Into the Vanessaverse

The snowflakes glimmered in the evening air, sparkling in the faint light of the aurora above. The ground already possessed a thin layer of white, enough to give each footstep a satisfying crunch.

It was winter in the Magic Market, the holiday season nearly upon the shopkeepers. It was the perfect time for gift browsing, something that Vanessa took full advantage of. She glided to and fro, collecting a significant collection of gifts for all of her friends. Agent was there too, carrying most of her haul.

She was admiring an art-deco necklace that seemed to transcend reality itself; just looking at it gave Agent a headache. “Fourth-dimensional Prohibition-era artifact,” she noted. “The perfect gift for Alice.”

“She’ll love it,” Agent said. Contrary to his usual demeanor, he didn’t mind being Vanessa’s pack mule today. If anything, he was pleased with why his role was ordained. “And I must say, I really am proud at how you’ve taken to the whole spirit of the season.”

“I do take care of my darlings,” Vanessa cooed. She made the trade swiftly, adding yet another bag to the massive pile Agent held. Then she examined it closely. “Let’s see…I have Alice’s gift now. We also have Zey’s, Alex’s, Virmir’s, Casey’s, Leon’s–”

“And mine?” Agent asked coyly. He was swiftly rebuked by Vanessa’s wagging finger.

“Nice try,” she smirked. “You’ll just have to wait until Christmas morning like everyone else.”

Agent gave a chuckle. “I can’t wait,” he said. This was nice, he thought. He and Vanessa were enjoying themselves, enjoying the season, and best of all, he wasn’t being recklessly transformed into something embarrassing. Granted, some changes would have been on his list as gifts, but sometimes it was just nice to enjoy the smaller things in life.

He was distracted enough that his heavy luggage load bumped into someone by accident. He immediately stepped back, but not before the other figure wheeled around in fury.

“Watch it, dweeb!” she demanded. “Eyes on the walk!”

“Ah, sorry,” Agent said. Yet as he apologized, he tried to recognize the voice. It sounded so familiar…The large quantity of bags made it hard to see beyond, although he did catch a glimpse of a well-dressed woman. With that attitude and preppy nature, the memories came flooding back. He paled briefly, before Vanessa interjected.

“Merula, hello,” Vanessa greeted, uncharacteristically cordially when it came to her arch-rival. “Happy holidays.”

“What’s so happy about it?” Merula snapped back, not in any seasonal mood whatsoever, beyond general Grinchiness. “Every year I get nothing but coal for some reason. I mean, look at me.” She posed dramatically. “The greatest witch in the universe, much better than your parlor tricks, and this is how I’m treated?”

Vanessa stared for a moment, before nonchalantly addressing Agent. “I tried,” she said, having given up on politeness. “You saw it, I tried.”

“Well, not this year,” Merula insisted. She sported a wicked smile on her face. “Oh yes, I’ve got something planned that’ll prove to everyone how great I truly am.”

Agent nodded. “You’ll be setting up a charity drive for the local communities nearest you?” he asked.

Merula audibly gagged. “Please,” she scoffed. “No, I’ve got something better than that.”

“Fantastic,” Vanessa said. She gave Agent a gesture, the kind that said ‘let’s get the hell out of here’ but in silent and far more polite terms. “Well, this has been illuminating, darling, but we’ve got presents to wrap, so…”

Vanessa didn’t finish her sentence, already tearing a hole in the air. A portal formed; her manor visible on the other end. She hoisted her dress as she stepped inside without another word. Agent briefly looked back at the portal, then at the boastful and possibly unstable witch in front of him. He gave a shrug, before following Vanessa through the portal. It shut with a small pop, no sign of it remaining.

With her interaction concluded, Merula scowled to herself. She rifled through her belongings, looking for the one item she was hoping to keep a close eye on. Her plan in fruition.

She pulled out a small scroll embossed with a snowflake pattern, shimmering with cold energy. Merula slowly began to grin, schemes underway.

…

Vanessa’s attempt at gift-wrapping had gone slowly at first, the witch insisting on doing it by hand this year for the personal touch. This lasted all of ten minutes, after which she possessed more papercuts than skin and was covered in tape. She just used her sorcery to wrap and label all of the gifts in record time.

“No one really looks at the wrap anyway,” she justified to herself and Agent. “They just open it up in seconds anyway.”

“Hey, if it means more time binge-watching the holiday specials while drinking hot chocolate, I’m cool with that,” Agent shrugged. “Not doing the party until tomorrow, anyway.”

Vanessa stacked her collection of presents on the side of her bedroom, to be passed out on the day proper. She nodded at her hard work, satisfied. “Alright, spill,” she said, without even looking at Agent. “I can feel your tension. What’s wrong?”

“Ah, that.” Agent felt embarrassed once more, having been read like an open book by his omnipotent friend. “Well, it’s just about Merula. She seemed a bit unsteady this year…She was making comments that sounded like heavy-handed foreshadowing…”

“Don’t you worry your fragile little head,” Vanessa said. She gave Agent a pat to remove his worries. “Merula’s ego is bigger than chest. That’s…Actually, that’s a poor analogy.” She tapped her chin in thought. “Her body counts? Hmm, not quite…Doubt she’s had anyone in her bed after me.”

Agent ignored the obvious implications in Vanessa’s comment, instead changing the topic. “So, you’re saying she’s not a threat?”

“She’s only a threat if we let her be one,” Vanessa said. “Usually through some sort of powerful artifact of some kind. But most of the dangerous ones are under my lock and key.”

“That does nothing to reassure me,” Agent dryly quipped, noting that he was basically sleeping over a magical armory. “Anyway, our hot chocolate is getting cold, should we—?”

“Ssh!” Vanessa suddenly hissed, placing a finger against Agent’s mouth. She, too, remained still, not even breathing. Her ears twitched lightly, hearing something, and as Agent strained his own ears, he could detect…something. Footsteps? But not from the floors above. They sounded like the pressure of boots against quality tile roofing mixed with the soft crunch of snow.

Vanessa turned towards Agent, awe in her face. “Could it be?” she asked.

Her childlike wonder was short-lived, however, when there was a muffled sound of a magical zap above. A jingling of bells, panicked brays of woodland creatures, the skidding of a sled across the surface, and finally, the sound of someone falling from the roof into the snow pile at ground level.

Agent and Vanessa’s eyes followed the most prominent sounds up until the figure fell from the roof. By the time the figure was buried in the show, their eyes were widened in alarm and worry.

“For our sakes, I hope that wasn’t him,” Agent said.

They rushed to the lobby, throwing the door open to expose the manor grounds. On the outside, they could see a rather large boulder of red and white, half coated in snow, dazed beyond belief. It groaned.

Vanessa reached out to help, but Agent gently touched her shoulder. “Be careful,” he said. “I’ve seen this movie before, you might be the new Santa.”

Vanessa glanced behind her. “What the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

The figure, unquestionably Santa himself, stirred and sat upright. His mittened hand rubbed his balding head, taking stock of his thick white beard. “Ho-ho-ohhh, my head…” he groaned. “You’d think I’d be used to a bumpy sleigh ride by now…”

“Santa, did one of my security systems go off?” Vanessa asked with mounting worry. “If so, I am SO sorry!”

As Santa recovered gradually, he waved the witch off. “Dear Vanessa, of course it wasn’t your fault,” he explained. “I was ambushed by another mage. She was using some of the old winter magic, spells I hoped I’d never have to see as long as I lived.”

Vanessa was touched. “You know who I am?” she asked.

“I know all the good boys and girls by name,” Santa gave a weak laugh. “You’ve been dancing with the naughty line for a while, but there’s nothing wrong with some light mischief now and then, and I’m pleased to have you on the nice list.“

Vanessa looked to Agent with a comically adorable grin. Agent was confused. “Which part am I on?” he asked.

“Definitely nice,” Santa explained. “Though you really could stand to get out more, Agent.”

“Circling back, though,” Vanessa said. She grew serious. “You said they used winter magic on you?”

“Oh yes,” Santa explained. His face turned to sorrow. “It came out of nowhere, but there was no mistaking it. The Snowflake Scroll…Someone found it.”

“And that is?” Agent asked, with complete bafflement.

“It’s basically dark magic from before even Santa’s time,” Vanessa said. “Seasonal magic. The kind that could put a planet into a new ice age if handled improperly, though I hear there’s some side effects from using it. In theory, anyway.”

Agent gestured to Vanessa idly. “That wasn’t part of your collection, was it?” he asked, with a slight bit of edge—the subtle “I told you so” energy was on display.

“It wasn’t,” Vanessa said, trying to think out loud. “I had thought that was a rumor. But if it was real, the only one who could have found it was…”

She suddenly stopped, her body language tensing entirely. “We have to go,” she said. “Right now, we have to go. The North Pole, probably.”

“It’s not that simple right now,” Santa said. “Only a magical reindeer can get to the North Pole, at least without the scroll. And my whole team scattered when that spell went off. Sent me off of my sleigh. They’re probably rushing back there as we speak.”

“We’d probably need a replacement, then,” Vanessa mused. Her eyes immediately settled onto Agent, pleading. Santa caught her gaze, giving a knowing nod. Agent, too, recognized the implication, and he folded his arms, giving a sigh.

“Fine, if it’ll save Christmas,” he said. “I mean, it WAS on my bucket list…”

“And that’s why you’re on the nice list,” Santa laughed. “Now we should get to work. We need to save her.”

Vanessa balked. “Wait, SAVE her?” she asked in surprise.

…

It was all too easy, Merula thought. The path to the North Pole was only accessible by the legendary reindeer themselves, though a close eye could track them in the sky, even with their speed. With the Snowflake Scroll clutched in her hand, she could easily match their speed. All she had to do was knock off Santa, startle the deer, and force them home prematurely—and where better to do it than above Vanessa’s manor? Best case scenario, she would be blamed for it all and buy her some time.

All of this for conquest. For revenge. And it was satisfying.

She glided through the sky, through the chilling air, keeping pace with the runaway sleigh and deer ensemble. The clouds solidified, vision blurring, but the glowing red presence at the front was a perfect guide for her flight. Her cheeks tinged with frost, the snow whipping across her face in a frenzy. A normal person would have succumbed to hypothermia by the sub-zero temperatures. Not Merula, however. She had her magical artifact with her, and even without, she was still a powerful witch. Not even Vanessa could compete with her now.

Eventually the clouds subsided, the sky clearing up with an eerie stillness. Towards the ground were a new set of lights, glimmering from the Arctic snowbanks. It looked like a small town, the colors visible even from the sky above. The workshop itself. The North Pole, in all its festive glory.

And Merula was coming to town.

She immediately changed her trajectory, blasting past the already-frightened reindeer nonuplets, further disorienting them. She didn’t care; her target was in front of her.

Merula slammed into the ground, forcing massive walls of ice to blast out of the ground, sharp and gleaming, otherworldly energy emanating from every shard. The inhabitants to either side—the small elves that called this frigid paradise home—were figuratively frozen in terror at this new invader. With a simple flick of her wrist, Merula fired off more ice magic of her own, instilling their literal freezing.

“I’ll serve myself,” she snarked, casually striding through the wreckage. As she walked, she continued to toss her spells left and right, freezing the inhabitants without a care. Those that avoided her chaos ran screaming, desperately looking for a hiding place from the witch.

She approached the centerpiece of the town, the biggest building by a wide margin. Santa’s workshop stood in front of her, the giant wooden door the only thing keeping her out. With another flick, ice slammed into the wood, splintering it on contact. Another flick, and they burst down entirely, leaving absolutely nothing in Merula’s way.

With a gleeful laugh, she practically skipped inside, barely paying any mind to her surroundings. The machines, the workbenches around her, none of it interested her. Not anymore. If she couldn’t have a legitimate present for herself, she would take the mighty throne in the center, a sign of her sure victory.

“I’ve gotta let mom and dad know about this,” she smirked. She rested herself upon Santa’s chair, lounging in a stereotypical villainous slouch as she pulled out a cell phone. She dialed the number, and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

“Come on, pick up…” she grumbled.

Disconnecting the call, she tried redialing once more. So focused on her new worry, she scarcely noticed her ears becoming pointier, or the chair feeling larger than when she first sat down. Her focus was squarely on the phone, and the hope that someone, anyone would answer for once.

“Please…”

…

Merula was not the only visitor to the freezing night sky. Once Vanessa made her preparations, conjuring up a sleigh, she and Santa were riding in her craft. Santa was at the reins, while Vanessa lounged and meditated.

“Well, it’s not exactly my style…” Santa remarked. He was still feeling uncertain about the gothic color scheme on Vanessa’s sleigh. The extra skull decals didn’t help. “But it’ll do in a pinch.”

“I might keep it for myself once all of this is over,” Vanessa shrugged. She leaned forward in her seat. “Are you holding up alright, Agent?”

Agent gave an animalistic snort. It was fitting, as he had been turned into a reindeer himself. It was a strange feeling, unable to directly communicate or even walk on two legs. Yet the magic inside of him was bizarre, as though he could easily, naturally fly. Further, he seemed to know exactly which way to go to reach their combined destination.

“Alright, so two questions if you could run them by me again,” Vanessa said. “What do you mean by ‘save’ Merula? She was the one who caused this chaos in the first place.”

“Yes, and she’ll receive coal again this year for her trouble,” Santa nodded. “But I’m worried for her safety as well. That sort of magic never bodes well when used by someone as troubled as her.”

“’Troubled’ isn’t the word I’d use,” Vanessa said. “More like ‘evil’.”

“Oh, I don’t believe in that,” Santa dismissed. He seemed so casual as he spoke, like this adventure was just another day for him. “I don’t believe anyone is necessarily evil, especially not by nature. Anyone has the potential for goodness, but someone needs to show them goodness in turn.”

These words seemed to resonate through the eldritch witch. She looked at her own hands, the kindness she had given…and she looked to Agent, who was selflessly transformed into a flying reindeer solely to save the holidays. Not just him, either; no, every friend of hers she had who expressed affection and friendship to her despite her mischievous ways was a part of her growth.

“Then why give out coal?” she asked.

“It’s not so much a punishment as it is a reminder,” Santa explained. “What does coal turn into when given enough pressure?”

“Diamond?” Vanessa guessed. She got a pleased nod from the big elf in response.

“Exactly,” Santa said. “Sure, the coal isn’t a good gift on its own, but it’s a metaphor. Given time and hard work, they may reap the rewards of good behavior and kindness, much like how treating coal with effort can cause its inner potential to shine like a diamond.”

“Huh,” Vanessa was at a loss for words now. Santa knew his craft. He knew other better than they knew themselves. And he had this air of kindness, of second chances, that demonstrated what a big heart he had. It was sobering, the lot of it. But she thought of Merula, of her demonstratable sinister plot. Could even she see redemption?

“The second question,” she eventually said. “So, I know I made Agent into a reindeer, but…that doesn’t really explain how he knew to go to a place even I didn’t know how to access.”

“Christmas spirit,” Santa said in a tone that answered everything.

Vanessa blinked. “Okay, but that doesn’t exactly–”

“We’re almost there,” Santa interrupted, leaning forward and pointing towards the ground. The North Pole was indeed in sight, though not nearly as bright as it was when he left. The giant mounds of ice coating the houses were the reasons why; each fragment jagged and gleaming, a testament to the cold emotions one would have to possess in order to launch such an attack on a dream factory. As he looked below, his face was grim, none of the usual jolliness present.

Vanessa patted Santa on the shoulder. “We’ll reverse this,” she promised. “We should probably land a small distance away from the workshop. Easier to sneak in.”

“Yes, yes…” Santa nodded slowly. Gently, he maneuvered the reins to the side. Agent’s movement changed, leaning forwards and down, toward the relative safety of the ground. Far enough away to avoid detection.

They landed gently, the sleigh skidding across the combination of ice and snow, while Agent trotted slower to compensate. Santa immediately released the harness, freeing the nerd-turned-deer from his temporary work. He and Vanessa then stepped out cautiously.

“If I know Merula, she’s lording it up at the most powerful spot in the place,” Vanessa explained. “What’s the most powerful spot at the workshop? Even metaphorically.”

“That would certainly be my chair,” Santa said. “You know, they make replicas of it in malls across the world? Perfect for my dopplegangers to sit down and hear what the good boys and girls want each year. Ah, but it’s really my thinking chair.” He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Innovating new toy ideas, new ways to spread Christmas cheer to all, that sort of thing. There’s no magic behind it.”

“Then we’re just dealing with the Snowflake Scroll and Merula’s own abilities,” Vanessa said. She glided carefully across the snow, not making a sound even as both Santa and Agent crunched the frost with every footfall or hoof-fall. “The problem is the scroll. I…don’t know how to counter that.”

“Most winter magic is countered by a logical response,” Santa explained. “For a cold heart, you need to reach out to it with warmth.”

Vanessa, again, looked incredulous. “I’m still trying to come to terms with that idea,” she said. “I mean, saving Merula and all…”

Her apprehension was interrupted when the group heard larger footfalls, the stomping of something giant. Hurriedly, the trio ducked underneath the shade of a risen ice chunk, keeping their voices down and their presence covered. The stomping grew louder; a pair of frozen legs passed by their hiding place, monstrous groaning bellowing from the golem. Eventually it passed, the noise subsiding as it wandered away. One of many such guards, Vanessa thought.

“This will be tricky,” she remarked. Slowly she pointed to the golem that was wandering away. Inside the ice body was an elf, frozen solid, a conduit for the beast. Shattering the golem could free the elf, but it could also endanger them further. No, best to deal with the problem head-on.

She gave a rough gesture to her side, signaling her party to follow her quietly. They did, slowly but surely shuffling across the landscape, keeping in what little shadows remained, avoiding similar golems. Fortunately they were very basic automatons, only able to react when something was in front of them. Still, it was important to not chance it.

The approach to the workshop was the hardest part. Most of the houses were coated in ice, uninhabitable and inaccessible. Even with the lights being frozen over, it was still bright enough to have the group exposed in open air. Still, they managed; the golems were far too simplistic to operate on base logic and had very little object permanence; a well-thrown icicle was enough to cause one irksome golem to turn towards the noise, staring off into the distance for twenty seconds.

At last, the doors were in front of them, or what remained of them. In truth, they were still torn to pieces from Merula’s assault and had yet to be repaired, meaning Vanessa and company could slip inside without issue.

They were not prepared for what they saw inside.

Immediately ducking down behind one of the workshop’s machines, they could see Merula’ herself pacing in front of Santa’s chair. Only she didn’t look like herself; she had shrunk greatly in height, her clothing looking festive and colorful, while her ears were pointed. Her face looked like it would have been naturally cheerful, if she hadn’t been so focused on rage and frustration. She kept walking back and forth, back and forth, holding her phone in her hands.

“Come on, just answer already…” Vanessa could hear her say, almost begging. “Please…”

Vanessa, from her hiding place, could connect the dots in two different ways. The first: the obvious side effects of the Snowflake Scroll being Merula’s recent elf-hood, perhaps in relation to the inmate magical properties of elves themselves. We’re they the creators of the scroll? It was food for thought, but her attention drifted to the second aspect she figured out, that being Merula’s motivations. It wasn’t power she sought, not primarily, but recognition. Her parents, likely neglectful, failing to see a sterling achievement, at least to her perspective. It was pitiable, really; not dismissible at all, granted, but understandable.

It was here that Santa’s words prior stood out to her. “Save” Merula. From herself, it turned out, and her own personal hell.

Merula shivered briefly, tensing up. She paused her phone, pocketing it, before brandishing the magical scroll that started it all. “I sense intruders…” she said, menacingly. “Come out! Don’t make me hunt you down…”

Quickly, Vanessa looked towards her companions. Santa, not exactly a fighter; and Agent, who was quadrupedal and not capable of taking Merula in a straight fight in that state. Making a conscious choice, she stepped out into the open, staring down her rival.

“This has to stop,” she demanded. It wasn’t rude, however; she tried keeping her voice gentle, as hard as it was. “You need to let this go and release the North Pole.”

“YOU.” Merula was in no mood for Vanessa’s appearance. “You dare rip away my greatest success?”

“This isn’t success,” Vanessa pled. “This is just a…This is just a misguided attempt at getting positive attention. Would your parents really want this?”

“SHUT UP!” Merula screamed. The scroll fired a beam of ice at her foe. Vanessa cast her own beam of heat to counter it, the two spells locked in combat. Vanessa strained at the effort, the ice rapidly approaching and overpowering her own magic…

She was blasted away, her body knocked back, tumbling over itself before she collided into a set of crates. They collapsed to the side, spilling their contents onto the floor, much as Vanessa was spilled out onto the floor herself. She groaned, struggling to stand from her injuries, as Merula floated closer, a devious grin on her face.

“And to all a good night,” she taunted, firing another beam of ice at her target. It was point-blank, and it should have hit Vanessa directly. Only it never did; a bolt of brown dashed across to move Vanessa out of the way. By the time Merula realized her quarry had dodged her spell, a determined yet timid reindeer stood nearby, glaring at the delusional new elf.

“What the–?” Merula gasped, before glaring. “Stand still, you fleabag!”

She started zapping rapidly, ice flying here and there. Agent, however, continued to fly around and evaded her spells with ease: the perk of being a magical reindeer, even if temporarily.

With Agent’s aid, Vanessa scrambled back into her hiding place. Santa was still nearby, watching the scene with awe and worry.

“She’s too powerful for me,” Vanessa said, almost gagging on the words. “Any advice?”

“Winter magic is best defeated by appealing to natures,” Santa suggested. “And sometimes to appeal to that nature, you need to gift them something they don’t want but desperately need.”

The jolly elf gestured to the crates Vanessa was knocked into, namely the contents. A pile of coal was strewn on the floor, ripe for placing in a naughty child’s stocking. Vanessa’s eyes widened in realization; this was it! This was her method of defeating the Snowflake Scroll.

“A warm heart,” she realized.

Merula continued to be distracted by Agent’s daredevil flying, increasingly frustrated by the show. As Vanessa snuck across the room to her coal supply, Merula started throwing a tantrum.

“Just let me win for once!” she demanded. “Just once! I’m the greatest witch in the world, and when they see it themselves, I’ll–!”

“Merula!”

The witch twisted around to see Vanessa, holding together, levitating a burning coal between her hands. Her eyes were firm in a glare, determination on her face. She pulled her hands back.

“Here’s your gift,” she declared, before launching the fiery rock towards her foe.

Merula cast her own spell, meeting the coal in midair. The rock, however, held firm; in the presence of the scroll, in fact, it began to burn ever brighter. The fires increased, melting the ice mid-cast, slowly pushing its way forwards, and then even started increasing speed. Merula’s eyes widened, unwilling to break contact, even as the coal slammed into both herself and her source of magic.

As the coal touched the parchment, the scroll ignited in the flames of redemption. The snowflake insignia melted from the heat, puddling down to the wooden flooring, before evaporating entirely. The flames burned; the paper continued to combust, until naught but paper scraps remained, idly charring in the cold wind.

Merula knocked to the ground herself, only somewhat conscious, her elf-hood just as quickly revoked. Vanessa rushed towards her, as did both Santa and Agent, both to check on her and to restrain if needed.

From outside, the sound of cracking and shattering ice echoed across the Arctic. The golems, once imprisoning the elves of the workshop, as well as the ice that blocked their homes, cracked into pieces, freeing their tiny inhabitants all in one fell swoop. Their cheers could be heard even from inside the workshop, and they too echoed across the snow.

When Merula started to sit up, exhausted from her wounds, Santa started making a “tsk-tsk-tsk” noise.

“Well, I appreciate your efforts, but I’m afraid we cannot allow Christmas to be taken over,” he explained. “Now, Vanessa, what shall we do with her?”

Vanessa blinked. “You’re asking me?” she questioned.

“I’m asking you,” Santa agreed. “Though I’m sure we’re both thinking the same thing.”

Merula, coherent enough to understand she was about to receive consequences, gulped in fear. Vanessa pulled back her hands, conjuring something behind her, before presenting it.

Whatever Merula expected, it likely wasn’t a porcelain doll of herself, complete with the latest in fashionable witch-styles, all in a tiny package. Nor was she expecting Vanessa to sport a smile.

“What…” she asked. “What gives?”

“Merry Christmas,” Vanessa said. “Maybe Santa put you in his naughty list, and I agree. But let’s take it as a lesson in improving behavior, hmm?”

Merula balked. “What’s the catch?” she demanded.

“No catch,” Vanessa said. “Look, I know you might not have the best life…Maybe your parents don’t give you attention and you have to act out to get it. But surely there are others who are willing to reach out and help you be at your best.” Again she gestured to the doll. “This could be a start.”

Merula stared at the doll, then Vanessa, then back to the doll. She slowly reached for it, taking a gentle grip on its smooth waist. She inspected the details, every etching flawless. Even the…private parts.

She scoffed, trying to keep face. “You’re just lucky it looks cute,” she said. Vanessa couldn’t help but notice that her rival kept that delicate grip on her new figure, for fear of hurting it. She smiled lightly at the sight.

The sound of jingling bells and the scraping of a sleigh caught Santa’s attention, and he gave a pleased laugh. “Right on time,” he said. “I do believe my reindeer team has found me safely, and it’s about time to resume the rounds.” He turned to Agent, patting the nerd on the snout. “Agent, you’ve made a fine asset to this adventure, and I’d be honored to have you on my team next year, if you wish.”

Agent blushed, giving a bashful snort as he looked away. The thought was certainly flattering, and he would seriously consider it. Santa then turned his attention to Vanessa and Merula.

“Vanessa, I cannot thank you enough for your efforts today,” he said. “And Merula, do be sure to recognize the values of friendship, won’t you?” He pointed to his nose, winking. “Now then, let’s bring you home.”

Agent trotted behind Santa obediently, while Vanessa hung back briefly, turning her head. Merula hadn’t moved, the rival witch still looking at her new doll. “Are you coming?” Vanessa asked.

“My parents will pick me up,” Merula said. She didn’t really believe it, Vanessa could tell. Reassuringly, she took Merula’s hand into her own, giving a pat. Merula reflexively moved to pull away, but abstained.

“Come on,” Vanessa said. “You can sleep over my house tonight if you don’t have anywhere to go.”

…

The journey home was quicker than their arrival, Santa’s sleigh carrying the group back to Vanessa’s timeless manor within seconds. They landed on the roof, cautiously exiting the sleigh, and bid one last goodbye to Santa. He waved right back, before flying off once more, his “ho-ho-ho”ing echoing through the pocket dimension, before he vanished outright.

After that, memories were hazy for the trio, exhausted from their holiday detour. They awoke in their beds, none the worse for the wear; Agent was back to his human self, Vanessa was resting in her master bedroom, and—as they soon discovered—Merula had taken up lodgings in the sitting room, laying on a couch in front of the brightly-lit Christmas tree.

Not long after the typical opening of presents came the party.

Everyone was invited, all of Agent and Vanessa’s friends in attendance for an interdimensional holiday festivity. Music playing, treats devoured, and gifts exchanged—Vanessa especially excited to do so for every one of her darlings. She didn’t pull a single prank or transformation through the entire event, even—except for acting as matchmaker.

She had occasionally, delicately, held a single strand of mistletoe above Agent whenever he was chatting with one of his friends. Each time, he blushed crimson upon realizing it.

“This wasn’t my idea,” he said, embarrassed. Without fail, each time he was greeted by a kind kiss on the cheek, and he smiled a little, comforted.

The one that needed the most comfort was Merula herself, who spent most of the party in the corner, uncertain of herself, hesitant to join. Vanessa approached her, handing her a drink.

“Eggnog of the gods, darling,” she explained. “Finest holiday drink in the universe.”

Merula nodded slowly, taking a small sip. Her thoughts wandered, Vanessa patiently waiting for her to speak up. At last, she did.

“After everything I did, you’re still being nice to me,” Merula asked. “Why?”

“Because everyone deserves happiness in the holidays,” Vanessa explained. “And a chance for growth. Sure, we can be rivals again tomorrow, but for now: enjoy yourself. Enjoy the season.”

Merula nodded once more, understanding somewhat. She took another sip of her drink, enjoying the flavor. “Life is good,” she said.

Vanessa wrapped an arm around Merula in comradery, watching the party in front of her. Of her friends, all of them, mingling and having fun and enjoying the gifts she hand-picked and crafted for them. A tear formed in her eye at the sight.

“It is,” she said, with a smile. “It really is.”

---