A Christmas Surprise

Unsure Tidings'

Down in the base, Kendall looked up from her work as a flicker of light caught her attention. At first, she thought it may have been Adelaide messing around, the scientist knew how much the youngest McMillian loved to play games. But she could vaguely remember Sasha saying that Adelaide was with Donnie today.

However, it wasn't a flicker of light from a torch beam, but rather the materialising of a portal. Kendall's eyes widened as the portal flickered and out popped a bushy-haired man with an animal print tunic.

"Sur-oh!" the man jumped around, a happy grin on his lips. "SURPRISE!"

"Koda!" Kendall gasped. She run around her workstation and threw her arms around the caveman, as another man appeared. The entire body of the second man was covered in armour.

"Merry Christmas, friends!" Ivan declared.

Kendall laughed as she untangled herself from Koda and hugged the Knight of Zandar, followed closely by Keeper, as the alien stepped out of the portal last. "Oh, it's so good to see you!" she said, stepping back from her old friends. "How did you guys...?"

"Ah, Christmas," Keeper said, smiling. "The best season for time travel."

"Where everyone at?" Koda asked, noticing the lack of people in the lab.

"Last I recall, Tyler and his father were landing in Amber Beach airport, they should be here soon," Kendall said, picking up her iPad and inspecting the documents her screen. "Same with Riley and Chase. Philip had some last minute council meetings to attend, but he promises to be here before tomorrow, and Jesse's in Portland picking up his parents and brother."

"What of Sasha, Adelaide, and Shelby?" Ivan asked.

"They're upstairs," Kendall said. "Shelby's been feeding the dinosaurs, Adelaide's been running amok in Donnie's enclosure, again, and Sasha's making sure the cafe is decorated."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"What's that?" Koda asked, looking behind Kendall at her workstation.

Kendall frowned and backpedalled. "That's Sasha's panic alarm," she said. "We only use them in times of great panic. Like, last week, for example, Sasha and Shelby got trapped in Rexy's enclosure during feeding time, and they couldn't get out. Shelby sounded her panic alarm and the guards rushed to help."

"Where is she?" Ivan asked, leaning over Kendall's shoulder. The idea that Sasha was in trouble nerved him.

"She's..." Kendall frowned as the flashing blip that was her best friend appeared on the screen, "in the cafe. But..." she looked around quickly as Ivan rushed from the room.

Koda, Keeper and Kendall looked at one another and then followed after the knight.

~X~

Sasha huffed in defeat. She had been struggling against her binds for the last ten minutes, even straining enough to try and hit the panic button on her wrist. She had brushed the surface but wasn't completely sure if she'd indented it enough to send an alert to Kendall in the base.

"Lady Sasha!"

Sasha turned, as best she could, as a familiar voice called her name. She was sure it was him, who else could it be? "Ivan?" she called back, desperate to know if she was hearing things.

"M'lady!" Ivan said, kneeling beside her.

Sasha couldn't believe it. Surely her eyes were deceiving her. This couldn't have been the same person she put through a portal less than six months ago. He hadn't change a bit. He was still has handsome and helping as he had been when he was here last.

Feeling her binds loosen from her wrists, Sasha stood and finally got the first look of Ivan after six months of being apart. "It is you," she said.

"Yes, M'lady," Ivan said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "It is I. Are you alright?" he inspected her wrists, running his fingers carefully over the red welts left behind by the tinsel. "Tell me, who did this to you?"

Kendall, Koda, and Keeper arrived.

Sasha gasped as she spotted Koda and Keeper, and broke away from Ivan to hug them both. "You're all here," she said, surprised.

"Sasha, what happened?" Kendall asked. "Your panic alarm..."

"Sorry, it was the only way I could reach you," Sasha apologised. "Something's happened to Adelaide and Shelby."

"What do you mean?"

Sasha looked around for the present with her name tag and opened it to reveal its contents. "Adelaide found these boxes over there," she pointed to the far corner of the room. "Inside is a lump of coal. At least, that's what she and Shelby found."

"That just sounds like a stupid prank," said Kendall, shaking her head.

"That's what I thought, until the two changed," Sasha said. "I don't know what happened, exactly, but it was like a complete personality transfer. Shelby didn't recognise her own name, and she called Adelaide by the name of 'Jingle'."

"Could they just be playing?" Keeper asked.

"Adelaide, maybe," Sasha nodded. "But not Shelby. The way they acted, it would've taken then more than a few seconds to put it all together. It's more than just an improv."

"What do you think has happened?" Kendall asked. She could see that her friend was working towards a theory.

Sasha shrugged. "I don't know," she stressed. "But it all happened after they touched the coal in these parcels. Adelaide did mention something about 'Krampus' and how good girls' do as their told, and naughty ones get coal as presents."

"Krampus?" Kendall repeated. "Oh boy."

"Did Adelaide say anything else?" Keeper asked.

"She said they would be back."

"Back? Back from where?" Kendall asked.

Sasha shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure," she replied. "But before they left, Shelby said that they had plans to make sure that all of Krampus' coal was delivered before Christmas morning."

Kendall looked at the box where Sasha's coal still sat. "Let's go back to the lab," she said. "I can run better tests on this lump of coal, and see exactly what we're dealing with."

The others nodded and followed Kendall from the cafe.

Sasha turned to Ivan as he fell into step beside her. "I didn't think I'd see you again," she said.

"I'm hoping to change that," Ivan admitted.

"What does that mean?" Sasha asked, confused.

Ivan smiled and shook his head. "For now, let's focus on finding Adelaide and Shelby," he said. "Then we can talk."

"Alright," Sasha agreed. Although she couldn't help but truly wonder what Ivan was talking about.