A 'Rewritten' Christmas

by PeridotYoshi

As Ladybug Gigglehopper comes racing home after a long day of Cog-slaying, she informs a certain mechanical friend of hers that Christmas is soon to arrive. Chase, an Ambulance Chaser rewired to be a bit more 'Toony', does not know what to make of the holiday just yet, so Ladybug takes it upon herself to show her oddball Cog friend what Christmas is all about.

Just a fair warning, this will contain major spoilers for my upcoming fanfic, Rewritten. However, I do not want to dissuade you from reading this story because of some silly ol' spoilers, but I felt like it needed to be said. For those of you still here, enjoy. This is the longest short story I have written, and it took me a whole month. I'd also like to thank my best friend for helping me spellcheck and grammar check, since I wouldn't have been able to make this my biggest and best fanfic, thus far, without her help.

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With a soft, metallic groan, Chase placed his elbow on the tabletop as he leaned his chin against his hand. Boredom had set in about an hour ago, and it was getting worse, as the only scenery he could look at was the bright magenta walls and purple carpet under his feet. His silver-rimmed lens-like eyes were now forced to wander towards anything even slightly interesting as he tried to occupy his mind with something, anything. A wandering glance was sent towards the window as he searched the landscape for anything of interest, though as his eyes caught sight of the tree bearing several pairs of hypno-goggles upon its branches, he quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere. The hand supporting his chin soon dropped idly onto the table as his other hand reached for his drink - A can of oil, half-empty. He sipped at the black liquid for a moment, before returning the metal cylinder to the wooden tabletop. He could feel the buzzing in his system as the fuel began to burn, but unfortunately, he couldn't use it for anything important.

Toons didn't appreciate his kind, normally, so while Ladybug was away, he was forced to remain inside at her estate for hours at a time. Meanwhile, Ladybug was probably out having a lot of fun, whether she was destroying Cogs, playing games, or whatever it was that she did when she was out of the house, while Chase was left to sit and stare at a wall for several hours. He didn't dare mess with the things that Ladybug had taken the time to scatter throughout the rest of the small, two-room house, from fear that he would break something, or invade her privacy and incur her wrath. Ladybug had really made a mess of things in her home, with a pile of various bolts, gears, sprockets, and other Cog mechanisms sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace, and an insane number of various papers lying strewn about her desk in her room. He had glanced at the papers a time or two, and from what he could tell, she had a key to Cog writing, numerous sketches of certain pieces in that pile in front of the fireplace, and a written log of every flashback she had received during the time that she'd had amnesia. For how organized she was on paper, she really wasn't all that organized with papers.

It was at the moment he was considering powering down that the front door flung open, accompanying a crazed pink feline charging into the house. As black and white tennis shoes pounded across the carpet, the door recovered from its assault to slowly close and click shut, while its assailant climbed up on top of the washing machine to get to the attic door in the ceiling. A gloved hand swatted at the air, grasping for the tiny cord that hung down from the door that would allow it to be opened with ease. Though the short stature of the feline was proving to be the only drawback to the otherwise easily-opened door. Grunting in frustration, Ladybug latched onto the pipe jutting from the top of the washer and traveling up into the ceiling, managing to scale it enough so that she could grab that cord and give it a firm tug, causing the door to open, and a ladder to come sprawling out. For a minute or two after she disappeared into the ceiling, there was peace, aside from the creaking footsteps overhead. Then, came some crashing, and the scratching sound of something being dragged back towards the door in the ceiling. Chase slid his chair back a bit, clambering to his feet as he prepared to look for himself, to see what she was doing. That is, until a Christmas tree nearly came crashing down onto his head, causing him to leap back as he let out a startled yelp. The pink cat's head peered down from the opening for a moment.

"You alright, down there?" she asked, a half-smile on her muzzle, and her ears quirked to the sides a bit, in her playful demeanor. Chase stared at her, then at the tree on the floor, then back to her.

"You... have a tree," he stated blankly. The feline nodded her head. "Why do you have a tree?"

"C'mon, Chase, don't you have some sort of calendar function in those circuits of yours? It's gonna be Christmas!" Ladybug exclaimed with a wide grin. "I'm starting the long process of decorating, and you're gonna be helping me!"

"Christmas... That's the holiday where everything snows everywhere, right?" The Ambulance Chaser questioned. Ladybug tilted her head, in confusion, before it occurred to her that this version of Toontown was only about to see its third Christmas, and Chase had only been around since semi-open beta. Ergo, he had only seen one Christmas, so far.

"Yep! Peace on earth, and all that stuff," Ladybug meowed with a slight laugh. "What do you Cogs do for Christmas, anyway? I'm curious."

"Well... Believe it or not, we don't hate your festivities," he explained, watching Ladybug's eyes light up with intrigue. "We don't make it too apparent, but around Christmas, we celebrate just like you Toons do. It's not quite as festive, but it's still a holiday for us nonetheless. We wish each other happy holidays, we office workers take off work for a day or two... I've even known a few Cogs that have started snowball fights on the street. The Sellbots may make the holiday about business, but at the very least, the other three branches don't. And for whatever business does go on, it remains limited to the usual business that Toons poke their noses into - Cog buildings, street patrols, and HQ matters, but for us Cogs in the office buildings in and around our HQs, we take part in celebrating. It's just not quite as festive as how Toons celebrate."

"So, no presents? No caroling? No trimming the tree?" The feline's ears lowered in disappointment. Chase shook his head. Ladybug's ears perked back up. "Well, then it's a good thing you're friends with me. I'll show you how we Toons really celebrate Christmas!"

"Something about they way you say that, scares me," Chase said with a slight tone of unease in his metallic voice. The face of the pink cat disappeared back into the darkness of the attic

"Nonsense!" she shouted over her shoulder as she went through several boxes in search for the Christmas tree ornaments. "It's actually a very lucky thing that I have you. Walt knows it'll make decorating the house easier. And when Lily gets here, we're gonna decorate the outside of the house!" Ladybug's head popped back into view. "Won't that be fun?"

"I'm not sure 'fun' is the word I'd use," Chase groaned.

"Ohh, come on, Mr. Glass-is-Half-Empty, learn to look on the bright side," the feline chuckled. "And gimme a hand with these boxes, will you?" With a metallic sigh, Chase stepped towards the ladder, moving the tree aside as he climbed up to see what Ladybug was up to. In almost no time at all, she was shoving a cardboard box in his face, that was just barely smaller then the feline handing it to him. Several boxes later, Ladybug was shooing him down off the ladder, and shutting up the door to the attic.

Then, as soon as her feet hit the ground, she was throwing each box open, and explaining every item within, to Chase. That done, the duo began decorating with what Ladybug had on-hand, already. From last year, she only had a tree and a wreath, since back then, she was pretty poor, and hadn't even recovered from her amnesia, yet. By now, her bank was filled to capacity, and she was planning to order more Christmas things from the cattlelog, when it came in later this week. So, with Chase's help, Ladybug rearranged her living room, putting the end table with the roses in the watering can, away, as well as boxing up her pile of Cog scrap parts, for the holidays, and then moving the log rocking chair over beside the couch. In the spot that the chair had once been, beside the fireplace, they set up the fake tree. Then, on the wall between the display cabinet and the washing machine, they tacked the wreath to the wall. Next came the fun part; decorating the tree.

For the first minute or two, Ladybug sprayed the tree down with a fake snow solution, giving it the appearance of being recently snowed on. She leapt up and down with the spray can as she ran around the tree, giggling like mad, while Chase kept his distance and watched her. Then, they hung ornaments on the tree, each one resembling the Laff-boosting treasures from the different playgrounds. There were the ice cream cones from Toontown Central, the acorns from Acorn Acres, the snowflakes from the Brrrgh, and the triple Z's from Donald's Dreamland. Ladybug cooed over every ornament in the box, so taken with how they looked exactly like the ones found in the playground, but they were so little… By the last snowflake perched upon the very top of the tree, Ladybug stepped back to admire their work. With a small, fizzing spark, the ornaments lit up, then began to flash merrily, illuminating the room to the point that they didn't even have to have the overhead lights turned on.

"Did you ever have this at that office of yours?" Ladybug asked her Cog friend with a kind, curious smile. Chase hadn't even looked away from the tree, yet, his eyes seeming completely fixated on it, his face reading with such astonishment and awe.

"This isn't anything like what we had," he uttered, still not looking away. Ladybug grinned smugly, turning to look back at the tree.

"Is it better, or worse?"

"Oh, much better," he breathed. "We never had anyone bringing in decorative trees. The most we had were a few Cogs placing a very small fake tree on their desk for December. The trees themselves were very scrawny, and they didn't light up, or anything like... like this!"

"If you think that's great, you ought to love the rest of the Christmas season!" Ladybug exclaimed with a laugh. "We still have plenty more to go, and plenty more to do. After decorating, there's Christmas shopping, seeing all of the lights set up for Christmas, dealing with whatever shenanigans the Toontown Rewritten Team has planned, playing in the snow," the feline listed off the things that December had in-store, counting on her gloved fingers, as she went. "I gotta send out Christmas cards to some people, and buy my friends gifts… Then, on Christmas day, we get to open presents, and have a Christmas feast!"

"Sounds like a busy month," Chase observed. "You sure we'll have time for everything?"

"Well, if Lily arrives sometime in the next millennia-" Ladybug started, before immediately being cut off as the poor front door was flung open, once again.

"Did somebody order a psychic feline?" Lily shouted with a snicker, entering the room holding a plethora of lights, under one arm, and a smaller wreath under the other. "Admit it, you missed me!"

"Lily, considering I went for so many years without seeing you, this last hour hasn't been all that much," Ladybug chuckled, her ears drooping playfully to the sides for a moment, before raising right back up as she gestured to the tree. "We just finished up with the tree."

"Yep, I know. I must say, it looks much more spectacular than how it looked in my foresight," Lily stated, staring at the tree as the ornaments flashed and sparkled. It seemed the whole room was brightened by that luminescent decoration. Just as Ladybug was about to ask how it looked in her foresight, Lily quickly beat her to the punch, "It's sorta like looking at an explosion on TV. It's an effect that you see, but it's not only dimmer and duller than the real thing, but you can't feel the impact it has on its environment."

"Ugh, did you have to use explosions as an example?" Chase shot at the lavender cat, shuddering at the thought. Of course, being a Cog, Chase would not care much for explosions, which was the typical way in which a Cog died. He sent a nasty glare at her, though judging by the conceited smirk on her lips, she had used that example on purpose, for the sake of a reaction. A surge of resentment rose up in his circuits, but he didn't let it show. Lily was always like that with him, and he didn't know why, so at this point, he just let it slide.

"You think you two can stop bickering long enough to help me with the Christmas lights?" Ladybug stepped between the Cog and cat, raising her voice to remind them what they were supposed to be doing, next. Ladybug just didn't understand what Lily had against Chase. It seemed like every time those two were in the general vicinity of one another, Lily was poking fun at Chase. Whether it was because Lily was a generally lighthearted jokester, or there was something that went deeper, Ladybug had no clue.

"I got everything we need to put up the lights, outside," Lily went on, pretending that the standoff between her and Chase had never happened. Readjusting her grip on the things under her arms, she spun around and headed back towards the door, managing to grip the edge of the door with a foot, and open it so she could head back outside. Ladybug gripped one of Chase's bluish-purple hands, dragging him along behind her as she followed after Lily. The sun was still hovering just above the horizon, though its gradual fall downwards was darkening the landscape considerably. It was only about 4 o' clock in the afternoon, but even the world of Toontown seemed to be affected by the fluctuating daylight that occurred in the real world.

XXX

It had taken the entirety of two hours to set up the lights on Ladybug's forest-green house, and by the time they were done, it was already dark out - The best time to see how their work turned out. They had moved back a bit, to admire the full picture of their work, as Ladybug held up the familiar red button, with the blue base, glancing back at her friends' eager faces. They both nodded for her to continue. The pink feline's gloved palm slammed down against the button, and with a bright flash, all the bulbs flicked on at once. Little balls of bright yellow-white lined the edge of the roof, ran along the length of the ridgeline, and rimmed the windows, while the Gag trees were aglow with icy-white bulbs that spiraled around the trunk and branches. Red and green lights trimmed the edge of the planters, the post of the mailbox had a nice, big, bright red bow tied around it, and the smaller wreath had been hung over the door. All in all, it was a pretty spectacular display.

"Whaddya think, Chase?" Ladybug inquired as she turned to the Ambulance Chaser, and just like before, with the tree, he looked to be completely mesmerized by it, his eyes wide and mouth agape, slightly.

"I... I don't have the words," he uttered. Ladybug chuckled under her breath, glancing back at their hard work. Where before, the multitude of stars were visible in the dark sky, now, with the sudden light-pollution, the stars appeared dimmer than before, some even vanishing entirely. However, with the coming of darkness, came one kitten from her abode, and the fact that Ladybug and her friends were just in front of her house, didn't help matters. Quiet as a mouse, the ebony-furred kitten, Kit Jinxbee, slinked out of her door, her brother Jaden, of the same color, tailing just behind her. The darkness that had concealed them for so long had been displaced at the only time of day that it was present, and they were not happy. At first their qualms were with the light, but upon spotting that pet Cog of Ladybug's, Kit devised a new plan. In Kit's juvenile brain, it only made sense that if Ladybug was taking away the darkness, the thing that she and her brother found necessary to get from place-to-place, then it was only fair that she should take away something that Ladybug cherished, in return. Luckily for Ladybug and Chase, however, they had a psychic on their side. Lily, not even turning around, cleared her throat before speaking to the duo creeping up from behind.

"You know, just because we decorated for the holidays, doesn't give you the right to get angry and destroy Ladybug's Cog, just to get even," the lavender cat huffed loudly, finally spinning around and crossing her arms as she faced the two black kittens, who both took a leap back, in surprise. A second later, Ladybug and Chase had both whirled around, as well, seeing the two little Toons clutching their weapons under their black cloaks. In alarm, the kittens both froze like statues, not taking their hands away from the weapons, nor dropping the ones that they were grasping, merely standing there in the dim light, crouched down low and staring up at the two teenage Toons and their Ambulance Chaser with shock. Lily folded her ears back as she continued, scolding them in a snarling voice, loud and clear, so there was no way for the two kids to misinterpret what she meant, "You two should've expected Christmas lights to be put up this time of year, so you have no right to harm a friend of Ladybug's, just because she followed the typical tradition, and because that tradition oh-so-happens to be putting lights up at night to dispel the darkness. Furthermore, I happen to know that Ladybug would've probably ended you both if you destroyed her one and only Cog friend, so let me make this easy to remember." In a split second, Lily had pinned Kit to the ground with a foot, and snagged a sword from Jaden's hand to hold it millimeters from his throat. "Don't you even consider killing Chase, or Ladybug won't be the only feline you have to worry about coming after you," the lavender cat let loose a sharp growl, finally releasing the duo, and tossing the sword to the ground. They both scrambled away hurriedly, abandoning the sword, outright.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Chase said expressionlessly, though with a small hint of fear beneath it all. As she turned back around to face the other two, Lily's ears perked back up, all hostility vanishing in an instant.

"Chase, the only way you could ever get on my bad side, would be if you were to do something to Ladybug," Lily mewed casually, tugging on the cuffs of her gloves to readjust them. Ladybug let out a nervous laugh.

"Walt knows that's not gonna happen," Ladybug mumbled, patting the side of the Cog's arm.

"Well, should the Cogs get ahold of him again, and try to replace everything I fixed, he could turn against us," Lily stated, still inspecting her gloves. Under her breath, she added, "Walt, that sword was dirty."

"Lily, it's Christmastime, can't we just look at the positives? We're celebrating Christmas as a family! Just the three of us! And I've been thinking a little..."

"That's dangerous," Lily huffed jokingly. Ladybug glared at her a moment, before returning to her thought.

"I was thinking, at least for this time of the year, can't we bring Chase with us on our outings? Shopping, and all?"

"Hmm... You know, that might not be the worst idea," Lily hummed. "The most I can see is us getting weird looks from other Toons, but... You know what? I think we can bring him along, just for the month. There's just one little thing..." Lily held up her hand, a small bundle of blue wool appearing in her palm. She approached the Cog, gripping his shoulder with her free hand as she climbed up his front, and then wrapped the bundle of wool around his neck, revealing its identity to be none-other than a blue woolen scarf. She hopped back down onto the ground as Chase fiddled with the scarf, lifting one end in a metal hand as he scrutinized it with an eye.

"A scarf?" he questioned. He sent a pleading glance to Ladybug, hoping to see her about to draw the line against him wearing a scarf... Until he saw the mad grin spreading across her muzzle, at the sight of it.

"It's so CUTE!" she squealed, the sudden raise in pitch causing an unpleasant ringing in the microphones in his ears. "And it goes so well with your suit!"

"Do I have to wear this?" he groaned. "I'm specifically built to be able to handle the sub-zero temperatures surrounding Lawbot HQ, I don't need a scarf!"

"Actually, by wearing that, and tagging along with us, Toons won't be as alarmed by your presence," Lily explained. "And because the Resistance already knows you're no threat, any reports from other Toons will be ignored."

"Am I allowed to argue that I don't even know the first thing about Christmas shopping?"

"Nope!" the two felines answered in unison. Chase slumped his shoulders in defeat, giving in to the pressure from his two Toony companions. He scoffed quietly as he readjusted the scarf to cover his red, metal bowtie, though in doing that, he discovered rather quickly that the wool and the edges of his metal fingers didn't mix well. They kept catching on the fabric, and threatening to unravel it. He decided not to worry about it, as Ladybug was insistently tugging on his other hand, trying to get him to follow her through a portable hole, headed to the Brrrgh. Chase gave a brief nod, at last, moving cautiously towards the dark opening in the ground. He'd only gone through those things once or twice, and he really preferred to fly places, if he could help it. However, this was one case in which he really couldn't. Trying to fly there, while the other two took their instant holes, would be very problematic, with finding them in the playground, and all, not to mention what other Toons would do if they saw him. And he certainly wasn't gonna try to carry the two of them there, as he flew, so it seemed the only safe option was to teleport; the Toon way. Bracing himself, he finally allowed himself to jump down into the dark hole, with Ladybug following just after him.

XXX

In the darkened streets of the Brrrgh, even beneath their colorful fur coats, both felines could feel the temperatures dropping to levels much colder than usual. Around this time of year, that was to be expected. Beneath one of the mountains of snow, was the cause of the cold – The Super-Duper Air Conditioner. It was what kept the Brrrgh so cold and snowy year-round, but around Christmas, something in its circuits caused it to lower the temperature even further, resulting in the freezing of the entire town. It was early in the month, so it was only beginning to get cold, but Ladybug and Lily both knew that it was only going to get colder. Luckily, Ladybug had on her orange jacket over her other clothes, and Lily had her black cloak, and that, plus their fur, was enough to keep them from getting too chilly in this freezing weather, although Ladybug wondered how Lily could stand walking on the snow-covered sidewalk, without any shoes on.

Beneath the falling snow of the upcoming blizzard, Walrus Way, much like the rest of the Brrrgh, was a street clad in various colors of light blue and turquoise, coloring everything from the bricks of the buildings, to the cobblestones of the street. Some buildings were more purple or green than others, yet they did not stray too far from the blue colors of the rest of the Brrrgh. Every once in a while, a milky yellow glow would cast over the trio, as they passed by a streetlight doing its job in keeping the freezing neighborhood lit at night. There were Toons still out and about, as they ran errands and worked on their tasks that didn't require the destruction of Cogs, running past on the sidewalk or out in the street, in a hurry to get somewhere. Some ran alone, avoiding making contact with every Toon they went by as they tried to get to where they wanted to go. Other Toons travelled in groups, talking and laughing amongst themselves as they stampeded down the street. Occasionally, as a group insisted on passing through the two felines and their Cog, one would daringly check one of them on the shoulder, even spinning around sometimes as they stared in bewilderment at Chase, before facing forward again, to catch up with their friends.

Unsurprisingly, it seemed that the Cogs had already ceased their patrolling of the street, meaning that aside from the Toons, there were no robots that would attempt to stop Chase and question what the heck he was doing hanging out with a couple Toons. Yes, it was lucky for them that the Cogs tended to stop patrolling when the sun went down. It was because of this fact that Chase was glancing around him at the dark street with such curiosity and interest, seeming to love the fact that he was the only Cog still out and about, and the other Cogs couldn't stop him. Glancing down at the snow covering the sidewalk, he could see the footprints of Toons that had passed by, before, and on the cobblestone in the street, from the thin layer of powder that had accumulated without the rays of the sun to melt it, he could see no evidence that the Cogs had been there recently. All prints he could see belonged to Toons, or a Toon's shoe or boot, which was a very reassuring thing. If he could just avoid getting attacked by them, this would probably be the best outing of his life.

At last, the trio arrived at The Melting Ice Cream Bar, its periwinkle color being a sharp contrast to the cyan buildings surrounding it. Its sign was written in large blue and purple lettering, and wearing a massive pair of earmuffs to support the wintry theme of its neighborhood. A layer of snow lay atop the sign, alongside a few icicles hanging down just over the royal blue, rectangular door. With the sheer cold, however, the icicles were more content to dangle precariously from the bottom of the sign, than to drop down onto an unsuspecting Toon's head. Business was always booming in this particular shop, for how close it was to the Toon HQ on the street, which both Toons and Cogs would pass by, to reach it. If a Cog could even manage to get past without being clobbered by the task-driven Toons exiting the HQ, they would surely get thwarted in almost no time at all if they turned it into a Cog building.

"Alright, you two stay out here, I'll run in and grab us some stuff," Lily decided, breaking the silence that had loomed over them since they first started down the street. There was something about walking around at this time of night that was really amazing; the lack of Cogs and very few Cog buildings left standing after the long day of war, making it feel like the robots had never invaded Toontown, in the first place. It was quiet, calm, peaceful even. And so Toony.

"I take it you know what I want?" Ladybug asked. She knew she didn't have to, since Lily would've made it apparent if she didn't.

"Yep," Lily confirmed, spinning on a heel and starting towards the small shop. The pair consisting of Toon and Cog watched Lily fold her ears back as she let her hood drop off her head, before pulling the door open. Light filtered out of the building as the lavender feline stepped inside, and as the door shut behind her with a loud slam, the light disappeared, shrouding the front of the building in darkness, once again.

Chase glanced around, uncomfortably, as he scanned the streets for any life, be it Toon or Cog. Fear of being singled out and attacked had never faded fully from his CPU, but now that they were stopped, and that horrible feeling of boredom was beginning to seep back into his mind, his withdraw into his own thoughts process had alighted that fear, anew. The Ambulance Chaser crossed his arms, staring down at the ground as he tried to think about something else, but he simply couldn't. Before, when he had been walking down the street, he'd been a moving target surrounded by two Toons acting as shields and deterrents to anyone that might've considered attacking him. Now, he was a sitting duck, with only one Toon standing by his side. He had been a sitting duck before, but that was back at Ladybug's estate, in her house where it was safe. He had been surrounded by bright and blinding colors, but they were familiar and comforting. Being the neighborhood surrounding his own headquarters, the Brrrgh was a very familiar place, but with those horrid memories in his databanks, the familiarity brought him no comfort, only the pounding and drumming in his head, reminding him of all that had happened, here. In this place, he had been turned against and beaten up by his fellow office workers, other Lawbots, like him. After Ladybug had found and fixed him up, he had returned to this place, only to be savagely slaughtered by one of those same Cogs that had beat him up, previously. In this neighborhood, he had returned and ventured into a Cog building to save Ladybug, and he lied to a higher-up, the thought of which still haunted his circuits. And boredom knew this well. It knew what haunted his every thought, and it tortured him with it. He had betrayed his kind, and his crimes against the Cogs were punishable by death. His judicial programming told him that much. It was at that moment that Ladybug glanced up at him, spotting the troubled expression decorating his metal features. Her gloved fingers wrapped around his hand, feeling the cold tinge of the metal seeping through her glove, though she paid it little mind.

"Hey... Something on your mind?" she inquired, her voice soft and dripping with kindness, but with an undertone to it that hinted at concern and worry. In the frigid air, her voice left her mouth with a puff of white steam, which billowed and swirled about, before vanishing entirely in the wind.

"Just every bad memory that this place reminds me of," he groaned. Ladybug hummed in understanding.

"Yeah, your death, your almost-death, your workplace in general..." the feline trailed off, realizing that she probably wasn't making things any better for the poor Cog. A metallic sigh left the robot, producing no steam from the fact that his voice was coming from a speaker in his throat. Ladybug let out her own sigh, this one creating a large cloud of steam, which vanished just as the other one had. "You know... Even after all the bad stuff that happened, you still had us coming to piece you back together; bring you back from the dead, even. Your coworkers had turned on you, despite the fact that you were one of them, and yet even when no one else cared about you, a couple Toons of all things showed you some compassion. I think that's something to celebrate. Christmas is a time for family and friends, after all." Ladybug gave his metal-plated hand a small squeeze. "Who better to celebrate with than the friends that held you up when you were about to collapse, right?" The Cog's expression shifted, just slightly, from his terrified, apprehensive look, now looking to be deeply touched by her words. If he had some way to cry, Ladybug was certain he would have had tears streaming down his face, at this point. And when his voice came again, it was soft, yet heavy with emotion.

"Thank you, Ladybug," he whispered, dropping to his knees in the snow to wrap his arms around the feline in a tight embrace. Ladybug stiffened slightly in surprise, though recovered quickly from the sudden action as she felt tears pricking at her own eyelids, now. Her mouth curled into a small smile, raising one gloved hand to lightly pat his metal-plated arm.

"What're friends for?" she laughed, nuzzling her face into his scarf. This was a first for the sweetheart of a Cog. Normally, Ladybug was the one hugging him, and while he didn't insistently shove her away, he also never returned the fond embrace, instead returning to her a small pat on the back, if that. It seemed that Ladybug was always the first one to let her positive feelings toward him show, but he had never been the one to break down and hug her. Her smile formed into a full-on grin as she finally returned the hug, feeling metal arms adjusting to her sudden action, and tightening back down on her torso, but thankfully not bone-crushingly.

A small crack of light seeped from the doorway of The Melting Ice Cream Bar as Lily checked in on the situation, which was just as heartfelt as it had been in her foresight. Slowly, she pulled the door shut, allowing the two a moment, since it wasn't often that Chase openly showed his softer side.

A minute or two passed in complete silence as the two stood with their arms wrapped around one another, the only sound coming from Ladybug's quiet breaths, and the soft whirring of gears somewhere within the Cog's torso. The wind brushed against the two as the snow fell around them, yet for them, it seemed the time had stopped, beholding a moment in Ladybug's life in which she wasn't at war for once. Every rage-filled and ire-laden thought, every image of billowing flames and horrifying destruction in the feline's mind, simply stopped. Affection and care rose up from the fires of hate, and just like the rain showers that Lily brought to extinguish it, all her positive feelings toward Chase halted the forest fire in its spot, freezing it in time, completely. For a rare moment in Ladybug's life, she was at peace. However, as the minutes passed, the frozen fire could not remain inhibited forever.

"C-Chase, you can let me go, now," Ladybug meowed impatiently, her hands pulling away from hugging him as she began to push against his chest. She liked hugs, but that last one was getting a bit long. The Cog's arms pulled back in an instant.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed, hands raised defensively.

"Finally, you two are done!" Lily shouted as she pushed the door open, walking out with two hot chocolates in her hands. She approached the two with a sly grin on her face, watching Chase hurriedly lifting himself back to his feet, while Ladybug's fluffy pink cheeks puffed out as they flushed a shade of red. "I thought you two were gonna start making out, or something!"

"S-Shut up, Lily!" Ladybug spouted, not having the mental capacity to come up with some kind of witty remark, in her flustered state. She gave Lily's arm a small shove.

"Ladybug, I'm teasing," Lily giggled. "I've known about that li'l occurrence since I first got my psychic powers. No need to get your fur all twisted up, over it. Now do you want your hot chocolate with whipped cream, or not?" Begrudgingly, Ladybug took the beverage, sipping at it as her puffed-out fur settled back down. Her ears drooped to the sides as the chocolate hit her tongue, her eye sliding shut in pure bliss. She always did have a sweet spot for chocolate.

"I thought you hated whipped cream, Ladybug," Chase stated in confusion. The cat's eye cracked open, the cup dropping away from her mouth as it returned to its level position, tucked against her chest to get the most out of the warmth it produced.

"I do," she said. "But as long as it's in hot chocolate, it's palatable."

"Don't kid yourself, Ladybug, you'd cover everything you ate in chocolate, given the opportunity," Lily snickered. Ladybug raised her eyebrows, smirking.

"Says the cat who can't stop gorging on bananas!" she retorted. The two laughed for a moment, while Chase spared the smallest chuckle, before they started back off to visit a few shops on the street.

The shopping spree lasted a couple hours, and for how long they were out, the two Toons did not buy much. They had dared to take Chase inside with them, which didn't end badly, much to the surprise of the trio. They always had to send one of them ahead to let the shopkeeper know they had a Cog with them, but the response was mostly positive. Occasionally, a shopkeeper would forbid them from entering with Chase, so Lily went in alone, while Ladybug and Chase remained outside. At the end of it, each feline had her own Christmas sweater, Ladybug had purchased a fruitcake for her good friend Trixie, and Lily had splurged on a grappling hook, for some reason. At the end of their shopping trip, there was hardly another Toon out and about. The streets were completely barren, the numerous footprints in the snow being the only evidence that anyone had even been there, at all. As they reached the playground, it was the exact same thing. It seemed that with the lack of Cogs for certain tasks, in addition to the dropping temperature, many Toons had gone home for the night, leaving the playground completely empty as the snow fell to cover up every footprint left during the day.

At the edge of where a majority of the snow had accumulated, was the main hub for every tunnel leading to the streets, as well as the trolley station and Goofy's Gag Shop. Surrounding those landmarks were the familiar blue cobblestones, covered in a light powder of snow, that was increasing in thickness the longer it was snowed on. Between what had once been grass, and the cobblestone, was a short, icy-blue brick wall, with a layer of snow lying on top of it. The rest of the playground was just covered in ever-increasing snow that piled up on top of everything. Every visible rooftop of every visible building had the thickest blanket of snow resting on top of it, and even the few pine trees here and there weren't safe. In the center of the playground, somehow spared from the curse of the snowfall, was a lake, partially iced over, aside from a small fishing spot in the middle. The HQ, clothing store, and out-of-commission party planner were scattered over the main snowy part of the playground, but they were far back, and out of the way of a majority of the snow-covered field. To Ladybug, who had spent such a long time in the Brrrgh in the original Toontown, it was the perfect spot to play in the snow.

An excited smile spread across the pink feline's muzzle at the thought of playing in the snow with Chase, and she eagerly grabbed him by the hand as she dragged him out into the snow-covered field. She charged out into the deep snow, flakes clinging to her fur as she ran out, undeterred by how little she had on. She wasn't even wearing her scarf or boots, since they had only intended to walk around and shop, and yet, she couldn't help herself. Meanwhile, Chase just tried to keep up with her, from fear that she would tear his arm off, if he tried to stop. He had never held her hand, while she was running at top speed. Heck, he had hardly ever held her hand, at all. Finally, she released her grip on him, leaping upwards and diving headfirst into a large pile of snow, disappearing within. Chase slowed to a stop, staring at where she had once been in bewilderment. An explosion of powdery snow flew in all directions as Ladybug jumped into the air, her arms spread outwards to send as much snow flying as she possibly could. The Ambulance Chaser ducked against the shower of snow, luckily only being hit by one or two clumps that simply slid off his metal exterior, and returned to their spot on the ground, amidst the rest of the snow.

"I love snow!" Ladybug shouted, rolling backwards into what was left of the pile, causing a small flurry to dash out from underneath her with a small poof.

"You're gonna freeze!" Lily yelled, just catching up with the two, at that moment.

"I don't care! I love snow!" Ladybug returned, still not sitting up as she worked on a snow angel. Lily sighed, laughing quietly under her breath.

"Chase, you stay here with Ladybug, I'm gonna go get her scarf and things," Lily instructed, tossing a portable hole onto the snow-covered ground, the hole just resting right on top of the layers on snow as Lily leapt downwards, into it. It vanished seconds later, just as Ladybug was crawling away from the snow angel on the ground, only to bound into a deeper section of snow to disappear again. A small mound of snow appeared amidst the flat, untouched section, proceeding to speed around in that portion for a while, before rushing up alongside Chase as Ladybug poked her head out of it. Chase chuckled.

"You're like a little gopher," he observed, glancing up at the once-pristine snow, now hosting several swirling lines, from where Ladybug had burrowed around in it. "About as destructive as one, too."

"You hav-v-ve no idea how c-c-cold this snow is," Ladybug giggled softly through her chattering teeth. Just then, another hole opened up in the ground, Lily leaping forth from it. Her feet had braced for the hard ground, which instead found soft snow, causing her to take a tumble into it. She sat up with an irritable grunt and an annoyed huff as she shook off the snow clinging to her lavender fur.

"You're supposed to bundle up when you go play in the snow," Lily said as she insistently shoved a plethora of warm clothes at the pink feline, who snatched the bundle in eager hands. Chase offered the lavender cat a hand, though she swatted it away. "I don't need your help!" she shouted at him, clambering to her feet as she brushed the powdery snow off her jean-skirt. Ladybug tossed her running shoes off to the side, sliding on her light brown winter boots. The pink-and-orange starry bow was tossed away, alongside the shoes as she pulled a mauve woolen hat onto her head, taking extra time to tuck in her ears under it. Then, with not one, but two scarves wrapped around her neck, she dashed back out into the snow. Lily walked over to the discarded shoes and bow, collecting them before the falling snow buried them.

"Hey, Chase! You wanna build a snowman?" Ladybug called with an excited smile on her face. Chase practically waded through the deep snow to catch up with her.

"I don't know the first thing about building a snowman," the Cog whined with a shrug.

"It's easy! Just follow my lead," Ladybug commanded as she grasped a handful of snow, packing it down into a snowball, then setting it back down and rolling it along the ground as it increased in size. Chase watched her with intrigue for a moment, before leaning down to the ground, to attempt the same. Bluish purple hands cautiously combed through a portion of snow, leaving behind a line from each of his fingers, leaving four lines, in total. He cupped his hands in the snow, scooping up a generous amount of snow, and then packing it into a rounded shape, like Ladybug had done. The servos in his hands were buzzing a good deal, with the action, kneading and curving around the snow as he got a feel for it by how easily it was packed into a ball. The snow was fresh, yet not too powdery or slushy - ideal for building everything from forts to snowmen. A fleeting glance towards Ladybug had shown that she had stopped with her portion of the snowman, as she watched him attempting the same. For a robot hardwired to spout legal jargon every second of the day, it was amazing how he could learn and adapt what he did, to better fit in among Toons. With a nearly perfect snowball in his hands, he knelt back down to the ground, setting it back into the snow and rolling it along, as it continued to grow as more and more snow chose to stick to it. A small, amazed smile formed on his metal face at the sight, and in a minute, he'd rolled the tiny, palm-sized snowball into a massive ball that was easily three feet in diameter, and almost taller than Ladybug.

"Is this good?" he asked, unsure since this was the first snowman he'd ever made. Ladybug nodded, then glanced down at her own snowball, only about half the size of the one Chase had created. She rolled her own snowball a little more to increase its size, then managed to lift it up off the ground to carry it over to where Chase had left his, plunking hers on top.

"Now we need one more snowball for the head," Ladybug stated as she reached for a handful of snow.

"Don't worry about it, Ladybug, I made you guys one," Lily interjected as she came striding over with a snowball smaller than the previous two. As light on her feet as ever, Lily hopped up on top of both spheres, setting hers on top, before hopping back down.

"Cool," Ladybug breathed, making a subtle pun while she was at it. "Now what to do for the face...?"

"I got you covered," the lavender feline held out a handful of small, round pieces of coal. Ladybug grinned scooping the coal into her hands, and as Chase held her up on his shoulders, she arranged the coal into the shape of a smiling face, withdrawing her hands, and attempting to brush the small black particles from the coal, off of her white gloves. Lily handed a carrot up to Ladybug, who practically jammed the vegetable into the snowman's face, before instructing Chase to put her down. As a final touch, Lily ran and bought two rakes from Goofy's Gag Shop, usually used as a trap to spring up into the faces of Cogs, but instead, the lavender cat stuck them into the sides of the snowman's torso, like arms. Then to finish it up, she placed three buttons on its front, brushing off her hands and taking a step back to admire what the three of them had built.

"So, building snowmen is a common staple of Christmas?" Chase inquired.

"Not exactly," Ladybug shrugged. "It's more a staple of winter in general. It's still fun all the same, though, right?"

"I guess. It's certainly different, though," the Cog folded his arms as he looked at the snowman, its rake arms shifting slightly in the wind, though they didn't look like they would be falling off, anytime soon. Ladybug smirked slightly, reaching down at her feet as she scooped up another handful of snow, shaping it into another ball. Chase gazed down at what she was doing in confusion, and was just about to ask when Ladybug spun around and hurled the snow at his chest. It smashed against the metal to produce a resonating clang, though the snow harmlessly slid off, without damaging anything.

"Snowball fight!" the pink feline shouted as she began packing down another snowball, preparing to throw it at her bewildered Cog friend, when a rush of white from Lily's direction caught her off guard, smashing against the side of her muzzle. Ladybug stared at Lily in surprise, watching as she merely held up her hand as another snowball appeared in her palm.

"Oops, did I do that?" she giggled, tossing the snowball in the air, and catching it again, showing off. With a whirl of her arm and a twist of her hand, the snowball was sent soaring, impacting Ladybug right between her eyes. She cried out dramatically, falling back and sprawling into the snow.

"Chase! Avenge me!" she hollered in defeat, raising a hand into the air, before it just as quickly fell limp at her side. Lily's head spun to face the robot, a crazed and playful grin on her face, showing off her sharp fangs. Chase jumped back slightly as he stared at her in alarm, panic sparking in his system as he remembered every Toon he had fought in the past, and how that crazed glint had lit up in their eyes as they saw him.

"You'd better run, boy," Lily purred evilly. Chase didn't waste a second as he sped away from her, though it wasn't long before he could hear her catching up from behind. She was not as fast as Ladybug, but she was still catching up, gradually, maniacally giggling under her breath, but in that giggling, there was a note that was lighthearted, as opposed to cruel and merciless, which set her apart from the Toons that had attempted to destroy him, in the past. Lily was just playing a game, rather than attempting to end him. It fascinated him so much, that Toons could do subtle things to indicate whether it was for real, or for play, and in that crazed giggle, it was most certainly play. His metal lips spread into the smallest smirk as he veered suddenly to one side, catching Lily off guard and forcing her to reroute to catch up with him, again. He swerved to the other side, again earning himself a fair amount of distance between the two of them. Chase whirled a corner as he dashed around the other side of the igloo-like Toon HQ from the cat, slowing to a stop as he scooped some snow into his hands and began work on a snowball of his own.

"Come and get me, Lily," he muttered under his breath, his back pressed up against the icy bricks of the wall behind him as he waited for her to come charging around the corner. However, little did the Cog expect Lily to attack from the other corner, the one opposite from where he was looking. In her grasp was a snowball at the ready as she crept around the corner he wasn't looking at, her ears pulled back and her steps slow and quiet as she tiptoed toward him. The tiniest crunch of someone stepping on snow caught his attention in an instant, and without even thinking, he whirled around to chuck the snowball at where he'd heard the sound. His mind finally registered the input from his eyes, and what he saw startled him. Lily had frozen in her tracks, staring down at the remnants of the snowball he'd thrown, stuck to the blue cloth of her shirt. Wordlessly, expressionlessly, the lavender feline careened backwards, collapsing into the snow. Chase knelt down beside her in panic that he'd done something wrong. "Oh my Cog, are you okay?" A split-second later, a snowball hit him in the face.

"BOOM! Headshot!" Lily cheered, sitting up with her arms raised victoriously in the air. Chase glared at her with one eyebrow raised, before reaching into the snow and retrieving a large amount, which he proceeded to drop onto her head in spite. He rose to his feet, headed back towards where they had left Ladybug 'dead' in the snow.

XXX

Steel clouds had taken to gathering in the sky above Toontown, looming so menacingly across the entire expanse of blue. Little light filtered through, as the gray clusters blocked out everything they could, leaving a massive shadow lingering upon the entire town. In every neighborhood, Toons would look to the sky and see only cloudiness, keeping the light at bay as darkness reigned. Even in the prolonged sunset of Minnie's Melodyland and the eternal nighttime of Donald's Dreamland, the clouds gathered, darkening even further, the darkest of the neighborhoods. Days later, it began to snow, and the entire town felt the chill of the season, when the Super Duper Air Conditioner ramped up its coldness output. Even in Daisy Gardens, the place known for its temperate climate required for the flowers to grow year-round, the snow fell, threatening to bury the various twolips and indubitab lilies, whoopsie daisies and potsen pansies, and every other silly flower under the sun. As they remembered last year's blizzard, Toons were beginning to move things inside, stashing their various planters, statues, and other outdoor decorations in their attic, to avoid the risk that the snow would damage them.

Even cold-resistant Chase was beginning to feel how cold it was, and like many other Cogs that time of year, he wanted very much to hide indoors next to the fire, where it was warm. During this blizzard, only Cold Callers could withstand the immense cold, enough so that the VP even saw to it that every version 2.0 Cold Caller they produced, was sent out to begin Toontown's yearly Cold Caller mega invasion. Of course, even then, it was still very common to see one of those Cogs laying on the side of the road with its circuits frozen and its wiring shot. Despite the extra effort taken to manufacture Cogs to withstand the cold temperatures of the Brrrgh, it seemed that this yearly blizzard was just too much for the Cogs. Perhaps the Super Duper Air Conditioner had some level of self-awareness, and was simply trying to protect Toontown in this time of great cheer, but no one could know for sure.

"I know literally everything, but this radio is still a mystery to me," Lily complained as she fiddled with the radio on the breakfast table, trying to find the Christmas station. The speakers emitted the sound of buzzing mixed with radio static, though occasionally, there rose a garbled mess of animal sounds, but they were too distorted to understand. Finally, the melodic sound of a 'Have Yourself a Toony Little Christmas' came ringing from the radio, and Lily moved her fingers away from the tuning dial, only to grasp the volume dial and fill the entire room with the squeaking voice of whatever mousey singer was singing it. Several seconds of peace reigned, with Ladybug and Chase sitting in front of the fireplace, and Lily seated at the breakfast table, prepared to dive into a small pile of candy she'd bought. While for Ladybug, hot chocolate made the holiday season worth all the spreading of cheer, for Lily, it was anything with the faintest hint of peppermint.

A small rapping on the door rose above the music, causing Ladybug's ears to perk up, curiously. She rose to her feet, skittering over to the door, and pushing it open. Clad in red velvet, trimmed with white faux fur around the edges, was an ebony-furred feline, her black cloak pulled tightly around her as her ears lay tucked beneath a mauve woolen hat. Only a pace behind her was another black cat, this one wearing a blue jacket over his orange shirt, and his cloak loose and blowing in the wind.

"Hey, Jinx," Ladybug donned a friendly smile as she greeted her neighbor. "What brings you over here?"

"We have no idea how to start a fire, and judging by the plume of smoke billowing out of your chimney, you do," Kit replied, scowling up at Ladybug indignantly. She sighed, a cloud of steam appearing from her mouth as her expression softened. "Besides, you're the closest thing we have to family, at this point." Ladybug opened the door further, smiling kindly at them.

"Come on inside, you two," the pink feline chuckled. The duo entered, glancing about the house at the Christmas decorations strewn about. Hanging on the fireplace, were three stockings, one made of red velvet, belonging to Ladybug, one with the pattern of a snowy landscape, belonging to Lily, and one made of a soft gray fleece, with a gear symbol on it, belonging to Chase. Above the three socks was a garland of holly draped across the mantel, lined with little red bows and jingle bells, with an arrangement of several squirting poinsettias, in the middle. The tree had a few more decorations than before; bearing the gift-wrapped dollar bills upon its branches, tied in red, green, and orange ribbons. There would've been candy canes as well, but Lily refused to let Ladybug and Chase anywhere near them. Just beneath the wreath on the wall, was a large wooden sled, trimmed with bright red metal, leaning up against the wall. Kit paused a moment as she regarded Chase, who was still seated in his spot on the couch. Cautiously, she approached the fire, eyeing the Cog for any sign on aggression. It was that distrust of the robots that had kept her alive so long, and she refused to let her guard down, even near a friendly one. Both kittens crouched in front of the fire, eagerly holding out their gloved hands towards the warmth, while Ladybug returned to her spot in the log rocking chair.

"So, you two got a little lonely, huh?" Lily remarked smugly, quirking an ear to the side as she casually nibbled on a candy cane.

"You try being alone in a freezing house, without the ability to start fires," Kit shot back, taking off her hat as her ears pulled back angrily.

"Relax, Jinx. Christmas has that effect on everyone, whether they admit it or not," Lily stated, waving the candy cane around for emphasis, before bringing it back to her mouth as she gave one end a lick. "Heck, I think the only reason Ladybug doesn't celebrate with her family, is that she hates their guts."

"So I come from a broken home! Sue me!" Ladybug hissed in irritation, casting a silence over the five in the house, while on the radio, the black cat, Cat King Coal, began to sing about jellybeans roasting on an open fire, the actual fire in the fireplace popping and crackling in rhythm to the song. Ladybug spared a glance at Chase, her anger dissipating as her ears folded back in embarrassment. In an attempt to occupy her mind with something else, and direct the attention she was receiving from everyone around her, elsewhere, she picked up the little dreidel off the floor, spinning it in her hands as she sunk down in her seat.

"Ladybug, you have more of a family than I ever had," Lily sighed, pausing a moment as she twirled the candy cane between a gloved finger and thumb. Ladybug's ears drooped even lower. Lily had never had a true family. She had just walked into Toontown one day, and lived her life like nothing was wrong. She had no childhood, no old, fond memories to fall back upon, nothing that shaped her life. It had only been Ladybug's magnetic aura that had brought the two together, as friends. And now that Lily had her 'knowing' power, she really didn't need a past anymore. All that she would ever need to know was always with her. It didn't ease her longing for a family, however, but Ladybug and Chase came close.

"When did everything get so somber?" Chase inquired, interrupting the silence. "I mean, I'm a Cog, and I can tell this isn't how Christmas is supposed to be going!"

"Well, what do you expect us to do, oh 'Director of Christmas Funtimes'?" Lily questioned mockingly. "It's getting to be so cold outside, that even your cold-resistant circuits would freeze over! And our jackets aren't gonna arrive until about two hours from now, so we'll have to find something to occupy ourselves with, until then!"

"Lily, if you know everything, why don't you tell us what we're gonna do?" Ladybug groaned exasperatedly.

"Because there are too many timelines to pick from, and I wanna see which one really happens. I can't know absolutely everything, y'know!"

"Will you three just shut up?" Kit shouted, her high-pitched voice piercing through the argument, breaking it up while she was at it. The dark-furred feline looked over at the pink cat behind her. "Ladybug, you have a television, right? Can't we just watch TV for two hours?" Ladybug was taken aback. She didn't watch TV much. She didn't even know which shows were good, or anything about the Christmas specials on this time of year.

"Uhh... Sure, I guess," Ladybug shrugged cluelessly. "But I'm putting Lily in charge of the remote, since I don't really watch much TV."

Some rearranging of the seats in the room, and putting Chase's incredible strength to some use, and all the cats (And Cog) were seated facing the TV. Lily sat in the log rocking chair as she flipped through the different channels, with use of the remote. Kit and Jaden were seated at the chairs of the breakfast table, their eyes fixated on the box of light in front of them, so awestruck and amazed by something so simple as a television. Clearly, they did not watch much TV, either. Chase, of course, was still planted on the couch, though unlike usual, he had company with him. Since the log rocker was taken, and the chairs at the breakfast table weren't the most comfortable things to sit on, Ladybug had sat down beside her Cog friend. No one else would dare sit by him, anyway. Lily continued to surf the various channels, until she finally stopped on a sitcom that looked pretty promising, called 'Last Toon Standing'. Lily set the remote aside, reclining in the rocking chair as she tried to hold her tongue and not spoil what would happen later in the episode. Though she was able to fill the group in on what they missed at the beginning of the episode, despite the fact that she had never seen it. It was once again, one of the many benefits of knowing everything that was and would ever be.

Two hours of mindlessly staring at the television screen later, a thump resounded from outside. Ladybug stood up, taking a moment to stretch her limbs, before darting off to the door, opening it to find a massive box sitting outside. She tore through the packing tape and into the box, pulling out a small mauve jacket, a large blue jacket, and their matching snow pants. At the bottom of the box, were two multicolored woolen items, a hat and a scarf, both colored in light shades of blue, pink, and white. Ladybug grinned with glee, pulling the warm hat over her head as she lugged the rest of the box's contents inside.

"Chase, grab your scarf! We're going sledding!" Ladybug shouted, hurling the massive jacket and snow pants his way. Chase just stared in bewilderment at the clothing articles as they landed on the floor, raising an eyebrow.

"You ordered me a coat?" he asked, glancing up as Ladybug hurriedly donned her own jacket, then began yanking the snow pants up her legs.

"Of course I did! You're stranded alone in this house enough during the rest of the year. I even got you blue to match your suit!"

"And you think I can even fit in Toon clothing?"

"Yep! I even consulted with Lily when I was placing the order. Not only is it an extra large, but you're also a pretty small Cog, as it is. It'll fit."

"And what're you gonna wear, Lily?" Chase redirected his attention to the lavender feline still seated in the log rocking chair. "You can't exactly stay warm in a simple sweater and jean skirt."

"Ah," Lily chirred, standing up. She snapped her fingers, a green jacket and snow skirt appearing over her clothing, and on top of it, a blue wool hat and scarf, as well as a visor over her eyes, and a pair of black boots materializing on her feet. "This warm enough for ya?" she laughed haughtily, examining the snow gear as she smoothed out a couple wrinkles in the nylon fabric.

"C'mon Chase, put it on!" Ladybug insisted, scooping the jacket and snow pants off the floor and holding them out for him to take. The Cog emitted a metallic sigh, accepting the clothing. After he managed to get it on, he was surprised by how well it fit him. It was an extra large size, and clearly built for Toons, but the way it fit him was perfect, nearly like a second skin, yet it still allowed for movement. As he was marveling at the jacket, he was snapped back to the present as Ladybug began to climb him, wrapping his matching blue scarf around his neck.

"Y'know, back at the office, this would be considered assault," he groaned, trying to shift his weight in such a way that he didn't topple over.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing you're not at the office, huh?" Ladybug giggled hopping down and stepping back to admire how well the clothing suited him. "You don't look half bad in that stuff, either!"

"Yeah, because that'll make a difference if some Toon attacks me on the street..."

"Hey, Ambulance Chaser!" Kit butted in, not bothering to call him by name. "If it makes you feel any better, if I were a Toon out on the street, I would be very taken aback by both your choice in clothing, the fact that you were walking around during a Cold Caller invasion, and the fact that you're being accompanied by two fearsome high-Laff Toons. No little Toon in their right mind would attempt to go against the will of a high-Laff Toon, much less these two. Stop being such a worry wart."

Chase stared in surprise at the feline that had been so wary of him, the whole time she'd been here, and now she was actually bothering to talk to him! He didn't mind that she didn't call him by his nickname; the fact that she was actually bothering to talk to him at all must've meant something, if only that she was obeying a cease-fire for as long as Ladybug was in the room.

"The black kitten's right," Lily meowed, gazing sideways at Kit as she uttered her own subtle jab. She turned back towards the Cog. "Heck, the fact that you can even survive in the Laff-filled haven of the playground should deter them." Chase slumped in exasperation, watching Ladybug tossing her blue loafers to the side as she pulled her tan snow boots over her pink feetpaws.

"And should we run into another crazed Cog-killer like Ladybug?" Chase pointed out, suddenly.

"Frankly, Chase, you wouldn't want to know," Lily chuckled softly. "Revenge-oriented, anger-driven fighters like her are hard to come by, and invaluable, yes, but if there are ever two in one place, Walt save us all." Chase cringed inwardly at Lily's description. Wrapping her new scarf around her neck, Ladybug hopped to her feet, skittering over to the massive sled and managing to hoist it up over her head.

"Hey, Ladybug? Maybe I should carry the sled-"

"Nah, it's fine, I can handle-" Ladybug started, cutting him off as she began to trek towards the door, only to trip and collapse onto the floor, the sled falling on top of her. Lily burst out laughing, while Chase, finding nothing funny about the matter, rushed over to lift the sled off of the fallen feline. Ladybug weakly raised herself up onto her elbows, glaring in Lily's general direction. "Best friend I ever had," she muttered under her breath. Chase lifted the sled under one arm, while he offered Ladybug a hand. Begrudgingly, she accepted it, and in no time at all, she was back on her feet and marching towards the door.

A quick trip through a portable hole, and the trio was back in the Brrrgh, standing amidst broad daylight, as it was only 2 o' clock in the afternoon. The below-zero temperatures had actually stopped the snowfall, but the steel clouds in the sky still remained, keeping the playground plunged in darkness. No one seemed to mind, though, since the handful of streetlights were doing their job in keeping the place bright, even in the middle of the day. And amidst the holiday festivities, there were actually quite a few Toons playing in the vast field of snow, building snowmen, snow forts, throwing snowballs, and the most daunting of all, sledding. From all the excess snow, the hill of snow beside the frozen lake, was now even taller, and not to mention, steeper. Even from a distance, the trio could see Toons lining up to slide down the hill on their sleds, each of them varying in age, from kids, to teens, and even older adults. It seemed like every Toon wanted in on the action, despite however old they may be.

Their arrival had provoked some attention, several Toons glancing up in bewilderment at the Ambulance Chaser holding a sled, but most of them just shrugged it off, going back to whatever wintry activities they were up to. In the distance, parents playing in the snow with their kids snapped to attention, their eyes locking onto the Cog, then raising to the skyline to see if there were any more on the way. The fear instilled into the Toons of Toontown had yet to fade since the incident at the presidential elections, it seemed. But as their kids tugged at their wrists, and no more Cogs came pouring from the heavens, they eased up, returning to whatever they were doing, beforehand.

"A-Are you absolutely sure this is okay?" Chase questioned apprehensively, gripping the sled tighter. "I mean, there are so many Toons here... And if they try to retaliate-"

"Chase, it's fine!" Ladybug reassured him. "Besides, this is literally the most quiet district in Toontown, right now. Everyone's out and about, shopping and whatnot. Why do you think I got my shopping out of the way so soon?"

"But... There are kids here," the robot argued. "I don't want them to freak out, or start crying, or heck, even get the idea in their heads that they can just walk up to Cogs and be friends with them!"

"Chase," Ladybug gripped the Ambulance Chaser's free hand, staring directly into his silver eyes. "Please." Immediately, the Cog silenced himself, frozen on the spot by the intense stare he was met with. The pink feline cracked a smile, squeezing his metal hand, before releasing it and charging out into the snow, Lily following just a pace behind her. The duo weaved back and forth around one another, spinning all over the place as they swatted the white powder at one another, playfully. Chase just followed behind them, watching them hurl snow and run around as their play-fight slowly made progress towards the sledding hill. Ladybug somersaulted through the snow, uncurling to snatch up a wad of snow and send a cloud flying at Lily, who was quick to burrow under the blanket of white on the ground, to avoid the attack. She rolled to the side, leaping out to send a shower falling on top of the pink feline. In retaliation, Ladybug launched at Lily, tackling her as both of them fell beneath the snow, only for the two of them to come whirling back out to send flurries of powder spiraling through the air.

The Cog shook his head, chuckling softly as he continued to observe the two felines, hyped up on adrenaline and Christmas cheer as they bounded into and out of the snow like a couple flying Cat Fish leaping across the surface of the water. Suddenly, though, two pink furry arms latched to Chase's feet, causing him to sprawl face-first into the snow, with the sled clattering onto the ground, nearby. Ladybug laughed giddily, setting her foot down on top of his back to prevent him from standing up.

"Behold, I have conquered this mighty beast!" Ladybug exclaimed in a loud, deep voice, her gloved hands on her hips as she took on a tall and powerful stance, her head held high in pride. Lily erupted into another giggling fit, careening over backwards in the snow as she, quite literally, rolled on the floor laughing. Chase lifted his face out of the snow, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Well, I'm glad you all think this is a laugh riot," Chase shouted sarcastically. "Meanwhile, I might actually be damaged!" The Cog cringed as he was suddenly rolled over onto his back.

"The only thing damaged is your sense of humor," Ladybug remarked in a snide, yet still lighthearted tone, grabbing one of his bluish-purple hands as she hoisted him back onto his feet. As he retrieved the sled from the ground, he watched the duo speeding off again, this time heading straight for the sled hill. They didn't look like they were gonna wait up anytime soon. Chase's lens-like eyes flashed, the smallest of smirks appearing on the robot's face. His feet suddenly dug into the snow, as he took off sprinting after the two felines, catching up with them in only a couple seconds, only for him to go speeding ahead of them. Surprise showed on Ladybug's face as she sent a confused look Lily's way, only to see the lavender cat grinning like mad. It was always so surprising to see how fast Chase could run, and as Ladybug had put it once, "I guess it's a good thing I made friends with an Ambulance Chaser!" Up ahead, Chase skidded to a stop, turning to look behind him at the two felines walking rather doggedly toward him.

"So, do we individually take turns with the sled, or...?" Chase trailed off.

"You two can sled together if you want," Lily said with a wave of her hand. "I have my own projects I'm planning to work on." The lavender cat started away from them, headed towards where the little kids were building a large snow fort. Ladybug gazed up at Chase.

"So, I take it you've never gone sledding before, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. Have you?" Chase tilted his head curiously. Ladybug just chuckled under her breath.

"To be honest, I haven't," she sighed. "Always too much going on around Christmastime to take it easy. There are too many Cogs to bust, and not enough time to do it. I think I might've gone sledding once or twice when I was little, but those memories are... pretty fuzzy."

"So, what, we take our lead from the other Toons?"

"I think that's for the best." Ladybug grabbed Chase by the hand, leading him over to where the line of Toons headed up the hill began. The trek was long and tiring, and the wait was excruciating, but finally, it was their turn to lay down their sled. The red steel runners were the first to hit the snow, as Ladybug instructed Chase to sit down. Nervously, he obliged, Ladybug leaping into his lap, the second he had gotten situated. She leaned forward to get the toboggan going as she practically stood at the very front, one gloved finger pointing ahead. "Onward! For life, for freedom, for friends, and for candy!"

The front of the sled just barely tilted downwards, and in an instant, it was sent rocketing down the slope. The wind hit Ladybug hard in the face, forcing her to sit down, but she still sat with her face forward, excitement lighting up in her un-patched eye as the wind blew back her pink fur. The runners rumbled and shook in-tune with the uneven snow on the ground, causing the entire sled to quake beneath its two riders. Chase simply stared at the landscape flying by in both awe and terror; fear igniting in his circuits at the realization of how horribly bad this could go, and he was quick to wrap his arms around Ladybug, clinging to the fearless Toon for dear life. Ladybug was smiling from ear-to-ear, raising her head to let loose a meowing howl. Then, just as soon as it had begun, the toboggan slowed to a stop. And as the tremors from the movement of the sled halted, the rattling of the robot behind her became more apparent, small shakes forming in his torso and travelling down his arms, which were still firmly wrapped around her.

"Chase, you can let go, now," she cooed teasingly, feeling his arms stop rattling as they pulled away from her.

"S-Sorry," he muttered, glancing around nervously. That ride down the hill had been a first for him, and he was still trying to figure out whether he'd actually had fun, or not. It was probably the latter, though he didn't have much time to think on it, before-

"Attack!" Lily shrieked, her head popping out of a nearby snow fort. Two black lines had been painted across each of her lavender-furred cheeks, mirroring the appearance of war paint. Immediately, an army of kid-Toons came charging out from the snow fort, snowballs in their hands and a lust for battle lighting up in their eyes. Chase reacted immediately, ducking for cover behind the sled. Ladybug just stood up, braced for battle as a crazed smirk appeared on her face, her ears perked forward and alert. The feline blinked, and in an instant, as a volley of snowballs came soaring her way, she leapt backwards, landing on the edge of the sled, and catching it in such a way that it flipped upwards, providing a temporary shield for both Toon and Cog. Several thuds resounded against the wood, until silence reigned, and Ladybug reasoned that they had stopped to reload. Acting quickly, a small green squirt gun appeared in her palm, and she quickly dumped all of the water in it, into the snow.

"What are you doing?" Chase questioned, in a bit of a panic from the sudden attack. Ladybug didn't look up as she began shoving as much snow as possible into the clip of the lime green water pistol.

"All-knowing Lily said I'd be needing this before Christmas," Ladybug explained, experimentally tapping the trigger to test the gun. As she did, a small puff of snow shot from the barrel, dissipating almost instantly. "It's a squirt gun that's been modified to handle snow instead of water. Watch and learn, my robotic comrade." Ladybug threw the sled back town taking aim at the group of kids that were still working on packing down their snowballs. Lily recognized what was happening in an instant.

"Fall back!" she shouted in desperation. But it was too late. Ladybug's finger was pulling the trigger before any of the little Toons could react. A massive cloud of snow was sent flying at the kids, dousing them with white powder before they could even recognize what was happening.

"HYAAAAA!" Ladybug cried out in victory, watching as she sent her opponents reeling and running back towards their snow fort. The steady stream of snow stopped abruptly, forcing Ladybug to toss the modified weapon aside as the kids readied their second wave of snowballs. Acting quickly, she snagged Chase by the hand, dragging him back to his feet as she took off running with him, in a desperate attempt to dodge the next attack. But as Ladybug sent a fleeting glance, toward Lily, she could practically see the math flashing through her eyes, making complex calculations and completing lengthy equations as she took everything into account, all in the span of a split-second. A second later, she was whispering commands to her team. Then, Lily's hand shot out in front of her, telling the kids exactly where to aim. Just like before, a volley came right at her, and she was powerless to stop it as she found herself being pelted to the ground. Her grip slipped from Chase's, and he soon found himself standing alone, confronted by numerous little Toons, who were armed with snowballs, and had the protection of a fort. He, on the other hand, had nothing, and he knew he wouldn't be able to make a snowball fast enough to retaliate. He turned to sprint away, when Ladybug jumped up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, leaving herself dangling from his back.

"Ladybug?! What the-"

"If I go down, I'm taking you with me!" she shouted. The Cog lost his balance at that exact moment, sending him falling flat on his face, again, with Ladybug pinning him down. She lost herself, beginning to laugh as she heard the kids in the fort whooping and cheering.

"Now, that is how a snowball fight is supposed to go!" Lily called, raising her hands victoriously in the air.

XXX

As the time turned to eight o' clock in the morning, and light began to filter through the windows of the house, a certain pink feline stirred in her bed. A pink ear twitched, swiveling about a small bit as it attempted to register the faint, distant sounds of whistling wind and the house creaking in response. Ladybug's good eye cracked open, scanning the room sleepily, as she considered going back to sleep for a little while longer. Foggy thoughts passed in and out of the cat's head at random. Which day of winter festivities is this? The eleventh, I believe? This is the... 25th day of December, isn't it? Yeah, that should be the eleventh. I wonder what the Toontown Rewritten Team has in store for us today... Ladybug sat up in bed, suddenly as the realization dawned on her. Wait just a second! December 25th?! It isn't just the eleventh day of winter festivities; it's the day of winter festivities! Christmas! Ladybug flew out of her bed like a flash, charging into the main room as she flung her arms around the neck of her powered-down Cog friend seated on the couch, burying him in a hug. He jolted awake in an instant.

"Wha! Ladybug, what?!"

"It's Christmas!" she cried out joyfully, nuzzling his metal neck. Grunting in annoyance, he grasped the scruff of her neck, practically peeling her off of him as he fixed her with an irritated glance.

"And that requires you to wake me up, screaming and hugging me?" he questioned. Ladybug giggled as Chase finally released his grip on her, and she watched in amusement as he pulled his hand back, glaring at the pink hairs lodged in between the joints.

"Mhmm!" she hummed, still laughing inwardly as he attempted to pick the fur out of his hand, with his other hand, made up of slick, well-polished metal that didn't very effectively grasp such tiny hairs. At length, and with some help from Ladybug, he finally managed to rid his hand of the many Cog-forsaken filaments, that would surely get into his system and do some long-term damage if not removed right then. There was a reason he tended to refrain from scruffing Ladybug, aside from common courtesy.

"Alrighty! Up and at 'em!" Lily exclaimed, sitting up in her sleeping bag just below the window. "Now, who wants to open presents?"

"Me!" Ladybug shouted, practically climbing over the back of the couch as she stared at Lily. "Isn't this our first Christmas together, as well?"

"Indeed, it is!" Lily mewed, grinning as she hit a switch to light up the tree. "It's weird; you usually spend Christmas alone."

"Yeah, well, with a broken family like mine, Christmas just isn't the same," Ladybug sighed, facing forwards as she leaned back against the green and white cushions behind her. A robotic arm hooked her shoulder as she was dragged up against Chase's side.

"You think your family problems are bad?" Chase questioned. "I'm a Cog; the offspring of a conveyor belt and millions of other robots who want me dead." Ladybug smiled slightly, giving the robot's side a light shove. Lily snickered softly, crossing in front of the duo as she took her spot in the log rocking chair.

"Hey, Chase, why don't you look in your stocking first? It is your first Christmas, after all," the pink feline gave Chase's arm a pat as she smiled kindly at him. A slightly surprised look graced his metal features for a second, but he nevertheless obeyed, standing up and retrieving his grey fleece sock from its spot on the mantel. He sat back down beside Ladybug, her eager eyes staring at his face as she waited to see what he would think of the gift that had been tucked within the stocking. A bluish-purple hand reached inside, metal fingers clinking against something metal. His hand returned a moment later, grasping a small disc, roughly the size of the Lawbot emblem on his chest. This one, however was colored a forest green, with the rough silhouette of a dog Toon's head engraved upon it. On the lower rim of the disc were the words 'I believe in a Toony future' in immaculate golden print. Chase's eyes widened as he turned the disc around in his hands, examining every small detail with intrigue and amazement.

"This is..." he muttered, glancing up at Ladybug in embarrassment. "Er, what exactly is it?"

"It's a replacement for your Lawbot emblem, silly!" Ladybug laughed. "This is gonna be the recognized symbol for Cogs turned good. That way, if we ever get our hands on any others like you, we'll have a way to mark them so other Toons won't target them." Chase didn't acknowledge what she said as he immediately reached down to remove the blue disc from his chest, replacing the lawful sign of the gavel with the Toonier symbol. It fit in the place of the other, perfectly. He tested its functions to make sure everything worked alright, the green metal sliding away and vanishing in his chest as his health light flicked on to glow a strong green, then, it flicked back off as the new emblem slid back overtop of the light with no malfunctions.

"I... I don't know what to say," Chase whispered, still staring down at his chest as he examined the green disc.

"Then don't say anything," the pink feline meowed as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I just wanted to make your first real Christmas, a Christmas to remember." Ladybug gave his shoulder one last pat, before standing up and pulling down her own stocking, turning it over to spill its contents onto the floor. What fell onto the rug was a cream-colored bow, covered in blue and white rhinestones that formed beautiful patterns. Attached was a piece of paper, with writing that looked rushed and therefore, hard to read, but upon close inspection, it appeared to be signed 'From: Trixie'. The pink cat tilted her head to the side, quirking an ear. She hadn't seen Trixie in a long time, what with that rabbit being in hiding, and all. But Walt, did that bunny love rhinestones. Ladybug wasted no time in tying the ribbon around her ear, as Lily went for her own stocking. Of course, as soon as Lily turned over her stocking, out came a waterfall of candy canes, as well as a single card from Ladybug reading, 'I have no idea what to get you to surprise you, so... here, have some candy canes!' And of course, it wasn't long before Lily began stuffing her face with the red and white sweets.

"It's the thought that counts!" Lily giggled through a mouthful of peppermint. Beneath the tree were two neatly wrapped boxes; one for Ladybug and one for Chase. Lily moved her pile of candy canes to the breakfast table, while Ladybug retrieved the two presents. She handed Chase his, as she sat down, ripping away the sea green wrapping paper of her own gift, and tearing the box open. Ladybug slumped slightly at the sight of a stack of paper set within, though as she read the header of the first page, her eyes lit up.

"The original Cog concepts and blueprints?" she gasped, turning around to beam at Lily.

"Yep! I figured, since you tinker with those scrap parts, maybe you'd like to know exactly how everything works," Lily shrugged, nibbling on a half-eaten candy cane. "And did you see who it was written by?" Ladybug glanced at the bottom of the first page, seeing a signature written in beautiful cursive.

"Gyro Gearloose?!" Ladybug cried with glee. "The Gyro Gearloose?! The Toon who invented the Cogs in the first place?!"

"The one and only!" Lily laughed. Chase gazed down curiously at the papers resting in Ladybug's hands as she flipped through them, seeing all sorts of schematics and graphics, detailing every little sprocket and spring beneath the suit of a Cog. The pink feline finally set the stack aside, redirecting her attention onto the present that Chase had yet to open. The robot glanced down at the box, finally pulling apart the wrapping paper and opening the box, which was significantly smaller than Ladybug's. Again, it was nothing more than a few papers, but what was on those papers would change everything. Chase scanned over the text curiously, but as he read, he was soon left utterly speechless. His jaw dropped, and he glanced over at Ladybug to see if he was merely imagining what he'd just read, though judging by that ever-growing grin on Ladybug's face, he doubted it.

"Chase, my Christmas present to you... is official Toontown citizenship," She mewed, tears pricking at her eyelids. The Cog didn't respond for a moment, just staring at the cat as he took a moment to realize what she had really gotten for him, the hoops she must've jumped through to secure such a thing for him, on Christmas day. She had gotten him the one thing that no other Cog could ever have, and would probably never receive again. Chase released his grip on the paper, allowing it to waft onto the floor as he wrapped his arms around the pink feline. For the first time since he had met Ladybug, he felt as though he was being truly accepted, that Toons were looking past his outward appearance and acknowledging the sweetheart he truly was. He sobbed on her shoulder, emotions wracking his entire system as his metal form rattled in response. His CPU was overwhelmed, not only with emotion, but deep confusion, its processing always returning to a single question. Chase pulled back at last, his two eyes locked onto her one.

"W-Why... Why would you go out of your way to get this for me?" he voiced the question aloud, as his own systems were unable to compute enough to provide a sufficient answer. Tears spilled down Ladybug's cheeks as she let out a soft chuckle.

"What, why would I spend such a long and difficult time debating with President Flippy and the Toon Council, trying to bargain for your citizenship?" Ladybug recapped with a light laugh. "Because I didn't want you to be afraid anymore. Every time you're out of the house, you're so afraid, even though I fixed you so Gags can't hurt you. You're always glancing around every corner, always convinced there's something out to get you, and even when there's not, your constant paranoia keeps you from relaxing. I can tell it's hard on you, even though you're always shrugging it off. For Christmas, I wanted to get you something that could help you, something that would put your mind at-ease, and so you could quit worrying so much."

"But why would you...?"

"Because you're my best friend, and I love you," Ladybug admitted at last, smiling at him kindly. That silenced the Ambulance Chaser, leaving him staring at the pink feline with wide eyes and mouth hanging slightly agape. The pine feline's expression wavered, before warping into one of complete embarrassment, her ears pulling back shyly as her cheeks flushed. Still flustered, she tried to continue, "L-Look, Chase... S-Since my old boyfriend broke up with me all that time ago... I had never warmed up to anyone else so closely as I did, him. In hindsight, he probably did what was best for him. He was moving on to one hundred Laff and above, but I was lagging behind... and therefore holding him back. I shouldn't have taken it as hard as I did, but that... stupid grudge has been nothing but a hinderer since then. I held back from making too many friends, and I still do, but... The fact that I ride solo is why I stopped to save you in the first place. Had I been with a group, they'd have dragged me along, before I could even stop to realize that your coworkers were beating you up. And even though I distance myself from social matters, I think I make up for it with you.

"You're a friendly Cog; the likes of which has never been heard of, before! Cogs are meant to conform, to be part of a collective rather than recognized as individual beings, but you...! You stick out like a sore thumb. You have feelings and emotions, and you're proud to put them on display, even though you typically do it by cowering behind me or Lily." Ladybug chuckled softly. "I got you citizenship because I didn't want you to go away anytime soon. I didn't want you to be afraid of other Toons, and I wanted the Toon Council to recognize you as a person, not a lifeless piece of machinery. With me around, the Cogs wouldn't dare touch you with a ten-foot pole. And so help me Walt, I will make sure no one hurts you, ever again." The pink cat threw her arms around the Cog's torso, her face pressed against his chest as tears poured from her eyes, just as she had poured her heart out, just then.

The rest of the day had been pretty boring. All of the hype built out over the duration of the month had pretty much fizzled out after everyone opened their presents. A few Christmas cards came in the mail, one of which was from Ladybug's sister, yet she put off reading it. The rest of the day was spent throwing together a small Christmas feast, consisting of only mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a pumpkin pie for dessert. And as the estate outside was shrouded by a blanket of darkness, and the television was finally shut off, Ladybug had fallen fast asleep on the couch, lying on her side with her head propped up on Chase's leg. Lily slowly padded over to where the two were sitting, in front of the fireplace.

"Out like a light, huh?" she meowed softly, so she wouldn't wake the pink feline.

"Yeah," Chase mumbled. "So, she's a pretty powerful speaker when she wants to be..."

"You have no idea. You should've seen her when she got going with the Toon Council," Lily giggled quietly.

"Heh, um... Hey, Lily?" Chase started nervously. "What is love?" The Toon just grinned as though she had heard a funny joke.

"That, my friend, is something you're gonna have to figure out on your own," The lavender feline gave the brim of the Cog's hat a light tap, before abruptly turning to walk over to her sleeping bag, without another word. Chase shook his head, confused, but not bothering to question it any further. From what he had learned, when asked a question, Lily often gave the answer that was necessary, not always answering it the way one would like. Such was his life alongside these two cats, acting in such mysterious ways. But maybe that was okay. He was curious, but whenever a question of his was answered, it seemed that two more took its place. Maybe it was best that there were things he didn't know. A metallic sigh left his voice box, reverberating around his metal shell before dying away. He glanced down at Ladybug, whom he knew he wouldn't be able to rouse and send to her own bed.

"Merry Christmas, Ladybug," the most hushed whisper buzzed in his throat, before he finally leaned back, powering down for the night as the snow continued to fall, outside.