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Crunch, crunch, crunch... Snow crackled loudly as it stiffened into footprints. Clocked out of work for the evening, Sammy roamed the streets of Barton, a big colorful bag in each hand. The night was young but quite dark, typical for the time of year. Flakes shimmered under the streetlights as they somersaulted through the air and eventually landed on her hat and coat. "Well, that's the last of it!" she exclaimed proudly to herself as she set a course for home. "All the holiday shopping. Gee, I hope Lucky likes her new socks..." She blinked and leaned forward a bit, looking down at the paper bags. That one little act seemed to alter her entire balance and she drew back to correct it. Her fingers tightened on the handles as if she were pulling the reins on a spooked horse. After a moment of swaying back and forth, everything finally settled. Keeping an even stride Sammy heaved a delicate sigh, followed by a light giggle. Her cheeks were turning pink in the cold, but she couldn't risk adjusting her scarf after that. "These might be a bit too heavy...perhaps I shouldn't have waited till the last minute to get everything..."
Sammy glanced at the store windows drifting past. The light bouncing off the glass practically turned them into mirrors. My hair's growing out quickly. she realized. With the months trickling out of the year and all that transpired, it was easy for little things like that to go unnoticed. For no reason her feet slowed to a stop. She turned to face the glass directly. Sammy stared at her reflection for a while, just getting used to the new picture. Little by little her eyes adjusted until she was looking through the window to the store's interior. No, not a store...an art studio, and a rather familiar one at that. Sammy blinked as she came across a painting she recognized. A smear of bright colors stood vibrantly over a dark, indigo sky... The portrait of a particular space cloud. She stood there watching it for a while. She wasn't really thinking anything, nor keeping track of the minutes. She just stared, almost as though her eyes were a beam caught in the beam of someone else's gaze. Finally the cold bit into her fingers a little too hard and she pried herself away. First her body turned, then slowly her head, until finally her eyes whipped forward again. Sammy started back down the sidewalk to her apartment building. "Oh man, what time is it? I gotta drop this stuff off before it starts!"
Bursting through her door sometime later Sammy raced through the living room and dropped all her stuff on the sofa. "Hey Oranges!" Her goldfish did a little flip in its bowl. Shaking the snow off her clothes she ran around trying to find the ticket. "Sorry I can't stay long, I'm running late to the show." The fish swam from one end of the tank to the other, trying to follow her around the apartment as she whooshed through. "I guess it's a play in an ice rink. Man, who knew I'd be the ninth caller to that radio station? Especially since I was trying to reach Arron to borrow his drill..." Oranges shook its head at the pathetic stroke of fortune. "...got it!" She turned back to her pet with a smile. "Well, I'm off! I'll see you in a few hours, kay?" The creature's eyes went wide and it started swimming in anxious little circles. "What? What's wrong?" It stopped suddenly and opened its mouth wide. "Oh, right! Your dinner." She gave it a few fishy flakes. "There you go, little guy." The fish gobbled them up and burped a tiny bubble. Sammy laughed. "See you later!" she called on her way out the door.
The rink stadium was quite crowded that night. Sammy had to bump and nudge her way through the halls and aisles until she found her seat. "Wow, not bad." she muttered to herself as she looked out onto the glossy sheet. There was only one row of seats ahead of her. So far it was promising to be quite the evening. Unless, of course... Hopefully no one tall will sit in front of me... she thought awkwardly. As people continued to trickle in, the lights began to dim and festive music played from all around them. A man dressed as a snowman drifted out to the center of the rink and greeted them. "If I live to be a hundred I'll never forget that big snowstorm a couple of years ago. The weather closed in and, well, you might not believe it but the world almost missed Christmas." Lights suddenly illuminated prop trees, and he welcomed them all to the North Pole. He swished around them without a care. "Ahhh, I love this Christmasy time of year." he went on. "Especially when things are running happy and smooth like they are this season. Nothing like that year of the big snowstorm. I don't know what we would have done without Rudolph to pull us through. Anyway... Hm? Rudolph? Could it be that some of you are not acquainted with the story of Rudolph?" The music changed and he started to introduce Santa's reindeer by way of song, each of the cast gliding out in costume and turning flips in the air. It was about then Sammy realized the dark side of this prize...she was going to get this and many other songs stuck in her head that night.
As the hour ticked steadily by, so too did the play, introducing such timeless characters as Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the elves. The cast swept flawlessly across the slippery floor of ice, gestures and motions synchronized perfectly with the music. They sang songs about the conflict of fitting in versus being who you are. Not wanting to hide his nose, or his desire to be a dentist rather than make toys, Rudolph and his new friend Hermey decided to run away from home. They eventually joined up with the - self proclaimed - greatest prospector in the north! Yukon Cornelius! But, making their way through the mountains came with its dangers, like the abominable snowman, drawn to them by the light of Rudolph's glowing red nose. When the actor emerged from the prop mountains in his giant fuzzy suit, the entire audience couldn't help but laugh. It was an incredible replica of the movie she knew and loved growing up. Only, seeing it spread out before her eyes, performed by actual people and on wintry ground no less, it really made the story come to life. Sammy sank back in her chair a little more, easing her mind into the plot. Rudolph and his misfit friends managed to escape the clutches of the snow beast by drifting out to sea on a sizeable floe of ice.
The lights of the stadium doused for a moment to prepare for the next scene back in Christmas Town. She could see the slightly darker silhouettes of the actors and stagehands rushing around exchanging the mountains for trees. But then, somewhere in that time, their seamless transition became stifled. Concerned whispers exchanged among the cast. Sammy found herself leaning forward and squinting, trying to figure it out. A bad feeling sat in her stomach. The once graceful patterns of the crew turned scattered and chaotic, like a bunch of ants turning circles with their sugar jar taken away. Suddenly, the lights flickered on. The music slowed to a stop. And there, in the middle of the rink...stood Dark Matter. He adjusted a small microphone on the lapel of his coat. It crackled a bit. "Good evening." his deep voice echoed. "I hate to interrupt, but I think we all know how this story ends." The crowd was awash with frightened murmurs. They turned to one another, twitching with impatience and confusion. But when her neighbor turned to her for reassurance, Sammy was gone. She transformed mid-sprint as she made her way to the entrance of the rink. The performers clustered together trying to figure out the sudden disturbance. "I believe you all have something for me. Well, tis the season..." He extended a hand slowly and a few panicked yelps escaped the stands. A light fog became visible around the people and steadily trickled away, their energy drawn to his open palm. "He's at it again." Solsi mumbled to herself. "He really is stealing energy." The more the people writhed the faster their energy abandoned them. He laughed at their discomfort. "Do not worry, it'll all be over before you know it..." Solsi's eyes went wide. "Their fear..their fear makes them susceptible! I have to get them to calm down...I...I have to make this look...normal! ...You!" She spun around and pointed to the lead. "M-me?" he squeaked. "Let me borrow those antlers!"
Changing quickly into whatever available, Solsi rushed to confront him. The ice was far trickier to maneuver than she thought, and despite her full-length tights she had to resist the urge to hold her skirt down while she barreled uncontrollably across the frozen sheet. Her skate started to drift until all at once it slipped out from beneath her. Panic all over her face Solsi crouched down and managed to execute a rather stylish halt. Fear became bluff as she glared sternly at the cosmic fiend. "Not so fast!" she proclaimed. "I, Rudolph, the Red Nose and also female Reindeer it turns out - am here to stop you!" There was little that could preoccupy a master villain at that moment, but Solsi found the needle in the haystack. The tall dark man slowly turned her direction with a look of utter and total bemusement. He just shrugged. "...Really?" Solsi looked around. The audience's cries were silenced. She'd given them hope, but that was only half where they needed to be. "Y-you don't seem to be taking this seriously, but I know what you're up to!" Unbeknownst to him, the flow of energy he was siphoning started to die down. He sighed an exasperated sigh, actually curious where she was going with this. "Oh yeah? And what's that?" Solsi swallowed hard and wobbled to her feet, trying not to break the professional illusion. "Er, um, you...you see..."
Suddenly a bright ray shot out from behind. Solsi flinched as it sailed over her shoulder and struck Dark Matter in a quick flash. She blinked in shock, wondering what it was and where it came from. The unexpected jolt nearly blinded her to the fact he was now also in costume. As it finally dawned on her, the words began to flow with ease. "You're King Moonracer! Of the Island of Misfit Toys! And you're not here housing them...you kidnapped them! And are making the storms just to prevent Christmas!" The audience gasped. Distracted, the flow of energy stopped altogether. Dark Matter turned a tight circle on his new skates, looking at what became of him. "What?!" he cried in elaborate frustration. "Th-that doesn't make any sense!!" Solsi - or rather, Rudolph - clenched a determined fist. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"
Determined to assist any way they could, the tech crew adjusted the lights and started improvising new music. Feeling the vibe of the stadium make a quick turn around, the Radiant Anon smirked coyly. Letting her light shine under the guise of special effects, she chased the villain off. To the audience it seemed Rudolph discovered another way to use his nose for good in a dramatic and modern twist - none the wiser about the ironic reality of the play. Soon as their skates left the ice the original cast took over, bringing about the conclusion as smoothly as they could muster.
Sammy breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out into the cool air sometime later. The stadium was closed now, and she personally saw to it that everyone left in one piece. She'd lost track of her target, but, as she gazed up at the still-falling snow, she knew he wouldn't be missing for long. He was out there, and he'd be back. Things worked out this time, but one mystery still hung in her head... How did he change to look like that character? "Cold as space out here, is it not? And quite the interesting battle you fought." That voice... Sammy spun around to see a rather familiar face grinning at her. "Nebula!" she exclaimed, running up to him. "What are you doing here? Last time I saw you was..." "Earlier this day, in the window of the shop. Unless you count sealing the two of us up." She was in awe. He spoke of it so casually. "So...you're...not upset with me...about that?" she tested carefully. But the colorful man just smiled. "If you will allow me to explain, and then you may ask any questions that remain. You see, young Solsi, I lived as a masterpiece up in that frame, able to experience glory and fame. But while I sat frozen in that final spell, I was able to look out and see all of the people as well. I learned a lot over time in that hall. What is good for one may not be so for all. Perhaps it is wrong to make the world in the name of art bend, so I came to apologize to you, my friend."Friend... The words of her guide, Corona, still rang true... Her mouth was ajar in surprise, until she found her voice to say, "Thank you but...how did you escape the canvas?" He adjusted his coat a little. "I guess with that lesson finally learned, the winds of fate inevitably turned. It seemed like you could use an assist, so I went along with your little twist. He should turn back to normal soon as he exits this place - though it was priceless, the look on his face." Sammy laughed. "Yeah it was, wasn't it? I appreciate you coming all this way and helping out like you did...but what will you do now? Go back to space where you came from?" The man shrugged with a furtive little grin. "Perhaps I'll wander around Gaia a bit. Before I make my dramatic exit." He walked past her, leaving soft footprints in the snow. "I think I shall start with this town that lies before me. Where does this road go? - We'll just have to wait and see."
Sammy watched as his form disappeared into the gray, billowing fog. There was a long, silent moment accompanying the chilling brace of the wind... And then... A light flickered and a shadow near the building suddenly opened up behind her. "Well, I never expected you to go that far." came the deep voice again. Surprised, but unafraid, Sammy turned to face him. Her eyes narrowed. "Well then you seriously underestimated my willingness to humiliate myself!" she taunted back. Leaning against the wall, Dark Matter dropped his head a little. "Tch." Was that a laugh? "...so it would seem." Sammy eyed him. "What do you want, Dark Matter?" He looked up at her. "You and this...character...do hold similarities." he admitted, thinking aloud. He took a few steps away from the stadium. "Follow your nose, anon. A storm is coming." Before she could retort he vanished from sight. Sammy turned a circle trying to see where the invisible fiend went, but the falling snow filled his footprints too quickly.
The next day...
The aroma of peppermint and cocoa was thick in the air at the Sugar Rush Cafe. But the smell of paper hot from the presses captured the attention of one in particular. "'Last night's Winter Wonderland production of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was certainly a time to remember. The performances by the cast were on point, to a point. Instead of taking the tale to it's intended destination, this cast's delivery took unexpected detour and may have gotten a little lost. The interpretation that King Moonracer could not only be a figure of true fear for toys, but man as well, proved more than a little dark, and the inconsistency of the lead was rather baffling. Let's just say while we here at the Barton Times appreciate the ambition of this unique twist on a holiday classic, this reporter found it highly irregular and vaguely disappointing.'" Sammy put the paper down.
"Gee...everyone's a critic." emotion_sweatdrop
Nebula paced the aisle, throwing his fists in the air and practically smoking out the ears. "What?! How dare they degrade your parts! This person knows nothing of the arts!!" he bellowed with full bravado. Sammy smiled awkwardly and fanned him with her hand across the counter. "It's okay Nebula...we'll get 'em next time..." she offered in attempt at comfort. "I defy them a better act to find! Why I ought to give them a piece of my mind!"
"Now, now..."
<3,
Radiant Anon Solsi
Radiant Anon Solsi
