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Description
A thick layer of white, powdery snow laced the picturesque cul-de-sac. In each of the houses children excitedly awaited midnight; that was when Christmas truly began. Snow fell outside in every direction like people during rush hour. Trees were bare and painted a beautiful white. Every single house was covered with mesmerising snowfall.

For one house, however, there was more action that night than expected.

The house itself was nothing remarkable. The living room had an extravagantly dressed Christmas tree and under the pine branches sat numerous coloured parcels. Most of them were there purely for decoration so that the family had a ‘traditional Christmas’.

The pitter-patter of little feet littered the wooden staircase as the children eagerly awaited Christmas Day. The hallway was unlit, and they sat in darkness, hoping their parents wouldn’t realise they were creeping down earlier than they were supposed to. Unfortunately, the dark purple rug running the length of the staircase muffled their steps but didn’t silence them. "Go to bed!" their father shouted angrily, even as his wife snuggled into his chest. The fireplace crackled and spat calmly as the two cuddled.

Eventually, after an hour, all but one of the children had gone to bed. Taran alone remained on the staircase, keenly waiting for the moment when his parents would fall asleep like they did every year before they went to bed. It didn’t take long until they finally fell asleep, but by then the fire had become smouldering embers. The whole house began to get colder. He shivered, wearing only his thin green pyjamas, but now he knew he could sneak a quick peek at his presents before his parents woke up and went to bed. He crept down the stairs, careful to tread only on the rug, and held his breath when he stepped off the stairs and slipped into the living room.

The glass panes in the doors shuddered loudly as he closed them, and he clenched his eyes shut, waiting to be shouted at by his father. Luckily, it hadn’t woken them. He opened his eyes and glanced upon the lavishly wrapped presents, some of which had sparkly wrapping paper. Others had big ribbons which pushed against the branches of the tree. A large grin began to spread across his youthful face as he stared at them in pure astonishment. He had turned eight this year and his parents had bought him more presents than ever before. Breathing in deeply, he held the single breath while creeping forwards on nothing but the tips of his toes. He didn’t dare glance at his parents for fear that just him looking at them would wake them up from their slumbers. Bending down slowly, he plucked the first present he spotted from the pile. It was a small crimson box with a golden ribbon and a small white tag, which hung limply off it. Lifting the tag slowly, he turned it over and read it aloud slowly and quietly, “To Taran, I just know that this will help.” He paused and then grinned. Getting onto his feet, he glanced at his parents and then held the present close to his chest, spinning around in a silly little dance of glee.

Calming down, he tiptoed across the carpet and towards the doors but as he touched the handle he felt it, and the ground, begin to shudder. He turned around, curious as to what was happening. A loud crash erupted in his ears, causing them to ring, as smoke blinded his other senses. He coughed heavily, trying to waft away the smoke and work out what was going on and as the dust began to clear he could just make out that his living room was now missing a wall. Taran ran away and covered his eyes. Whatever had caused the wall to collapse was in the middle of his living room. Warily, he opened his eyes and saw the large chunk of green rubble moving slightly. As he looked closely, he started to make out what it was. It had long rabbit ears and a cute rabbit face but the rest of it was far from cute. Its ears were as big as Taran himself, and its head was as big as the coffee table, not to mention that its arms and legs were bigger than his parents. Taran surmised that, whatever it was, it looked like a hyped-up rabbit ready for Armageddon.

But more surprising was that someone was standing on the monster. It was a girl, maybe fourteen years old, and she had a fierce look of determination despite the fact she had just smashed through a wall. Her shoulder length hair was a bright colour of green but apart from that she seemed to be wearing normal teenagers clothes: a t-shirt and jeans. The girl spun to face the young boy. “Welcome to the team, Taran.” She grinned in a friendly way to him as the rabbit warrior beneath her moved. It got to its feet without causing any more damage to the house and Taran noticed it had a large silver pole attached to its back, presumably as a weapon. The large animal grabbed the pole from its holster and held it out horizontally in front of itself. A huge black knight burst from the foreboding darkness and snowstorm outside—which was dying down—and smacked the rabbit warrior backwards and further into the living room. Taran quivered in fear when he saw the knight, stepping slowly backwards and away until he fell onto his bum.

“Hey, you! I’m not gonna let you harm this dude!" A pubescent male voice roared from somewhere nearby. Taran was quickly becoming confused as to why his house was the centre of what seemed to be an interplanetary dispute.
The girl turned her head quickly and looked to the left of the gaping hole in the house. She groaned exasperatedly as she made sense of the voice. “Leon? What you doing here? Professor hasn’t given you a Mega Spark,” she shouted. The two large creatures clashed again with the rabbit using his metal pole to block the knight’s blade. Taran figured that whoever the other person was would also have a big machine that would smash the house even more so he backed further away and hid near the sofa with his parents, who were somehow still asleep.

A sharp reply was heard from the boy. “Like I need that to take care of this dude.”
The voice sounded confident but Taran wondered how anything could deal with something that made him feel so scared. The fear was multiplied when the rabbit was knocked to the floor again and the knight raised his blade menacingly.

Annoyed, the girl turned away from the boy and sighed. “ArmonTalmon, go!”
The beast flew to its feet and charged at the other creature, smacking it with the large pole that was in its hand. The pole hit the black knight in the head and sent the colossal creature elsewhere into the darkness.
Before the big robot could do anything else a young boy ran past with a luminous orb floating next to him. “Oobmon—when you’re ready, buddy,” he shouted. The orb hovered for a while, seemingly hesitant and then flew off into the darkness.

The boy’s clothes were difficult to make out but it was clear that he wore a blue hat which allowed a small tuft of blonde hair to poke out of the front, and what looked like blue and white skiing gear. He also seemed to be carrying a blue snowboard under his right arm—despite the fact there was nowhere to snowboard in the area. He looked a little younger than the girl and Taran couldn’t work out why these two teenagers were fighting monsters that were bigger than his house was.

“So, was the Himalayas fun?” the girl asked, almost in a teasing manner.
“Shut up, Aleena,” he called back bluntly with an outward puff of air, followed by more puffs, as he tried to regain his breath.
She jumped off the robot’s shoulder as glistening orbs flew outwards from it and it began to shrink. By now, Taran was more than terrified and tried to run back upstairs but the scary girl shot him a sharp glare so he felt he had to stay. He could hear his brothers and sisters panicking upstairs and was waiting for his parents to wake up and save them all. He wanted to wake them but moving could get him killed. The orbs stopped emitting from the shrinking rabbit to reveal that its ears were now only as long as his arms and it had a small patch of pale brown on its stomach but was otherwise covered in cream fur. It almost looked like a hare.

"Aleena?" Its voice was cute in a way that befitted its new appearance.
"Yeah, Tal?" Aleena replied quickly.
She was calling it something different now and Taran couldn’t work out why. Maybe they had teleported this creature down to play with him.
"What do we do with Oobmon? Alphamon knocked him out before he escaped." He indicated the current location of the fallen Digimon by pointing with his ear.

The boy from earlier began to look around. "Oobmon," he shouted desperately. He seemed to spot something and charged off into the darkness.
The girl watched him go and then turned to look at Taran. “Kid, it’s time to go.”

Taran stared back at her blankly in fear before he found himself beginning to walk towards her tentatively. He was afraid to go near her but he was also terrified to disobey.
“Oh, and bring that with you,” she added with a nod to the small parcel in Taran’s arms.
Taran hadn’t even realised he was still holding it so he nodded slowly and walked further towards her. Suddenly, he heard movement from his parents and turned to see that they had finally awoken to see all of the commotion that had gone on and the aftermath that had destroyed their house.
“N- No... We don’t want him to go!” his mother exclaimed fearfully, bursting to her feet as she realised what was occurring. His dad moved next to Taran and grabbed his hand and forcefully took him back next to his mother, who was barely able to stand due to how much she was shaking.

Calmly, Aleena explained herself. “We have to take him. Sorry, but it’s not safe for him here.” She reached into her pocket and withdrew a white powder. It had the consistency of flour and sparkled slightly. “Goodbye.” Taran’s parents shook their heads in disbelief. Aleena smiled sweetly and blew the white powder at his family. It floated through the air like a thick mist, and as soon as it reached the family, they fell onto the floor with a thump.

Description
A thick layer of white, powdery snow laced the picturesque cul-de-sac. In each of the houses children excitedly awaited midnight; that was when Christmas truly began. Snow fell outside in every direction like people during rush hour. Trees were bare and painted a beautiful white. Every single house was covered with mesmerising snowfall.

For one house, however, there was more action that night than expected.

The house itself was nothing remarkable. The living room had an extravagantly dressed Christmas tree and under the pine branches sat numerous coloured parcels. Most of them were there purely for decoration so that the family had a ‘traditional Christmas’.

The pitter-patter of little feet littered the wooden staircase as the children eagerly awaited Christmas Day. The hallway was unlit, and they sat in darkness, hoping their parents wouldn’t realise they were creeping down earlier than they were supposed to. Unfortunately, the dark purple rug running the length of the staircase muffled their steps but didn’t silence them. "Go to bed!" their father shouted angrily, even as his wife snuggled into his chest. The fireplace crackled and spat calmly as the two cuddled.

Eventually, after an hour, all but one of the children had gone to bed. Taran alone remained on the staircase, keenly waiting for the moment when his parents would fall asleep like they did every year before they went to bed. It didn’t take long until they finally fell asleep, but by then the fire had become smouldering embers. The whole house began to get colder. He shivered, wearing only his thin green pyjamas, but now he knew he could sneak a quick peek at his presents before his parents woke up and went to bed. He crept down the stairs, careful to tread only on the rug, and held his breath when he stepped off the stairs and slipped into the living room.

The glass panes in the doors shuddered loudly as he closed them, and he clenched his eyes shut, waiting to be shouted at by his father. Luckily, it hadn’t woken them. He opened his eyes and glanced upon the lavishly wrapped presents, some of which had sparkly wrapping paper. Others had big ribbons which pushed against the branches of the tree. A large grin began to spread across his youthful face as he stared at them in pure astonishment. He had turned eight this year and his parents had bought him more presents than ever before. Breathing in deeply, he held the single breath while creeping forwards on nothing but the tips of his toes. He didn’t dare glance at his parents for fear that just him looking at them would wake them up from their slumbers. Bending down slowly, he plucked the first present he spotted from the pile. It was a small crimson box with a golden ribbon and a small white tag, which hung limply off it. Lifting the tag slowly, he turned it over and read it aloud slowly and quietly, “To Taran, I just know that this will help.” He paused and then grinned. Getting onto his feet, he glanced at his parents and then held the present close to his chest, spinning around in a silly little dance of glee.

Calming down, he tiptoed across the carpet and towards the doors but as he touched the handle he felt it, and the ground, begin to shudder. He turned around, curious as to what was happening. A loud crash erupted in his ears, causing them to ring, as smoke blinded his other senses. He coughed heavily, trying to waft away the smoke and work out what was going on and as the dust began to clear he could just make out that his living room was now missing a wall. Taran ran away and covered his eyes. Whatever had caused the wall to collapse was in the middle of his living room. Warily, he opened his eyes and saw the large chunk of green rubble moving slightly. As he looked closely, he started to make out what it was. It had long rabbit ears and a cute rabbit face but the rest of it was far from cute. Its ears were as big as Taran himself, and its head was as big as the coffee table, not to mention that its arms and legs were bigger than his parents. Taran surmised that, whatever it was, it looked like a hyped-up rabbit ready for Armageddon.

But more surprising was that someone was standing on the monster. It was a girl, maybe fourteen years old, and she had a fierce look of determination despite the fact she had just smashed through a wall. Her shoulder length hair was a bright colour of green but apart from that she seemed to be wearing normal teenagers clothes: a t-shirt and jeans. The girl spun to face the young boy. “Welcome to the team, Taran.” She grinned in a friendly way to him as the rabbit warrior beneath her moved. It got to its feet without causing any more damage to the house and Taran noticed it had a large silver pole attached to its back, presumably as a weapon. The large animal grabbed the pole from its holster and held it out horizontally in front of itself. A huge black knight burst from the foreboding darkness and snowstorm outside—which was dying down—and smacked the rabbit warrior backwards and further into the living room. Taran quivered in fear when he saw the knight, stepping slowly backwards and away until he fell onto his bum.

“Hey, you! I’m not gonna let you harm this dude!" A pubescent male voice roared from somewhere nearby. Taran was quickly becoming confused as to why his house was the centre of what seemed to be an interplanetary dispute.
The girl turned her head quickly and looked to the left of the gaping hole in the house. She groaned exasperatedly as she made sense of the voice. “Leon? What you doing here? Professor hasn’t given you a Mega Spark,” she shouted. The two large creatures clashed again with the rabbit using his metal pole to block the knight’s blade. Taran figured that whoever the other person was would also have a big machine that would smash the house even more so he backed further away and hid near the sofa with his parents, who were somehow still asleep.

A sharp reply was heard from the boy. “Like I need that to take care of this dude.”
The voice sounded confident but Taran wondered how anything could deal with something that made him feel so scared. The fear was multiplied when the rabbit was knocked to the floor again and the knight raised his blade menacingly.

Annoyed, the girl turned away from the boy and sighed. “ArmonTalmon, go!”
The beast flew to its feet and charged at the other creature, smacking it with the large pole that was in its hand. The pole hit the black knight in the head and sent the colossal creature elsewhere into the darkness.
Before the big robot could do anything else a young boy ran past with a luminous orb floating next to him. “Oobmon—when you’re ready, buddy,” he shouted. The orb hovered for a while, seemingly hesitant and then flew off into the darkness.

The boy’s clothes were difficult to make out but it was clear that he wore a blue hat which allowed a small tuft of blonde hair to poke out of the front, and what looked like blue and white skiing gear. He also seemed to be carrying a blue snowboard under his right arm—despite the fact there was nowhere to snowboard in the area. He looked a little younger than the girl and Taran couldn’t work out why these two teenagers were fighting monsters that were bigger than his house was.

“So, was the Himalayas fun?” the girl asked, almost in a teasing manner.
“Shut up, Aleena,” he called back bluntly with an outward puff of air, followed by more puffs, as he tried to regain his breath.
She jumped off the robot’s shoulder as glistening orbs flew outwards from it and it began to shrink. By now, Taran was more than terrified and tried to run back upstairs but the scary girl shot him a sharp glare so he felt he had to stay. He could hear his brothers and sisters panicking upstairs and was waiting for his parents to wake up and save them all. He wanted to wake them but moving could get him killed. The orbs stopped emitting from the shrinking rabbit to reveal that its ears were now only as long as his arms and it had a small patch of pale brown on its stomach but was otherwise covered in cream fur. It almost looked like a hare.

"Aleena?" Its voice was cute in a way that befitted its new appearance.
"Yeah, Tal?" Aleena replied quickly.
She was calling it something different now and Taran couldn’t work out why. Maybe they had teleported this creature down to play with him.
"What do we do with Oobmon? Alphamon knocked him out before he escaped." He indicated the current location of the fallen Digimon by pointing with his ear.

The boy from earlier began to look around. "Oobmon," he shouted desperately. He seemed to spot something and charged off into the darkness.
The girl watched him go and then turned to look at Taran. “Kid, it’s time to go.”

Taran stared back at her blankly in fear before he found himself beginning to walk towards her tentatively. He was afraid to go near her but he was also terrified to disobey.
“Oh, and bring that with you,” she added with a nod to the small parcel in Taran’s arms.
Taran hadn’t even realised he was still holding it so he nodded slowly and walked further towards her. Suddenly, he heard movement from his parents and turned to see that they had finally awoken to see all of the commotion that had gone on and the aftermath that had destroyed their house.
“N- No... We don’t want him to go!” his mother exclaimed fearfully, bursting to her feet as she realised what was occurring. His dad moved next to Taran and grabbed his hand and forcefully took him back next to his mother, who was barely able to stand due to how much she was shaking.

Calmly, Aleena explained herself. “We have to take him. Sorry, but it’s not safe for him here.” She reached into her pocket and withdrew a white powder. It had the consistency of flour and sparkled slightly. “Goodbye.” Taran’s parents shook their heads in disbelief. Aleena smiled sweetly and blew the white powder at his family. It floated through the air like a thick mist, and as soon as it reached the family, they fell onto the floor with a thump.