Saving Christmas (Part 1 of ?)
by Elisa P. Black


12:35 AM  December 24
Nevada

"Sir, we've got it!"

The soldier monitoring the radar screen turned to look at the shadows
in the corner of the room. A white-haired man -- Cancerman -- emerged
from the darkness, lighting a cigarette. He smiled grimly and barked
out an order.

"Let's go!"

Many heavily-armed soldiers ran out to their jeeps. Several men in
black suits hurried to a dark sedan with Cancerman. They drove off
into the drab, flat landscape.

Soon their headlights picked up a large vehicle ahead. Soldiers began
hopping out before the jeeps could even stop. They ran quickly
towards the vehicle, pointing with their flashlight-topped rifles.

From the crashed vehicle staggered a rotund man in red. He looked up,
wincing in the glare of their lights. He glanced at the wrecked
craft, looked up at them again, then turned and ran.

"Stop!" yelled the soldiers.

He kept on running. The soldiers started to give chase.

"No!" yelled Cancerman. "Let him go! Let's get this craft back to the
base!"

They turned back to descend on the vehicle. By this time Cancerman
and associates had leisurely strolled over to take a look at the craft
and the beings left behind. A large, brown one with a shiny nose
tossed its antlered head and stomped on Cancerman's foot.

"Ow!" he accidentally swallowed his cigarette and hopped away as his
associates chuckled.

Heavy machinery moved in to take the vehicle away.

  ***

8:25 AM
Santa Monica, California

Someone was knocking insistently at the door. Mac put down the
wrapping paper and ran to answer it.

"Hi, can I help you?" he asked the Santa figure.

"Yes, Mac," said the old man. "I believe you can. May I come in?"

Who was this guy, he wondered. How did the man know to call him Mac?
He wasn't sure that he should trust this Santa but there was just
something about the man...

The Santa's eyes twinkled. That seemed to spark a memory in him,
something half-forgotten from long ago. For some strange reason he got
the idea that this guy was the real thing, the real Santa. Nah, it
couldn't be. He shook his head to clear it. But the man nodded and
spoke.

"Oh, good," Santa smiled, "you *do* remember me!"

"Er... I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Mac asked.

"Why yes, of course! Do you remember the Christmas of 1960? You were
hiding on the staircase, waiting for me as usual. But that year you
were *determined* to see if I was truly real. So before I could
disappear on you that night, you boldly stood up and asked me if you
could tinker with the sleigh to see how it flew!" Santa chuckled
merrily.

Mac gaped at him. "I didn't tell anyone about that! No one could have
known!"

"Except Santa," the jolly man winked at him.

"Except Santa," echoed Mac as he let the man inside. "So how can I
help you, Mr. Claus?"

The smile left Santa's face then. "Well, you see, someone has taken
the sleigh and reindeer. If we don't get them back by tonight, then
there will be no Christmas this year!"

Mac cleared wrapping paper and ribbons off a chair to offer Santa a
seat. "How did it happen? Who took them?"

"I'm not sure how it happened exactly. I was taking a practice run to
get the reindeer warmed up like I do every year. Suddenly, something
bright hit the side of the sleigh as we were passing over Nevada. We
crashed and by the time I extracted myself from the wreck, many
soldiers with guns descended on us. Unfortunately, the reindeer and
sleigh were in no condition to fly, but I was able to escape to find
help."

"So you came to me because..." he trailed off.

"Don't be silly, Mac. Who else would I come to for help? I know what
you've been up to all these years; you were destined for it." Again
Santa's eyes twinkled merrily.

Mac smiled, Santa had the ability to make him feel like they were the
oldest of friends. "I guess so. Well, getting back to the sleigh,
where exactly did you crash?"

Santa looked solemnly into his eyes. "Near a place they call... Area
51."

  ***

12:50 PM
Washington, D.C.

"Mulder, it's me!" Scully's voice accompanied the pounding at the
door.

"Coming!" yelled Mulder as he tossed a half-wrapped present into the
closet to hide it. He ran over and opened the door.

Scully stood in the doorway with a big box in her arms. She looked a
bit harried but still rather relaxed from her usual demeanor. She
offered the box to him with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, Mulder. Here are the lights you asked for."

He took it from her and dug in. "Thanks! Merry Christmas!"

"No problem; I didn't feel like untangling them so I bought myself a
new set anyway." She stopped in front of a puny little, undecorated
pine tree. "Is this your tree?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep," Mulder pursed his lips, concentrating on the tangled lights.

There was a knock at the door. Scully answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Dana," the Santa replied. "Oh, good, you and Mulder and both
here."

"Do I know you?" Scully was suspicious. Mulder joined her at the
door, lights still in hand.

"Yes, Dana," Santa's eyes twinkled. "Do you remember how your sister
Melissa told you not to wait up for me on Christmas Eve? One time we
both sat down to a very nice chat together over some cookies and milk.
We discussed your plans to follow in your father's footsteps. When you
told Missy about it, she said that you had dreamed up the whole
thing."

Recognition dawned on her. "Oh, my God. Santa?"

He chuckled heartily. "Yes, my dear."

Mulder looked skeptical. "Oh, come one now, Scully. With everything
you don't believe, you really think this guy is Santa Claus?"

"Ah, Fox," replied Santa, "I remember you and your sister. On the
Christmas of 1971, you were both waiting for me eating up the cookies
your mother had left out. You two had made a bet over whether or not I
really existed; I think it was a chocolate bar. She won, I believe."

Mulder mouth dropped open. "You're really Santa?"

Santa winked and pointed at the bunch of lights. They magically
appeared on the tree, untangled. "No time for that now. We must get
the Lone Gunmen and go to rescue my reindeer and sleigh... from Area
51."

They simply gawked and followed Santa's bustling form out the door.


End of Part 1

---

Saving Christmas (Part 2 of ?)
by Elisa P. Black


3:18 PM
Some Airport, Nevada

Mulder, Scully, and Santa walked out of the terminal and headed for
the front doors. The Lone Gunmen looked about cautiously and followed
a foot behind them.

"So why do they want your sleigh?" asked Mulder.

"Well," whispered Santa, "quite possibly because it can go faster
than the speed of light."

"That's impossible," put in Scully. "Nothing can go faster than the
speed of light. It would violate the law of physics."

"It's magic, my dear. And in magic, anything's possible. Even me."
Santa raised an eyebrow on the last word.

"Oh," Scully nodded.

"So how did they shoot you down in the first place?" Mulder asked.

"I believe it's my own fault, actually. I've been flying the exact
same route for a hundred years."

"You're saying that they were able to calibrate a weapon over the
past number of years, and this time, they got it right?"

"Perhaps."

They got outside. Santa led them towards two blue sedans sitting down
the street. A tall blond man leaned against one. He perked up when he
saw Santa.

"Hey, Santa," he greeted the jolly elf. "I was wondering why you
asked me to get two cars. I didn't think you were bringing that many
people."

"Who are you?" asked Mulder of the tall, blond stranger.

"My name's Mac," responded the man simply. "And you --"

He was interrupted by the Lone Gunmen who had been jumping around
anxiously with goofy grins on their faces. Byers spoke.

"You, you're MacGyver, right? Ang--"

Mac had to interrupt him there. "Uh, yeah. How did you know?"

Frohike jumped in. "We're *huge* fans of yours."

"Fans?"

"Oh, yeah," put in Langley. "We've seen your file, man. Great stuff!"

"What's so special about this guy?" Mulder inquired.

"He's only broken into some of the highest security areas in the
world, among other things," Frohike answered.

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Scully raised an eyebrow.

"Definitely," Byers replied. "He's an employee with the Phoenix
Foundation, a thinktank involved in environmental concerns and other
good deeds."

"How did you guys know that? Who are you?" Mac asked.

"We've, uh, looked into the Phoenix Foundation files every once in a
while," offered Frohike.

"Looked in?" Mac asked.

"Yeah, we just needed a little information on some guys. That Murdoc
guy sounds really interesting. Always comes back to life, huh?"

"Really?" Mulder asked brightly. "Could I get some info on this
Murdoc?"

Santa stepped forward with as chuckle. "There will be plenty of time
for talking later. Right now, we have to get the reindeer and sleigh.
I asked you here because you are all good of heart and are all
necessary for this mission."

He proceeded to give brief introductions all around. "Now let's get
going!"

"We got dibs on Santa!" called out Langley as they headed for the
cars.

"Ho, ho, ho! So you do!"

Santa joined the Lone Gunmen in one of the sedans. Mulder, Scully,
and MacGyver took the other car.

"Sooo," drawled Mulder as they followed the other sedan. "I'll bet
you've seen some strange things, Mr. MacGyver. Especially with this
Murdoc guy."

Scully rolled her eyes. In the back seat, Mac shifted uncomfortably;
the car was a little too small for his taste. He resettled himself and
responded amiably.

"I've seen a few. And, please, call me Mac."

Mulder nodded. "Do you believe in aliens, Mac? Little grey men?"

He glanced at the other man in the rearview mirror. Mac didn't seem
the least bit fazed by the question. He appeared to ponder it before
answering.

"I don't know, maybe. It's a big universe."

Mulder smiled and nodded again. "This was his kind of guy. "Exactly."

Scully rolled her eyes again. Mac wondered about these two; this kind
of conversation seemed something like a routine between them.

"So you two are FBI agents? What kinds of cases do you work on?"

"We work on something called the X-Files. They involve paranormal
phenomena," Mulder answered.

Scully felt compelled to jump in. "Actually, the X-Files are cases
which cannot currently be explained by modern science. I believe that,
eventually, they will be explained. Until then, they are simply...
unexplainable phenomena."

Mulder grinned again. "Potayto, Potahto. So, Mac, do you suppose
we'll see some flying saucers there?"

Mac shrugged. "Anything's possible."

  ***

4:05 PM
Area 51, Nevada

One man in a white lab coat examined the large, ragged hole in the
right side of the red vehicle. Another man wore thick padding as he
tried to examine the legs of the nine beings attached to the craft.
One of the brown, antlered beings kicked him.

"Ow!"

The kicked man fell back, unconscious. Two soldiers edged in
hurriedly to drag him away.

From a dark corner of the room, Cancerman frowned and puffed on his
cigarette. The work was getting nowhere fast. He was running out of
scientists to examine the merchandise and conduct the work. The goods
had yet to be tested. He made up his mind.

"You!" he pointed to the craft inspector. "Get out of here. And you,"
he pointed to a soldier, "test it!"

The hapless soldier tried not to seem nervous as he approached the
craft. He had barely sat down when the beings began moving. He
hurriedly grabbed the reins.

Faster and faster the craft moved as the beings sped to a gallop.
With grace and effortlessness, they pulled the craft at a breathtaking
and blinding speed. The red vehicle listed to the right, favoring its
damaged side. Round and round went the craft, skimming lightly over
the ground.

The movement generated much wind in the room. Soldiers near the door
dived desperately for the exit. Others scrambled for handhold,
foothold, even mouthholds, to keep from flying away.

Cancerman's cigarette went out. He cursed mightily and lamented the
impossibility of relighting the cancer stick under such conditions.
He, too, scrambled for purchase in his dark corner, and found only a
thin bar attached to the wall.

"AAAAAUGGHHHHH!!!"

His girlish screams disappeared in the wind storm along with his
cigarette. The wind lifted his legs off the ground, indeed, it pulled
his body straight away from the little bar. The nails holding it to
the wall began to creak insistently, and he started to curse his
Maker.

That did it. The Maker laughed at his impudence and plucked the nails
out. The whirlwind sucked him in.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAUGGHHHHH!!!"

He landed in the craft beside the hapless soldier who looked
incredibly sick. The surprise of his arrival sent the soldier over the
edge. The man upchucked on him.

Soon enough, the puke became the least of his problems. Dizziness
threatened to do him in as well. He turned distinctly green and
suddenly...

The ride ended.

The bright-nosed being in the lead turned to look into his sick face.
It smirked at him.


End of Part 2

---

Saving Christmas (Part 3 of 4)
by Elisa P. Black


4:35 December 24
Area 51, Nevada

They got out of the cars a few hundred feet from the forbidding
compound and traveled the rest of the way on foot. Soon they found
cover in the edge of a corn field which grew incongruously in the
middle of the desert. Langley started sneezing.

"Aw damn, my allergies are acting up."

Frohike snickered and got a glare from the long-haired man. Mac
glanced at the two before turning to Santa.

"Did you have a plan for this mission? How do you suppose we should
get inside?"

"They're very interested in capturing me by now, I'm sure. Rudolph is
probably giving them a heck of a time and they'll want someone to
reign him in. So we'll let them capture me." Santa gave him a wink.

Mac shook his head. "No, I can't let that happen to you. I came here
to help you and I won't just hand you over."

"Oh, you won't have to," Santa grinned. "They won't be taking *me*.
They'll be taking..."

He waved hand in Frohike's direction. The little man turned instantly
into a carbon copy of the jolly old elf. Frohike gulped. Langley
snickered.

"Go on," Santa's eyes twinkled as he waved Frohike along.

"Aw, do I really have to?" Santa #2 whined.

"Trust me. And enjoy yourself." Santa winked.

Frohike pondered that last statement as he approached the gate. The
two mean, hulking soldiers in fatigues who guarded it were playing
happily with gingerbread people. They didn't notice him until he
cleared his throat and interrupted their play. They turned to glare at
him.

"I'm here for the sleigh?" he offered.

They gobbled the gingerbread people ferociously while eyeing him.
Frohike imagined that they could gobble him the same way. They glanced
at each other and nodded. Then as one, they each grabbed an arm,
opened the gate, and dragged him into the compound. One of the huge
men spoke.

"Thanks for the tricycle last year, Santa. What are you getting me
this year?"

Frohike squeaked in terror.

  ***

Langley went off in search of a power junction to hook into the
compound's computer systems. The others slipped through the gate which
the guards had accidentally left open. Santa turned to Mulder and
Scully.

"Frohike takes care of some of the guards and your job is to distract
the rest. So go exploring and have fun! Just remember, *stay
together*."

The two headed off towards some buildings on the right. Mac was left
with Byers and Santa. The jolly man turned to smile at them.

"Shall we?" he pointed at the largest building in the center of the
compound.

Langley had already fiddled with the video system and gotten the door
open for them by the time they finished sprinting across the yard.
Quickly, Mac slipped inside and Santa followed. Byers brought up the
rear, wearing a headset to communicate with Langley.

"OK, Langley. Where to next?"

"Hey, Narc. Put me on with Santa." Langley groused.

Byers handed Santa the headset. Santa gave him a knowing look. Mac
raised an eyebrow but didn't comment; he was too busy listening for
any movement ahead. Nothing seemed move in the dark, quiet hallways,
neither up ahead or to the right. Santa pointed right.

There were no doors in this hallway except at the very end. The
barrier was thick wood with a regular lock. A standard house alarm was
hooked up to it. Mac laughed, it couldn't really be this easy, could
it?

  ***

In a sewer system Langley was cursing. He had gotten past so many of
the world's most complicated locks and alarms running on redundant
systems and whatever else, but he wasn't sure how to get past this
house alarm.

His mouth dropped open in awe as the video captures blinked across
his screen. Mac simply took a chewing gum wrapper and ran the silvery
strip through something. The door popped right opened.

"OK," he muttered to himself, "I'll just go help Mulder and Scully."

He switched his video feed and headset over to the duo. They seemed
to be sneaking up to a door with a glass window. Peeking in, they
stared in shock and horror at something. What could it be? Some
horrible new monster? Deadly experiments being carried out on humans?
Langley switched to another camera to check it out.

He looked through the window between them and saw little grey men.
Dancing in a chorus line. They had no rhythm, and their little legs
were too spidery. He cringed in horror. The little buggers were
planning to take over for Vegas showgirls!

  ***

After he had assured the two burly guards that, yes, they definitely
would get their presents this year, they left him alone in a waiting
room. Soon enough, Cancerman staggered in, looking very sick and
green. He tried to keep from grinning.

"You!" Cancerman gasped. "Tame those godd***ed reindeer!"

The guards came back, this time to escort him to a large, darkened
lab. It looked as if a whirlwind had rushed in to tear everything
apart. Papers, machine parts, and even people were scattered all over.
The only things still immaculate stood in the center of the room. The
sleigh and reindeer.

Rudolph turned his head to grin at him. He shrugged and hopped in the
sleigh. The reindeer galloped along nicely.

"Wheee!"

This is fun, thought Frohike. I wonder what the problem was for these
losers. He snickered at the men below.

By the time he got back, Cancerman had staggered into the lab. The
old man stared at him and gesticulated wildly.

"Why can't I make them play nice, Santa?" Cancerman asked.

"'Cause you're a very bad boy and I'll bet you get coal for Christmas
every year," Frohike replied, happy to have a chance to rib this guy.

"But I asked for a pony," Cancerman whined, stumbling unknowingly
into range of Rudolph. *Kick*.

Cancerman dropped. Frohike and the reindeer roared with laughter. The
two guards came back to drag Frohike to the waiting room.

This time, the room was not empty. A gorgeous redhead was waiting for
him. Well, really for Santa, but close enough. He grinned at her.

"Oh, Santa, what are you getting me for Christmas?"

She pulled him in and locked the door.

  ***

Mulder and Scully ran down another hall only to find that at the end,
it intersected a long hallway that stretched out both ways. And guards
were running at them from both sides of this hallway. They stopped for
a moment in indecision, then turned back around. The soldiers noticed
too late and crashed into each other.

They turned back around again and stepped gingerly over the soldiers
bodies. At least Scully did. Mulder happily stomped on and crushed a
few bones.

They turned left to find lots of doorways. Lots and lots of doorways.
They skipped merrily along and pulled open every few doors. Some
ladies screamed from a locker room, soldiers whistled from a shower
room, aliens sat Indian-style in circles telling ghost stories over
flashlights, and ghosts sat Indian-style in circles telling alien
stories over flashlights.

Eventually they came across a flying saucer. They hopped in to take a
spin around the compound. And then made out in the backseat.

  ***

Byers stared at the new locked door in confusion. Mac just gave him a
reassuring smile and then asked him and Santa for a boost. He removed
a tile, slipped into the crawlspace, dropped down on the other side,
and opened the door. Byers stared in awe.

A shoe came flying out of the darkness at him.

"Hey!" yelled the unmistakable voice of Frohike. "I'm getting my
Christmas present in here. Find your own room!"

"Oh, sorry." Mac smiled and strolled out.

They broke into the next room down and found the reindeer and sleigh.


End of Part 3

---

Saving Christmas (4/4)
by Elisa P. Black


6:37 PM December 24
Area 51, Nevada

Soldiers descended on the three as they burst into the room. But
Santa had the presence of mind to drag MacGyver and Byers near the
reindeer. Rudolph snorted and the soldiers backed off. They hopped
into the sleigh before the soldiers could start shooting at them.

Bullets bounced off the sleigh and reindeer as the three inspected
the damage. The ragged hole was at least a foot and a half in
diameter. Santa turned to Mac.

"We can't fly until the sleigh is whole again. How can we patch it
up?"

Mac quickly scanned the sleigh. The only thing inside was a red
canvas sack. They could use it to cover the hole, but they needed
something to hold to down and seal it.

He poked at the chewing gum in his mouth with his tongue. He'd gotten
it earlier when he needed the wrapper to get past an alarm. It was the
stickiest thing he could come up with on short notice. He searched in
his pockets and found some more. He tossed it to Byers.

"Here, chew this. We'll use it to seal the hole for now."

Byers obediently stuffed 15+ sticks of gum in his mouth and chewed.
Mac looked around for something heavy enough and in the right shape to
hold down the canvas. He carefully scanned the area immediately beyond
the sleigh.

Aha! There were some curved metal panels which had once been part of
a flying saucer. But how could he get to them? One of the reindeer
noticed what he was looking at and kicked them nearer to him. He
nodded his thanks and grabbed them.

He and Byers plastered chewing gum around the hole, then stuck the
canvas on, and laid the UFO parts over it. Perfect! Byers looked at
Mac in awe.

"OK, let's fire this baby up!"

Santa merrily called to each of the reindeer and soon they were
rising through the air. They headed for the high ceiling of the lab
where Rudolph impatiently kicked the roof out. The sleigh emerged into
the dark night sky. They all let out a cheer.

"Hey, how about the others?" asked MacGyver, after the cheering died
down.

"They'll be just fine. Look, there's Mulder and Scully right now."

Santa chuckled as he pointed out a flying saucer nearby.

  ***

Mulder laughed and pointed out the sleigh. They could see Byers
staring in awe. Mulder fiddled with the controls and their world spun
around.

"I've always wanted to do a loop the loop in one of these things," he
explained.

Scully giggled. Santa called out to them.

"Pick up Frohike and Langley!"

Mulder dipped the saucer towards the compound. With the advanced
sensors, they quickly located Frohike. Mulder smiled radiantly.

"Let's see how this goes. Beam me up, Scotty!"

They heard a loud "Hey!" as a bright light shone forth from the craft
to abduct the little man. They also caught a glimpse of the long, red
hair of a woman. Soon Frohike was aboard.

"What's the big idea? I was just getting to know Mindy better."

"Sorry, but we're all done here," Mulder smirked.

"Well, I wasn't. Beam me back down!"

Mulder shrugged. "I don't know how to."

  ***

Langley was making out his Christmas list to Santa over the headset.
"And I want a gorgeous chick, and that new extra high speed computer
chip, and--"

Suddenly, a bright light blinded him. He grabbed his laptop and
peeked through the manhole cover. Above hovered a UFO.

"Whoa."

He was beamed up.

  ***

8:00 AM December 25
Mac's apartment

Mac jumped eagerly out of bed for Christmas with family and friends.
Santa had gotten him home last night in time for Christmas Eve with
Sam and now he was looking forward to the holiday itself. He raced
down the stairs to open presents with his son.

Sam was already in the living room poised to tear into the gifts.
"Merry Christmas, Dad!"

"Merry Christmas, Sam!"

They ripped in, sending colorful paper and ribbons all over. Various
cries of "Ooos" and "Ahhs" accompanied the frenzy. Soon they were done
the unwrapping and turned to each other.

"Thanks!" They hugged.

One more present suddenly appeared under the tree. Mac grabbed it and
looked at the tag.

"To Mac, from Santa," he read aloud.

"Aw, come on, Dad. Santa isn't real."

"Wanna bet?" Mac smiled and ripped open the small package.

It contained the most amazing SAK he'd ever seen. Almost everything
he could possibly imagine was on the knife. It even had a tracking
device so he wouldn't ever lose it. Engraved on the side, it said, "A
little magical help for you."

He carefully pocketed it and then headed upstairs with Sam to get
ready for Pete, Penny, and Jack's arrival.

  ***

8:15 AM
Lone Gunmens' Place

"Wow!"

The three stared in awe at the massive array of ultra-high-tech
equipment and the three gorgeous models showing the stuff off.

"Santa sends his thanks and a Merry Christmas!"

  ***

8:45 AM
Mulder's apartment

Mulder opened the door to find Scully standing in the hall. He
grabbed her hand and led her to the stairs. After a few minutes of
hard running, they came out onto the roof. The UFO they had flown
yesterday sat there.

"Look what I found inside!"

The first thing they saw inside was a note from Santa wishing them a
Merry Christmas.  Then they came across a little grey alien sitting
primly with its legs crossed. It spoke.

"I hate those old men. They think they own the universe. Well,
they're not getting away with messing with me. I'll tell you
*everything*."


The End