Shades of Gray

[Aquarinyoshi]

Delibird hopped up and down in place, his eyes full of holiday cheer. It was like he couldn't resist the urge to be joyous and happy. He reached into his sacklike tail and pulled out a very curious looking envelope. It was colored in a beautiful array of Christmas colors, bright greens, reds and whites. He handed it to you, though sitting still was obviously hard for him at this point. Opening the letter up, it read:

"Roxas,

On behalf of Team Glacier, I would like to cordially invite you to partake in this year’s Christmas Vacation from the 21st of December to January 1st. During the holiday season, you will be able to enjoy an all expense paid trip to Surge Outlet Network Island where you can partake in festivities sponsored by the natives of SONI and members of Team Glacier. Once you arrive on the island, you will be greeted by one of the vacation coordinators who will merrily greet you, inform you of a few opportunities available to you during your stay, and assign you your suite on the fourth floor of Sun City’s extravagant resort. In your room, you will be provided with an agenda of what will be taking place and when, a few needed necessities for those activities, and your “Secret Santa” which you will be asked to buy a small gift for.

In this letter you will find a piece of parchment asking for your signature, verifying that you will be able attend this event. After you give your approval, please hand the parchment back to my Delibird, who will then present you with a colored orb. This orb is one of few materials needed to participate in a couple of the events. Be sure to keep it and your letter! The letter is your key to acquiring the information needed while on the island which you must flash to the vacation coordinator when you first arrive, otherwise you will be politely asked to leave the premises. These two items combined are your ticket to wintry fun and chilly celebrations, so be sure not to lose them. We can’t wait to hear from you and hope that you attend our frosty retreat in the tropics!

Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,
Aquarinyoshi of Team Glacier"

[Roxas]

I narrowed my eyes. "Him... that Cole..." I wasn't sure what to make of this. Practically everyone in Sharma knew I was a Melter, and as a result it seemed unlikely I would be invited to a Glacier celebration. I was paranoid. "Delibird, are you sure this is really for me?" Without further dialogue, I called out Melanie. My Ninetales appeared in a bright flash of light.

What do you think of this? I asked her, gesturing to Delibird and the letter.

Hm... this is strange. I'm getting Terhapt vibes.

Me too. Should I call Snowl?

Not a bad idea. But text her. You called me out because Delibird wouldn't be able to hear this, right?

Yup. Ok, I'll text her. I took out my phone, quickly typed a message, and hit send.

[Snowl]

To your delight, Snowl managed to reply in decent time. Your phone buzzed with the following response:

Yeah. You too? Any ideas? What are they playing? Suddenly we're friends? Smells fishy. You were at Terhapt, Dejavu?

[Roxas]

I glanced up at Delibird, and then to Melanie, before typing a reply.

Dejavu is exactly what I was thinking. No idea what they're up to. Has anyone else on our team been invited?

I was glad I wasn't the only one getting weird vibes about this. I relayed these messages to Melanie through my mind. She decided to keep a close eye on Delibird now, making sure he didn't try anything funny.

[Snowl]

After a few minutes you received another response:

No idea. I think I'll accept. An adventure could be as fun as a vacation right now. What are you thinking?

[Roxas]

I had to think this one over. I looked to Melanie for assistance. What do you think about it? I mentally asked her.

I'm not sure. If we go, we've got to be ready for anything. If we'd been more prepared on Terhapt, things would've been easier...

I agree completely. We'll be prepared for anything when we go. Alright, I guess it's settled. I began to type on my phone, wording my response carefully. The Delibird was still watching me from the corner of his eye, but for the time being, she was mostly distracted by Amelia.

I think I'm going to accept as well. I think all of the Melters that are going should meet up beforehand. We should be prepared for anything.

[Snowl]

A couple minutes passed and you received the following text:

That sounds like a reasonable idea. We can pass the message on through the hq and save texting time.


Based on the time it took between responses, you figured she probably wasn't the most experienced texter you knew... heh.

[Roxas]

I looked up at Delibird. "Alright. I accept." I took the parchment, and quickly scribbled my name in cursive on it, before handing it back to her. "So, now what?" Then, quickly, I typed up one last response. Ah, how I loved my full-keyboard phone .

sounds good. call if anything comes up

I then looked up at Delibird, to see what was going to happen next...

[Aquarinyoshi]

Delibird seemed ecstatic as you handed him the parchment. He grabbed your hand with his right wing and started jumping up and down like you'd just won the lottery. He soon hopped into the air, almost pulling you up with him. Looking down, he pulled out a white gift box with red ribbon. It wrapped around the box, giving it a nice accent. As you pulled it away and opened the lid, you were astonished.

Inside the box was a true object of beauty. Sparkling in the artificial lights above, the orb seemed to be that of fire. It was that of human blood, the color of passion and love. In your possession was an absolute astounding red orb, one that could match a ruby. Delibird watched you in your mesmerization and nodded, flying out of the cave to return to real sunlight.

[Roxas]

I quickly pocketed the orb. "Follow that Delibird! We're almost out of this cave!" Jolteon was already on that, darting speedily after her. I ran after him, with both Amelia and Melanie in tow. We were almost to Port Current. I could almost taste the salty sea air again.

[Quetzacotlchu]

And indeed, you reached the exit without further incident! Welcome back to Port Current! Sunny beaches and city entertainment await~