A/N: Right into this one. Don't forget to drop a review, and read the A/N at the bottom.

The Last Christmas

By JDWrites101

Chapter Five: Home Coming

"Can you honestly tell me that Christmas is as beautiful to you now as it was when you were a child?"

The thought if it could be called that roused Ethan from his state of semi consciousness. When he opened his eyes he was no longer twirling around in the sleigh but laying in one of the few open fields partially sunken into the snow. Off to the side lay the sleigh and several large vines but beyond that he couldn't see much more. His eyelids felt heavy and his body ached from the crash. He felt someone place a hand on his head and heard a familiar voice whisper:

"Easy Ethan." It sounded like Benny but he knew that couldn't be true. After all it had been his friend that had tried moments ago, was it moments, to crash the sleigh he was riding in. A few flakes fell from his hair and he felt his powers flare up and again stop. Nicholas came into view. "Stay still for just a bit longer. I'm trying to heal your wounds."

A few seconds passed and he felt a strange lightness overcome him. The pain quickly subsided and a powerful warmth blossomed in his stomach. He slowly tested his limps then sat up. On the far side of the field stood the Elves with their swords drawn and in front of the group two of the five Heralds.

"Krampus and the Toymaker," whispered Nicholas. The monster glared at them and made no other motion. Next to him the Toymaker twirled the hammer around in his hand and narrowed his eyes. At once several large nutcrackers appeared each one wielding a silver sword and a large rile strung across their backs.

Ethan felt his eyes flash and blinked at the sudden rush. When the random power surge subsided he looked up and pleaded: "Please, I just want to help you."

"I refuse to go into that book once more," said Krampus. He lifted his club up and pointed it at them. "I refuse to be another cog in the machine that Christmas has become. Tell me Ethan where is the beauty in this holiday? You've seen it; you summoned us to your dreams. Tell us the what the true meaning of Christmas is to this city, how does Whitechapel see the holiday? How do you see the holiday?"

"Do not listen to the devil's lies," said Blixen. He took his stance and held out his sword. "Unlike the last time I will have that silver tongue of yours before the night is over. Of that you can be certain."

"Your wrath is a sin equaled only by your vanity. Though it would be rude if I did not admit I have eagerly awaited this rematch as well."

Comet and Dancer rushed to their leader's his side. The Toymaker backed into the forest and in his place several large toy soldiers marched forward. From the skies two figures landed in front of Krampus with supernatural ease. Ethan felt another twinge at his eyes as both Erica and Rory smiled and bared their fangs. Nicholas placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled his backwards.

"Come Ethan, we must get to the Claustrum. Icicles, the Heralds must be kept alive and if you hurt a single citizen it will be the end of you. Do I need to say anything else?"

"No sir," said the three Elves in unison. Ethan approached Blixen. The Elf gave him a sharp glare and in response the Seer leaned in and whispered:

"If you so much as hurt any of my friends I will personally kill you."

Blixen gave him a smile. "You are not as weak as you would seem. Sir we could use some support while you are gone if you do not mind of course."

Nicholas placed a hand on the snow and his shadow rushed forward. Nine black reindeer rose from the ground dripping in darkness with glowing red eyes and sharp pointed antlers. They charged and the Elves rushed forward. Blixen stopped Krampus's club with his blade only to be knocked aside by Rory. Donner chanted an incantation and wind reduced several of the toy warriors to dust.

"Go," screamed Comet. He moved his hand around in a complex motion and as he did fire flew forth in the form of a large dragon. "Don't worry about us. We're skilled in the art of combat and magic, we can handle ourselves."

Ethan and Nicholas ran through the forest and stopped when they found themselves standing at one of Whitechapel's outer streets. Ethan stumbled to his knees and stifled a cry when he took in his first real sight of the city. The large thick vines, the destroyed windows, doors hanging off their hinges, some of the buildings even appeared to have almost been crushed underneath the weight monstrous plant. Decorations hung lazily in the air, and in the distance he saw several crushed bits of what made up Christmas in Whitechapel. The streets were empty, there was no snow falling around them, everything was eerily still. If he had one word to describe his city it was would be silent.

"Has it faded as you've grown older? Have you dismissed this passing of emotion as simply becoming an adult?"

"What's going on?" Asked Ethan. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Nicholas by the coat. "Where is everyone? Why are they using my friends? Why are my powers going insane?"

"I don't know where everyone is," said Nicholas. He looked around and waved a hand. When nothing happened he crossed his arms. "I can't sense them or my brother. As for your Seer ability and telepathy I'd wager is has to do with the sudden influx in power in this city. I don't think I need to tell you how extremely broken things are both physically and spiritually right now. Beyond that I can't say more, as for your friends you should steel your heart the night is still young."

There was a flash and in the moment Nicholas summoned his ruby blade and blocked the strike from the scythe. The Belsnickel twirled around and the duo exchanged a series of blows while moving further and further down the street. "Go! I'll hold this one at bay, once I'm done I'll track you with my magic."

Ethan ran with all his might. As much as he wished to fight by Nicholas's side he couldn't. The Heralds were far too strong for liking, and the longer they remained out the more powerful they became. He jumped over a vine and turned down the street and kept the pace for several more blocks. He ran for his house, struggled for a moment with his door and then with all his might he kicked it open. Once inside he heard the sounds of swords clashing. He peered outside and watched as Nicholas kicked the monster backwards only to be thrown forwards by a blast of ice.

"Jack Frost," hissed the Seer. He turned away from the window and went through the rooms. Time was of the essence. Once he found both Claustrums he headed upstairs for his backpack and weapons. He stopped when he caught sight of the vine that had surged through the window and into his room. It was strange to see the partially attached glass, and even strangee to see underneath it within the debris several pictures of friends and family.

Ethan picked up the photo he had taken with Benny during their graduation. He felt a strange sadness overwhelm him and in attempt to distance his mind he picked up another photo. This one had both his sister and parents in it, all of them stood around a table as he held up his diploma. Where was his family? Were they okay? Had something befallen them during all this madness? What would happened when he would no longer be here to protect them? Perhaps this was just an example of the danger he would put everyone in when he left for college. The floor creaked behind him, and he clenched his fists. He looked up at the shattered pane, and saw his own reflection but nothing else behind him. He activated his telepathy and took in a deep breath.

"Sarah," whispered Ethan when he turned. Standing there was the brunette vampire with dark blue eyes and her fangs bared. He felt his own eyes burn and quickly blinked it away. He was going to need his powers under his own control if he wanted to put up a fair fight. "I don't want to hurt you."

She said nothing and charged forward. His vision activated and fell in tandem with his telepathy. At once he saw Sarah's movement before she could perform them and in his mind he saw every single one of her attempted strikes. He dove for his bed and rolled across the top easily dodging the attack.

"I'm sorry, but rule two." When she turned he reached for the hiding spot next to his bed and produced a wooden stake. The future flashed before him and he tossed it with a frown. Sarah would catch it, and then he would uncap the vial of holy water and douse her with it. She would be incapacitated, her cellphone would fall out from her jacket pocket and it would be up to him to incapacitate her.

The next minute followed Ethan's telepathy vision to a tee. As Sarah hissed in pain and he kicked her backwards with all his might. She went through the remainder of the window and into the bushes below. He picked her phone up from the ground, quickly ran through the apps and nodded. The ant-evil Benny app, he stuffed it into his backpack alongside the Claustrums and opened his cabinet. He found the box that Benny's Grandmother had given him, and then pulled out the three artifacts within. His anti-magic dagger, and the two pure steel brass knuckles. He slid the blade into his belt and the knuckles into his pockets. One last glance around confirmed there was nothing left for him and he darted outside.

"You refuse to see the way the world has slowly withered away the true nature of Christmas. Or perhaps there is a truth even you have yet to realize."

Once free of his house he caught Nicholas in enough time to watch as he casted a spell that forced both the Belsnickel and Jack Frost further down the street. The barrier kept them in place and Claus muttered another spell. The vines surged forward and wrapped around the Belsnickel. Frost dodged the sudden binding and vanished further down the block and eventually out of sight.

"I thought poinsettia couldn't be affected by white magic?" Asked Ethan. He felt a chill go up his spine when the answered dawned on him. "Was that dark magic?"

"Unfortunately it was, drastic times call for some rather drastic measures." Nicholas began to pant and then let his sword vanish. "This would've been all the more easier with my wife around. I haven't had to use this much of my own magic for centuries. Do you have the book?"

"I do," he patted his backpack. "We need to get to the Caller."

Nicholas nodded and together they headed for Main Street. Ethan stopped when he noticed something from the corner of his eye and activated his powers. He dodged the wooden staff, slid his hand into his pocket and pulled it free with the brass knuckles attached. In one motion he struck the Herald and smiled when Jack Frost stumbled backwards in shock and pain.

"Behind us," called Nicholas. Several Toy soldiers emerged from the buildings around them. They pointed the guns and began to fire. "Don't let them hit you! These bullets are like our own, they've been laced with poinsettia."

Ethan dodged the bullets and moved around the strikes from Frost. He felt his eyes burn as the foreign power began to pull at him once more then all at once it stopped. He smiled when the Herald took a step back panting. "Your gonna have to move faster, I've been dodging Benny's messed up spells for years. You've got nothing on him."

Jack turned bright blue and let his staff vanish. He held out both his hands and a powerful wind rushed forward. Ethan pulled put his dagger and held it up. The attack split down the middle and the brunette puffed out his chest in pride. Jack Frost made another motion but was stopped by Nicholas's fireball. The teenager tried to get up and was then trapped within the window behind them.

Ethan watched as Claus cut down the last of the soldiers and motioned for him to follow. "Come on we've got to get to the Caller. These spells won't keep the Heralds at bay for long. What was that technique you were using?"

"You're going the wrong way," said Ethan. He sheathed his blade and pointed sideways. "This way. That road takes you to the clock tower. And I learned how to use my telepathy and visions at once. It lets me see how people are going to attack and gives me a chance to react. Combined with these silver knuckles I can put up a pretty good fight. The only problem is that I need to be a direct part of it and predicting magic is impossible."

"Fascinating." He turned looked in the direction the brunette pointed. His eyes narrowed for a moment and then he gave off a laugh. "Things have… changed since the last time I've been here."

Together they headed down the street. Once they neared the Vampire Council Ethan felt a shudder go up his spine and moved to the side. The Belsnickel jumped down once again from the tree and Nicholas blocked its blade. The duo skidded across the ground and stared each other down.

"Go," demanded Nicholas. He was forced backwards and let out a groan of pain. "This one is beyond your powers of sight."

Ethan ran across the courtyard and stopped at the door. The vines had grown all around it and were keeping whatever was within inside and everything else out. He plunged his dagger into the vines. Nothing happened, it couldn't even break the skin. He thought for a moment and then whispered:

"Rule one." He produced his lighter and flicked it. The flames danced wildly and he held it up to the vines. At once they wilted and he watched with delight as they fell away from the door and into a brown pile of mush. "Here we go."

Ethan pushed the door open and stepped through. Benny stood in the middle of the aisle and further behind him seated in Anastasia's seat was Gabriel. His eyes burned once, he sneered and whispered. "You."

"Welcome," said the dark haired Claus. He got up from his seat and stepped forward with a smile. Ethan felt his blood chill, it was the exact opposite of Nicholas. "I'm sorry that we forced your presence here in the city. I didn't want things to unfold this way but there is so much I need to tell you."

"Where is everyone?" Demanded Ethan. He slipped on his silver knuckles and held them up. "What did you do to my friends? Where is my family?"

A snow globe appeared in Gabriel's hand. "They are in a place where I can keep them safe, where they can see what Christmas is supposed to be. As for your friends I've done nothing wrong. They chose to believe in the truth, to believe in me."

"Enough." They turned. Nicholas strolled in with the Belsnickel strung over his shoulder. He tossed the creature to the side and Ethan caught a hint of the grey monstrosity underneath the coat. The white haired man held up his ruby sword and pointed it at his brother. "When will you finally give up on this obsession of yours?"

Gabriel held out his hand and a large onyx axe appeared. It was attached to his arm by a thick black chain and he gave it a twirl. The globe in his free hand vanished. "Brother, here we are again. Once more at home, and once more at each others throats. I thought in the centuries since you'd trapped me you would've repented. Instead you allowed this misguided belief to taint you even further."

Nicholas charged forward and Gabriel did the same. Benny dove to the side and began to fire off several fireballs. Ethan dodged each one and pulled out Sarah's phone. He clicked the app and then rolled to the side when the chairs exploded. He got to his feet, activated the device and watch as the white orb surged forward. It struck Benny in the chest and nothing happened.

"It… didn't work…" whispered Ethan. That wasn't possible he had used it several times before, there was no way it couldn't work. Off to the side he heard the two brothers fighting and dived sideways to avoid the flash of light. His eyes burned again and Gabriel's axe sword high through the air and destroyed several of the rafters. He saw where they would crash and stepped around the debris. He was going to need to find a way to incapacitate his friend. "Think, think, think!"

There was a flash of red light as Nicholas attempted to blast his brother with his energy attack. Ethan cut through Benny's attack with his dagger and then stopped short of punching him. His friend took advantage of this and felt his body thrown backwards with resounding force. When he collided with the self he stifled a groan and pulled out the holy water. It might not work the same way as it did with Sarah but surely it could buy him a moment or two. Benny ran for him and he threw the water into the brunette's eyes.

His friend cried out in shock and Ethan tackled him with as much energy as possible and slammed his backwards into Anastasia's desk. They tumbled over it and Benny summoned a fireball in his hands. At once the future opened up to him. Benny would swing wide and he dodge it. He couldn't see what would happen with the spell but he could sense cold. The vision shattered and Benny swung wide.

Ethan rolled over and dodged the attack. He watched in horror as the fireball expanded and turned bright blue. At once he knew what his friend was planing, he was going to freeze them both here without any hope for escape. The room flashed before him and in that single instant he threw the dagger straight up with as much force as possible. It struck the chain of the chandelier and went right through it.

With nothing to hold it up the chandelier came crashing down around them. It collided with the expanding orb and exploded in a flurry of ice, glass and metal. Ethan felt his body pushed backwards and when he opened his eyes it was to the sight of his friend. On the other side of the raised platform lay Benny covered in blood with his entire right side encrusted in ice. The brunette glared at him and held out his left hand.

Ethan felt the wind go out from his lungs and struggled to catch his breath. Bit by bit the world began to go dark and he loosed the brass knuckles on his right hand. He saw the globe, saw himself throwing his knuckles, heard the crack. With the last of his strength he threw it at the globe on the highest self. It hit its mark and the orb fell free from its place. With a sickening crack it landed on Benny's head and the boy went slack. Feeling sick with everything that just happened Ethan backed away in disgust with himself. Seeing it once was terrible, but experiencing it twice with his telepathy and visions left a nasty after taste in his mouth.

"No more," thought Ethan. He pulled the book from his backpack and limped for the Caller. Gabriel cried out and a black dome appeared around it. The darkness swirled for a moment and Nicholas knocked the axe from his brother with a single swing. He forced the man down and held the sword at his throat.

"I cannot allow you to trap us," called out the fallen Claus. He snapped his fingers and sent Nicholas backwards with a surge of darkness. He rose and called out: "There is so much you don't understand about us, about him. As long as I live that spell cannot and will not be broken."

"Then you've left me no choice." Nicholas plunged his sword into a vine and then pulled it free. It was dripped with green ooze and he charged forward. Gabriel did nothing and simply held out his arms as his brother charged.

Ethan felt his world slow as Nicholas drove his sword through the Herald's chest. It seemed to explode out from Gabriel's back and the man fell forward with a look of content on his face. The black dome broke and Ethan let the book fall to the ground as he ran for Claus brothers.

The ruby sword vanished and Nicholas shook his head in disgust. "You know that this isn't what I wanted, what any of us wanted. You left me no choice. The children of the world will not go without Christmas. You will not deny them the belief they have so worked so hard for."

Gabriel said nothing and Nicholas went to pick up the Claustrum. The black haired man motioned for Ethan to lean forward and whispered:

"I needed you need to see the truth within the lies. This… it's… far from over…. Christmas... needs to be... saved."

"Ethan," whispered Nicholas. He waved his hand over the Caller and then touched his fingers. "It seems only you can activate the Caller. There's an enchantment on this from your friend. Once you whisper the spell I told you everything will go back to normal."

Ethan took the book when it was handed to him and once more looked at the dead body of Gabriel. He placed the book onto of the device and felt the books strange energy wash over him. He took in a deep breath and uttered the spell. There was a flash of white.

"Well then," said Nicholas. He crossed his arms and approached his sleigh. The reindeer had been reattached, and gave off cry of discontent as they pawed at the snow-covered ground ready to be off. To the side the Elves stood awaiting their orders, each one with their arms behind their backs, and weapons attached to their belts. For the moment everything seemed to be once more in its his place. "I'd best be going."

"What about my friends, family and the citizens?" Asked Ethan. Already he could feel the cold weakening around him, but he needed to hear it for himself. He wanted to be sure that for now Whitechapel was safe. "They'll be OK, right? There are no more Heralds or hidden plans or anything like that?"

"Everyone should wake up within the hour and the vines will fade without Frost and Gabriel's magic to sustain the cold snap. Everyone's memories during the possession will be gone, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. As for your powers they'll eventually return to normal when the natural flow of magic returns. This has been one of the most stressful years of my life say the least, and I've still got a couple weeks before Christmas. The Claustrum if you would."

Ethan nodded and produced the book from his backpack. He hesitated for a moment and then asked: "You promise you'll look for another way to power the North Pole and Christmas?"

Nicholas nodded. "Of course, but for now I need to make the Claustrum is safe and as far away from Whitechapel as possible."

He handed off the book. "Before you go I think I dropped my cellphone in the sleigh during the crash."

"By all means then, go and get it."

Ethan rummaged through the sleigh and when he sure no one was watching he slid his phone between the seats and looked up with a frown. "I guess it must've fallen when we hit the dome of snow. I'll have to go searching tomorrow when things have settled down."

"Thank you Ethan Morgan," said Nicholas. He extended his hand. "I couldn't have done this without you."

"Any time," said Ethan. He jumped down and shook the man's hand. "Thank you for helping me get my city back. I'm sorry about your brother."

"He was a man tormented by a world he thought existed but did not, at least he he can finally rest. Perhaps now the Heralds will have change of heart perhaps the holiday will change for the better."

"You think so?"

"I know so. You saved Christmas Ethan."

Ethan nodded: "I believe in you."

Nicholas ruffled his hair and several snowflakes fell off. The Elves gave him a salute then entered the sleigh. With one final nod the man in red followed after then and summoned a whip. He gave it a sharp crack and at once the reindeer charged forward. They took to the skies above and before they vanished he gave a heartfelt shout of:

"See you on Christmas Eve!"

When Ethan was sure it was gone they were gone he looked down at the ground and squatted. A quick examination confirmed what he had feared. With he heavy heart it got up, turned his back on the field and headed for his house. His family and friends were going to be waiting, and there still so much he had to before Christmas.

A/N: Well that was all wrapped up in a tight little bow wasn't it. But then you have to ask yourself 'Does JDWrites101 really just wrap things up so sweet and perfect?' Well you'll just have to wait and see, don't forget to drop a review to let me know what you think and tell me how I'm doing.

On a side note I may be working on another project but I'm not sure how I feel about it as it will take me far out of my current comfort zone. But again more on that later!