Part One: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

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Los Angeles, California – December 24th, 2049; 11:40p.m.

Christmas.

It had come again to the Gonzalez household.

Only this year felt bittersweet for Jatniel, Brandy, and their five-year-old son, Benjamin "Benji" Gonzalez.

Genevieve was gone. Self-exiled back into the Disneyverse.

The previous Halloween did not pan out as expected, putting her family – particularly Benji and Jatniel – in unforgivable danger. Nearly two whole months passed since, and no sign of the woman they grew to think of as a father, a father-in-law, and a grandfather (despite her full female appearance) was evident.

And yet, that did not stop Brandy and Jatniel from celebrating.

The house was decorated with lights, and the living room was set with a beautifully decorated tree, shimmering in the corner of the dimly lit area. A fireplace was projected to the wall near the tree, via the holo-set. It did nothing to provide any warm to the room – not that it was needed – but it did set the mood for the loving couple that watched it from their couch.

Unfortunately, Jatniel could not shake off the funk of losing Genevieve this year.

"I still can't believe she left like that."

Brandy sighed; she shared her husband's huff but chose not to dwell on it as much as he did. "She made her decision, babe, and it was the right one...for the family. You and Benji could have been killed."

"We weren't in any real danger. I knew she would get us out that mess...I had all the faith in her."

"That's no excuse for her carelessness!"

He noted her defensive tone. "You're glad that she out of our lives?"

She was all too eager to respond with "Yes." However, she stopped herself and considered her feelings – her true feelings.

"No...I'm not in the least bit...not even with Binge being as down as he's been for the last month. He's not even excited for tomorrow."

"Can you blame the lil' guy? He thought the world of his granddaddy. When he woke up that morning after Halloween, he was completely in tears. Not having Genevieve here for Christmas breaks his little heart. God, I wish there was a way to make things right for him."

The sudden ringing of the doorbell jolted them out of their comfort, bringing their conversation to an abrupt conclusion.

Brandy frowned at the circumstance. "It's nearly midnight. Who'd be visiting us this late?"

Jatniel shrugged. He removed himself from the couch and headed for the front door. Answering it, he was welcomed with the surprising appearance of an extremely muscular man with light red hair standing at his doorstep, carrying a half-conscious blond woman in his arms. At his sides were, much to Jatniel's increasing surprise, Anna and Elsa of Frozen – a film he, Brandy, and Benji had seen more times than any of them could count.

"Please let us in." Anna worriedly pleaded to Jatniel. "We think she might be hurt...or worse."

Jatniel, for a lesser term, froze in his star struck of the larger-than-life Disney characters visiting his home on the night of Christmas Eve. He hardly caught on to Anna's request before he permitted them to enter.

Brandy shot up from the couch, once she saw the trio of Disney characters rush inside with the unconscious blonde in the arms of who she recognized as the "Hercules" of Disney fame.

As soon as she managed to shake off the shock from their unexpected arrival, she questioned, "D-Did my father send you all?"

Anna glanced at her strangely. "Your father? Who's...?"

"We weren't sent by anyone. She brought us here." Elsa said, gesturing to the blonde, whose inert body was placed onto the couch by Hercules.

"We were attacked in Arendelle by this wolf...guy...thing!" Anna exclaimed.

"Merlock..." They heard the blonde weakly whisper.

What Jatniel and Brandy figured to be a name muttered by the half-conscious woman tickled in the ears of Elsa: "That was his name. A-At least, I think it was. I heard her say it when she fought him."

"She sounds really hoarse," Jatniel noted, heading into the adjacent kitchen to grab a bottle of freshwater. "What's her name?"

"Leanna." Hercules answered. "We met her on Fantasia. She was returning us to our homes – our first stop being in Arendelle – when this guy Merlock comes out of nowhere and attacks us. It all happened so fast."

Brandy analyzed the body of Leanna, sprawled out on the couch. She appeared to be in her early thirties. Her attire was contemporary in its style: a white tank top worn beneath a black blouse, ripped skinny jeans, and black high-heeled boots.

One striking detail that caught her eye, on the other hand, was a Disneyland cast member nametag pinned on the left breast pocket of her blouse. The name printed on the tag: "Sean."

"I thought you said her name was 'Leanna,'" she inquired to the three Disney characters in her home.

"It is," Elsa stated.

"Then why does her nametag say...?" Brandy stopped in recognition. A woman with two names, one of which happened to be the same as her father, and bore a connection with Disney characters? How could she not have realized it the second she saw the tag? "She's another—"

The doorbell rang again.

"Qué diablos?" Jatniel questionably muttered in his Spanish tongue. "Why're we getting so many guests this late at night?"

Once again, he answered it, finding another pair of women standing at his doorstep – only these were not Disney Princesses. In fact, Jatniel had no clue who they were. Both were statuesque women, standing close to his height. One was another blond, much younger than the unconscious one lying on their couch, with the brightest blue eyes Jatniel ever seen on a human being; she wore a pink-and-white polka-dotted dress, white leggings, knee-high navy blue socks, light brown leather boots, and a brown cardigan sweater. The other woman – slightly older with long black hair and regular blue eyes – dressed as if she were on her way to the gym, with a black sports bra, blue yoga pants, and tennis shoes faded from wear.

It was the raven-haired woman that caught Jatniel off guard with a sudden warm embrace and a kiss to his nose. "So good seein' you again, my boy," she happily exclaimed. "I've missed you!"

Jatniel frowned in his confusion. "Missed me? But...I don't even know who you are!"

The woman smiled with sparkling white teeth that complimented her beautiful fair skin. "Why, Jatniel...it's me...your good ol' papa-in-law...Mister Thomas!"


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