It was Christmas Eve. Snow was falling, and in the Hometown church, Kris and their friends were discussing their plans for the holidays.
"It's finally Christmas Eve!" Kris said, "Time sure flew by. It feels like just yesterday that it was autumn."
"I can't believe we gotta practice these stupid hymns," Susie said, "Why the hell are we all a part of this stupid choir anyways?"
"Well, we've all been going to church since elementary school," Noelle said, "Besides, I thought that you liked singing!"
"Shut up!" Susie said, "The only thing I like to sing is death metal!"
"Well," Berdly said, "If you're that unhappy with church, why not change your religion? Maybe something more grounded in science will be better for you! I can always teach you!"
"Like hell I'm gonna abandon religion if a nerd like you is going to preach about science!" Susie shouted.
"I'm considering it," Catti said, while texting and not looking up from her phone, "Occult stuff is cool. Maybe I'll be Wiccan. I'll, like, study the others or something. It'll be like that Shin Megami Tensei game."
"This hymn stuff is radical!" Jockington said, "Just hanging out with my buds every Sunday! Jockington loves being together!"
"tem gud singer!" Temmie said, "songs help give tem bettr undrstandn ov relign! it fun tu lern!"
"Hey, Monster Kid!" Snowy said, "Wanna hear a joke about religion?"
"I don't know, man..." Monster Kid replied, "Isn't that one of the big 3 things you don't talk about in public? Besides, we're in a church!"
"Relax!" Snowy said, "Father Alvin hasn't even shown up yet! Now, as I was saying: A rabbi and a priest are at a grocery store..."
Father Alvin entered the room. Snowy quickly shut up.
"Greetings, children," Father Alvin said, "I'm honoured that we're all together on Christmas Eve to honour the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; and to practice singing songs in His name, in hopes that you're able to spread this word to your parents tomorrow. Now, let us all practice our hymn, and then you may be dismissed. Come in, Sans!"
Sans walked in the room holding pieces of paper.
"heya," he said, "got some freshly baked hymns here! wrote it all myself! it's an honour, really."
"Damn it, not him again!" Susie said.
"But we all performed the hymn that he wrote when we were in elementary school," Noelle said.
"I know," Susie said, "But being the lazy piece of shit who he his, he decided to combine every holiday that he could think of into one hymn! Some of them weren't even Christian holidays! And it was all sponsored by Walmart!"
She turned to Kris.
"You remember it, don't you?" she asked, "He even managed to convince your mom to do an opera part in the background!"
"Don't remind me!" Kris said.
Kris closed their eyes and thought back to that disaster...
"don't worry," Sans said, "this one is actually about god and stuff. you know, unlike the one from your elementary school. but hey, at least walmart gave me good money for the last one!"
He handed the hymn to everyone. Susie read the title.
"Christ Cometh to my House and Eats All of my Food (That I Bought at Sans')? What kind of a hymn is this?" Susie said confused.
"Now now, Susie," Father Alvin said, "Sans worked very hard on this hymn. Now let's all run through it together."
Everyone got in their places and started to sing.
"Well done everyone!" Father Alvin said after the song ended, "You are now dismissed. Enjoy your holidays, and may God be with you!"
"Finally!" Susie said as everyone walked outside, "That song sucked!"
She caught up to Kris.
"Say, what are you doing for the holidays, anyways?"
"Me?" Kris said, "Probably just hanging out with my family. Asriel is coming back from college for the break. Who knows? Maybe he'll finally have a girlfriend. My mom said that I can invite as many people as I want to stay during the break."
"We don't need to hang out with your lame-ass family, dork! Besides, we all have our own families!"
"Well, I'm just saying. The more the merrier. Christmas is all about being together, isn't it? There's no doubt that my mom can make more cinnamon butterscotch pie if more people come over."
Everyone went their separate ways to celebrate Christmas with their families.
***********
At Berdly's house, his parents began to praise him.
"Great report card, son!" his dad said, "Straight As yet again!"
"We never believed that you would excel so much in your classes!" his mom said.
"Thanks!" Berdly said smugly.
"Great to hear," his dad said, "Because we've purchased an assortment of textbooks for you this Christmas!"
"Textbooks?" Berdly said.
"Of course! We can't let you fall behind on your studies during winter break!"
"B-but... what about video games, comics, or DVDs?"
"Those will rot your brain!" Berdly's mom said, "If you're going to go to Harvard or MIT once you graduate, you have to be prepared!"
"College or university? Away from my friends?"
"Well, you can't let them drag you down in your studies!"
Berdly stood there and thought to himself. He wasn't a genius. He only excelled because Noelle was there to help him. But he couldn't tell his parents, could he?
"Mom, dad," Berdly started, "I have a confession to make."
"What is it?" his parents asked.
"I'm not a genius! I don't want to study! I only did this for attention! I just want to play video games, read comics, and watch cartoons, like a normal kid! I'm only excelling in my classes because Noelle is there to help me! If it weren't for her, I'd be held back!"
"...Berdly, is this true?"
"Yes, even at the spelling bee all those years ago, I only won due to dumb luck! I just wanted to be cool!" Berdly said as he started to cry.
His parents walked up to him. "We had no idea. Thank you for telling us. We just wish that you told us earlier."
"You're not mad?" he asked.
"No, we just wished we knew sooner."
"But, then you'd think that I'm an idiot..."
"You're not stupid. You're just having trouble with classes. We can easily get Alphys to tutor with you."
"But what about my presents?"
"Don't worry, we can return them. Why don't we go buy some real presents after Christmas? Everything will be on sale then!"
"Okay, but what about now?"
"What would you like to do?"
"I'd like to visit Kris. I may not be smart, but at least they'll accept me."
Berdly walked out the door on the way to Kris' house.
***************
"It's finally the holiday season!" Catty said to her husband, "I can't wait to go caroling!"
"Neither can I!" her husband said, "I've been practicing all day."
"It will be a nice family bonding experience!"
"Maybe we'll get some figgy pudding!"
The two of them laughed.
"Well one thing is for sure, we won't go until we get some!"
Catty walked to Catti's room. Catti sat on her bed, browsing her phone aimlessly.
"Hey, honey," Catty said, "I know you don't like big family reunions around the holidays, you threw out your Christmas sweater, and I know you think that Santa Claus is 'stupid'; but I was wondering if you'd like to join us caroling. You know, together as a family."
Catti was about to say something sarcastic like "Why would I want to go to a stranger's house and, in song form, refuse to leave until they hand over a fruit dish that no one has prepared since the 1500s?", but then she remembered what Kris told her that day at the diner. "Your family embarrasses you because they care about you." For the first time in ages, she put her phone down.
"I would love to!" Catti said.
"Really?" Catty said surprised.
"I'm serious! It's the holidays, after all. It's all about being together, and making memories, and stuff!"
"Alright, then where should we go first?"
"How about Kris' house? We can sing for them and hang out with them after!"
"Alright then! Let's get going!"
As Catti and her family walked outside, Jockington approached Catti.
"Yo, Catti!" he said.
"Huh?" Catti said confused.
"Jockington has gotta tell you something!"
"What is it?"
"Well..." Jockington paused. He realized that he couldn't keep lying. He dropped the act. "You see, I love you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, ever since we got partnered together for our project, I couldn't stop thinking about you."
"But, you're a jock. And I'm more into the occult and stuff. I don't know if we're compatible."
"That's the thing. I'm not really a jock. I'm poor. My family doesn't have much. Even though I seem like such a cool and popular guy, I do it so I can forget about what goes on at home."
"I had no idea..."
"I can't offer you much, but... Do you want to try?"
"... I would. I think we'd make for a great couple, despite our differences. I can teach you about the occult, if you want."
"Sure!"
"Who's this?" Catty asked Catti.
"Jockington," Catti said, "He's my..." she paused. Did she really want to reveal this to her mom? Will she embarrass her? No, she's not embarrassing her.
"Boyfriend," Catti said proudly.
"Well, would he like to join us for caroling?"
"Absolutely!" he said.
Bratty walked up to the group.
"Wow!" the alligator said, "I can't believe you're, like, going caroling. That's, like, so old-fashioned!"
"Oh, Bratty!" Catty said, "You're welcome to join us if you'd like!"
"I know we're, like, enemies and stuff, but it's, like, the holidays, so why not?"
They walked up to Kris' house ready to sing.
***************
Temmie stared at their egg.
"Tem cant du much fr teh holidayz," they said, "Tem hav tu mak sher dat dis EG hatchs! Den tem hav tu studi fr colleg..."
They stopped for a second.
"M tem ovrwurkn tem? Whn wuz teh lst tem dat tem hod tem fr tem?"
Temmie put away their textbooks and put their egg in their incubator.
"Tem wurrin tu much bot ma futr. It teh holduy sezun. Tem shud b rlaxn n spndn tem wit frends n famli! myb tem wil go si Kris."
Temmie walked away and off to Kris' house.
***************
"And then I said, 'At least she's not using a weedwhacker!'" Monster Kid said.
"How is that funny?" Snowy asked.
"What you mean?"
"All you did was say a punchline. I was right next to you this whole time! It's not like the scene just cut to you finishing a joke already in progress!"
"Well what about that joke you were going to tell me at church?"
"Oh yeah! So a rabbi and a priest are at the grocery store. The priest wants to buy some ham, but the rabbi says that it's against their religion. It's still a work in progress."
They looked around at the houses. They saw people spending time with friends.
"Look at them," Monster Kid said, "Why can't that be us?"
"What do you mean?" Snowy asked, "We have family."
"I'm talking about friends. Face it, dude. We don't have friends. We're outcasts!"
"But, they like our jokes, don't they?"
"They're laughing at us, not with us!"
Snowy thought about it as tears formed in his eyes.
"You're right! We're losers with no one to spend the holidays with! Sure, we have family, but we have no one to share our toys and games with!"
"Well, there's always Kris," Monster Kid said.
"Really?"
"They're also an 'outcast'. They're the only human in town."
"Let's go see them. Their parents are friendly. Maybe they'll let us spend time with them."
They walked down the street to visit Kris.
***************
Noelle stood alone outside. Susie couldn't help but notice.
"Hey, Noelle," Susie said, "Why the hell are you standing out here alone? Shouldn't you be with your family?"
"I can't," Noelle said, "My mom is still busy at work, my dad is in the hospital, and... it's December... and... and..." She burst into tears and fell to the ground. Susie held onto her.
"It's the holiday season. Everyone around me is so happy! Why can't I do the same?"
"I know what you mean," Susie said, "You're parents may be busy, but at least they care about you. My parents don't give a shit about me! I've spent countless nights without food, water, and clean clothes. God knows how many bruises and broken bones they've given me! School is the only place where I feel safe."
"Really?"
"I wouldn't lie about something as serious as that. Even if our parents can't be here, let's at least spend time together, because no one deserves to be alone on Christmas."
"Maybe we can go visit Kris and spend time with them!"
"Maybe we can spend more time together in the future too!"
"Why?"
"Well... ... I love you."
"Really? I- I feel the same way."
"Hell yeah! I guess we're a couple now. It feels great to get it off my chest. And you better not tell anyone about this!"
"Great! I just wish my parents could be here too..."
"I wouldn't be so nervous about that," a voice said.
Noelle turned around seeing her mom.
"Mom?" she said.
"I can't believe it either, honey! But I also have a gift!"
Noelle looked to see her mom pushing a wheelchair. Coming into view, she saw him. Rudy. Her dad. Noelle ran up to her and gave him a hug as tears continued to fall down her face.
"I... can't... believe it..." Noelle said.
"Neither can I," Rudy said, "The doctors said that it would be safe to leave as long as I stay in this wheelchair and keep this IV drip in my veins."
"This all seems so unreal!" Noelle said, "I just wish Dess was here, too..."
"We all miss her," Noelle's mom said.
"But I'm sure that she would have wanted us to have fun and spend time together on Christmas," Rudy said.
"Can we still see Kris?" Noelle asked.
"Of course!" Noelle's mom said.
"But I look like a mess with all these tears on my face and clothes!" Noelle said.
"Not as much of a mess as her!" Rudy laughed, pointing at Susie.
"SHUT UP!" Susie shouted, "I'm not crying! I just have some snowflakes in my eyes!"
"Let's not keep Kris waiting!" Rudy said, "I'm sure ol' Gorey is eager to see me again!"
Noelle held her parents' hands as they walked to Kris' house with Noelle.
***************
Kris arrived at their house, opened the door, and walked inside.
"Hi, honey!" Toriel said.
"Hey, mom," Kris said sadly, "What are we doing tonight?"
"Well, not much. The usual. Watching Christmas movies while eating cookies."
"Well, it sounds fun, but I wish I could do more."
"What do you mean?"
"Every Christmas, it's just the two of us. It's rare for dad to want to spend time here, what with the divorce and all. And although Asriel is finally coming back from college, who's to say that they'll still like the same stuff we used to like? Sure, it's Christmas, but it just doesn't feel like Christmas."
"Well, I know that it's different with just the two of us, but we can still make the best of it."
There was a knock on the door.
"Oh!" Toriel said surprised, "Could you get that Kris?"
Kris opened the door to see their classmates.
"Why are you all here?" Kris asked.
Susie turned around.
"Damn, everyone is here! Well, I guess we were all lonely and wanted to spend the holidays with someone."
"That would be awesome!" Kris said, "As long as it's okay with my mom."
Kris turned to look at Toriel.
"Why, of course we can all be together!" Toriel said.
Everyone cheered as they walked inside.
"Is this a good time to ask if I can join?"
Toriel looked towards the door. It was Asgore, her ex-husband.
"Asgore... You actually want to spend the holidays here?"
"Yes I would. In fact, maybe the two of us could give being together another try..."
"I'd love to!"
The two of them held each other close as they kissed each other.
Asgore walked into the living room and sat next to Rudy.
"Well I'll be damned!" Rudy said, "It looks like the two of you managed to patch things up!"
"It's just a start," Asgore said, "I'm glad to see that you're health is in a much better condition."
"It's not ideal, but I'd do anything to spend the holidays with my wife and daughter! Besides, these cookies sure beat the stuff at the hospital cafeteria!"
At the table, Berdly and Temmie worked on schoolwork.
"I know that schoolwork on Christmas seems stupid," Berdly said, "but I really appreciate your help, Temmie! You're great at doing English homework!"
"Why thank you!" Temmie said, "Although I must say, humanity's ability to express themselves and abstract concepts by writing such captivating stories never ceases to amaze me! When you think about how many experiences you can go through by reading, it's truly fascinating!"
"What about your math homework?"
"Mat? tem dont liek mat! mat iz hrd!"
Susie sat next to Noelle.
"How about we watch some movies? You know, we can watch the Hallmark Channel and laugh about how shitty those movies are!"
"Oh," Noelle said, "To be honest, I don't like Christmas movies that much. I prefer horror movies."
"Same!" Susie said.
"Really?" Noelle said surprised and excitedly. She got up into Susie's face. "DO YOU LIKE IMPORTED MOVIES I LIKE FATAL FRAME AND TWILIGHT SYNDROME THEY'RE FROM JAPAN AND ARE UNTRANSLATED BUT THEY HAVE SUBTITLES I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND READING I TRIED WATCHING THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD BUT IT SUCKED OR MAYBE WE COULD WATCH BLACK SABBATH AND DID YOU KNOW THAT WHEN IT WAS ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN ITALY-"
"Jeez, calm down!" Susie said, "Why don't we just take things slowly and do it one at a time? Maybe throw in some kaiju movies? Those kick ass!"
Kris looked at their friends.
"Hey," they said, "Where are Catti and Jockington?"
"They're still outside with the rest of Catti's family," Noelle said, "I think that they're about to sing some carols!"
"Is that Bratty?" Monster Kid said.
"Seriously?" Snowy said, "I thought they hated each other!"
Everyone gathered at the door to see Catti and Jockington, along with the rest of Catti's family and Bratty, ready to sing.
"Okay, everyone!" Catti's dad said, "From the top!"
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sMGc5AQpri4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S-pw5BqPT8E
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=acZNE4sIhL8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=90hQmss8TY8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=asZFXHFS0Uk
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t4J3DpFgoc8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lLW8peigKuQ
Everyone clapped as the carols finished.
"How beautiful!" Toriel said, "I just wish that I had some figgy pudding to offer."
"i can help with that," a voice said.
Sans walked in with a wheelbarrow covered in a cloth.
"i brought a whole bunch of holiday food. christmas, hannukah, kwanza, and all other sorts of holidays celebrated in december. i even brought some of my holiday favourites."
He took of the cloth as everyone grabbed their favourites and brought it to the table.
"That's so sweet of you!" Toriel said, "But what's with the Chinese food and kosher subs?"
"it's a long story," Sans said, "one year, papyrus tried cooking the turkey, but he burned it. what did i expect when he took cooking lessons from undyne? anyways, i decided to just order take-out, but the only places that were open were chinese restaurants and kosher delis. i decided to order from them to help out the smaller businesses, and hey, the food is surprisingly good too! it has since become a tradition. hey, speak of the devil!"
Papyrus walked though the door.
"GREETINGS EVERYONE!" he said, "HERE I AM! FASHIONABLY LATE AS ALWAYS!"
"so papyrus," Sans said, "what have you been up to these days?"
"WELL, I-"
"Guess who's back?" Someone else said.
"Wait," Kris said, "That can't be. Is that?"
Asriel walked through the door. His hair was messier than usual since it was under a touque. He wore baggy clothes and sported a goatee. In his mouth was a cigarette, and standing next to him was a dragon wearing similar clothing.
"Sup?" Asriel said, "This is my girlfriend, Emmy."
"Wow," Kris said, "I didn't know that you were into dragons!"
"Why else did you think that I borrowed that book from the library? Haven't you noticed the stains?"
Emmy laughed.
"Oh Asriel, you joker!" she said.
"So," Kris said as Asriel searched the fridge for some beer, "Do you want to play some video games like Super Smashing Fighters? You can be that green lizard who you loved as a kid!"
"Honestly, Kris," Asriel said as he sat on the couch, "I'm not that into video games anymore, what with college taking up most of my time."
Kris looked down at the ground sadly.
"But that doesn't mean that I'm not willing to try again," Asriel continued. "I still have a lot of good memories, and I'm willing to make new ones!"
Kris smiled.
"I'll get the games!" they said.
"Heads up, everyone!" Toriel said, "The pizza is on its way!"
"seriously?" Sans said, "i brought all this holiday food and you order pizza?"
"Well it wouldn't be a party without pizza!" Toriel explained, "It would be as if I didn't make any of my famous cinnamon butterscotch pie!"
"touché..." Sans said.
The delivery boy walked up to Kris' house.
"I don't believe it!" he said, "Why are we open ON CHRISTMAS? Don't we have oh I dunno FAMILIES AND OTHER PEOPLE TO SEE? Why do we even sell this pizza anyways? Turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and all that crap on a PIZZA? What was Blue Ears smoking when he came up with that idea? Seriously who in their right mind is gonna eat that stuff? (although to be honest I would like some of whatever he's smoking.)"
He arrived at Kris' house and knocked on the door. Toriel answered the door.
"Hubba hubba!" the delivery boy thought, "Looks like Christmas came early! (I hope I don't do the same when I'm with her...)"
"Uh, so," he said, "That will be $10..."
"Oh, dear!" Toriel said," I don't have any money! Isn't there some other way I can pay you?"
"Oh God oh God oh God here it comes!" the delivery boy thought.
"Why doesn't he eat with us?" Asgore suggested.
"I-is that your husband?" the delivery boy asked.
"Why, of course, silly!" Toriel said, "Oh, before you come in, could you sing the song?"
"The what?"
"You know, the song from the commercial! It's only a short one."
"Well, if it means I get a Christmas dinner..." the delivery boy thought as he began to sing to the tune of Carol of the Bells.
🎶Christmas Pizza🎶
🎶ICE-E's P"E"ZZA🎶
🎶This is an ad🎶
🎶For a pizza🎶
🎶Cranberry sauce🎶
🎶Gravy on top🎶
🎶Turkey as well🎶
🎶And also cheese🎶
🎶Why is there cheese?🎶
🎶'Cause we love cheese🎶
🎶Turkey and cheese🎶
🎶Four kind of cheese🎶
🎶Come try our Christmas pizza🎶
🎶This commercial is for ICE-E's P"E"ZZA🎶
🎶It's a turkey dinner on a pizza🎶
🎶Pizza underneath a turkey dinner🎶
🎶Christmas pizza🎶
🎶Free toblerone🎶
🎶With the pizza🎶
🎶Get it today🎶
🎶ICE-E's P"E"ZZA🎶
🎶GIASFELFEBREHBER🎶
Toriel clapped.
"That was so cute!" she said, "Come on in! By the way, where is our free toblerone?"
"Here you go..." the delivery boy said. He was hoping that Toriel was single so she could do the old 'Is that a toblerone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?' gag.
"This isn't so bad," he thought, "As long as they don't call me-"
"Hi, Pizzapants!" Bratty and Catty said, recognizing him.
"Damn it!" Pizzapants said, "I was hoping that they wouldn't know my unwanted nickname!"
"Come on, everyone!" Kris said, "the Christmas specials are about to start."
As everyone gathered around the TV to watch Mettaton Saves Santa Claus and Mettaton the Red-Nosed-Reindeer, they realized just how much they wanted to be together. And that was the whole point of holidays. As an annoying dog looked through the window from outside, out of view from everyone inside, he smiled, knowing that he could make something beautiful and encourage others to do the same during the holidays.