The train trip was spent pondering how to earn the remaining 470,000 bells they needed for the boat. Expectedly, it was a long, quiet ride home... Rover wasn't even there to brighten their spirits.
After selling their fruit at Re-Tail, they decided to retreat to The Roost, hoping some hot drinks would stimulate their brains.
"Coo... Thank you..." Brewster said, handing the tray of drinks off to Isabelle. The rest of the gang was seated at the nearby table.
Everyone got their usual - mochas for Lolly, Rosie, and Isabelle; the house blend for Bam; and blue mountain for Digby. On any other occasion, their favorite drinks on a cold day would cheer them up without fail. After today's events, however, not even Brewster's perfect coffee could pull them out of their depression.
The group exchanged looks with each other, each set of eyes seeming to ask "Well, do you have any ideas?" But no answers...
The mood in the room was tense, the only sound being the squeaking coming from Brewster cleaning his coffee cups. To lighten the mood, Isabelle brought out the music box that K.K. had given her for her birthday. She opened it, letting the cute music fill the quiet room. She even untied her bell ribbon and started shaking it in time to the song.
It seemed to work. It was faint, but she could tell her friends were enjoying the break from the silence.
As the song ended, the door slammed open. Someone none of them recognized entered the store. Not too unusual - the cafe would often get visitors from out of town. But this visitor seems to have come in for something other than a hot drink...
The stranger, a beautiful white wolf, headed straight for Isabelle.
"Is that bell ribbon yours?" the stranger asked, skipping the introductions.
"Y-Yes?" Isabelle responded meekly. This stranger gave off a vibe similar to Ankha - an air of superiority, and a gaze that could make you shrink.
"May I borrow it for a second?"
Isabelle nodded nervously. "Just b-be careful with it, it's a keepsake from my mother..."
She handed her ribbon over to the wolf with a shaky paw. It definitely wasn't the first time something like this happened - people always seemed to be interested in her signature bell ribbon. To her knowledge, she had the only one in existence. For all she knew, it could be a one of a kind item.
The strange, snow-colored wolf used the ribbon to tie up her hair, and then pulled out a pocket mirror to examine the results. She looked at herself from several different angles and struck a bunch of different poses. Isabelle tightly gripped her chair in anxiety - she didn't like having strangers play with her ribbon, much less a stranger as intimidating as this one.
After about a minute of this, the white wolf finally turned back to Isabelle. The secretary relaxed a bit, assuming that the stranger was satisfied and about to return her treasure to her. But...
"This ribbon is just exquisite!" the wolf said. "I'm sorry, I was so enraptured by its beauty that I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Whitney."
"Um, n-nice to meet you, Miss Whitney," Isabelle said meekly. "Um, so may I have my ribbon back now?"
"Oh...right..." Whitney paused for a bit, seemingly in thought. "Well, I'll just come out and say it - I really like this accessory. I NEED this accessory. And I'm willing to pay five hundred thousand bells in exchange for this accessory."
The rest of the group, who had, up to this point, been trying to ignore Whitney and her intense gaze, suddenly perked up at this tidbit of information. 500,000 bells was more than they needed to pay off the boat. But was it worth it?
Digby seemed to think so.
"We accept," he said, jumping up, much to Isabelle's horror.
"Digby!" his sister cried out in protest.
"Sis, we need this money. This will, in all likelihood, be the only chance we'll get to save the day."
"But...my ribbon...mom..."
"Sis...we all need to make sacrifices. Think of the mayor!"
"I...I..." Isabelle struggled to form an argument, but her struggle to hold back her tears made it hard to think. Deep down, she felt he was right - that this was their only way out of a tense situation. Being responsible for getting them into this situation in the first place made it only fair that she sacrifice her most prized belonging.
Reluctantly, Isabelle relented, slumping back into her seat.
"Excellent!" Whitney said gleefully. She dug around in her pocket and handed a huge sack of bells to Digby - 500,000 total. The transaction complete, she skipped out the door and disappeared into the snow.
Digby counted the bells and, sure enough, it totaled to 500,000. They now had enough to pay off the boat, and a little extra, too!
...So why does everyone look sad? he wondered, noticing the depressed looks of his companions. Isabelle had her face buried in her paws; the rest stared down into their drunks.
"Well," he said, with strained enthusiasm. "We finally have the money!" No one said anything - they continued staring at their respective depressed reflections in their coffee. "...Should we get going?"
"Sorry, I-I have to run to the little girls' room for a bit..." Isabelle said, fleeing.
"O-Okay, sis. Make it quick! Don't want to keep Kapp'n waiting, heh."
As soon as Isabelle was out of earshot, the others at the table spoke up.
"Bro, that was harsh," Bam said.
"Yeah, way to be a scrooge, Digby..." Rosie added.
Digby felt a little annoyed. "Did you guys have any better ideas on how to raise the money?"
"Well, no, but..." Rosie started.
"But what?" Digby felt a little frustrated. He just solved all of their problems, and this is how they react? He turned to Lolly. "You're with me on this one, aren't you Lolly?" Surely, she must see that there was no other way-
"No," she responded.
"Huh?"
"Digby, you just traded one tragedy for another," Lolly explained. "Sure, the Mayor will have a happy Toy Day...but Toy Day comes once a year, whereas you've just given away a priceless, one-of-a-kind artifact from Isabelle's life."
All three of them disagreeing with him served to infuriate him further. But he still wasn't entirely sure who or what he was mad at: them, for complaining about the decision he made, or Isabelle for being so dramatic about this, or...himself...for forcing his own twin sister to sell her most beloved item...
He finally realized the mistake he'd made.
"...We gotta get that ribbon back," he said.
"WHOO!" Rosie cheered. "Operation: Get Back Isabelle's Ribbon is a-go! But...where'll we find that lady?"
"Coo..." Brewster, who had been eavesdropping this whole time, decided to chime in. "The last train before the station closes for Toy Day leaves in three minutes..."
"Three minutes..." Digby said. That might be just barely enough time to get there. Without even picking up and putting on his coat, the brown dog sprinted out the door and into the freezing snow.
"Digby, wait!" Lolly cried as she and the others hurriedly put their warm clothes on. "Isabelle, you there? We're heading to the station!" she called out as she ran out the door with Rosie and Bam.
Isabelle, who hadn't actually went to the bathroom and instead ran around the corner to cry, heard the entire conversation. From her friends' support, to her brother's anger, and to his subsequent decision to run out into the cold without his jacket, in hopes that the few seconds he saved in not putting it on would allow him to reach the station in time. Isabelle felt tears coming to her eyes again, but for a different reason this time... Quietly, she picked up and dusted off her brother's coat, and followed her friends to the train station.
There was no train in sight as Digby approached the train station. He paused to catch his breath.
Did...did I make it in time? he thought, panting heavily from sprinting all that time. He scanned the area. To his despair, he saw a trail of smoke leading from the train station, off to the city limits. The train was long gone. Digby dropped to his knees. He felt hopeless, depressed...and cold!
"Brrrrr!" he shivered. He suddenly realized that in his rush to get to the train station, he'd forgotten his coat. Cold air seemed to strangle him; he started losing feeling in his arms and legs. Freezing and exhausted from his sprint, Digby was forced to lie there, with nothing but the cold winter storm to keep him company.
Well, that and...
Jingle jingle jingle
He could swear he could hear a jingling sound somewhere.
"Uh, hey, you all right, kid?"
Digby looked up at the source of the jingling and the voice. It was some sort of brown reindeer, dressed in an odd red tunic and hefting a huge sack behind his back.
"W...Wha?" was all Digby could muster.
"You must be freezing out here in that get-up. What's say we take this conversation inside the nice, warm train station?" the reindeer said, helping the dog to his feet and walking him to the building.
"OMG GUYS, LOOK!" Rosie shouted fearfully as they approached the train station.
Bam arrived at the scene shortly after, followed by Lolly and Isabelle. "How..." Bam panted. "How did you get so fast, Rosie?!"
"Never mind that," she said. "Look at this!" she gestured towards a Digby-shaped hole in the ground, complete with a set of doggy footprints leading into it. But Digby was nowhere to be found...
"Oh dear," Lolly said. "It seems Digby collapsed here."
"That's not the weird part, though!" Rosie said. "The tracks just stop at that hole!"
"Are you saying..." Bam started getting nervous.
Rosie nodded. "Ghosts!" she declared. "I remember hearing stories about them roaming around at night, snatching innocent people...and eating them!"
Bam and Isabelle screamed in terror.
Lolly sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "Okay, first of all, there's no such things as ghosts; that's probably just Wisp you've been hearing about," she explained. "Second, Digby didn't just 'disappear', he's right there next to that burglar!" She gestured towards Digby, collapsed in front of a shady looking figure carrying a huge sack of presumably stolen goods behind his back. It took a few seconds, but she and the rest of the gang realized what she just said.
"AHHH, DON'T WORRY BRO, WE'RE COMING TO SAVE YOU!" Isabelle screamed, running to confront the burglar.
"Urgh..." Digby came to his senses shortly after the reindeer dragged him into the train station. He shivered a bit, still feeling a little cold, but a lot better than when he was freezing outside.
"You all right there, buddy?" the reindeer asked.
"Yeah, thanks to you." Digby paused, taking in the reindeer's strange fashion sense. At first glance, he looked like some whack job burglar, what with the huge sack behind his back. But on closer inspection, he realized who it was. "Jingle!"
The reindeer blushed. "Hehe, yep, that's me! Jingle, the black-nosed reindeer!"
"A-ah, I'm so sorry for holding you up. You must have a lot of work to do!"
"Oh, it's no problem! I still have lots of time to deliver all the presents!" he said cheerfully. "Yup, as long as my legs are functioning, I'll be able to do my job!"
Suddenly, a battle cry could be heard coming from outside the train station.
"AHHH, DON'T WORRY BRO, WE'RE COMING TO SAVE YOU!" it said.
"Isabelle...?" Digby asked no one in particular.
Indeed, the secretary burst into the train station shortly after.
"Well, hello there, miss secretary!" Jingle said. But Isabelle was having none of it.
"G-Get away from my brother!" she yelled, running up to him with a raised fist. "YAHHHHH!" Without letting the reindeer explain himself, Isabelle socked him in the face as hard as she could.
"YEOWCH!" Jingle yelled, recoiling backwards in pain from the blow. His sack of presents served to throw him off balance, sending him crashing to the ground. A sickening snap could be heard ringing throughout the room. "ARGH, MY LEG!" he yelled, cradling his freshly broken leg.
"SIS!" Digby yelped, rushing to Jingle's side. "What'd you do that for?!"
Isabelle stood there, her fist dumbly frozen in place where she had struck the reindeer, confused as to why her brother was helping the burglar. The rest of the gang burst in to the small room shortly after.
"Dang girl, nice right hook!" Rosie commented, fistbumping Isabelle's still-frozen-in-midair paw.
"We should spar sometime!" Bam added.
Lolly and Isabelle, on the other hand, were busy inspecting the downed reindeer.
"Oh my..." Lolly said, realizing who he was shortly before Isabelle did.
"Oh my gosh, Jingle!" Isabelle joined her brother at his side. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
"Owwww ow ow!" Jingle said, attempting to stand. He obviously couldn't, at least not without unbearable pain.
Rosie and Bam finally understood the gravity of the situation as well. They both rushed to Jingle's side, across from the siblings.
"JINGLE! JINGLE, STAY WITH US!" Rosie yelled, grabbing the poor reindeer's shoulders and shaking him vigorously. "WALK AWAY FROM THE LIGHT!"
"DON'T WORRY GUYS, I KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Bam said, motioning for Rosie to scoot over. He puckered up and moved his lips towards Jingle's, intending to attempt CPR for the first time in his life, without any sort formal training aside from "seeing it on TV once or twice".
Jingle realized what that idiot was about to do, and tried as hard as he could to push him away, but he was still in too much pain to put up much of a struggle. Luckily, Lolly stepped in, yanking Bam away.
"Guys, step back and give him some space. It's just a broken leg and black eye. I can take care of it!" Lolly said, taking out the train station's emergency first-aid kit. She tended to the reindeer's wounds, making a makeshift splint and ice pack and applying them to the appropriate places.
"Sis..." Digby said, preparing to lecture her about how it was wrong to randomly punch strangers in the face.
"Ehehe, actually, I'll have to take the blame for this one, Digby," Lolly piped up after telling Jingle to hold the ice pack over his shiner. "I might have insinuated that Jingle was a burglar to everyone..."
Digby's eyes widened in surprise. So Lolly messed up for once? I guess even she has those moments sometimes... he thought. Then, he smiled, thinking how sweet it was of his sister to come to his 'rescue' like that.
"B-But still, I'm the one who ultimately did the deed..." Isabelle said with a sad look on her face. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Jingle thought for a moment. "Well, I can't quite deliver these presents with my broken leg..." he hinted, gesturing towards the sack of presents he dropped.
"Got it!" Isabelle replied, slinging the sack behind her back and preparing to head out.
"Wait!" Jingle said. "You'll need a Santa suit and hat!"
"No problem, we've got one right here!" Rosie said, moving in to rip off the reindeer's clothes to give to Isabelle. Lolly slapped her hand away.
Jingle ignored what had just transpired, instead telling Isabelle to pick one up at the Able Sister's store.
"Just tell them that Jingle sent you, and they'll give it to you for free," he explained.
"Right," Isabelle responded, heading outside. She paused at the train station door, mentally listing the things she still had to do before Toy Day ended. Pick up the Santa suit, deliver the presents, then...oh my gosh! Her eyes widened. My bell ribbon! And...the boat...
The bell ribbon, she decided, was a lost cause. If Digby didn't have it, that meant that he either missed the train, or he made it, but Whitney refused to return it. Which she had every right to do, as you can't really force someone to return something they purchased. The boat, on the other hand... Deep down, she also believed it to be a lost cause. Even now that they had the money with a few hours to spare, the odds that the new boat would arrive in time were slim to none. She had to try, though. And the faster she delivered those presents, the sooner they could go to the docks and fill out the paperwork for the new boat. With renewed determination, she pressed on towards the Able Sisters' store to pick up a Santa suit.
A/N: SORRY! Been really busy for the past like, year lol. It has also occurred to me that in the span of over two years, the story hasn't even advanced five days! Heck, it's been stuck on Toy Day for like, a year and a half by now! I know, I knooooow, I originally said Toy Day was gonna be about two to three chapters. From the looks of it, though, Toy Day's gonna go on for one or two more chapters...I was thinking just one more, but as you've seen, I'm terri-bad at estimating apparently lol.
Anyway, I've made a sort of resolution to finish the Toy Day arc before the ACTUAL Toy Day this year lmao. Then maybe I can finally move the story forward... As fun as it is to write for Rosie, Bam, and Lolly, I sorta also wanted to write about my other villagers. And geez, Isabelle and Digby haven't even made any money towards their new house yet!
As always, any thoughts/criticisms/reviews would be much appreciated!
