It was the night of Christmas Eve, and all of Mystery Mountain had been decked out for the holiday. Everything was decorated with wreaths and holly, not to mention the giant Christmas tree that had been placed in the center of the First Floor.

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly," sang the award-winning, all-robot chorus in the Music Hall, "fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! 'Tis the season to be jolly, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! Don we now our gay apparel, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! Troll the ancient Yuletide carol, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!

But over in the Robot Kitchen, a certain someone wasn't feeling the holiday spirit.

"Hey, Snotley!" shouted Polly Spark, grabbing a pie. "Want a Christmas pie?"

"My name is Botley," he replied as usual.

"That didn't sound like a 'yes,'" taunted Polly, holding the pie away from him. "I guess you don't want it then."

"No, no, I want it!" Botley insisted. "Give me the pie!" And then, Polly threw it in his face. "I really should have seen that coming," he said.

"Maybe you want some eggs with that," laughed Polly as she started egging him. He tripped and fell on the floor. "Oh, and let's finish it off with some whipped cream," she added, spraying him with a whipped cream dispenser.

"Polly, stop!" yelled Botley. "Look at the mess you're making of the Kitchen. What'll Chef-Boy Robot say?"

"Good point," said Polly. "HEY, CHEF-BOY! LOOK AT THE MESS BOTLEY MADE!"

Humming "Deck the Halls" himself, Chef-Boy Robot sauntered into the Kitchen, but he stopped dead when he saw the huge mess surrounding Botley.

"Botley, what have you done to my Kitchen?!" he gasped.

"But it wasn't -" Botley tried to explain.

"Get out of here now!" said Chef-Boy, pointing towards the door.

Botley got up and tried to walk out of the Kitchen, but he tripped and fell over again. Then he slid out the Kitchen Door and into the main area of the First Floor... where he crashed right into his crush, Brunwella the Bombshell! She got knocked over too.

"Oh, get away from me!" she said, seeing Botley covered in pie, eggs, and whipped cream. "You're just clumsy and disgusting!" And with that, she got up and sped away.

Polly, meanwhile, was doubled over with laughter as she walked out of the Robot Kitchen herself.

"Polly, why did you have to humiliate me in front of Brunwella?" asked Botley as he finally managed to stand up. "Now she'll never like me!"

"But why should anyone like you, Rotley?" Polly retorted.

"You know, most humans and robots I've met do seem to like me," said Botley, "all except you, the one person whom I was created to befriend."

"Ironic, isn't it?"

"I hope this doesn't sound egotistical," Botley continued, "but I think the problem with our relationship just might be on your end."

"You're right, that does sound egotistical," said Polly. "Goodnight, Potley!"

Polly headed up to her bedroom, which was loaded with Invention Points because she was so smart. After changing into her nightgown, she was all set to go to bed when she heard something very unusual.

"Polly... Polly..." said an eerie female voice. It was a voice that sounded... familiar? But no, it couldn't be!

Just then, a blonde-haired woman wearing glasses and a lab coat walked through the wall! She was now lugging heavy chains, not to mention strangely transparent, but it was indeed...

"Mom!" gasped Polly. "It can't be you! You're - you're dead!"

"I am the ghost of your mother, Polly," said the late Mrs. Spark, "and as you can see, I now wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link through my terrible parenting decisions."

"What are you talking about?" asked Polly. "You were the best mother ever, much better than that grandmother with her odiferous sausages. You let me do whatever I wanted!"

"Yes, I indulged you way too much," replied Mrs. Spark, shaking her head, "and it breaks my heart to see how spoiled it's made you. Your father, bless his heart, tries his best to correct the damage I caused, but he just doesn't know how. But you do understand that he loves you very much, don't you, Polly?"

"Yeah, whatever," said Polly, waving a hand dismissively.

"That's why he created Botley," Mrs. Spark continued, "but you refuse to give Botley a chance."

"Yeah, that's 'cause he made Botley to replace YOU!" yelled Polly.

"You know that's not true, Polly."

"It is true!" Polly insisted. "And I'll never accept Botley! You're my only real mother!"

"Acting out and torturing Botley won't bring me back from the dead."

"You're back right now."

"Not for long," said Mrs. Spark. "I will now leave you, but you will be haunted by three spirits."

"No, Mom, please don't go!" said Polly, running up to her. "Just stay here forever, and I promise I'll be much nicer!"

"I'm sorry, Polly, but I must go," said Mrs. Spark. And with that, she walked back through the wall.