It's like they've jumped into the sea serpent's mouth. Its gaping mouth was looming and that's all Nayl saw until suddenly there was darkness. It didn't feel like she was eaten though. There's wind in her hair and frost kissing her nose. Somehow they are all still alive and not being split between a sea monster and she-werewolf. How?
Nayl opens her eyes slowly and looks immediately to her left and right. A weak smile shakily appears because she suddenly remembers Cuddles in the Outback "I'm so sorry for what has happened," she whispers when she embraces the elves but they pat her and reassure her. "He died for a good cause. Our lives are devoted to Santa and protecting the North Pole," they glance at each other and step away as they hear muffled pops all around them. "The others are coming now.". "What others?" "Nayl, did you think we were the only Regiment in Santa's army? There are hundreds of us!" They turn their bodies to open up her view to see the others appearing abruptly. "Wow," her voice is hushed as her autumn eyes drink in the surprise occurring all around her. "We can definitely save Christmas then," she says to them as she takes her place standing next to Snowflake who is huddled and shaking in the snow. "Or not..." Not everyone is teamed with elves. Some are smiling among the minions with darkness in their eyes.
The ruckus in the workshop is what tears Nayl's attention away from the other humans arriving. She glances down to Snowflake and hoists him up with the help of the others. They can feel his body trembling and his respirations plummet. His face and skin is becoming ashy and gray. "He's dying. Hurry, let's get him in here quickly!" Everyone is rushing toward the door of the workshop and so the elves apply a small amount of magic to phase through the wall as to avoid the clutter at the doorway. What they see, however, is not what they expected.
Santa and the Grinch are battling on the floor above, each now holding one half of the yin and yang. Machines around them sputter and malfunction, some falling into a deadened silence. Nayl looks around in shock as her mind's idea of the workshop is betrayed. It's nothing like she imagined; it's worse and she wonders briefly if she chose the right side. Her heart clenches in her chest but when she turns to the elves she realizes that she had made the correct decision and that they are the ones who have brought out a better side to her. If there is one thing that Nayl has learned in her young life it's loyalty. Mother raised her to be as such and damn if she will fail her now on Christmas Eve.
The magic threads through her, and Nayl's whole body feels more alive than it ever has before. "Nayl! Watch out!" Peppy shouts and points at an animated clown doll with jagged teeth. The telekinesis of a demon is holding it before hurling it at her. It bites the air, wanting her. She quickly dives away and grunts when she hits the floor. Lifting her hand she tries to utilize her magic to lessen the evil of it, but the yin and yang are equal. Half of the doll smiles as most toys do while the other remains hellish. The two halves of the clown begin slapping each other in vengeful fits, completely forgetting about Nayl.
Grasping the opportunity, she scrambles to her feet and runs to Snowflake just as he begins draws in a final breath. "No!" They need him. Her hands rest onto his chest and she tries with all her might to focus. The magic seeps from her fingertips into his body. It drains her slightly as life begins to return to him. She managed to try at the last possible second. His heart begins to thump in his chest again and color returns to his skin. The rosiness of his cheeks pops and his eyes open suddenly. Air is sucked into his lungs as though he had been drowning, his hands reaching into the air for a split second before gaining control of himself. "What... What's going on here?" He looks around at the chaos happening before finding Nayl's eyes. "Thank you," the girl smiles in return before helping him to his feet. "We can't do this without you, Snowflake. I'm just happy I got to you before you were gone." She doesn't know if she would've been able to bring him back to life once he had died.
The wound is mended and the blood dried on his skin. His clothes, however, bear the evidence of his mortal wound. "Let's get jingling then!" It's strange to be on his feet again and to have strength in his muscles. He flexes everything curiously, wiggling his fingers and toes with a broad smile on his face. His Regiment cheers for a quick moment before directing their attention on the war at hand. "Captain Snowflake is back in action! Come on, boys! Let's show them what we've got!" Nayl smiles and pulls the elf into a bear hug but then looks up at magic bursts between the Grinch and Santa. "I don't want to destroy the workshop or any part of the North Pole. We have to spare as much as we can. It's the night before Christmas and we don't want to lose everything." She is more or less thinking aloud as her eyes dart from one minion to another. The other humans are breaking in as well, some siding with the elves and others with the minions. Nayl bites her lip as she contemplates a way to salvage what they can of this strange, modernized workshop. She isn't sure if the elves enjoy machinery taking their jobs or if they enjoy it. Her heart is in her chest as she teeters back and forth until she finds herself in the grip of a demon. Its nails sink into her arms and she yells. Blood dribbles down as she struggles. Sugarplum intervenes, however, by grabbing a large candy cane and hooking it around the minion's throat. With a fueled effort the elf dislodges the enemy and they proceed into their own private battle. Swirls of black and white combat against each other and Nayl watches for a split moment before tending to her own wounds. The BB gun shot wound and the claw marks are quickly healed. Learning from her injuries, she blasts herself and the Jingle Regiment with a defensive power. Each of them develops dermal armor; all but Snowflake, Nayl, and Sugarplum obtain extra thick skin. Snowflake develops armor of shells, Sugarplum a layer of hardened scales, and Nayl bone plates with spikes along her back and arms. They all admire the help with the exception of Sugarplum who is too preoccupied with the battle at hand. He animates rolls of ribbon and entirely covers and ties the demon.
"Frosty!" Suddenly, the elf is lifted above their heads with his limbs spread in every direction. They can see the pain in his face as he strains through clenched teeth, his eyes clamped shut. The minion is inducing pain, stabbing into Frosty with mental knives and cackling into the busy air. Nayl cups her hands to her mouth and looks at the others. "I don't know what I can do!" "Just try something and the magic will take on what it needs to! Save him!" Hurling her hands in the demon's direction a thunderous clap of white magic shoots forward in attempt to negate his power. Much to her dismay it meddles with the black magic but doesn't entirely stop it. What had been stabbing, unbearable pain for Frosty is now relentless tickling. "I can't totally stop it, it seems," she frowns as she watches Frosty gasp for air between huge bouts of laughter.
Shouting from above grabs her attention briefly and she sees Santa and the Grinch still battling. Their voices ring loud as their magic swirls and dances. She wants to run up there, but there is so much happening below between the minions and elves. That's when she sees Weir clambering up the staircase to reach the two Christmas leaders. Two threads of magic crackle toward him and embed into his body. Confused, Nayl glances between the two battles - the Grinch and Santa, and the elves and demons - and hurls another bout of magic toward an approaching group of demons. It's a defensive shield that physically shoves them backwards long enough for her to look back up to the Grinch. Her powers try to meddle with the elves as it shoots toward the Grinch, trying to negate the darkness of his own powers, even if it only weakens him/his dark magic slightly. She can only hope that it will be enough or that others will seize the opportunity as well.
There's a loud BANG as Nayl's shield wall is broken through. "Shit!" She has to turn her back to Weir, Santa, and the Grinch. While some elves and demons flee to their leaders, most still remain on the lower floor trying to defeat their opponents. Demons are using their destruction to maim and harm the elves. Pieces of the roof are tumbling down, machinery is being beaten and stopped. Everything in here is a storm of mayhem. Nayl surges toward a couple of the demons. Some try to jump on her, bite her, claw her, but her armor spares her soft skin below. The protruding bone spikes along her arms and back cut some of her enemies. They learn quickly, however, and reconsider trying to attack her as they have previously. "Armor, armor, she has armor. Can't bite." They are talking amongst themselves but never look away from her and the elves in formation around her.
A smile touches the girl's lips as another idea springs to mind. Shooting white magic toward one of the large machines, she tries with all her might to animate it. The conveyor belt rips and comes off its rail like a snake. The Jingle Regiment tries to distract the demons as the belt comes flying forward and wraps around a small mass of the minions. It pulls them toward the machine and crams them into the loading inlet before shutting all entrances and exits that it can, trapping them inside. "Now, stop!" She shouts, wanting the destruction to end but reveling in this new power to control the world around her, to breathe life into animate and inanimate things, to help those that need and deserve it.
She can only hope that the minions trapped in the machine won't escape and that the ones still actively on the floor, staring at her and Weir, will think they are on the losing side and resign. She has tried to weaken the Grinch and she has tried to take care of the battle underfoot to the Christmas leaders. Nayl can only hope that it's enough, that Christmas will be saved.
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