Meet Bernard

Instead of going back to the house, the reindeer somehow ended up in what appears to be Antarctica. Scott and his kids were confused, seeing as they were in the middle of nowhere with snow falling from the sky. "Hey, does this look like home to you guys?!" yelled Scott"Maybe to them" said MerryWithout warning, the reindeer suddenly took off, leaving the three behind in the cold arctic weather. Suddenly, the sound of small footsteps was heard as a small elf approached them. Scott tries to call out to them, seeing as he was ignored while the elf pulls up what appears to be a pole from the snow."What's that?" Scott whispered to his kids"I don't know" said Charlie, "I think it's the North Pole""That's the North Pole?"Merry instantly recognized the elf that was using an access code as the very elf she saw at the dinner. Before she could say anything, the sleigh lowered itself to something even more magical. While Scott looks around with confusion, Merry and Charlie were in awe, seeing elves playing and having the time of their lives. One elf that caught the teenager's eyes was an elf with dreadlocks and a beret. Unlike the other elves who look around Charlie's age, this one was taller and appears to be around Merry's age, but knows deep down he was much older.

As the sleigh finally settles down, Scott is the first to leave the sleigh, telling his kids to stay put while he looks around for an adult or someone in charge. "Hey kid, kid" he said, grabbing a male elf's attention, "Kid, who's in charge here?""You are" said the male elf, "And I'm not a kid. I've pointy shoes that are older than you. I'm an elf"Scott was bewildered for a moment before moving onto the next elf, "You guys, or you girls, who gives the orders? Who's your boss?""You are" said the female elf"No, no, no. Who's the Head Elf?""You are""Hey!" called the taller elf, walking towards the two, "Who's causing all the trouble around here?""She/He is" said Scott and the female elf"Excuse me? Are we on a Cwoffee break?""We don't drink coffee" said the female elf"Then I guess the break is over. Back to work, thanks"Scott turned his attention to the tall elf in the red Christmas sweater, "Take it easy on her, will ya?" He said, "Who are you?""I'm Bernard. Nice to meet you, Santa"

Bernard starts walking away before Scott follows suit, still confused and frustrated by the whole situation. "I'm not Santa!" he yelled, "I've had a rough night. There's been dogs barking, guns going off. Look, my back is killing me. Have you ever tried to shove a sea kayak down a chimney? I'm tired of this small talk"The elves gave Scott a rather judgmental look upon hearing the word 'small talk' until Bernard finally speaks up. "The other Santa disappeared, right?" he asked before walking away. Scott jumps to conclusion, thinking this had to do with the Santa that fell off the roof. The man tried to convince the Head Elf that it wasn't his fault until the two came to a complete stop in front of a ball-room. "How did you know the other guy's gone?" he askedBernard changes the subject and asks, "Can I get you a drink?""No, I don't want a drink""I'm thirsty, and hungry, too" said Charlie, walking up to his dad with Merry following behind.Scott glanced over his shoulder in disappointment, "Kids, I told you to stay in the sleigh""The elves wanna clean it for next year, so we left" said Merry."Who are they?" asked Bernard, referring to the two newcomers.

Scott sighed in defeat before introducing his kids to the Head Elf, "This is my son, Charlie" he said, "And my daughter, Merry. I'm sorry, kids, this is....""Bernard" said the Head Elf"Bernard""Hi Bernard" said Charlie, smiling at Bernard"Hiya, sport""Hey, Dad, he called me 'sport' just like you""Wonderful" said Scott, clearly showing he didn't care.Merry gently elbowed the man and hissed a 'Behave yourself' before turning toward Bernard with an apologetic look. "Please don't mind my Dad, he could be quite a Scrooge this time of year" she said"I can see that" said Bernard with a smile"I do not" said Scott, feeling offended.

Bernard glanced down at Charlie with a kind smile, "Hey, you know what? I got something for you"Scott rolled his eyes as Merry glared at her father. Charlie looks up at the Head Elf innocently until the other pulls out a beautiful snow globe from his satchel. "Now, be very careful" said Bernard, "It's very old, just like me"Charlie carefully takes the snow globe from Bernard. "Shake it up, Charlie" said Merry, encouraging her little brother before he glanced at Bernard for approval. Once the head elf nods, Charlie gently starts shaking it to reveal a sleigh flying over a town in the night sky, with snow falling down. Both siblings watched the snow globe in awe, seeing it wasn't an ordinary snow globe, but a magical one. "Why don't you hold onto it for me for a while?" said Bernard, "It might come in handyCharlie glanced at Merry, who gave a nod of approval, before he thanked Bernard and promised to take good care of it.

Charlie shows the snow globe to his dad, who couldn't care less and just wanted to leave as soon as possible. Scott then marches up to the head elf and says, "Hey, Barabbas""Bernard" said Merry and Bernard"Whatever, can we take a direct flight back to reality or do we have to change planes in Denver?"Bernard ignored Scott's question, asking an elf named Larry to take Charlie to get some food from the kitchen, which the 8-year-old didn't hesitate to follow. Scott tries to stop him until Merry stops him, "He'll be fine, Dad" she said, "This place is perfectly safe""She's right, Charlie will be okay" said Bernard, "Follow me, you'll want to get out of those clothes"Bernard heads off towards the workshop with Merry following close behind."Look, Barnaby, I just want to go home!" said Scott, as he tries to catch up.The moment they stepped into the workshop, Merry looked around in awe. Toys crafted to perfection from dolls, toy trains, stuffed animals, and even Nutcrackers."You like it?" asked Bernard, glancing over his shoulder"Are you kidding?" asked Merry, "This place is amazing! It's like stepping into a dream or reliving my entire childhood. You guys certainly have a lot of time on your hands"She then picks up one of the dolls to admire the craftsmanship, seeing every detail was painted and sewed to perfection until Scott steps in and tossed the doll out of her hands, clearly frustrated by all this.

"Look, I am not Santa Claus!" Scott yelled until his eyes roamed around the workshop, thinking this might be a dream. "Did you or did you not read the card?" asked Bernard, referring to the business card the last Santa had in his coat"Yeah, I read the card," said Scott, removing the red coat and handing it to his daughter."Then you're the new Santa"While the two bickered, Merry pulled out the card from the coat, examining it carefully to see if there was more to the card than it seems."In putting on the hat and the jacket, you accepted the contract" said Bernard"I never put on the hat tho!" said Scott"Well, someone did"Bernard glanced over at Merry, seeing she was the one wearing the hat, which made the head elf rather worried, "Oh boy""What?" asked Merry, taking her eyes off the card, "What is it?""Hold on, what contract?" asked Scott, "And what does my daughter have to do with this?""The card in the Santa suit" said Bernard, "You said you read it, right? So when you put on the suit, you fell subject to The Santa Clause"Scott raised a brow in confusion while Merry continued to look at the business card in her hand. Bernard then explains, knowing the other is a businessman, that The Santa Clause wasn't Santa Claus the person, but Santa Claus The Clause, as in the last line in the contract.

Scott wasn't convinced until he turned to see his daughter squinting at the card, "Merry, what are you doing?" he asked"I think there's more on the business card than we thought, Dad" she answered, "But the print is so small, I can't read it"Merry turns to Bernard and asks, "Do you have a magnifying glass?""Right over there, Sugarplum" said Bernard, pointing at the magnifying glass.Merry blushed at the nickname 'Sugarplum' before making her way to the magnifying glass and reading the card properly. The card reads this, 'The Santa Clause: In putting on this suit and entering the sleigh the wearer waives any and all rights to any previous identity, real or implied, and fully accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus in perpetuity until such time that the wearer becomes unable to do so by either accident or design'

Scott then snatches the card from Merry's hand in shock and disbelief, asking "What does that mean?!""It means you put on the suit, you're the big guy" said Bernard bluntly"This is ridiculous! I didn't put on a suit just to-""TRY TO UNDERSTAND THIS!" Bernard screamed, causing the workshop to go silent for a moment. Scott was shocked by the head elf's outburst, but Merry remained calm and holds her hands up in defense, "Please calm down," she said, "This is a lot for my dad to take in, so please try to be patient"Bernard takes a deep breath before marching towards the two, "Let me explain something to you, okay? Toys have been delivered. I'm not gonna do it. It's not my job. I'm just an elf. It's Santa's job, but Santa fell off a roof, your roof. You read the card, you put on the suit. That clearly falls under the Santa Clause. So, now you're Santa, okay?""A question," said Scott, "When do I get out of here?"Charlie makes an appearance, clearly just in awe by the workshop as Merry was earlier."You leave tomorrow morning" said Bernard, telling the man that he has 11 months to get his affairs in order and return to the North Pole by Thanksgiving. "I'm not coming back Thanksgiving" said Scott"You'll have to, Dad" said Merry, "It's part of the contract""Now, you listen here-""I'll ship the list to your house" Bernard hissed"What list?!" asked Scott

The head elf was clearly frustrated by the fact he had to deal with this guy, especially since Scott didn't wish to cooperate. Bernard quickly looks around before softly singing, "He's making a list""Checking it twice!" Charlie sang loudly"Gonna find out who's naughty or nice!~" The elves sang in unison, causing Bernard to hide his face in embarrassment. Merry giggled softly at the head elf's reaction, finding it rather cute until she quietly cleared her throat. "Look, you put a 'p' next to the kids who are nice and 'c' next to the naughty ones" said Bernard" 'P' for Present, 'C' for Coal" Charlie explained, "Right, Bernard?""Right"Merry ruffled Charlie's hair with a smile until Scott walked past his kids to ask how he'll know who's naughty or nice. Bernard tells him that he'll know eventually. It wasn't until Scott stopped and glared at the head elf asking, "What if I don't want to do this?"Bernard stops in his tracks before marching up to Scott with fire in his eyes, "Don't even kid about a thing like that" he hissed"Why not? What if I don't buy into this Santa Clause thing? What if I choose NOT to believe it?"

The whole workshop became dead silent, the elves stopped dead in their tracks in fear and disappointment. "Then there would be millions of disappointed children around the world" said Bernard, "You see, children hold the spirit of Christmas within their hearts. You wouldn't want to be responsible for killing the spirit of Christmas, now, would you, Santa?"Scott stood silently before Bernard turned his attention to Merry, "You, follow me. I've got to talk to you in private"Merry blinked before following Bernard down the stairs to the other side of the workshop. "Hey, hey, where do you think you're going with my daughter?!" asked Scott, "Get back here!""Judy will take you to your room" said Bernard, "Get out of the suit, it needs to be cleaned!""And taken in""Get some sleep! I'll bring Merry to her room when we're done. We've got a lot of work to do and only a year in which to do it"Merry takes one last glance at her dad and brother before the head elf calls out for her to catch up so they could speak in private.