It was a dark and stormy night.

Or maybe not.

In either case, a couple walks hand-in-hand through the Town Square, admiring the starry sky above and the Christmas lights cheerily twinkling on various establishments in town, most notably the Cup and Platter.

But what's this? Bob needs help decorating the Mansion?

"Don't we have some extra lights back home?" Erik asked, turning to his mate.

She chuckled. "I'm sure we do, even though you insisted on decorating just about every tree we have with lights."

Erik looked down at the baby carrier in her arm. "Well, I can go get them, if you want to keep an eye on Molly till I get back."

She nodded and set her baby on a bench near the Fountain before sitting there herself. Abby resisted the temptation to hold or rock her child, since she was fast asleep, a big smile on her face possibly betraying a happy dream of some sort.

A few moments later, Erik returned with a large box, light bulbs and cords trailing behind him. "It might take a while to sort through this mess," he snorted. "I thought sure I put them away right last year."

With that, the little family made their way to the Mansion, ready to help Bob and any others make the place festive.

The door of the Realms bookstore clattered opened and a tall figure stepped out. He carried a staff in one hand and a stack of books tucked under an arm. After he pushed the door closed with a foot, he wandered through the streets of Ditto Town back toward his apartment. This route took him past the Mansion, where Bob had pulled himself out of the Fountain to get some decorating going.

" I know just the spell for the occasion," Nathanael said and raised the Staff of One. "Snowglobe."

All around the Mansion, a gentle flurry of snow began to fall. Despite the constant snowfall, it somehow didn't seem to be forming anything more than a minor amount of ground coverage, not enough to be an inconvenience; only enough to make the Mansion beautiful and provide ammunition for snowball fights. And amidst all of the swirling snow, there were tiny orbs of light flittering about. They were like Christmas lights freed of their strings, shifting from color to color and providing nothing more than a weak bit of light and color.

A lone figure lay down on the wall of the Ditto Fountain, laying precariously on the edge. He was about to fall either way; it was just a matter of whether he tumbled onto the ground or fell into the fountain. A newspaper covered his face, and upon further inspection rose and fell every time the man breathed. A slight sound of snoring filled the air. Passersby found it quite amusing that the man had decided to take a nap on the Fountain, but he was blissfully unaware to their smiles and stares.

All of a sudden, the figure sat upright. "No! They can't be out of cheese pizza!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, much to the amusement of those around him.

A startled expression registered on his face as his eyes darted around the Town Square. As sanity started to return, he rubbed the base of his scalp and let out a sigh. "Okay. This is really weird..."

As the snow began falling, a tall figure in a black duster entered the Square. Green eyes gazed out from underneath a black fedora brim as the lone figure admired the old, quaint setting. I've missed this place... especially when it's peaceful.

As the figure walked through the center of town, a sudden gust of wind blew through the streets following a large, winged shadow. A second or two later, a very familiar dragon landed in his designated landing zone a few feet away from the last building.

"Whaaha! We made it, Vern!!" a youngish man of around 20 said gleefully as he hopped off the back of his dragon friend.

*What did you expect? I told you we would be here on time...*

"Well, there was that time we were going to go to that Doctor Who premiere..."

A low, yet un-menacing, growl from the dragon ended the young man's friendly jabbing. The two unlikely companions began to stroll through the streets of Ditto Town, eventually making their way to the Fountain.

"Ooh, it's snowing!" came the little girl's voice. "It's pretty."

"It sure is," Angie Baxter agreed just as she was hit by a big sloppy snowball in the face. She whirled around to see her husband Dan grinning. She bent over and formed her own little white sphere for retaliation.

Little Grace got in the action then, and for a time the air was filled with flying snowballs and the sounds of their laughter. But before long Grace was distracted by the sight of a man sleeping by the Fountain.

"No! They can't be out of cheese pizza!" he suddenly shouted. Grace giggled and pointed, until her parents reminded her this wasn't polite.

They were in front of the Mansion by now, and enjoying the sight of its various decorations. Dan noticed a shape flying above, its arms full of strings of lights and having some difficulty managing the load. He jumped back just before a string of lights crashed at his feet.

"Sorry!" the call came from above. Then, "Dan Baxter? Glad to see you!"

The lilac gargoyle quickly glided down to the ground in front of Dan and his family. "Abby will be glad to see you guys again!" he said cheerily as he deposited his remaining load in a large box in front of the Mansion.

"And I wanna see Molly!" Grace cried.

"And you will," Erik chuckled. "Right this way!" He led them into the Mansion, where Abby was hard at work decorating the interior while their tiny daughter supervised. They entered just before Vern and his companion arrived in the Square.

A green glow appeared in thin air in an alleyway off the Town Square. When the glow faded, there were two young men left standing. One was a twenty-something, dressed in tan tennis shoes, brown slacks, a brown plaid shirt, a grey trench coat, and a faded blue-grey plaid fedora. The second was a lad in his late teens, dressed in a loose-fitting blue tunic and yellow trousers. His gold-flecked brown eyes drank in the sights around them eagerly.

The elder of the two adjusted his fedora and rolled his shoulders, letting the tight muscles pop loose.

"Thanks, Alan," he said to the air and strode forward, beckoning to his companion to follow.

"Is this it, Zack?" the younger asked. "Is this the place?"

"Yep," Zack said with a smile as he spread his arms to show off the Town Square.

"Zace Nalum, welcome to Ditto Town. Merry Christmas!"

Snowy, beautiful Ditto Town. What a wonderful place to celebrate Christmas. With a bright flash, The Highly Esteemed Overlady, Lady A, suddenly appeared next to the path to the Mansion.

"Ookay...that hurt," she muttered, slowly turning around in circles for a few moments before stumbling onto the path and up to the door. She paused to look up, and then waved up at the two on the roof, before stumbling back a few steps.

"Ahoy, up there!" she called. "Please tell me this is the Mansion in Ditto Town in Dittotopia in the first quadrant of the Ditto Galaxy, because universe jumping really hurts, and I'd like to not do it again tonight, if at all possible."

"Maybe you just aren't doing it right?" Nathanael commented, as he leaned against the Mansion near the entrance.

"Are you getting snow on those books?" Sylvia shrieked at Nathanael. "You do realize those are priceless magical tomes? Give me those things!"

Sylvia stormed up to Nathanael and snatched the books away, conjuring up a heavy cloth bag to wrap them in.

"And what's all this singing and snow and lights about anyway?"

"It's Christmas time, Sylvia. We do this every year, remember?"

Well, I can't be expected to pay attention to your silly mortal holidays. I have better things to do."

"Oh, I get it. You're just jealous because there's no holiday dedicated to you."

"How would you like to be turned into a furry woodland animal?"

...because universe jumping really hurts, and I'd like to not do it again tonight, if at all possible.

Zack smiled as he and his companion approached the scene.
"Maybe you should get one of your characters trapped in the Void between realities, enabling them to interact with the fabric of the multiverse. Makes the trip a lot smoother."

"Wait, you put him there?" Zace asked, surprised. "I assumed he'd always been like that."

"Long, complicated story. Don't worry about it."

Zace looked at his author suspiciously. "You don't have anything like that in mind for me, do you?"

Zack grinned. "Spoilers."

"You are, in a matter of fact, in Ditto Town in Dittotopia in the first quadrant of the Ditto Galaxy and this fine building is the Mansion." Neal said with a charming smile as he walked up behind Lady A. "I take it you're here for the party as well?"

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Ben and Vern sat by the fountain admiring the snow and floating lights as well as waiting for someone they knew to appear. "I'm not sure where this Mansion is located... The letter from Bob Saget just said to meet in Ditto Town."

*Perhaps you could ask one of the persons wandering about where this meeting place is. That chap with the staff looks like he may know... or at least pretend to know where the Mansion is.*

With a chuckle, Ben headed over to where a tall man with a staff was talking to slender, almost Dryad like woman. "Excuse me, but would either of you know where the Ditto Mansion is and mind pointing me in it's general direction?"

Liam Styre, the man who had previously sleeping near the Fountain, looked around in an attempt to gauge out his surroundings. A small girl giggled at him, probably due to his rude awakening. He smiled wryly. He'd honestly been wondering what had happened to the cheese pizza. It wasn't his fault that his dream had carried into real life.

Upon the appearance of a dragon and a man, Liam promptly fell backwards into the Fountain. An expression of shock registered first, then he blinked rapidly. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

As everyone continued about their business, he realized that he should probably get out of the Fountain. He scrambled to his feet, soaking wet, and dripped his way over the wall and onto the cobblestone ground. He raised his voice so as to be heard above the clamor, though he was talking to no one in particular. "Can someone be so kind as to tell me where I am? Also, maybe you should pinch me as well. This has gotta be some strange nightmare."

~~

With a bright flash, The Highly Esteemed Overlady, Lady A, suddenly appeared next to the path to the Mansion.

Meanwhile, Lady Z was not far behind. Instead of a bright flash, though, she appeared with a flash of purple smoke as she plummeted through the sky and hit earth like a missile. "Sheesh! Next time you decide to race me through the galaxy, you should tell me first, Sis!"

Lady Z continued to fume, then calmed considerably when she realized the Square was full of curious and confused observers. She managed a small, apologetic smile. "My apologies. But my sister is impossible to keep up with. I don't know why I try. At least I'm not late for the party."

Lady Z poked her sister in the shoulder. "Now what?"

A young girl dressed in a black tunic and grey leggings suddenly appeared by a fountain in the middle of a courtyard, in front of what appeared to be a large mansion. Jeddine looked around, one minute she had been reading a book in the Castle of Ivory and Gold, of the beloved Lady A and the next she was standing outside of a festively decorated mansion. "Interesting, very interesting, yet peculiar at the same time." She wandered towards the entrance, trying to stay as far away from the odd looking man with the rather large cape and staff who was arguing with a lady who he called 'Sylvia' She decided that she would remain outside, till he moved, she Jeddine was a minion of Lady A the elven over lady of the castle, and could tell an evil person when she saw one.

"Thanks," Lady A said to Zack. "The problem is, this technology was originally designed for short distant hops within a five second range of time while creating a clone in the place the hop originated from. Really complicated, but now that's only an option and you can do longer-distance hops that may or may not effect time. Or something like that. This is the first time I've tried it between universes."

Lady A turned slightly and cocked her head at Nathanael.

"You know, you look like my best enemy. We're engaged, and when he's not planning on killing me, he's planning on marrying me. It is really weird. However, I think your girlfriend is right. Wet books are never a good idea, unless they are aquatic to start out with. In which case, dryness is really bad."

Ignoring the pokes of her sister, beside putting out a hand to pat her on the shoulder and make her stop, Lady A turned around in a full circle until she was speaking with Neal.

"Greetings, yes, that is very good, then. Yes," she smiled. "I'm--well, WE--are here for the party. I'm Lady A, and this is my...little sister. Ish. She kinda grew up. Anyway, she's Lady Z."

*You are in Ditto Town, which despite its strange appearance, is not a nightmare. Though I have been told some strange things happen here. Vern said as with smile. "Also, I doubt you would want me to give you a pinch with these..." at this the dragon held up one of his hands and flexed his clawed fingers.

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"Tis a pleasure to meet you both." Neal said as he tipped his hat to both Lady A and Lady Z. "Ah! Very good... I was also invited to the Mansion party by a very dear friend of mine. Currently waiting for him to show up..." with this, the Darkling turned and noticed Ben for the first time.

"This is the Mansion right here and... you wouldn't happen to be the one they call "Ben", would you?"

"Ah, thanks and yes. My name is Ben. And you are... a bounty hunter or something?"

"Haha! No, no... not a bounty hunter or anything anything similar. I'm Neal, the Darkling. Remember?"

With a slightly puzzled look that quickly gave way to joy, Ben warmly greeted his long lost friend. "Neal! So good to see you! Sorry for not recognizing you earlier.... It's been awhile."

"That it has, that it has..."