NEW YEAR'S EVE IN NEW YORK

"The Ball Drop Incident" (or: "Mason's Dream Becomes Everyone's Problem") MORNING: THE RUDE AWAKENING Peppermint woke up face-down on concrete. Sirens screamed. Horns blared. A pigeon made eye contact, judged her, and walked away. "…This is not the North Pole." Joe groaned beside her, wrapped in a Macy's parade blanket he didn't own. "My spine has filed a formal complaint." Buttercup sat up wearing expensive leather boots she'd never seen before. "…Why am I wearing boots I didn't buy?" Designer shopping bags surrounded her. All with her name on the receipts. They turned together. Mason sat on a mysterious suitcase, sipping coffee from an I ♥ NY cup. He waved. "Morning!" Peppermint walked toward him very slowly. "Mason. Where are we." Mason beamed. "New York City!" Joe stood so fast he nearly fell. "NO." "Times Square-adjacent! I aimed for vibes." Peppermint's eye twitched. "You ported us." "Surprise portaled. While you were sleeping. More efficient—no arguments." Joe pointed at the ground, shaking. "WE WERE ASLEEP." "And now you're in Manhattan! Character growth!" Buttercup stared at her boots. "This is kidnapping." "Festive relocation," Mason corrected cheerfully. Peppermint grabbed his scarf. "WHY." Mason's grin widened. "I had a dream. About the ball drop. About making it better." A massive digital billboard lit up: DECEMBER 31 — NEW YEAR'S EVE Peppermint's stomach dropped. "…What did you do." Mason adjusted his scarf proudly. "I booked us a day." Joe whispered, horrified. "You can't book New York." Mason smiled. "Watch me."

10:00 AM: THE HOT CHOCOLATE DISASTER They found a coffee cart wedged between buildings. The sign: TONY'S — BEST HOT CHOCOLATE IN NY (NO DEBATES) Peppermint's eyes lit up. "This could be it." Tony—a man who'd clearly seen too much—poured her a cup. She sipped. Her face cycled through hope, confusion, disappointment, and grief. "It's… fine." Tony nodded. "Yeah. It's fine." Peppermint looked devastated. "I came all the way to New York for FINE?!" "You were kidnapped," Joe corrected. Tony pointed uptown. "You want good stuff? Serendipity. Upper East Side." Peppermint grabbed Joe's arm. "IT'S REAL." She dragged him down the sidewalk. Mason vanished into a crowd. Buttercup grabbed her shopping bags. "Here we go."

MEANWHILE: HIGH ABOVE MANHATTAN Santa's sleigh cut through morning clouds. Bob sat rigid in the front seat, arms crossed. The ham baby—now wearing a tiny winter coat—strapped securely to his chest. "This," Bob growled, "is why I said no unsupervised celebrations." A reindeer snorted. Santa sighed gently. "They're just having fun." Bob pulled out a tablet showing a blinking red dot. "They ported to Manhattan without permission." The ham baby squeaked. "And took Mason," Bob continued, voice tight. "Who has already triggered six chaos alerts in the past two hours." Santa winced. "…What kind of alerts?" Bob scrolled. "Unauthorized confetti cannon. Suspicious glitter purchase. Subway churro acquisition—unclear how. Reindeer detection spike—" "Wait, reindeer?" Bob's jaw tightened. "Comet followed them." Santa blinked. "…On his own?" "He has FOMO." Below them, the city sprawled. Millions of people. Thousands of buildings. And somewhere in that chaos— Four elves. Bob cracked his knuckles. "Permission to retrieve them, sir." Santa nodded. "…Gently." Bob said nothing. The ham baby squeaked nervously. The sleigh banked hard toward Times Square.

NOON: SERENDIPITY'S BRUTAL REJECTION They stood outside Serendipity 3. Pink. Glowing. Perfect. Peppermint pressed her face to the window. "It's beautiful." Joe checked his phone. "Two-hour wait." Peppermint's face fell. "…What." The hostess stepped out, clipboard ready. "Name?" "Peppermint?" She scanned her list. "Not here. Two-hour wait. Maybe three." The door closed. Click. Peppermint stood frozen. Buttercup whispered, "Should we… hug her?" Mason appeared holding a tambourine. "I found this!" Joe screamed. "WHERE WERE YOU." "Making friends! Also I signed us up for something." Peppermint grabbed him. "For WHAT." Mason pointed at a digital sign: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED — BALL DROP CREW Joe made a strangled sound. "NO." Mason beamed. "YES."

2:00 PM: CHAOS MULTIPLIES Mason disappeared. Again. Returned with: Light-up glasses A foam Statue of Liberty crown A sash reading 2025 CHAOS COORDINATOR Something that might be a subway rat (it wasn't) Buttercup had acquired three more coats. Nobody asked how. Peppermint tried four more hot chocolates. All "fine." None "magic." Joe had given up on his clipboard. "This city doesn't respect organization." That's when the yeti appeared.

SPRINKLES THE YETI He climbed out of a subway grate like a cryptid on vacation. A taxi stalled. Tourists screamed. Then started taking selfies. Peppermint stared. "…Is that Sprinkles?" The yeti waved politely. Behind him— Mitch. "Sup. Portal was open. Got bored." Joe screamed. "WHY IS EVERYONE HERE." Sprinkles sneezed. A gust of snow blasted down the street. People cheered, thinking it was part of the festivities. Buttercup squinted upward. "…Is that a sleigh?"

THE HUNT INTENSIFIES Bob landed the sleigh on a rooftop. Reindeer touched down. Comet immediately started doing parkour on the scaffolding. Cupid knocked over a lighting rig. Dasher tried to steal a pretzel. Bob pointed. "STAY." The reindeer sat. Mostly. Santa peered over the edge. "They're in Times Square." Bob adjusted the ham baby carrier. "I can see that." "Should we—" "I'm going alone." Santa blinked. "Bob, you can't just—" Bob was already rappelling down the building. With the ham. Santa sighed. "This is going to end badly."

5:00 PM: THE JACQUES TORRES INCIDENT They found Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven. Peppermint's hands shook as she ordered. "All of them. Every flavor." The employee didn't blink. "Coming right up." Mason tapped the glass case. "Do you have anything… explosive?" "MASON NO." That's when Fur Coat Lady stormed in. Rude. Loud. Pushed past Peppermint without apologizing. Buttercup's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I don't like her energy." Fur Coat Lady demanded extra hot chocolate. Complained about tourist prices. Peppermint stood. "Excuse me. You pushed me." Fur Coat Lady waved her off. "That's New York. Get used to it." Buttercup walked over. "Quick question—does the attitude come with the coat or did you pay extra?" Fur Coat Lady glared. "Are you mocking me?" Peppermint smiled brightly. "Absolutely." Mason appeared beside her. Holding the EMERGENCY GLITTER BOX. "Hi! How do you feel about sparkles?" Joe screamed. "MASON, NO—" Too late. Mason opened the box. FWOOOOOOSH. The world turned silver. Glitter everywhere. Fur Coat Lady shrieked. The employee ducked. Buttercup laughed. Peppermint grabbed Mason and ran. Outside, Bob watched from across the street. The ham baby's eyes widened. Bob sighed. "Not yet. Let them dig deeper."

8:00 PM: TIMES SQUARE ASSEMBLES By sunset, the square was packed. Millions of people. Lights everywhere. Music pulsing. The ball glowing overhead like a disco planet. Peppermint clutched a bodega hot chocolate. "This one's… actually okay." Buttercup looked flawless in seventeen layers of mysterious fashion. Joe held the glitter box like a live grenade. "Twelve more hours. That's it." Mason stared up at the ball with reverence. "I'm going to make it better." Joe grabbed him. "You are NOT." Mason grinned. "Watch me." He walked toward a restricted door. Showed a guard something. The guard waved him through. Peppermint screamed. "HOW—" Mitch laughed. "He told them he's technical support." Joe's voice cracked. "HE'S WHAT?!" They sprinted after him.

11:50 PM: THE CLIMB Mason was already halfway up the scaffolding. A stagehand yelled up. "SIR, YOU CAN'T—" "I'M FIXING SOMETHING." Peppermint climbed after him. "MASON, GET DOWN." "Someone wired the timing wrong. The fireworks won't sync!" Joe, on the ground, put his head in his hands. Mitch sat beside him. "Want a pretzel?" "…Yes." Sprinkles sneezed. Glitter snow dusted the crowd. People cheered.

11:55 PM Mason crouched by a control panel. DO NOT OPEN He opened it. Peppermint reached him, panting. "Mason. Please." "I'm just fixing it." He pulled out wires. Buttercup climbed up behind them. "…What's in the glitter box?" Mason paused. "Glitter. And sparklers. And a small amount of magnesium." Peppermint's voice went quiet. "Why do you have magnesium." "Emergencies." "THIS ISN'T—" The countdown started.

11:59 PM: THE BALL DROP INCIDENT "SIXTY… FIFTY-NINE… FIFTY-EIGHT…" Mason twisted the last wire. Closed the panel. "There. Perfect." The ball began its descent. Smooth. Glowing. "THIRTY… TWENTY-NINE…" Then it started spinning. Joe stood. "…Is it supposed to do that?" Mitch squinted. "…Why is it humming?" "TWENTY… NINETEEN…" The ball spun faster. Lights flickered. "FIFTEEN…" Sparks shot out. Mason frowned. "Huh." Peppermint grabbed him. "WHAT DID YOU DO." "I don't know!" "TEN…" The ball glowed brighter. Made a deep mechanical WHIRRRR. Mason's eyes widened. "…I think I turned it into a centrifuge." "NINE…" The glitter box rattled. "EIGHT…" Peppermint looked at Mason. Mason looked at Peppermint. "…Run?" "RUN." "SEVEN… SIX…" They scrambled down. "FIVE…" The ball hit bottom— "FOUR… THREE…" —and EXPLODED.

MIDNIGHT: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DISASTER Not exploded exploded. Detonated into the most spectacular cascade of light, color, glitter, and accidental pyrotechnics New York had ever seen. The glitter box erupted like a confetti cannon designed by chaos itself. GOLD. SILVER. RED. BLUE. Fireworks—all of them—launched at once. The ball's spin created a vortex of sparks spiraling upward. Music systems overloaded. Every New Year's song played simultaneously. Auld Lang Syne. Celebrate. That Pitbull song. All layered into glorious chaos. Glitter snow started falling. The crowd lost their minds. Screaming. Cheering. Crying. Fireworks burst in impossible shapes— A sparkly reindeer. A disco ball made of light. Something that looked like Carl the Raccoon's face. Peppermint stood covered in glitter, staring. "…Oh my god." Buttercup whispered. "That's the most beautiful disaster I've ever seen." Joe laughed hysterically. "WE BROKE NEW YEAR'S EVE." The crowd kept cheering. A news camera swung toward the explosion. "THIS IS THE MOST SPECTACULAR BALL DROP IN HISTORY—" And then Bob arrived.

12:01 AM: CONSEQUENCES The sleigh landed in the middle of Times Square. Reindeer skidded. Comet kicked a taxi. Dasher slid into a hot dog cart. Santa stepped out, blinking at the glitter storm. Bob climbed down. Ham baby strapped to his chest. Both covered in silver sparkles. He stared. At the wreckage. At the smoking ball. At Mason, grinning sheepishly. At the crowd still cheering. Bob inhaled. Very slowly. The ham baby peeked out, wide-eyed. Bob's voice came out quiet. Deadly quiet. "Mason." Mason waved. "Hi Bob." "What," Bob said slowly, "did you do." Mason gestured at the sky. "I… improved it?" The crowd roared agreement. Someone yelled, "DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!" Bob closed his eyes. "You destroyed the New Year's ball." "But beautifully," Buttercup added. Santa chuckled. "Bob, it was rather—" Bob turned very slowly. Santa stopped talking. The ham baby squeaked nervously. Bob pointed at the sleigh. "All of you. In. Now."

THE RIDE HOME They flew back through glitter-filled skies. Peppermint sipped her bodega hot chocolate. "…Okay. That was worth it." Buttercup lounged in stolen couture. "I've peaked." Joe stared into space. "I need therapy." Mitch stretched. "Same time next year?" Sprinkles hummed contentedly. Mason leaned back, covered in soot and glitter. "I didn't mean to blow it up." Peppermint laughed. "You never do." Bob, up front, muttered. "Next year. Supervised activities." The ham baby cooed agreement. Santa smiled. And as Manhattan disappeared below— One last firework burst. Unplanned. Accidental. Perfect. Glitter rained. The city cheered.

EPILOGUE: ELF JAIL (AGAIN) They landed at 12:47 AM. Bob pointed at Elf Jail. "Inside." Mason raised his hand. "Can I—" "No." They shuffled toward the door. Peppermint turned. "Bob?" He grunted. "…Thanks for getting us." Bob's expression softened. Barely. "…The ham likes you." The ham waved. As the door closed, Bob muttered: "I'm retiring." Santa laughed. "No you're not." "…No. I'm not." The reindeer jingled. Comet was already planning next year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE CHAOS FOUR SAME CHAOS, DIFFERENT CALENDAR (BOB'S HAM NEEDS HAZARD PAY) THE END