Here it is, the last bit of the Finale- and it plays out a little differently this time.

Bina and I worked hard on getting this one done- so we were able to get it posted just under a week after the last bit of Finale! I'm very proud of that fact. For now - here's the Finale, folks.

 
Note: light cursing

Uncle Crimbo staggered around the bar, bumping and pushing everyone out of his way. "Gitch outta da way, you oafs. HIC. Quitch pushing me around," he said with a booze induce slur in his voice.

Uncle Crimbo was so drunk he was barely able to stand, let along stagger. Everyone around him was getting fed up with his mouth and the pushing and shoving when suddenly a bar patron took a swing at him and knocked him off his feet and onto the floor. Landing on his fat ass, he rolled over and on all fours and started to crawl out of the bar, calling to his Crimbo elves, "Bringsh my bottle and let's getsh out of here. Itsh not safe in here." Uncle Crimbo continued his crawl to the door when he was stopped by a pair of black boots directly in his path. "Whatsh going on here? Getsh outta da way," he yelled and his eyes followed the boots up right into the face of Father Crimbo. "Hi bruver, don'tsh go in dere, not safe," he said as he clung to Father Crimbo to get to his feet.

Father Crimbo shook his head and pulled Uncle Crimbo the rest of the way to his feet saying, "Drunk again? What do you think you're doing here? What is all the commotion and why aren't you working?"

Uncle Crimbo hung his head and nodded, "Yesch but not my fault thish time. Two girls showed upch and looked exactly alike, they caused me to drop me bottle and breaksh it. Had to come heresh to git more. Eberyone keep pushing me and yelling at me. Someonesh hit me and knocksh me down so I'sh leavinghs, not safesh here." With that and the help of his Crimbo elves Uncle Crimbo staggered out the door past Father Crimbo heading toward his factory.

---- Opening by Mary Kate ----

As it turns out, right as Uncle Crimbo was staggering out of the bar, Sebastian Dash and the two Morlencir royalty, Jen and Aleena, were right there to greet him!

Dash smiled, offering Uncle Crimbo a hand. "Just the sibling to the holiday spirit we were looking for."

Barely able to stand up, Uncle Crimbo grabbed Dash's hand and almost pulled Dash off his feet. "Whatsh you want wiff me, buddy?" he asked Dash, putting his face almost into the dashing rogue's and breathing the foul smell of too much booze on Dash.

Dash winced slightly but otherwise ignored it. "What are you up to here, really? What's your goal, Crimbo?"

Uncle Crimbo teetered and stabbed a finger into Dash's chest and said, "Didn'sh you reads the letter Ish left in the basket? I toldsh you I wanted ta change Crimbo from borings to the fun presentsh. Hic I needa drinksh. Somebody getsh me a drinksh."

Jen grabbed the drunk's collar. "What are you really up to, though? No one buys that you're working with the Somber Six's Giant just for the sake of getting your jolly jingles, Mister."

Uncle Crimbo slapped her hand away from his collar and said, "Gets your handsh offs me and just whos do you thins you are? Giantsh my friend and h'is helping me buildsh me town here. I don't like jolly jinglesh, sister. You gots no rightsh to talk ta me likst that."

"Alright," Dash said, realizing there was no point in asking him directly. "We'll be keeping an eye on you."

Uncle Crimbo just muttered, "Gots no rightsh to talksh ta me likst dat," as he staggered away.

"We should keep an eye on him, see where he's heading," Dash noted. But he quickly changed his tone of voice, rubbing a sore spot on his template. "I've got a rather strong feeling that we need to explore the town more, and quick. No time to waste on Uncle Crimbo."

Aleena nodded. She felt an ache in her own head and instructed her cysuit to analyze it. "Agreed on both counts."

--- By Wildfall and Mary ---

Mary, Diana and Wildfall were walking along talking when Diana said, "I better get back to dancing. The boss will be pretty mad and jobs are hard to find around here, so see you both again sometime. Was really fun and exciting to find a twin me, Mary. Great meeting you Wildfall and you take care of my 'twin'." Diana giggled as she headed back to her dancing area.

Mary and Wildfall continued on with their search for Koumori when he suddenly flew in and landed in front of them, blocking their path. He started frantically making hand gestures trying to tell them about danger ahead. Mary looked around Koumori and saw three figures headed towards them. Mary grabbed Wildfall's arm and said, "I think he is trying to tell us we have trouble coming. It looks from a distance like Boss Bat and Ratsworth, but not sure about the third person."

Wildfall put a finger over his lips, lowering his voice to an almost horse whisper. "Alright, back away slowly. Let's figure where your twin's going and maybe we can hang low there for a bit, babe."

Mary just nodded and started backing away. Koumori nodded and quietly flapped over to them to help keep an eye on things. "I guess we will have to go back to the dancers and try to blend in with them," Mary whispered.

Suddenly, Wildfall saw his friend Iris just ahead and in the direct path of the approaching trio. "What the devil is Iris doing here? Now what do we do?" Wildfall whispered.

"You need to go get her before they do. Koumori and I will cover you while you get her to safety. You are the self professed protector of damsels in distress," Mary whispered back.

Wildfall sighed and muttered, "Fine, thought we were a team, that we'd protect those damsels in distress together." With that he went sneaking off only to be seen by the trio before he got to Iris.

Forgetting that she was supposed to be quiet, Mary let out a yell, "Jarlsy watch out!!"

Wildfall looked over and saw more of the Somber Six and muttered, "Great!!! Me and her big mouth. Now we're in trouble and Iris is caught in the middle. I've got to rescue her no matter the cost."

---- Section by Mary Kate ----

SnowCatCuties was just returning to the bar after her mysterious doctor friend told her he sensed that he was needed elsewhere and took off. "Pity the doctor had to leave. Wanted the others to get to know him better," she muttered to herself. "He promised he'd be back as soon as he could so hopefully that's before the others want to leave town. I wonder if they're at the bar still?"

She spotted a stranger in the distance, and wondered if that might be the dashing hero, but he turned the corner. She wondered if that was him- Bastian Dashling or something, and those two elves with him. She'd heard about elves from another dimension or the future or space or something in Degrassi but no one seemed to have any firm information on them yet.

SnowCat shrugged, figuring she could hunt him down later to ask about her mom. For now, she had to check in on her friends.

With memories of her romp in the rain with the doctor a few hours ago still dancing in her head, she didn't realize something was wrong until she entered the bar and saw everyone fighting. "I'm going to guess they're still here."

As if on cue, Snow noticed a brawler stagger in front of her, pool cue in hand, about to smash it over the back of an unsuspecting Becky Joy, who was preoccupied with a brawl with the guys in front of her. Becky had her fists raised and Luna by her side.

"Oh no you don't!" SnowCat used her good arm to slip out a hidden blade and threw it, catching the thug in the shoulder and causing him to yelp in pain as he dropped his dangerous weapon of choice.

The thug yelled, "You stupid little bitch!!!! I'm going to delight in gutting you from ear to ear for that," as he started toward her.

"Geez," Snow complained, preparing herself for a fight. "I thought that would hurt more. It sure hurt like hell when it happened to me."

The thug reached out and grabbed her ouchy shoulder and she instinctively grabbed a barstool with her good hand and clobbered him alongside the head, knocking him to the floor and then she proceeded to smash a bottle over his head to knock him out cold.

"Don't touch my bad arm, neither, thanks," she yelled at the fallen thug, kicking him before stepping over him.

Meanwhile, Becky and Luna were holding their own, even without Becky making much use of her powers. She had Luna's familiar helping her, though. Luna's new Crimbo P. R. E. S. S. I. E. proved its worth, using tongs extended from its metal 'arms' to shock some of the thugs who got close. Becky smiled and the air around her turned frigid, forcing more thugs to back away for fear of frostbit in unfortunate places.

Not wanting to feel left out, John snuck up behind a trio and swept all six of their thuggish legs out from under them at once, sending all three flying backwards over the bar. John then looked out the window and saw a familiar face - Blake Cutler. "Him again?" John asked, annoyed.

Fortunately, Sherri was close enough to hear. She glanced out. "Yeah, that guy is everywhere. Do you think he's stupid enough to stalk us?"

"I don't know," John replied. "That guy's crazy but we should probably chase him off when we're done here."

Sherri looked over again. "Uhho, he's got a kid. Maybe I should let you handle these thugs. . ."

John laughed. "No, honey, I'm sure you want to finish the job with them, so how about I go teach our 'friend' Blake not to mess with kids?"

"Okay," Sherri said. As he walked off, she called after him, "He's not our friend though."

John laughed. "I was being sarcastic."

Outside, Blake Cutler was shoving a young kid around, being his usual bully self. "Hey four eyes! Where did you get that stupid hat? Didn't your mama ever tell you to stay off the streets? Do you even have a mama or were you raised by monkeys?" Blake pushed the kid to the ground and kicked dirt in his face, saying, "There now you look more like a four eyed geek animal. You better run home to mommy and let her dry your baby tears."

"Guess we can't all have a cool fake plastic ninja mask," John said, walking up to Blake with his fists curled. Just then, John caught a flash out of his eyes. "Oh, trying to ambush me. But the key word is 'trying.' I see you over there, Bones and Sir Fumblies told us all about your dirty tricks. I'm ready for you."

A mysterious goblin in a robe stepped out into view and removed the robe's hood from over his head. Indeed it was Bones and he was had a sadistic and evil look on his face and in his eyes. "Yes, but do you truly think you can trust Fumblies, knowing that he was once a student to my master, as I am? But nevermind that as it's time for a celebration."

John sounded confused as he asked, "A celebration? What are you talking about?"

In answer to his question, Bones raised his arms high over his head and several skeletons started to raise out of the ground. "Why didn't you know? Whenever I'm around it's always the day of the dead. Hahaahaahaaa!"

Meanwhile, inside of the bar, the fighting was starting to come to an end as SnowCatCuties helped Becky finish off the last four thugs. "I just left you guys alone for a few hours, how many fights did you guys start?"

"None!" Becky called out. "They started this fight, we're just finishing it."

"I think we already finished it," Luna said, turning to get some more snacks. "Great job, you two."

"So we're done?" Becky asked.

But Snow shook her head. "Not quite. There's a few thugs that Sherri still has to deal with."

Indeed, the two thugs from moments ago, along with a gang of thugs behind them, surrounded Sherri, who had her fists up, still ready for a fight.

"Yeah, that won't take long," Becky said, giggling. As soon as she said it, Sherri jumped at the bigger thug and tried to kick him in the chest, but somehow the thug reacted even faster. Before Sherri realized what happened, his already massive hand tripled in size as he grabbed her out of midair and slammed her through the nearest pool table.

The bigger thug quickly pulled off his robe, revealing himself to be a giant amphibian. Meanwhile, the thug standing next to him revealed a couple of strange objects which he then threw to the ground. In a burst of light and cliche, a couple of strange but adorable little monsters appeared before him.

"Bro," the giant toad-like creature roared in a voice that reminded Sherri of both a New York and Californian accent somehow. "We're not just some barroom brawlers, we're soldiers of the fallen Pertene army!"

"Yeah," the younger punk kid. "We're way cool. I'm a Pokeelbeast training master and he's a Kung Fu Amphibian."

"I have no idea what that means," SnowCat said as she helped Sherri up. "But if you want a fight, you're about to get one."

"It means you're about to get your butt kicked!" the 'training master' responded before ordering his beasts, "Perunfilí, use LIT-1 blast! Waterchuoise, use charged water attack! Go!"

Becky responded by whipping up her icy powers, ready to do some real damage.

--- By Wildfall and Mary ---

Compelled by a force they didn't understand, Aleena, Jen and Sebastian Dash made their way through town, not really remembering what they were looking for. Something suddenly jolted Aleena out of her trance. "Hey, guys, my cysuit's picking up on some familiar figures ahead. I think the giant might be nearby along with some old foes of ours."

Jen brought herself to an abrupt stop. "You're right, my queen. I'm picking it up, too. I need to pay closer attention."

"We should probably go help," Dash said, still itching for a good fight. He looked over the rooftops for a moment before his gaze fell over one of them. "Yeah, if I focus, I can hear movements. Sounds like a fight."

"Exploring the town can wait," Aleena said in a commanding voice.

"No," came a response from behind them. Unable to believe something had snuck up on them, Aleena, Dash and Jen spun around and found themselves face to face with, of all things, another space bugbear. Not just any bugbear, though. This one had a ceremonial headdress (shaped like a more primitive, more ferocious looking bear), war paint over its facial hair, and a dull yellow robe covered in symbols and beads. It also held some kind of strange looking staff, simple in design although it pulsed with LED lights. "You were brought here for a reason."

"Whatever you're up to," Aleena said in a cold, serious voice, "It's going to be the last thing you try before I end you. So if you have any last words, make them count."

"And make them short and sweet," Dash added. "We've got business to attend to."

"Just one word," the creature said as his staff glowed brightly. "Obey."

"What?" Jen asked, obviously confused.

"I don't thi-" Dash started to say. Then his face went blank as he fell to one knee, unable to control his own body. Jen and Aleena did the same. Unable to talk or move.

The bugbear slowly moved to each of them, placing a collar around their necks.

Panic sunk in as sound faded from their ears. The only thing they could hear was the quiet and soulless laugh of the space bugbear shaman.

---- scene by Wildfall ----

Wildfall, seeing his friend Iris in trouble, rushed up to her, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her to safety just as the Somber Six surrounded them. Mary, seeing her Wildfall in danger, ran right in the middle of the fray with fists blazing. All Mary could see was the Somber Six had her man surrounded and she was going to open up a can of whoop ass on them to protect Wildfall and his friend. She was throwing punches at anything and everything that moved. She connected a good right hand to the jaw of Ratsworth, knocking him off his feet. Next she took a couple swings at Boss Bat. In the meantime, a bunch of strange looking plants were attacking Wildfall and his friend and inching closer to her. Not caring about her welfare, she continued to beat away at the Somber Six that got near her.

One of the Six's henchmen yelled, "Boys I think we have a crazy woman on our hands. She is acting like a buzzsaw with those fists."

Mary heard the yell and hollered at Ratsworth, who was still on the ground, "Hey Ratty tell them just how crazy I can be. You found that out first hand. Remember?"

One of the thugs tried to sneak up on Mary, only to have Wildfall attack him from behind. "Nice try, but in case you forgot, I can punch with the best of 'em. Whoa."

Wildfall jumped back as he saw a swarm of bats round the corner. Wildfall pulled out his solid oak shillelagh, ready for a fight. "This again?"

Iris started blasting them with fire blasts. "I'm not bothering to waste arrows on them this time. Hope you don't mind the smell of burning bat."

"I doth indeed!" a booming voice called out from behind them. Iris turned around just in time to see the same giant she'd seen climbing down the vines earlier during her first trip to Seaside Town. He was leaning over the bar, looking angry. She didn't have time to react before the giant hand swatted her, sending her flying, tumbling into the distance. "Sinceth thou wanted to wrecketh my town, I'm going to wrecketh all of thou."

Wildfall looked over at Iris, who thankfully was still moving, and Koumori, who was doubling around the building for an attack on the giant. Wildfall walked over with his shillelagh in one hand, taking Mary's hand in his other. "Honey, would this be the wrong time for a joke about 'big time' trouble?"

Mary balled up one fist and gently squeezing his hand in hers, giggled and said, "I'd say we've gotten ourselves into some real 'big time' trouble this time, honey."

By Wildfall and Mary Kate

Edit: Continued in Rollover for The Six's Sinister Hunt

I don't have a ton to say here, but I'm glad we at least worked Father Crimbo into the opening, even if the focus of the Finale was the action.

As it stands now, the next mission has stagnated in terms of writing, due in part to RL circumstances which I'll explore on the index page for this mission. This Finale isn't really a finale in the usual sense of wrapping up a mission. That's because the next mission picks up directly from this mission! Kind of cool, I think. Between this and the Rollover for the next mission, I think we did a pretty solid job of setting up the mission; I just hope we eventually get to finish that mission off. So needless to say, it might be a long time til that archive actually goes up, sadly. But that's life.

I enjoy trying to fit the style of stories to all the different characters, like Blackeagle, MK, Wildfall and SnowCat. I put a lot of attention into making their pieces authentic and I hope I did a good job.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed our Crimbo '17 mission!