And now the epic conclusion of -- Plushie to the Rescue; in the name of Christmas!
Plushie's arms rested at her sides, each of her hands emanating that same whitish-blue light. It wasn't as bright as when this began, thanks to Zero and his cruel words. He watched her closely, half-hoping for an acceptance of defeat and half-fearful of another goody-goody save-Christmas antic. I'm not sure which was more predominant in him, but boy did he watch her like a hawk. The bells slowed in their rock, the ring-a-ling tune soft and dulled... the deep, calling sound near-quieted. The cords of light dimmed as if in the process of going out all together. The bouncing snowman stopped in his folly, sitting almost subdued. It looked, very much so, like the meddlesome girl had given up. Plushie brought her hands together before her as if in prayer, her eyes closed, as if asking for forgiveness for her failure.
The scene looked perfect to Zero and he was moments away from ensuring that Christmas was destroyed forever... or so he thought. He opened his mouth to jeer at her, to make some mean-spirited comment, but the words never left his throat. Plushie's hands were growing brighter, and brighter, more rich and brilliant in color. What was happening was this -- she was focusing every speck of hope she had, every trace of belief in Christmas and its magic, into one final exert. The whitish blue light brightened, almost blindingly so, growing larger and larger in size. Plushie's hands were pushed apart, almost as if by the force of it, accommodating the size of, what appeared to be, an orb. The light no longer flickered or looked even remotely close to fading. Zero took a step back, sensing what was coming... and he was not disappointed.
Crossing her wrists in front of her, the magnificent light illuminating before her hands, Plushie opened her eyes and took a deep breath, putting every good thought and positive feeling that she had behind this last ditch effort. Pulling her arms apart and outward, she sent the last of her Christmas magic out, and boy did it show. There was an explosion of light that filled the graveyard, blinding the eyes, blowing snow in every direction. The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, rumbling beneath their feet. The corded colored bulbs re-lit with a fierce brightness, the snowman was joined by several others, each of them sliding and bouncing around with the utmost merriment. More candy canes sprang from the ground in different places. A fresh snow began to fall, soft and pure. The thirty foot tree turned in its place, growing two feet higher with each turn until it stood at a towering forty feet. More ornaments had appeared on it, more tinsel, more garland, the star at the top emitting its own wondrous light.
Fresh, vibrant flowers lay on each tomb stone. In the distance, a section of the ground caved in before slowly filling with a dark brown liquid. Were you to inspect it, you'd find that this was hot chocolate. Large, soft white pillows sprang from the ground around the hot chocolate pond -- marshmallows. The biggest change were the two light-decorated iron posts; they grew taller, the bells larger, more shiny, and the sound they emitted was breath-taking. The bells rocked with a passion, the deep, baritone sound vibrating and pulsing through the air for miles and miles. Zero looked around, not in anger, or fear, but wonder -- he too could hear the tone now; no longer bells, it was a call.
And so it was answered. Voices came in the distance; young, old, male, female, tall, short, thin, fat -- people of all races, gender, and ages came, at first, cautiously down the path from Durem, then with excitement from the scene before them. It seemed as if Gaia had heard the bells. Like the onlooking family, they lingered at the gates, peering into the wonderland before them, a place that they knew well in their hearts. The initial explosion of light had long since faded, streams tearing to and fro to further build upon the Christmas wonder. More and more people circled the graveyard, laughing, cheering, chattering with amazement. "Look!" Someone cried from within the group. It took everyone a moment to realize where the sound was coming from, but soon they identified it. Up in the sky, way off in the distance, came the sound of jingling bells. After a moment, a sleigh came into sight, pulled by nine reindeer... the leader with a nose quite extraordinarily red. There, in the sleigh, with his suit so red, his body so large, his face so jolly... sat Santa.
No one noticed, in the midst of all this excitement, the girl in the graveyard collapsing in the snow.
Plushie's arms rested at her sides, each of her hands emanating that same whitish-blue light. It wasn't as bright as when this began, thanks to Zero and his cruel words. He watched her closely, half-hoping for an acceptance of defeat and half-fearful of another goody-goody save-Christmas antic. I'm not sure which was more predominant in him, but boy did he watch her like a hawk. The bells slowed in their rock, the ring-a-ling tune soft and dulled... the deep, calling sound near-quieted. The cords of light dimmed as if in the process of going out all together. The bouncing snowman stopped in his folly, sitting almost subdued. It looked, very much so, like the meddlesome girl had given up. Plushie brought her hands together before her as if in prayer, her eyes closed, as if asking for forgiveness for her failure.
The scene looked perfect to Zero and he was moments away from ensuring that Christmas was destroyed forever... or so he thought. He opened his mouth to jeer at her, to make some mean-spirited comment, but the words never left his throat. Plushie's hands were growing brighter, and brighter, more rich and brilliant in color. What was happening was this -- she was focusing every speck of hope she had, every trace of belief in Christmas and its magic, into one final exert. The whitish blue light brightened, almost blindingly so, growing larger and larger in size. Plushie's hands were pushed apart, almost as if by the force of it, accommodating the size of, what appeared to be, an orb. The light no longer flickered or looked even remotely close to fading. Zero took a step back, sensing what was coming... and he was not disappointed.
Crossing her wrists in front of her, the magnificent light illuminating before her hands, Plushie opened her eyes and took a deep breath, putting every good thought and positive feeling that she had behind this last ditch effort. Pulling her arms apart and outward, she sent the last of her Christmas magic out, and boy did it show. There was an explosion of light that filled the graveyard, blinding the eyes, blowing snow in every direction. The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, rumbling beneath their feet. The corded colored bulbs re-lit with a fierce brightness, the snowman was joined by several others, each of them sliding and bouncing around with the utmost merriment. More candy canes sprang from the ground in different places. A fresh snow began to fall, soft and pure. The thirty foot tree turned in its place, growing two feet higher with each turn until it stood at a towering forty feet. More ornaments had appeared on it, more tinsel, more garland, the star at the top emitting its own wondrous light.
Fresh, vibrant flowers lay on each tomb stone. In the distance, a section of the ground caved in before slowly filling with a dark brown liquid. Were you to inspect it, you'd find that this was hot chocolate. Large, soft white pillows sprang from the ground around the hot chocolate pond -- marshmallows. The biggest change were the two light-decorated iron posts; they grew taller, the bells larger, more shiny, and the sound they emitted was breath-taking. The bells rocked with a passion, the deep, baritone sound vibrating and pulsing through the air for miles and miles. Zero looked around, not in anger, or fear, but wonder -- he too could hear the tone now; no longer bells, it was a call.
And so it was answered. Voices came in the distance; young, old, male, female, tall, short, thin, fat -- people of all races, gender, and ages came, at first, cautiously down the path from Durem, then with excitement from the scene before them. It seemed as if Gaia had heard the bells. Like the onlooking family, they lingered at the gates, peering into the wonderland before them, a place that they knew well in their hearts. The initial explosion of light had long since faded, streams tearing to and fro to further build upon the Christmas wonder. More and more people circled the graveyard, laughing, cheering, chattering with amazement. "Look!" Someone cried from within the group. It took everyone a moment to realize where the sound was coming from, but soon they identified it. Up in the sky, way off in the distance, came the sound of jingling bells. After a moment, a sleigh came into sight, pulled by nine reindeer... the leader with a nose quite extraordinarily red. There, in the sleigh, with his suit so red, his body so large, his face so jolly... sat Santa.
No one noticed, in the midst of all this excitement, the girl in the graveyard collapsing in the snow.
