An icy wind curled between men and elves, along the blades and barrels of weapons, over the steaming coats of exhausted reindeer and the first stirrings of untethered power, to brush Santa's empty, lifeless hands. 

In the shell-shocked sleigh, Ava's head popped up from inside the sack. "What'd I miss?"

Her voice shattered the silence, plunging them all into the icy water beneath. Mrs Claus tore open the door of the sleigh and ran out, kneeling next to what remained of Santa. "He's not dead - he can't be - we - we saved-"

She stood up slowly, hands curling into fists. "KEVIN!"

Kevin jumped. "Uh, as - as you can see, the Epic Destructinator-2000 - er, I mean the Slay, ma'am - is very effective at-"

"Your - that dastardly contraption killed my husband!" she screamed. "How dare you stand here, how dare you -" She broke off, regaining a veneer of composure. 

"You're exiled. Take this thing with you and go." 

Kevin climbed into the Slay. "The - the reindeer, miss? And what are you doing to my Destructinator?"

This last part was directed at Ava, who hurried guiltily back to the sleigh, trying and failing to conceal a flamethrower beneath her jacket.

"Oh, do I look like I -" said Mrs Claus. "Release them once you're really far away. They'll make it back or something. GO!"

The Slay launched into the air like a comet, vanishing into the grey sky.

--------------------

The noise of chainsaws and shouting was muffled by the courtyard walls but nonetheless apparent.

"Ma'am - um, Mrs Claus?" said Ivy. "We - I mean, we're still under siege. We should probably do something. The magic is free to claim now. If they get in-"

Her words fell on empty air, torn by ragged breaths, as teardrops froze in the snow. Eventually, Mrs Claus raised her head.

"You go. Merry. Holly. Anyone. I - I can't leave him."

"It doesn't matter now-" began Noel. Merry cut him off. 

"I - are you sure? It was yours by right, as the deputy. I don't - this can't be reversed, I never-"

"Damn the magic." Her hands curled around Santa's, his blood seeping into her apron. "Just give me this."

 An explosion sounded from outside. Merry paused, unspoken regret written in the wrinkled lines on his forehead, then climbed into the sleigh. The world blurred around them, and they slid to a jarring stop above a supremely average-looking patch of snow. Unmarked and, apparently, unguarded.

Appearances proved to be deceptive when the air became a storm of flying nails, accompanied by a soundtrack reminiscent of cartoon punches. Ava screwed her eyes shut -

-and opened them, as something small and slightly bouncy landed on her head. She fished around in the sleigh's footwell, drawing out a novelty eraser shaped like an Angry Bird. A torn-off dragonfly wing drifted down, clinging to her shoulder.

Shouts echoed from uncomfortably close by. "Over there!" "What's that going on?"

The ground shimmered like a mirage, and Ava saw the cracks.

"Anyone could claim the magic," she muttered.

Three soldiers appeared, silhouetted against the snow, running towards the Pole. The sleigh swooped down to intercept them, but an elf beat them to it.

"Hazel!" called Merry, as he vaulted out of the sleigh with surprising agility.

"It's Holly, sir! Run! I'll hold them-"

Her words were cut off as the lead soldier pushed her into a snowdrift. While his companions seemed distracted by the magic, he glanced around in excitement, scooping up a handful of the snow to examine it. 

"Fantastic! I knew it! I told them! Show 'em this, and they'll have to give us funding!"

He was close enough for Ava to read his badge proclaiming 'Paranormal Activity Division - Director'. To her horror, he looked over at the sleigh.

"Anyone, you say? Anyone could claim it?" He turned his gun on Merry. "And I suppose you know how."

"I - I-" stammered Merry. "You - don't do that!" This was directed to one of the other soldiers, who had aimed their weapon at the shimmering ground. "Not until it's claimed!"

Gripping the handle of the flamethrower, Ava reached for Santa's sack.

"Which one would do, how?" said the Director.

Ava opened the sleigh door and tumbled out into the snow.

"Just - just say that you claim it, in the name of Claus."

The fire's heat hit Ava's face, a mesmerising dance of flames and melting snow.

"I claim-"

The flame ate through the last of the ice, and the world dissolved into spilling, swirling colours. Snow slammed into Ava's side as the ground slid upwards to become a vertical wall. She slammed Santa's sack over the opening she had created.

Her face briefly turned into a small gramophone, then flickered back to normal as the escaped power dissipated on the icy winds.

The ground righted itself. Tentatively, Ava closed the mouth of the sack and lifted it up. 

"That was anticlimactic. It didn't even explode." Ava reached over the side of the sleigh, handing the sack to Noel. "Can you hold this?" She climbed into the sleigh. "I'm just saying. If this were, like, a final battle, you'd at least want an explosion. We should've kept Robyn around."

"Guys? I've got a bag here with enough power to destroy the world, apparently," called Noel.  His previously plain glasses now had wide, glittery rims with a cartoon reindeer antler stuck to each side. "Bids start at 200 euros, the end of this war, and a lifetime supply of Cinnabons!"

"Norton!" Merry yelled, faintly. "This isn't over! And don't you dare try to auction that off!"

--------------------

Merry had never wanted the Claus magic, and after this whole fiasco, he wanted it even less. Martha had told him to make decisions, right? Well, his first decision was to put her back in charge.

She didn't look up at their arrival. Merry walked over to sit next to her, offering her the sack.

"The magic's in here, Martha. That mortal kid did it."

Mrs Claus turned away.

"We're under siege. Everything Nicholas built, everything he worked for, lived for-"

"Fine." She snatched the sack. "I claim you, you bastard, and I am a Claus, so you'd better listen to me. You hear that?" She turned to Merry. "Call all the elves back here. I'll handle the soldiers." 

The air around her began to shimmer.

--------------------

Nathan Hugh had not signed up for this. Paranormal Investigation was supposed to be comfortable. Write up some bull about Nessie's footprints and call it a day. 

He had not appreciated hours of stakeouts, squatting in the mud by some God-forsaken puddle only to find that the 'monster' was an alligator with a frying pan stuck on its head, and he certainly had not appreciated being dragged out here - to the North bloody Pole, on Christmas morning, with less than an hour's notice. 

He'd never been a fan of cryptids and whatnot, either. Certainly not when they were pointing bloody chainsaws at him. And screaming.

At this point, all he wanted was a half dozen cups of coffee, or perhaps something stronger, and to forget this ever

It was cold.

And wet.

This must be another stakeout, he realised, because he certainly wasn't supposed to be sitting in the bloody snow. He was supposed to be at Camille's house in Florida, eating fruitcake and joking with the in-laws about how all conspiracy theories were secretly just devious alligators.

"Hugh!" called the Director. Hugh sighed and scrambled to attention. "Get in the plane, we're going back to base." As he passed Hugh, he muttered "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"No, sir." He shook his head. "My best guess is some kind of mind-wiping alligators."

The boss instantly perked up. "Mindwipe? Really? Score! On second thoughts-"

"-a mindwipe that, as I was saying, is best studied at home where we can undergo the, uh, necessary psychological and, um, electric-a-gram investigations at home to determine its origin at home as soon as possible, sir!"

The Director nodded. "Yes. Yes! 'Waste of money' my hat! This is the future! This is..."

As usual, Nathan comfortably tuned him out. He was so glad to be going home, he didn't even mind that they were doing it in a plane whose seats had somehow been replaced with broccoli.

Those were some damn strange gators.

--------------------------------

Holly and Eiden, wearing red construction helmets, stepped back to admire their work. Ava's bedroom roof was as good as new.  

"We're done, you can wake her up now!" called Holly to Mrs Claus.

They watched from a nearby rooftop, under the cover of an invisibility spell, as Ava's mother walked into the living room. Cars were returned. Memories were wiped. As far as this family - and the world - were concerned, Christmas of 2019 had been perfectly normal.

"A new start for the new year," remarked Holly. "Magic really is a marvellous thing."

"Hmm." Mrs Claus looked at the pattern on her apron, which had turned from holly leaves into chrysanthemums when the magic escaped. "Just how much did you say got out?"

"Can't really say. I was face-down in a snowdrift at the time." She shrugged. "But it's just magic. How bad can it possibly be?"