Crystal Springs

by SafyreSky

It's been nearly a year since the Thaw and things are looking...not so great. Jack's powers are seemingly gone and the Dome covering the North Pole is melting. The solution? Enacting the Legate Law, bringing Jack and the sister he hurt so many years ago together again. With his powers gone and his sister on the fritz, saving everyone just got a little more complicated. [Rewritten!]

23. Chapter 22: Deck The Halls

Chapter 22: Deck the Halls

Shapes. Lots of shapes.

Weird. Distorted.

The woman in front of him—no.

Them. The woman in front of them.

They were both there.

The woman in front of them was blurred. Like he couldn't remember her face entirely. (And he really couldn't).

She had something...a set of drinks.

Weird, he thought.

She never let drinks into their lessons. No food OR drink unless it was for practising spells or enchantments, or making potions. He was always so HUNGRY the longer the lessons dragged on. Why was she bringing them drinks?

Don't question it, stupid, just accept it, says his twin.

You're stupid, he snaps back, but listens. Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, says the King. Even though this did not seem like a gift at all. His fae senses were tingling. The Queen was never this nice. She was strict and particular and made sure both boys knew it. Made sure they acted the same.

Very hard for him to do. He hated the strictness, the specific ways of doing things. There were so many other ways to do things, some of them way easier and a lot more time saving. More fun, too. More him.

She keeps bringing the drinks.

A week.

Two.

He's falling through the floor, the days flashing by as he falls, and falls, and falls; he's older, he's younger, he's older again, younger again, and on he goes as the drinks fall down around him, changing as fast as him. Floating above him. Around him. Cocoa. Fizzy water. Cider. Fruity concoctions. They didn't taste off but it didn't feel right and his heckles were RAISED and—

They're fighting. They are fighting but it's not him. It is him but it isn't. There's too much power. He thinks it is burning (though he has never experienced a bad burn, he imagines this must be what it feels like), and something is telling him, yes, yes, look at all the power you have the potential to tap into. Do it. Show your brother what you can do. Show yourself what you can do. Do it. Take the power and—

NO. No, he doesn't want to; he doesn't want to, it's too much and he's fighting his own brother and he doesn't want to hurt him but he can feel his fist, lit up, swinging down towards his brother's face—

NO. NO, I WON'T.

And suddenly his body is his again. He throws himself off of his brother, the fireball shooting up into the ceiling as he shoots up off the floor, sweating, shaking—

Why did you stop? Don't you see? Don't you see what you can do?

I do see. And I don't want it. Not like that. And not because you've made me do it.

But don't you see? All of the power you can have? Both of you can have? You can both have all of that, and more! Imagine how unstoppable you'd be, how revered amongst the fae you would be—

I don't want that. I do NOT want that.

His face was wet. He could feel snot dripping down his nose as he tried to stay steely. I quit! I quit I quit I quit I don't want to do this I don't want to hurt my brother I don't want to feel out of control of my own me I don't I don't I don't—

"Blaise?!"

He shot up, breathing heavily. Something was burning.

He looked down.

Oh. It was his hand on the sheets. Whoops.

He shook off the fiery magic, something cold touching his face.

His shoulders dropped. His heart rate began to slow as the soft pad of Winter's thumb rubbed gentle circles on his cheek.

"It's just me darling."

"Winter." He reached out, pulling her onto his lap and holding her very, very close and tight.

"Thank the springs," she said, gently squeezing him back before pulling out of the embrace, caressing his face. "I was worried. You were nearly thrashing, dear. Another nightmare?"

Blaise nodded, dragging her hand to his mouth and pressing a kiss on her knuckles. "Yeah. 'M okay now that you're here," he said, pulling her back in and hugging her, so, so tightly, as though if he let go she would cease to exist, and he'd be falling through the days once again, old and young and old and young and—

He cleared his throat. Squished her tighter.

"Did you just get back from work?"

"Oh yes, a couple of minutes ago, actually! Blaise, what a storm! The northeast isn't going to know what hit them!" she said, gleeful for but a moment. She looked at him tenderly, dropping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. "Was it the schoolroom again?"

Blaise nodded, his head buried in her neck. "Yeah."

"Oh, darling. I'm so sorry," she held him tightly, pressing a hand against the back of his head, threading her fingers through his hair. "It's okay. That was long ago. You're safe now. The kids are safe. We're safe," she whispered, kissing the top of his head. "I'm here for you."

"I know." Unburying himself from her neck and gazing at her soft face, Blaise held her head in his hands, rubbing her cheek now. She smiled, warmly, pulling his forehead down to touch hers. "I know," he repeated, with a soft smile full of love that was reserved just for her.

She smiled back, nuzzling his forehead.

"Do I have to go pull Jacqueline out of a snowbank?"

Winter laughed. "No, she's quite awake. She's been talking Jack's ear off all night. She's still going. I think he's met his match! Listen closely."

Foreheads still touching, Blaise strained his ears, the sounds surrounding them sharpening. The Twins were snoring. Soft footsteps were heading up to the next floor. The quietly animated voice of Jacqueline, talking about something called the black parade? It's a classic by alternative and punk rock standards, completely revolutionary, she was saying, only to be cut off by Jack saying that's not what I mean when I say CLASSICS, Jacqueline!

Blaise chuckled. Tuning back in, he opened his eyes, struck by the concern lining Winter's features.

"This is almost a week straight of nightmares, darling."

"I know." He sighed. "I can't figure it out. It's like my subconscious is trying to tell me something, but I can't figure out what. I can't remember; as soon as I wake up, the details are gone. Not that they're there in the first place," he sighed again, dropping his hands and closing his eyes. Feeling the cool touch of Winter's forehead on his. Breathing her in (fresh air and that wintertime smell he could never really describe, with a dash of vanilla). Wondering how they missed fireproofing their own sheets post-Twins.

"Same progression?"

Blaise nodded against her forehead. "Yeah. Lessons. Fighting. Then too much power. Then the moment I quit." He pulled back, a frown creasing his forehead. "Though there were drinks this time." He shook his head, annoyed with himself. "I just can't figure it out!"

"Oh, darling. You're hard at work every day, and when you come home, instead of relaxing you throw yourself back into all the research. Have you had a moment to breath? To sit down and relax, in the last two weeks or so?"

"She needs our help, Winter! I can't just. I can't just let someone take advantage of our baby girl like that! I need to figure out who it is and what they're doing and why they're—"

"We," Winter gently reminded him. "It's not just you, darling. Jack's been a big help, and I've been doing my fair share, too, when I can. Even the Twins have been helping! Fino brought home all those books on ancient substances for brewing potions the other day. Fiera keeps thinking of other things to look into, and as wacky as some of them are, they're not bad suggestions. We've been narrowing it down, together! You're not alone in this. I know your shoulders are strong but darling, you need to stop carrying everything on them! I don't like when they're holding the weight of the world. They sag. It makes it hard to spot you in a crowd." The corners of her lips twitched slightly.

"And it hurts my back something fierce," Blaise joked, leaning back with a grin, his hair flickering to life.

Winter laughed, hand in front of her mouth. "You need to give yourself a break, dear. Perhaps you should cash in on your days off."

"I can't just take days off."

"Yes you can. You're the frostbitten governor of the entire country!"

"City, not country."

"You keep telling yourself that, darling. Maybe one day someone will believe it."

He couldn't help the wry grin that stretched across his face. "That'll be the day." He sighed, thoughtful. "I dunno, Winter. This week's busy. Town Hall is coming up, and the fairies are at it again with the dryads, and there's always so many requests and inquiries leading up to the holidays—"

"Just let Dave take care of it! I bet it'll make his Christmas."

Blaise thought of his angry, no-nonsense, satyr-like secretary who would, indeed, love to float around and tell people to buzz off on his behalf and snorted. "It really would, wouldn't it?"

"There you go! The Assembly can take care of things without you, Blaise. Mother has a handle on things, as do the other governors and their lieutenants. Things won't fall apart here if you take some time to make sure you don't fall apart," she said, booping the tip of his nose.

He smiled. Tired. Soft.

"Maybe you're right."

"I know I am. The break will do you some good! Give yourself time to process everything. Focus on one job at a time. Spend some time with the kids, seeing as how all four are home for Christmas. Perhaps it will give your subconscious some time to figure out why that dream. Why that memory, of all the ones to make a nightmare out of. All your hard work is important," she caressed his face once more, "but feeling good is important, too. You can't keep burning the candle at both ends, Blaise dear. At least, not this one," she smiled, gently pushing back the light simmer on his head. It flickered briefly before righting itself.

"Yeah. You're. You're right. You're definitely right. You're always right."

"I know," Winter replied, cheery.

Reaching over to the drawer in his night table, Blaise pulled it open and rummaged around for a scrap of paper and a pencil. Quickly scrawling a message, he snapped his fingers, the note disappearing in a smattering of sparks.

"I bet you feel lighter already."

"Maybe a bit." He smiled, a goofy little tired smile that reminded Winter of when they were both much, much younger as he surveyed her closely. "I bet I'd feel a lot better with a cuddle or two. I've had a very rough night, you know. Are you going to join me, or what?"

Winter laughed. "You are incorrigible." She slid forward, pressing a kiss against his lips. He leaned in, cupping her head close and kissing back just as ferociously.

"Right-o, that's enough of that." She pulled away all too soon, hands still holding his face.

"Boo," Blaise pouted, watching as Winter slid off his lap and headed to the closet.

"For now," she laughed, flicking on the closet light. "Just let me get my jim-jams on, hotshot."

So many layers, Blaise thought to himself, as he watched her silhouette throw off the heavy fur cloak, an outer layer to her dress, the inner layer, and a third portion to her skirt that she tossed in a corner. He sighed, regretfully taking his eyes off of his wife and slumping back on the headboard, deep in thought.

The nightmares had started after they talked to Jacqueline. What she had told them, about the blackouts, had rung a bell. Blaise hadn't stopped thinking about it, not even in his sleep. And as the nights passed, the shadowy dreams with wisps of chatter had slowly taken shape. He could make out figures; he could place where and when and who he was with. But the details got weirder and weirder. Drinks. What did drinks have to do with anything?! What couldn't he remember?

"Perhaps a nice family outing is in order for tomorrow," Winter mused, sliding into the bed in a pair of sleep shorts and one of Blaise's rarely worn t-shirts. She pulled some ice out of her hair, smooshing it into a ball and throwing it towards the washroom. It curved around the doorway, landing with a solid THUNK in the tub.

"Nice curve ball," Blaise said eyeing her up and down. "Nice curves," he growled, grabbing her around the waist and dragging her up against the headboard with him.

Winter giggled, pressing up against him and looking into his warm eyes. "Well thank you kindly. I grew them myself, you know." She flashed him a silly little grin that reminded Blaise of when they were both much, much younger.

"Well you did a phenomenal job." Tightening his hold, he pulled her right up against his chest, kissing the top of her head as he felt the tired creep back in around his eyes.

Chilly fingers trailed down his sternum. "As did you with this chest of yours."

Blaise shivered. Gently placing two fingers under her chin, he tilted up her head and went for her lips. They melted into one another, fingers threading through hair and tightening round necks as the kiss deepened.

"Mmm," she said, mid kiss. He smiled against her lips; he felt her do the same. Regrettably pulling away, he rested his forehead back on hers, their noses touching.

"A nice family day, huh?"

"Mhmm," Winter said, her fingers tracing his shoulder now. "We haven't decorated yet, and December is flying by."

"And the boys did bring back even more festive florals. That's not a bad idea. Think we should decorate tomorrow?"

"Oh, absolutely," Winter pulled him in for another kiss. She pulled away all too soon, in Blaise's humble opinion. "Those kids of ours have far too much energy and the tree farm is as good a place as any to let them unleash some of it."

"They must get it from you," Blaise teased. "You're very energetic tonight."

"I am! I think I need to unleash some of it too, or I'll never get to sleep tonight." The back of her palm flew up to her forehead as she faked a swoon, throwing herself up against Blaise. "Care to help me with that?"

His hair went from simmering to roaring in an instant. "Would I ever."

Closing the distance, he pulled her up for the kiss she had been dangling in front of him for far too long. "I love you so goddess damned much." Breathless, he pulled away for the quickest of moments before swooping back in.

"I know," she replied between kisses, just as breathlessly, the two falling into the slightly seared sheets.

---

It was certainly one way to keep nightmares at bay, Blaise thought the next morning as he headed around the side of the house, whistling to himself. Behind him, several boxes labelled CHRISTMAS LIGHTS floated in a single file line, gently hovering up and down. He was trying very hard to not think about work. Or research. He was going full force into the decorating and figured that starting with the most labour-intensive part would be best. He was, in fact, focusing so hard on not focusing on work, that he very nearly whacked Jack with the ladder as he turned the corner.

The Legend slid to the side just in time, the ladder millimetres away from the edge of his jacket. The irritated look on his face dropped as he realized what, exactly, his Dad was carrying to the front yard.

"Why do you have a ladder?"

Blaise swung about, Jack having yet another near miss with the ladder.

"Dad!"

"Sorry, sorry," Blaise said, swinging back around a third time.

Jack ducked, glaring icicles at his Dad. "Okay, maybe let's put the ladder down?!"

"Right, right." Leaning it against the wall, Blaise surveyed Jack with a questioning look. He looked a little dishevelled. Blaise cocked his head, frowning. "Good morning?"

Jack shrugged. "Eh. It was alright. I went to check on my, ah, condo. Haven't been in…a while, admittedly, and it showed." He shrugged, again, shoving his hands in his pockets. He stared at the ladder. "What's up with that?" He asked, chin jutting out towards the ladder.

Blaise glanced back at it. "Ah! Right! Well, your mother is under the impression that I am working too hard. Honestly," he turned back to it and pulled the string, the ladder shooting upwards. "She's right. Between work at work and making work here at home, I've been a little distracted."

"I've noticed!" Jack shouted over the metal clangs of the ladder rungs hitting the clips.

"Ah. I thought I was doing a better job keeping it on the down low."

"To the untrained eye, maybe. But I've known you for a while, Dad, and you have yawned more this week than you have my ENTIRE life. INCLUDING the fourteen centuries I wasn't home for. Anyway, don't change the subject! Why do we have a ladder?! And since when do we do Christmas lights?!"

Blaise chuckled, securing the ladder's extension. "Oh, the last three or four decades, I'd say. Would've been earlier but we had to make sure they passed Mother Nature's inspection before allowing them as imports, or manufacturing our own to her specifications."

"Right. And, ah, the ladder?"

"I can't fly. At least, not like you and your mother and sister can. So I improvise."

"I can't either, actually."

"The more you learn," Blaise replied, stepping onto the first rung. He paused, glancing over at Jack. "You know, I don't think I'm the only one round these parts that's distracted. I've seen that look on your Mother many a time. So tell me, son. Why so glum?"

Jack frowned. "Really? You're really asking?"

"Sorry kiddo. As your Dad, I'm contractually obligated to."

Jack sighed. "It's. You know. It's the usual stuff. I mean, we still haven't figured out the cause of Jacqueline's blackouts. Santa's ceiling is still melting, even though we patched it. It could start again at ANY TIME and, oh, yes, that's right! I can't do anything about it because my powers still aren't back yet."

Blaise looped an arm around a rung, turning in place to look at Jack, dumbfounded. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah. I think I'd know if they were back." Jack huffed, crossing his arms.

"Huh. It's funny," carefully turning back to the front of the ladder, Blaise continued his climb. "To the outside eye, it seems like they're coming to you much easier."

Jack blinked, his shoulders dropping. Uncrossing his arms, he glanced down at his hands. He thought of using his magic. His palms began to glow. He closed his fists, glancing up at his Dad.

"Uh, yeah. A little bit, I guess. But they're not back. Not yet. I'd know. I mean, they're my powers, after all."

"You know what you need?"

"I swear to the springs if you say Christmas cheer, I'll—"

"Christmas cheer!" Blaise boomed, with a large grin.

"Of all the people in the world who'd be down for a little festive fun, you think I—"

"I know, I know. Hear me out! It's a nice distraction. It'll be fun!"

"Will it?!"

"Of course! Look, start small, alright? Just hold the ladder for your old man, will you? I'm too young to go to Rosehaven and this is not how I planned to go out."

Jack sighed, grabbing onto the ladder nonetheless. Deciding to ignore the all too easy too young comment as his Dad finished clambering up the ladder, he chose a safer route instead.

"How did you plan on going out then?"

"No idea! I do know that there will be explosions involved."

"Multiple little ones or one huge one?"

"Haven't decided just yet. Either or is good enough for me, really."

"Ou, fireworks?"

"Maybe!" Blaise stopped suddenly, frowning in confusion. He looked all around, scratching his head. He glanced back down at the ground below him and sighed, his hair falling into a simmer.

Perplexed as well, Jack looked around the floor. He snickered when he saw it: stacked neatly beside the ladder were the boxes of lights, still sealed tight.

"Forget something, old man?"

"Apparently! Mind tossing up a string?"

"Sure, sure. Don't move!" Jack shouted up, letting go of the ladder. "I can't make explosions for you if you do fall off the ladder! It's not my forte." He opened the topmost box, grabbing two of the neatly coiled strings. He wrinkled his nose, thinking for a moment before grabbing a third string and sizing up the façade of the house.

Picking a pillar, Jack placed a foot on it, and began walking up. He stepped off onto the veranda roof, continuing his walk unabashedly up the second-floor wall, and up the third one, stopping beside his Dad with a smug little smile.

Blaise looked at Jack. He looked at the lights on Jack's arm. He glanced down at the boxes. Back at Jack. The corners of his mouth twitched.

"Here you go," Jack said, passing him the first string of lights.

Blaise laughed; it echoed around them, and though Jack was loathe to admit it, he found himself smiling too, his mood definitely starting to lift.

"Thanks son." Blaise grabbed the string from Jack and stepped off the ladder and onto the wall himself, shaking his head with a tired smile. "That's one way of doing things."

"Did you mean to tell me that you forgot we could do that?!"

"I don't make a habit of it," Blaise defended, unplugging the string from itself and gently rolling it out.

"So do you just, use a ladder every year?" Jack laughed. "That's hilarious. You're like, an eight-thousand-year-old sprite with a good amount of warlock training under your belt, and you use a ladder?! Why not enchant the lights to go up by themselves? Or just make your own, you know, what with the fire that you can summon at will?"

"Hey! I'm not eight thousand yet."

"Sure you aren't."

"I'm not even seventy thousand yet!"

"If you say so," Jack shrugged.

"I mean I'm close but not that close!"

Jack pulled a face, sticking his hands up in surrender. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dad."

Blaise clipped the first bulb onto the gutter as a smirk crept onto his face. "Ah, now for me—" he side-eyed Jack, satisfied when the smug look began to drop, the colour leaving his face. "—that would be your mom."

"Oh come ON Dad!" Jack protested loudly, nearly rivalled by Blaise's howling laughter. "I DON'T NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS!"

---

An hour or so later, the windows, doors, and roof—both of the manor and the veranda(s)—were covered in brightly coloured strings of energy efficient, environmentally friendly, extra-safe Christmas lights.

Winter stood a little ways down the path, admiring the house. The colourful lights twinkled, sitting perfectly straight, not a single bulb burnt out or out of place. It looked lovelier than ever this year!

There was just one thing missing, she thought to herself, bringing her palm up. With a little twirl, it glowed, a spiral of white dust shimmering to reveal a snowball. "Oh, aren't you beautiful! Here's what I need you to do." She brought it up to her lips, whispering quietly before tossing it up in the air.

It soared up and exploded in a brilliant burst of bright light.

A cool wind blew, rustling the pines. A single, solitary snowflake drifted down. Two more, then four more, and so on until a light flurry began in earnest, quickly covering the old snow below it.

Up on the veranda, the twins ran circles around Jacqueline as she locked the door, rushing down the steps and chanting TREE FARM! TREE FARM! Laughing, their sister followed them down, joining the chant. She lifted her hands, two giant waves of snow plowing down the twins, much to their delight as the snow began to fall in earnest.

Now the house looked perfect.

With a soft smile, Winter headed towards the bulkhead, the wooden doors open wide. Resting a hand on the top of the right most door, she watched as Blaise and Jack stacked the empty bins, chatting happily and looking far more chipper than they had in weeks (as she had expected).

"The lights look lovely! You finished them fast, Blaise dear."

"Well, I had help this year! Isn't that right, Jack?"

Jack shot up, heat rising in his cheeks. He cleared his throat. "I mean. I couldn't just stand by and watch you use a ladder."

"Oh, I hate that thing! It's so clanky. And loud."

"It's practical!" Blaise insisted, stacking one last box.

"You can WALK up WALLS," Jack reminded him.

Winter's eyes widened. She blinked, a delightful laugh following suite. "Oh, we can, can't we? I had forgotten about that completely!"

Jack looked between his parents, one eyebrow raised. "How did you two function without me for so long?"

"Oh, we managed. We have each other!" Lifting her skirts, Winter glided down the stairs, latching onto the arm Blaise had ready for her. She tugged it gently, smiling up at him as, with a wry smile, he leaned down just enough for Winter the plant a smooch right on his cheek.

"Yeah, okay, I get it. You guys are old and in LOVE. Gross! I've heard way too much about that this morning alone," he moaned, throwing his head (and torso) back.

Blaise grinned; Winter giggled, covering her mouth with her palm. "Jack dear, you are too much." She grinned, clapping her hands together. "So, gentlemen! Are we finished up here then?"

"Just about," Blaise said, squeezing her arm gently and letting go, turning around to eye the shelves. "Where's the rest of the décor?"

"The kids already brought it upstairs. There's tinsel everywhere."

Jack grimaced. "Oh, great! Just. Just great."

"Not a fan of tinsel?" Winter asked.

"No, it's. It's messy. I'm more of a garland guy myself. You know, frost it up, angle it so that the sunlight makes it sparkle just right. Smells a lot better than tinsel, too."

"Real tree to match?" Blaise asked.

Jack scoffed. "God no. Fake it is for me! Less messy. But not as...fun as a real tree," Jack said, thinking back to the incident with Scott's tree the year before. "And you know, they never get the snow right. Have you seen those? Those fake trees that come with a "dusting" of "snow" on them?"

"They make fake snow for fake trees?"

"Yeah! And they do a really bad job of it!"

"Well that's just insulting."

"It's like they've never seen snow in their lives! Like, go to a tree farm, would you? Yeesh." Jack shook his head, surveying the ground around them thoughtfully. "Tree farms are uh. Actually one of my favourite places to frost up in the winter. People get so cold so fast and it's just so funny when they bring their fingers into the base of their gloves thinking it'll warm them up."

"Right?! It only makes them colder!" Winter brightened, folding her hands in front of her excitedly. "I love when they put their fingers back in the little finger holes afterwards, and they get all shocked that it's still cold." She grinned, leaning in closer and dropping to a whisper. "Sometimes I sneak over and make the empty gloves a touch colder, just for fun."

Jack laughed. "Ou, that's good! I'll have to remember that one for later. You're such a bad influence, Mother."

"I'm the original bad influence."

"Well it sounds like the two of you are ready for today's little family adventure," Blaise said, the fondness slightly muffled by the box he was putting back on the shelf.

Jack perked up. "Oh?"

"We're going up to the tree farm!" Winter clapped, excited.

"Why do I get the feeling that it isn't work related?"

"Because it isn't! Although if you'd like to frost it up a bit by all means, go right ahead. You certainly won't get any flack while I'm around. But we are, primarily, going so that we can cut down our tree. Do keep that in mind, Jack dear."

"We're cutting down a tree?"

"Yep!"

"A real tree?"

"Yep!"

"But the mess!"

"Well that's part of the fun," Blaise stood up straight, rolling his shoulders. "Along with the journey to the tree farm, and the cocoa, and picking the tree..."

"That's a whole journey in itself," Winter hummed. "Your siblings never agree on one tree."

"Siblings? We're all going? The six of us?"

"Yes, all six of us." A curious smile graced her face. "Jack dear, we're well overdue for a nice family outing, don't you think? You and your father have been so hard at work trying to help Jacqueline, and she hasn't stopped fretting about the whole ordeal, and the Twins have been inside for far too long. So, I told your Dad last night that a family outing was in order! Blow off some steam, let loose some frost, and what better place to do that than the tree farm?"

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. "I mean, I can think of several better places but given the ah, festive theme for today, I suppose the tree farm will have to do."

"Excellent! This will be fun!"

"And it may kick your glum mood entirely, Jack," Blaise teased.

"And yours, Blaise darling."

"Excuse me?" Blaise quirked and eyebrow and lay a hand on his chest, feigning offence. "I'm not glum in the slightest!"

She laughed, grabbing the crook of Blaise's elbow and glancing up at him surreptitiously. "Well darling, if you insist."

"I do," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Kids ready to go?"

"Rearing and ready, even. I fear if we don't head out soon, the twins will set the veranda on fire. Again."

"Well we can't have that," Jack said, wondering how many times again had been added to the end of similar sentences.

"That's the spirit!" Blaise grinned, patting Jack on the back, the sprite letting out a whoosh of air at the sudden impact. "Sorry, kiddo."

"It's fine," Jack wheezed, very much on purpose.

"Do you have everything you need, Jack dear?" Winter asked.

Jack glanced around hesitantly, locating his suit jacket and shrugging it on. "I guess so."

"Excellent! Up we go then, boys! We're wasting daylight!"

"Don't forget to shut the light off on your way up!" Blaise said with a suspicious chuckle, as the season practically dragged him up the stairs with her.

The room grew dark as Blaise disappeared outside. Jack glanced around, frowning. What did he mean, shut off the lights? They weren't even on! What on earth was Blaise—oh, Jack realized with a grumble. No wonder the man had laughed like that on the way out!

"Very funny, Dad!" Jack yelled up the steps, knowing full well Blaise could hear him (the laughter following shortly after proving his point).

Shaking his head, Jack took the time to roll his eyes before rushing up the steps, taking them two at a time. Leaving the darkened storage room behind him as he headed into the afternoon light, Jack shut the bulkhead, rushing to catch up with the rest of the family waiting for him by the gates.

---

It was taking everything in his will power to not smack his head against the Miller's dining room table.

Three times! He had tried to explain everything going on at the workshop three times, and was still being met with a very confused look from Neil.

"Let me take it from the top."

"Again?! It's not rocket science, Neil."

"Scott," Laura warned.

"The Dome that covers the North Pole is melting."

"Was," Scott corrected. "It was melting. It's been fixed, since! Sorta."

"See, that's where you've lost me," Neil frowned, unaffected by Scott's attitude. "The sort of! Is it fixed, or not?"

"It's fixed well enough for the time being. I got official confirmation from the Dome expert himself."

"See Neil? They have a dome expert!"

"Eh, it's just Jack," Scott shrugged.

Neil and Laura cringed, sharing a look.

"Okay, I know what you're thinking, but he really has turned over a new leaf!"

"But can you trust him?" Neil asked.

"Hmm, can I trust Jack...hmmm..." Scott stroked his beard, scrunching up his face in concentration. "No, absolutely not, Neil. In fact, that's why I came all the way out here to bring you guys down! Thought it'd be a fun Christmas gamble to risk our lives this year, so grab your stuff, place your bets, let's go! My money's on—"

"Scott," Laura chided, unimpressed.

Scott sighed.

"Try to understand our perspective, Scott," Neil began, using his therapy voice. "He froze Laura and I, and locked Lucy in a closet with our frozen selves. Not to mention that little trick he played on you. I understand that you have had a whole year to process and get to the point where you trust him, and I'm glad you managed to get to that point! That's a lot of growth, Scott. Unfortunately, Laura and I haven't had the same time to grow a bond of trust with him."

"I trust him!" Lucy piped up. "I told you guys! Uncle Scott's been keeping me posted all year. He sounds like he's really, really changed!"

"Do you trust him, Scott?" Laura asked. "No jokes, no sarcasm. Just answer the question."

Santa sighed. "Of course I do. Look, if I didn't trust him, I wouldn't have come down to get you guys. Yes, he's a bit of an ass sometimes, but we've gotten pretty close this year. Believe it or not I actually managed to unlock his tragic backstory."

Charlie groaned audibly from the kitchen. "I regret teaching you that one," he said, cupboards banging closed.

Scott chuckled. "But it's true! He told me all about his dark past! So yeah, I trust him. I trust him, and I trust that you guys will be safe from harm."

"See?!" Lucy said, indignant.

"Oh, sweetie, it's not that we didn't trust you," Laura said. "We just want to make sure it's safe for all of us. Besides, you never know what may have changed between your last letter and now."

"You did have us going there when it started," Neil added.

"He almost had me going, too. But if it were me in his shoes, I think I'd keep the power loss to myself for a very long time, too."

"You wouldn't tell anyone?" Lucy asked.

"Not a soul."

"Not even me? Or Charlie? Or Aunt Carol?"

"Not right away, no. It's embarrassing for me to admit when I can't do something. Especially if it's something I've always been able to do!" Scott shrugged. "I get where he was coming from."

"You know, Scott, if you ever want to unpack all of that—"

Santa raised a hand. "Yeah, you can stop right there, Neil. I got it."

Neil smiled. "Good. We're family, Scott, and we're here if you need anything."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You don't need to keep going on about it."

"Speaking of family!" Lucy said, scooting her chair closer to Scott. "How's Jack doing? How's his family? Did you meet them? What are they like? How's Buddy? How's Carol? Are you guys behind again this year? Can I help with the toys? Have you put up the tree yet? I wanted to put ours up right away, but Mom said it was too early."

"It was the day after Halloween," Laura clarified. "Don't you think that's a little too soon?"

"Too soon?" Scott said, looking offended. "Not soon enough! I've had my decorations up since boxing day!"

That got laughter out of everyone, and finally, the tension seemed to lift. Scott breathed a sigh of relief.

He had arrived just as the Millers had finished putting up their own Christmas decorations. Lucy was just placing the snow globe he had given her last year right in the middle of the fireplace mantel when he knocked. After one of Lucy's famous warm hugs, she had immediately asked about the Dome and so, Scott found himself explaining to Neil and Laura what exactly was happening, to the best of his ability. It was a lot, really, and he wasn't the expert; he was just the guy with the leaky roof. On the bright side, at least he wasn't having as rough a time as Carol was probably having. He didn't even want to think about how his in-laws would take the Dome news.

"We feel good about it all now?" Scott asked, with a pointed look at Neil.

"If we could just take it from the top, one more time—"

Santa groaned. Lucy sighed, exasperated. Laura gave her husband a soft but pained reassuring smile, complete with arm pat.

"Neil, you're overthinking it," Charlie said, joining them in the dinning room with a plate of cookies. "It's really straightforward. After he thawed, Jack's powers straight up disappeared. Because of that, the Dome didn't have it's usual flow of magic keeping it structurally sound. Christmas magic runs hot. The Dome is kept very cold. But when the guy who does that can't do that, the Christmas magic starts overpowering it and the Dome melts," Charlie shrugged, helping himself to a cookie. "It checks out."

"Was melting," Scott clarified, helping himself to a cookie as well.

"I was getting there, Dad." Dusting cookie crumbs off of his mouth, Charlie swallowed his bite. "So anyway, they called up the next person to take on Jack's title, enacted the thing that officially does that, but didn't fully pass it on? So they could only temporarily fix it, but somehow managed to do it together. Despite Jack being powerless. That part is kind of confusing, but also, why don't you have a system like that Dad? Seems way more intuitive then murdering the current Santa and taking his place."

"You sound like Jack," Scott said.

"Maybe he has a point?"

Santa chuckled. "Bernard says it's because the Legendary Council didn't create the law until a few centuries after the Clause was created. Since Santa already had his own thing, they didn't think he'd need a deputy, so, here we are!"

"So what did they do, then, to fix the Dome? Temporarily?" Laura asked, thoughtful.

"Well, according to Jack's letter, it was some kinda power merge, or power share. Thing. Carol thinks that Jacqueline's powers may have latched onto wherever Jack's are hiding and that's how they managed their fix which, by the way, has held steady for the entire month, so far."

"Well that's plenty reassuring," Neil said, earnestly.

"Where is Carol, anyway?" Laura asked. "Do her parents know what's been going on? I can't imagine they'd have nothing to say about the whole thing."

"They do not know, but!" Scott interjected, before anyone could scold him again, "They're about to find out! Carol's over there with them now, catching them up. She thought it'd be best if she went first, to get them…adjusted to the situation with the least possible resistance. Buddy's with her, for, you know," he waved his fingers back and forth, searching for the phrase he wanted that was on the tip of his tongue—

"Positive reinforcement?" Neil supplied.

"Yeah! Something like that."

"Do you think it'll work?" Charlie asked, frowning.

"I hope it does. I'm heading over there once we finish up here, and hopefully by the time I get there Carol's calmed them down enough that things go smoothly," he said.

"Well, here's hoping her parents aren't giving her too much trouble," Laura said.

---

Her parents were, in fact, giving her a bit of trouble.

Carol loved her parents. She really, really did. She knew they wanted what was best for her, really. They just had had a bad way of showing it all her life and could be very hard to…reason with, sometimes. It had taken her a very long time to be more assertive with them, and even still there were some bad days. She figured it'd be best if she told her parents about the Deliquesce first, hoping that seeing their grandson would help keep them calm.

But of course, even then, they were still giving her a fair bit of trouble.

She hated how passive aggressive her mother was at times, and how much her father jumped to conclusions. Like, when she had arrived alone with the baby, Bud had immediately assumed that she had left Scott.

That was a very long ten minutes.

Then, when she began telling them how he went to make sure the Millers were ready, Bud had immediately started chastising him for not being with Carol—something about it "not being proper protocol". Sylvia had, for what's it's worth, admonished him a bit for that. But when that was closely followed by a comment of how Carol evidently thinks it's appropriate conduct, well. Double-edged sword and all that.

It had ended up being almost twenty minutes before she finally told them what had happened with the Dome. She had finished about half of her informed explanation, only to be met with blank stares of shock from both her parents. Bud was the first to break the silence.

"So not only is Frost still up there—"

"Though he seems to have changed."

"Right, fine, whatever. So not only is he still living in your home, seemingly changed—"

"Oh no, he definitely did, honey. We were both there! We both saw him…" she blinked a bit, searching for a word. "...melt everywhere."

"You know what else is melting, Sylvia? The Dome! If that melts, it's all over for them! The man is in charge of keeping it from melting, and it's melting anyway. I mean, if I was a bad guy, I'd melt it! Who's to say he isn't?!"

"You heard our daughter, Bud. It's out of his control!"

"Guys, could we keep the voices down, please? Buddy's getting agitated."

"I'm getting agitated!"

"Bud! The baby!"

"I heard her!"

"Mom! Dad!" Carol snapped. Her parents ceased their bickering, glancing over at Buddy's frowny face, guiltily.

"Sorry, junior," Bud said, sitting back down.

Buddy really wanted to say hey, it's okay gramps! It happens! But alas, he was only almost a year and, unable to express this thought fully, chose instead to babble a bunch and nod his head the way his Mom did whenever he did very good at something.

"I think he's saying it's okay," Carol said, laughingly, Bud nodding sagely.

"He's not letting the dome melt," Sylvia snapped back quietly, sitting back down as well. "Weren't you listening?! His powers are gone, the poor thing," she pouted, picking up Buddy's spoon, much to the child's delight.

"Then why didn't he take care of it sooner, huh?! Sounds like he had plenty of time before then to do something! I'm telling ya, that place was built on a fault line, or a magical graveyard or something. Nothing goes right there."

"It comes with the territory," Carol said. "We were wondering ourselves, too, why Jack wasn't taking care of it when it started up. We all tried to talk to him, but he was a little mum on the subject. A little bit ashamed, I think. He worked really hard all year to make up for everything." Carol stared into her cup with a fond smile. "So finally, come November, Scott called a Council meeting to get to the bottom of things."

"Ah. An intervention. Sounds too smart for him."

"Bud!" Sylvia chided. "Though your father has a point, dear. Did you—?"

"I did," Carol admitted. "I gave him the idea and he followed through. And it worked out, since Jack did admit what was wrong. Scott managed to get through to him."

"Good man," Bud said with a satisfied nod, Sylvia nodding in agreement.

Carol breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Scott was off the hook. Baby steps, she told herself.

"And how did that fix the Dome?" Sylvia asked, scooping food off of Buddy's cheek and back into his mouth.

"It didn't. It told us what was wrong with the Dome, and we went from there. Turns out that the Council has something for a situation just like this! They call it the Legate Law. Every single Council Member has a Legate, you know, a second in command, to take the title next. Or, to step in should anything happen to any of them. They called in Jack's Legate and semi-enacted the Law. So now it's like there're two acting Jack Frosts, so that things stay level while Jack gets himself back in working order."

Bud and Sylvia looked at Carol, dumbfounded. Scrambled eggs dropped off the spoon, Buddy fussing when it didn't land directly in his mouth.

"Oh, sorry, dear," Sylvia said, wiping it up and giving him another spoonful.

"Wow!" Bud finally said.

"And how did that go?" Sylvia asked.

"Oh, you know," Carol said, sipping her tea. "Well enough. Last we heard, they found out the cause of Jack's lack of power, and found a workaround for it, for the time being. They went back to the family home to see if their parents could help figure things out. But before they left, Jack and his sister—"

"Wait, what happened to the Legate?"

"His sister is his Legate, Dad."

"Ah. Right."

"Anyway, before they left, they did something together that seems to have fixed the Dome, for the time being."

"Seems?!"

Carol looked away, mouth full of tea. She swallowed and cleared her throat. "Yes, well, you see, Jack's able to tell when the Dome is fine and when it's not fine. Whatever he and his sister did fixed it very well, but according to him, it's still running way too hot. So while it isn't a permanent fix, it's enough to keep us safe again and buy them some time to figure it all out."

"I dunno sweetheart, that sounds…"

"Precarious," Sylvia said.

"Yeah, that."

Carol sighed. Time to bring out the big guns. "We know. That's why after they left, Bernard established a team dedicated to monitoring the Dome. They check on it three times a day, and keep track of everything that changes with it. If there's any melting, they'll find it right away; so will Jack. When it starts up again, he'll know."

"Bernard. He's the uh, the competent one, right?"

"I wouldn't say Curtis isn't competent. I think I'd say that he's not well suited for management. Without that added pressure, he does amazing work!"

"Sure."

"Oh, come on dear, lighten up! It sounds like everything is safe as can be given the circumstances."

"It is, I promise," Carol said.

Bud looked doubtful. He narrowed his eyes, serving Carol with his own version of the principal stare. "This Bernard kid has a good head on his shoulders?"

"Yes! Dad, look. I promise, Scott and I have made sure it is completely safe, and if it wasn't, Bernard wouldn't have given us the okay to come and grab you guys.

"Well," Sylvia said, grabbing Buddy's empty plate and bringing it over to the sink for a wash. "If you're certain Jack will come up should anything happen, and you're not concerned about the Dome collapsing on all of us in the meantime, then I'm sure it's fine."

Carol forced a smile. "Thanks, Mom."

"You're one hundred percent positive, sweetheart?"

"Yes, Dad. One hundred percent, I swear!" Carol said, biting back laughter as the silliness of the situation dawned on her. She was discussing, very seriously, with her parents, the warming conditions of the North Pole and how they effected Santa's Workshop. And her parents were being so, so serious about it!

"Well if you got an all around okay, then what are we waiting for?" Bud exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his seat. "Your mother and I have been packed for days!"

"I've never seen him prepare for a trip so far in advance," Sylvia mused, scrubbing the plate clean and rinsing the suds off of it.

"I'll start bringing everything to the door," Bud shouted over his shoulder as he rushed out of the kitchen.

"Wait, Dad!" Carol laughed. "Scott hasn't even arrived yet! If you just wait he can—" the doorbell rang, interrupting Carol mid-sentence.

"That better be him!" Bud yelled, sounding like he was near the garage now.

"Oh, I'll get it!" Sylvia said excitedly, placing the dish in the drying rack and squishing Buddy's cheeks quickly before heading to the front door.

Carol took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, the sound of Scott's voice from the doorway easing the last bit of tension she had held as she got up. She pulled Buddy out of the high chair, the toddler kicking his legs excitedly and gnawing on a knuckle. "Well. That went about as well as it could've."

Buddy made a funny noise, putting his small hand on Carol's nose.

"I'm glad you agree," she said, nasally, as Buddy squished her nostrils shut.

---

Despite its size, Crystal Springs was a very walkable country, Jack was learning.

Though the provinces were vast, there was a whole network of teleportation points to ease travel time. Though they could've taken one of three separate teleportation points, the Frosts had elected to walk. Fino and Fiera ran the entire way, burning off energy Jack didn't even realize they had. His parents had walked arm and arm, occasionally stopped by various magibeans passing by as well for a quick hello and a chat, some asking Blaise if he was feeling okay given his absence at work today. Jack got the sense that downtown was always bustling, and that Blaise did not take a hands-off approach with the various denizens that came to City Hall with all sorts of issues and complaints. Nor did he take many days off, apparently. Or at least, not on such short notice.

Above them, magibeans flew overhead. Some flew on their own power; others had an assortment of enchanted objects used for transport. There were no cars in Crystal Springs (Mother Nature was not pleased with the pollution and congestion they caused; she hated being stuck in traffic), but magibeans made do, and it showed when they reached the lot. Where ordibeings would park their cars, all sorts of odd objects and fantastical creatures rested. Broomsticks stood chained to a rack, a pack of winter wolves slept comfortably beside it. Across the way, horses grazed, waiting for their riders to return. At the top of the lot was a cozy little landing platform, where flying magibeans landed gracefully on one side, rushing down and heading into the lot. On the other side was a teleportation point, temporarily established for the season. It lit up every few minutes, groups of magibeans appearing and heading down and into the lot as the Frosts approached. They stepped into the line, Winter looking around surreptitiously.

"Where are they, Jacqueline dear?"

"Just past the front entrance!"

"Reign them in, please, darling."

"On it!" Jacqueline pulled her hands towards her. A stream of snow came flying down the lot, weaving in and around magibeans and depositing two very flushed, very wet kids neatly in a heap on the floor.

The twins popped out of the snow, laughing and tossing it at one another. When they weren't running, Jacqueline had spent her walk launching them down the path and into the snowbanks, and Jack wasn't sure who was enjoying it more: the twins, or Jacqueline.

Winter tutted. "The two of you are soaked to the bone! You'll freeze out here!"

"No we won't!" Fiera grinned. "Mom. Mom. Mommy. Mom. Watch this, watch what Dad taught us, watch—ready Fino? Ready?"

"Ready!" Fino said, he and his twin taking a deep breath in and bringing their fists together, exhaling slowly. They looked somehow more flushed as steam began to rise from their jackets, curling above them as the wet splotches disappeared entirely.

"Nice job, kiddos!" Blaise said, sticking out his hands. They high-fived him with identical proud smiles, moving forward with the line.

"All right you lot, time to establish some rules," Winter paused, letting the kids boo and make a fuss before she continued. "Try not to go too crazy once we get in, okay? Be mindful of everyone else's space. Fino. Fiera. This is a highly flammable area so do watch the sparks. Jacqueline, mind your area of effect. And no frostbite! You especially Jack, but that goes for all four of you."

"All four—the twins bite?"

"Fiera gets especially chompy sometimes," Jacqueline confirmed, as they made it to the front of the line.

Surrounded by towering evergreens, the entrance couldn't be more different from a regular ordibeing tree farm. It smelt strongly of evergreen and pine, a chocolatey smell wafting towards them on the wind, intertwined with burning wood. Beside them on either side underneath two of the large trees sat what looked to be dryads, passing small, glowing, bean shaped objects to the families that entered. Winter took one, thanking the dryad kindly and pulling a pouch out of her pocket. She slid the bean in it gently, pulling the strings taut and placing it back in her pocket.

"What's with the beans?" Jack asked his sister, who had fallen into step beside him.

"Enchanted seeds, to replace the tree we cut down! They sprout and grow back very fast, so that we don't cause irreparable forest thinning damage out here. Not that that's an issue. The dryads make these trees specifically for the holidays, and if the wood isn't used after the season, the dryads take it back and make sure it is. Leftover seeds get planted after the holiday as well! Nothing goes to waste and the forest stays safe. Dryads, dude. They get sleet done."

"Indeed," Winter said. "Deforestation is a real problem, and we don't want that here in the Northern Province. Thankfully, most of the magibeans here are very skilled in the trades, and find clever uses for just about anything."

"Hey, could we get another seed or two? We've got a couple of fire hazards with us," Jacqueline asked the dryad nearest to her, gesturing to the Twins (who seemed to be having some sort of who's hair could glow brighter competition at that exact moment).

The dryad nodded, grabbing Jacqueline's hand and placing a small pile in her palm. "Just in case," she winked.

Jacqueline laughed, accepting the seeds appreciatively and thanking the dryad.

They moved forward with the crowd, making their way into the main space. Bonfire pits were set up, magibeans mingling in front of them, chatting up a storm and sipping warm drinks. A few lines had formed in various spots: some for food and drink, others for wrapping their trees before heading back out. A small child skipped into one of the early tree plots, squatting down and placing the bean in her hand into the ground. There was a zip and a swirl and poof! Out popped a little sprout of evergreen. Delighted, the child jumped up excitedly, clapping and pointing it out to her guardians. Past the first few tree lots was a snowy path, sleighs setting up and down the path for families who wanted to go a bit deeper to find their trees (or simply fancied a horse-drawn sleigh ride). As they moved deeper, a halfling offered them a saw. Blaise politely declined.

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Positive! I have my own way of cutting down a tree." Blaise winked.

The halfling chuckled. Nodding, he waved them off as he offered the next group a saw.

"That's mildly concerning," Jack thought out loud with a frown.

"And very toasty," Jacqueline added.

It took Jack a moment before realization dawned.

"Wait, does he—does he burn the tree down?!"

"He does this thing where he makes—"

"FIRE KNIVES!" Fiera yelled, cutting Fino off mid-explanation with a feral grin.

"Basically yeah," Fino shrugged, a resigned smile on his face.

"I keep trying to figure out how he does it but I can't get the flame flat enough," Fiera said thoughtfully, miming a stabbing motion.

"You make it too hot."

"Nah, I think it's not hot enough! It's gotta be SEARING HOT to cauterize that fast."

"But then you border too close to incinerating it, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't incinerate the trunk, Fi."

"Well maybe he should!"

Jack made a little high pitched sound in his throat.

Fiera looked up at him with a darling little smile that made Jack very, very nervous. "I'm workshopping it."

"I see now why you got the extra seeds," Jack stage whispered to Jacqueline. She hummed in agreement, the pair of them watching as Fiera skipped away happily.

Their search began in earnest with the Twins rushing into the tree lot, errant sparks popping behind them. Sighing, Jacqueline armed herself with a handful of snowballs, trailing behind her as she followed the twins closely. Jack admired the trees as they walked by, stopping with his parents and half-listening as they discussed which ones they liked best. His eyes were elsewhere, closely watching his siblings (an old habit of his that apparently hadn't left in the fourteen centuries he had been gone, and seemed unaffected by the two recent additions) as they ran about, using their powers effortlessly.

Goddess of the Springs, he missed his powers so much. Sure, sure, he had access to them…but it wasn't the same as being able to pull them from within. Blaise had said that it seemed like they were coming to him easier; Jack really, really wanted to agree but what if he was wrong? What if it wasn't his core? What if he was just so used to drawing from the ether that it seemed like he was back in top form? Or, well, almost in top form? Knowing that the Deliquesce could start up again at any time, and not feeling ready to properly take care of it the second time around, was really getting him down. What if he and Jacqueline couldn't fix it this time? What would they do then?

"Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay, dear? You looked very far away."

"Sorry, Mom. Did I?"

"We had an entire conversation just now and I don't think you heard a single word of it," Winter said, concerned.

"I was totally listening."

"Then what did I just ask?" Blaise asked with a sly smile.

Jack opened his mouth to speak; he squinted, trying to recall…anything they had said. He closed his mouth. "Yeah, you got me, I missed that completely. Sorry, what were you saying?"

"We were discussing where to put the tree," Blaise said.

"We have two votes for upstairs, one for the den, and two for the foyer, by the stairs," Winter said. "Thoughts?"

"Upstairs?!" Jack questioned, only just realizing now that all three of his siblings were clustered beside them.

"Yeah! Right in front of me and Fino's rooms!"

"So you can snoop on your gifts this year and possibly accidentally set the tree on fire? Again?! I don't think so!" Jacqueline said, fiercely.

"Okay, that's a solid no on the upstairs from me," Jack decided.

"Ja-ack, the frost?! We were ROOTING for you!" Fiera whined. "I have NEVER felt SO BETRAYED in my LIFE!" Throwing the back of her hand up to her forehead, she keeled over sideways.

"Language, please, Fiera," Blaise said.

"Unbelievable," Fino said with a little head shake, sticking his arms out just in time for Fiera to land in them.

"THANK you!" Jacqueline said. "You're thinking den too, right?"

"Absolutely not."

"What? Why? It'd be so cozy!"

"No, it'd be cluttered! Between all of the pillows and throws and couches, we'd barely be able to walk in there!"

"Foyer would be best this year," Winter pipped up. "We'll need a lot more space than usual."

"Ou, are we hosting?" Jack asked.

"No more than usual. But, given the special occasion this Christmas is, I expect your Aunts will stop on in this year far earlier than they previously have. It seems to be a running theme for them this month, after all."

"Oh? What's so special about it?"

Jacqueline and the Twins glanced at one another, dumbstruck. Blaise and Winter shared their own look of silent laughter before looking at Jack, bemused.

"Bro. Are you serious?!" Jacqueline finally asked, the disbelief thick.

He frowned, and pointed to himself.

Winter nodded.

"Oh! Oh," Jack said, feeling his face get hot.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you forgot!" Jacqueline teased. "So much for aging with grace."

"What was that, little flurry? Wanna say that again?"

Jacqueline squared her shoulders, smirking right at Jack. She opened her mouth, inhaled, and yelled, "YOU'RE OLD!"

Jack's snowball caught her with her mouth open mid-cackle; her laughter stopped short when she started choking on the snow in her mouth.

"How's THAT for old!?"

"Oh dear," Winter said, Blaise laughing beside her as, with gusto, Fiera opened her mouth wide and unleashed the customary wintertime battle cry.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

In a flash she had run underneath Fino's legs, throwing him up on her shoulders. Once stable, Fino yelled, "CHARGE!" and Fiera rushed forward, both already armed with snowballs and throwing them right at Jack, who was beginning to regret throwing the first shot.

He dodged the projectiles fairly well, but the speeds at which both twins made and tossed the snowballs were astounding.

"HOW are they making these so fast?!" Jack demanded, throwing up his forearm to block another set of three flying towards him.

"No child of mine is going out into this world without knowing how to make a proper snowball in mere seconds," Winter explained, watching as another four snowballs landed with a thunk in the snow Jack had pulled from the ground to block them. "Elemental backgrounds be damned."

"Try snowballing THIS hotheads!" Jack shouted, flinging the snow in front of him forward. It gained momentum, packing on more snow as it barrelled for the twins, knocking them down and covering them completely in snow. "HA!"

The twins popped out of the snow, already armed and winding up their pitch. Suddenly, the ground below them began to rumble. Both Fino and Fiera looked startled, snowballs forgotten in their hands as they watched the snow slowly begin to lift them up.

Jack stepped back. He wasn't doing that, which meant...he whirled around to face his Legate so fast, he nearly gave himself whiplash.

"Do NOT do it, do NOT weaponize the twins!"

"I DO what I WANT!" Jacqueline yelled, and, thrusting her arms forward with a terribly devious grin, the snow packed itself tightly around the twins, launching forward and beelining for Jack. The twins stood up, armed and ready to launch as they approached Jack very, very fast. Jacqueline cackled madly behind them, her hands glowing light blue, stuck out in front of her.

Jack slid to the side, the wave of twins passing him by. "I'll take that," he said, turning to face the retreating snow pile. With a kick in the snow, he cut Jacqueline's connection to it, hijacking it for himself.

"No no no, don't you DARE uno reverse me!" Jacqueline screeched, as Jack did just that.

With a quick spin and a wave, the twins were redirected, heading straight for Jacqueline with double the snowballs.

Jacqueline dove into the snow, disappearing as the twins bowled over where she once stood.

"Oh come on, really, Jacqueline? That's cheating!"

Behind him, the snow began to rumble. A person shaped blob of snow popped out of the ground, solidifying to reveal Jacqueline. She smiled maliciously as the snow around her shifted. She stuck out her hands, as though she were controlling a marionette, and lifted them into the air. Snowballs burst out of the ground, surrounding her. Her grin intensified, and she charged forward, propelled by the snow below her, projectiles flying behind her.

Across from them, Fino and Fiera had hopped up onto each other yet again, barrelling towards their older brother with the snowballs they had yet to throw.

Jack smirked.

He waited for them to launch their snowballs, letting them fly towards him for a bit before he slid back, the snowballs completely missing him. Jacqueline's set hit the twins, hard. Fino fell over; Fiera had to dig into the ground with her heels to avoid the same fate.

Before Jacqueline could laugh at what had happened, the twin's snowballs hit her dead on. And they were solid. And a bit wet.

See, the thing about two young summer sprites making snowballs is that they tend to be harder. The snow melts a bit while they make it, and gets compacted, and suddenly you have this hard little ball of wet snow heading right for you—and boy, did those hurt!

Jacqueline was pushed the slightest bit back as the wet projectiles hit her arms, thrown up last minute to prevent a nasty little bruise on her face. She was able to dig her own feet into the snow, the last few mushy projectiles dropping below her with a really wet plop. She lowered her arms, her icy blue eyes glaring at the Twins across the way.

"That's what you GET for DEFEATING US at ELEMENTAL BALL!" Fiera shouted. "REVENGE! WOO!"

Appalled, Jacqueline turned around. "Do you hear this sleet, Jack?"

"Oh, I hear it alright. Didn't I warn you about the trash talk, Fiera?"

"You think I'd listen to YOU?! HA! I've only KNOWN you for like a MONTH!"

"Ou, spicy! Guess I'll just have to teach you a little lesson."

"Joke's on you, cause I've been told that I NEVER LEARN!"

"Can confirm. She never does. And is weirdly proud about it," Fino said with a thoughtful frown.

"Well you know what they say," Jack said, cracking his knuckles. "Pride cometh before the fall."

And with that, he shot forward, aiming to absolutely obliterate the children at their own snowball fight.

"Ouuuu it's ON!" Jacqueline shouted, hot on her brother's heels, mirroring his movements.

And so the outing continued, the impromptu snowball fight raging on and only growing in intensity. It was hard to give tree opinions while dodging slush balls left right and centre. Moreso when your Legate decided you made a great shield. Magibean shields aside, Jack found himself having a lot of fun. He hated to admit it but his father had been right. A little bit of festivity had, in fact, cheered him up.

Keeping a healthy distance from the chaos, Winter found herself silently directing the snow back in place, stopping errant snowballs from whacking unsuspecting magibeans as the family made their way through the tree farm. She smiled fondly at the kids, watching as Jacqueline nailed the twins with two very large snowballs, only to be plowed over by a huge wave of snow, Jack laughing when it flung her down and buried her.

Winter laughed, squeezing Blaise's arm as the pair watched their kids go a little bit feral. "Looks like you were right, darling."

"Wow. What a feeling! Is this how you feel all the time?" Blaise asked, squeezing Winter's arm back. "Because it feels great. I should do it more often."

Winter laughed. "Yes, it rather does, doesn't it? Seems Jack's mood has perked right up. And how about you, dear?"

"What about me?"

"Are you feeling better?"

Blaise smiled down at his wife, soft and full of love. "Much," he said, pulling her in for a side hug and kissing the top of her head. "You were, as usual, very, very right."

Winter laughed, mindlessly directing a snowball over their heads with a little twirl of her index finger. "I find that quite often, I am." Content, she leaned against Blaise with a happy little sigh. "Oh Blaise, I just. I love this." With a flourish, she gestured towards the kids. In the distance, the three youngest were caught in a torrent of snow, Jack cackling as he whipped them around. She placed her hand on her heart, resting her head on Blaise's side.

He smiled, his hair brightening, and pulled her in tightly. "Yeah," he said, his voice almost cracking. "I do, too."

In front of them, the twins shot out of the snow tornado, crashing right into Jack with intent to push. It worked; they landed in a heap on top of him. His concentration broken, the snow tornado fell.

Listing a bit, Jacqueline pointed at Jack, laughed, and, bringing her other hand over her head and down, the snow-nado flew up and slam dunked itself right on Jack and the Twins.

"We did okay," Blaise said. "We're doing okay."

Winter sighed, a happy little hum. "We really are. I just…this is so nice. And I have this horrible—well, not horrible, that's much too strong a word. Melancholy, perhaps? Bittersweet? Well, not outright bad but certainly not good feeling that this is the last nice day the six of us will have for…a while."

Blaise sighed. "Well, being this close to Christmas and the Dome still not acting up, despite Jack telling us that chances are good that it would? That's not surprising." Squeezing her again, he kissed the top of her head. "But!" He spun her around to face him. "We can make the most of the time we have before that happens," he said, with that genuinely happy grin Winter was so very fond of, his hair burning taller.

SMACK! CRACK! TINK!

Blaise frowned, his shoulders drooping. "Please tell me our kids did not just do what I think they just did."

"SCATTER!" Jack yelled, as Winter peeked over Blaise's shoulder to see the four of them shoot off in different directions, the last few pieces of glass falling from what was, moments ago, a perfectly intact window on one of the little cocoa cabins.

Winter stifled a laugh. "I wish I could."

Blaise sighed, tired, smiling fondly nonetheless. "I'll get the window, you get the kids?"

Winter already had one hand delicately raised, the snow rippling around her. "Way ahead of you, Blaise dear."

With a quick kiss on her forehead, Blaise spun on his heel and jogged towards the cabin, already apologizing profusely to the distraught magibean sticking their head out of the hole that was once a window. Winter, meanwhile, surveyed the area the kids had run off to, the snow below her shifting as she placed her hands on her hips.

That is enough out of the four of you, she thought at all of them.

Below her, the snow shot out, four streams heading into the thicket by the cocoa cabin. The first two came back relatively fast. Fiera was wrapped like a little on fire burrito, looking like she was trying very hard to look stern and failing quite miserably, Winter thought. Beside her, another snowdrift had grabbed Fino around the middle. Smirking, his elbows rested in the snowy restraint, head resting in his hands as he watched his twin struggle.

The third one took a bit more time; Winter could hear Jacqueline's protests, followed by a dull flop. The third strand finally made its way back, though, dragging Jacqueline through the snow on her belly. Flipping her over, Jacqueline crossed her arms with a huff, frowning, coming to a stop beside the twins.

The fourth one? Now that one had a time, the poor thing.

Jack saw the other three approaching fast; the twins were grabbed instantly. Jack heard the moment Jacqueline hit the floor and was dragged away. He sped up; the moment he felt the snow ripple below him, he jumped out of the way.

"Oh NO you don't! I am NOT paying for that window!"

It lunged, Jack side stepping, jumping, and dodging once, twice, third time! With a slice of his hand in the air, his own stream of snow sliced Winter's in half.

"HA!" Jack said, jabbing a finger at the snow that now lay still in a heap in front of him.

Behind you, darling!

Jack whipped around a second too late, as a wall of snow three times the size of him towered above him.

"No, no, no—GAH!"

He was thrown to the floor unceremoniously, the snow engulfing him entirely and ruthlessly dragging him back to Winter. He felt himself fly up, up, up; the snow around him dissipated, except for a thick tendril around his ankle, reinforced with ice, Jack noticed. The snowy tendril brought him down with a thunk, seating him beside his just as trapped siblings.

"Ha, she got you too," Jacqueline said, sitting up and smirking at Jack. "Not so high and mighty now mister I am the master of snowball fights, eh? Getting a little ah, slow in your age?"

Jack glared at his cackling sister. With a tilt of his chin, a snowball shot up from the ground, hitting Jacqueline right on her mouth. The snow flattened itself over her lips, sticking as tight as duct tape and rendering her speechless.

"Hmm!" she tried to say, looking very, very angry.

"That's what you GET! I am the master of snowball fights and don't you forget it, little flurry," Jack said, standing up and crossing his arms.

"Really Jack?" Winter asked, sternly.

"Really Mother?" Jack asked, gesturing (with his arms still crossed) to the tendril around his ankle.

"You're lucky you didn't get fully burrito-ed," she said, nodding her head back at Fiera.

"You completely engulfed me! Talk about going to extremes."

"You are the most dangerous of these four."

"Well now I'm not sure if I should be offended or flattered."

"It's a bit of both," Winter teased with a wink. "Now then, Jack, if you could be so kind as to take the snow off of your sister's face—"

"But she—"

"Ah, ah, ah! No buts. And Jacqueline, no comments, alright?"

Jacqueline nodded.

"Good. Jack?"

With a sigh, he waved his hand; the snow fell off of Jacqueline's face.

"Thank you. Now then, we do need to get the tree sometime today, and we have a handful of contenders and that simply won't do."

"Ou, elimination round!" Fiera exclaimed, gleeful.

"Exactly," Winter said. "So. I'm going to let you all go. But! You have to stay close. Got it?"

"Yes Mom!" the twins coursed, the snow around them dropping.

"Aye aye, captain," Jacqueline mumbled, the snow letting her go.

Winter looked at Jack, sternly.

"What?"

She tilted her head down, stare intensifying.

"Okay, fine! I won't move, can you please release my ankle."

The snow around his sock dropped.

"THANK you."

Behind them, Blaise tapped the ground around the glass in the snow. With an orange glow, the shattered pieces of glass hovered, gently sliding back into place like a puzzle. With a wave, he guided the pane back into the frame, and snapped his fingers. The glow subsided; the cracks disappeared. The window was good as new. It slid open, the magibean sticking their head out the window and thanking Blaise. He laughed, loud enough for the rest of the family to hear, and headed back towards them, hands in his pockets.

"Nice response time," he said to everyone. "Now then, shall we? We're burning daylight!"

"ELIMINATION ROUND!" Fiera shouted, skipping ahead.

It didn't take too long after the window debacle for them all to agree on a tree for the foyer. Winter had made sure there wasn't a single bald spot on it. There had been some debate about the tree, of course. While everyone had loved the one currently coming home with them, the Twins had grown attached to a small, thin one. It looked a little sad; it had some bald spots and was a little bit crooked, but both Fino and Fiera were enamoured with how bad it looked. So, pooling their allowances together, they bought it for themselves. Jack was positive it'd go right in front of their room, since they had been insisting on placing the family tree there.

Jacqueline had found a particularly full tree, though it did not have the height needed for the foyer. It smelt lovely, though, and Jacqueline had insisted on getting it herself. After all, the twins had done it too, and since she had her own funds on hand, why not? And, if the other two floors had a tree, the third one should as well. It was only fair. And she was positive that the lack of a tree on the very top floor would bother her more and more throughout the season.

So, after more time than expected spent convincing Fiera to let Blaise take care of cutting the trees down, the Frosts headed back to the entrance, grabbing some hot chocolate while the Spiderfolk at the front carefully wrapped the three trees shut in their delicate webs.

They didn't bother walking home; nor did they bother with the teleportation point. Instead, they poofed themselves home, three trees in tow, some choice garlands resting on the arms of all four siblings. All in all, a good family outing; moods were lifted, chaos caused, and energy depleted. The only downside? Jack hadn't seen the twins start a single fire, and he found that he had kind of been hoping for one.

Well, a broken window would simply have to do this year.

He smiled at that thought. This year. To think, next year, he could do it all again with them! It made him feel all warm and slushy, yet again. How grossly affectionate, he thought.

---

With the six of them hard at work, the main tree had been decorated in no time at all, leaving Jack all the time in the world to decorate the staircases. Carefully, he frosted the garland that looped on the upstairs balustrade. The light that came in from the upper landing and stretched down the stairs hit the garland just right, giving the frost a perfect gleam. A final tap here, a little puff of frosty breath there, and…

"Perfect!" Jack said, standing up and surveying his work proudly. "Look at that. It's beautiful! I have out done myself—ack!"

He froze, his shoulders bunching up as something cold and solid hit his back.

"FINALLY! It only took me what, like a month? Not so high and mighty now mister I can dodge every snowball ever cause I'm Jack Frost—"

Jack blinked, taken aback as he felt the remnants of the fluffy snowball begin to drip down his back. He turned, looking at Jacqueline in bewilderment. She had somehow managed to stick herself under the railing on the upstairs landing, her hair nearly touching the stair below her.

"Did you just snowball me?"

"Yeah I did!" she said proudly, positively beaming.

Jack laughed, waving the snow off of him. "I suppose at some point the student has to surpass the teacher," Jack admitted.

"I think I did that a long time ago," Jacqueline replied.

"Why don't you come over here and tell me that to my face?"

"Ah-hmm. No can do, brother of mine. I've got sleet to do up here."

"Ah. Seizing the opportunity, then?"

"Sorta!" she admitted. "But also, you have sleet to do up here too."

"What? No I don't! I have a system, Jacqueline. I haven't done the other side of the banister yet! Our stairs are slated for garlanding after the main ones."

"Our tree, blizzard brain," Jacqueline rolled her eyes. "You gonna help me decorate it, or not?"

Jack's entire posture seemed to sag; he blinked, taken aback. "Our tree?"

"Well, yeah," Jacqueline said, unable to prevent the heat from rising in her cheeks. "I mean. It's on our floor so…our tree?"

Jack smirked. "Aww, how cute. You love your older brother."

"Frost off," Jacqueline replied, sliding out from her perch and disappearing upstairs.

"LANGUAGE!" Jack shouted up the stairs.

"YOU'RE NOT MY DAD!"

"YOU'D BE SO GROUNDED ALL THE TIME IF I WERE!"

She appeared between the railing again, surveying Jack with a quirky smile. "I'd like to see you try."

Jack chuckled, heading up the stairs much to Jacqueline's poorly hidden delight. "I don't think there's a power on this Earth that could ground you. Not even our actual parents," Jack said, coming to a dead stop when he reached the landing. "Wow."

Jacqueline had been busy since the tree downstairs had gone up. Snow fell from the ceiling of the landing, not quite hitting the floor but disappearing far before reaching it. The tree was a little frosty, almost white, the lights already around it. The literal icicle lights made a reappearance; they graced the tops of the door frames, somehow managing not to cancel each other out. Jack still couldn't figure out how on earth his parents did it, despite watching them like a hawk when they had done the same downstairs.

"Is it too much?" Jacqueline asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

"No, not at all! I think we should keep the snow year-round, actually. Major improvement."

Jacqueline grinned. The icy plants beside the doors did not escape Jacqueline's grasp, either. They were wrapped in lights as well, the small, bright white ones. The remains of tinsel glistened along the string, a trail of the stuff leading into Jacqueline's room.

"I'll get to that in a sec," she said, noticing Jack's cursory glance at the trail.

"As long as it's not in my room you're fine." Jack took in her work once more, a proud smile on his face. "It looks good, Jacqueline! You did great." With a smirk, Jack ruffled her hair just short of a noogie.

"AHHHHH! WHY would you DO that!"

"Revenge for the snowball! I knew it would bother you."

"Unbelievable," Jacqueline said, pouting as she righted her hair. "Do you know how hard it is to keep the centre part? This head of hair just REFUSES to cooperate."

"You look fine," Jack rolled his eyes. "Now then! Are we decorating, or what?"

"But your precious garlanding schedule!" Jacqueline teased. She bent down, tossing her hair over her head. Shaking it out a bit, she flung it back, the frozen waves settling just the way she liked as she righted herself.

"It can wait for a moment. Now come put up some ornaments, will you? I'm a busy man and I don't have all day."

Delighted, Jacqueline jogged over, helping herself to the spare ornaments and passing them his way.

---

By the time dinner rolled around, the house was festive enough to give the North Pole a run for its money. The first floor was decked out: warm fairy lights (disclaimer: not actual fae) twirled around the garland that hung over the doorways and along the walls. A light coat of frost covered all of the garland, holly threaded in here and there. Jack had worked hard on the large wreath that now adorned the front door, with its frosted tips and silly baubles and such. The garland around the railings had warm red lights twirled into it now, the foyer awash in a warm, low-lit glow. Poinsettias sat in the middle of every side table, end table, and hall table, a little replica of the Springs beside the one downstairs, similar to a village piece.

Caught up in the decorating, there had been something delightfully absurd about the doorbell ringing, and Blaise walking into the kitchen moments later with a large stack of pizzas. Jack hadn't been able to stop himself from laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of it all. Man on fire? Carrying a stack of pizzas? That had been delivered to the door? In the magical continent?

It was delightful. And the pizza was delicious. According to Winter, it was from a place in the Southern Province that Summer raved about all the time. And his Aunt was definitely onto something, Jack thought, three slices in.

Post dinner, he lay on his bed, arms behind his head, and sighed. Content.

He used to dread each coming Christmas. Oh, how he'd hate to be out during the first snow, watching people enjoy his handiwork, waiting for the other shoe to drop. The "Oh! This means Christmas is coming!" or, "Do you know what this means? Santa's coming soon!" or, goddess forbid, SANTA getting the credit for JACK's handiwork. Which, regrettably, happened more often than not on the job.

But now? Well, now he found himself looking forward to the upcoming holiday! He found himself enjoying the decorations they had spent the entire day putting up. He found himself liking the bits of tinsel that seemed to cling to any surfaces, including fur! Jack chuckled, recalling how the cat had come out into the hallway covered in the stuff, meowing at him all disgruntled.

"Well next time, don't play with it!" Jack had replied, only for the cat to mewl in a sort of frustrated way and sit right down, tail flicking back and forth, watching as Jack hung the rest of the garland.

Jacqueline had eventually grabbed the cat and brushed out the tinsel, the purring very loud, but not unwelcome. There had been something so…domestically comforting about hanging the last bits of garland while his sister cuddled with a cat, shooting the snow with him casually as he worked.

He was looking forward to spending Christmas with his family. Something he could finally say. And deep down, just thinking about it, he could feel his core almost…pricking. It got him thinking.

Despite the horrendous use of power the snowball fight at the farm had used, he was nowhere near as tired as he normally was! He had been wondering if maybe, just maybe…he wasn't drawing as much from the ether as he usually was.

He looked at his hands with a frown. He reached deep, deep, deep down, trying to find the spark of magic, trying to draw on that slight pricking sensation he had been feeling…his hands began to glow. Dull, though; not as bright as they could be. Dare he even hope? He didn't really feel much different, and from all the research they had done, Jack would've noticed the return of his powers, as they'd all come back at once! Not slow and steady. That spark would light up and boom! Magic!

He balled up his fists and threw his hands back under his head. No, he thought. I'll figure this out tomorrow. Maybe he'd run it by Jacqueline and she could help him figure out if his suspicions were right or not. He wasn't about to ruin a very good day with the helplessness that had been plaguing him the last week or so.

But deep in his gut, he knew. He knew he was close. He knew he was where he needed to be to figure out what would ignite that spark again! A few more days home, maybe, and he'd have it figured out.

His head briefly throbbed. A less than friendly reminder to Jack that his time at home was short. There was still the Dome to think about—and it seemed it was beginning to think about him.

Once again, there simply wasn't enough time.

A bit longer and he felt sure that he'd be right as rain, able to fix the Dome proper in no time at all! It was the least he could do for Santa, after all. The literal bare minimum given that it was part of his job. And with everything that Santa had done for him in the past year? It really was the least Jack could do for the guy.

A bit more time would be ideal. But a bit more time was a luxury he didn't have right now.

So he'd make the most of what was left. Whether it be a day, a week, a month, or even a few hours, he would make the most of it.

In the morning. After a good night's rest, of course.

And so, turning on his side hitting the light on the bedside table, Jack plunged the room into darkness, drifting off to sleep shortly after.

---

"Curtis!"

Looking up from the pat down of his pockets, the elf grinned when he saw who was approaching. "Lucy! Hey! When did you get here?"

"A few hours ago," the girl said, stopping beside the elf. "What're you doing?"

"Looking for the keys to the snowmobile," Curtis frowned, checking his coat pockets once again. "I could've sworn I…"

"Ta-da!" Lucy grinned, the keys in her hand.

"Oh! Thanks! How did you get these?"

"Bernard had them. He told me to give them to you," she smiled sweetly, passing the elf the key ring. "Where are we going?"

"We?" Curtis questioned with a smile.

Lucy raised an eyebrow.

Curtis laughed. "Well, I'm going up to check on the Dome. Bernard put together a task force to keep tabs on it. You know about the Deliquesce, right?" Suddenly intense, he leaned in dramatically, looking at Lucy very, very seriously.

"Duh! Uncle Scott told us all about it. He explained it to us and everything!"

"Phew. Right. Good. Well, since Jack left, the Dome Reconnaissance Team—the D.R.T for short—have been keeping tabs on it. We've been keeping an eye out daily, making sure the melting doesn't start up again, in any capacity at all. If it did, there could be disastrous consequences for us all, and our way of life could cease to exist!"

"The D.R.T? The DRT. Oh! Like Dirt!"

"No, not like dirt—"

"The DRT, getting the dirt on the Dome!"

Curtis paused for a moment. "Okay. That has a nice ring to it."

"I know!" she said, chipper. "So how have you been keeping track of it? What if it starts slowly, and not all in one go? Or what if it starts all in one go, and not slowly?"

"You ask a lot of very good questions."

"My teachers say the same thing!"

"Well, whichever way it starts, I have a handy little tool that monitors all the possibilities. Ta-da!" he said proudly, bringing up a metal device about the size of a brick. It had a little satellite looking thing on the top, with a meter directly under it. A digital screen was below that, with a few flashing buttons near the bottom of the device, under the display.

"What is it?"

"I made it myself! It's a device that measures the amount of Christmas magic going through the Dome and out into the world. That's what the Dome does, after all. It regulates the Christmas magic out into the world in safe quantities. This much magic in one area is really volatile. If it wasn't for control points like the Dome on places where magic has gathered. Well. Disastrous consequences and all."

"Volatile?"

"You know like. Uh. Charged. Or explosive. Or turbulent. Nearly out of control."

"Huh. Magic is that dangerous?"

"Only in really large quantities. That's why we have control points."

"Only for places where magic gathers all together in one big magic ball? What about where it gathers in like, little amounts?"

"It's fine on its own in small amounts. But when it groups together, it has the potential to disrupt the flow of magic all around the world if left untapped. So, magibeans make control points over them, and the control points help kind of…smooth it out. Make sense?"

"Totally! So here, at the North Pole a bunch of magic gathered. And then you guys built the Workshop to control it?"

"Not us! Early Kringle elves did! And they only did it after the Dome was created."

"So the Dome controls the Christmas magic. Okay! How does it do that?"

"It's made of winter magic. Winter magic is the best kind of conductor for Christmas magic." Lucy looked a tad confused. "Like...when it starts to snow, the very first snowfall of the year, what's your first thought?"

"That the holidays are finally going to start—specifically Christmas!"

"It's like that," Curtis said, finishing. "Winter magic can safely move Christmas magic around, and it does. That's one of the reasons we have the Dome; to keep the Christmas magic—and our home—safe."

"I get it now. That's why the Dome melting is so bad, isn't it? Because if it disappeared, the magic would be out of control and maybe destroy everything here, wouldn't it?"

"It absolutely would, if it disappeared completely. It would also make it either really cold, or really hot. It's been really hot most of the year because of the Christmas magic heating up the Dome and making it melt, but if the full Deliquesce started and the Dome ceased to exist? It would get very cold, very fast."

"So how does your magic brick work?"

"Magic brick?! This isn't a brick! It is a very sophisticated piece of tech that picks up on the tinniest shifts in the magic moving through the Dome in order to tell us what the current levels of magic in and out are!"

"Is that what you called it?"

"...no. Magic brick actually sounds a bit better than its actual name."

"Which is?"

"The uh, the Dome Meter. I haven't put much thought into a name yet. So I've just been calling it the Dome meter."

Lucy giggled. "That's okay. Is there anything else we need?"

"This should be it. And the keys, which you brought over…oh! And helmets! I have mine, and here's one for…you!"

In a swirl of silvery sparkles, a pink helmet appeared in Curtis's hand. Lucy laughed, grabbing the helmet from him and placing it on her head.

"Fits okay?"

"Yeah, it's perfect! Thanks Curtis."

"Safety is no joke," Curtis said throwing a leg over the snowmobile. "Hop on and hang on tight!"

Once she was safely settled onto the snow mobile, Curtis started it up. The vehicle roared to life, Lucy laughing. With a rev for the sole purpose of showing off, the pair set off outside the city, up to the outskirts by the Dome. Curtis slowed down as they approached, the snowmobile quieting down.

"There it is! The Dome!"

"Whoa," Lucy said, craning her neck to take it all in. The icy walls were shinning, a deep blue hue within the ice. Lights danced along the Dome; high above them, the Northern Lights rippled back and forth, in shades of greens and blues and violets.

"It's lost a bit of it's shine since the melting began," Curtis said, cutting the ignition and hopping off of his seat. "It's usually a lot prettier. It's also missing some hues."

"It's beautiful just like this," Lucy said, stars in her eyes as she tried to picture it with more colour.

"Thankfully, the last fix seems to have done the trick. We haven't gotten to full Deliquesce yet, thank GOODNESS. That'd be disastrous," he said, pulling out his tools.

Lucy slid off the snow mobile, placing the helmet on her seat. "So what do we do now?" she asked, joining Curtis's side.

"Usually," Curtis began, tinkering with the magic brick, "We walk the circumference of the Dome and check for cracks with your day-to-day tools. Things to check the thickness, the curvature, measure the light output and magic levels. That sort of thing. But today," he grinned when there was a happy sounding beep and the small satellite began rotating, a ping sound happening every few spins. "We'll walk along the Dome with this! The meter will use the temperature fluctuations in the air to compare with the known temperatures of the types of magic in the Dome, and let us know if it's above or below norms. It's a little high right now, because the Dome is still not at it's best. Like I said, the last fix was good, but not permanent. Check this out," Curtis said, passing the magic brick to Lucy.

She grabbed it, looking at the little screen. There were a couple of lines, three graphs overlaid on one another, and below it a percentage. "Killer! So this thing does and has everything you need to check the Dome?"

"If I programmed it right, then yes! Which I did, of course."

"Of course," Lucy said with a giggle, passing it back his way. "How can I help?"

"Well, it never hurts to have a second eye, sans technology! Keep yours peeled for cracks in the walls, changes in the terrain. Temperature shifts, pay attention to those. Oh! And sounds! If you hear any cracking or anything strange, let me know, alright?"

"Got it!"

"Excellent! Let's go," Curtis started forward, nose buried in the display on the magic brick.

With a determined nod, Lucy began to follow Curtis as they walked around the Dome. She stretched out her hand, fingers trailing along the cold, icy wall. It felt a little bit damp; and it was definitely chillier by the walls.

"How cold is it usually up here?" Lucy asked.

"Anywhere from five degrees to zero. Roughly forty-one degrees to thirty-two, in Fahrenheit. It's easier to measure in Celsius up here, so that's what we tend to default to. It has been known, in the winter, to be five below or so around here. So, low to mid twenties. Why do you ask?"

"It feels extra chilly by the walls."

Pausing, Curtis moved right up to the wall. He typed some commands into the magic brick. The pinging stopped; the satellite whooshed, facing the Dome. He frowned, watching the gauge on the screen. A sharp inhale.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's coming up as thirty below zero. Those are temperatures from the North Pole. Outside of the Dome. That's…not promising."

"Is it bad, do you think?"

"It's hard to say," Curtis looked a little tense as he reset the magic brick and continued forward. Lucy followed along, hand still trailing on the walls, glad she brought her jacket with her. "It's been known to almost match outside temperatures this close to the Dome on occasion. But it's rare. Very rare."

They continued forward, the magic brick pinging at a steady pace, speeding up every so often.

"What does it mean when it speeds up?"

"A spike in the Christmas magic readings. Not unheard of around this time. Generally, we sit between 70 and 80 percent of Christmas magic being output mid to late-December. We don't get 90 percent until a week or so out; and of course, the full 100 does happen. That starts on the twenty-third, usually, as we prepare for launch; it peaks on Christmas Eve, and settles on Christmas Day. It can linger up until New Years, but by then it starts going back down to regular levels. When the brick picks up a spike, the beeping speeds up."

"So that's normal?"

"Nothing to worry about quite yet," Curtis confirmed, glancing at the walls again with a frown. "It's just a little colder than usual, so far. How're the walls?"

"They feel okay. But every so often they're a little bit…runny? But not fast. It's just a little damp. Look," she said, holding out her glove. The tops of the fingers were a little sodden, like she had just made a snowball.

"Hmm," Curtis frowned down at the brick, rubbing his chin. "We'll need more data to really see…"

"Keep going, then?" Lucy asked.

"Yep," Curtis replied, still staring down at the magic brick.

They continued their perimeter walk, Lucy having to steer Curtis back towards the Dome a couple of times. He was watching the brick so closely, his glasses kept fogging up from his breath. The snow under Lucy's boots began to crunch. She laughed.

"Look! It's packing snow!"

Curtis stopped, head shooting right up. "Packing snow?"

"Yeah, look!" Lucy said, grabbing a handful of snow and rolling it in her hands. "Ta-da! Snowball!"

She tossed it at Curtis. It bounced off of his arm; Lucy laughed.

Curtis narrowed his eyes; Lucy let out one more giggle before covering her big smile with her hands.

"I'm watching you," Curtis said, with the accompanying two-fingered motion from his eyes to hers.

"Sure you are," she said, skipping beside him and looking at the magic brick. "You've had your nose pressed against the screen for most of the walk. Why's the packing snow bad?"

"I never said it was bad—"

"No, but you did suddenly shoot up when I mentioned it."

Curtis frowned. "Well generally, when the snow is packable, it's because it's starting to melt."

"Oh," Lucy said, the delight dropping off of her face.

"Yeah. So now we have very cold temperatures, runny walls—"

"Damp, not running yet!"

"—yet. And wet snow."

Just then, the pinging sped up. Curtis's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking. He walked away from the Dome; it slowed down. He walked towards it; it sped up. He glanced at Lucy.

"Maybe try forward?"

He walked forward; the pings came even faster. "Rats," he said, pressing forward.

Lucy followed him closely, trying to step as light as possible and keep an ear out. The pinging increased, faster and faster as they pressed on. The Dome began to curve. Below them, the snow was looking slushy.

"Curtis, it's slushy!"

"We're spiking! We're at ninety percent! Way too early!" Curtis shouted, breaking out into a run.

Lucy rushed forward, struggling to keep up as she tried to keep her steps quiet enough to hear anything else amiss. She could feel a far-off vibration; she looked up. High above her was a crack; a visible crack.

"We're at ninety-five now! One hundred! And going up?!"

"There's cracks! Curtis, there's cracks! Like, big ones!"

Curtis glanced up, the pinging now one long ring. His jaw dropped. He was speechless.

"Curtis?" Lucy asked, stepping forward. There was a low thrum; Lucy looked up. The SNAP reached her ears moments before the ice dislodged, plummeting to the ground.

"CURTIS LOOK OUT," Lucy shouted, running right into him. They collided with an oof, Lucy managing to throw him over a couple of feet before they both toppled into the ground, rolling briefly.

Behind them, where Curtis had just been standing, a chunk of ice fell into the snow, embedding itself deep within the ground.

"You just—"

"Yeah."

"I just—"

"Yeah!"

"AH!"

"I KNOW!"

"I could've DIED!"

"You were like FROZEN in place! Why? What happened?"

Adjusting his glasses, Curtis pat the snow around him, pulling the now screaming magic brick out of the snow. Whatever colour had been seeping its way back into his face drained as the red percentage glared right at him. His jaw dropped, again; he turned and looked at Lucy, bringing the dome meter up with him.

In big, red, analog numbers, flashing repeatedly, was the number 200.

"Oh no," Lucy gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "That means that it's. It's happening, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Curtis said, his mouth dry. "It's happening."

The Deliquesce had begun.

---

A/N: KILL BILL SIRENS KILL BILL SIRENS OH NO, IT'S HAPPENING! So much for your good night of sleep, Jack :). And Jacqueline, too, hehe. Edited this one and posted it as of uh. March 23rd, 2023 (and tidied up November 2nd, 2023! :). Had a bit of a family issue that stopped me from writing, and when I finally worked through it and everything my brain went NO CHAPTER 22! ONLY DRAFTS OF THE OTHER CHAPTERS THAT HAVEN'T SEEN FF DOT NET SINCE 2016! And so that's what I did! So once chapter 23 is up, we can get back to the regularly scheduled NEW CONTENT!

I've also started posting CS on ao3, finally! Been meaning to do it for like, ever. FINALLY got around to it this week after I officially finished drafting Chapters 24-30 :). So I'll be posting Chapter 4 over there tonight, hopefully, and then every other week I'll add the next one! It should be caught up to where we are here by November, and then I'll add the final few chapters consecutively on both mediums :3

I'm HOPING it works out that way! After May, once the wedding is done, I'll have my usual free time and we'll see how it all goes! :)

Thanks for sticking around, everyone. I hope you enjoy this chapter! R and R! Let me know what you liked! Thoughts, feelings, predictions-I love hearing it all :p. Feel free to drop on over to ao3, too! Kudos are kinda fun :)

And I'll see you all soonily doodily for Chapter 23's update (I hope! If I can get it up before I get married it'll be very exciting for me and me alone tbh, lol. Cheers!)