The Louieton Galleria was buzzing with New Year's energy as Chyrstal and Grumpy Cat walked through and made their way to the food court. Okay, Grumpy wasn't walking, in fact, she was strapped into a pink sling bag around 12-year-old, soon to be a 13-year-old, Chyrstal's chest.

The mall was still decorated for Christmas-there were large and showy signs heralding the incoming year, complete with champagne bottles, more twinkling lights and gold and silver balloons hanging from the mall ceiling.

The glittering fountain in the center of the area sprayed mist that caught the light, giving the whole space a magical glow. Families shopped, and vendors hustled to keep up with the after-holiday crowd, looking to get further into debt, chasing after Christmas deals. And still Christmas music, to Grumpy's chagrin, played loudly over the P.A. system.

Grumpy had to admit, even being in the center of all this chaos, it was… cool, to hang out with Chyrstal. It had been a whole 5 days since Tabby, what was with THAT name, had brought her home. It was nice. "Meow."

Chyrstal also clutched in her tiny hand a gift bag decorated with glittering stars.

"What's in there?" asked Grumpy, "another 'good vibes only' tee shirt?"

"It's an early birthday gift from my dad. I think he's trying to bond."

Yeah, she wasn't going to be able to see him. Again, he and his new wife had gone to Aspen for the holidays and had decided to stay over New Year's. But it was okay, she had her mom, Jesse, and now her cat.

Chyrstal's green eyes looked around and she spotted her 'boss' Mr. Crabtree and Mr. Brockman, the new galleria manager. To her surprise, they were actually laughing and smiling at each other at another table… what a difference a week made.

"Guess what—I just saw Mr. Crabtree and Mr. Brockman… getting along. I guess paying the back rent got both in the holiday spirit!" she said, freeing Grumpy on the seat next to her, and putting the bag on the table.

"Charming. Let's throw them a parade," Grumpy replied.

"You could try being happy."

"Do you not remember what tale you're in?"

"C'mon. It's the new year! A time for joy, resolutions, and—"

"Regret, hangovers, and overpriced mall pizza," she countered, her blue eyes glaring at a group of teenagers quickly leaving a table with Sbarro. She licked her paw once, then grimaced at a nearby toddler with sticky fingers trying to wave at her.

"You're impossible, you know that?" Chyrstal teased. "There's something magical about tonight—can't you feel it?"

"If by 'magical,' you mean cheap decorations, and too much pumpkin spice in the air, then sure. And let's not forget people who think "clean up after yourself" is voluntary."

The sticky-fingered toddler approached with a giggle. Grumpy's tail twitched in disapproval, as she hissed, "Back, mighty beast!" sending him scurrying back to his mother.

Chyrstal laughed, nudging her.

Just then, Mr. Crabtree walked past, with a noticeable spring in his step, and stopped. "Chyrstal… and Grumpy Cat, you little ball of joy."

"I see your sarcasm lessons are paying off," Grumpy replied.

"Hey, Mr. Crabtree. Grumpy and I were just on our way to Whiskers. We saw you talking to Mr. Brockman. I guess he doesn't hate us anymore!"

Her boss chuckled, then pulled out a small, wrapped gift from his pocket and slid it onto the table in front of Chyrstal.

"Sort of a belated Christmas and Happy New Years gift rolled into one. If it hadn't been for you Chyrstal… and your feline shadow, I never would have been able to get JoJo back, pay off our debts…and get to know Gill."

"Wow. Even compared to Lifetime, that was fast work," Grumpy marveled.

"Aw, thanks, Mr. Crabtree!"

"It's not a magic coin, I promise," he teased.

Still, nobody believed her when she'd told them about being able to communicate with her cat.

Chyrstal opened her mouth to reply, when Mr. Manderson, the owner of Wine and Dash, came out of his shop, appearing frazzled. He looked like he was about to storm the food court as he clutched a clipboard. "Disgraceful! Another case of wine missing! Do I have to install cameras in every corner of that shop? This is theft! Robbery!" he cried dramatically, as he ran a hand through his dark, curly hair.

The food court grew quiet for a moment, save for the lyrics of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," as heads turned. The new mall security guard adjusted her Santa hat awkwardly but didn't intervene.

"Okay," Mr. Crabtree said, touching his glasses. "He looks like he's about to burst a blood vessel. I think that's my cue to get back to the pet store."

Chyrstal raised her eyebrows and glanced at Grumpy. "Looks like our New Year's party is getting exciting," she whispered, after the older man had left.

"Finally, something interesting… what can I say, I live for the drama!" Grumpy replied. "Meow."

Mr. Manderson continued to pace nearby, as people grew bored and went back to talking, eating and shopping.

The glitter around the fountain sparkled, but only Grumpy noticed. Her ears perked up, and her eyes narrowed. "What in the haunted mall heck is this… something's off."

"What do you mean?" Chyrstal asked, stuffing her presents into her dark backpack.

"There's more going on here than missing wine. I can feel it."

Behind them, the galleria's lights flickered faintly before returning to normal. A soft glitter sparkled in the air around the fountain—faint, almost imperceptible.

Chyrstal paused and looked back. "Did you see that?" She scanned the crowd, half expecting to see a guy dressed as Santa… or maybe, Baby New Year?

"See what? The spark of another bad decision?"

Chyrstal rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay. Yeah, I saw," Grumpy relented.

Chyrstal and Grumpy exchanged a nod, ready to dive into the mystery as the New Year's countdown clock ticked closer.

"Great tension, dear readers, huh? What, you didn't think I was going to be doing a little narration?" "Meow."

Chyrstal hopped up from the table, put Grumpy back into her sling, slid on her backpack and headed toward Mr. Manderson. What could Chyrstal say? Ever since, she and her cat had solved the mystery of a dognapped JoJo, okay it had only been last week… but she felt like she and Grumpy, maybe had a knack for this kind of thing.

"Mr. Manderson! What's going on?"

He threw up his hands, severely. "I'll tell you what's going on: my shop is being sabotaged! Cases of my best wine, poof, gone! That's a fortune walking out the door! If this keeps up, I'll have to close. And tonight, of all nights!"

It was Louiton's New Year's Eve Open House. Always, a big event for his wine shop.

"Don't worry. We'll get to the bottom of this," Chyrstal replied firmly.

"You? What can you do? You're like a kid. I've reported it to our lame security," he said, glancing over at the bored looking woman. "The police have been less than useless."

Chyrstal grinned. "You'd be surprised what we can handle. Right, Grumpy?"

Grumpy licked her paw and replied even more bored than the security guard looked. "As long as it's not another 3-year-old, I'm in."

The glitter sparkled again behind them, unnoticed this time, as Chyrstal and Grumpy Cat exchanged another knowing look. The hunt was on…