*I don't own Kingdom Hearts, The Polar Express, or any of their characters.
"Have you really met ghosts?" asked Daryl skeptically.
Turning his head towards the boy, Sora nodded, "Of course! There was Zero..."
"Zero? What kind of name is that for a ghost?"
Smirking at the fond memories as he faced the front of the train once more, Sora replied, "The ghost of a dog."
"Your dog?"
"Nope."
His face showing his curiosity, Daryl inquired, "Then whose dog was he?"
Before Sora could answer, however, a light reappeared where the bum had vanished into the snow. "Heeey! Are you two still there?" came the bum's voice.
"Yeah, we're still here!" Sora shouted back, waving his right arm.
As the light grew closer, the two boys noticed that it was moving rather oddly. A couple of seconds later, it was apparent as to why- the bum had somehow acquired a pair of skis and was trudging through the snow with them already attached to his feet. Daryl and Sora shared a confused look.
"Uh…" Daryl began, however the bum cut him off.
Somehow managing to turn around, the bum ordered, "Come on, kid. Flip my shoulders." Reaching out a hand, he added, "Grab my lily." As Daryl did grabbed the bum's hand and climbed onto his shoulders, the bum then turned to Sora. "You got a way of keeping up with me?" he inquired.
Smiling, Sora activated the ability he had gained during his Mark of Mastery exam (he never could remember what it was called… he knew that it was flow-something, though) as he replied, "Don't worry about me. So, where're we headed?"
"Whoa," came the faint sound of Daryl's voice as his jaw dropped, which made Sora almost laugh as he recalled the first time Heavyn had seen it (which was actually the second time he and Riku had activated it in her presence- the first time she had her eyes closed tightly, in order to not see the ground rushing toward them as they surfed down the roof of Notre Dame).
Giving Sora an admiring look, the bum answered, "We gotta hightail it to the hog, pronto."
"The hog?" asked Daryl.
Looking back up at him, the bum responded, "The engine, you tenderfoot." As he started to trudge forward, he continued, "We gotta make the engine before we hit Flat Top Tunnel."
Returning back to normal (seeing as how trudging through the snow wasn't very fast) Sora walked beside the other two. "How come?"
"So many questions," the bum muttered with a soft exasperation. "There is but one inch of clearance between the roof of this rattler, and the roof of Flat Top Tunnel," he explained.
Sora felt his face paling. Quickly connecting to the X-blade and Heavyn, he thought with panic filling his mental voice, "Heavyn, is it true that Flat Top Tunnel is only an inch taller than the train?!"
"Oh, so you're with the bum now, huh?" came Heavyn's amused reply.
Feeling one of his eyes twitching, Sora shot back, "Yes. Now, is it true?"
"Not only that, but the edge surrounding the entrance to Flat Top Tunnel looks like a demonic creature that's about to eat you with the way the icicles are hanging down," came the dreaded confirmation.
If his face got any paler, Sora was sure that he'd resemble one of the many ghosts in Halloween Town. While he as a Keyblade Master could survive many things, slamming into the roof of a tunnel at the speed of a moving train definitely wasn't one of them.
As if sensing his panic (come to think of it, she probably was), Heavyn's voice reassured, "Don't worry Sora, trust the bum on this. He knows what to do."
"If you say so," Sora responded as the train started to move uphill.
"I do say so," Heavyn retorted. "Besides, if what I suspect is correct, then he's done this before."
Sending his acknowledgement of that fact, Sora cut the connection as the bum and Daryl started to slide backward. Taking a careful step towards the side in order to get out of their way, the Keyblade Master prepared himself for anything.
It was a good thing he did, too, for as soon as the bum reached the very end of the train Daryl promptly fell off his back. Sora activated the special ability he had displayed earlier and grabbed him before he could fall off. The bum gestured, and Sora (understanding what he had wanted done) placed Daryl in front of him while making sure that each of his feet was on a ski.
As one, all three males prepared themselves as the car they were on finally angled downward. Despite the danger that awaited them, Sora couldn't help thinking that rushing down towards the front of the train while jumping from car to car was kinda fun.
"Alright, there's only one trick to this," the bum finally shouted over the noise of the train as the dreaded Flat Top Tunnel finally came into sight (and boy, was Heavyn correct in saying that it looked like a demonic creature). "When I say 'jump'…"
Sora instantly knew what was going to happen next as he saw the car containing coal coming up, and prepared himself.
"… you JUMP!" the bum finished, throwing Daryl off of his skis. At Daryl yelled with surprise and a touch of fear, Sora jumped and grabbed onto one of his flailing hands. Together, they landed amongst the coal as everything was thrust into darkness.
When they finally stopped sliding, the two found themselves in the engine room with an amused Riku and Nona looking on.
Riku almost laughed at the sight of Sora's frazzled expression. Obviously, he had a tough time trying to deal with someone who was like him in a lot of ways… this was only more pronounced as he continued to lay amongst the coal while Daryl managed to get himself out.
As Daryl and Nona started talking (well, more like Daryl interrogating Nona), Riku walked over to his best friend and offered a helping hand. Taking it, Sora grumbled something that involved crazy old bums.
Hearing this, Riku couldn't help himself. "Have fun up there?"
If looks could kill, then the silverette would've been dying a painful death if Sora's glare was any indication.
"Remind me NEVER to do that again," Sora vowed.
Laughing, Riku responded, "Well, I honestly can't promise that, Sora, with your tendency to dive in head-first into things…"
"It's true!" the X-blade piped up through the mental connection, sticking its own two-cents in.
"Shut up, both of you," muttered Sora. "Riku, can I count on you to keep an eye on Daryl so I can get back to my duties?" he asked in a normal voice, ignoring the X-blade's snickering.
Grinning, Riku quipped, "I can keep an eye on you, can't I?"
Other than giving his best friend a flat look, the spiky-haired Keyblade Master didn't respond to the quip. "Daryl," he called out, drawing the two children's attention, "since I know you'll be safe with Riku, I'm going to be heading back to the passenger cars. Will you promise me that you'll listen to what Riku tells you to do?"
"I promise," Daryl responded, nodding.
At this, Sora smiled a half-smile. "Alright then, I'll see you later." With this, he left the engine car. As he did so, Riku studied the boy who (according to Heavyn) was the star of this particular story. Sure enough, there were all the signs that Daryl was just like Sora…
"Hey, where's Heavyn? Wasn't she with you?" inquired said boy, interrupting Riku's musings.
"She's with the conductor," replied Nona. Suddenly, a loud caterwauling filled the air.
"Oh, boy… the engineer must be pulling his assistant's beard again," remarked Riku.
Daryl looked at him as he curiously asked, "Where are they?"
"They're at the front of the train fixing the light," answered Nona.
"Oh."
An awkwardness filled the engine room then. It was only broken when Nona turned towards Riku and asked, "Is it alright if I show Daryl around here?"
Considering this for a moment, Riku then nodded. "As long as you don't mess with the important functions, I don't see why not."
As the two children gave him a big smile and scampered towards the various switches and levers, Riku connected with the X-blade and its Wielder.
"What's up?" came Heavyn's voice.
Figuring it was easier to just go for the blunt route, Riku asked, "Heavyn, did anything significant happen when Daryl and Nona were in the engine?"
"Oh, crap… well, Chris and I are headed up in that direction anyway, so I'll be there shortly. In the meantime, be prepared for an almost panic attack from Nona."
"Why would she do that?"
"You'll see in a couple of seconds. Signing off now!"
"Heavyn!" Riku called through the link, however he had already been disconnected.
"…. ain!" came a disembodied voice.
"Who was that?" inquired Daryl.
Shrugging, Nona answered, "Maybe it was the engineer…"
All three of them walked towards the window closest to the front of the train.
This time the engineer's voice was clearer, however his message was a disturbing one. "Stop the train!"
"Uh-oh," muttered Riku. Turning towards Nona, he quickly asked, "You want to do it, or would you rather I did it?"
"I got it!" came the answer as she bounded towards the brake.
When she put her hands on the brake, however, Daryl interrupted, "Are you sure that's the brake?"
"Yes!"
"What about that red lever that looks like the brake?"
"No, that's not it, this is the brake," Nona insisted.
"Are you sure?"
As Nona's face began to fill with doubt at this question, Riku unobtrusively reached for the brake. When she sat back down and put her face in her hands, Riku realized that she had let that doubt confuse her knowledge. Giving Daryl a look that was half chiding and half smart-aleck, he tugged the correct lever.
The train began to quickly slow down, jerking the trio forward. Distantly, they could hear the engineer's assistant once again yelling loud enough to wake the dead. When the Polar Express fully stopped, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, now that the train's stopped, you wouldn't happen to know why, would you Heavyn?" he remarked.
Amusement was transmitted freely through the X-blade's connection as Heavyn sing-songed, "Wait and see! I have to say, though, it's a real doozy."
"Oh, joy," he couldn't help but mutter aloud.