Where Are you, Christmas?

By Shychick

It was at last the end of yet another grueling day for the vertically-challenged lackey of Robotropolis.

An exhausted Snively shuffled across his tiny bedroom, having just decided to retire for the night (the time actually being 2:30 AM), heaving a long, wistful sigh. He happened to sigh on a regular basis, particularly when he was alone- one might say it was almost second-nature for him by now- but on this particular occasion it wasn't just out of sheer regret for his miserable existence in general' no, no, tonight's agonized exhale contained even more matter than usual, one that he always reserved specially for this night. A night which represented, for him, a fleeting, yet remarkable sense of nostalgia, as well as that deep-down remainder of innocence from by-gone days, a feeling of which could only be invoked upon such a time. And yet' the most painful time of the year for our poor, lost misfit.

    For tonight happened to be none other than Christmas Eve. Naturally, his contemptible tyrant of an uncle did not even believe in Christmas, let alone held so much as a second's patience for even the very word alone. For the wretched holiday stood for everything that the Big, Round Guy was strictly against, all sickening practices and emotions which he had banished from Mobo- that, is, Robotropolis from the day of his Coup, such as peace, joy, love, harmony, happiness, merrymaking, friendship, and all other disgusting and irrelevant frivolities.

Snively remembered well the very first time he had ever requested Christmas Day off, the winter immediately following Julian's take-over. Although he knew by then, more or less, his uncle's true ways and nature (particularly towards him), and had grown rather timid and wary of him (though not nearly as much as today,) he still was young and na've in those days. And let's just say that after Snively had immerged from the Infirmary later that day, his question more than satisfied, he had learned to face the world a little older and a lot wiser. For that was the first time Robotnik had actually beaten him, not counting the ocaassional threat and backhand, and it had taught Snively never to pose such a foolish question again.

     'Julian is a fool. I'm sure he knows perfectly well that no Freedom Fighter would be up to anything on Christmas Day, as bloody tricky and unpredictable as they certainly are! But honestly, has there EVER been a single attack on Christmas, all these years? Even I know those foolish do-gooders better than that! He just loves to witness me suffer so, and continues faking his paranoid act of denial!' Snively furiously ranted, pacing over to the window and roughly resting his forehead against the icy, frosted glass. 'Just once I'd like to have Christmas off, just once! I mean, the robots are more than well-equipped to fill in for me for one measly day-'

    At that moment, stubborn determination replaced any fear and skeptism he would normally have been overwhelmed in, had such a dangerous, foolish, risky idea even briefly crossed his mind. His mind made up, he stormed over to a metal hatch beside his closet, and entered in the appropriate code. The hatch raised, and a second later, accompanied by a billow of steam, he faced his fill-in- it was the android replica of Snively he had created a couple years ago, when he had been too ill to work, using himself as a model. He had always saved it for emergencies only, having only used it on that occasion. Well, he was feeling rather daring tonight; if it fooled the fatass once before, it could fool him for at least 24 hours! He would surely never know the difference. The machine had been programmed with his exact memories and personality.

   Snively grinned rebelliously, as he activated his precious mecha-clone. 'Thanks for filling in on such short notice, old friend,' he snickered, mentally giving his uncle the Finger.

He turned and faced out the window, as blackened snow continue to drift down like soot. 'As of tonight, the world is my oyster!' he cackled madly.
*                                                                *                                          *

'Ah, this is the life,' Snively sighed, as he settled back in the hot-spring. This hot-spring was one of few specially located out in the badlands of the Great Unknown. Once, having accompanied Robotnik in this area on a mission to find the legendary Deep Power Stones, Snively had excused himself to help the SWATBots scout the land for any sign of Sonic, and had discovered these hot-springs by sheer coincidence, having spent an hour or so there instead. Even if those pesky Freedom Fighters knew about them, there was no reason for them to come to these dry, desolate lands today! 'No Robotnik, and no miserable Freedom Fighters! Just me, myself, and I. Ah, it pays to live a little'' He was so peaceful, he almost began to drift off.

     'Are you sure this is ok, Sonic?'  echoed the voice of his conscious, suddenly- oddly enough it seemed to assume the tone of a ten-year-old, and seemed so distant, yet so close.  'Aunt Sally'll kill us if she finds out! Maybe we should get back to Knothole before she knows we're gone!'

   'Aw, chill, big guy!' Snively mentally replied, his own voice sounding unusually like a cocky, laid-back 16-year-old in his head, not to mention familiar somehow. 'You're with me, aren't you? Besides, Sal's still sound asleep in her bed, along with everybody else, dreaming of gingerbread dudes, sugarplums, not to mention hedgehogs and mistletoe.'

  'Mistletoe? Yuck!' his annoying conscious protested.

'Well, I- these are just guesses, of course,' Snively heard himself saying in his head, a combination of both embarrassment and sly wistfulness. 'Point is, we'll be back way before dawn.  Consider it an early gift, little bro!'

  'Ok, Sonic; cool!'

'Way past, Tails!'

      Suddenly, all logic came crashing back down upon Snively. With an almighty yell, his eyes flew open- and found that he wasn't the only one yelling in alarm, for it was none other than Sonic the Hedehog and his faithful twin-tailed sidesick standing there, gaping at the nearly-naked Overlander in shock.

   'Hedgehog!' Snively hissed, seething contempt in his voice, once he'd gotten over the initial shock.

    'Snive-ly!' Sonic retorted, glaring at him, his eyes full of suspicion. 'What're you doing here, shrimpboat?'

   'Obviously, the same as you, rodent! Trying to enjoy my Christmas off! Oh, but I suppose I was a fool for ever thinking I could get any peace to myself on this wretched holiday! I mean, what are the chances of running into the likes of you two vermin?'

  'I ain't buying it! Like Robuttnik would ever let you have a day off, let alone Christmas!'

   Snively smirked, despite himself. 'Well, what the old fool doesn't know won't hurt him, now will it?' He let out an arrogant sniff, and folded his arms. 'Even us overlooked, unappreciated lackies have the right to enjoy Christmas!'

  Tails glanced at Snively, his eyes full of confused concern. 'Gee, Snively, nobody should be all alone on Christmas. Not even you.'

  'Oh, your kindness overwhelms me, fox!' Snively sneered. 'What do you care, anyway? Perhaps you may not have heard correctly, but I PREFER being alone, for your information! Now, get out of here and leave me in peace, so I can return to enjoying what little time off I've managed to steal for myself!'

  'No way, Slimely! This is our spot, and we ain't into sharing with goonbas like you!'
     'Well, I don't see your name written on it, hedgehog! Why don't you get back to Knothole where you belong?'

'Yeah, well, maybe you haven't heard, pal, but three's a crowd! So why don't you get back to Robotropolis, where you belong! What's more, Hedgehog Airlines'll even be so kind as to send you on your way!' He rolled up for his trademark Spindash-

   'Sonic, wait!' Tails protested loudly. Sonic was so shocked that he halted in mid-Spindash and tripped face-down into the snow. 'Snively's right. Everybody has a right to enjoy Christmas- even badniks like him! It's not fair the way Robotnik treats him! Why, I'll bet he hasn't even once celebrated Christmas, since he was a kid! It's a time for everybody to share!'

He turned to Snively, who was looking at Tails like he was speaking in tongues. 'Hey, Sniv, why don't you come and join us for Christmas this year?'

    'Whoa, whoa, time-out, Tails!' Sonic hastily interrupted him. 'You've got some pretty cool morals there, bud, but that idea is anything but cool!'

  'Aw, come on, Sonic!' Tails protested. 'Christmas only comes once a year! Besides, isn't that what it's all about? Helping and giving to those who are less fortunate- not just our neighbors, but even our enemies? Isn't it a time for peace and harmony, all over? A time for forgiveness? A time for caring?'

   Sonic sighed. 'Ok, ok, point taken. But we still can't let him know where Knothole is!'
  'We could blindfold him on the way there and back,' Tails suggested.

'Even so, Sally would kill me!'

  'Sally knows what Christmas is all about, Sonic! She's the one who taught me! I just know she'll understand! Please?' Tails begged earnestly.

  There was a pause. Sonic sighed again. 'The things I do for my fave lil' bro and time of year! Ok, but it's up to him. And I wouldn't count on Needlenose accepting any invitation.'

   All this time, Snively had his back turned so as to conceal the tears of gratitude in his eyes. He couldn't believe he was feeling so overwhelmed by the words of a child- one extremely kind and understanding child. He was wise, well beyond his years, and had been taught well. He represented the same kind of hope and innocence that had been destroyed early in Snively's own youth' and for a brief moment, he remembered a time when he was once exactly like him. Only he didn't have anybody to teach him such valuable lessons- Tails was truly the blessed one, after all- such morals he had acquired on his own, from his own life experiences.  

But then his pride overtook him, and his heart was hardened once again. 'I don't need your charity, kid!' he sneered. 'So, I suggest you quit wasting your breath and go home!'

    'Ok' but we'll be having pumpkin pie for desert,' Tails said, with a smile.

'Bah! I don't-' Suddenly, Snively turned around. His eyes were watering. 'Did- did you say pumpkin pie?' he whispered.

  'Uh-huh! Nobody makes it like Bunnie! You'd love it!'

   'I- I- I haven't had pumpkin pie since I was five years old! It's my favorite' My mother used to make it for us every Christmas' before she died,' Snively whispered, tears streaming down his face. 'Nobody made it like her. All her love went into those pies, along with everything she made' she was such a wonderful cook' she always made my Christmas so special- she made my whole life special,' he said, with a sob.

     Tails placed a hand on Snively's shoulder. 'Come on, Snively. It's time you had the Christmas you were always meant to have,' he said quietly, with a smile.
*                                                   *                                                   *

Snively had never felt so accepted in his life. He expected all the other FFs to shun him, even run him out of the village, but much to shock, they did everything they could to make him feel welcome once Tails had explained everything to them. He felt rather timid and awkward at first, but shortly warmed up.

Everything was wonderful- from the exemplary feast, to joining the gang in their annual caroling session, to the snowball fights and snowman-building, to the ice-skating (Tails taught him how), to sledding and skiing down some of the best hills in the Great Forest, and finally, to having hot-chocolate in Bunnie's hut by the fire. He laughed and talked with everybody, like he'd lived in Knothole himself.

Tails and the girls talked him into spending the night, which he shyly accepted. After breakfast the next morning, and a final romp in the snow, Snively reluctantly decided it was time for him to go.

    Sally approached him, before he was to bed led out of Knothole, blindfolded. 'Um, Snively,' she began, 'before you go, I just want to say that, well, it was a real pleasure having you this year' and we'd love it if you could come back every Christmas,' she finished with a smile.

  Snively was more touched than ever. He could tell her offer was truly genuine. 'Do you mean it, Princess?' he asked, eyes widened.

    'I do,' she smiled. 'In fact, I insist. Even Robotnik's nephew deserves a break, at least once a year. I just hope your android duplicate will be up to taking your place,' she added, with a chuckle.

   Snively smiled. 'Count on it, Princess,' he said, bowing from the waist.

Tails ran up. 'Hey, Snively!' he called. 'Before you go, we want you to have this. Rotor and Uncle Chuck made it, but it's from all of us.'

    Snively accepted the parcel from Tails' hands. 'For me?' he asked slowly.

'It's been awhile since you've ever received a gift from anybody, hasn't it?' Sir Charles asked with a sympathetic smile.

  Snively chuckled. 'That's not true. In the last 24 hours, I've received the greatest present anyone has ever given me. You all don't know what this has meant to me.'
He unwrapped the gift. It was a snow-globe, with a background scenery of the Great Forest.  'Thank you,' he whispered.

    After a speechless few seconds, Snively wiped his eyes and turned to Sonic with a smile. 'Well, Hedgehog, you do realize of course, that this changes nothing, if you know what I mean.' His gaze lowered. 'At least' at least''

   'Wouldn't have it any other way, shrimpboat!' Sonic grinned, with a friendly punch on the arm. Snively could tell he understood.

   'Then, season's greetings, my worthy adversary, until we next meet in battle,' Snively grinned back. 'And be warned, hedgehog- next time, we'll get you! No mercy!'

    With a sad chuckle, Sir Charles said, 'Well, hopefully someday, things will be different for you. Maybe someday, you'll be on a different side- the winning side.'

   Snively sighed wistfully. 'Perhaps, Sir Charles,' he admitted, glancing out towards the far distance. 'But for now' my place is elsewhere.' Only time can tell what the future will hold. Come what may, he thought to himself, taking a long glance into his new treasured possession, after giving it a firm shake.  And' who knows? It's start.


THE END


This has been a Shychick Production! Happy holidays, guys!