Operation: Sugarplum - Drosselmeier Industries, #1

Clara just wanted to meet her idol. She didn't expect to have video game bad guys come after her in real life. Clara Steele is thrilled when game developer Max Drosselmeier invites her to test out his new virtual reality system and the game Operation: Sugarplum. But Max didn't warn her about his tendency to accidentally pull characters out of his games and into the real world. Instead of finishing her Christmas shopping, Clara finds herself attacked by a pixelated seven-headed Rat King intent on taking her back to his castle.
If Clara and Max can't lure the Rat King back into the game and defeat him on his own turf, they might end up as rat food rather than making it to Christmas dinner. Originally published in Christmas: Australis: A Frighteningly Festive Anthology of Spine Jingling Tales, Operation: Sugarplum is a modern retelling of The Nutcracker with an Australian twist.