Making Fantasia (KF Prequel): The Nightmare After Christmas

Chapter 20: The Nightmare After Christmas

Chapter 20: The Nightmare After Christmas

"Mel! Melody! Guppy wake up, its Christmas!"

Jak jumped through the portal and ran across the pink carpet. It was Christmas and he was going to celebrate every ounce of it with his baby sister! They were going to jingle-bell-rock it all the way until Jack the skeleton felt their Christmas spirit in Halloween Town!

As Sinbad flumped through the portal, Jak reached for Melody's bedsheets –

-- and found a bloody butterknife. 

"Wha ---?"

Jak staggered into Sinbad. He stared at the knife – it might as well have been Melody's severed head.

Heart racing, he flipped the covers, searching for Melody beneath the sheets. When she wasn't there, he pushed through Sinbad and into the bathroom. The floor was wet. The tub was full. Sparkly gunk was clogging the drain.

"Jon!" Sinbad seized his shoulder. "Jon listen – Melody – "

"Titania said she'd check on her –" Jak couldn't think. He couldn't comprehend this nightmare. "She would have texted me if something – "

He stumbled into the bedroom. The knife winked from Melody's pillow. Jak felt sick. His head was burning. Sinbad's voice was foggy as he shook his shoulder –

"Jon – listen to me – Melody isn't here! She -- "

Jak's self-discipline broke. The marine inside him transformed into a blood thirsty pirate.

"Where is Melody?!" He screamed, pinning Sinbad to the wall. Had he his rifle, Jak might have pulled the trigger. "Where is my little sister?!"

Sinbad's heart sank: Moments ago, Jak had been blessed by the king and declared a hero, but now his sole concern was his little sister. In that moment, Jak embodied his father. Sinbad had seen Jim sacrifice foolishly for those he loved, most of all Wendy...his little sister.

So, Sinbad knew how terribly Melody's darkness would hurt her big brother. 

Sinbad led Jak to Pirate's Point. He opened the door, where they found Melody clinging to her grandmother. She hadn't stopped crying. Her cuts were bright pink. Her bruises were bright blue. She was scared to go to the hospital, where doctors would examine the monsters in her head....then make her confront them.

Jak went to his sister. Intent on leaving, he picked her up, but couldn't make it past the Christmas tree. He sat beneath the pine boughs and cradled his little sister, tears twinkling against the Christmas lights.

There is a Christmas carol that says angels may be heard on high.

I have no doubt that is true.

But for some, angles can't be heard on high, until we silence the demons in our hearts.

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sultal's note:

One more chapter. A reward for those who read this little side-quest story.

The return of our astronaut friend. And...her friend.