Everyone Loves the Sleigh

[letskicksomeice]

They'd had a few days to get settled in. In that time, the Yetis and Elves had been nothing but welcoming, making sure the gang had a never-ending supply of treats, cocoa, and eggnog, as well as more wholesome food to nosh on. Even though they had work to do - and seemed to enjoy doing it - the Yetis had been helpful in getting them all settled in, into rooms specially designed to each of their specifications. If anything had a want or need of something, like new clothes, or a new pair of shoes, they'd been quick to provide.

Jack and Bunny had done their part to make the new folks feel welcome, as well, by showing them around and socializing, but they'd been in and out constantly during the last few days. Some of the times they'd come back in, they'd looked a touch on this side of ragged.

True to their word, despite the fact that they'd been busy putting out fires caused by Kuk and Its minions, they had reached out to a few contacts of theirs to see about helping the others get home.

That was why Jack was gathering them all up on the balcony in front of the globe.

"Okay, guys, we have some good news. We managed to get in touch with an ally of ours. We think she can give us more information about what exactly you are. Like...how much you were changed to be like us, how the mechanics of the world have changed to pull you in. It might give us some headway in figuring out how to get you back home. She wants to meet you."

[ooc: Bendytimed to after they negotiate Tony being allowed to stay at the Pole.]

Comments

[morethanmyth]

"I should think so," she said as he climbed in, sheathing her sword, her goose shrinking to normal goose size as it flew in with her. "I helped design the prototype. But what about you and Bunny, aren't you coming?"

[letskicksomeice]

"We'll hold them off so you can get them all back to the Pole and use Bunny's tunnels. If we run into lindworms, we'll deal."

He blasted at some fearlings.

"The yetis added a stealth shield to it - hit the red button on the dash for it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a snowglobe, tossing it to her. "Use this once you're clear."

[morethanmyth]

"But -"

[letskicksomeice]

"No buts," Jack said firmly. "We didn't anticipate the risk. It's our fault all of you are in danger, it's our responsibility to get you out."

And then he was kicking off of the wing of the sleigh to fly up in the air, long sweeping arcs of ice magic helping to clear the sky above the sleigh for take off.

[morethanmyth]

"Right. Of course," Katherine said miserably, not relishing the idea of leaving the last two Guardians behind.

Still, she did as she was told, buckling herself in, starting up the engines, and trying to keep the reindeer from getting spooked enough to just take off.

"Quickly! Everyone strap yourselves in, there's going to be some slight...turbulence."

[spellitonce]

"I've got us covered!" Nico shouted, throwing herself into a seat in the back and strapping herself to it one-handed. "Do these things have any weaknesses other than blunt-force trauma?"

[lifelinked]

"I've got the right from this angle," Mami reported, jumping to take an end seat in the sleigh. Her hand hovered near her hat, ready to whip out a rifle and fire at any moment.

[madeforthis]

A rather loud splash-impact is heard nearby as Zac lands from quite literally throwing himself at the sleigh, though he misses the mark and lands beside it. He reforms quickly enough and climbs in, though he looks a bit awkward at the strapping-in comment.

"...just how much turbulence are we talking about here?"

[fromfryingpantofire]

Sam was backing up to the sleigh, mostly because his telekinesis seemed to work best when he could actually see what he was aiming at. Probably not that strange, honestly. He was more holding them back, mindful of the cover that the two girls were putting down. When he was close enough, he turned, letting them handle it for a few minutes as he climbed in.

"Not sure. It was pretty smooth getting here, but bugging out is always a lot tougher." He strapped in, turning to keep his eye on the creatures around them and adding his support where needed.

[mywarrenmyrules]

Bunny held the fearlings off at a point beyond the last of the straggling new myths, keeping his three-pointed wall of defense going with both boomerangs flying.

"Oughta be light!" he called back to Nico. Ought to have been - but the fearlings were attacking during the day. That wasn't entirely unheard of, but in such broad numbers, it was definitely new.

"Something brighter than what we've got now might do the trick."

Again, his paw drifted to the blue-shelled egg on his harness, but he didn't throw it. The flashbomb contained in the egg was absolutely bright enough to do the trick, but it wasn't just the brightness that made him reluctant to throw it.

"Anyone sitting on an ace like that?"

They had new tricks up their sleeves in the form of these new myths, just exploring their powers. Unlike him, maybe one of them could make a light that wasn't irreplaceable.

[morethanmyth]

"Enough turbulence that you may want to congeal yourself to something," Katherine answered Zac.

[madeforthis]

"Afraid not," Zac called out in answer to Bunny with a frown - too bad that little Demacian lady wasn't here, or Leona, or even a handful of other Champions that could do that in some way.

He gives Katherine a slightly exasperated look - "If I could make myself denser, then I could buckle up just fine."

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Great, because the flight in here was so great, now we've got to worry about getting the living Nickelodeon goo all over us." Howard's more than happy to buckle in, though. He's far from wanting to end up a red splatter on the pavement of some unknown suburb or whatever. His face is red from exertion and his back is covered with dirt from working under the sleigh.

[spellitonce]

Light? Well, it wasn't technically her specialty, but...

"I know a girl."

A glowing human shape burst forth from the Staff and whirled into the mass of Fearlings, trailing all the colors of the rainbow behind her. The result of that spell would look very familiar to Molly.

God, what Nico wouldn't do to have all of her friends here with her right now. And with the Leapfrog.

"I can't do it and cover us, but, I can cart him along in a bubble," she said, jerking her chin toward Zac.

[letskicksomeice]

"We're going to cover you. Now, go!" Jack cried out.

[spellitonce]

This was way more spells than Nico usually cast in a fight. She pulled her power out of the roller coaster golems, sending them crashing to the ground into so much wreckage again, and turned the Staff on Zac.

"Come, my crystal bowling ball," she said, and the daylight around Zac coalesced into exactly that. Nico swayed her her seat, then dug her nails into her bloody palm again.

"Okay, he's sticking with me, so don't let me fall out of this stupid thing if I pass out!"

[madeforthis]

Before Zac could make much response outside of a wide-eyed look at the prospect of being enclosed in a bubble, he found himself being contained in one. There was a bit of flaily panicky noise-making in the process, as well as some instinctive trying to knock his way out of the thing.

After a moment, though, he calmed once he realized that this was for a good reason - so he wouldn't fly out of the sleigh. Not getting locked up for good. Just. Temporary.

"...thanks."

[animalhats]

"Karolina!" Molly couldn't help herself from exclaiming with a little laugh as the Karolina-like figure burst from Nico's staff. Obviously it wasn't as good as the real thing, but even a fascimile of Karolina's powers was kind of reassuring. When Nico finished casting the spell to keep Zac in, Molly grabbed her hand.

"I won't let you fall," she promised, and her grip seemed to back her up.

[mywarrenmyrules]

Bunny eyed the flying rainbow girl with approval. When they were all safely back at the pole, it'd be time to thank Nico for that.

But right now, it was time for the new myths to tactically retreat. They were learning their powers, and that was good, but this was not an ambush sent for green myths new to their roles. This was an ambush meant to overwhelm him and Jack. The fearlings would see how well their efforts stacked up, once the barely-more-than civilians were out of the way.

"Take the rainbow-girl with you! And don't look back!"

They might need their vision, and the blue-shelled egg in his paw was liable to compromise that.

[morethanmyth]

As soon as everyone was buckled in, Katherine cracked the reins and the sleigh launched into the air. It was a little bumpy, but Howard's repairs held.

If anyone had been there to see what happened next from the ground, what followed was a beautiful sight, even despite the dark. Ahead of Santa's sleigh, the vision of the girl made of light led the way, bursting through the shadows that had blocked out the sun, her rainbow hair trailing behind like the tail of a shooting star. The sleigh rocked to and fro from the shadows battering themselves against it, but none of them managed to keep their hold or cling on long enough to harm the passengers.

Then they were above the clouds of shadows and in the light of the sun again. Katherine hit the stealth button and the air shimmered just slightly around them but otherwise there was no other change. Outside the sleigh, the shadows still chasing them visibly seemed to be having difficulties finding it now.

Now that they were safe, the girl made of light turned to hold off the shadows trying to follow the sleigh to make sure they were even safer. Even though this was just a spellform of Nico's friend, the idea of her given temporary form, she fought as ferociously as the real thing.

Below them, there was suddenly a light that spread through the area, one that seemed to even dim the light of the sun. It was like an atom bomb, but less repulsive and unnatural - this light was filled with such transcendant beauty that it seemed like it belonged in the world, like the world was poorer for having less of it. For just a moment, everything was a blank piece of paper full of infinite possibility and they were the only drawings on the page.

Then the light faded away.

Katherine turned the sleigh just enough that they could see that the clouds of shadows had been greatly diminished after that burst of light, but some were still there. What was left of them swirled together in a great spiraling whirlwind of darkness that drove itself down in a single spot in the abandoned amusement park that was now far off in the distance.

Katherine, reaching for the snowglobe in her pocket, gasped. Her goose out out a disturbed honk.

Then there was a sudden loud boom and then another bright, bluish light that started near the ground and cascaded upward through the cloud of shadows like electricity. The entire cloudmass froze from the ground up and shattered with another resounding chakoom of sound. There were still more shadows left, but Katherine didn't waste any time seeing what happened to them. Muttering, "North's Workshop," into the globe, she tossed it in front of the sleigh in a long arc. A portal opened in front of them.

"Cocoa. What I need is cocoa. Cocoa makes everything better," she muttered to herself in the jangly tones of someone dealing with being scared.

Then they flew through the spiraling vortex to safety at last.