Peter sighs, watching Adam and the mobs disappear through the trees. The mobs retreat, probably from whatever Adam said in their language.

Peter motions for Jackson to climb down with him. Huffing and nervous, they creep up on the others.

“Guys, you will never believe what we just saw!” Jackson exclaims, a little louder than a whisper.

“What?” Dale questions.

“Adam… Adam was…” Peter starts, bewildered. “Why didn't he tell me that he… What!?”

“Can someone please form a coherent sentence?” Veronica scolds, tapping her foot.

“I'll give you coherent!” Jackson exclaims. “Adam was talking to mobs! In some crazy mob language!”

“He what!?” Kaylee, Veronica, and Dale squeak in unison.

“You heard him.” Peter says bitterly. “Adam knows mob languages. Whatever those are.”

The other four frown. Something's gotten into Peter, but they aren't sure they should ask him about it. “Let's just…” Kaylee starts.

“Let's report to Santa.” Dale finishes.

“That’s just fine!” Peter replies sourly. “I'm sure Adam would totally be there when we get back! Then maybe he'll explain!”

“Dude, are you okay?” Jackson asks.

Peter continues as if he hadn't said anything. “Cause he tells us everything, right?”

Peter stalks off towards Santa's bunker, where the other elves are. The other four follow in tow, worried. Snow stomps underfoot, and silence reigns. But Peter's frown starts to curve into something less sour, and more sad.

Peter backs away into his thoughts. “Did I really just say that?” He asks himself. “That… that makes me a hypocrite, doesn't it?” He adds solemnly.

Peter keeps secrets too. Hell, most elves keep secrets. A few Peter know of, and he's sure there are a few he doesn't know of.

For example, he knows that Veronica secretly has a crush on Anna, and that Anna likes Adam. He knows that an elf named Eric hides a closet full of stuffed animals in his bedroom.

It's just… he doesn't know of any elves with secrets as big as this one. This whole speaking to mobs thing is even a bit bigger than Peter's secret.

And, you know, that's kind of saying something.

~

Adam stares upwards in utter disbelief, at eyes that equal his bewilderment.

“A-A-Adam!?” The voice exclaims.

“Jerome!?” Adam replies shakily.

“Did you say- MY NOTCH IS THAT ADAM!?”

“Seto!? You too!?” Adam shouts.

“How are you- but aren't you- what the hell? How are you alive?” Jerome rambles, picking at the fur on his hands.

“How are you alive?” Adam questions back.

“He's a bacca, idiot. Those things live up to 300 years.” Seto laughs.

“Well than how are you alive?” Adam questions.

“He's a sorcerer idiot.” Jerome smirks. “Those things live up to… Well… Forever I guess.”

“Man…” Adam mumbles. “You have no idea how good it is to see you.”

“How do you think we feel? They said you were dead!” Jerome shouts.

“He he…” Adam rubs the back of his neck.

“Hey.” Seto frowns. “Did you shrink? And what's with the get up? Christmas ended yesterday.”

“Um…” Adam stutters. “No going back now I guess? It's m-my uniform…”

“Wait, how'd you get so small? What do you mean, uniform?” Seto questions further.

“ADAM!” A voice shouts through the trees. A girl bursts through, unknowing of the situation.

“Shit.” Adam swears.

“Adam! Don't use those words!” The girl, Anna, scolds. “And what are you doing here!? You said ‘I‘ll be there in half an hour’. Not, 'I‘ll be there after I go magically call off a herd of mobs and galavant through the forest’, you piece of fermented mistletoe!”

Adam frantically shakes his head, but Anna isn't paying attention.

“Peter, Veronica, Dale, Kaylee, and Jackson all went looking for you! Santa's been trying to control a worried mass of your friends! We thought you might have died!” Anna continues.

“ANNA QUIT!” Adam finally shouts. “WE HAVE COMPANY!”

Anna shuts up immediately. She examines the situation, and realizes that the problem is bigger than she thought.

“You got discovered by humans!? Mother of Frosty Adam! How dumb can you be!?” Anna scolds.

“Um… what the hell.” Seto murmurs.

“Dood, I want an explanation. Like, now.” Jerome says in shock.

Adam sighs, rubbing his temples. “Reindeer droppings…” he curses. “Anna, this is Jerome and Seto. Seto and Jerome, this is Anna.”

“Hi?” They all say in unison.

“Okay.” Adam grumbles. “Anna, Jerome is a bacca. Seto is a light sorcerer. We knew each other… um… before. Bacca's and sorcerers live for extended periods of time. It's been over 92 years since I last saw them.”

Anna nods slowly, mouth agape.

“Moving on.” Adam grunts. “Jerome, Seto. Anna and I are elves. Yes, Santa is real. Yes, we work for him. Yes, there are more of us. And yes, those mobs were attacking us. We are under a series of magical spells that give us elf capabilities, including immortality, and a barrier means we can't leave until either we need to, or we are released from duty. Which will be in 8 years.”

Adam takes a deep breath, finishing his explanation. “That enough?” He grumbles.

“Yes?” All three say in unison.

“Okay. Anna, should we take them to the bunker? Is everyone still there?” Adam asks.

“Uh huh.” Anna confirms. “We were afraid to leave until your search party came back.”

“Search party?” Adam questions.

“Yes. The ones that saw you talking t--” Adam covers her mouth abruptly.

“Okay! Let's head there then!” He says suddenly.

All three give him a strange look, but don't object. Adam leads them off through the square, watching in amusement as his too old friends look at the small houses.

“This is where you've been for the past 92 years!?” Jerome exclaims.

“Yup!” Adam replies.

“Why didn't you… why not tell us?” Seto asks, looking a bit hurt.

Adam sighs, fiddling with the hem of his elf uniform. “I-I… We aren't allowed to. The w-whole, ‘keeping the North Pole a secret’ code kept us from telling anyone.” He explains solemnly.

“Hey.” Jerome says, trying to lighten the mood. “Who cares! This is freakin’ awesome!”

Seto sighs, letting is frown straighten to a grin. “You're… you're right Jerome. Santa is real. How cool is that!?”

Their comments make Adam feel much better. They missed him, but they don't blame him. That, he is extremely thankful for.

“ADAM I SWEAR TO ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS- What the?” A voice exclaims, stomping out of the snowy fog.

“Oh… erm… hey Peter?” Adam murmurs hesitantly, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

“Adam… what in the name of Christmas did you do!?” Peter groans, walking up and swatting the side of Adam's head.

“Sorry! Sheesh! I found some old friends just beyond the border, and… You know, it's good to see a normal sized face for a change.” Adam explains, pushing Peter away. “We're taking them to the bunker.”

“Sure, whatever. But you have some serious explaining to do.” Peter grumbles. “Who are these guys anyway?”

“Erm…” Adam starts, pointing to Jerome. “Jerome is the bacca. Jerome, this is Peter.”

Receiving nods, Adam moves on. “And that's Seto. Seto, this is-”

“Peter, I know.” Seto mutters, giving Peter a look of disapproval. “Him and I are going to talk later.”

Peter gulps, speeding ahead a few blocks and rubbing the back of his neck. “O-Okay…” He murmurs, looking anxious.

Adam and the others decide to ignore the exchange. It's obviously something personal, and all but Jerome understand the privacy of elves. Seto gets it from being a sorcerer. There have been kingdoms in which he has had to keep his powers secret.

The bunker comes into view, giving Adam an excuse to break the silence. “Hey guys!” He shouts, getting their attention. “We're here!”

Seto and Jerome look around, seeming quite confused. Before them is a mound of snow, with a building or two in the background. Jerome rubs his neck awkwardly, glancing side to side.

“Um… Adam?” He asks.

“Yes?” Adam replies, approaching the mound of snow.

“There's nothing here.” Seto says for him.

“Oh come on Seto!” Peter groans. “You're a sorcerer for Santa's sake!”

Seto glares and closes his mouth. He watches curiously as Adam launches his hand into the snow. Peter has never seen Adam open the door himself, so he eyes Adam's progress.

A bright yellow glow illuminates for a moment as a click is heard. Peter's eyes widen, but he keeps quiet. It's not just him and Adam right now.

A hole appears in the ground. Silently everyone but Peter and Adam leap inside, leaving the two alone for a moment.

“Gold?” Peter asks, motioning to Adam's hands. “Not red, green, or white?”

Adam stares at Peter a moment. Then, silently, he hops into the hole, with Peter following. Many thoughts whirl around in his head.

Elves have the ability to access secret entrances by pulling on Santa's magic. But it's Santa's magic. Meaning the glowing aura is always either red, green, or white. Adam's was a golden shade, leaving Peter mute and speechless.

“Adam, what do we have here?” A low, rumbling voice says from down the hallway.

“Humans, sir.” Adam replies.

================
Another chapter here Martians! I'm not too proud of it... But it's here.

I'm expecting this to reach at least ten parts, but then it'll probably be over. It was supposed to be a shorter one, after all.

Enjoy!

Snickers out.