Christmas at VHS

Sorry it's been a while since the last post, there's been a lot happening, including losing one of our number, and well, I'll get to that eventually. I want to tell you all about our Christmas, so first I should sum up what happened after Linda and Don had their fight (The others will continue their tales later too).

We looked up from lying on the floor to see the air above us empty of spirits, Don and Linda both having vanished. I could hear Doolittle coughing, and Diffy calling Linda a string of rude names. (Rude for him, the worst he managed to say was bad witch ( I'm sure you can work out what he meant, just take out the ad w, but he's never managed to say the really rude words, he just can't.)
Anyway, I could see that John had run off, and a qucik headcount showed that Precog was the one who had left during the fight.

I felt an arm round my shoulders as I struggled up from under the table that had fallen on me in the confusion, and a warm glow healed the bruises and grazes I'd sustained, and grinned and Healthbar as she helped me up. 'Thanks'
'Meh, I do what I can. I tend to get up again pretty quickly if I have some light.'
She winked at me and went to help the others. I FFed objects out of the way, and summoned a breeze to blow of most of the dust covering us, and was just filling a crack in the wall with rock when I heard a groan to my right. I turned to see Don's head raise slightly. I let out a cry of surprise and rushed over to him. Healthbar and the others were right behind me.
'Urrrrrrrrrrrrrgh..................ow..my head.....is Linda gone?'
He looked at all of us and sat up groggily as Healthbar enveloped him in her healing light.
'Don, what happened?'
'I charged Linda to stop her killing all of you, and she tried to take my Aura to kill me and take my 'power''
'And?'
'I let her. I was latched firmly to Tildy and Healthbar at the time, so she was having to fight them too. She found far more resistance than she expected, then I slammed into her, weakening her more, and the only part of me that came easily was the formula. She sucked right out my body and I stayed where I was. It made her kind of explode, and then all there was was intense pain as I woke up in my body again. The whole thing took about a second though.'
'....Wow'
'That was smart!'
'Well done!'
'Hurray for beating miss stinkypants!'
'So is she actually dead?' I asked after congratulating and thanking him.
'....No' said Playwrite, Tingle, Tildy, Dragon and Healthbar together.
'She's...worse than ever, but slipping back into her own timestream, trying to fix it again.' said Tildy.
'I fear she may use the addition of that tainted formula to her DNA to her advantage' said Dragon seriously.

There, that's roughly what was said. Now christmas.

Precog came back about a week before christmas, very cheerful, and calmer than he had been for weeks, as if he'd found peace with himself at last.

2 days to christmas, the gang is decorating the base. We'd all agreed to meet up in the afternoon of christmas day. We were all hanging up decorations, and I'd grown a tree that morning, which was now standing proudly in the corner of the room, and Dragon was just helping me string up some tinsel when Diffy wandered over to us, looking troubled.

'Dwaaaaaaaaaaaagon, can you help me wiv sumfing? Cecil say that Santa doesn't exist, and he's hundreds older than me so he knows, but you older than him, and smarter and powerfuler and evryfing, so you really knows that he does exist, please?'

Dragon smiled, and looked down over his shoulder at Diffy as I pinned the bit of tinsel he was holding. 'Santa exists, of course he does. I couldn't tell you who he is at the moment, but he exists.'

'Huh?'

'Well, Santa is a title, like Dragon. Once a replacement with fitting or suitable abilities come along, they are made the new santa, and do the job for a while. The details and stories are blurred and exaggerated into the popular image we know today, but it's really a lot simpler than that. As I say, I cannot tell you who he is, at the moment, but I hope you'll be satisfied with the knowledge that you have met A santa.'

Diffy stared, and understanding started to shine in his eyes 'You mean.....'

Dragon patted his stomach and smiled again. 'I've lost a lot of weight since then....'

There was a thud. I turned to see Diffy had fallen to the floor, and was sitting staring up at Dragon. Then he scrambled to his feet and ran of screaming 'Cecil! Cecil!!!!!! I WAS RIGHT!!!

I win!!!!!'

I got off the chair I'd been standing on, the tinsel firmly attached to the ceiling, and Dragon and I went to get some tree decorations. 'So is all of that true?'

He winked. 'I couldn't possibly tell you, dear friend, Santa Oath of Secrecy you know.'

He winked again and I started laughing.

Healthbar came to join us hang stuff on the tree, but halfway through we could hear a rumble in the distance, getting closer all the time.

'What do you think' I asked, as we looked to the door expectantly 'Earthquake?'

'Wild bulls?' guessed Healthbar'

'"It sounds like a bulldozer merged with an ice cream truck' yelled Don as the noise increased, and came close enough to be recognisable.

'Hang on' I was straining to hear the notes clearly amongst the sheer roar of volume, sure I couldn't be right 'It sounds more like....Slade.....'

A teenage boy swept into the base, singing at the top of his lungs and accompanied by a deafening wave of song.

'Does your granny always tell ya, that the old songs are the best, then she's up and rock and rolling with the reeeeeest:

SO HERE IT IS, MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY'S HAVING FUN. LOOK TO THE FUTURE NOW IT'S ONLY JUST BEGUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN-'

'Broadcast!!!!!!!' We yelled, half angry, half happy.

Doolittle poked him and he swung round to face her, the music emanating from him fading to background volume. 'Hi everybody! Too loud?'

'Just a tad' said Precog, wiggling his ear to try and get the ringing out of his ears.

I'll post this for now, and tell you about the eventful evening next.......