Everyone was busily preparing for the holidays in the Town of Merryville, as Christmas was only two days away and that meant last minute shopping for some. For others, however, it meant the arrival of Santa Claus, and thus, the arrival of piles and piles of gifts. For the people of Mobius, Christmas was all about the receiving of presents.

Many of these poor souls had lost the true meaning... including the world's favorite blue hero.

"All RIGHT!!" Sonic jumped in the air, shooting his fist towards the sky in excitement, "It's here again!! Christmas, my most favorite holiday of the year.... next to my birthday, of course. And what better way to celebrate it than in Merryville, just south of the North Pole!"

Tails rushed up to the hedgehog's side. "We get presents every year, Sonic," he told his hero, "But you seem more excited than usual this time."

"And for good cause, little buddy," said Sonic, "I know this year I'm gonna get those super high endurance cleats I've had my eye on since last January."

"What do you think I'll get?"

"You can get whatever you ask Santa for," Sonic replied, "This is the special time of year where you ask Santa Claus for anything and everything you want. There's nothing better than opening all those presents. It's what makes Christmas merry. GAH!!!"

Suddenly, Sonic became a flat, blue pancake, courtesy of the Piko Piko Hammer held by his friend Amy. "Sonic, don't corrupt him!!"

Tails was in utter shock. "A... Amy!" he gasped, "You hit Sonic with your hammer! You never hit Sonic with your hammer! You must really REALLY be angry with him.... Did he forget to buy you something?"

Amy shook her head. "No, no," she groaned, "You guys are missing the point completely! There HAPPENS to be more to Christmas than just getting presents, you know?"

Sonic pulled himself out of his street-pizza state and jumped to his feet. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Well, maybe perhaps the holiday spirit?!" the pink hedgehog snapped, "The happiness of us being together? The warm feelings we get when we give and receive, rather than just receive? Our true Christmas present is that we're together!"

"Well yeah, but.... we're together ALL the time," said Sonic, "This is the one time where we give each other presents."

"True," Amy responded, "But you have to remember why we give each other presents. Because we love each other and want to make ourselves happy."

Tails frowned. "Boy, does that sound corny..."

"Okay Ames," said Sonic, "You wanna make my Christmas? How about you manage to not grab me and drool all over me for an hour or so?" At that, he and Tails broke into chuckles.

Amy grew a grumpy face and turned away. "Fine! If that's what you want for Christmas, I'll leave you alone! In fact, I won't talk to you for the entire holiday!!"

"Gosh, you'd do that for me..?" Sonic faked an empathy look.

Amy huffed and stormed off.

Tails watched as she left, his face turning from amusement to worry. "Gosh Sonic," he said, "Amy sure looked upset there. I hope you didn't hurt her feelings."

"Aw, you know Amy," Sonic sighed, "She won't go 10 minutes without being in my personal space. Besides, who's she to tell us that Christmas isn't about gifts? She's the biggest shopoholic I've ever known, usually buying gifts for herself all year round. If she thinks she's going off without getting us the coolest presents in the world, then maybe she needs to learn the true meaning...."

"BAH HUMBUG!!!!" Dr. Robotnik's voice bellowed throughout the fortress from his lab.

His top Badniks, Scratch and Grounder, wasted no time racing in to check on the overweight overlord. "Excuse us, your vileness," squawked Scratch, the tall robot-chicken, "But do you have some sort of cold?"

"We'd call you a doctor, but you already are one," said Grounder.

"No, you idiotic imbeciles!" Robotnik roared back at them, "Do you not see the date?! It's the 23rd of December!"

"Uh oh..." Scratch murmured, "Your mother's birthday?"

"No, even worse!" cried Grounder, "It's the start of our vacation!!"

"NO!" Robotnik screamed, "First off, I NEVER grant you vacation days! Second, it's two days before Christmas, you pathetic excuses for Artificial Intelligence!"

"Ohhh..." the Badniks looked to each other, then grinned and danced around, "IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!" they sang, "It's Christmas, it's Christmas, we're gonna get presents!!! We're gonna get presents!!"

"SHUT UP!" the doctor shouted loud enough to nearly bring the roof down, "There is nothing to celebrate! This is the most HORRID time of the year. Every night, that blasted coot Santa Claus has the audacity to bring me COAL!!! I'm the greatest scientific genius of all time. For what reason do I ever deserve coal?!"

"What about the gifts that Santa doesn't bring you?" asked Scratch.

"MORON!" Robotnik shouted, "He DOESN'T bring me gifts!!!"

"I mean, gifts from other people.... Last year, Grounder got me a year's supply of 10-W-40."

"And Scratch gave me a stapler!" Grounder held up a stapler, cuddling it against his cheek, "I love this stapler..."

"ENOUGH!!!" Robotnik screamed once more. This time, a piece of the ceiling fell out, and crashed on his head. He muttered various curses as he rubbed his throbbing skull. "Enough of you... and enough of CHRISTMAS!!! I am tired of receiving coal, and pointless pieces of metal by my pointless pieces of metals, otherwise known as Badniks!!! This year, things are going to be different!"

"How so?" Scratch asked.

"Are you finally going to shape up and be a good boy?" said Grounder.

"Heavens no!" Robotnik laughed, "I'm going to permanently change the rules of being naughty and nice...." He pulled out a sheet of blue prints, containing carefully laid out plans, despite he just thought up the idea a second ago. "I am taking over the North Pole!"

"Hurry up, elves!" Santa Claus called, "Take off is in twelve hours. We need to finish our preparations. Angie, do you have all the toys separated for each child?"

"Yes sir," a tiny female elf checked off on her checklist.

"What about coal? None of it got mixed with the presents, did they?"

"No, sir," she responded in her high-pitched voice, "Everything was checked twice. In fact, the only person who will be receiving coal this year is Dr. Robotnik."

"Ah, some things never change," Santa smiled, "And how about our... 'fuel'?"

"Got it right here, Santa!" the little elf held up a shiny blue gem.

Santa took a hold of it, laughing jolly as always. "Perfect. In that case, everything is about in order. Just prepare the reindeer, and then all we have to do is wait..."

"Not quite, Kringle..."

"Who-?!" Santa and Angie turned to face the devious face of Dr. Robotnik. "Angie, call for a red alert!! Intruder! Whoever you are, leave immediately! We must prepare for Christmas!"

"Oh there'll be preparations," Robotnik sneered, as an army of giant burly robots approached behind him, followed by an enormous tank with the letter "R" painted on the side. "MY preparations..." he pointed to the jolly round guy, "GRAB THEM!!!"

The robots charged forward. Santa quickly managed to shove the blue gem into his hat before he and Angie were taken hold of. Badniks began swarming the North Pole, taking most elves and reindeer hostage. They invaded the many homes and stormed into the toy factory, seizing wrapped gifts, toys, and clothing.

"Stop all of this, Robotnik!" Santa cried as the robots forced him towards the tank, "Take off is in 12 hours! Somebody needs to deliver these presents!"

"Oh don't you worry your little red cheeks about it," Robotnik snided, "Those presents will be delivered... to myself! Think of it as payback for all that coal you sent me!"

"You deserved it!" Santa shouted, "You've been nothing but naughty all your life. You're the naughtiest boy I ever had on my naughty list!!"

"Perhaps a lifetime of imprisonment in my ice dungeon shall change your opinion!" Robotnik hissed, "Take him away!!! This year, Christmas will be all mine!!!"

"ROBOTNIK!" Santa screamed as robots grabbed him and tossed him in the rear of the tank, "You may lock me away, you may take all the presents for yourself... But you will NEVER take Christmas away from everyone!"