Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ladies and gentlemen, your cast for today.

(Ten seconds in and it's a tv show..anyways, enjoy)

Nightmare~

That one goopy skeleton who wasn't on the guest list.

Killer~

The fastest skeleton in the multiverse, capable of outrunning any opponent! He likes games, knives, and he was also not on the guest list.

Horror~

Don't let that hole in his head fool you! He's a real softy at soul, and he wasn't on the guest list either!

Cross and Chara~

An amazing duo of delight, give them chocolate and they'll play all night! They weren't on the guest list.

Error~

What, are you afraid of his voice? Just give him some chocolate and he'll cool down! Was..anybody..on the guest list? He wasn't!

Dust and Paps~

The ultimate brotherly bond! The main characters of the book! They...weren't on the guest list..

Ink~

He's the host, but his name wasn't on the guest list. What host doesn't put himself on the guest list, really?

Dream~

Brother of Nightmare, Guardian of Positivity, and he was on the guest list! This skelly has it all!

Blue~

Hyperactive fruit - was on guest list.

Swapyrus~

Brother of hyperactive fruit - was also on guest list.

Outer~

A starry Sans with a calm outlook on things. He's as cool as a comet...wait, aren't those hot? He was on the guest list.

Starstruck~

The slightly more active of the Outertale brothers, likes to say nyeh. Nyeh was on the guest list.

Fell~

He only came for the free food; he's also security, and that's what he'll tell you, but it's the food. It's always the food. He was on the guest list.

Classic~

Who could forget this cool skeleton? (Totally not me....heheh..he's not last on the list because of that..) Pun maker, hot dog vendor, prankster, and the original Sans! He was on the guest list! His brother stayed home to watch the pet rock..it gets cranky when nobody watches it.

Without further ado, your story!

The author is not responsible for anything that might happen to you while reading this story, such as internal cringe, etc.

~~~~~

It was a freezing winter day in Nightmare's house, and it wasn't because we still couldn't find proper heating - actually, that was a large factor. The temperature outside was in the negatives (Fahrenheit), and for a skeleton with little to no protection, that was deadly. Needless to say, we were bundled up in blankets as we decorated the house for Christmas; we had waited long enough, and the temperature just kept going down. Paps was lucky that he was a ghost; he's the best. Thankfully, we were almost done; all we had left was the rest of the living room, which was arguably the hardest, since the tree went there. We had labored hard to get the house ready, and our efforts were about to pay off. The living room took ten hours to reach perfection, and that was without the tree. When Nightmare set it down in its place, we went right to work placing the ornaments, which took another hour, but it was worth it! When we finished, we placed the star on top together and took a step back to observe the outcome. A few ornaments were a bit out of place, but they were easy to adjust, and in no time, everything was perfect!

"I's a work o' art." Horror stated.

"I agree." Error smiled.

"I wanna climb it." Killer giggled mischievously.

"No!" The rest of us shouted; he did that last year, and it took hours to put it back up.

"I was just jokin'!"

"I-it is beautiful.." Cross admired it.

"It's better than last year by a long shot." I admitted.

"Never speak of that." Nightmare still had nightmares of last year. "Too many brave ornaments were lost..."

"I'm gonna go...check the mail!" Killer ran off; last year sparked too many memories against him.

"Was a war I nev'r ferget." Horror bowed his skull in remembrance of those brave ornaments that died.

"Well, who wants some hot chocolate?" Nightmare decided to change the topic.

"Me!" We harmonized; hot chocolate was great for warming up cold skeletons.

"I'll go get some." Nightmare walked away.

"I have retrieved the mail!" Killer announced, as soon as Nightmare had left.

"Ah, the joys of not having a mailbox." Error snickered; when the enemies found our location, they started sending us letters...a lot of them..and they were mostly hate..we still read them for the laughs, though. "What did you get?"

"Probably more of the same."

"C-can't they let u-up?" Cross hoped.

"Even for Christmas, sheesh." Chara scoffed. "You'd think they had some holiday spirit."

"Who knows?" I sat on a couch. "We don't even write letters. They do more than us."

"I guess, but i's still depressin.'" Horror shrugged.

"Some of them are funny, though!" Killer jumped onto the couch next to me.

"Mail?" Nightmare had hot chocolate in his hands.

"Yep! Come here!"

After we accepted our hot chocolate, we picked up some letters.

Killer burst out laughing first. "Roses are red, violets are blue, my garden ain't pretty, but it's better than you! That's hilarious!"

"I think our garden is better." Nightmare chuckled.

"Oh, listen to this!" Error urged. "Dear Nightmare's gang, you owe me two gold for running in my AU - an extra piece for reading this. Signed, Swapyrus!"

"That's r-rich!" Cross laughed hard.

"Here." Horror smiled. "My mama says yer bad, bu' I thin' yer jus' mis'nderstoo.' Wouldjya please tell me? Sincer'ly yers, Asriel."

"Aww, that's awesome!" Killer leaned over to look at the letter. "That's a keeper!"

"Definitely." The rest of us agreed.

"Oh, what's this?" Nightmare picked up a purple letter. "From..Dream.."

"When did he ever send a letter?" Error couldn't recall.

"I don't know.." Nightmare opened the letter. "Dear Nightmare, I borrowed your brother's stationery to force you to open this letter. We need a tree for the Christmas party this year and I know you don't want your dear brother to be upset..or break any bones?! So give us one..please. Christmas will be ruined without it. Have it ready by 4:00 P.M. sharp five nights before Christmas - that's today - at the coordinates provided. Ink."

"That's...I don't even know what that is.." I shook my skull.

"B-blackmail." Cross clarified.

"But the letter's purple.." Killer didn't get it.

"Telling us to do something so something else doesn't happen." Error didn't seem thrilled.

"Tha' jus' ain't right." Horror crossed his arms.

"It's three o'clock!" I exclaimed. "What are we gonna do?! How do we even find a Christmas tree in an hour and decorate it?!"

"There's..one option.." Nightmare looked at our tree sadly as he placed the letter on a couch.

"That hurts.." Killer sighed. "We have to do it, don't we?"

"A brother's well-being is worth more than a tree.." I took one last glance at the tree.

"That's true.."

"I'll take it.." Nightmare volunteered. "You stay back in case it's a trap - I know it's a trap."

"Nightmare Rescue Squad is on standby!" We saluted.

"All right, I'll handle it right now, and hopefully nothing will go wrong..oh, who am I kidding? Something is bound to go wrong.."

"W-we'll be watching!" Cross grinned.

"Thank you, boys."

"No problem!" We readied ourselves with extra weapons.

"Goodbye, tree.." Nightmare muttered.

He cautiously and solemnly lifted the tree with his appendages, careful not to disturb any of the decorations, and opened a portal to the coordinates; we were going to miss that tree. Error opened a one-way portal that allowed us to see and hear the event, while not being spotted ourselves. It seemed that Nightmare was in a large room, bordered with doors and other, smaller rooms. The entire place looked decorated for Christmas - it couldn't compare with our house, of course - and only Ink was there; he looked like he was expecting him, which he obviously was. When the tree was in place, Nightmare decided to say nothing, simply moving to leave.

"Where are you going?" Ink asked. "The party hasn't even begun!"

"Never speak to me again." Nightmare managed to keep an impartial outlook, but we could tell that he desperately wanted to leave.

"That's no way to act at a party!" Ink clicked a button on a remote, which sent a magical impulse throughout the room, cutting off Nightmare's magic, at least temporarily.

Soon after this, Nightmare was tied up with a rope made out of paint; that was the trap, and it doubled as our cue. We silently entered the room through our own portals, hoping to catch Ink off guard with a sneak attack; we had been working on those recently. As the others went to their respective positions, I slowly sneaked to mine, which would be to Ink's left. Papyrus made sure I was hidden - he's the best - as I ducked underneath tables and chairs. When I reached my destination, I stopped to unsheathe my weapons: two daggers. As soon as they were unsheathed, I felt something wrap around my ankle; I looked down, but it was too late - I was caught with a painted rope. I also happened to be hanging upside-down from the ceiling, which wasn't the best position; I couldn't even cut through the rope with my weapons. Ink didn't bother to pay any attention to me, opting to wait for the others to fall prey to his traps, which they all did. Cross was strapped to a wall, Killer was caught by his wrists and ankles in much the same position, Horror was essentially glued to the floor with paint, and Error was the last to be caught, being caught with a simple attack from Ink - simple as in complex and impossible to dodge. We had been caught.

"Well, that was easy!" Ink laughed, leaning against his paintbrush. "Nightmare's gang, tripped up by a few simple traps! Oh, that's hilarious!"

"Brother, I think you're stuck." Papyrus pointed out. "I see no way to release you from your situation."

"I feel sick.." I shouldn't have drunk hot chocolate before being jerked upside-down.

"Just hold on, brother!"

"We gave you your stupid tree, Ink!" Nightmare struggled. "Let us go!"

"Hmm, nope!" Ink was helpful..not. "You're going to be sort of the 'guests of honor' at our little party! You get to stay for the entire thing, without magic! I'd suggest enjoying yourselves."

"Ugh.." I felt horrible. "Remind me never to hang upside-down again.."

"I'll make a note of it." Nightmare sighed.

"This is stupid!" Error didn't want to stay here.

"I think I left the oven on.." Nightmare looked solemn.

"Oh great, we're trapped here, and our house is gonna burn down!" Killer whined.

"Just kidding!" Nightmare snickered.

"Oh, ya just wait until I can move!" Killer struggled even more.

"I'd pay to see that.." Ink was watching this. "Well, I'm going to move you, but first.." Ink sent another impulse through the room, stripping the rest of us of our magic and essentially trapping us here with or without restraints.

"Has there been a worse day than this?" Nightmare didn't think so.

"Christmas last year.." We harmonized.

"I thought we were off that!"

"It was a tragic event!" Killer argued.

"That it was.."

After that, we decided to stay silent, if only to remember last Christmas; that was a true disaster. This one was looking pretty bad, though. Ink began to release us from the traps, starting with me; that was a horrible experience. Instead of catching me, he let me fall on my skull! I went unconscious, but I really didn't know what else I'd expect from Ink. When I woke up, I found myself strapped to a wall next to my family; they had also been knocked unconscious by Ink, it seemed, and I was the first to wake. Even though I couldn't move my hands, I knew that my weapons had been taken - Papyrus told me; he's the best - along with everyone else's. Paps also told me that I had been out for almost an hour; that must have been some fall. As the others began to wake up, Paps told me some stories that I enjoyed; it was useless to try to escape, especially with the motion sensors lining our invisible prison. Instead, we tried to make the most of it, talking about whatever came to our minds. This went on for about ten minutes until we heard other voices; they were most likely party guests, and we really hoped we didn't have to stay. We didn't want to stay; we wanted to go home. When more people had arrived, Ink started talking; he really liked the sound of his own voice, didn't he?

"Well, this party has officially begun!" Ink declared. "I'd like to give all of you a warm welcome, and I hope you enjoy what we have in store this year! In addition to the usual cookies, present exchange, and good times, I have one little suprise for you all!"

"What's that?" Someone asked.

"As you all know, there's one group in the multiverse that's been missing out on Christmas fun!" That was not true; we had a lot of fun at Christmas - we just didn't let anybody know about it.

"You didn't." Another didn't want to believe it; we didn't, either.

"So, I figured, 'Hey, they're not doing anything, so why not?'"

"Ink, this is the one day of the year when we don't want to worry about that.."

"I guess..I'll let you guys decide, then; I just figured everybody deserves to have a little fun at Christmas." Ink raised a curtain, which we didn't even realize existed, revealing us; the party guests didn't look happy.

"Seriously, can they leave?" The swapped Papyrus didn't want us there, and we didn't want to be there; that was one thing we could agree on.

"We get this day once a year." Underfell's Sans didn't seem happy. "We would like to spend it without them."

"I have a magnificent idea!" The swapped Sans proclaimed; we hoped it was a way for us to leave. "Gather round!"

The partygoers went to a different part of the room to talk amongst themselves about us, and we honestly hoped it was something along the lines of shoving us through a portal; we had a Christmas schedule, and it was very strict! At the moment, we were supposed to be baking tons of cookies, and now, our entire Christmas could have been ruined if we didn't start immediately!

"Whaddya think the chances are we'll get outta here?" Killer wondered.

"Pretty good, unless that Blueberry is the world's best salesman." Nightmare could hear the conversation; Error could, too.

"What're they talkin' 'bout?" Horror questioned.

"The sprit of Christmas and a ton of reasons why we can't leave." Error groaned.

"Did he just say what I thought he did?" Nightmare seemed shocked.

"He did...but I don't believe it.."

"Wh-what?" Cross inquired.

"You don't wanna know.."

"We're doomed." Nightmare sighed. "He sold it."

"What do we do?" I asked.

"Honestly, I don't care; this thing isn't ending until we show signs of 'Christmas joy.'"

"We're gonna be here forever!" Killer dramatized.

"Does this mean I get to use my Christmas Emergency Kit?" I hoped.

"Are you still carrying that around?" Error wondered.

"Yes? Is that weird?"

"As much as I hate to say it, it could come in handy." Nightmare admitted. "But only as a last resort."

"Okay, Dad!"

When the party guests had finished their discussion, they returned to us, some of them very unwillingly.

"Great news!" Ink smiled; we already knew. "You're staying!"

"Is this when the funeral march starts playing?" Error questioned.

"No, this is when the Christmas music starts playing!" By some stroke of luck, Christmas music did indeed start playing.

"We don't want to be here.." Nightmare stated.

"Please, brother?" Dream requested politely. "I know you'll have a lot of fun!"

"I'd rather be tied to this wall for eight hours."

"That's no fun!" Ink giggled. "In order to make sure you have fun, we have designated teams for the first few hours! After that, it's whatever you want - within a reasonable range, of course! The teams are as follows: Dream and Nightmare, the swap brothers and Killer, the Outertale brothers and Horror, Fell and Cross, me and Error, and Classic and Dust! Please, find your teammates!"

At this point, we wanted to leave even more than before; it was horrible just having to be there, but being forcefully split apart? That just wasn't right. Before we could argue, our restraints were cut, and our group was pulled in different directions; I was promptly separated from my family and met with Classic, the original Sans.

"I don't believe we've formally met." He started. "The name's Sans, but you can call me Classic."

"Hello, Classic." I deadpanned. "Do you know when the next train leaves?"

"That's no way to greet a new pal." He extended his arm. "Shake my hand."

"No."

"That usually works.."

"I stopped shaking hands a long time ago."

"Why?"

"Imagine this scene. You walk up behind the innocent human, intent on pranking them, as always."

"Yeah?"

"They turn around and shake your hand, as always, but wait, what's this? They stab you with a toy knife, and you turn to dust before they've even crossed the bridge."

Classic looked a bit unsettled. "Did..that really happen?"

"Yep. Haven't shaken any hands since."

"I guess your kid's pretty tough, eh?"

"Was."

"Was?"

"Long story, I'd bore you with the details. Is there any way out of here?"

"Just portals..."

"Ugh. Do I have to be near you for hours?"

"That's sort of the point."

"Would you stop me if I walked away?"

"Probably."

"Then you're coming with me." I firmly grasped Classic's arm, dragging him across the room.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere else."

"What's wrong with where we were?"

"You'll see."

When we reached the other side of the room, we were met with some benches. I pushed Classic under one of them and laid myself under a different one.

"What in the multiverse are we doing?" Classic was clueless.

"Quiche." I said.

"What?"

"Quiche. You know the quiche under the bench?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a quiche now. That's my attack."

"We're..quiches."

"Yes, now be quiet; quiches don't speak."

"O..kay?"

My plan had worked. Peace and quiet. Now I didn't have to socialize, and I could clearly listen to Papyrus's stories. After about a minute, I figured Classic had fallen asleep; he was definitely a Sans - the first, actually. I was actually surprised that the quiche tactic had worked; usually, the victim would either resist being put under the bench, or they would simply get up after a minute. I listened to Papyrus's stories while I sat in silence; he had the best stories, and I'd expect nothing less from the best brother ever! Papyrus told me stories for about thirty minutes before something happened; someone sat on the bench. I guess I really knew what a quiche felt like now. I decided to listen to their conversation, noticing that Dream and Nightmare were seated above me; that was probably weird, but I was a quiche at the moment, which meant nothing could bother me. At least, I didn't think anything could bother a quiche; I could have been wrong.

"So, are you enjoying yourself, brother?" Dream inquired.

"Don't try to make small talk, Dream." Nightmare sighed.

"Brother, this is the first time we've been together like this in years! Please, don't ruin it.."

"I'm not ruining anything. I never asked to come here in the first place." Nightmare was getting really good at hiding his feelings.

"The fact of the matter is that you are here, brother. Um..if you don't mind my asking, how exactly did you get here? I thought the location was secret.."

"I'm not so sure myself.." Nightmare didn't want to tell his brother, whom he was trying to hide his true feelings from, about how he was enticed by a threat upon said brother's well-being into coming here.

"Well, I'm glad you are here, even if you don't want to be.." Dream giggled a bit.

"What are you laughing for?"

"Brother, do you remember that time way back when, when you told me you had a fear of heights?"

"What? I'm not scared of heights!" Nightmare knew he was; we stopped asking him to jump off the roof with us when we learned about it.

"You are!"

"So maybe I am slightly afraid, but that doesn't change anything!"

"I know you better than you think, brother!"

"And I know full well of your fear of caverns!"

"They're just so big and echoey! I can't help it!"

"Don't forget that I know you, too."

"You're on!"

"Your favorite poster is the one that used to be in the town square!"

"Yours is that one that was in row three of the library!"

"Your favorite texture is fluff!"

"Yours is smooth!"

This continued for about ten minutes. As the quiche under the bench, I could vouch that Nightmare and Dream knew eachother pretty well; they could both accurately name the other's favorite things, right down to where they liked their condiments on sandwiches. By the end of it, I believed that Nightmare had given a genuine smile, which made me happy, but I didn't think it was what he was intending; he wanted to hide his emotions, not show them. Either way, Dream seemed happier than I had ever seen him before, and that was just based off of his aura - I couldn't actually see them, since I was a mere quiche. Ahen they got up to move, I was rejoined by Papyrus's stories for a while, until the next lucky visitors took a seat; I quickly identified them as Horror and the Outertale brothers, Outer and Starstruck. I worked on a small project as I listened to their conversation; I figured a quiche needed some kind of identification, and I found a sticker under the bench. Horror didn't seem too thrilled about the ordeal, but he wasn't going to argue about it, opting rather to just get through it any way he could, even if it meant making small talk.

"I hear it's cold in Horrortale." Outer began. "How's Hotland?"

"I ain't been there'n years." Horror shrugged. "Coul' be colder."

"Do you get to see stars?" Starstruck asked.

"Fake 'uns. Don't mean a lot when yer starvin.' Course, i' ain't all bad."

"How so?" Outer questioned.

"Eh, nev'rmin.' Ya wouldn' und'rstan.'"

"We could.."

"Ya ever fee' like yer bein' watch'd?"

"A little.." Starstruck confessed.

"Ri' now?"

"Yeah.." Outer noticed that, too; I was only a quiche. "Maybe we should talk somewhere else..."

"Good idea, brother.." Starstruck stood to leave.

After this, I was left with Paps again - nevermind. As soon as Horror had left, Cross and Fell usurped the bench. As a quiche, I was obliged to listen.

"I hear that you don't talk much." Fell stated. "I'm starting to believe it. Do you just not want to talk, or are you incapable?"

"U-um, I c-can.." Cross stuttered. "I j-just.."

"Wow, that is some stutter you got there!" Fell laughed.

"I-it's not that b-bad!"

"Yeah, right. You have it worse than all the Alphyses in the multiverse!"

"I do n-not!" At this point, Paps and Chara floated off to have their own conversation, and possibly haunt some people.

"You do!"

"..." Cross was a bit sensitive about his stuttering in front of people he didn't know well, and I was ready to become a defensive attack quiche if I had to.

Fell sighed. "Look, I don't want to talk to you as much as you don't want to talk to me, but I'm obliged to because of this stupid agreement. I won't comment on the stuttering thing if you just talk to me, all right?"

"F-fine.."

"Great. Now that that's settled, would you like to talk about something?"

"D-do you b-believe in ghosts?"

"There are a few in the undrground, but I wouldn't brag about them; don't do much of anything, anyway."

"I-I like ghosts."

"What, is Nightmare's place haunted?"

"Y-yeah."

"That's the most cliche thing I've ever heard of!"

"The gh-ghosts like it, a-and we don't c-complain."

"Absolute madness. All of you are insane!"

"Y-you don't s-seem too far o-off.."

"Well, I'm not a cold-blooded killer!"

"A-are you s-sure about that? I-I'd expect U-Underfell to be a-a bit v-vicious.."

"I killed in self defense. That's different."

"I g-guess.."

"What's your AU like?"

"I..d-don't want to t-talk about it.."

"Eh, I get it. Bad memories, huh?"

"S-something like th-that.."

"I don't know about you, but I'm looking to actually enjoy this party, which means food. Come on, I'll get you something, too."

"O-okay.."

After this was said, Cross slowly followed Fell, presumably to food. Unfortunately for me, Papyrus had left to play with Chara, meaning my quichey self was alone - except for Classic, who was still sleeping. I didn't have to wait long for someone to take the next spot in line for my bench, though, being joined by Ink and Error; Error didn't seem happy.

"Aw, come on, it's not so bad!" Ink laughed.

"Yes, it is." Error groaned.

"You're ungrateful."

"For what?! Being imprisoned?!"

"No, for being allowed to even live."

"Stop talking."

"Why? Does it annoy you?"

"No..there's someone watching.."

"You mean someone's stalking us at a party? That's a stupid excuse to leave."

"I'd love it if someone would stalk you, but I don't like being listened to."

"Stop being ridiculous, Error."

"Hmm.." Error looked under the bench, seeing me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm a quiche." I simply answered.

"You mean it worked?"

"Yep!"

"That's impressive."

"How did you get away from Classic?" Ink wondered.

"He's a sleeping quiche." I yawned; being a quiche wasn't exciting, but it was better than small talk.

"That's strangely understandable." Ink looked up to see Error gone and ran to chase him. "Hey! You can't escape this, Error!"

The residents of my bench had left once again, and I decided to fall asleep myself; I was rather tired after decorating for Christmas and being trapped. I shut my eyesockets to rest, but before I could, my bench was once again occupied; my bench was popular.

"That's impossible." This voice I recognized as the swapped Papyrus; I deduced that Killer and the swap brothers were taking a short rest on my bench.

"No it isn't!" Killer argued. "It's certifiably possible!"

"Even I can't do that!" The swapped Sans scoffed.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I'll prove it! I just need to find Dust!" Killer didn't use my nickname in public often.

"Why do you need him?" The swapped Papyrus inquired.

"Weight and balance! Without him, I'd go flying and lose traction!"

"Interesting..but I haven't seen him or Classic since we were split up..I wonder where they are.."

"I hope they aren't dead!" The swapped Sans exclaimed. "What if Dust killed him?!"

"Blue, if Dust killed Classic, every Sans would disappear; he isn't dead."

"What if Classic killed Dust?!"

"Now you're talking nonsense."

"It isn't that nonsensical." Classic had awoken, and he was obviously a prankster; it would have been even better if we had swapped jackets.

"What?" The trio sounded a bit unsettled.

"Well, I'm just saying, if I wanted to murder somebody, I could have done it, and nobody would have known the difference. You don't see any dust, do you?"

"W-well, no.." The swapped Sans didn't seem as upbeat as usual. "Y-you didn't d-do anything, r-right?"

"Who can tell?"

"Joke's over, where is he?" The swapped Papyrus wasn't impressed.

"Fine, he's over there." Classic sighed and pointed to me.

"Dust!" Killer ran over to me and pulled me out by my left arm - too fast.

"Ow!" I gripped my arm tightly; how did this always happen?

"Oh, sorry!" Killer chuckled nervously. "Ya okay?"

"Mostly..at least it's not dislocated like last time."

"That's..good?"

"Yeah, I'm okay.."

"So, Killer claims to be able to run at high speeds." The swapped Sans crossed his arms. "Is that true?"

"Hm.." I knew it was; his recent top had surpassed 150 miles per hour, if that was any indication. "Yeah.."

"I can run fast, too! Can he beat forty miles per hour?" The swapped Sans said that as if it was impressive; in my experience, it wasn't.

"I mean, it's highly possible." I knew that Killer wanted to run.

"Let's find out!"

"Race?" Killer was ready.

"Race." The swapped Sans also looked ready.

"You know, this is practically suicide." Classic pointed out. "Blue's been ranked first in 'Fastest Runner in the Multiverse' for the past..forever?"

"Then we shall die accomplishin' the impossible!" Killed grabbed my wrist.

"I'd prefer living." I commented; nobody paid attention to that.

"It's on!" The swapped Sans led our group to a secluded room on the second floor of the building; it was an indoor racetrack that was actually pretty big.

"How far do we go?" Killer wondered.

"Two laps, if you're up for it."

"Can I take Dust along?"

"If you think he'll help; I don't see how extra weight is going to increase your speed, though."

"I guess I'll say 'go.'" Classic assumed. "Get ready for a race!"

"Blue, I'm only going to say this once." The swapped Papyrus stated.

"Yes, Papy?" The swapped Sans looked to his brother.

"Leave them in your dust."

"That's strangely morbid." I mentioned.

"Yeah, but racin' makes it all better!" Killer jumped.

"Take your positions!" Classic ordered; the racers did as they were told - I hoped I wasn't going to die. "Ready!"

"Top speed?" Killer whispered.

"Set!"

"Go for it." I hoped that wasn't a bad decision.

"Go!"

The racers - including me, apparently - were off immediately, and Killer pulled no punches, ramping his speed up to 150 miles per hour almost instantly; I didn't feel so well at that speed, but it didn't last long, and we had soon crossed the two-lap mark. I immediately collapsed, while Killer looked absolutely energized; I didn't bother trying to understand that anymore. Needless to say, the swap brothers and Classic were astounded; Killer had proved his speed, and they weren't challenging it. The swapped Sans quickly realized that his title was lost, but he didn't care about that; he wanted to know how Killer was able to run that fast!

"How in the-" The swapped Sans didn't understand. "But you..I...how?!"

"I dunno!" Killer happily shrugged. "Do I win?"

"I'd say yes.." Classic was dumbfounded.

"Awesome!" Killer cheered before coming down to my level. "Are ya all right?"

"Fine.." I was only a little tired, but I really shouldn't have been moving that fast. "How much longer does this thing last?"

"A few hours, but sometimes it's extended." The swapped Papyrus replied.

"Ugh."

"Why do you wanna leave?" The swapped Sans asked. "The party's only just started!"

"We didn't want to come in the first place."

"Dust, I have gotta say, so far, you're the only one who hasn't been having any fun at all." Classic looked down at me. "Maybe you should lighten up and enjoy yourself?"

"Never."

"Then I guess we'll have to help you."

"I don't want or need help; I would simply like to be left alone."

"Is he like this all the time?" The swapped Papyrus questioned.

"Nah, just sometimes." Killer responded.

"That means he's salvageable!" The swapped Sans exclaimed.

"I am not going to enjoy myself." I was firm.

"You are if we have anything to say about it." Classic smirked.

"Last I checked, I don't know you."

"Ya know me!" Killer reminded.

"Are you seriously siding with them on this?"

"It's either that or be like you, and I don't wanna be mopey."

"Fair enough, but I'm not joining you. How about you do something else?"

"No way, ya need to have some Christmas spirit right now!"

"No, I don't." I shut my eyesockets to avoid eye contact and put the sticker from before on my foreskull.

"What is that?" The swapped Papyrus inquired.

"Nametag."

"Quiche?" Classic deadpanned. "Really?"

"I'm a quiche. Goodbye."

"No way!" Killer shouted as he took the nametag off of me. "I refuse to accept defeat!"

"Too bad, you've been defeated."

"Hmm.." The swapped Sans hummed. "We need to get him off the floor, but how?"

"I dun-" Killer got an idea. "I know what to do. Over here.."

The group went to a different part of the room as I basked in my victory; I hoped it was victory, anyway. As far as I knew, I was alone on the floor, and I liked being alone sometimes - unless Paps was with me, in which case, I didn't want to be alone. He's the best. In my period of isolation, I had been afraid of being without Papyrus, since he was my only company. I would often just talk to him, trying to pretend everything was normal, even if it wasn't. After I was saved, however, I grew accustomed to solitude; I guess change did that. I somewhat wondered what the group was talking about on the other side of the room, but I didn't care too much; at the moment, virtually nothing could get me to move, and it would be staying that way, if I had anything to say about it. Even if I didn't have all the "Christmas spirit" that everybody else did, I still liked the holiday; I just didn't get into it much. I didn't think that was so wrong; I just enjoyed it in a different way. After a few minutes of talking, the group returned to my vicinity; I still kept my eyesockets closed. Within a few seconds, I heard someone speak, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Papyrus isn't the best." Someone whispered; my eyesockets shot open.

"What." I was sure I heard it wrong.

"I said.." Killer slowly walked away from me, backwards. "Papyrus isn't the best!"

Killer and the others bolted, and for good cause; I was chasing them. I knew it was just a plan to get me up, but Killer knew better than to enrage me like that; Papyrus is the best, and anybody who said otherwise would have to pay the price. The price was peaceful existence, and Killer's existence had suddenly become a lot less peaceful. I ran significantly faster than normal in my rage, actually finding the speed to keep up with the runners; I couldn't catch them, though. Before long, we found ourselves back in the main room, where the runners dispersed; I decided to keep chasing Killer, who was the one who triggered my anger. As soon as he could, he ducked behind Nightmare, who stopped my chasing by picking me up. I was still mad; nobody said Papyrus wasn't the best, lest they faced my true wrath.

"Okay." Nightmare sighed. "What's going on?"

"He said the forbidden phrase!" I grabbed at Killer; he was unfortunately out of reach.

"Killer, why would you ever say the forbidden phrase?"

"He was bein' completely unfun, so I had to do somethin'!" Killer stoically proclaimed.

"And you decided to enrage him." Nightmare shook his skull. "You know he's going to be on the warpath for at least an hour, right?"

"Oh." Killer chuckled nervously; he should have thought about that. He looked towards me. "Um..Dust?"

"What?" I reached again, in vain, to attack Killer; if Nightmare wasn't holding me, it would have been much more in my favor.

"I made a mistake..couldjya maybe not try to maul me?"

"I'm gonna do more than maul you!" I struggled more in an attempt to inflict harm on my victim.

"What'djya do?" Horror had walked over.

"I said the forbidden phrase.." Killer scratched his skull, trying to find a solution.

"What'djya go doin' that fer?"

"I'm a victim of circumstance."

"Does he..always do this?" Classic wondered; the rest of the group had come closer.

"Pretty much." Killer shrugged.

"Didn't he kill his brother, though?"

Everyone's gaze - excluding mine, which hit the floor like a lead balloon - turned to Classic, who seemed confused.

"What?" Classic didn't understand.

"Have ya ever killed your brother?" Killer asked.

"No, why?"

"Imagine how you'd feel if ya did, and everywhere ya went, somebody brought it up."

"Oh.." Classic seemed to understand my sudden change in emotion. "Sorry.."

"It's fine." I regained my outlook of indifference.

"So, what have you been up to?" Nightmare decided that it would be best to change the subject.

"Defying everything."

"That's nice; Error tried that."

"What happened?" Killer questioned.

"He found a chocolate bar."

"Huh."

"That means that Dust is truly the only one who has had no fun." Classic commented.

"I don't think you'll get him in the Christmas spirit without extreme persuasion tactics." Error was nibbling on some chocolate. "It'd be quite a challenge."

"Challenge accepted!" The swapped Sans giggled.

"Challenge not accepted." I corrected. "I am not going to do this."

"I don't think you have much of a choice." The swapped Papyrus snickered.

"You have fun with that.." Nightmare put me down and walked away.

"Let's get Christmasing!" The swapped Sans immediately pulled out a santa hat and put it on his skull; I could tell that he was serious about this.

"I think I'm going to walk away now.." I started to walk (rather quickly) in a different direction.

"Oh no, you don't!" The swapped Sans caught up to me and held me back from my course; that did not bode well for my future. "You're going to enjoy this, whether you want to or not!"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes! We shall start with Christmas carols!"

"Absolutely not." I was never much for singing.

"Okay..how about cookies?"

"Fine.." I sighed; I hadn't eaten anything in a while.

"Great!" Our group went to the kitchen, where the food was; there were a lot of cookies there, along with Cross and Fell.

"I think there'll be leftovers.." The swapped Papyrus commented.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that.." Classic noted the fact that the swapped Sans had already eaten twenty cookies since we got there, and he wasn't stopping anytime soon.

"These are really good!" The swapped Sans giggled.

"I see you're enjoying yourselves." Fell didn't seem to care. "How are you even getting along?"

"The way I see it, I had two choices: enjoy myself and get it over with faster, or be like Dust." Killer responded. "Dust is bored out of his mind and not havin' any fun whatsoever, so naturally, I didn't wanna be like him."

"Very profound." I sighed.

"I guess that speaks for itself.." Fell shrugged. "But why is Blue in 'Sansta' mode?"

"He's intent on spreading Christmas cheer, particularly to Dust.." The swapped Papyrus answered.

Fell laughed. "Remember when he did that to me?"

"You were in a coma for a month, but it was the funniest thing any of us ever saw!" Classic giggled; this unsettled me greatly. I had been in a coma before, and it was not pleasant.

"I won't do that again!" The swapped Sans chuckled. "I'm taking a more advanced approach this time!"

"This is the part where I leave and nobody follows me." I turned around and started walking.

"No, it isn't!" The swapped Sans pulled me back and stuffed a cookie in my mouth; it tasted pretty good, but that wasn't the point.

"Well, even if you're a horrible person, I'm going to say this, because I don't think anybody is going to stop Blue." Fell faced me. "Good luck surviving!"

"That's reassuring.." I wasn't happy.

"Aw, it can't be as bad as me!" Killer grinned; I remembered what he did to make me enjoy holidays. It wasn't pleasant.

"I somehow doubt that."

"Well, what did you do?" The swapped Sans wondered.

"I threw him into the Anti-Void and told Error not to let him out unless it was an emergency or he said he'd actually enjoy himself a little during the holidays!" Killer said that as if it was normal.

"How long?" The swapped Papyrus inquired.

"I think he lasted a month..but he didn't give in.."

"Did you starve him, too?" Classic hoped not.

"Yep!"

"Never do that again." I glared.

"Ya act like it was horrible."

"Because torturing someone because they don't get the same kick out of Christmas as you do is completely normal."

"Hey, my kid tortured me when I didn't like holidays, and look at me now!"

"Why does this make sense?"

"'Cause it does!"

"What did they do to you?" The swapped Papyrus questioned.

"Ya know human medieval torture? Well, they liked that kinda stuff, and I gotta say, it works!"

"Hmm.." The swapped Sans wrote a note to himself.

"Is that why you murder people?" Classic asked.

"Oh, no!" Killer laughed. "That's just plain fun!"

"No big breakthroughs today, I guess."

"I've never been to the Anti-Void, but I can almost guarantee that Blue is worse." The swapped Papyrus stated. "Good luck; you'll need it."

"Enough talk, prepare for action!" The swapped Sans rubbed his hands together before quickly grabbing my arm. "First, we need a posse!"

"Why do we-" I was cut off.

"Question nothing!"

After this abrupt ending, I was dragged out of the kitchen and found myself in the main room, being pulled by the swapped Sans. Classic followed, while Killer and the swapped Papyrus remained in the kitchen to eat cookies with Cross and Fell. At this point, I wondered where Papyrus was, before noticing his presence behind me; he's the best. He started telling me about some funny things he had heard Chara say; I was going to have a talk with Chara later about slang and my brother. Papyrus wasn't going to use those words, though; he's the best. After a minute of being dragged around, our trio was stopped in front of Ink and Error; Ink had no doubt tracked down the unwilling Destroyer.

"Hello!" The swapped Sans smiled. "Would you like to join our posse?"

"What's it for?" Ink wondered.

"Teaching Dust about the spirit of Christmas!"

"You're still on that?" Error scoffed. "He's not giving in."

"Correct." I agreed.

"He will." The swapped Sans giggled slightly menacingly; I wondered what I had gotten myself into.

"We'd love to join you!" Ink grinned.

"We?" Error inquired.

"You need to help, too!"

"No, I don't."

"We shall help him together!" The swapped Sans proclaimed. "Now, time for lectures!"

"Lectures are fun!" Ink said happily.

"In what world?" Classic didn't think so.

"In the one we just made!" The swapped Sans exclaimed.

"Yeah! Come on, it'll be fun!" Ink was completely on the bandwagon.

"Only because I want to see where this leads." Classic was willing.

"All right!"

At this, our now-slightly-larger group headed towards the benches from earlier. Once we arrived, the benches were positioned in a circle shape, and we were seated promptly. The swapped Sans and Ink began talking about the joys and wonders of Christmas, not leaving out anything; it was actually pretty thorough, but it didn't change my mind a bit. Error, on the other hand, perked up when chocolate was mentioned; he had a weakness for chocolate, and just about everybody knew that. Classic, although being a mere spectator, actually enjoyed it a little; he didn't understand how I showed no interest whatsoever. After about half an hour of lecturing, the two skeletons finished their long-winded speech; they noticed that it wasn't working. The fact that there was a scheduled dinner right now also guided their minds, which meant that I was off the hook for the moment. I spent my time alone listening to Papyrus's exciting stories; he's the best. I didn't get much time to listen however, since the dinner was relatively soon, and we were basically forced to attend; I wanted to be home. The meal was the most cliche Christmas dinner I could have imagined: meat, potatoes, and corn; it wasn't as good as Papyrus's spaghetti.

"Have you 'Christmas-fied' him yet?" The swapped Papyrus tried not to laugh.

"We're working on it!" The swapped Sans grinned.

"I bet he'll absolutely adore Christmas by the end of the day!" Ink chuckled.

"I doubt it." I sighed.

"Like I said: we're working on it." The swapped Sans repeated.

"Remind me how I get as far away from here as possible."

"That's simple: live through the night!" Ink giggled.

"This is absolutely horrible."

"Oh, come on, lighten up a little!" Outer urged. "It isn't like it's the end of the world!"

"Yes, it is."

"It is a mere holiday." Starstruck reminded. "Holidays do not end the world, to my knowledge."

"Yeah!" The swapped Sans agreed. "Plus, there's tons of fun!"

"Maybe for you, but I'd prefer not to take part in your activities." I would have rathered to be listening to one of Papyrus's stories at the moment.

"Ya didn't seem to mind last year." Killer supplied.

"That was because it was a disaster area."

"Um..last year?" Dream inquired. "Do you actually celebrate Christmas?"

"In our own way." Nightmare would have preferred it if the enemies didn't know that.

"So, what's so special about last year?" Ink wondered.

"I jumped on the tree." Killer started.

"It w-was a w-wreck." Cross snickered.

"War bro' ou.'" Horror continued.

"House caught on fire." Error shrugged.

"It was a complete and total disaster." Nightmare summarized.

"It was hilarious!" I laughed.

"Your house catching on fire?" Fell tilted his skull. "Funny?"

"It was only one room, and we didn't use it much, anyway." Killer giggled.

"You're weird."

"If we're weird, can we go now?" I hoped.

"Nope!" Ink prevented that.

"We still must teach you the spirit of Christmas!" The swapped Sans declared.

"I really don't want to do that." I sighed.

"Too bad!"

"Yeah, you're not getting out of this." The swapped Papyrus assured.

"Remind me why we're here again?" I groaned.

"We were kidnapped." Killer recalled.

"Right. Can we un-kidnap ourselves?"

"No!" Ink replied. "You must stay here until the party has ended!"

"Why? Why is it so important that we have to stay here? Are you planning on killing us when this is over?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then why?"

"W-well.."

"He makes a valid point.." Classic hummed. "Why are they here?"

"It was.."

"It was what?" Outer pushed.

"It was a Christmas present for Dream! I knew how much he wanted to see his brother again, so I..arranged it."

"Really?" Dream asked.

"Yep..I hope it isn't horrible.."

"Ink, it's been wonderful!"

"That still doesn't explain why the rest of us have to be here.." I pointed out.

"Oh, come on, Dust." Ink scoffed. "Did you really think I'd be able to get away with only Nightmare?"

"I guess that makes sense.." I laid my skull on the table; I wanted to leave even more now.

"Now that that's settled, who wants to join the Christmas posse?" The swapped Sans was bent on getting me to enjoy Christmas.

"That sounds fun!" Starstruck commented.

"I guess we'll try it." Outer joined. "Just getting him to like the festivities isn't a crime."

"Yes, it is." I argued.

"Only in your book!" The swapped Sans was excited.

"I think I'm going to stay as far away as possible..for my health." Fell shuddered.

"I'm joining." Ink smiled. "My knowledge of Christmas should suffice."

"Anyone else?" The swapped Sans questioned.

"No." The rest of the group responded; they did not want to be caught in that.

"So, Outer, Starry, Ink, and I will teach Dust about Christmas! Awesome!"

"You have no idea how much I want to start a fight for the sole purpose of being knocked out right now." I wanted to be at home, listening to one of Papyrus's stories or being dragged around by Killer. I did not want to be led around by a maniac with a blue cape.

"Oh, you'll like it..eventually."

"Dust, I am going to say this once, and only once." Error looked to me. "You're on your own, buddy. Good luck."

"That's reassuring." I dreaded every second that lay before me.

When that talk ended, the meal was finished in silence; I ate virtually nothing, since Papyrus was doing his best to help me not think about what would commence afterwards. He's the best. My family seemed to be having fun, which was good; they deserved to have fun. Nightmare had had a few talks with his brother, which was probably pretty nice for him; he really missed Dream, no matter what he said during battle. Error was having the time of his life, bearing witness to massive amounts of chocolate, which he could eat; usually, he wouldn't get that chance unless he was home. Killer was just being his fun self, playing games and being silly; he really reminded me of Paps. Horror seemed pretty relaxed, to be quite honest; he was always like that, and it didn't change just because we were kidnapped. Cross was having some fun, eating cookies and staying as skeletonly possible away from Ink for reasons we knew; he didn't do so well near Ink unless it was in battle. When the meal ended, I was quickly moved to a corner of the room, accompanied by Ink, Outer, Starstruck, and the swapped Sans; I didn't like that.

"It's time for our next Christmas lesson!" The swapped Sans proclaimed.

"Is it called 'How to escape from a Christmas party alive'?" I hoped.

"No, silly! It's about being kind and jolly!"

"I have had enough of your kind, and being jolly isn't on my to-do list."

"That's exactly why we have to teach you!"

"You can teach me how to leave this place."

"The sooner you realize that you're not leaving until we say you're leaving, the sooner you leave, get it?" Ink made his point.

"Fine.."

"Let's begin!" The swapped Sans clapped happily. "The first step in being kind is looking out for others! Can you think of one time that you've cared for somebody?"

I remained silent; I could remember thousands of times, but I didn't want them to know that.

"O..kay?" The swapped Sans scratched his skull. "Outer?"

"I care about my brother, and he cares about me." Outer began. "Whenever one of us needs something, the other is sure to come."

"That's caring! Get it?"

"A family bond is obligatory." I shrugged; indifference was difficult to keep up, but I would manage it.

"So, you're saying that you should care for your family, so you killed your brother." Ink found that illogical.

"Let's not talk about that." The swapped Sans wanted to keep this purely professional. "Anyway, yes, brothers should love eachother, but it can go further than that! During Christmas, we should be like that to everybody!"

"And this is essential how?" I was bored.

"Because everybody should feel good at Christmas!"

"I have felt horrible during Christmases, and nobody helped me then; again, why?" Paps helped me a lot when I was isolated, but they didn't know of his existence; Paps didn't mind - he's the best.

"Well, let's find out what caused that." Ink suggested. "What factors made it so nobody would help you?"

"Everybody was dead." My answer unsettled the quartet.

"S-so you celebrated Christmas alone?" The swapped Sans clarified.

"I didn't really celebrate it at all."

"What about ghosts, or amalgamates?" Outer inquired.

"Dead."

"You..killed them?"

"Nah, I don't know what happened to them. They just left."

"Maybe we should change the subject.." The swapped Sans input.

"Good idea.." Ink was uneasy.

After this, the quartet continued their speech on being a good person during Christmas, which I paid little to no attention to; Paps had better things to say than what they did, which meant I was listening to him. Their speaking continued for about forty-five minutes, and it consisted of things I already knew; I wasn't as stupid as they thought I was. They spoke as if I was a toddler who didn't know right from wrong, and I wasn't willing to let myself be treated like that; ignoring them was the best choice at the moment, and I took it. Papyrus had a great story about knights and kings who ruled vast kingdoms, and it was one of the most amazing stories - they were all amazing, of course, but this one was one of his best - he had ever told me! I listened intently as he told me about the evil king Inukus, who fought with the good king Rorre in pursuit of his chocolate farms; it was quite the story, and I savored every second of it. In the end, Rorre came out on top, and the chocolate farms were safe from Inukus. When Papyrus's story ended, I silently complimented it and listened to another, shorter story as I waited for the quartet to finish their lecture. When they finally finished, I acted as if I had heard every word, but got nothing from it.

"I just don't understand what we're doing wrong!" The swapped Sans didn't know.

"Maybe we need to try a different tactic." Ink suggested.

"Yes..but what?"

"'Letting me go home therapy' should work fine." I hinted.

"No, that would be too obvious.." The swapped Sans got an idea. "Wait! What if we use examples?"

"Didn't we already try that?" Outer thought.

"No, just honest-to-goodness cold, hard examples! We can show him how Christmas is supposed to work!"

"That's a great idea, Blue!" Ink encouraged. "We can practice what we preach!"

"Where should we start?" Outer asked.

"Hmm...we can start with his friends!" The swapped Sans exclaimed. "He knows them the best, after all!"

"Good idea, Blue!" Ink complimented.

I was then unwillingly led to the spot where Horror resided; he looked to be happily sitting in silence, and I hated to ruin it for him. When he saw us, he knew he was being involved in something large.

"What're ya doin'?" Horror hoped it was walking past him.

"Dust shall engage in friendly conversation with you!" The swapped Sans clarified. "Good luck!"

"These people won't leave me alone, Horror." I was greatly distraught.

"I see tha.'" Horror hummed.

"Would you hide me?"

"'Fraid not."

"Darn it."

"Ya can si' back an' relax 'f ya wan.'"

"I'm not sure that that's possible."

"Welp, g'luck."

"Thanks."

"Talk about Christmas!" The swapped Sans urged.

"Chris'mas?" Horror questioned. "I's nice."

"Christmas is fine, I just don't get into it much." I yawned.

"This isn't working!" The swapped Sans proclaimed. "We must use a different strategy!"

"Like what?" Ink had no idea.

"Massive scale example!" The swapped Sans jumped about five feet in the air. "With flamethrowers and bombs!"

"I don't think that's what Christmas is about.." I was sure of it.

"Nonsense!"

"Blue, even I don't think that's a good idea!" Ink wasn't overjoyed.

"Don't do that!" Outer warned.

"Bad idea!" Starstruck joined.

"Maybe we should go see what Dream's doing!" Ink speedily input.

"Good idea!" The swapped Sans immediately dropped his previous line of thought and led our group over to Dream and Nightmare, who were having a conversation; they looked rather happy, even if Nightmare wasn't outwardly showing it - we knew how he faked being annoyed, and he was presenting it clearly. He was having a good time with his brother.

"Oh, hello!" Dream waved.

"Hey!"

"Have they converted you yet?" Nightmare snickered.

"No." I crossed my arms. "I refuse to be converted."

"This is why I brought a flamethrower!" The swapped Sans pulled a flamethrower out of his pocket; how that was possible, I didn't know.

"We don't have to use that!" Outer was quick to prevent the swapped Sans's course of action.

"Yes, we do! Dust has had no fun at all, and I want to fix it!"

"Flamethrowers won't make it better!" Ink was stressed.

"How do you know?"

"I just do!"

"Why did.." Nightmare was very confused. "You know what? Nevermind..I don't want to know."

"Blue, think about what you're doing!"

"This is for the greater good!" The swapped Sans activated the flamethrower.

Instead of hitting someone, the flames instead hit a rope. That wouldn't have been too bad if the rope wasn't attatched to a large star that was hung over the Christmas tree. The rope snapped, and, as fate would have it, the tree was hit - that poor, poor tree. Instead of being crushed, the tree tipped - it was a large tree - and landed in the worst possible place: the end of a table. The table was flipped, and to make matters worse, it had been previously occupied by food. The food went absolutely everywhere, and I didn't quite know what to make of it. The swapped Sans had somehow destroyed the entire room in one fell swoop, and everything was a mess. The others had varying expressions, ranging from shocked to angry; the swapped Sans dropped his flamethrower. I didn't see what the big deal was; at least the fire didn't spread to the rest of the room. Nonetheless, the others seemed to believe that Christmas was utterly ruined by this happening; in my experience, it wasn't close. When the commotion had quieted, all eyelights shifted to the swapped Sans; he was the one who had brought the flamethrower.

"Heh.." The swapped Sans chuckled nervously. "S-sorry.."

"Sorry?!" Fell wasn't having it. "Christmas is ruined, and all you have to say is sorry?!"

"In my defense, I didn't know that that would happen.."

"Blue." Ink looked annoyed. "Maybe you should just take a seat for a while.."

"But.."

"No buts, Blue." Classic was firm. "Look, we want you to have fun, but not this kind of fun. Just take a little while to cool off."

"I.."

"Maybe.." The swapped Papyrus sighed. "Maybe you should take a minute..just until everything calms down.."

"I-I'm s-sorry!" The swapped Sans ran to a corner of the room, sobbing.

After this, the damage was surveyed, and cleanup had begun. I didn't know why, but I felt guilty; I supposed I felt like it was my fault, but I didn't quite understand how. I sat in silence for a minute before Papyrus floated down to me; he seemed to know exactly what I was feeling - he's the best.

"Brother." Paps looked to me.

"Yeah, Paps?" I sighed.

"It has come to my attention that you are feeling sad. Is there anything that I can do to help?"

"He seemed really eager to help..he reminds me of you a little.."

"Brother, if you wish to comfort him, there is nothing stopping you."

"Really?"

"Of course, brother!"

"You're the best, Paps!"

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

With Papyrus's support, I had a determination to cheer up the swapped Sans; I would succeed. I walked to the corner that he had run to a minute before; he was still weeping. It made me feel sad to see someone as lighthearted and eager as him crying. I took my chance to sit beside him and talk; I wouldn't let anyone feel bad if I had a say in it. When I was ready, I started.

"Hi.." I gave the worst start in the world, but I would make do.

"Wh-what do you want?" The swapped Sans wiped a tear before releasing more.

"I wanted to say..I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I should have been kinder earlier. You were only trying to help."

"But..you didn't like Christmas.."

"If I were to tell you a secret, would you keep it?"

"No. Papy says I'm bad at keeping secrets."

"Fair enough. Everybody'll probably know soon, anyway."

"What is it?"

"I don't actually dislike Christmas; on the contrary, I love it. I just never talk about it. Really, what would you say if the guy who was terrorizing you liked Christmas?"

"I guess it would be a little weird.."

"Heck, I like Christmas so much that I start making gifts the day after for next year."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I have another secret, too."

"Another?"

"Yep." I pulled a box out of my jacket.

"What's that?"

"The Christmas Emergency Kit, designed for any type of Christmas emergency. This falls under that category, of course."

"That's cool!"

"So, wanna see it in action, or do you wanna sit here and cry all night?"

"I wanna see!"

"In that case.." I opened my kit, revealing a santa suit.

"What's that supposed to do?"

"Exterior facade."

I lifted the suit, bringing a highly-advanced Christmas emergency center to light. At first glance, it looked like a special sort of laptop, but it was so much more! It did have a keyboard and a screen, but the sides had special devices that were infused with magic to create specific Christmas-themed things such as presents! All I had to do to work the machine was type in a few words, watch as the devices were automatically coded - Error helped in that aspect - and place them wherever I wanted; it was the ultimate Christmas Emergency Kit.

"Woah!" The swapped Sans was in awe.

"Woah indeed." I agreed.

"Can it fix this mess?"

"Of course it can!" I chuckled. "Do you want to use it?"

"But..I don't know how!"

"It's pretty simple; just type something from this panel into here, click that, and wait a minute for it to load up, then you take one of these and put it wherever you want. When it's ready, press this button, and you're well on your way to saving Christmas."

"Why don't you do it?"

"Same reason I don't say that I like Christmas. I mean, if you don't wanna do it, I guess I'd have to, but I don't really want to."

"Hmm..I'll do it!"

"In that case.." I put the santa hat on the swapped Sans. "Good luck."

"Thanks!"

At this, the once-again-happy swapped Sans went on his way to save Christmas, and Papyrus started telling me stories about kind people at Christmas; he's the best. The party guests were a bit surprised when they saw the swapped Sans practically making Christmas decorations out of thin air, but my family knew exactly what was happening; they walked over to me and smiled.

"You made him really happy." Nightmare commented.

"Think they'll know who gave it to him?" Error wondered.

"Doubt i-it." Cross shrugged.

"Pro'lly thin' he plann'd i.'" Horror assumed.

"So we're safe?" Killer asked.

"Unless he tells." I reminded.

"It wouldn't be the end of the world." Nightmare stated.

"At least he isn't crying anymore." Error found that favorable.

Within an hour, the swapped Sans had restored the party to its former glory - and then some. The others were quite amazed by the machine he had used; Nightmare was an amazing inventor. To our surprise, the swapped Sans didn't say who gave him the device or that I liked Christmas, which relieved us to no end. As the night continued, the swapped Sans was given permission to keep the Christmas Emergency Kit - I had five of them at home - which increased his happiness tenfold; we were probably going to have to go out to work once we got some sleep. After a few hours, the moment we had been waiting for all night finally arrived; we were allowed to go home! Of course, before we were given our ability to use magic back, the others wanted to say goodbye; we obliged.

"It was actually pretty cool." Classic stated.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Fell sighed.

"I'm surprised you're not arresting us..or are you?" Error was suspicious.

"No, we aren't..consider it a Christmas gift." Ink returned.

"It was so nice to see you like this after so long, brother..even if you don't want to stay.." Dream suddenly hugged Nightmare, who returned the gesture; I got a picture of that, and everybody else seemed quite surprised.

"That was unexpected." Chara said.

"I think it's good." Papyrus smiled.

"Can we go now?" I hadn't given up my indifference, and it got the others' minds off of Nightmare.

"You will like Christmas someday!" The swapped Sans winked.

"Doubt it." I returned the emote.

"I suppose you can leave, now.." Ink grumbled and pressed his button from earlier, restoring our magic.

"Finally!"

"'M out." Horror was gone in an instant.

"Adios." Error left as well.

Cross simply waved before leaving, followed by Chara. Killer backflipped into a portal; that was impressive. I made sure to wait for Nightmare to finish hugging his brother; he needed that. When he finished, he followed me through my portal home; we had a lot to do.

"That was time-consuming." Error yawned.

"Yeah..and we didn't even get our tree back." I sighed.

"You know what that means." Nightmare pulled out a saw.

"Aye aye!" We saluted, ready to locate and recover a new tree; it would be just as good as our old one.

Overall, it wasn't that bad.

~~~story end woot~~~

Dust bean family need new tree.

Thanks for reading my holiday writing!

Bye!