-A Christmas Catastrophe-

-December 24th-



It was 17 degrees outside, and yet it somehow felt even colder than that. It almost made me miss fall, honestly. It was like the very air had froze. “Why does it have to be so cold?” I muttered to myself. I reached a shaky hand up to the zipper on my crimson jacket and pulled the zipper all the way up to my neck. I glanced up at the sky for a moment. Dark clouds were blotched everywhere, blocking out the sun every time they passed in the way of its shine. Mom had said that it would snow sometime this evening, which right now was only a few hours away. Of course, she decided to send her son out to get the mail just so she didn't have to leave the warm, toasty house. Granted, she was ironing, but still...

The flag was up on the mailbox, so at least this wasn't all for nothing. Stepping up in front of it, I open the lid, which felt like a block of ice, far colder than the air out here. A whole stack of letters was inside. “Eh, probably just bills.” I thought to myself, reaching in and pulling out the stack. I didn't bother checking them, I just wanted to get out of the cold, and I immediately slammed the lid shut. It clanged loudly, making me wince just a little bit. I walked quickly across the brittle, frozen grass up to my house, I hastily opened the door, with the letters clutched in my left hand. I heard King bark once as I went inside, but as soon as he noticed who I was, he went back to his nap, and curled up at the foot of the couch. Our Christmas tree was fully set up in a corner next to me, ready to house our presents. The different-colored lights offered a bit more brightness and beauty to an otherwise normal house. I shut the door, eager to keep the cold out where it belongs.

Mom had her favorite red blouse and pants on, no big surprise. She had the ironing board stretched out right in the middle of the living room. She was busily ironing at one of her shirts, and was humming a tune to herself. The iron was plugged into a plug-in near the back of our TV. Unfortunately, she was set up directly in front of it, which made watching anything a pain in the butt, though at least she isn't vacuuming. She looked up at me as soon as she hears the door thud, and stopped for a moment.

“Thank you honey, just set them on the kitchen table.” She said with a little bit of cheer, but at the same time, her voice sounded tired and weary. She gestured at the kitchen with her head, and gave me a smile. I nod in acknowledgment, and I edged past the ironing board to the kitchen.

It looked very clean, almost as if she had hired an entire cleaning crew to work on it, but then again, Mom was a hard worker. I unzipped and took off my jacket, and folded it on the chair in front of me. I tossed the mail onto the large wooden table, but as soon as I began to turn around, my eyes became drawn to the envelope just below the top one. The top right corner peeked out, and the words on it said: “Snow Wood Boarding School.” Now that was a little unusual; I never received a letter from Jeff before, not with his technology. Hell, I didn't even know for sure if Jeff still went there. We haven't talked about that too much lately. I frowned a little bit in curiosity, and I took the envelope and opened it up. There was a short letter inside. I unfolded and read it.

“Dear Mrs. Smith.

You and your family have been cordially invited to a celebration occurring on Wednesday, December 24th. Snow Wood Boarding School is holding a pre-christmas party beginning at or around 6 p.m, and we sincerely hope that you show up. Please get back to us as soon as you can.

-Staff-
-Snow Wood Boarding School-”

It was strangely short, as if someone put the least amount of effort they could into making this. Even so, I felt my lips curl up into a grin. I wondered what kind of fun they'd have in a boarding school. Granted, it's a school, but there must be something fun to do if they decided to throw a party.

I put the letter down on the table, and yelled out to my mother. “Hey, mom!”

“What is it, dear!?” Mom yelled back in a shrill, but still tired voice.

“Can I go to a party later this evening?” I yell back at her.

“Are you crazy!? Today is Christmas Eve!”

“Aw, mom! I can be back before midnight!” I heard her slam her iron against the board, followed by the soft sounds of her feet against the carpet. She entered the kitchen, standing just across from me on the other side of the table.

“Let me see the invitation,” Her voice took a more authoritative tone, and she held her hand out towards me, waiting for the letter. I place it in her hand, and she begins reading the letter, studying it closely. It was a bit tense, I'm not gonna lie. Mom can be scary when she wants to be, and this was one of those times. I fold my hands up against my stomach and watch her, waiting for a response.

“No way. It's going to be snowing way too hard tomorrow, and I'm not about to let my son walk into a potential death trap,” She puts the letter down back on the table, with a serious expression spread across her face.

“But-”

“No buts, mister,” She scolds, wagging a finger at me. “I've told you this before, we're going to spend Christmas together as a family, and I would greatly appreciate it if we were all alive to celebrate it,” She then turns around, heading back to her ironing.

“You are so unreasonable!” I shout at her, scowling at the space she was once standing in. I kicked one of the chairs that were pushed up against the table in an attempt to vent my anger, and then I marched out of the kitchen and up to my room.

I paced around my room in frustration. Every so often I took a break, usually to glare out the window at all of the now leafless trees. “I could have gone to that party and make it back home in one piece. I'm fully capable of taking care of myself, and she knows that!” I felt conflicted. There were so many different thoughts that swirled around my head like a whirlpool, that was started to make my head ache. “Maybe she has a point. I hated how cold it was in Winters before, and now there's a blizzard coming. Is a party really worth it?” I groaned in frustration and flopped down on my bed. I wrapped my arms a little around my pillow, and I kick off my shoes, not bothering to untie them first. I was starting to feel tired; an unusual feeling for me this early in the day. Yet, before I knew it, I was fast asleep, the only sounds being my own breathing.



I abruptly woke up after I heard a knock on my door. “What?!” I muttered loudly. Yes, I was too lazy to bother saying a complete sentence. At least they know I'm up.

The door opened rather quickly, and my sister, Tracy, walked inside. Her Escargo Express uniform was all dirty and wrinkled, and her left cheek was completely splattered with mud a bit of mud. It was enough to at least make me sit up in my bed. “What in the world happened to you?” I ask, feeling concern replace some of my subsided anger.

“I had a little accident. I had delivered a box to some guy in Threed, and I tripped and fell into a mud
puddle,” She explained, clearly irritated.

“A mud puddle?” I questioned. “It's not snowing, though.”

“How would you know? You've been asleep up here for hours!” Tracy snapped suddenly, causing me to flinch back a little.

“Wow, I knew work today was unpleasant, but did you really need to snap at me like that?” I muttered, and slowly brought myself out of bed.

She took a deep breath, in an attempt to calm her nerves. “Sorry, bro...Anyway, mom just asked me to check up on you. You doin' okay?”

“Could be better, but I'm fine.” I mumbled, and sluggishly made my way towards the window that was on the other side of my bed, right next to it. I could tell it was already dark outside.

“If you say so. I'm gonna take a shower and get all this mud off, but we're definitely going to talk about this, so don't try sneaking away.” She smiles briefly, and I force a small smile back to her. She then quickly walks out of the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, my fake smile forms right back into a frown, and with curiosity getting the best of me, I decide to check out the window.

It wasn't dark enough that I couldn't see anything; the moon had managed to find an open spot in the clouds, and it cast a dim, pale light on the ground. I could barely see the mess of trees next to my house. I could also see the snow. The flakes could be made out even in the darkness, falling rather heavily onto the grass around the house, where more and more snow would gather and eventually conceal the ground in a brilliant and shining blanket of white. That's what I thought would happen, anyway. Then, like the ringing of a bell, something sounded off in my head. If it was going to be such a bad blizzard today and tomorrow, why was Snow Wood going to host a party right in the thick of it? I quickly became suspicious, and I felt the need to call Jeff, just in case...

Now wide awake, I make my way downstairs. Mom had finished ironing and was laying on the couch, taking a nap. The TV was on, tuned in to some cheesy soap opera. Making my way behind the couch, I quickly pick up the phone, dialing the number for Dr. Andonut's laboratory. Winters tends to get quite a bit more snow than around here, so I wasn't even sure if the phone lines were working.

Placing the phone against my left ear, I impatiently wait for the other line, hoping that someone would pick up. I heard a ring, a few seconds of silence, and then a second ring. “Come on already...” I whispered to myself. The phone rang a couple more times before I finally got an answer.

“Hello?” Jeff's slightly nasally voice comes up on the other line, much to my relief.

“It's Ness. Is everything okay over there?” I asked him.

“I guess. We're just doing some research on some of the cave boys. Why?” He replies.

“Well, I got this invitation from your school that invited me to a party tomorrow. Do you know anything about that?” I asked, feeling a little of my suspicion return.

“If they were having a party, Tony would've told me about it long before you--” All of a sudden, a deafening clanging sound screams through the phone, making me wince. A new voice came on. A voice I never expected, nor did I want to hear. A sadistic, childish, and evil voice.

“Evening, loser!” The voice exclaimed.

“Pokey!?” I shouted into my phone, feeling myself fill with anger almost instantly. I was certain that Mom would be waking up because of that, but I didn't care at the moment.

“No, Santa Claus. Who the hell do you think?”

“What did you do to Jeff!?”

“Oh, the nerd? I just put him to sleep. Looked awful tired of consciousness, if you ask me.” He replied casually.

“You pig-faced bastard,” I growled, “When I get there--”

“I think you better just stop right there, Pig's Butt. Jeff isn't the only one in trouble, you know?” I could hear footsteps through the phone, but I didn't know if they were his.

“What are you talking about?”

“I'll let your worthless excuse for a girlfriend answer that for me.” My eyes widen. He couldn't have...

“Ness?” A fearful, yet gentle voice comes on.

“P-Paula?” I stammer.

“Well, that was fun!” Pokey came back, which stopped Paula from saying anything else. “Your Dalamese friend is here, too. I'd let you talk to him, but he has a lot more on his plate to focus on than a loser like you. Staying alive, for example...”

“Why are you doing this? They've never done anything to you,” My anger quickly replaced itself with fear. Pokey almost had this entire universe consumed by Giygas, so he wouldn't hesitate to kill them if he felt like it.

“No, they just ruined my plans to utterly waste this universe.” He sarcastically remarked. “If you ever want to see them again, I'd suggest coming to Stonehenge. Maybe we could catch up a little?”

I didn't really have a choice; even if it was a trap, my friends were in danger, and I couldn't let them stay with that monster. “Fine...but no tricks!”

“No promises.” I heard a click, and then silence from the other line. I hung up the phone and turned around to see Mom leaning up from the couch, rubbing her eyes.

“Ness...what's wrong?” Mom complained, letting out a yawn immediately afterward.

“My friends were kidnapped...” I mutter bitterly, walking past the couch and towards the stairs, heading up them hastily. I even tripped a couple times.

I could hear Mom following right behind me. “What do you mean 'kidnapped?'”

I sigh a bit in frustration. “That stupid invitation was a trick; my friends fell for it, and Pokey kidnapped them.” I explained bitterly, making it up to my room.

“Oh, Ness...I'm so sorry to hear that.” She says, sounding very concerned. She follows me in and stands in front of the doorway. “Are you going to go rescue them?”

“Absolutely.” I answer almost instantly. I don't want to lose my friends, and I'll make sure they live through Pokey's insanity, even if it kills me. I shudder to think of what he might be doing to them now...

As I open my closet to get my warmest sweater, I hear my mother sigh, followed by her retreating footsteps. It wasn't a surprise that she'd be worried about me going after an evil monster; she did flip out about a party, after all. I didn't want her to worry, though. I was fully confident in my abilities, and I was sure that Pokey couldn't win, even if he did bring one of his mechanical hunks of junk out to uneven the odds.

I grabbed the bottom hem of my shirt, pulling it up over my head, and subsequently knocking my cap off. I then grabbed my sweater—one that sported a similar design and color scheme to most of my other shirts—and put it on. Adjusting the sweater to a point where it felt more comfortable, I reached down to the floor and picked up my cap, putting it on sideways. Then, I untied and put on my shoes, and grabbed my receiver phone and stuffed it in my pocket, just in case.

I smiled in satisfaction, and I quickly returned downstairs to fetch my jacket. I found Tracy waiting for me in the kitchen, sitting on a chair, with my jacket in her right hand, and a gingerbread cookie in her left. “I guess they made cookies and didn't bother to wake me,” I thought to myself, as I felt my mood sour up a smidge. She had an expression on her face that I couldn't quite figure out, though I suspected that it was something close to sadness.

“You're gonna come back, right big bro?” She asked, sounding somewhat dejected.

“I promise.” Letting a tiny smile form on my lips, I walked up to her and I threw my arms around her in an embrace. She immediately hugged me back as tight as she could, as if I was never going to come back. Though, she did let go after five seconds or so.

“You might get hungry along the way, so here's a cookie.” She extended her left arm out towards me, beckoning me to take the cookie. I did exactly that, grabbing the cookie and putting it in the back pocket of my pants.

“Thanks, sis.” I hugged her once more, a lot shorter this time, then I grabbed my jacket from out of her other hand, putting it on. Once I zipped it up, I turned and headed towards the door, where mother was standing, a sad grin spread across her face. I felt a bit proud of her. If I had a different mother, she would have probably begged me not to go, for fear of my own life. She understood what I needed to do, though, and I loved her for that.

Once I was a few steps away from the door, Mom nodded at me, and began to leave her spot, but as soon as she passed, I gave her a hug, a little like the first one I gave to Tracy, but still shorter.

“I'll miss you too, Ness.” Mom murmured, hugging me back. Though it was true that I'd miss her greatly, I felt grateful to her. If she had let me go to that so-called party, I would've been caught, and probably killed by Pokey and whoever he tricked into working with him. I wouldn't be surprised if a similar thought was running through Mom's mind, though I didn't want to invade her privacy by reading it.

I let go, telling them that I had to get going before anything really bad happened to my friends. When I opened the door, however, Mom called out to me before I could get out.

“Ness! Aren't you forgetting something?”

I looked back at her. “I don't think--” Right in her hands, was my baseball bat. “Oh yeah...that would've sucked, wouldn't it?” I joked. She rolled her eyes and quickly tossed me the bat, which I managed to catch, even though it did sting my hands a little. Offering her and Tracy a smile of reassurance, I leave my house, and out into the bitter, chilling, and snowy night.

The snow was already piling up to the point where it almost covered my feet completely. There's no way I can make it all the way to Winters, especially in this weather. I started to look around for a decent place to use Teleport , but it seemed like every spot had too many trees. I grumbled a little, realizing that the only way to get out of here in a quick fashion was with Teleport .

The problem with that is that , while very fun to use on an empty highway on a boring afternoon, is a bit hard to control in tight spaces, and I needed more of a running start in order to use it, which, in turn, leads to crashing, and when you crash into something while going faster than a cheetah, it freakin' hurts! So, taking that into account, I sprint off to my left, towards the road that leads into town. I backed against the small cliff that divided the area, and, using my PSI, I begin running as fast as I could towards the other cliff not too far ahead of me. Around the time I passed my house, my legs seemed to go into overdrive, going faster than I could ever go. Past the Minch's house, I was barreling straight towards the cliff, and for a moment, I didn't think I'd have enough space, but as soon as I thought that, a portal opened up just a few inches in front of the cliff. The outer rim of the portal was a light blue, and seemed to be vibrating somehow, while the enter looked more like a tunnel; a spiraling, black tunnel of energy.

I shut my eyes tight and felt the whole world around me change almost instantly. It was twice as cold, a deafening rush of wind rattled in my ears, and I felt that the snow had quickly enveloped the bottom parts of my legs, adding even more to the frigid air. “Well...at least I made it here in one piece.”

The snow was falling fast and blowing around in different directions, which, coupled with the night, impaired my vision a bit. I trudged straight ahead through the snow, past the shadows of some trees, and shortly after, tumbled face-first down some clefts in the ground. It didn't affect me very much, though some snow got caught in my eyes, which was a dreadful experience.

Stumbling to my feet, I trudged on. Snowflakes kept blowing onto my face and stinging my eyes. I had to turn my head away as I walked to avoid it, glancing every so often at whatever was in front of me.


I had walked for what felt like miles, though it was probably a lot shorter. I'd lost all of the feeling in my fingers, and I had to juggle my PSI energy to keep them from getting any worse, but even with Life up, it wouldn't last long. I could see a frozen Lake Tess in the dim horizon, and what would normally be a row of tents strung across the edge of the lake, large mounds of snow replaced them, sagging a little towards the lake.. For a moment, my thoughts turned to Tessie. “Would she still be okay in a blizzard this bad?” Then again, she's been around for years, and had probably survived worse blizzards than this...though I had trouble imagining anything worse.

I slid down a small cleft in the ground, elevating me lower, where I was now level with the lake. Heading past the snow mounds, I stopped at the edge of the coast, looking out at the frozen expanse of water beyond. Fear had started to rush through me; what if the ice was too fragile to walk across? Then again, I couldn't just stand here and slowly freeze to death. At least out there, death would come a lot faster. Cautiously, I lifted my right foot, and, as I stared intensely at it, brought it down on the ice. A momentary surge of relief replaced my fear. Not even a crack had formed, though it was difficult to keep my foot steady. I brought my left foot with it, feeling a bit more confident about my chances with the frozen lake. It might even be a little fun if I could manage to slide all the way to Stonehenge. Smiling triumphantly, I started to step forward, but suddenly, I heard a “pew”, and something small, but incredibly hot, struck my head. Instantly becoming drowsy, I could only manage a squeak before I fell face-first onto the ice. My eyelids fell almost automatically, plunging me into sleep.

And, in the distance, I heard the faint oinking of pigs...



-December 25th-



Something was jammed into my mouth and nose, yet somehow, I could still breathe. Something about the air I was breathing though...it seemed off somehow. My drowsiness still plagued me, but despite that, I cracked open both of my eyes, and my vision was flooded by a scalding green liquid. It stung a hell of a lot worse than the snowflakes, and I instantly shut my eyelids as tight as I could to block the rest out. I felt terrified, but at the same time, relieved to be out of that stupid blizzard.

I heard an alarm above me buzz, followed by sounds of the liquid rushing down a drain. I sank along with it, softly landing on the floor. Once all of the liquid had disappeared, I found that I was trapped in a tube. I yanked the strange breathing things out and looked to my right, finding another tube, and even though I couldn't make out her features in this awful lighting, I knew it was Paula, dressed entirely in bright pink winter wear. I yelled out her name, slamming my hands against the tube in a vain hope that she'd hear me, but she must've been unconscious, just like I had been. I saw other tubes as well, and I found the silhouettes of Poo, Jeff, his father, and his assistant cave boy placed all around me. “Please...let them all be all right.” I thought, deeply worried about them.

“Good morning, Ness. Have a nice nap?”

I turned to my front and saw a grinning Pokey, dressed in shiny black loafers, black shorts, a white shirt decorated with suspenders and a red bow tie, and finally, a out of place santa hat sat atop his neatly combed bowl-cut hair. Strangely enough, his skin looked somewhat tanned, when last time I saw him, it had been a pale blue from time travel.

“What did you do to us?” I asked with as much venom as I could muster.

“Put you to sleep, idiot! It's not hard to figure out!” Pokey snapped.

“Shut it, tubby...how long have I been asleep?”

“Five hours...oh, by the way, Merry Christmas.” His smile had grown wider.

I just stared at him, trying to get across as much hate as I could. Then, I had an idea. It could seriously hurt me, but at least I could get out of this tube. I closed my eyes again, and started to gather energy in and around my mind. Once I felt it was enough, I opened them, and felt a smile creep across my face.

“PSI Rockin' !” I shouted, shooting a massive surge of red, yellow, and blue PSI energy at the tube. The energy hit the interior, but to my horror, it reflected back to me, and at once, my skin had felt like it was on fire as the energy violently exploded against me, and spread across my body. As fast as I could, I used Lifeup , and the burning stopped almost instantly.

Pokey was doubled over, and he laughed as if he was told a hilarious joke. “Aha...C-Could you do that again?! I wasn't expecting this to be a show!”

“Pokey, when I get out of this tube--”

“Ness,” Pokey waved his hand at me, “By the time you leave this tube, you and your friends are going to be my slaves.”

“No, no we're not. You see, when we get out of this tube, we're going to kill you.” I stated.

“Hah! Well, I wouldn't count on that, loser!” He gestured to Dr. Andonuts, “Frankenstein here will make sure of that. He must care a great deal about his son, and would do anything to see him come out of this safely. Perhaps that includes...oh, I don't know, brainwashing his friends into devoting their lives to me?” He stepped up to Paula's tube, and gently rubbed it.

I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. I know Andonuts wouldn't dare to do something like that to us, but then again, it's his son at stake here. All of this was starting to scare me a little...

Pokey kept rubbing Paula's tube and turned to me with a sickening smile. “I'm sure serving me would be a nice change of pace from you. ”

I clenched my fists tightly. “Get away from her...”

“She would've gotten tired of you anyway. Thrown 'ya away like the piece of trash that you are, ” He chuckled, before leaving the tube and heading to the room on the far left, “Don't worry though, when we're through, you won't remember anything about her!” He cackled to himself, and exited the room.

I kept glancing around the inside of the tube, looking for something I could use or exploit to get out of here, but the only way I could escape was to shove my body through the drain, and there's no way that would work. All I could do was stand here and wait for my memories to be sucked away.

In the mean time, I continued to observe my friends in the liquid-filled tubes. I had no idea what that liquid was for, nor what it did. For all I know, Pokey probably filled them with it to freak my friends out when they wake up.

“IF they wake up...”

What if they were already dead? Maybe Pokey had just messed with me, as some kind of sick joke. I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I felt fear around me like a rope, and I prayed to God that they were safe. I slumped against the tube, leaned my head against the side, despite how uncomfortable it was, and I sat there and waited for a miracle to happen.

A little later, I began to hear a knock from Paula's tube. I quickly sat up, turning to the tube, and I saw that she was awake. She stared at me for a brief moment, before she closed her eyes from the heat of the liquid. I placed my hands against my tube, and much like the liquid that still washed over her, I felt relief wash over me. Another alarm buzzed above her tube, and the liquid started to rush down a drain, leaving Paula, who turned to me.

“Are you okay?!” I shouted.

“Could be better,” She sounded somewhat scared, “How'd you get caught?”

“I came to rescue you guys, and someone shot me with something, and I fell asleep.”

“Same thing happened to me. I was at the gate of Snow Wood, and I got shot too...Ugh, I feel like such an idiot. How could I have fallen for something like this?”

“Don't blame yourself. A lot of places have Christmas parties,” I reassured.

“I guess,” She paused for a moment, and glanced around at the tubes, “Are all of our friends here?”

“Looks like it. Pokey said he would brainwash all of us.”

“Oh no!” Paula exclaimed, “How are we going to get out of here?”

“We can't. PSI doesn't work on these stupid tubes.” I bashed at it with my fist.

“We can too, there's always a way.” She offered a smile, but I couldn't bring myself to accept it. So, I glanced quickly at the tubes that Jeff, his father, and Poo were being held in. Any moment now, and they should wake up, perhaps just as confused as I had been. Though, I couldn't help but feel ashamed of myself. I was their last chance of getting out of this mess, and I blew it big time. All I could hope for was that Pokey would get a gigantic leap in stupidity and let us out for whatever reason.

Suddenly, a third alarm buzzed, followed by the draining of liquid.

“Ugh, what happened?” A familiar and slightly nasally voice complained.

“We're stuck in some tubes,” I muttered.

“What happened to you?” Paula asked him.

“I'm not sure...All I remember is talking to Ness on the phone, and suddenly, I felt someone bash me in the back of my head, and knocked me unconscious,” He muttered, and rubbed the back of his head, “It still hurts.”

Two more alarms buzzed, and Dr. Andonuts's, the cave boy's, and Poo's tubes were drained immediatley afterward. I heard Poo moan a little bit, which made me grow concerned...well, more so at least.

“I'm in this place again? That chubby little lad must be pretty smart to know how to reactivate all of this,” Dr. Andonuts chimed, and observed the surrounding enviroment. He looked relatively impressed.

Jeff then turned to Poo. “I didn't expect you to fall for this trick,” Jeff commented, and we all turned to look at the injured boy.

“I didn't. A strange, overweight man in a pig unifrom kidnapped me while I was meditating,” He replied, “When I got here, I got placed in this tube, and Pokey decided to “have some fun,” as he called it. So, he had a collar strapped around my neck and he nearly shocked me to death.”

Paula and I gasped in shock.

“That's awful, Poo! I'm so sorry that happened to you,” Paula said with a frown.

“Me too. That little pig is such a monster,” I added, and I slowly shook my head in disbelief. I knew he'd do something like this, but even so, it still hit me like a speeding train.

“Thanks, but no need to apologize. You didn't do anything,” Poo replied, and gave a tiny smile.

Suddenly, we saw Pokey enter the room, flanked by three large men dressed in pink uniforms and pig masks. Both of them carried large and high-tech looking guns that seemed too big for any normal person to carry.

“Nice of you all to join us. Now, let's go ahead and get this started,” Pokey walked up to the Dr. Andonuts's tube and leaned up against it. The doctor stared at him, as if he expected something.

“So, what would you say if I told you that I was going to murder your son?” Pokey asked nonchalantly, and grinned.

Dr. Andonuts looked at him in horror for a brief moment before speaking. “What would possess you to do such an appalling action?”

“If you saw it my way, you would realize how much fun this actually is. However, what if I said that I was willing to compromise?”

“That would depend on what it was,” He replied cautiously.

“All right. How about this: you create a device of some sort that can brainwash his friends, and I'll let your son live.”

Andonuts paused to think about his decision. I felt bad for him; it must have been hard to choose between your son and the lives of other innocent people. Lives that could tear families apart if he chose the compromise. Granted, him and Jeff weren't always close, but even so, if I were him, I don't know if I'd be so willing to lose my only son. I glanced at Jeff, who was pressed against his tube, and he stared at his father and Pokey. Jeff wasn't normally one to be scared, but I had to wonder how he was feeling about this.

I was torn. I didn't want to lose my life, and I didn't want to lose my family. At the same time though, I didn't want Jeff to die. He was one of my best friends. Though, as much as I felt guilty about it, I couldn't help but lean towards staying in control in my life.

After a couple minutes, Dr. Andonuts reached his decision. “I will not erase the lives of these young children...” He muttered, before he turned to Jeff. “I'm so sorry, my son,” He sadly told him.

“It's okay Dad, I understand,” He sounded so emotionless about his response. Was he keeping his feelings bottled?

Pokey sneered at the doctor. “Sorry to inform you, but that's the wrong answer,” He turned to the doorway to our left and shouted, “Open up tubes A and C!”

Two of the soldiers aimed their guns at Jeff and his father, as glass hatches that took up almost the entire front section of their tubes opened up. The other soldier rushed towards the doctor and forcibly grabbed his arm.

“Get him to the machine,” Pokey ordered, and pointed towards the leftmost room. The soldier nodded and pulled him out of the room, while the doctor vainly tried to fight his grasp. With him out of the room, both soldiers trained their guns on Jeff. All we could do was look on in horror.

Pokey smiled, as the two soldiers took their place next to their leader. “I guess that showed us how much he really cared about you, didn't it? Granted, you'd be brainwashed too, but to actually let his son die over this?” He chuckled, and headed towards the leftmost room, but not before he turned back to the soldiers, who awaited further orders. “You know what to do,” Pokey then exited the room once more, and left the two soldiers to their job.

The rightmost soldier glanced at his partner, as if he was unsure about this, but he quickly resigned himself and adjusted his gun to where it pointed at Jeff's head. Both of them began to squeeze their triggers...

...and as quick as lightning, the leftmost soldier was shoved towards his comrade, who hadn't been able to hit his target, and instead shot the tubes with bright yellow laser beams. Both of them tumbled to the ground as Jeff quickly grabbed one of soldier's sidearms—a small laser gun—and shot them both. They became completely silent.

Paula and I looked at each other in amazement before turning back to Jeff, who had took cover next to the doorway. Two more pig soldiers ran inside, but he immediately shot them as well, and quickly leapt into the room. He yelled for his father, and we began to hear more laser beams being fired.

“Get 'em, Jeff!” I shouted as loud as I could, feeling a bit excited at the turn of events. Paula and even Poo cheered along with me, and we shouted all sorts of praise and encouragement. The hatches on our tubes suddenly opened up, and we tumbled out and rushed into the room, our PSI prepared. The cave boy wanted to get out of this little warzone as quick as he could, so he took off in the other direction.

Pokey was standing in front of the pedestal where we once fought the Starman Deluxe, and blocked Jeff's way. Another pig soldier—this one was dressed in light blue—tried to pull Dr. Andonuts into a Phase Distorter, but he continued to fight back.

Jeff shot at Pokey, and hit him square in his bloated stomach. To our surprise, the shot didn't kill him; in fact, a Counter flashed, and the shot deflected back. Jeff dodged it quickly, and the beam dissipated against the flashing walls.

“Come on, let's take this brat down!” I shouted, and I stood on the sideline just a few feet next to Pokey. While I charged up a PSI Rockin'. Paula stood on the other side and shot at him with blasts of PSI Fire. Poo ran around to the side of the pedestal and began to climb up it. Pokey quickly reached into one of the side pockets on his shorts and produced a pink ball, which he promptly threw at Poo. Poo ducked for cover as the ball flashed rapidly, and exploded violently.

Poo struggled to get up, while Jeff tried to get to the Distorter himself. The pig soldier grabbed a laser pistol that dangled from his hip and shot at him as he shoved the doctor into the Distorter. He then leapt inside and sealed the hatch.

“Dad!” Jeff shouted desprately as he ran around other side of the pedestal while Pokey was distracted, but he simply produced another bomb and threw it at the desperate boy, who was forced to duck out of the way.

Poo managed to get to his feet, and promptly used a PSI Freeze on the chubby boy. Chunks of ice stuck to Pokey, and forced him to his spot. I shouted at Poo to look out, and I shot off a Rockin'  on Pokey, which caused him to stumble, break out of the somewhat fragile ice, and fall on his butt.

“How could he still be alive?!” Poo shouted as he got up to his feet. It was certaintely strange, but we didn't have time to figure it out. Both myself, Paula, and Poo began to charge up the pedestal and towards the Phase Distorter.

Suddenly, Pokey flashed an insincere smile, and a loud siren—like one on a police car—began to emit from Pokey as the Phase Distorter slowly began to flash white.

“Get out of the way!” I shouted in panic, and leapt as far away from Pokey as I could. Paula, Poo, and Jeff did the same as Pokey violently exploded. Most of the lower section of the pedestal was covered in the flames, but the Phase Distorter at the upper section remained safe, and it started to make a beeping noise.

We could only look at the Distorter as it began to disappear into the vast stretches of time. It continuously beeped faster and faster, until finally, the Distorter evaporated in a large flash of white, and took Dr. Andonuts and the soldier with it.

We all turned to Jeff, who stared blankly at the spot that the Distorter once was. He let his gun slip from his fingers and crash onto the floor with a loud clang.

I began to walk up to Jeff, though I wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know where his mother was, and his father was probably gone forever. He was an orphan now...

“Hey...” I mumbled to him. I don't think I've ever felt so awkward or sad before, except for when I confessed to Paula about my feelings for her.

“He's gone...” Jeff mumbled tonelessly.

I glanced at the pedestal. “...Yeah.”

“H-he's never going to come back, is he?” He stammered, before he knelt down on the floor.

Paula and Poo joined us, and we all knelt around Jeff. I glanced at them for a moment. Paula's face formed a sad expression; one of the saddest I've ever seen, while Poo's face remained blank. I then looked away, unsure of what to answer his question with.

He suddenly buried his face in his hands, and started to sob, much to my surprise. I never seen Jeff cry before. He was normally one of the most collected individuals among us, other than Poo. Seeing him like this...it tore me up a little inside.

I tentatively wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and that quickly turned into a hug. Paula followed suit, and soon after, Poo joined in as well. Jeff continued crying, though it was a little bit less intense now.

After a moment, we all let go, but I placed a hand on his right shoulder, and tried as hard as I could to think of something to make him feel better.

“Jeff,” I said softly, “I'm really sorry that this all happened...I can't say I know how you feel exactly, but I just want you to know that we're all here for you...” I felt a bit disapointed in myself for not coming up with something very useful, but I'm not really good with words.

“Ness is right. You still have us, Jeff. We're best friends, after all,” Paula added, and patted his other shoulder.

Poo nodded, “It will be hard to move on from this, but you can pull through it if you have a little faith,” He added.

Jeff looked up from his hands. His face had turned a light red, and a few stray tears were running down his cheeks. He glanced around at us.

“I-I don't know what to say...” He stammered again, before he pulled himself up to his feet, “Thank you so much, guys...”

I smiled a little, and we all did the same thing. “Don't mention it, buddy,” I said.

“Don't be afraid to let it out whenever you need to, okay?” Paula said.

Jeff nodded. “Let's get out of this place.”


We discussed it a bit further once we got back to his laboratory. He still felt awful, but he also felt a little better after we talked to him. I know he can get through this; he's one of the strongest people I've ever met.

When we all had to leave, I told him to call any of us if he ever wanted to talk more about this, to which he smiled and said, “Absolutely.”

Poo teleported himself back to Dalaam after we wished him happy holidays. After I bumped into a few trees, I teleported myself and Paula back to her preschool in Twoson, where we both kissed and wished each other a Merry Christmas.

Once I teleported myself back to my house, I silently opened the door in hopes of not waking up the family. It must be well past midnight by now. Greeted by a dark living room, I tip-toed upstairs, past my sisters room, and into mine.

I threw off my coat and shoes, and collapsed onto my bed, exhausted. I began to think about what happened over the past few hours, and the irony of it all. He had to lose his father on Christmas, which is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. I came to realize a few things after that crossed my mind. Christmas is about two main things: togetherness and giving. A lot of people I know take their parents—and by extension, their generosity—for granted. They haven't realized how quick it can fall apart. I thought about my own father. Every so often, when I've had a bad day, I feel resentment towards him, and how he's almost never here. I decided to make a promise to myself to never take that for granted again. When Dad gets home later this morning for Christmas, I pledged that I would show appreciation for him, and tell my family how much I loved them...

With that thought lodged in my mind, I soon fell asleep.