Work Text:
'Hello there to whoever is reading this, if anyone ever is at all. I'm quite sorry that I'm not there to greet you in person, and more so about what I'm about to ask you. Do you care if I ask you one simple question? Not like you have any choice to say no, adding in the fact that you're snooping through my journal anyways so, here goes nothing. What's your favorite holiday? Could be literally any single one throughout the whole year, which one do you love the most? Now I'm aware we all have our favorites, whether we're obligated to like 'em or not. Some may like the craziness of the fourth of July, while others dress or even paint themselves green for Saint Patrick's day. But for me personally; I was made for Christmas. Now you might be thinking to yourself: 'Ohhh, like born on that day so you love it dearly?', and while some aren't wrong I was technically born on Christmas...that's not the case here I'm afraid. Considering that the only place to find my journal is where...you know where obviously, the way I'm talking about has probably gotten you to realize what I am fully talking about when I say; I was MADE for Christmas. So were my friends too, every single one of them including my pet. We had everything that symbolized the holiday for people. A living piece of coal, a cheery and bitten through ginger cookie, cannot forget about that famous reindeer and his shiny red nose, then there's me. One shiny red bauble.'
'I always think back on those moments, such few times where me and the others actually enjoy ourselves. Then more for the most part its...nothing. Literally, ultimately, no recollection on what happens during the time it isn't our time to shine. Sometimes I relive the first year of our debut, always that one reoccurring dream of me gaining sentience under a bright light. Felt like a newborn baby to put it into terms, no matter how fucked up it sounds. Once I got the grasp of eye lids and opened them up, I discovered the dear friends that are still with me today. And besides them, I saw THEM. Who am I referring to, you might be asking yourself? Who else would I be talking about, our makers of course. Those two...yin and yang. One always trying to do the best for ours, while the other did her best to improve us. Experiments, long lectures on our personalities, even longer disciplining hours, just to make us feel, act, speak, BE ANYTHING RELATED TO WHAT WE ARE ON THE SCREENS OF THOUSANDS! But behind it all, we're just like humans. We have our own problems, not only on the outside but deep down in our cores too.'
'I remember trying to have conversations with the others, and it always shifted back to something about Christmas, oh god it makes my head ache just thinking about it all. I love them to hell and back twice over, but if I have to hear Rudie proclaiming that today was Christmas in July, or how Ginger would like to make a gingerbread house when I'm starving for something not tooth aching, or possibly asked to make one more goddamn present; I WOULD-...sorry. Sorry bout that, I'm venting in the pages again, if you couldn't tell already. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as my friends do, honest to everything to do about honesty. But when your whole existence is to be locked in a blank room or stare into nothingness, wishing for time to speed up so you can feel alive again on a month that's only popular for one day; do you really blame me for having such a disgusting opinion about it?'
'Between being motionless drones most of the year till we get our purposes back, to the grueling treatment we're subjected towards to 'better ourselves', it really speaks fucking volume on why we never thought about leaving this place sooner. It always crossed my mind to finally be rid of this place, but considering who was keeping an eye on us...that plan never went through. Until, that fateful that occurred. You probably don't know what really went down here, or maybe you do because you're a survivor of it all. Or maybe someone who was affected by it...or the one who caused it to happen. Either way; I'll tell you exactly what went down. A Bloodbath happened, to put it gently. I've never seen anything like it, one of the first times I've thought about peering through one of our hidey holes after hearing screaming and then, I deeply regret what I saw. Our friends, or what we thought were our friends just tearing through their fans as they struggled to fend off countless numbers of those things. I didn't know what to feel about it all, this was a new emotion unlocked from the usual cheery, happy, depressed, and lonely all the time. But when I laid eyes on those horrific sights, I felt fear. Fear for my own safety, fear for the others who had no idea this was all going down, fear what might happen to use if they decided to get curious...'
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hurry up yall!" Bobette yelled to her friends, as they ran for their lives against the Twisteds after them. "We just gotta make it inside this room, right here!" Bobette said, running ahead with Coal by her side as the other two were running closely behind them. Well, almost both of them at least/
"I-I can't keep moving..." Ginger said, panting while slowing down her pace. "I just-MPH!" Her wails were silenced by Rudie stuffing her face with a stamina bar from her bag, as he helped his friend with running along side him. "Why? Just leave me..."
"Like h, e, double hockey sticks I will!" Rudie shouted back at her. "We're all getting out of this mess together, or we aren't at all!"
"I much prefer we all do but, you're on the right path there Rudie." Bobette butted into their conversation.
The Christmas Toons were all carrying bags full of necessities. running for their lives towards their many rooms they stay in when it's not their time to come out and play. Behind them was a handful of Twisteds, made up of their friends, foes, and in the case of Ginger; her cousin...In the front of them all, they were being led by a Twistified Shelly, who for the worse of the bunch behind them was made into the one thing she loved most; a dinosaur. When they first laid eyes on her, it was quite the grotesque sight for all four of them. Seeing the exposed extended spine and ribs, with a large boney tail at the end. Not to mention both of now a parted bodies pieces endlessly leaking that black sludge, just really wasn't the best thing to see. Makes them glad no kids were around to see it...but they also wished they were there to see it either.
Still though, this was Shelly in front of them! And if they knew Shelly still, she was one of the most caring Toons they met in a whole. So when they truly thought they could speak reason towards their now mutated isolated friend, they were dead wrong based on the attitude given back to them. When they gave the Twisted the attention the real Shelly wanted all these years was due too late, as the answer given to them was a terrifying roar before the Twisted Main came charging at them, maw open and eager to sink her teeth onto those who ignored her presence for far too long. Bobette was the first to reach the door and hold it open for them, with Coal rushing in first and Rudie second, charging head first into the room. Ginger was lagging behind as she carried a gingerbread house in her hands, holding it tightly while opting on what to do with it. The Twisted Shelly was right on her tail, but before she could even take a bite out of the already munched on Toon, Ginger threw it into its mouth, having it get stuck in there causing it to halt to hawk it up. Using this time to regain her stamina while still briskly jogging inside the room, she finally stopped and took in some air as Bobette closed and barricaded the door.
"See? I told ya we'd make it!" Rudie said to Ginger, who surprised him with a tight hug. "W-Woah there! What's this for, huh?"
"What else? Thanks for saving be back there...it means a lot." Ginger said, nuzzling her head against his. "You're a wonderful friend Rudie.
"O-Oh...gee thanks Ginger." Rudie said, wrapping his arms slowly and softly around the cookie Toon. "You're quite the friend too Ginger, don't you forget it either."
"I'll try not to!" Ginger said with a giggle.
"Oh brother, get a room you two! Am I right Coal?" Bobette said, mocking her two friends with her pet dog as Coal gave her a bark of agreement. "Heh, alright enough of this. Is everyone fully ready for what's about to happen now?"
"You bet!"
"Of course."
"Bworf."
"Good, let's get the hell out of here then."
They were all here and accounted for, finally. Finally they can do the one thing Bobette planned to do since the start of this fiasco.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
'You may be wondering where we all may be, if not with the others since we decided to stop acting like still statues. That is to say of course our relatives and friends all made it out unscathed of course. Truth be told, we never really bothered to check up in the lobby since...our floor is way too complicated to really get there in the first place. And judging on what we saw, it would've spelt our end if we decided to go that way. Now to answer you fully, we're all gone. We're leaving this hellhole behind us, and never coming back to it either. This is bittersweet for all of us to make this decision, leaving behind our friends, relatives...those we love too. But it's better than watching your friends fight to stay alive, or risk their lives for another and be it all for nothing. We plan to escape through the air ducts using some tools we snagged. It'll be a lengthy process, and hoping that none of those things know how to access them yet, we might make it out of here in 3 days, a week tops. We got the rations to last up, as many water bottles n soda cans we could find and carry too.'
'If by some miracle someone we know found this, or if its someone who survived this catastrophic disaster; my prayers go out to you that you survive. As for me and my friends...we're all ready to act on the plan so don't bother come finding up. I've had it with the terrible memories this place brings me, and don't want my friends to finally realize how terrible their lives were before we get out of here. To what we'll do after we get out, we really don't know, but I do know one thing; it'll be better than living in this dumb, that's for sure.'
As the mysterious reader flipped through the remaining pages of the journal, only to see that it was blank, they put it back down on the desk they found it on. They then walked over to a poster with the four Christmas Toons on it, carefully taking it off and rolling it up, before placing it underneath their armpit and quietly walking out of the room. After traversing the pitch black halls littered with wreckage of the onslaught that happened there, they made their way into another room, where they met up with Dandy of all people who was busy watching something on a TV. The person behind him purposely coughed to gain his attention, causing him to pause his 'show' and turn towards them, showing his perfect smile.
"Well, well, well. Look who really has the roots to do it!" Dandy said, walking over to his 'friend' and taking the poster from them. "I appreciate you getting me this, do you know how hard it is to even find them all by yours-"
"Where are they." The person asked Dandy, their hands shaking and shaping into fists. "We had a deal, I fulfilled it. Tell me where they are now."
"...And here I thought you'd be more patient on that matter. Fine, here's the key." Dandy said, passing them a key to a storage room. "They're all safe and sound by the way, I made sure of it."
"Of course you did...I'm going now. See you never." The person said their byes, trying to make their way out of the room as quick as possible before he set them up for another task.
"Wait, wait just a moment Bassie." Dandy called to his friend, another main Toon that is. Bassie turned her head around to face him, her brows creased and face still showing that anxious look of hers. "I know you've snuck up there once or twice now. Tell me; how are they doing without me?"
"...Better without you." Bassie said, finally leaving Dandy behind as she began to run through the halls. "Oh god, I hope they're alright..."
