The Gift of Hope (DCStuck)

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Karaoke bar, huh?" Ace murmured with a smirk, hoping Evan couldn't hear her, Jen and Darien over the sound of Patrick's antics... which Ace of course had to giggle at. "Sounds like fun. When were we planning on going?"

"So... if you don't mind me asking, what was your home planet like?" Aether cheerfully asked Lagola.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Probably later this evening. Five at the latest," Jen answered. "I'm mostly leaving it up to Evan, but Kendall said that we should stick around here for the time being."

"Knowing him, that means something's bound to happen here before we leave," Darien mused.

"Oh... Um..." Lagola awkwardly rocked on the floor, nibbling a slice of apple. "A-Alternia was... um... kind of... scary. There were no adult trolls –they were always off-world to aid in galactic conquest- so the planet was populated by children. Um... The sun was... really hot and intense; most trolls couldn't stand to be outside during daylight. And there were... lots of dangerous animals... b-but I didn't have to worry too much about that. I actually made a lot of animal friends!"

"Right... You lower-class-blooded trolls usually have some kinda psychic powers, right?" Brendon questioned, somewhat recalling the other players' interactions with the trolls.

"Mm-hmm. I can commune with animals and most beasts of various levels of sentience."

"Nice."

"So hey! Toby!" Evan spoke up to the antisocial member of their party. "How are things back in the valley?"

"Oh, they're, um... they're going well," Toby meekly replied. "They've been having some issues with rogue Elder Beasts, but things are pretty calm otherwise. At least the Præt'nos stopped bothering them."

"Well, that's good!"

"Oh, that reminds me! Have you seen Elsa by any chance?"

"Elsa? No. Why?"

"When I returned to the valley, she used my portal to come here."

"Whoa, Elsa's on the island?!" Patrick exclaimed.

"She should still be here, as far as I know, yeah."

"CAKES. OF. SWEETNESS!"

Evan's excitement only continued to increase. "Ha! Awesome! We gotta track that girl down ASAP!"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Ace chuckled a little at Darien's comment. "Yeah, more than likely." Then she took a sip of coffee before leaning in to catch wind of Patrick, Evan and Toby's conversation. "What're you so excited about, Pat?"

"Aah..." Aether nodded at Lagola's explanation while Andromeda's lips formed into a fascinated "ooh" shape. "So... if there are no adults on the planet, who looks after the young ones? Or are you simply that capable of independence at a young age?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Oh! Well, we are expected to obtain survival instincts in our earliest stages..." Lagola continued, slowly looking sadder the more she elaborated. "B-But once we've pupated and survived our trials in the brooding caverns, we're selected by a lusus, an animal who shares a troll's blood color and acts as a guardian and mentor, while the troll must in turn learn to uphold their basic needs."

"It really is quite a fascinating symbiosis," Kendall stated. He then looked down and noticed how upset the topic had left Lagola, giving her a sympathetic pat on the head. "Unfortunately, events resulting from her game led to Lagola losing her lusus."

"Aww man..." Brendon frowned at Lagola, genuinely sorry to hear this.

Patrick gave Ace a big grin. "Another pal of ours from Summer Snow is on the island!"

"Whoa, really??" Jen responded, hearing this news for the first time.

"Yeah, Elsa!" Evan cheered. "She followed Toby's trail here and is probably flying around somewhere right now!"

"Heh. That girl... Can't keep still for a minute, can she?"

"Heh! We're gonna have to find her, y'know!" Patrick gave Ace a light punch on the arm. "You'll love Elsa! She's real fun and a go-getter!"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Oh no..." Aether's ears drooped. Likewise, Andromeda frowned and lowered her head with sympathy. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to reopen old wounds."

"Oh really?" Ace smirked and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Well, we'll just have to see about that, now won't we? In the meantime, you guys need any help with dishes? Sooner we get that done, the sooner Evan can tear into some paper!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"I-It's okay..." Lagola murmured, leaning on Kendall. She knew they hadn't meant any harm. "I just... miss her... I miss her a lot. And I... feel responsible for her death."

"You're not alone, kid," Brendon gently stated. "Everyone who plays this game loses something..."

"But you've gained something as well." Kendall pulled Lagola into a small hug. "We're all here for you, and we'll help you however we possibly can."

"Yeah, that'd be great, actually!" Jen replied to Ace's offer as she collected her and the others' dirty dishes.

"Yeah, present time!" Patrick hollered.

Evan had to laugh at how much more excited everyone else was for him to open his gifts. "Need me to do anything?"

Jen cast him a sly grin. "Yeah, sit back, relax and let us handle the dirty work."

"Heheh... Actually..." Evan lifted up the neck of his shirt and sniffed, wincing at the odor coming off of him. "While you guys are cleaning up, I'm thinking I should shower."

"About time," Darien chuckled. "Glad to see you're readjusting to everyday tasks."

"No kidding. Be right back." With that, Evan hopped out of his seat and disappeared into the bathroom.

Once he was gone, Patrick smiled giddily at Ace. "Whadya think? Should I go do it now?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Absolutely," Aether agreed, perking up when she heard Patrick's shout. "Oh! Are we doing that now?"

"Not yet! Gonna clean up first!" Ace replied.

"Ah, very good." Aether nodded while Andromeda stood up and carried her group's dishes over to the kitchen.

Ace beamed back at Patrick, knowing full well what he was planning. "Yeah, why not? Go right ahead!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Yaaaay! Laggie, you're with me!" Patrick quickly darted out of his seat and into his bedroom.

"Oh... O-Okay!" With encouragement from Kendall, Lagola got up and scampered after Patrick, the bedroom door closing behind her.

Jen sighed wistfully at the sight as she started washing dishes. It seemed like everything was going well. There really was only one thing missing to make this day perfect.

She exchanged smiles with Kendall; she had a good idea what he saw coming.

----------

Soon enough, the kitchen was clean, as was Evan. He stepped out of the steamy bathroom fully clothed in his usual attire, smiling as he returned to the living room to rejoin his friends.

The first thing he noticed was a face that had not initially been there to greet him.

"CARTER!!"

"Hey, kiddo!" Carter bounded up to Evan, accepting his master's excited ruffling of his ears.

"Aw, buddy, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"What, you think I was gonna sleep through your birthday?! Hell no! You can thank Patrick for that one!"

Evan's joyous smile turned Patrick's way. "Aw, Pat, you fixed him up?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Patrick guffawed. "Man's gotta have his best friend! Laggie helped too! Kept him quiet so we could surprise ya."

"Uh, yeah, she was in my head. It was weird..." Carter awkwardly hissed.

"Well, thank you, guys. Thank you so much," Evan gushed, hugging his beloved canine.

"Of course, buddy! Now come see what else you got!"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Yeah, man! Let's get this show on the road!" Ace declared, taking a seat on the kitchen counter while Andromeda and Aether opted to share a seat at the table.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Evan laughed at the others' enthusiasm. "Alright, alright. Let's see what kind of swag I got!"

He took a seat behind the mountain of gift boxes, immediately looking up to pose as Jen snapped a picture of him on her phone. He then looked down and noticed something familiar sitting on the table... the strife deck and fetch modus he had received on the battlefield. "Oh hey! I forgot about these!"

"You'll be happy to know that we captchalogued the Paramount Key for you after your dream self left it behind," Kendall stated. "It's in your strife deck right now."

"Oh God, thank you..." Evan breathed, fetching the key out of the deck and draping it around his neck simply for familiarity's sake. It felt good, knowing the keymaster's signature tool was back in his jurisdiction.

"Nice! Now open a present, see what's inside!" Patrick insisted.

"Alright, if you insist!"

And within a matter of minutes, there was a pile of wrapping paper on the floor and a series of open boxes on the table, the various gifts her found inside strewn about. A new dress shirt from Jen. A copy of Don Quixote from Darien. A Deadpool tee-shirt from Patrick. A Star Wars tee-shirt from Ace. A Steam gift card from Toby. A sterling silver cross necklace from Kendall. A poster with the top 101 movie quotes from Andromeda and Aether. A folding mushroom chair from Jason and Therel. A decorative multi-setting lamp from Wendy and Laura. A box of s'mores caramel corn from Elaine and Meredith. And a new pair of ski goggles from Elsa.

Evan took a deep breath as he looked over his gifts. "Well... Thank you, guys. Really, thank you."

"Of course, Evan!" Jen replied as she and Darien cleaned up the wrappings.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"So glad you liked everything!" Ace laughed, giving Evan a noogie. "You better promise me you'll wear that shirt when the Force awakens!"

"Ahh... This has been so great!" Aether mused, hopping off of Andromeda's lap and trotting into the living room. "Shall we play games now?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Ha! You know it!" Evan laughed back.

"What, nothing from you, Brendon?" Darien asked.

Brendon snickered. "My gift is coming later."

"I'll be waiting!" Evan teased.

"Oh yeah, game time!" Patrick cheered, charging into the living room. "Dang it, I love Wii! Feels like we only bust it out for special occasions!"

"Yeah, it has been a while, hasn't it?" Evan followed them in, scooping up a Wiimote. "I wonder if I can still kick your butt on Rainbow Road."

"Ooh, buddy, it is on in a manner similar to that of Donkey Kong!"

While the boys started up Mario Kart, Jen gave Darien a soft smile. "I'm so glad he's having fun."

"It is a relief..." he agreed. "It's just a shame that... you know..."

"We'll address that only if he brings it up. For now, we'll let him have this moment."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

And in time, Evan, Patrick, Ace and Toby were engaged in a four-player round of Mario Kart. To her surprise, once she had gotten the hang of the controls, Ace was actually playing fairly well as Daisy. Most of the time, she and the boys were simply competing with each other in the front four positions. And she was having one heck of a time with it.

"Hey Evaaaan! Got a present for ya!" she teased as she unleashed a blue shell on the current first place holder.

Andromeda and Aether were simply enjoying the show, the former mutely giggling every once in a while.

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh, you suck!" Evan shouted as he was hit with the blue shell, causing Yoshi to spin out of control.

"Ohhhh... Wasted!" Carter hollered.

Mario soon sped right past him. "Whoo! Thanks, Ace!" Toby laughed, pleased that he was finally in first.

"I'm gonna get you guys eventually!" Patrick insisted as he continued to truck along with King Boo.

Lagola sat on the couch with Kendall, the two simply having fun watching them play. It was actually quite an adorable sight, Lagola cuddled up against him, Kendall's arm around her. Brendon certainly had to chuckle at the sight. Who would've figured?

Darien turned away from the screen to look at Jen, who was in the kitchen preparing their lunch. "How long has this been going on?"

With a light smirk, Jen checked the clock. It was a little past three. "Five hours."

"Blimey. Glad they're having fun and all, but five hours of this?"

"Hey, we took a break to do some Wii Sports!" Evan interjected.

"Yeah, couldn't pass up the opportunity to box and make more Creed references!" Patrick agreed.

Toby chuckled. So that's what Patrick was imitating earlier with his wake-up dance? He felt so out of the loop, having not seen that movie yet.

Jen shrugged. "Well, I have ham, swiss and poppy seed sandwiches if anyone wants 'em!"

"Sweet! Be right there! It'll be over after this last race!" Evan called back.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Nice! Thanks, Jen!" Ace called back. Eventually, the race ended with her comfortably placing third overall. "Whoo! That was fun, huh, guys?!"

"It certainly was riveting," Aether agreed as she stretched. Andromeda stood up and moved to the kitchen, waving with encouragement for the others to follow.