Gracie
I step onto the vast expanse of ice, my heart pounding in my chest. The Glacier of Shattered Dreams stretches before us, its jagged surfaces reflecting distorted holiday scenes. Christmas trees with withered branches, stockings filled with coal, joyless elves toiling endlessly – it's like looking into a funhouse mirror of festive nightmares.
"Well, this is cheery," I mutter, trying to lighten the mood. But my words fall flat in the eerie silence.
We trudge forward, the crunch of our boots on ice the only sound. The air feels heavy, charged with an energy that makes my skin prickle. I glance at my friends, their faces tight with tension.
Suddenly, the glacier's surface ripples like water. I freeze, watching in horror as an image forms before me. It's Jack, but not the Jack I know. His eyes are cold, empty, devoid of the mischievous spark I love.
"You failed me, Gracie," his hollow voice echoes. "You're not strong enough. You never were."
I stumble backward, my breath catching in my throat. "No," I whisper, fighting against the crushing weight of despair.
His words cut deeper than any knife, confirming my worst fears. My chest tightens, making it hard to breathe.
"This isn't real," I tell myself, but doubt creeps in like icy tendrils. What if I'm not good enough? What if I can't save Jack from whatever darkness is consuming him?
The image shifts, and now Jack's standing before me, his once warm blue eyes now cold as the glacier itself. He reaches out, and I flinch, expecting his touch to be as frigid as his gaze.
"Jack, please," I whisper, my voice cracking. "This isn't you."
But his lips curl into a sneer, so unlike the smirk I've grown to love. "Oh, but it is, Gracie. This is who I truly am. And you're too weak to handle it."
My heart shatters like the ice beneath our feet. I want to scream, to fight against this twisted version of Jack, but fear paralyzes me. What if he's right? What if I'm not strong enough to face whatever's coming?
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the vision. But Jack's voice echoes in my head, each word a dagger to my soul. "You'll fail, Gracie. Just like you've failed at everything else."
Tears sting my eyes, threatening to spill over. I've always been the black sheep, the troublemaker. What made me think I could save anyone, let alone someone as powerful as Jack?
The air around me grows colder, and I can feel Jack's presence drawing nearer. My heart races, torn between the desire to run and the desperate need to save him. But how can I save him when I can barely save myself?
Around me, I hear gasps and cries of distress. I tear my gaze away from Jack's haunting visage, forcing myself to focus on Zelda. Her usual confident demeanor has vanished, replaced by raw terror. She's frozen in place, her green eyes wide and unfocused, staring at something I can't see.
"Zelda?" I call out, my voice shaky. She doesn't respond.
I take a step closer, watching as her face contorts in anguish. Tears stream down her cheeks, her lips moving in silent pleas. Her hands clutch at her chest, as if trying to protect herself from an invisible attacker.
"No, please," she whimpers, her voice barely audible. "I can't... I can't lose them."
My heart aches for her. Whatever nightmare the glacier is forcing her to face, it's tearing her apart. I reach out, desperate to comfort her, but my hand passes through her arm like smoke.
Suddenly, Zelda lets out a blood-curdling scream. She falls to her knees, her body wracked with sobs. "Henry! Audrey! No!"
The names of her children. The glacier is showing her their loss. I feel sick, knowing the depth of pain she must be experiencing.
"Zelda, it's not real!" I shout, trying to break through her hallucination. But my words seem to bounce off an invisible barrier surrounding her.
She curls into herself, rocking back and forth on the ice. Her familiars - Fat Bastard, Boba Fett, and Jango Fett - appear around her, meowing in distress. But even they can't reach her in this state.
I look around frantically, searching for a way to help. That's when I notice Holli...
I tear my eyes away from Zelda's anguish, only to witness another nightmare unfolding. Holli stands a few feet away, her body rigid with terror. The air around her crackles with electricity, her blonde hair whipping wildly as if caught in a storm only she can feel.
"Holli!" I cry out, but she doesn't seem to hear me.
Her green eyes, usually so sharp and full of mischief, are now wide with panic. Sparks dance across her skin, growing more intense by the second. I watch in horror as her fingers begin to dissolve into pure energy, tendrils of light replacing flesh and bone.
Holli's mouth opens in a silent scream as the transformation spreads up her arms. Her body flickers like a faulty light bulb, switching between solid form and pure, chaotic energy. The ground beneath her feet begins to smoke, ice melting into steaming puddles.
"No, no, no," she whimpers, her voice distorted and echoing. "I can't control it. I can't—"
A bolt of energy shoots from her fingertips, narrowly missing my head. I duck instinctively, feeling the heat of it singe my hair. Holli's face contorts in horror at what she's done.
"Stay back!" she shouts, her voice barely recognizable. "I don't want to hurt you!"
But I can see the fear in her eyes, the terror of losing herself completely. The very magic that makes her strong is now threatening to consume her entirely. Another burst of energy explodes from her chest, carving a deep fissure in the ice.
I take a step forward, desperate to help, but the heat radiating from her body forces me back. Holli's form flickers again, and for a moment, she's nothing but a humanoid shape of pure, blinding light. When she reappears, tears stream down her face, evaporating instantly in the energy field surrounding her.
"I can't fight it," she sobs, her words barely audible over the crackling of power. "I'm becoming... I'm becoming..."
She doesn't finish the sentence, but I know what she means. She's becoming the very thing we've sworn to protect the world against - a force of uncontrolled, destructive magic.
As I watch helplessly, my attention is suddenly drawn to Abbi. She stands frozen, her petite frame rigid with fear. Her gothic attire, usually a shield of confidence, now seems to shrink around her. Her eyes, wide and unfocused, stare at something I can't see.
"Dane!" Abbi cries out, her Scottish lilt thick with desperation. "Dane, please, don't go!"
She reaches out, grasping at empty air. Tears stream down her pale cheeks, smearing her dark makeup. The glacier beneath her feet begins to crack, mirroring the fractures in her composure.
"I need you," she whimpers, her voice barely above a whisper. "I can't do this alone."
As I watch, horrified, the air around Abbi shimmers. Through the distortion, I catch glimpses of a twisted Christmas scene. Gnarled evergreens sprout from the ice, their branches adorned with shattered ornaments. Broken candy canes litter the ground, their red stripes looking more like blood than festive cheer.
Abbi stumbles forward, her hands outstretched. "Dane, please! Don't leave me here!"
The shimmering intensifies, and suddenly I see what Abbi's seeing. Dane stands before her, but he's different. His usual warmth is gone, replaced by a cold, indifferent stare. He turns away from Abbi, walking towards a portal of swirling darkness.
"You're not strong enough," Dane's voice echoes, cruel and unfamiliar. "You'll never be enough."
Abbi collapses to her knees, her body wracked with sobs. The ice around her begins to melt, forming a pool of despair. I try to move towards her, but my feet won't budge.
"It's not real, Abbi!" I shout, but my voice seems to bounce off an invisible barrier.
The Christmas nightmare intensifies. Malevolent elves peek out from behind the twisted trees, their eyes glowing red. A distorted version of "Jingle Bells" plays in the background, the cheerful tune warped into something sinister.
Abbi looks up, her face a mask of anguish. "I'm lost," she whispers. "I'm nothing without him."
I watch helplessly as the darkness that swallowed Dane begins to creep towards Abbi. It laps at her feet like an inky tide, threatening to pull her under.
"Abbi, fight it!" I scream, my throat raw with desperation.
But she doesn't seem to hear me. The darkness rises, engulfing her legs, her torso, creeping up towards her neck. Abbi's eyes meet mine for a brief moment, filled with a hopelessness that chills me to my core.
As the darkness consumes her, I hear a familiar meow. Even the cats aren't spared. Fat Bastard, Boba Fett, and Jango Fett, Zelda's usually sassy and confident familiars, are huddled together in a pitiful heap of fur and whiskers. Their eyes are wide with terror, fixed on something I can't see. Fat Bastard's rotund body trembles, his gray fur standing on end. Boba's deadly white and gray coat is puffed up to twice its size, while Jango's calico pattern seems to ripple with distress.
"Meow... meow... MEOW!" Their cries grow more frantic, a cacophony of feline despair that cuts through the eerie silence of the glacier.
As I watch, horrified, twisted Christmas visions materialize around them. A giant, monstrous catnip mouse towers over them, its eyes glowing red. It's adorned with a grotesque Santa hat, dripping with what looks suspiciously like blood.
Ghostly cat toys float by, always just out of reach. When the cats swipe at them, their paws pass right through, leaving them frustrated and confused.
But the worst is yet to come. Three beautiful she-cats appear, wearing collars made of tinsel and jingle bells. Fat Bastard, Boba, and Jango perk up, hope gleaming in their eyes. But as they approach, the she-cats transform into hideous creatures with razor-sharp claws and fangs.
"No one wants you," the monstrous she-cats hiss in unison. "You're alone on Christmas, and you always will be."
The familiars cower, pressing closer together as their nightmares close in. Fat Bastard lets out a pitiful mewl, all his bravado gone. Boba hisses weakly, a shadow of his usual deadly self. Jango, the eternal romantic, looks utterly heartbroken.
I want to rush to them, to scoop them up and tell them it's not real. But before I can move, my attention is yanked away by a loud explosion.
Sassy stands a few feet away, her blonde curls wild and her eyes wide with panic. Her hands are outstretched, smoke curling from her fingertips. Around her, the ice is pockmarked with small craters, evidence of her uncontrolled magic.
"No, no, no," she mutters, her voice trembling. "I can't... I can't control it."
I watch in horror as Sassy's fear takes shape around her. Twisted Christmas decorations burst into existence, only to explode moments later. A gingerbread house appears, then detonates in a shower of candy shrapnel. Strands of lights wrap around her arms like snakes, sparking dangerously.
Sassy's scream pierces the air. "No! No! I didn't mean to!" She falls to her knees, sobbing as she watches an imaginary explosion tear through her family and the shifter community.
I force myself to look away from everyone's despair, fighting against the urge to curl up and give in to my fears…our fears. "It's not real," I say, my voice stronger than I feel. "We can't let it beat us."
Cristof nods, his face pale but determined. "We're stronger together," he says, reaching out to grasp Holli's trembling hand.
Dane takes a deep breath, his storyteller's voice steady as he begins to weave a tale of hope and friendship. His words wash over us, a balm against the glacier's cruel magic, as he grabs Abbi's hand.
I think of Jack – the real Jack – waiting for us, needing us. With a burst of determination, I grab Zelda's hand. "We've got this," I tell her, meeting her tear-filled eyes. "For Jack. For Christmas. For each other."
One by one, we form a circle, drawing strength from our bond. The glacier groans and cracks beneath our feet, its icy grip loosening as we face our fears together.
As the last of the nightmarish visions fade, I look ahead. The path forward is clear, but I can't shake the feeling that our greatest challenge is yet to come.