get over that technicality win against you, is she?”  Wendy laughed, nudging the girl’s mother.

Sora shook her head as Mofupsi turned left and right, puffing on a pipe as her magic permeated the area, scanning their environment.  “Never…  At least this can’t be as bad as Nari and her games when they get together…  She’s starting to talk about, you know what…”

“You’re the one that got her hooked on romance series,” Wendy returned.  “So, where are we?”

The blizzard seemed to be swept away by a massive, invisible hand, revealing a spiral pole in the wasteland they’d landed in, and Selvaria pointed out the very obvious object, hosting the same colors as a candy cane.  “Mrs. Claus invited us.  Did you guys get a letter?”

Sora held up a piece of paper, as did Elinor.

“Great,” Rachel muttered, rubbing her neck.  “I suppose this is going to be another unusual event; well, let’s get this over…”

Elinor motioned for her party to take the lead, breaking away with a short wave.  “Well, it’s rude to keep a host waiting.  I suppose this is the Mythickin Santa and Mrs. Claus?  They must be powerful to have pulled Sora here.”

“No one pulled us here,” Sora returned, chakram flying forward to scan the rod.  “A dimensional gateway with a lock.  I can bypass it.”

Anthony picked up Jaenona as they trudged through the knee-length snow; Elinor, Butter, and the black-haired witch—complete with the hat as if it were Halloween again—walking atop the rough ice her minion made for her, humming a Christmas jingle.

“Oh, Edmon, I do recall the holidays being such a joy for the empress.  Perhaps we should institute some sort of holiday for the empire, using High Monarch Butter’s Faith Feat,” the witch put forward.

White fog streamed out of the man’s sealed mouthguard.  “A day of rest to be thankful for the bounty the empress has brought to their lives?  Depending on when selected, it could be fruitful.  It’s not like you to suggest something positive, Tiffany.”

“I’m not a complete sadist!”  the woman pouted, attempting to make the man slip on his ice only to fall to take the tumble herself.

He caught her just before falling into the snow, not hiding his deep chuckle.  “Careful, Tiff; we wouldn’t want that pretty face damaged, and you don’t need to act clumsy for me to hold you.”

“Who said I wanted to be in your arms?”  Tiffany asked with a wry smile, making the two royal sisters shake their heads in unison.

Rachel listened silently, taking Anthony’s hand; he squeezed it, knowing she was going through a hard time, and their family antics didn’t alleviate the pain in her heart.

Selvaria hurried ahead to beat the undead girl and her golden sister, flinging snow over Anthony and her with her wagging tail.  “Just… touch the pole—like this—”

She vanished, and Rachel gave the two groups a helpless shrug.  “She gets excited with these things.”

“Could have fooled me with that tone,” Butter laughed.  “You do have an interesting group, Rachel.”

“Speak for yourself,” she returned, lifting an eyebrow at the pair behind them.  “See you inside.”

“That, we shall,” Elinor nodded, and her guards moved forward first, and Rachel’s gut tightened at the anticipation in the illuminated emerald irises of the Empress of Nethermore; Butter had told them stories when they fought Dagon, but the dense threads of misfortune she produced were equal to Twilight.  “What challenge awaits us this time?  I do hope I can bring back a corpse souvenir this time.”

Elinor was similar to her, in a way, causing bad luck to those that stood against her; it was good she decided to stay on her own planet and not return because they would definitely be enemies if that was the case, and, while Rachel did want to have the challenge of facing her, she felt it wasn’t a favorable matchup—something had changed with Butter and Elinor since Halloween.

Sora gave her a strained smile, vanishing in a swirl of snow.  Joining them, Rachel found herself in front of a massive castle—not the place she pictured as Santa’s headquarters—yet it made sense after some thought upon reflecting on the buff man she’d met in Cuba.

Decorations and lights filled the area with what appeared to be a permanent snowfall; her ears tilted left and right, drawing everyone’s attention.  “There’s a massive facility below us—the radial heat melts the underside—I hear the rivers it creates running through hidden canals.”

Sora nodded, throwing up and expanding her chakram to show them an x-ray vision of everything around them, filtering out Existence’s threads; Emilia squealed upon seeing thousands of bustling elves, going about their work.

“Elves!  Mom!  Yes!  I get to meet Santa—you said he wasn’t real—liar!”

“Ugh…”  Sora rubbed between her eyes.  “I should rephrase that…  There’s no Santa in the Vulpes Realm.  We’re in the maelstrom of many Existences.  Plus, this is the—”

“Nope!  Not listening,” Emilia cut her off, showing she’d developed a bit of a temper since the last time Rachel had seen her, making Rachel chuckle as she lifted Jaenona up with magic and raced across the massive drawbridge, showing an endless swirl of colors within.  “Let’s go meet Santa, Jae-Jae—let’s make a wishlist—this is going to be so much fun!”

Wendy snickered at Sora’s side-long look.  “I’ll go watch them,” she said, flying after them.

“It’s cool?”  Anthony asked, looking at her.

“Yeah.  Haha.  Emilia’s a bundle of energy; Jaenona will connect to her like Ai.”

Her boyfriend’s face softened.  “Say what you want about Wu, she has such a tender spot for that child; it’s as if she were her own daughter.”

“Daughters are trouble,” Sora groaned, watching Elinor examine the castle with an impressed nod, and her five tails fell to the snow.

Mofupsi snickered nearby, breathing out sapphire smoke.  “Mistress, you keep crossing boundaries with her; it reminds me of the time she learned you were reading her journal.”

“Mmgm…  Mom,” Sora growled, ears twitching.  “Anyway.  It looks like our host is coming.”

“Wonderful!”  Elinor smiled, hands held behind her back.  “What mystery awaits us?  I can already hear Sugar Plum Fairy playing in the background.”

Sora shook off the snow gathering on her shoulder.  “Hah.  Well, that’s on point for you—somewhat creepy, intense, festive, and with an air of enigmatic magic.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Butter huffed, drawn to the young, beautiful woman that emerged from a haze of snow.  “Well, way to dash expectations,” she cheerily smiled.  “What a radiant dress, Mrs. Claus.”

“Thank you,” she chimed, bustling forward to greet each of them.  “If you would join me, and thank you for bringing Rachel, Selvaria!  Haha.  She wouldn’t have accepted if you hadn’t tricked her into activating the spell to transport you here.”

Rachel leveled a dull look at the charming woman.  “What do you want from me?”

“To thank you,” she replied, focus shifting between them.  “I gathered you each here to present to you a Christmas miracle.”

Edmon stepped forward to get between his empress and the red-dressed woman.  “Miracle?  You have not shown respect to the—mmgm…”

His jaw snapped shut, probably by the command from his ruler since Elinor gestured for her to continue.  “We are guests in this place.  It is befitting we act as proper guests, Edmon, Tiffany.”

“Of course,” the black-haired woman said, bouncing forward to shake Mrs. Claus’ hand.  “I apologize for our terribly overprotective bodyguard; he can be such a handful if not kept on a short leash.”

A look was passed between the witch and death knight as the two locked eyes, but Elinor’s next comment caused Rachel to smile, remembering the conversations she’d had with her sister during the Dagon event.

“We should get out of this weather and have a proper introduction; also, don’t eat all the cookies and milk, Butter.”

“Me?  You were the one with the sweet tooth if I recall,” she shot back.  “I have been on a bit of a fast from sugar.”

“Because you ate it all,” Elinor dryly responded, making her twin frown and look away.

“You have no proof.”

“As if I need it.”

Mrs. Claus giggled.  “I love the sibling dynamic you two share…  How would you like a night with your parents again?”

Everyone froze, Rachel’s gut knotting at the offer.

“You aren’t talking to me—do you have any idea what you’re saying you can deliver?”

Sora held up her hand.  “Eh-hehe, I don’t think your parents are the issue…  My dad’s like… forever Existences away off in the middle of nowhere land in the Null-Void, and my mom can’t connect to us anymore because she’s going after a Null-Void body snatcher and can’t tip him off she’s onto him!”

“Pfft,” Rachel responded.  “Right, well, my mom is currently in The Beast’s stomach—a being that eats Existences—and my dad doesn’t remember a thing!”

Elinor’s lips drew in, Butter’s worried eyes darting between her empress and their two guards, and a small, upward tilt came to the undead girl’s mouth.  “I’d love that miracle…  If you are offering, then it would make for a Christmas I will forever remember.”

“Empress…”  Tiffany whispered, hands held against her belly and unable to look her in the face.  “If…”

“No need to explain,” Elinor stated.  “These events come with distortions none of us can properly explain.  Why not enjoy what magic she can offer rather than run ourselves in circles; can you sense any misfortune or deception in this, Rachel?”

Sora turned to her with hope in her eyes, and Rachel slowly shook her head, causing Anthony to squeeze her hand again, offering his support.  The apprehension in her chest lifted up her chest and into her throat; Jack Frost touched her nose as a glimmer of light lifted the depression in her heart.

“No…  In fact, I feel misfortune if we refuse.”

“Isn’t that wonderful,” Mofuspi whispered, putting away her pipe in a flash of red flames.  “Emilia will be able to meet her grandpa…  I will be able to meet more of my adopted family.”

Sora’s tails lifted into the air.  “Let’s go—I need to tell, Emi…  She finally gets to meet her grandpa; this is the best Christmas!!”

“What… about my dad?”  Rachel questioned, ears drawing back.  “Will he… be here—remember?”

“For this Christmas Eve night,” Mrs. Claus nodded.  “The only caveat is that once it is over, all parties will forget it happened… but the feelings of a full Christmas will linger on, and when you do rescue or meet the one you long most to see, you will remember this joyful night…  This way.”

Her mind beginning to spin, yet feeling light as the flakes of snow collected around them, Rachel’s grip tightened around Anthony’s, and they followed the Myth of Mrs. Claus into her castle for a magical Christmas Eve with her family.