It's the Wednesday before Christmas, and all through the house... not a human was stirring, not even a.. wait a minute. Something's not right here. There are human stirring in this house. Well. That was just awkward. Let us instead follow the tales of these two friends as they face typical holiday horror...

*

"Just ask him," Alya pushed her friend.

Marinette trembled as she held her phone. On the screen was Adrien's phone number. Marinette's finger slowly went to press the call button. She whimpered at the last second and pulled away her finger.

"I can't! What if he says no?!" Marinette reasoned.

Alya rolled her eyes. "Uh, asking him to Christmas dinner? Come on. Adrien's the sweetest guy and he won't say no. Now call him!"

Marinette flinched at Alya's last statement, and when she did, her finger accidentally touched the call button. Marinette shrieked and nearly dropped the phone. The phone began to rang, and Marinette chewed her fingernails as she looked between Alya and the screen.

"Hello?" Adrien answered at last.

Marinette nearly choked on a fingernail at the sound of his angelic voice, and she glanced over at Alya who mouthed the words, "ask him."

"Hello?" Adrien asked again.

"Adrien!" Marinette answered too quickly. Alya face palmed herself. "It's Marinette. The girl that sits behind you in class."

"Oh, hi Marinette," Adrien responded with a laugh.

"So, um, I was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner Christmas tonight," she shook her head, " I mean Christmas dinner. And not just you but your family. YOUR DAD. If you want to, and maybe Natalie could come too if that's what you want..." Marinette glanced over at Alya, who signaled her to stop talking by pinching her lips shut.

"Oh, dinner?" Adrien answered after a pause, sounding confused. He was certainly lost throughout Marinette's babbling.

"That's correct," Marinette replied, slapping her forehead at the stupid response.

"Sure. I'll ask my dad if he wants to come," Adrien replied.

Marinette wanted to explode with happiness right there. But she had to save it until after she hung up. She didn't want to creep Adrien out anymore than she already had.

"Great," Marinette told him, a bright smile on her face. "I'll hang up now."

"Okay, I'll see you tonight," Adrien told her kindly. "Bye."

"Bye!" Marinette exclaimed and hung up. She jumped up and down with Alya.

"I knew you could do it!" Alya reassured her friend.

"That was longest we've ever talked," Marinette cooed, holding the phone close to her chest. Then, a thought came to mind, and she sat straight up, a look of alarm on her face.

Alya's smile fell. "What is it?"

"What will I get him this year?" Marinette asked frantically.

"What? But we just got him to accept your dinner invitation!" Alya responded.

"I know! But how horrible will I look if I don't even get him a gift?!"

"Well, first of all, no scarves," Alya decided, crossing her arms.

"And no cards, because I have to give him something that he'll never forget," Marinette added.

Alya gasped. "I know! Give him a kiss for Christmas!"

Marinette's mouth widened and her eye twitched in a weird way. "Whaaaat?"

"Kiss him! He'll never forget that," Alya smiled.

"No!" Marinette replied. "As much as I want to, I can't. I'll clam up and what if he judges my kiss?"

Alya raised an eyebrow. "Judging your kiss?"

"Forget it. I'm doomed," Marinette groaned, hugging her knees.

Alya huffed and crossed her arms. She hated seeing her friend depressed. Then, an idea popped into her head.

"What you need is inspiration. Let's go look in the shops for a gift," Alya offered, standing up.

Marinette raised her head slowly, unsure of what her other options could possibly be. "Okay," she replied.

She stood up slowly and put on her oversized coat and gloves. Alya followed suit and bundled up.

They emerged from the warm building and out into the chilly December air. They gazed at the snow falling to the ground. It was truly beautiful.

"I love this time of the year," Alya smiled. She grabbed Marinette's hand and tugged her along.

The pair strolled down the street, looking through windows for a potential gift to give Adrien.

Marinette pressed her face up against the glass of a video game store. She stared intently at an advertised video game. "You think he'd like 'Zombie Hunter 2.0?'" she asked.

Alya pulled her friend away and shook her head. "Don't get him a video game. Get him something else."

Marinette shrugged hopelessly. "I don't know what Adrien likes. A video game is my best bet."

"You think his father would let him do anything remotely fun?" Alya asked her friend. Marinette looked around cluelessly before answering, "No?"

"Then let's keep looking," Alya chuckled, pulling her friend along.

A bell rang in the distance, and Marinette knew exactly what it was for. By a store, a middle aged man stood in the snow beside a red bucket ringing a tiny bell. He was bundled up in layers and Marinette thought she could see snowflakes beginning to form in his mustache.

"Donate to a good cause!" the man spoke out in a frail voice. "Others don't have a gift this Christmas!"

"I feel bad. I'll donate a few dollars," Alya whispered to Marinette. She inched over to the bucket and slipped the dollar bills in. The man smiled warmly at her. "Thank you for making a difference, young lady."

"No problem," Alya smiled back, returning to her friend.

Marinette fished in her pocket for some change since she forgot to bring money with her. That probably would've been a good thing to carry along on a window shopping trip.

Marinette found a few Euros and walked up to the man. She slipped the coins in the bucket and the man smiled at her. "Thank you for making a difference."

Marinette nodded happily and scurried back over to her friend. They began to walk away when ruckus filled their ears. Marinette turned around quickly.

"Poor old man probably wants some hot cocoa, huh?" a teenaged boy mocked, waving a cup of hot chocolate in front of him.

"Unless you're going to donate, you'd better get out of here!" the man barked.

"What are you gonna do?" another boy teased, laughing. "I don't need to donate to nothing."

"Ungrateful children!" the man yelled.

Marinette bit her lip. She desperately hoped the situation wouldn't escalate.

"What jerks," Alya whispered.

"You're right," Marinette replied. She watched in pain as the boys teased the man.

"Scram!" the man told them. The teenaged boys finally obeyed the man and walked away. They chuckled to each other as they did so.

"Let's go," Alya whispered to Marinette, disgusted at what they witnessed. They began walking away from the scene.

"Rotten kids, they are," the man muttered to himself. "If only I could show them what it's like to not have a Christmas. Then they'd understand."

A purple butterfly started fluttering down to the man's bell. He stared at it, perplexed. "What are you doing here?"

The butterfly landed on the bell, and a sinister voice resonated throughout the man's head.

"Creux Noel," the deep voice said. "The holidays are not what they seem to be anymore. Teenagers are spoiled and ungrateful. I will give you the power to take away their Christmas in exchange for Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous's. Do we have a deal?"

The man grinned evilly. "Yes."

A purple sludge swallowed the man's body and transformed him into Creux Noel. His task now was to take away the Christmas cheer.

*

Alya and Marinette traveled down the crowded sidewalk, peeking into every shop. Marinette sighed. "I feel like I'll never find anything for Adrien at this rate."

"Keep your head up, you'll find something. You just gotta believe," Alya encouraged, clenching a fist.

Marinette held her head up high. "You know what, you're right Alya. For all I know, Chloe will get him something better at the last minute."

"That's the spirit! Kinda," Alya replied, "Now let's go."

They began walking again when screams echoed off the sidewalk. Marinette gasped and glanced at the sky. Creux Noel floated in the sky on a round snow cloud, wearing an ugly gray outfit and carrying a red bell. Where had Marinette seen that before?...

"Christmas is no more!" he cackled hysterically. "Time to teach those kids!"

Alya shrieked as Creux Noel flew over to her and shot her with a snow ball. Marinette gasped and backed away as Alya's face turned pale and lifeless-looking.

"Who cares about giving gifts. Who cares about Christmas," she mumbled hopelessly.

"Alya-" Marinette started, but jumped out of the way when a magic snow ball flew towards her. Creux Noel began chucking the magical snow balls at bystanders, taking away their Christmas spirit.

Marinette had no choice but to leave Alya. She hid behind a trash can and opened her purse. Tikki bounced out. "He's definitely not spreading Christmas cheer!" Tikki exclaimed.

Marinette nodded. "Let's stop this guy!"

"Transform, Ladybug!" Marinette exclaimed. Her earrings lit up, and in an instant, she was in her Ladybug outfit.

She jumped out from behind the trash can and searched the sky for Creux Noel. She spotted him flying through the air on the cloud of snow.

"Made it just in time, my lady," a voice rang out from beside her. Ladybug glanced over and saw that it was Chat Noir. He reached for her hand to kiss it.

"No time for flirting," Ladybug told him, pulling away. "He's trying to take away Christmas cheer. And by that bell, he must've been-" she gasped. "The man collecting the donations!"

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at her. "Why would an akuma possess him?"

"Because teenagers were picking on him earlier. It must've gotten him so bitter that an akuma possessed him."

"Ah," Chat Noir replied, and then got into a ready stance. "Fear not, my lady, for I will protect you from him."

Ladybug smirked. "No need. I'll catch you later, kitty cat!"

She flung her yoyo at Creux Noel, and it wrapped around his ankle. She went soaring through the sky.

"Wait for me!" Chat Noir called out, jumping after her.

Ladybug flew in the sky and landed on the snow cloud with Creux Noel. "Stop! You don't need to do this!"

"Yes I do, pesky beetle!" he growled, and then smacked her away. Marinette went soaring through the air. She grabbed ahold of her yoyo and threw it out towards Chat who had already landed on the snow cloud.

"Catch!" she exclaimed at him. Chat Noir successfully grabbed it and hoisted her back up. Ladybug readied herself beside Chat.

"You did not just do that," Chat Noir growled at Creux Noel. He hissed and started clawing at him.

"You annoy me," Creux snarled. "Time for a secret weapon."

He brought up his bell and rang it. A high toned pitch rang through the city. Chat and Ladybugs hands flew up to their ears at an attempt to block out the sound.

Creux laughed and then shoved the two off the cloud. They went flying through the air. Ladybug looked over at her partner who was helplessly falling to his demise. "Chat!" she called out.

He glanced over at her, his eyes wide with terror. "What?"

"Give me your stick" she demanded, holding her hand out.

Chat nodded and pulled the metal pole out from behind him, handing it to her. Ladybug quickly tied her yoyo string to the stick. She grabbed Chat's hand and threw the extending stick in between two buildings. The pole lodged in between the space and stopped the two from falling. The motion caused Ladybug and Chat to swing back and forth in the air like a pendulum.

"Quick thinking," Chat Noir complimented. Ladybug jumped down and detached her yoyo from the stick. She handed Chat his weapon.

"Thanks," she replied with a wink.

"Now that all people are out of Christmas spirit," Creux Noel laughed, staring at Ladybug and Chat Noir. "Time to deal with you pests!"

He began flying towards Ladybug and Chat Noir, a lethal looking ice shard pointed at them. The duo jumped into the air. "Get the bell! That's where the akuma is!" Ladybug instructed Chat.

Chat Noir nodded. "Got it!"

Ladybug flung her yoyo at Creux's arm, and it wrapped around. He noticed this and purposely flew through tall snow banks, dragging her along with him.

Ladybug was continuously smashed in the face with the fresh snow. It chilled her body and she was internally shivering. Her face was covered in snow. Creux flew higher into the sky, and now she was soaring though the air. She helplessly screamed, still being tugged around by the villain.

"Soon you'll be a Ladybugsicle!" Creux Noel laughed, glancing at her.

Ladybug shivered, and stared at the ground. She was getting farther and farther away. She had no choice but to detach her yoyo before she really did turn into a popsicle.

Ladybug tugged her yoyo free from Creux's arm, and she was now sent free falling through the atmosphere. She screamed helplessly and pinched her eyes shut before making contact to the ground, but it never came. Instead, she was in the warm arms of her partner. He looked at her with his vibrant green eyes, slightly interested. He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

She shoved him away and got down. "Bad kitty."

Her attention was taken away when Creux Noel laughed. "Hand over your Miraculous's or else I'll turn you two into my ice sculptures! Mwahaha."

"Me-OW, that's not nice!" Chat Noir exclaimed, lunging for Creux.

Ladybug threw up her yoyo. "Lucky Charm!" she exclaimed.

Down from the sky came a portable heater. She smirked as she knew exactly what to do with it. But the problem was finding an outlet.

She glanced around and finally spotted one on the side of a store, luckily unaffected by the snow, and she jogged over. She plugged in the heater, and slowly felt it gaining heat.

Ladybug glanced up and saw Creux holding a dangerously sharp icicle at Chat Noir's face. She flung her yoyo over to the villain, and it pushed the icicle out of his grasp. It immediately melted out of his hands. Ladybug smiled. Looks like she found out his secret.

"Hey, bad guy!" she shouted, gaining his attention. She conveniently stood in front of the heater so Creux wouldn't see it. He clenched his teeth in anger, and started mustering up a giant blizzard around him. He soared over to her. At the last second, Ladybug moved out of the way and the rays of warmth hit Creux.

He screamed and tried to get away but his feet were melting. "Chat! Get his bell!" Ladybug exclaimed to her partner.

"I don't think so!" Creux yelled, and twisted his torso around to throw a magic snowball at Chat. Luckily, he dodged out of the way just in time.

"Someone needs to work on their aim!" Chat Noir said with a wink.

While Ladybug was distracted by this diversion, Creux Noel cackled and shoved her out of the way. He smashed the heater into tiny pieces. The melted slush that formed at his feet quickly reshaped and formed back into legs.

"Nice try you two, but my job isn't done just yet!" Creux laughed. He mustered up a snow cloud and floated in the air.

Ladybug stepped away and glared up at Creux Noel. Her earrings beeped. She sighed and knew she had to recharge Tikki before going after him again. "You win this time, Creux."

"Of course I do! I'll patiently be waiting for our next battle!" he told her, and then soared away.

Ladybug sighed and crossed her arms. Chat approached her.

"Well, meOW what are we going to do?" he asked her.

Ladybug's earrings beeped again, and she knew her transformation was almost up.

"Well, for one thing, I need to recharge my kwami before our second battle with that guy," Ladybug replied.

Chat nodded. "Okay. Soooo, I'll meet you out here in ten minutes?"

"Sounds good," Ladybug nodded. They quickly departed just as her earrings rang for the third time.

Ladybug quickly entered a store and decided to warm up there. She noticed that the clerk had the same bored expression as Alya when she was hit with the magic snowball. Their Christmas spirit was ripped away from them.

Ladybug darted into a bathroom just before her transformation wore off. Tikki flew out of her earrings and landed into her hands.

"Tikki," Marinette said urgently. "Are you okay?"

Tikki lifted up her head. "Yeah. Just a little cold."

Marinette closed her hands over the red creature. "Well, I'll warm you up and then we'll go back out there. Sound good?"

"Yes," Tikki replied. "Cookies?"

"I'll try to find you some," Marinette whispered to her.

She inched out of the closet and luckily the clerk was too busy sulking to notice Marinette. Her face lit up when she saw that she took refuge in a small bakery. It was nowhere near as experienced as her parents', but it had cookies and that would do.

"It's for a good cause," Marinette whispered to the clerk before snatching a few cookies from the shelf.

"Whatever," the clerk replied sadly, transfixed at a spot on the ground.

Marinette dropped the cookies in the bag for Tikki. She munched on them happily.

"Eat up, Tikki. We're going to show Creux Noel what Christmas is all about," Marinette whispered.