The cold wind blew outside. It was Christmas eve in Bob the Base. The crew was hanging up decorations and such around and on the walls. All was well. Or was it?

"Are you seriously hanging up a picture of chicken wings?"Asor asked.

"Pfft, no..." Aaron said, ripping it down.

"Mya! Why aren't the Christmas cookies done yet?" Asor asked impatiently.

He was having an important criminal at their Christmas party. He couldn't let the crew mess this up.

"I'm working on it, jeez," Mya rolled her eyes as she frosted cookies.

Larry was programming the music for the party. "Do you like the playlist?"

Asor took a listen. Heavy angry metal blasted into his ear causing him to stumble backward.

"Can any of you do anything right today?!" Asor yelled. "You're slacking and you need to pick up the pace. He's coming in an hour!"

"Well, I'm sorry," Mya said. "We're trying to help you and all you're doing is standing there screaming at us!"

Asor's blood boiled. He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't contain what he was about to say. The words tumbled out before he could stop it.

"I wish I was never the leader of this stupid group! You guys never listen to me and give me what I want. I'm so tired of it! You guys should just get out!" he screamed, panting angrily.

The crew faces showed that they were beyond hurt.

"Well, if that's how you feel, we'll leave!" Mya said, dropping the tray of cookies on the floor and headed out the door. Aaron and Larry followed suit.

Aaron stopped in the doorway. "If it makes you feel better, I left the chicken wing picture in the kitchen sink."

"OUT!" Asor yelled slamming the door.

Asor heard a knock on the door. He opened it. "I thought I said-"

It was the invited criminal. He was an hour early.

"Oh! Sir, I'm so sorry." Asor said to the five-year-old named Hook-eye.

Hook-eye looked past Asor and into the base. Broken ornaments, half-wrapped presents, lopsided Christmas tree, and trails of ants carrying cookie crumbs. "This is what you call a Christmas party?"

"Uh, I can explain..."

"Save it, buddy. I heard enough and saw how you treated your friends. You don't have what it takes to run a real gang."

"But I-"

"If you'll excuse me, I have a bank to rob." Hook-eye pedaled away on his tricycle into the distance.

Asor sighed. Not only did he lose his crew, but he also embarrassed himself in front of the biggest criminal. The very thing he tried to avoid.

Asor closed the door and decided to clean up the place. As soon as he set his foot down he slipped on a banana. BAM! Asor was unconscious.

***

"Asor..." it called. "Wake up!"

"Huh? Where am I...?" Asor asked. He saw Larry floating above him while he laid on the ground.

"Haha, Larry's wearing a dress," Asor laughed.

"No, I'm not! It's a night robe," he said.

"Dress."

"Robe."

"DRESS!"

"IT'S NOT A DRESS-" Larry stopped. "Anyway, that's not what why I'm here. I'm here to talk to you about the past."

"What are you talking about Larry? Am I dead? Did Mya kill me? I suspect it's her to kill me if anyone,"

Larry rolled his eyes. "I'm not Larry. I am the spirit of Christmas Past."

"This is all some prank to get me back, isn't it?" Asor said.

The ghost shook his head.

Asor's face turned pale. "So Mya strangled me?"

"No! Just come with me and I'll explain everything." Larry said.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Spirit," Asor mocked him.

Asor took Larry's hand and they floated through the ceiling of the base. Asor looked around as the ghost lifted him. He could see the treehouse getting farther, and the neighborhood shrinking as every second passed.

Larry brought him to his first stop.

Asor wrinkled his nose. "What are we doing in this classroom? I don't know if you noticed but I prefer to stay away from school on holiday breaks-"

Larry interrupted him. "Tell me, do you remember this place?"

"Yeah, it's a classroom that I was forced to learn about, so what?"

"Look closer..." Larry said.

Asor saw a memory of the first time he led a war inside a classroom. He was throwing pencils wildly out of his hair at random students. Larry was taking an eraser bomb for Mya. Aaron was spraying sanitizer at the opposing team, laughing maniacally.

"This is the place where I met the crew..."Asor said.

"That's right," Larry said. "These are your best friends, correct?"

Asor turned around angrily. "We used to be anyway."

Larry put a hand on his shoulder. "Asor, look."

Asor reluctantly looked up at the memory again. The crew sat in detention together, graffitiing the principal's desk. They had smiles on their faces and war on their minds.

"This doesn't change anything," Asor said. "Nothing."

Larry nodded. "I see. I have to go now."

"What?" Asor said. "Where are you going?"

"Goodbye..." Larry said fading away. Asor tried to grab him, so he wouldn't get away but he had already disappeared.

Suddenly, a faint silhouette started to appear.

"So, now you want to come back?!" Asor said, crossing his arms.

"Huh? I just got here." Aaron said, munching on a ham sandwich.

"Ugh, what are you doing here?" Asor asked.

"Oh, yeah, let me just-" Aaron checked his pockets and pulled out a script. He cleared his throat. "I am the spirit of Christmas presents- I mean present."

Asor rolled his eyes. "This has to be a joke."

Aaron burped. "I'm afraid not. Now, come with me."

Aaron summoned a stroller and teleported Asor into it.

"Uh, is this necessary-"

"Shhh, trust the process."

They were walking down a neighborhood street.

"Where are you taking me?" Asor asked.

"To your friends' houses." Aaron made the stroller float into Larry's window. "Just take a peek inside."

"Uh, isn't this stalking?"

"I SAID LOOK!"

Asor looked into the window and saw Larry looking sadly at the crew's photo album.

Asor sniffed. "Is this supposed to make me cry or something?" He said, holding back tears.

"Hold onto to your tears there's more," Aaron said.

They floated to Mya's window. Asor peeked in and saw her repeatedly stab a voodoo doll.

"NEVERMIND NEVERMIND!" Aaron said, yanking Asor away from the window.

Finally, they floated to Aaron's window.

"Would you like some more cookies?" Aaron asked the doll version of Asor. "Lucky, you got the last one."

Aaron sat at a tiny table, throwing a Christmas party with the toy version of the crew.

"I can't decide if this is creepy or sad," Asor said.

"But look, he misses the crew, you shattered his heart," Aaron said.

"And he lost his mind, assuming he had one, to begin with."

"You know what? I give up, I'll let the spirit of Christmas future smack some sense into you." Aaron said, snapping his fingers and disappearing into thin air.

Another figure slowly appeared. Asor sighed.

"Let's just get this over with already," Asor said impatiently.

"Wow," Mya said. "The last spirit wasn't kidding when he said you were a handful."

Asor blinked. "What did he say about me?"

Mya grabbed his hand. "Let's go dummy."

They flew again out of the neighborhood but Asor could see numbers and memories spiraling out of control.

"Look, buddy," Mya said in a bored tone. "If you don't change your ways or that nasty attitude of yours, your friends will suffer different fates."

"Bring it on," Asor said. "You can't scare me."

Mya teleported them to Larry's life if the khaotic kids were never formed. Larry was standing in a dark alley while a dark figure shadowed over him.

Noremac was smirking evilly and about to deliver a punch.

Asor stood up straighter. "Isn't he going to defend himself? Do something smart to get out of it?"

"Without meeting you, he never learned how to stick up for himself. Bullies are all over him like he's free real estate." Mya said.

"What?" Asor said.

"There's more," Mya said, moving them further into the future.

They teleported to an older Larry, about in his twenties, sitting down at an empty table at a restaurant.

"He seems fine here," Asor said scoffing.

"Is he really though?" Mya said. "Look closer."

Asor looked and saw the frown on Larry's face.

"Without the crew, he never met that gorgeous girl named Mya. So he ultimately became depressed and lonely."

Asor's eyes widened. "No, that can't be true. Larry's an awesome guy..."

"Let's go see Aaron's life now, shall we?" Mya said.

Aaron stood at school in front of the classroom. He was in his thirties or forties with a hippy ponytail and a beard.

"He did not age well," Asor commented.

"Agreed," Mya whispered.

"What's he doing here? At school as an adult?" Asor asked.

"Well, since he never met you and the rest of the crew, he actually was serious about school and became a teacher."

"B-but Aaron told me that's his biggest nightmare. Make it stop! I can't watch this hippie show anymore." Asor screamed covering his eyes.

Mya laughed. "Okay, last but not least, Mya's future."

They went to a juvenile prison. Mya sat angrily behind bars, waiting for the day she would leave.

"Uh, why is Mya in jail?" he asked.

"Without the crew, she basically became a serial killer with really bad anger issues."

"What?!" Asor shouted. "I know we do crime and it's fun but it shouldn't go to that extreme..."

"Well, that's what happened to Mya without you guys. She never had any moral support or ways to better vent out her anger. So this was her future."

"No. NO! I can't let this happen." Asor said, wrapping his hands around his head.

"There's more!" Mya said sing-songy.

She teleported five years into the future. There were wanted pictures of Mya all over town. Mya and Asor walked into the government office where Mya struggled to escape as officials strapped her to a chair.

"Mya became the most wanted serial killer in the entire state. And you know what happens to killers, don't you?"

Asor shook his head nervously. Images of a grave suddenly flashed before his eyes.

"DEATH!" she screamed, laughing in his face.

Tears were streaming down Asor's face. Thoughts bustling through his head like bullets, one by one, killing him slowly.

"Anyway, it was fun messing with you," Mya said still giggling. "But seriously wake up."

***

Asor jolted awake. He looked around him. He was relieved to find everything was just as messy as he remembered.

"It was just a dream..." Asor said to himself. "Wait a minute! This means I can prevent the future!"

Asor grabbed his coat and ran outside into the cold wind. It started to rain but that didn't stop him. He ran faster, determined to reunite the crew.

He knocked on Larry's door. Larry opened the door and found Asor with tears streaming down his face. He didn't have to say a word. Larry welcomed him with a hug.

They ran to Aaron's house. They knocked and were met with a twitching Aaron.

"Uh, are you okay?" Asor asked.

"I've been eating plastic food and listening to dolls fight... Don't ask."

"Okay..." Asor and Larry said in unison.

They continued to Mya's house and knocked on the door. They heard her shouting on the other side.

"Mom! It's the pizza man. Can I pay him in pennies?" She opened the door and threw pennies at the boys. "No tip! Oh, it's you guys."

"Thanks for the free pennies," Aaron said.

"Anyway, the crew is reuniting!" Asor said cheerfully.

"Oh, whoops," Mya said looking at the decapitated voodoo doll.

"What's-"

"Nothing!" Mya said slamming the door behind her.

"Okay, we're all here. What's the agenda?" Larry asked.

"Well, first I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you guys earlier. I let the stress get to me and I shouldn't have taken it out on you all."

Asor said.

"What finally got you to that conclusion? It's been five hours." Mya said.

"Let's just say, I got a peek of the future," Asor said.

"WOAH, are you psychotic?" Aaron asked.

"You mean psychic?" Larry asked, rolling his eyes.

"Same thing. Potato, tomato." Aaron said.

"No, I'm not psychic. Psychotic is still up for question." Asor said, laughing. "Anyway, who wants to break into houses and steal presents?!"

"ME!" They all said in unison.

The crew spent the rest of Christmas eve, breaking and entering homes of families and stealing presents. Christmas morning they were all over the news as the modern-day Grinches. But that's a story for another time. They wish everyone a "good" Christmas and to all a good night.