Soon, Cherry began to drive LJ and Penny back to where Penny lived while Lionel and Thor stayed behind to keep an eye on the kids at home.
"It was really nice meeting your interesting family, LJ," Penny said to her new friend on the way back. "I look forward to hanging out again sometime, especially after Winter Break."
"You and me both!" LJ agreed. "For what it's worth, I had fun so far!"
"So did I," Penny smiled. "I think you and I are gonna be good friends later down the road."
"I sure hope so!" LJ warmly replied.
Cherry smirked fondly as she glanced at the two from her rear-view mirror and continued to follow Penny's address that was given to her.
"We're just friends so you know, Mom." LJ then said.
"I know, I know," Cherry chuckled and smirked. "I love seeing a good friendship in the making... That's how we got your Uncle Atticus after all."
"Fair enough." LJ responded. But fate would most likely take a different path that'd bring them closer.
Eventually, after a while, Cherry began to stop the car and looked out the window, seeing a nicely decorated home that looked cozy and comfortable enough for anyone to live in or grow up with. "Is this the place, dear?" she then asked Penny.
Penny looked out the window as well. "Yes, thank you, Mrs. Moltenschwartz." she then nodded.
"All right," Cherry said with a small smile. "Get home safe and make sure you wave to me once you get to the door. LJ, do you wanna walk your friend up to the door?" she then suggested.
"Sure, Mom," LJ said as he adjusted his jacket and gloves. "Ready, Pen?"
"Let's go, LJ." Penny smiled as she began to unbuckle her seatbelt and open her door after Cherry unlocked the car doors.
Once they were both out, LJ escorted Penny to the door and rang the doorbell.
"Just a minute!" A voice answered behind the door.
"Uncle Gadget must be checking on everything to be perfect for Santa." Penny said to LJ.
"I guess that makes sense," responded LJ as he sat and whistled to himself. 'Did I REALLY mean that Penny and I are just friends?' he thought. 'Or do I like her the same way I like Kimberly?'
Eventually, someone came to the door and he had a friendly enough smile, but of course, "Uncle Gadget" was no ordinary uncle. He had straight black hair protruding from both sides, and a large nose, wearing a light-gray Mackintosh raincoat and trilby hat with a lighter-gray stripe in the middle, blue pants, light-gray shoes, and dark brown gloves.
"Hi, Uncle Gadget," Penny smiled warmly. "This is my friend LJ that I told you about on the phone earlier." she then introduced.
"Ah, so you're LJ," Gadget smiled as he reached out. "Inspector Gadget, pleased to meet you!"
"LJ Schwartz, feeling the same!" LJ responded as he shook hands.
"He seems like a nice young man." Gadget said to his niece.
"Yeah, LJ's amazing just like a lot of his family," Penny nodded. "I think we should hang out more often."
"Well, I suppose that would be fine with me, as long as, ya know, you keep track of your other responsibilities too." Gadget then said to her.
"Not a problem, Uncle Gadget!" Penny said as she headed up the stairs of the porch.
"See you around, Penny." LJ said as he headed back to the car.
Gadget and Penny headed back inside and shut the door behind them.
"He seems like a nice kid." Gadget remarked.
"Yeah, he really is." Penny nodded.
"Unless..." Gadget said thoughtfully then.
"Uh, unless what?" Penny asked her uncle as she began to take off her coat to hang up from being outside in the snow.
"Unless this is all a ruse by the dreaded Claw trying to destroy Christmas for everyone!" Gadget suddenly suspected, having one of his wackier moments.
"Uncle Gadget, if it was a plan by Claw, wouldn't Chief Quimby have told you?" Penny asked.
"Hmm... I suppose you make a pretty good point there," Gadget scratched his chin in thought before smiling. "Ah, let's not worry about it... it's the holidays after all." he then added innocently.
"Right, now I think we've got a star to put on top, don't we?" Penny smiled.
"Oh, yes, of course, my dear! Let's get to it." Gadget smiled back at his niece.
Cherry continued to wait in the car before smiling briefly as she let LJ come back in. "I hope you guys had a nice visit." She then told him when it almost looked like some people were about to sneak into the Gadget residence.
"Yeah," LJ commented before he saw the two guys who were sneaking into the house. "But I hope they can fend off those guys sneaking in."
Cherry glanced over and squinted her eyes. "Hmm... what do you think? Should we call the police on those guys?" she then asked LJ, though she had a good feeling that that probably wouldn't be necessary.
"I think the inspector has it covered." LJ responded.
"All right," Cherry nodded. "Let's go home and help your dad and uncle get more decorations ready."
Soon, the Moltenschwartz car drove away from the Gadget residence as Penny continued to decorate with her uncle. A M.A.D henchman soon came down the chimney and lunged out to Gadget, only for him to spring up with his extended legs, lifting Penny up in his hands to help her put the star on top of their Christmas tree and the agent was sent flying backward due to the bounciness of Gadget's legs. Another M.A.D henchman then came in through the window only to bounce into the other M.A.D henchman, sending them both flying out the window and straight into the snow. They rolled into a couple of snowballs and crashed into a third M.A.D henchman, sending him out of a tree he was hiding in and the three piled on top of each other, looking like a snowman. Brain the dog smirked at that once he saw them and decided to put a hat on top of them like they were Frosty the Snowman.
"Welp, heading home!" LJ declared eagerly as they drove back to the house.
Cherry smirked a little as she continued to take LJ back home.
Meanwhile, at the Moltenschwartz household, they had music playing as Lionel and Thor decorated the inside of the house while David and Elyse sat in the living room together and Evie and Zofia decided to build a snowman together while Felicity, Carlos, and Jay would help decorate as well.
"There are presents underneath your family tree, All the streets are filled with shining lights, There's a party going down this Christmas Eve, And DJ Santa's sleighing it all night~" Evie sang while building a snowman with Zofia. "You need to make a list, You need to check it twice, We 'bout to find out, Who's naughty, who's nice, You need to spread cheer, We're getting jolly over here, 'Til the icicles melt, We won't deep, let me ask, You wanna have fun, Like I know you've been, You wanna be cool, Like the ice you make, And when we're done with shopping, And filling up the stockings, We'll be chillin', chillin', Chillin' like a snowman~"
"Isn't Henry coming to spend Christmas with you this year?" Zofia asked Evie.
"Yeah, my mom should be bringing him over real soon," Evie replied. "I just hope he can have a Merry Christmas this year since I don't live at home with them anymore." she then added softly.
"Okay, that sounds pretty great." said Carlos as they heard a thump from outside.
"...should we check what that was?" asked Jay.
"Come on then." Felicity told the boys as she walked off ahead of them.
Jay and Carlos followed her before they came outside to see what exactly happened. Outside was a small, dark-haired boy, bundled up in winter clothes, standing on the porch with a pair of suitcases. Behind him, a car was seen driving away as quickly as possible.
Evie soon walked over with a small smile. "Henry, you made it!" she then told the younger boy.
"Hi, Evie," Henry smiled back before hugging her instantly. "Mom just dropped me off."
"I can see that." Evie replied as they watched their mother's car speed off.
"...I didn't expect that, but okay." commented Felicity as she and Zofia waited for their mother and younger brother to return.
"Can I have some hot chocolate with cinnamon, please?" Henry asked.
"Sure, we'll make you some." Felicity nodded as they sat inside.
Henry smiled as he came inside with everyone else until Cherry and LJ would come back home.
"Two visitors in one day? My, my, I never knew we were so popular." Thor commented from the kitchen.
"Thor, this is Evie's biological brother Henry," Lionel introduced. "You remember him from the story that has yet to be published."
"Oh, yeah, I remember him," Thor replied before smiling down at Henry. "You're the one who likes hot chocolate with cinnamon."
"Yep." Henry nodded and smiled back in response.
"Well, in this case, it's good to see you again, kiddo," Thor said before going to make some hot chocolate. "Especially during the most wonderful time of the year... until January roams in and everybody gets depressed and sick of winter."
"Somebody should come up with a new holiday for that in-between period," commented Lionel. "Y'know, to fill the gap between then and February. Besides, Singles Awareness Day doesn't exactly cover everybody."
"That would be nice and maybe even giving away gifts you don't exactly enjoy at Christmas and even having songs during January to help lift up your spirits," Thor added and agreed. "Not even The Other Realm has anything like that for the holidays we have like that weird and awkward Cliché Week that happens once every 11 years."
"How bizarre," Lionel commented before he shrugged. "Alright, we should probably try and look for ideas on that sorta thing."
Just then, Cherry's car arrived outside.
"Cherry and LJ are home!" Thor beamed.
"Good." Lionel smiled at that.
Cherry then came back inside with LJ before she looked over at Henry, then looked back at Evie. "Your little brother?" she then asked the blue-haired teenage girl.
"Yes, ma'am." Evie replied.
"All right, keep an eye on him and make sure he stays out of trouble." Cherry then told her.
"Of course, ma'am." Evie nodded and smiled.
"Nice to meet you." LJ said as he curiously reached out a hand to shake.
"Hey," Henry replied as he shook hands with LJ. "I'm here for the holidays."
"Good to hear," LJ responded. "Hope you'll enjoy yourself here."
"I hope so too," Henry replied. "Mom says she's going to some place called Club Desperate in The Carribean."
"It's in Mexico and she says it's called Club Desperado." Evie clarified to her little brother.
Henry shrugged in response. "Whatever, I just know that I wasn't invited." he then replied.
"Eh, grown-ups are strange like that," LJ shrugged. "I try not to focus too much on it, cuz then it just puts a damper on things."
"You got a point there," Henry nodded. "Also are there any more Avengers Grimm books I should know about?" he then asked hopefully.
"Hmm... Maybe in the future," Cherry smirked and winked at him. "It's hard to top the Christmas where they go against The Sugarplum Fairy who was actually evil and The Mouse King was the good guy, maybe there'll be a team-up with Santa Claus, Jack Frost, The Easter Bunny, and The Tooth Fairy?" she then hinted playfully.
"Well, if there's one person who knows how to make those stories fun and interesting, it's Cerise Gajda," Henry replied. "I wanna write stories like that someday."
"I'm sure you will sometime, Henry," Evie told her little brother before looking over. "Can Henry see Santa with us, guys? Please? Please..."
Jay and Carlos looked at each other nervously about going to see Santa at the Mall at their age.
"Of course he can!" Felicity beamed at the blue-haired girl. "Henry's apart of this family after all."
"Then we'll all go!" LJ declared. "Maybe we'll see Penny and the Inspector there too!"
Jay and Carlos still looked nervous.
"Well, uh, sure..." Carlos agreed bashfully. "As long as Jane doesn't see me." he then added with a low mumble.
"Yeah, same here as long as girls from school don't see me either." Jay then said.
"Aren't you going out with Lonnie or something?" Thor asked Jay. "You two play football together especially before one of the big games come up in school."
"Oh, uh, I don't really know what Lonnie and I are honestly," Jay shrugged in response. "I mean, she's cool and all, and I like doing sports with her, especially when she puts Chad in his place, but... sometimes she just feels more like a best friend who's a girl more than girlfriend material."
"Well, maybe you'll figure it out," shrugged LJ. "Besides, why does it matter so much what other people think of you?"
"...I guess it doesn't matter now that I think about it," Jay said before narrowing his eyes. "Who cares what people like Audrey, Chad, and the Dee Dee twins think?"
"I'm wary of Sasha Waybright sometimes, but you shouldn't let people get to you," Zofia suggested. "Now then, how about we have some cookies and hot chocolate until we head over to the Mall during our winter vacation together as a family?" she then added.
Everyone else soon chattered in agreement as they decided to do just that as they were sure this would be their greatest Christmas yet.
"And maybe even a song?" Zofia then suggested hopefully as she sat by the piano.
"Sure, I wouldn't mind," responded LJ. "Let's go for it!"
Zofia nodded as she soon played the piano and began to make a musical segment appear suddenly. Everyone else then gathered around to hear the song as Zofia bopped her head along to the beat so far.
"Christmas will be magical, just like in a fairy tale, I want so much snow that I'll use my toes, To pick up the morning mail!~" Zofia soon sang aloud. "Dinner will be delicious, Turkey and candied yams!~"
"Stuffing a mile high~" Lionel sang.
"17 types of pizza pie~" Cherry sang, holding a giant stack of pizza boxes.
"Do you want some more?" Thor asked.
"Yes, sir!" Zofia smiled.
"Our tree will shine so brightly, Our tree will be eight feet tall~" Evie and Felicity sang together.
"Popcorn strung diagonally, Candy canes and silver balls!~" Jay, Carlos, LJ, and Henry added.
"Here's a saying worth obeying, Please take out a pad and pencil, Nothing is more of an eyesore, Than the excessive use of tinsel!~" Zofia then said/sung the next part.
"What, no tinsel?" Henry complained.
"Not on this tree!" Evie replied.
"But I want tinsel!" Henry argued.
"Well, you can have all the tinsel you like!" Zofia replied before she sang again. "When you are as old as me~"
"Is that a guarantee?" Henry smirked before he began to dance along.
"Christmas will be special, It'll be magnificent~" Zofia then sang. "Everyone's gonna state..."
"Zofia, we think you're great!~" The family sang together.
"When they open up my presents, Yes, this Christmas I suspect, will be perfect in all respects~" Zofia continued to sing and dance until she began to finish up on the piano. "This Christmas will be the best Christmas yet~"
"Do you guys do this all the time?" asked Henry.
"Only when the time calls for it!" responded Jay.
Gobo Fraggle once again appeared as he was rolling an ornament across the floor.
"Hi, Gobo!" LJ waved.
Gobo waved back before he rolled the ornament into the hole on the other side of the wall. Henry blinked before laughing a little bit as he got settled into the Moltenschwartz household. In the meantime, someone was shown to be outside in the snow before darting past the house and he didn't seem very friendly or innocent.
"...anyone else just suddenly get a chill down their spine?" Henry asked out of concern as hot chocolate and cookies were made for anyone who wanted some.
"I do all the time, dear, but that's just because I've lived a long life of adventures and another one could be knocking on the door before I know it." Cherry replied as they began to relax in front of the fireplace in the living room.
"Maybe, but I suppose we'll see," Lionel stated. "Anyway, lemme know when we're gonna go see the Mall Santa."
"Of course, Lionel." Thor said before he picked him up to hug him.
"It'll be pretty soon." Cherry added as she began to close the curtains on the window since it was already getting dark outside.
The figure outside, noticed the window shut before hearing joyous laughter and heartwarming family moments from outside, then narrowed his eyes, showing to be the boy that Tasha Bellhoff was looking for. "Family... pfft... Who needs a family for the holidays?" he then scoffed to himself. "Everybody knows that Christmas is really all about presents." he then continued to wander off on his own.
Also in the meantime, two boys known as Billy and Talon were getting ready to leave town to visit a different place entirely that to other people often sounded like a fairy tale or a fantasy for children to believe in, especially during this time of year.
"So when exactly are we leaving?" asked Billy, curious.
"As soon as Uncle is ready to go," Talon replied with a dark smirk. "Which should be very soon."
Just then, Mad Cat let out a screech and a hiss.
"...guess it's earlier than we expected." said Billy as the Clawmobile was idling outside, being piloted by a M.A.D Agent.
"Get a move on, you two!" A dark and raspy voice demanded. "You're lucky I'm feeling generous enough to let you two come along for our little 'trip' out of town~"
"Right! Coming, Uncle Claw!" Talon responded as he got on his snow boots and jacket.
Billy did the same, and the two boys boarded the Clawmobile, which was now sporting snow treads. The boy who wandered on his own soon looked around and snuck into the Clawmobile out of morbid curiosity. Once Billy and Talon were inside, they took off and began to leave town for someplace a lot more interesting to visit.
"Next stop: The North Pole." Dr. Claw told the boys he had with him as they rode out of town and straight into a winter wonderland.
"The North Pole?" Billy exclaimed. "Wooooow!"
"Are we gonna destroy Christmas or something?" Talon asked their uncle.
"Something like that," Dr. Claw told his nephews in his usual dark voice. "Christmas will be for the villains this year and no one will get in our way, especially that dunderhead, Inspector Gadget."
"Sounds like a blast," Talon smirked. "I guess you could say we're going to 'wreck the halls'."
Billy just kept quiet and continued facing forward. The boy who snuck along with them seemed to smirk deviously to himself as he kept hiding until they would come to a stop.
"Now remember, boys, the elves will probably be hard at work, so we shouldn't disturb them until we can get to work~" Dr. Claw reminded his nephews, sounding gentle and kind, but they knew he wasn't sincere about his tone of voice.
"Of course, Uncle Claw," said Billy and Talon as the Clawmobile shifted into the M.A.D Jet and soared into the snowy night sky.
After a little while, Santa began to wake up his elves out of their cottage to get to work since Christmas was coming up and they all sang a song based on Jingle Bells as they began to get to work. The M.A.D Jet then landed close behind Santa's workshop and it was time to unload and get settled.
"You know what to do," Dr. Claw told Billy and Talon. "Unpack everything you need and I'll handle The Fat Cheese." he then added mockingly toward Santa Claus.
Billy and Talon nodded as they and the M.A.D Agent disembarked and got the supplies out of the M.A.D Jet, while Peter watched in intrigue. If he threw in his lot with these people, then he could come out of it with plenty of presents for himself.
"Hey, wait a second," Billy said, seeing the boy. "Who are you supposed to be?"
"Yo Mama." Peter taunted and rolled his dark green eyes.
"You don't wanna mess with us, kid," Talon warned Peter. "You don't know what-"
"I swear to God if you say 'You don't know what I can do', I'm going to deck both of you into each other," Peter scoffed and interrupted before he hopped out with a smirk and put his hands in his pockets. "Don't worry though, I won't be with you two long. I'm here for my own personal gain against old Santa Clod."
"...I suppose that's fair," Billy relented. "Many hands make for light work, as the saying goes."
Peter rolled his eyes. "I'm not keen on doing a lot of manual labor, but if I must." he then said.
"You will if you know what's good for you." Talon told Peter firmly.
"Yeah, yeah," Peter shrugged in response. "Whatever gets this done quicker and lets me do what I came here for after I followed and overheard you guys leaving town."
"C'mon then," Billy said. "We'd best get to work."
"Nyeah!" hissed Mad Cat as he snickered wickedly.
Peter just narrowed his eyes, unimpressed with Mad Cat.
"What're you planning on doing in the North Pole anyway, buddy?" Talon asked Peter.
"Like I said, I want to get even with Santa Clod," Peter replied before grinning darkly as a fiery background blazed right behind him almost like he was as evil if not even worse than The Devil himself. "A way to ensure I get what I deserve when I want it and payback for being on the permanent naughty list~"
"Uh... okay," Talon shrugged. "If this works out, you might have a future in M.A.D."
"I like the sound of that," Peter smirked as he stepped over to Billy and Talon. "You won't regret having me on your side because I never fail or lose~"
"Anyone can talk, let's see if you can prove it." responded Billy as they headed off towards Santa's workshop. Peter rolled his eyes before smirking darkly as he followed them for now.
The elves continued to sing their happy work song, blissfully unaware of what was to come for them. Mad Cat mewed before hopping onto a worktable in the corner that had a Santa coat, hat, and even a beard.
Dr. Claw reached out to take the outfit before petting his right-hand cat with affection, starting to laugh darkly as he wore his own Santa garb. "I, Dr. Claw, will ruin Christmas myself and the world will blame Santa Claus~" he then told himself grimly as MADCat seemed to jump into a wreath while he dressed himself up.
"Meanwhile, we're gonna try to find that list to see who's naughty and nice and make some improvements on it." Billy then added.
"Now that is my idea of a good time." Peter grinned darkly as he followed behind.
Up in the watchtower, Santa blew a Christmas tune on his bugle.
"Start another day, for our elfin pay~" sang the elves as they marched about the workshop. "Play is work, and work is play~"
"You'll work for me today." Dr. Claw rumbled as he took out a remote device, and pressed one of its buttons.
Billy and Talon began to wander off with Peter, stirring much more destructively and dangerously than a mouse as they were looking for a certain room.
The three boys seemed to find one door and opened it, seeing what appeared to be a break room with a vending machine for something called Nog Cola.
"This isn't what I need..." Peter glared before his eyes widened briefly as he heard someone coming. "We need to hide. now." he then told the other two urgently before he bolted, nearly flying to the other side of the room like a flying shadow.
Billy and Talon looked around before hiding too as two elves began to come into the room: one fat and the other one was thin.
"And I said, 'If you want a wooden duck whittled, that there is your man'." The fat elf told the thin elf while the three boys tried to hide as best as they could.
"The man can whittle." The thin elf replied as they headed for the vending machine.
"Oh, he sure can," The fat elf replied. "Whittle, whittle, whittle, whittle, whittle."
The vending machine soon dispensed two cans of Nog Cola at the press of a button. The elves drank while the boys continued to hide until the elves left the room and luckily for the three boys, the elves didn't even notice them.
The three boys then came back out of hiding.
"That was almost too close," Talon remarked before looking at Peter. "Any other bright ideas?"
"Whatever helps me find that blasted list of who's naughty and nice," Peter proclaimed as he narrowed his eyes and shook his fists. "I've got big plans for Santa Clod this year."
"All right, now if we were a big fat bearded oaf, where would we keep a stupid list?" Talon nodded and then wondered.
In the meantime, most of the elves continued to work and sing about how work was play and play was work to them while Dr. Claw was already planning on taking over for Santa this year. Suddenly, all the elves went ramrod straight and their eyes glazed over.
"What's this?" Santa asked as he looked around, startled. "What's happened to my happy little-"
Suddenly, a hook came down from the ceiling and yanked him into the air!
"Get me down! Somebody!" Santa cried out as the elves opened up a manhole. "What's going on?!"
The elves then opened a grated door on the floor and Santa was being dropped right inside.
"Who will finish my to-o-oys?!" Santa cried out as he was dropped down suddenly and the door was closed shut behind him as he was being sent to a certain room for the time being.
Dr. Claw was then moved into the position of power in The North Pole after Santa Claus was properly disposed of. "Once the children of the world get my special toys, Santa's name will be slush, his reputation will be ruined..." he then listed before laughing eagerly while petting Mad Cat and soon took out a speaker to announce to the elves in the workshop. "Get to work, drones!" he then commanded them.
"Yes, Dr. Claw." The elves responded in almost zombie-like voices.
"Yes, hahahaha~" Dr. Claw laughed wickedly as the elves got to work in messing up the toys they planned on giving to the good boys and girls of the world. "Only one person can stop me now and my M.A.D agents will stop him first!"
MEANWHILE...
Inspector Gadget was out doing some ice skating while a M.A.D. agent had a saw ready. While the good inspector did a pirouette, the M.A.D. agent sawed a hole underneath him, but Gadget got his neck all tangled up! The ice broke apart, but Gadget remained in the middle, atop a big circle-shaped piece of ice! The M.A.D. agent fell into the water and got frozen inside of an ice cube! Later, Gadget was wrapping a present as a M.A.D agent tried to creep up behind him. Gadget then spread his neck out as well as his spring-infused arms to wrap up the present and avoid the agent behind him before wrapping up the agent like a present and even put a "Do Not Open 'Til Xmas" sticker on the agent's mouth.
After a while longer, Gadget was donating some toys to the Christmas Toy Drop-Off with old presents that Penny didn't play with anymore and used the extended arm from his hat to drop them off. A M.A.D agent soon crept on a candy cane colored lamppost to trap Gadget in a net only for him to be grabbed and thrown into the bin as well as the donated toys. The agent then came out of the bin as Gadget bounced away and even passed by the giant Christmas Tree that was lit up in the middle of town circle and The Big Cube that dropped for New Year's.