KISS: Adventures of Mystery (Dark Horse Comics)

Haunted Holiday

"Wow Mr. Menkle, it looks like your Christmas Parade is a HUGE success!" said Fred as Daphne and Velma rode on one of the floats dressed as elves and handing out candy canes.
"No, no you don't understand! You don't understand ANYTHING." said Havros before walking off. "Well, ain't he just a ray of sunshine!" said Gene. "Indeed." agreed Shannon raising an eyebrow. "You'll have to excuse my uncle, you see his business is failing and if he doesn't sell enough toys this Christmas, he'll lose the store." said Fabian. "Yeesh, no wonder why he's such a Scrooge." said Ace earning a smack to the back of the head from Shannon. "It's worse than you think. Something's really changed him this year." said Fabian. "Hey guys, where'd Beast King go?" asked Paul.
"How'd I let you two drag me in the middle of the crowd for the parade just so you two could get a couple Candy Canes?" questioned Peter crossing his arms tapping his foot. "Aw, come on, Beast King, like you enjoy hanging out with us and you know it! Velma, Daphne! Over here!" called Shaggy waving his hand. "Candy Cane! Candy Cane!" chanted Scooby. "OW! Thanks a lot, Velma!" called Peter as Scooby's candy cane bounced off his head. "Like, do you think you could grab that for Scooby, Beast King? Like, our hands are kinda full!" said Shaggy. He wasn't wrong. Both Shaggy and Scooby had their arms full of goodies. "Alright, alright, yeesh the things I do for you two!" said Peter heading to a yard that contained an old, creepy looking house and past a snowman that followed the drummer as he walked by. "Catch, Scooby!" he yelled tossing the candy cane towards the pile and Scooby's arms. Scooby held out the pile in his arms so the candy cane landed right on top before he and Shaggy devoured the food in one giant bite.
"Christmasalicious!" said Shaggy and Scooby in union. Peter shook his head trying not to roll his eyes as all three of them heard a loud growl.
"Now don't tell me you two are still hungry!" said Peter placing his hands on his hips.
"Maybe that was just my stomach saying 'thank you'!" laughed Shaggy. "I don't think so! Look!" said Scooby. "Yeow!" yelled Peter as both Shaggy and Scooby clung to him screaming due to a live snowman with three faces and razor sharp teeth. "Run, Beast King, run!" yelled Shaggy grabbing Peter by the arm with one hand and carrying Scooby with the other as the snowman chased them. "What do you think I'm doing!?" retorted Peter. "Hey, what's with all the commotion!?" asked Ace as the crowd began to scream and run for their lives. "Oh, I don't know...THAT!" yelled Gene pointing to the snowman who blew out an icy blast from it's mouth hitting Scooby. "Oh dear, Demon, it would appear as though you may have to thaw Scooby out!" said Shannon. "I had a feeling you'd say that!" yelled Gene as the wind and snow picking up creating a storm. "Don't worry, pal, we'll save you!" said Shaggy and he and Peter pushed Scooby towards the toy store. "Don't close the doors yet!" yelled Peter as he and Shaggy slid inside the store on a frozen Scooby before Fred and Fabian shut the doors. "Demon, care to do the honors?" questioned Shannon gesturing to Scooby. "Like, I really have a choice..." muttered Gene before taking a deep breath and blew fire towards Scooby melting the ice instantly.
"Hot!" cried Scooby running around in a circle with smoke emanating from his tail. "What was that thing, Fabian?" asked Fred as Shaggy and Shannon tried to catch Scooby. "Something terrifying?" offered Peter crossing his arms.
"No, something sinister. The Sinister Snowman.
That parade was our last hope. With that THING out there, we'll have to close the store and cancel Christmas. Look, I gotta check on my uncle. Everybody stay right here. You'll be safe "Yeah, like we're going anywhere with the storm going on!" retorted Gene only for Shannon to smack the back of his head with her purse.
"Ugh, I HATE Christmas!" grumbled the Santa from the parade. "Aren't you supposed to be representing Christmas though?" asked Ace. "Like, old dude that is SO wrong!" said Shaggy. "Yeah, Christmas is wonderful!" said Scooby who had finally calmed down after Shannon put his tail out. "I'm an actor! I hate it!
Every year I gotta ride that float and wave and be happy and jolly and say 'ho ho ho!' UGH!
Makes me sick! I am SO outta here!" said the actor turning towards the doors. "No, wait!" called Shaggy. "Don't go out there!" said Scooby.
"Too late." said Gene hearing the Santa actor screaming after going outside. "No, Freddie it's way too dangerous for you to go outside." warned Shannon grabbing the back of her friend's jacket and closing and relocking the store doors after pulling Fred back inside who wanted to help the guy. "Shannon's right.
With that blizzard out there and whatever's in it, we're not going anywhere until we get to the bottom of this mystery." said Velma. "Yeah, like we can't let them close the store!" said Shaggy.
"Or cancel Christmas!" added Scooby as they all piled into the elevator. "Which is why we're going to talk to Fabian's uncle." said Fred.
"Yeah. Nothing like trying to reason with that old Scrooge....OW!" whined Ace as Shannon stomped on his foot with her heeled boot.
"Havros Menkle was the only one who wasn't present during the snowman's attack." said Paul. "Making him a person of interest." said Daphne. "Like, is it me or is this elevator cramped with all of us in it!?" asked Shaggy who was pressed flat against the wall. "Agreed, even the Mystery Machine has more room with all of us in it." said Shannon as the elevator dinged. "Hey, what's that?" asked Scooby. "We must be in the Glockenspiel." said Paul as the piled out of the elevator. "Frozen little statues....how charming." said Shannon noticing the frozen elves.
"Excuse us, Mr. Menkle, we'd like to ask a few questioned and-" began Velma poking her head in the slightly open door of the office. "Get out!
Get out! Doomed! Doomed I say! Get out!" said Havros pressing a button on his desk making the doors swing shut. Gene looked over at Shannon about to open his mouth but Shannon held out her hand. "If you're going to mention the nut house again, Demon, don't even bother!" said Shannon. Shaggy let out a scream and jumped into Ace's arms after he felt something tap his shoulder. "Relax, you big chicken, it's just Fabian." said Peter. "I wanted to warn you not to bother my uncle. When I talked to him, he was acting very strangely." said Fabian. "You mean speaking in a creepy voice talking about doom?" questioned Gene as Shannon smacked the back of his head. "I hope you weren't thinking about leaving cause you can't! None of us can!
The blizzard's got us all snowed in and all the phones are dead. Nobody's coming to save us so you kids had better watch your backs!" said the janitor, Clete, before walking off. "Thank you, Clete. Clete's our clean up man. He's harmless....I think." said Fabian. "You think?" repeated Gene. "You have to admit, Fabian, it's more than toy sales that's bothering your uncle." said Daphne as the gathering in a dining hall of some kind with a fireplace. "I know. It's the curse." said Fabian. "Three....two...one..." counted Peter as Shaggy and Scooby clung to Shannon for dear life shaking like leaves. "It's Vladimar Harstikor." said Fabian. "I'm almost afraid to ask who he even is." said Gene. "I think it's time I told you about Vladimar Harstikor and the Curse of the Sinister Snowman. He was a mean old man who watched with contempt as the city grew around him. He hated people and only wanted to be left alone. Then, his worst nightmare happened. My uncle built his toy store across the street. It drove him to a bitter madness. Legend has it, that he became pure hate, venging a flurry of bitterness to forge a snowman with a sinister evil soul. It was twenty years ago today that that same night, the giant clock stopped and it's never worked since. Now, Vladimar has returned. He's possess my uncle Havros. It's the only answer. The Curse of the Sinister Snowman will finally destroy our family's toy store!" said Fabian as Scooby swallowed hard.
"Alright, gang, it's time to gear up! We have a mystery to solve!" said Fred as everyone ran in different directions to get what they needed. "I grew up on a mink ranch in Canada with my family which has a lot of snow!" said Shannon shivering from the cold as they made their way across the street with their makeshift snowshoes and goggles.
"This is ascot one, the yard is clear. Repeat, no Sinister Snowman in sight. You read me, Blonde Girl?" said Fred into his toy walkie talkie.
"Will you stop calling me Blonde Girl is enough and get serious, Fred?!" shouted Shannon who was being held back by Gene. "Fred, you ARE aware we're right behind you, right?" asked Gene. "Like, can we go now?" asked Shaggy hugging himself to keep warm. "Yeah, let's check out the mansion." said Daphne. "Let's go, scaredy cats!" said Gene pushing a protesting Shaggy and Scooby towards the old house. "Yeesh, and I thought insider the Glockenspiel looked bad!" said Ace turning on his flashlight with everyone else as the entered the old mansion. "I don't think I even want to know how snow and ice got all the way in this place." said Gene. "A broken window perhaps?" offered Shannon cocking a brow. "Alright, gang, time to spilt up and look for clues." sad Fred. "Like, we vote we won't split up!" said Shaggy as he and Scooby raised their hand/paw. "Yeah, scary stuff always happens when we split up!" agreed Scooby. Shannon raised a brow and dug around in her backpack they were all carrying a pulled out a toy mega phone turning it on. "MOVE IT, BOTH OF YOU!" she yelled into the mega phone she yelled into the mega phone making Shaggy and Scooby scream and take off running while Gene and Peter stood back laughing. "You should do that more often, Shannon!" laughed Peter grabbing his sides. "I thought it might come it handy when I saw it in the toy store." said Shannon with a smirk as she followed Shaggy and Scooby.
"Well, looks like we found out how the snow's getting in here." said Paul shining his flashlight on the ceiling as he, Fred, and Daphne entered the attic. "Hold the phone!" cried Fred seeing something on the floor that caught his interest. "Rockets! I love rockets! Can I keep them, guys, can I, can I!?" "No, Fredrick Jones you cannot keep them." said Daphne. "Not to mention they're a clue." added Paul. "Silver Iodide?" questioned Fred seeing a few canister out of the corner of his eye. "Don't they use that to freeze clouds and rain?" asked Daphne.
"Like, I can't believe you chased us all the way down to the basement, Shannon!" said Shaggy as he and Scooby followed Shannon, Gene, and Peter down the stairs. "Better than dragging you two down to the basement." said Gene. "Yeow!" yelled Peter stumbling over something but quickly caught himself and turned back around shining his flashlight in the same area. "Look, gang, miniature train tracks." said Shaggy.
"Funny, from the story Fabian told us, Vladimar didn't seem like the type who enjoyed toy trains." said Shannon raising a brow. "You got that right!" said Gene. "Hey, Raggy, check this out!" said Scooby. "Oh brother, Scooby found an ice mirror!" groaned Peter as Shaggy and Scooby goofed around. "Oh, boys! I do believe we have company!" said Shannon as she, Gene, and Peter were already backing away towards the exit. "Zoinks! Like, wait for us, you guys!" cried Shaggy turning around to see the Sinister Snowman right behind them. "Try and keep up!" yelled Peter running up the stairs after Gene and Shannon.
Meanwhile, Ace and Velma were investing the kitchen. "Hey, Celestial, come check this out. It's a postcard!" said Velma dusting the snow off. "You'll never see me again? What does that mean?" asked Ace hearing Shaggy and Scooby screaming. "Coming through!" yelled Gene busting open the door. "My glasses! I can't see a thing without my glasses!" cried Velma after Shaggy and Scooby collided with Velma knocking her to the ground and her glasses OFF in the process. "Now I wish I couldn't see at all!" "Guys, get a move on unless you want to become snow people yourselves!" yelled Peter dashing out of the kitchen.
"Uh, what's that sound?" asked Paul turning around as their friends rounding the corner running and screaming. "Incoming!" yelled Gene as the floor underneath them suddenly became ice and they collided with Fred, Daphne, and Paul. "Hey, snowball, catch!" yelled Fred throwing two containers of silver iodide at the Sinister Snowman. "Let's get outta here!" yelled Peter after the Snowman was blinded from the smoke cloud the canisters created. "This is the reason why I grew up in Canada!" yelled Shannon as they all ran out of the mansion screaming. "I know that you grew up in Canada and I get it already, Shannon!" yelled Gene running inside the toy store with everyone else. Fred and Daphne both backed up when the Snowman appeared in front of the glass doors with an angered roar. "He's frozen us inside!" cried Velma as ice creeped inside the store from the outside. "We noticed." said Gene sarcastically. "That leaves us only one thing to do." said Fred. "Order a pizza?" asked Scooby who was smacked by Shannon. "Find a way to trap the Snowman?" offered Ace.
"Exactly, Celestial!" said Fred. "Shaggy, Scooby, Peter, Shannon, and Gene will stand guard while we get to work." "Like, can't we just do Scooby's idea!?" asked Shaggy. "Well now, that depends. Which do you prefer, standing guard or option two?" asked Shannon whose eyes lit up. "On second thought, what could go wrong!?" laughed Shaggy nervously as he and Scooby slowly backed away from Shannon. "A wise decision." said Shannon crossing her arms with a smirk. "Alright, according to these blueprints, the toy store's old boiler room would be the perfect place to trap the Snowman. Now if only we could find a way to lure him there." said Fred opening the blueprint of the store onto the table.
"But how is that going to save my uncle when he's been possessed?" questioned Fabian.
"Somehow I doubt he's actually possessed." said
Ace thoughtfully. "You read my mind!" said Paul grinning at his friend.
"Like, this is a genius idea, Scoob, no Sinister Snowman's going to come in here if he thinks there's a whole army of guards!" said Shaggy.
"You two look ridiculous!" said Peter shaking his head. "Their whole plan is ridiculous." said Gene. "Sh!, I heard something!" whispered Shannon. "Zoinks! I hate it when she has to go and investigate creepy noises!" cried Shaggy. "Me too!" agreed Scooby. "Come on, you two, let's go!" said Peter as he and Gene pushed Shaggy and Scooby towards the strange noise.
"Uh oh!" said Scooby as they entered an old room of the toy store. "Looks like we've got company!" said Peter noticing the snow on the floor. "Fuzzface to Ascot one! Mr. Freeze has entered the building!" said Shaggy into his walkie talkie. "Seriously, where exactly did Fred come up with these code names?" asked Peter. "How long have we known Fred for by now?" questioned Gene blandly.
"Fred, Fred, can you hear me? Fred?" questioned Shannon trying to get ahold of either Fred, Daphne, Velma, Ace, or Paul through the walkie talkie but with no luck. "Like, did they say if the trap is ready yet, Shannon? Like, we're all clear down here." said Shaggy. "Shaggy, I can't even get AHOLD of any of them!" said Shannon tapping her foot glaring at her friend. "That ain't the only problem we've got!" yelled Peter pointing behind them. "Yikes!" yelled Shaggy seeing the Sinister Snowman behind them.
"Wait for us, you two!" yelled Gene grabbing Shannon's hand and making a run for it. "Ow!" hissed Shannon as she collided with someone while they were running. "Oh no, not HIM again!" groaned Gene seeing the person they bumped into was wearing a Santa Claus costume. "It's the Santa guy!" said Shaggy. "What's HE doing here? I thought he left." said Peter. "Well, this IS Santa's Village." said Santa. "You shouldn't be here!" said Scooby. "I sensed the toy store was in trouble." said Santa. "Yes, and so are we!" shouted Shannon pointing behind Santa. "Oh, I see what you mean!" said Santa. "Run!" yelled Peter as everyone took off running. "Quick, into the toys!" said Santa. "As long as it gets us away from Frosty back there I don't care where we go!" yelled Gene. "I second that notion!" yelled Shannon. "Uh, Scooby, you alright?" asked Peter who stopped running as Scooby crashed into a toy display. "Scooby, Beast King, like get out of there!" cried Shaggy. "Don't have to tell me twice!" yelled Peter making a run for it just as he and Scooby narrowly missed being turned to ice. Shannon raised an eyebrow as the Santa actor pulled a remote control out of no where and managed to free a toy car out of its box before tossing the control to Shaggy. "Quick, Norville, save your friends!" cried Santa. "Norville?!" asked Gene looking over at Shannon in confusion.
"Well, now surely you didn't think his real name was actually 'Shaggy' now did you? That's just a nickname." said Shannon crossing her arms. "Hey!" yelled Peter as Scooby knocked into him after being swept off his own feet by the toy car Shaggy was controlling. "Oh, dear, I can't watch!" said Shannon covering her eyes. "Ow, Hey!" yelled Gene as he, Shannon, and Shaggy were riding in a shopping cart being pushed by Santa. "Oof! Scooby, Beast King!" yelled Shannon as her two friend landed on them. "In my defense, it wasn't my idea!" groaned Peter rubbing his head. "Good gracious!" said Santa picking up his head. "Not exactly the term I would use." muttered Shannon. "Hey guys, I think I found our get away!" said Gene pointing to a door up ahead. "Works for me!" said Peter making a run for the door with everyone else. "Oh lovely, we're back in the Glockenspiel!" sighed Shannon as Shaggy and Scooby thought it was a good idea to start screaming for help. "Hey, what if we got the clock working again? Then someone would REALLY know we're up here considering that thing hasn't worked for twenty years!" said Peter. "Say, that's not a bad idea!" said Gene. "Yes...but which one of us is good with tools exactly?" questioned Shannon raising a brow.
"Leave that to me, Shannon!" said Santa running for the tool box. "I hope this guy knows what he's doing!" said Peter. "As do I." agreed Shannon. "I think I've fixed it!" said Santa after a tense minute or two. "Then hurry up and turn it on!
That door ain't going to hold much longer!" said Gene. "Run Norville, run Scoobert, run Gene, run Peter, run Shannon!" "OK, how'd that guy know our real names?" asked Peter. ''''Your guess is as good as mine!" said Gene. "Will you two hush up before he hears us!?" hissed Shannon as they all hid behind the now rotating and unthawed elf statues of the now working Glockenspiel. "That's cold!" said Scooby as the Sinister Snowman blew his icy breath in Scooby's direction. "So much for THAT hiding spot!" yelled Peter as they made a run for it. "Like, Happy Holiday, you guys!" said Shaggy as they were trapped behind the Glockenspiel Bell and the Sinister Snowman in front of it. "Seasons Greeting!" whimpered Scooby. "Is now REALLY the time for this?!" questioned Peter.
"Apparently so." said Shannon as one of the elf statues began to hit the Sinister Snowman's head against the Bell. Demon, of course, was laughing at the situation. "Really now, Demon." sighed Shannon shaking her head. "Are you guys alright? We heard the music from the Glockenspiel." said Paul as he, Ace, Fred, Daphne, and Velma entered. "You guys captured the Sinister Snowman!" said Velma. "Yes, but where have you five been?" questioned Shannon.
"We were sort of....frozen." said Ace making Gene and Peter look at each other and Shannon cock an eyebrow. "Now, let's see who he really is." said Fred dusting the snow away to reveal a helmet underneath before removing said helmet. "Fabian Menkle!?" they cried. "I knew it. Money has been missing from the store's accounts. I was beside myself trying to find it. Only tonight did I discover that my own nephew has been stealing from me to finance this charade!" said Havros coming over with Clete and a few policemen. "That's when Mr. Menkle sent me to get the police." said Clete.
"Well, we kinda knew it too. We did manage to figure out quite a bit." said Fred. "for example, he used the rockets and silver iodide we found in the old mansion to cause the snowstorm." said Paul. "And he used a remote control snowman on the miniature train tracks." said Peter. "Which is precisely how he was with us during the first attack." said Shannon.
"And of course you created your terrible frost using liquid nitrogen." said Daphne. "You tried to ruin the business and make me look crazy!" accused Havros pointing to his nephew. "That's right, dear uncle. If I could make you disappear, I could sell the store and get all the money. All I had to do was blame it all on the legend of Vladimar Harstikor." said Fabian. "Which isn't exactly the legend you've been lead to believe." said Ace. "Celestial's right, we both found this postcard sent to his hired help. He vanished alright. To a bungalow on Miami Beach." said Velma turning the postcard over. "Yeah, well I still would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling mystery solvers and your Christmas crazy dog!" said Fabian as the police dragged him off. "That's a new one." said Peter. "No kidding." said Gene. "Only one more mystery...how did you guys get this thing up and running again?" asked Ace.
"Ace's right. It's been broken for years." said Velma. "Oh, I don't think you'd believe us even if we told you." said Shannon looking up at the night sky as what appeared to be a sleigh and eight reindeer flew across the moon.
"I can't thank you kids enough. You saved me and my toy store. Look at all those smiling faces.
It's all I ever wanted!" said Mr. Menkle as he looked down over his newly bustling store. "I have to say, Mr. Menkle, we love your toy store." said Velma. "But I think we can all agree the greatest part of it all is Santa Claus!" said Shannon with a laugh. "There you go, little dude, now tell Santa Claus everything you want for Christmas!" said Shaggy who was dressed as an elf along with Peter. Shaggy helped the kids on and off Santa's (Scooby's) lap while Peter handed them a candy cane before they left. "Merry Christmas to all and Scooby Dooby Doo!" said Scooby with a laugh while Shaggy, Peter, and the little girl on Scooby's lap laughed silently with him.