On a night like any other sat our team of three, playing games of poker, carelessly carefree. Twas the night before Christmas! Yet this was unknown, for the world they were on wasn’t their own. Piercing the walls, a shout could be heard, stopping just two from speaking a word. Then Nina - not Nova - but Magnus as well, got up off the floor to check out the yell. So up they both stood and out they both went. To search for that sound and start the event...

MC dropped his playing cards on Sanctuary's floor and listened to his surroundings. Nina followed suit, turning her attention away from the game and towards whatever made the scream she'd just heard. The siblings' silence cued Nova to stay silent as well, respecting her companions intent to focus on whatever they had heard. A few minutes passed as the two tried to listen for whatever sound managed to be audible through the airtight walls of the nuclear-ready shelter. Nina, turning to MC with creased eyebrows, was the first to break the silence.

“Magnus, from your reaction, I think it’s safe to assume that I’m not crazy and that you just heard someone screaming outside too.”

“Yeah, I heard it alright. Definitely not enough evidence to rule out you being crazy, but it’s safe to assume that you aren’t hearing things, princess. I don’t think Nova heard anything though. Is 'crazy' contagious and are the Dyn immune?”

A sharp glare from Nina had MC upright, getting up onto his feet and moving towards the blast doors.

“I’ll go check it out. You two stay right there okay. It’s far too suspicious for anyone to be anywhere near here. Let alone someone capable of shouting through walls that a bomb the size of a submarine couldn’t breach. Must be quite the loudmouth.”

“Nice try Bro, but I’m not staying put when I’m this curious,” Nina insisted as she stood. She looked down at the ongoing game of poker the three were playing moments ago. “And this game isn’t over, got it? I’m not about to let you weasel out of this one. You can shirk chores and responsibilities, but not getting your butt whooped.”

“Now Nina, if you two speak the truth then we have something rather serious at hand. Poker is hardly important when compared to the possibility of our hideout being discovered,” Nova said, avoiding eye contact as she set her cards down. Nina glanced down at Nova’s cards and then back at Nova. With a sigh, Nina tossed her cards down, sparring Nova the absolute decimation that the noob surely would have received had the game continued any longer. Nina walked over to MC and gave him a pat on the back. “Come on, let’s go, you lucky bastard.”

MC wrapped an arm around her shoulder and relocated outside the compound. The two stood above Sanctuary on an invisible platform and stared around the crater, looking for any clues towards the origin of the scream. MC pointed his arm out towards a gathering of mutants he had noticed were surrounding some sort of downed aircraft. MC Relocated both of them into the air high above the horde and made another platform to stand on as he took a closer look at what he'd spotted. MC’s gaze turned from serious to increasingly baffled as his thoughts raced.

Tired of waiting for her brother to fill her in on what he was looking at, Nina spoke up. “Are you going to tell me what you're seeing, or are you thinking about painting a picture first?”

“I.. Just have a hard time believing what I’m seeing. If my eyes aren’t deceiving me - and they often have recently - then I’m currently looking at a fat man in a red suit lying unconscious inside of a gigantic sleigh,” MC said with a face that spoke of how ridiculous he felt for even saying that out loud.

“Umm… So, are you gonna get him before the mutants climb the sleigh and eat him alive?”

“Fuck! Yeah, I better do that.” MC Relocated the bodies of the surrounding mutant horde into each other, swiftly culling their numbers and making the crash sight more visible. Then he Relocated the body of the man from the sleigh roughly fifty meters away onto the platform in front of him. Staring at the man from much closer, MC’s mouth hung agape at the resemblance he held to a certain obese, hat-wearing gift giver from back on Earth. The man's eyes began to open slowly as he turned his head to the side and looked at his savior.

“Ahh Magnus, Nina. It’s so nice to see you two again. Thank goodness...”

Without answering any of the numerous questions the siblings had, the man shut his eyes again and fell unconscious.

With the man in his arms, they both headed back, desperate for the truth to the info they lack. Nova just stared at the fat man in tow, asking what happened and what they both know. MC told Nova he had not a clue when the jolly fat man spoke out of the blue…

“Ho ho ho. What a cozy home you have here. I’m rather famished. You wouldn’t happen to have any cookies or milk now would you?”

The three turned to look at the now very much conscious man sitting on the floor. MC stomped towards him and grabbed his collar. The man’s casual familiarity had irked him, and not about to wait any longer, MC began his interrogation.

“Who the fuck are you, how did you get here, and how do you know our names? And if you tell me you’re fucking Santa Claus, I’ll shave that round gut of yours until you look like a square.”

“Magnus, my boy, always a violent spirit you were. It would do you well to take after your sister’s example in this regard. As for your questions, I’m sorry to disappoint but my name indeed is Santa Claus, the one and onl-- h-hey! Hold on now, put the knife down! I can prove I’m really Santa!”

Placing the knife against the man's beard MC spoke into his ear. “Oh, please do. I’d love to hear that.” Sweat fell from the plump man's forehead. He managed a gulp before he spoke.

“When you were five years old, you wanted a giant laser cannon that could blow holes into the moon and was very disappointed when you got a toy drone instead that year. As for Nina, sweet girl, the year your parents passed, you had asked for nothing but warm clothes and a home to sleep in for you and your brother. It was also the last Christmas you ever celebrated when I failed to give you even that. I’m so sorry I couldn’t give that to you, Nina. I never forget the gifts I can’t give.”

The siblings gave the man a wide-eyed look, ignoring the nostalgia of their past in favor of the revelation of the man's identity.

“Holy snowballs,” Nina exclaimed. “It’s really you, Santa Claus! But- How? How did you get here? Magnus, take the knife away already!” Nina shouted at her brother. MC snapped out of his thoughts and removed the blade from the man’s neck. Then he quickly checked the man for visible injuries in a panic.

“Fuck. I’m sorry Santa, I didn’t wanna believe it. What are you doing here?” Santa stood up and was about to speak but was narrowly beaten to the punch by Nova.

“Will one of you please explain who he is!? Who could he possibly be to make even Mr. Paranoid drop his guard? And to even let him all the way into the center of our base without confirming his identity first? What is wrong with you two?!” Nova’s outburst made Magnus think deeply again and reflect on his actions.

It’s true. Why was I so willing to bring him inside? I’m sure that under normal circumstances I would have been far more cautious, having learned my lesson time and again just recently. Now that I think about it, why did I feel like saving him was so important? Obviously, his life was necessary for interrogation but that doesn’t explain my concern for his well-being. No. I know exactly what this is. This is no different from the compulsion I feel with Nova. It’s fucking mind tricks again.

MC tightened his grip around the handle again and was about to restart interrogations when Santa turned to him. Foreseeing exactly what the man was thinking, he answered MC’s question.

“I’m not mind controlling you, Magnus. It’s just the effect I have on people. Who doesn’t trust Santa Claus? Your friend Nova does not celebrate Christmas and isn’t affected by my... disarming disposition. But if you can’t put your faith in Santa, then who in the whole cosmos can be called trustworthy?!”

“Hmm, fair enough,” MC responded, sheathing his knife and sitting back down. Nova scowled at MC’s dismissiveness but wasn’t about to argue Earth culture.

“As for how I got here, well that’s a long story. If you weren’t aware already, I’m a rather magical being. Like the Easter Bunny, or that obnoxious little thief called the Tooth Fairy. Ever since my creation, I’ve been able to convert a unique form of energy into raw magical power. This special energy, created through the power of belief and dreams, is called Christmas Spirit,” Santa said, dressed in a torn red suit stained with mud and filth, exuding brilliance and mysticism. Noticing a couple of curious looks, Santa began answering questions as they came. He started with Nova.

“You say that you are a magical being, but that’s not possible. Only this planet has ever shown any traces of magic, and only after countless breeding experiments carefully performed by the Dyn. Even then we still can’t replicate it, and you want me to believe that not only was the phenomenon also present on Earth, but that it went past Dyn radar?”

“Ho ho ho! The Dyn may be powerful, but you underestimate Christmas! Unfortunately, the Dyn did find me. But we’ll get to that in a bit. What was your question, Nina dear?”

Nina pumped her arm back clenching a fist. “You said you were created. How?” This question got the siblings' attention too. They all paid extra special attention to Santa’s answer.

“The question, Nina dear, is who created me. I was created in the 1920s, by an old soda corporation called Coca-Cola. I started out as wholesome advertisement used to improve seasonal sale quotas, but with the powers of Christmas I became a sapient entity.”

“Knew it,” Nina said, nodding smugly.

“We all did, Nina. We all did,” added MC in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Soon, I grew beyond the confines of my carbonated walls and left behind my creators and their greed. From then onward, I used my powers to spread love and hope across the globe one night a year. The rest is history.”

Santa smiled, reminiscing the days of candy and familial love. Even Nova was beginning to become enthralled by the jolly man’s charisma, hearing him talk so passionately about his career.

“Now, onto the story of how I got here. A few years ago, I was flying from France to Italy on Christmas Eve, when a blinding light whisked me away straight out of the sky. When I woke up, I was covered in tubes and stuck inside a large pod in some sort of laboratory. There I stayed, being tested on and prodded by naughty, naughty scientists for what felt like an eternity. Over the many years, I learned much from the conversations of the researchers. I learned that they were a race called the Dyn, that they utilized the native magic of this planet to track down my own magic and discover my location on Earth, and I learned of what those vile scientists wanted from my body.”

His face turned downcast, his jovial smile nowhere to be seen on his plump wrinkled face. “One day during a routine test, I was able to listen in on the conversation of what I believed to be two executive researchers close to my pod. They wished to steal my magic. To weaponize it for their nefarious domination schemes. Those fools! To destroy with Christmas magic! To twist the hopes of little boys and girls and turn their dreams into a tainted weapon of war!”

Santa’s tone rose until his voice shook with seething rage. His rosy cheeks turned crimson as his face burned red hot. Then, it was gone; replaced by a pale and ghostly white. The three clenched their hands, all too familiar with the aims of the Dyn.

“You see children, I am but a vessel for Christmas Spirit, a conduit for the energy. My form exists for the sole purpose of housing the energy and converting it into beautiful Christmas magic...”

Santa paused for a heavy moment. “I am dying, children. It was only with luck that I escaped the facility. Capitalizing on their distraction from a Dyn rebel assault. With the remnants of my powers, I found my Sleigh and rode it away from the facility and towards my last hope. To the only place on this planet where Christmas Spirit could be felt. I never would have guessed it was you two. I’m glad you heard my call Magnus, Nina. It looks like you two never stopped believing after all.”