The city was bursting with Christmas spirit. Festive garlands hung merrily from all the buildings, and cheerful green wreaths dotted the space between each sturdy lamppost that lined the downtown streets.

Hot, hazy sun shone down on the holiday decorations, baking the greenery until the air was rich with the scent of pine.

It reeked of Christmas--in the best possible way.
People were smiling, and the air was filled with good cheer.

The holidays made everyone happy.
But there was no one more excited about the scents and sights of the holiday season than the notorious Bad Guys.

Because Christmas was the time of year when they had executed some of their very best heists of all time.

Raising their new adopted daughter: princess chesterfield.

For many, Christmas is known as a time of giving.

For the Bad Guys, it's the best possible time for them to take.

But ever since they adopted princess, they needed to show a good example since she provided them happiness.

It started to snow, a snowflake danced in the air and the sound of the classic favorite hit: that's what Christmas means to me played.

The snowflake hits a window and inside a six year old princess was sleeping peacefully like a little angel.

Then as if the song was waking her, she flutters her eye open, she sees the window is fogged up then she swipes it and sees it was snowing, she gasped in joy which only meant one thing.

"ITS CHRISTMAS!" She jumped out of her room in a Merry BURGUNDY Velvet Dress with white stockings and white flats.

The bad guys were downstairs getting everything ready when they heard princess coming in screaming.

"It's Christmas wolf" she walks up to him who was decorating the tree.

He smiles then turns towards her, "you're right princess, it is almost Christmas"

She giggles I'm joy with the others sharing a smiling glances to each other.

"Are you excited to see Santa?" Wolf asked.

"Yes, do you think he's gonna come to our house?" She added her childlike wonder filled the air.

"Of course princess, I don't see why he wouldn't, speaking of, have you already started your Christmas shopping, we're all looking forward to see what you got us"

She sees everyone surrounding her looking eager and excited.

"So what did you get us?" Piranha begged.

"I can't tell you, it'll ruined the surprise"

"Aw come on please" piranha kept begging her but she won't give in.

"No"

She helps shark with the streamers then wolf sits down, a lot on his mind, he smiled and chuckles something.

"What is it wolf?" It caught princess attention.

"It's nothing princess, this just reminds me of the time where we almost ruined Christmas, when there wasn't gonna be a Christmas"

Princess drops the streamers, her mind curious about the Christmas that almost wasn't, she immediately ran up to him, eager.

"Really? Did that really happen?"

"Why yes princess" he picks her up and puts her on his lap.

"In fact this all happened right before you were even born"

"Can you tell me the story"

"Hmm, sure why not, after all it is Christmas after all and every Christmas needs a Christmas story"

He puts her down between piranha and webs as they together and listen to the story.

"This is the story called: how the bad guys stole and saved Christmas, it all started long ago"

Flashbacks began to play.

"Alright, guys," Wolf howled joyfully from the driver's seat of their snazzy getaway car.

He glanced into the passenger and back seats, flashing a toothy smile at the pals riding in the car with him: Snake, Piranha, Webs, and Shark. The five of them were known far and wide as the Bad Guys, and this bunch loved nothing more than to live up to that name.

Wolf adjusted his paws on the wheel and whipped the car around a corner. "What's tomorrow?"

Wolf's pals all shouted, "The Bad Guys Holiday
Heist-tacular!"

"Heist-tacular!? What's that?" Princess asked.

"Oh you'll see" wolf smiles grinning

"And what does that mean?" Wolf asked them with a killer grin.

He swerved to avoid some of the people who were lining up along the edge of the street for the holiday parade.

The crowds stuffed into town added some extra excitement to that day's drive.

Possible names for the Bad Guy's
Ultimate Holiday Heist
Wreck the Halls
Single Bell Bank Heist
Makin' It Rein(deer)
Mistletoe Mayhem
Rockin' around the Banking Tree Redlolish and the Red-Nosed Robbers
Twelve Days of theists
I'm Dreaming of a Gold Kwanzaa
Holly jolly Hanerkkoh Heist
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Get Youp Staff
Silent Night Sneak Attack
How the bad Gays State Christmas
Feliz Navidad, Fools!
Chrome for the Holidays
Frosty the No-Man
Let It Snow ... Cash, Cash, Cash
Winter Wonder-Where-It-Went?
Bad Gears Holiday Heist-tacular

The team's tech-wizard tarantula, Webs, glanced out at the crowds of unsuspecting ordinary people and began to explain the plan.

"While all these normies stay home with their loved ones or whatever

Piranha cut her off to excitedly blurt out, "This place turns into a ghost town!" He wriggled with excitement.

"No guards. No fuzz." Shark giggled and said, No late shift employees peeping for burglars." Rubbing his fins together, he cheered.

"The city's our heisting stage!" Snake hissed, "And we're gonna clean it out? He looked out of the car window at all the smiling fools.

"You were gonna rob the city?" Princess panicked.

"Yes but remember princess, this was before we had you ok, anyway"

Fools who had no idea that, once again, the Bad Guys had a whole lot of surprises in store for their precious city on Christmas morning.

Wolf chuckled to himself. 'It's a Bad Guys tradition," he mused.

Gripping the steering wheel, he wiggled his bushy eyebrows and said, "And so is spending the day before coming up with a list of everything we're going to steal on Christmas morning."

Piranha's eyes went wide as their car swerved past a row of shops.

"Ooh!" he said, bouncing up and down in the back seat.

"I wanna hit that place with all the stinky cheese." He snickered and said, "No reason! I don't even like it."

The other guys glanced over, giving him suspicious looks. His pals were all pretty good at being able to tell when Piranha was telling a lie (in fact, thanks to his nervous farting, the gang could usually smell when he was telling a lie, too).

Piranha blurted out, "Okay, I like it a little!"
Nodding, Wolf said, "Cheesy Dan's is on the list."

There weren't many places in the city that weren't on the hit list. While everyone else was tucked into their houses, celebrating Christmas morning together, the whole town would be theirs for the taking. Today was the perfect chance to scope out the options, and

List of Targets We're Going to Hit Bering the
BAD GUYS HOLIDAY HEIST-TACULAR
Cheesy Dan's
Ruby's Diamond Dealers
Golden Goodies
Gettin' Wizzy With It (for Shark)
The City's Largest Jewelry Store
Kitchen Goodies & More
Eli's Electronies Emporium
Vases & Lampshades R US
Fancy Art Messeum
Police Station (nab Chief's microwave)
Cash, Cash, CASt at City Corporate Bank
Bonus: Steal a giant parade balloon? (Why not)

"You were gonna steal from the chief?" Princess outs get hands on her hips, "that's not nice wolf"

"What? We're bad guys princess, it what we used to do" snake snickered.

tomorrow they would have all day to heist in peace.

Wolf steered the car carefully through more crowds of people who were waiting for the holiday parade to start.

Little kids bounced eagerly in line for shaved ice treats, clusters of friends waved and shouted greetings to each other, and still others admired the holiday greenery and twinkle lights that made the whole city feel like a magical winter wonderland even though the weather was typically sunny and warm.

Shark pointed as they zipped past another shop. "I could use some new wigs!"

Wolf swerved, expertly guiding the car through the jam-packed city. "Wig store," he said with a nod. "Got it!"

Suddenly, the crowds of people gathered on the sidewalks began to cheer wildly.

Wolf glanced up, noticing that the huge Santa balloon was now soaring high in the sky several streets away, floating merrily along above all the people.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the magnificent red-and-white balloon smiling down at them from the clear blue sky.

Wolf smirked as he noticed a man saluting the Santa balloon with actual tears in his eyes. Man, people were such suckers for that big guy in a red suit!

Out on a street corner, the chirpy news reporter, Tiffany Fluffit, was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Tiffany Fluffit here!" she cried into her microphone as she smiled at the camera. "With the moment we've all been waiting for. Our beloved Big Nick has just made his first appearance! I think I speak for the entire city when I say . . " She gazed lovingly up into the sky, grinning at the giant, air-filled Santa. "I love you, Big Nick!"

The Santa balloon sailed through the air, its handlers guiding it down the street toward City Corporate Bank.

From the other direction, the Bad Guys were also heading toward the city center. Not to see the Big Nick balloon, like everyone else, but rather to scope out their favorite heist target.

"City. Corporate. Bank," Snake whispered, practi cally drooling as Wolf steered the car in the direction of their ultimate target.

He slowed the car so the Bad Guys could all ogle their favorite building in the whole world.

A guard whose nametag read GARY stood outside the main doors, carefully watching for trouble.

He didn't notice the Bad Guys as they slowly cased the joint.

Wolf sighed happily. "That's what we've been waiting all year for," he said with a smile. "It's gonna be the cherry on top of our criminal sundae.

Tomorrow morning, the bank--and everything else in this city-will be ours."
Snake lifted his tail to give his best bud a knowing fist-tail bump.

The other Bad Guys whooped, sounding like a bunch of kids who were about to unwrap the
greatest gift of all time.

Wolf revved the engine and shot forward. They'd seen enough for today.

He felt ready for the next day's adven-ture. Now it was time to get home and rest up for the heist of the century first thing in the morning.

They were ready. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

"So what happened?" Princess asked.

Wolf stares at her and leans in closer, "we accidentally killed Saint Nicholas"

(For a fun activity: write in the comment what the bad guys should get princess for Christmas)