"None of us want to see your naked ass on the wall!" Zeus grunted.
"Can you imagine?" Zion shook his head.
"It would just remind me of my failures in life," Zackery complained.
"I think that's a great idea," Calvin commented with a smirk. "Good way to torture people."
"I got the picture," Lisette revealed. "I'll send it to ya since you snuck in that gift."
"Score!" Zeke cheered while the others groaned.
"Looks like we're staying behind for a little bit," Alaric concluded.
"Might as well. Looks like Shadow Jade's up to something cool," Tanner reasoned.
"It's the first time Shadow Jade's offering a gift to everyone. I wonder what she's planning?" Bianca pondered.
I was just as curious as I watched Shadow Jade wait for Ceil to finish up. He sat at the piano bench and looked back at her to signal everything was ready.
She looked back at us with joyful eyes before she cleared her throat.
"First gift! KILL!" she declared and skipped over to the side of the projector as the lights went out. We watched the white background go to a scene that made everyone but me and Calvin gasp.
"OH!!!" Lisette squealed. "Is this proof that Calvin really had the balls to kiss Jade like a man?"
"Damn," Zion commented. "He's going right in there."
"Who taught Calvin how to give mouth action like that?" Zeus pondered. "Zeke?!"
"I did not commit such a sin," he declared. "Unless it's benefitting me."
"He's even using his tongue?! Calvin! What kind of beast are you hiding there?!" Zackery accused.
"I'm actually proud." Bianca clapped her hands.
"I don't know how to even comment." Alaric sighed. "It is a nice candid moment."
"I'm not even surprised," Tanner commented. "Oh? Look at the car explode."
"Ohhh," the others said while Calvin finally commented, "Shadow Jade?! Is this one of the gifts?!'
"Uh..." She thought about it and shrugged. "I don't know."
"Good job, Shadow Jade," I praised, and she looked beyond happy as the recorded scene stopped and the screen was white again. She waited for us to quiet down before she quietly stated, "Second gift. For everyone."
She looked nervously at Ceil, who slowly nodded his head in encouragement. The very gesture seemed to kick away any nervous butterflies she had as she gave him a tiny smile.
He began to play the prelude to the song, and it didn't take me long to realize it was a Christmas melody, Oh Christmas Tree.
Images began to flicker on the screen, and my eyes were glued to the first image, when I was younger with Shadow Jade.
"Oh Christmas Tree. Oh Christmas Tree. How lovely are thy branches," she began to sing, but her voice was extremely smooth, melodic, and even angelic as she carried on and the images moved on to pictures of me, Alaric, Bianca, and Tanner.
Baking cookies with Bianca.
Pissing off Tanner during training and racing away from him.
Falling asleep while sitting on Alaric's lap as he continued to work in his office before the fireplace.
"Oh Christmas Tree. Oh Christmas Tree. How lovely are thy branches," she continued to sing to the ballad sounds that Ceil created in perfect harmony.
More images of us over the years continued to flicker on the screen, as Shadow Jade kept singing. We all were immersed in the images as they showed when I grew older and then began to show images with the Trouble Four.
Playing basketball with Zackery.
Creating concoctions with Zion.
Drenched and dancing in the rain with Zeus.
Sweet naps in tight cuddles with Zeke.
Image after image, little clips, and scenes of interactions I never would have imagined would be recorded. Soon enough there were moments with Calvin and Lisette.
Watching Calvin work while in his arms in the basement.
Lisette holding me in her arms while surrounded in the training room.
Everything seemed to come together, from the time of celebrations, like when I got my penthouse, to the moments when I stood on stage at the last assembly in front of the students of Tracker Hive.
"Let us all remember. In our gift-giving and our merriment. With our family and friends and loved ones. The real and true meaning of Christmas," she sang with a smile.
It all seemed to come together as Shadow Jade sang the last sentence.
"O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree. Your boughs can teach a lesson."
She stopped and looked at all of us. "Thank you for making Jade happy," she said clearly and looked directly in my eyes. "Thank you, Jade Mommy, for allowing me to be free. We'll beat all the bad guys eventually and remain happy forever."
I was shedding tears in seconds as I walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you, Shadow Jade! Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Jade Mommy," she replied and hugged me back.
"Good work, Ceil!" Lisette praised.
"Merry Christmas everyone," he quietly declared and actually smiled.
"Before we acknowledge that Ceil is actually smiling," Zackery began, "Can we talk about how amazing Shadow Jade sings?!"
"That was amazing," Zion praised. "Clear tone and everything."
"Does Jade sing like that?" They all looked to me and I shrugged.
"I don't know. Trying hard is tiring when it comes to singing."
"We should all do karaoke!" Zackery suggested.
"Guess we'll add that to the list of things to do in Bora Bora!" Zackery reminded us.
We all laughed and began to exchange hugs.
"Let me get the camera from my room so we can take a group picture," I encouraged.
"I need to pee before that!" Zeke declared.
"I swear if you go masturbate, we're all barging in there and throwing you out of the window," Zeus scolded.
"How did you know?" Zeke gasped as he stared at him in horror.
"We're quadruplets!" the other three responded.
Calvin shook his head and said, "He seriously forgets."
"We should get the puppies in the picture!" Lisette cheered.
"Which reminds me, where did you learn that spell, Lisette?" Bianca asked with a questioning smirk.
"Uh." She looked around. "It was Calvin!"
"Oh, no, no, no. You can't blame me on this one!"
"We might as well drink another glass of wine," Tanner encouraged.
"You think it'll take us long to get a picture?" Alaric asked in amusement.
"Eons," Tanner replied.
Ceil walked over to stand next to Shadow Jade, who twirled around and stared up at him.
"We did good?!"
"We did really good," he replied and gently stroked her head.
I watched all the shenanigans before I slipped into the bedroom and headed to the drawer that was beneath the window where I kept the important electronics. Finding the camera, I closed it and turned around to head back to the door when I noticed a slight twinkle of light.
Pausing to watch the tiny white snowflake fade, I turned around to see my light shadow. Again, she was in her silhouette version, sitting on top of the drawer I'd just retrieved the camera from.