A (Gamer) Visit from St. Nicholas

Merry Christmas to all readers! I hope you're having a merry day, be it with loved ones enjoying the holidays together or apart but thinking of those you care about. Thank you for the support you have shown me throughout writing this story and enjoy!
P. S. This is not strictly canon, it's just a fun side-adventure for the holidays.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the dorm
the young bounty hunters roasted marshmallows above Abigail’s flame form!
Their stresses and worries and problems were forgotten
as they were more intent on making their teeth rotten.

Abigail sat in John’s lap on the couch, her fingers were interlocked into a small flame that the others roasted their marshmallows over. John reached out from behind her to hold a marshmallow skewered on a Mana Construct over her flame in his left hand, his right wrapped around Jenny seated next to them. On either side seated in their armchairs sat Grace, Amy, and Mandruzzo, all holding similarly skewered marshmallows near the flame. The Rider-Waites had gifted all Four of Swords magically soft and warm blankets, both for survival and comfort. The enormous comforters had turned the couches and armchairs into a makeshift blanket fort. So far, John had only had to use Clean to get melted marshmallow off once.

Jenny plucked the marshmallow off her stick and pushed it into one of the half-made s’mores sitting on the table in front of them. She leaned over John, who stole a kiss on her cheek as she went by, and held the sandwich up for the brunette, “we’ve had s’mores before, you should try the first one Abigail.”

The brunette in question craned her neck to the side, eyes unwilling to leave the drooping marshmallow over her hands as she allowed Jenny to feed her the warm, festive treat. She ate the rest out of the redhead’s hand and kissed her on the cheek just as John had, though the melted chocolate left an impression of her lips on her girlfriend.

John was nestled all snug under the covers
To share the warmth and company of his lovers.
All five friends sat around the warmth sharing their lives
merry to be free from fighting to survive.

“Don’t forget we’re visiting my dad in the Apothecary tomorrow morning,” Jenny said, moving between John and Abigail. She tapped her fingers on his arm as she looked around the room at the friends gathered together, “you guys can come too, if you want. He’d love to meet my friends.”

John's smile grew broader and he held Jenny tighter, happy she had grown close to his friends in her own way. He looked over to the brunette on his right, “what about you, Abigail?”

“My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas tomorrow like you, we get together two weeks after the winter solstice,” Abigail explained, smothering the flames in her hands once everyone had finished with their current catch of marshmallows. She used the opportunity to pop one from the bag into her mouth, “Dad loves using his hands, so he would make toys for me and my sister. When we were old enough to use our fire, Annie and I would make stuff out of clay and then Dad showed us how to harden it with our powers. On Christmas I finally got it under control!”

“That’s a nice tradition,” Amy said, chomping down on her s’more before continuing, “are you going back home this year?”

“Yeah! When Annie got older and left, I thought maybe it was done, but she came back for it, so I will too! My dad doesn’t like visitors as much as I do though. I’d have to ask him,” Abigail explained, shifting in her seat and grinding down into John’s lap comfortably.

“Hey, is Santa Claus real in the Abyss? I know the legend came from somewhere real, but with all the belief and faith stuff that goes into Gods and magic, I’ve gotta wonder,” John said, looking to his friends, but each shared the same forlorn grin.

“It’s just a myth that Abyssal parents tell their kids, the same as mundane parents. Some Abyssals really believe he exists, but I got presents from my parents as a kid,” Jenny explained, patting his leg. She kissed her naive boyfriend on the cheek, “it’s a nice idea. Stay optimistic Johnny.”

The stockings were hung, though just for the trend
as they knew that each gift had come from a friend.
Though their disbelief in the magic of the season had no ill-intent
It festered and fostered a foe quite hellbent.

“Speaking of, we gonna open presents or what!?” Grace said, leaning up and over her blanket and toward the tree John had Crafted for the corner out of some leftover iron wood and steel leaves. Mandruzzo raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, so she continued, “what!? I spent a lot of time picking out your presents - I want to see your reactions already!!”

“Alright, let’s start,” John agreed, using Move on the carpet below the tree and wrapping it around the presents. He floated the bundle toward them, but it fell to the ground as red and green lights circled all of them. The lights left glowing dust behind that quickly faded away, they almost looked like tinsel because of the jerky way the motes moved and streamed behind, “what’s happening?”

John looked up, but he was no longer in his dormitory with his friends. Instead, he sat wrapped in his blanket in a barren tundra. Snow fell around him faster than a torrential downpour, the wind blew it into his eyes. He shot up immediately, eyes straying to his mini-map, which was dark save for the area immediately around him. He stood and wrapped the blanket tighter around his waist, I’ve never been here before, wherever I am.

Let me help you, John Cinder said, appearing beside him. She floated into him, staying in her incorporeal form. The air she occupied was noticeably warmer enough to survive, but he kept the blanket for the extra warmth and comfort.

Do you think the others got teleported here too? Did we get teleported? I have no idea what’s going on, John admitted, walking forward through the snow despite himself.

It would seem so. The same phenomena that assumedly caused this in you appeared before them in the dorms, though I only saw as much as you could. Grace and Mandruzzo were not in their blankets when it happened, they may be in danger, Cinder explained, worry creeping into her voice. John took out one of his pistols and charged a Mana Bolt through it then fired it into the air. The brilliant blue beam pierced the sky and lit up the storm, the fire that followed it served as a marker for where he had been.

What about Jenny? Was she in the blankets I got her? John asked, trudging forward through the snow. Abigail should be fine either way, she hardly feels the cold. Amy has her beasts to warm her up. Man, did it have to be those two!? Mandruzzo uses frost in his spells sometimes, maybe it won’t bother him so much.

Though he struggled forward through the blizzard for what felt like hours, neither the scenery nor the environment changed. This is bad. With the food in my inventory and Gamer’s Body I can probably last a few weeks, but the others don’t have nearly as long. How can I-

His thoughts were interrupted by giant footprints in the snow, half-covered by the ongoing blizzard. When he leaned down to inspect tracks, human sized imprints all but filled in by the snow stood out behind them, ending just before the monster tracks started. Somebody’s been here, and trouble. Cinder, stay alert, we-

John was interrupted by an enormous fist of snow and ice colliding with the side of his body and sending him careening into the snow. A quarter of his health down, he unfolded his mask from his belt buckle and slid it on. The mask filtered out the falling snow from his vision and laid the battlefield bare for him to see. The snow monster looked vaguely yeti-ish, and John wondered if there was some truth to the myth. Cinder, I’m going to engage it. Give me somewhere safe to retreat to, with a flame cover.

John leapt forward as his fire elemental cleared an alcove of snow away for him. He charged a hundred mana into a Mana Bolt and channeled it through his pistols. The beast lifted an arm to block the attack, but the beam and its flame trail penetrated its arm and head harmlessly. It swiped at John in retaliation, and he leapt onto its arm then Jumped onto its head, channeling two hundred mana into a Fist and knocking half a ton of snow out of the monster’s face. It revealed a familiar puffy black hat deep inside, and John’s rage flared. “What did you do to her!?”

The beast roared and flung him off its head, scooping snow from the ground and packing it back onto its head until it melded into its original shape. John jumped off a pocket of air from his boots and landed in the trench Cinder had dug for him. The yeti slammed both fists down, but recoiled before impact when a surge of fire met its attack above the trench.

It swiped an icy claw at the fire elemental, and John activated Reflex Mode to leap in front of her and Mind Over Matter to catch the beast's enormous claws. He ripped the icy claws out of its snowy body and destroyed them with another cast of Fist.

It brought its hands together and tried to smash John into the snow, but with his bolstered Strength he caught its strike, sinking a few inches into the snow at his feet. He ripped a snowy arm apart with a barrage of strikes and gunshots before kicking the beast in the stomach and knocking it back into the blizzard.

The snow falling and on the ground allowed it to reform as quickly as he could damage it, and it rose with another roar, bigger and stronger than before. A familiar bluish white aura began to pour out of it, and John recoiled as he switched to active Auric Vision to look into its soul. “Grace?”

It picked him up in one huge paw and held him tightly, but not enough to crush, bringing him to its face. John Moved his mask off, slipping it into his inventory. “Grace, it’s me!”

The beast roared at him in response, snowy white eyes held rage and confusion. It dropped him, arms holding its head as a piercing wail sounded from all sides. “No. No no no no. Please. What happened to you Grace?”

The wail grew louder, and several dark silhouettes appeared at the edge of his vision in the blizzard. It picked John up and Cinder flew toward them to intervene, flames at her feet charging her forward, but at an order from John she turned incorporeal. “No! That’s Grace! We can’t hurt her!”

“I see no signs of your friend in the creature before you, save for her soul,” Cinder snapped, “you’d rather succumb to the same than fight a transformed monster?”

We have to help her, not fight her! John snapped back, struggling to free his arms as the monster brought him in closer. He slowly sank into its stomach. His health sank into the triple then double digits as the monster crushed him. “Grace, c’mon don’t do this! We’re going to get the others and go home, you and me! I believe that you’re in there!”

At his last the silhouettes in the blizzard vanished, and a rumble reverberated through the yeti. The snow surrounding her fell apart just as his health hit zero, and he landed in a heap beside her when the snow and curse laid on her fell apart completely. Cinder appeared above them to tend to her wounds at his order, and he allowed the darkness creeping around the corners of his vision to close in.

He woke up in a red and white fuzzy blanket on an unfamiliar couch in a golden workshop of toys and food. Jenny sat by the bedside in a cozy stuffed chair, but got up and hugged him when she saw him awake, “we were worried about ya Johnny! When the nonbelievers had you and Grace… we didn’t know what was going to happen. The elves got there in time to get you to safety.”

“Nonbelievers? Elves?” John asked, breaking away from the hug to get a closer look at the cavernous workshop and peaceful lounge area he found himself in. Directly across from the couch sat a door with candy cane handles, and beyond it he saw the blizzard outside.

Before Jenny could reply, a rotund man in a red fluffy coat burst through the door, accompanied by the rest of his friends.

“Oh! Oh! Am I on the nice list this year!?” Abigail asked, giving the portly man a dazzling smile as she helped him lug in an enormous sack of boxes.

“Hohoho! The kindness you give to those who care about you and the perseverance you show in the face of such adversity is admirable, little one,” Santa said, hugging the brunette. He set down his own, larger sack before walking over to John.

“Sorry to bother you, Champion of Gaia, but you aren’t quite who I was expecting. In the past, your kind has helped me protect my workshop from those who seek to destroy it. I am once again asking for your help in protecting my mission of bringing Christmas to those who need it the most,” The jolly old man concluded, and with the ringing of sleigh bells John felt rejuvenated and better than ever before, as though he had just woken up from a deep, restful sleep after eating a good meal, but even that had never provided such warm relief.

“I have so many questions,” John said, looking from his friends to the workshop to the pointy green hats sticking above the railing of the staircase and moving just out of view. “I thought you weren’t even real! You don’t visit the abyssal and mundane children of the world, so what DO you do?”

“The world has gotten bigger, and people believe in me less. These days, I do what I can to bring toys and warm clothes to the children across the world who desperately need them. Those who don’t have parents to provide for them or friends to help them. Those who I can’t bring my gifts to, I use my Christmas magic to improve their lives. In the past few decades, the amount of disbelief against me has coalesced into a **** that seeks to tear down the joy we seek to bring. Please. Help us stop it,” The father elf said, reaching down and putting a hand on John’s shoulder.

“John Newman… I almost didn’t recognize you, you’ve changed so much since you were a child. Didn’t you find it odd that you never crossed paths with Frank Dickinson or any of your bullies during December snow days or Christmas vacation? I know how hard it was for you, and I did what I could to help,” Santa explained, “don’t lose hope, son. Your changes have been for the better, regardless of what has happened to you.”

“And you, Abigail Firenzia. Care to tell me the very first day you had learned to control your curse, and escaped the room you had been bound to your whole life?”

“It was Christmas eve, six years ago,” Abigail said, awe creeping into her voice as she looked at the kind man before her. “How did you do that? Can you get rid of it?”

“I did nothing more than bring out something that was already inside of you. Jenny Hudson, it’s no accident your father’s curse remarkably stalls on Christmas day. Grace Ella Aria, your sister’s concerts have a way of ending early on Christmas, don’t they? And Mandruzzo Revere Morea The Third, your gang-”

“Oddio! That’s enough. I believed in you in the first place, don’t air my dirty laundry,” Mandruzzo interjected, though he quickly placated the big man with a charming grin, “I’m in. Do something good and pay back a debt? Sounds like a deal.”

“You’re not indebted to me, none of you are. That’s not why I do it. Had I known I was bringing new people here I would have asked first but… thank you,” Santa said, hugging Mandruzzo to him. The Italian looked as though he was going to resist, but ultimately gave in and hugged the jolly man back.

“I’ll do it too,” Jenny said, standing up, “I’m going to need my bass though. Or a bass at least.”

Soon enough all of them were clamoring to help the jolly old elf, so he ushered them along with him deeper into the workshop. “I can empower you with my Christmas magic to help you defeat the nonbelievers and their army of snow monsters. Though John here already knows the best way.”

“Belief… I believed that Grace was good enough to overcome the curse placed on her, and it worked? It’s really that easy?” John asked, stepping onto a raised platform on a row of them.

“Having genuine belief and love toward someone is no small feat,” Santa replied, sleigh bells began to jingle as the six of them assembled in front of him on red pedestals with white trim. The same green and red spark that brought them to the North Pole encircled them, imbuing them with Christmas magic. “Now, I want you to share those good feelings with anyone who seeks to tear this place down. Have fun and help each other!”

Abigail still glowed with flames atop her head, but in her hands snow collected into a ball that she threw at Jenny. The rockstar had an appropriately festive bass, and blew away the snowball by merely humming a carol. Amy’s tamer pelts turned an arctic white, and the pressure her beast’s presence held on her mind shrunk. The images on Grace’s stickers changed so that they were of mistletoe and reindeer. Mandruzzo’s bubbles solidified and hardened into ornaments. Candy Cane patterns swirled around John’s guns, and when he pulled the trigger, hot chocolate fired out of the end.

“So, what’s the plan, Santa?” John asked, creating cups out of Mana Construct and shooting hot chocolate into them for everyone to enjoy.

“Tonight, I’m going to start my journey around the world. You defend my workshop in my absence, and when I come back on the New Year,