Chapter 3: Castaway Cove

Later that day, once the operation was finished, Rudolph and Hermey were back in the Toothmobile, driving it out to see as they bid farewell to King Moonracer and the other toys.

"Don't forget us on Christmas!" King Moonracer called out to them.

That evening, all the toys made and prepared by the elves for Christmas Eve were all wrapped up and stored in the toy warehouse as Santa and the Head Elf inspected the last few presents.

"Well, everything seems to be in order here." Santa said as the last of the presents were placed.

"Are we just gonna leave these presents here unattended, sir?" Head Elf asked. "You've heard the news about that horrible Toy Taker."

"Indeed I have." Santa replied. "Which is why I've decided to give them some security, isn't that right, boys?"

The two elves who stood at the front door nodded. "Yes, sir!"

"Good, we can't be too careful with this toy thief on the loose." Santa said as he and the Head Elf left for the castle.

However, as soon as they were gone, the guards failed to notice a certain figure on the roof, unlocking the overhead window.

Rudolph and Hermey were rocked back and forth on the waves as the Toothmobile sailed on.

"Looks like rough weather ahead." Hermey said in concern, noticing the storm clouds forming in the sky. "Maybe we should turn back."

Rudolph sighed. "I'd hate to miss my flying lessons with Clarice."

Hermey smirked. "You mean your 'date', don't you?"

Rudolph's eyes went wide as his cheeks turned red. "Date? I-I didn't say date! Heh, w-we're just hanging out. Yep, just the two of us… all alone… being happy… together." Rudolph laughed nervously before slowing down as he realized Hermey was right. "Alright, it was going to be a date, I guess."

Hermey chuckled. "That doe certainly still has you head over hooves, doesn't she?"

Now Rudolph looked a bit sheepish. "How could you tell?"

Hermey shrugged. "By that look on your face, obviously. Why, everyone in Christmas Town knows about you two."

"They do?" Rudolph asked.

"Sure." Hermey replied. "They've been talking all year about what a cute couple you are. Even Clarice's father, Cupid, has come to like you." He sighed reminiscently. "But I will say that I do know how you feel, pal…"

Flashback

"You see, a while back before I met you, it was graduation day at the elf academy, I had just earned my diploma for dentistry arts. Which was kind of a big deal since I was the only one who ever took that course."

Hermey walked up to the stage, tugging at his shirt collar nervously. This was it, he got his diploma, something he had worked very hard to earn.

However, as he walked up to the stage, he felt his legs almost give out.

Right there at the podium was none other than the Tooth Fairy herself, wearing a sparkling silver dress and her blonde hair tied into a neat little bun.

She was beautiful.

Still, Hermey wasn't completely out of it as he managed to walk up to the podium.

"Congratulations, Hermey!" The Tooth Fairy said cheerfully, handing him his diploma.

As Hermey reached for his diploma, he felt his heart steadily beat faster and faster, until it was almost unbearable.

And as he took the diploma, he felt her fingers brush against his.

It was all too much for him as poor Hermey collapsed, fainting.

"So you mean to tell me you've got a crush on the Tooth Fairy?" Rudolph grinned, both parts surprised and amused.

Hermey blushed a little. "Well, her teeth are perfect." He admitted sheepishly.

Just then, the two heard a loud rumble in the sky and looked up to briefly see a bit of lightning.

"Oh, that's not good." Hermey said as he and Rudolph gazed out at the horrible weather.

Then it hit! The North Pole unleashed it's infamous frozen fury. Yes sir, it was the kind of storm that swallowed ships whole, or sank them into the deep cold unforgiving waters. And Rudolph and Hermey were caught smack dab in the thick of it.

Lightning flashed through the sky as rain and waves pelted the Toothmobile. Hermey had to grip the steering wheel tightly, trying to keep the vehicle on course as Rudolph held his breath in nervousness. But the waves were too powerful as they rocked Toothmobile from side to side.

The two gasped when they noticed they were heading right for a giant iceberg. Hermey tried to steer away, but he couldn't do it on time as they crashed head on into the iceberg. The snow on top of the iceberg then slipped off, collapsing on the Toothmobile and plunging it into the water.

Bits and remains of the Toothmobile came up to the surface as the waves continued to crash. Rudolph breached the surface of the water, gasping for air.

"Hermey?! Hermey, where are you?!" Rudolph shouted, his fear growing as he searched around desperately for his best friend. He then lit up his nose and looked around, using his nose as a search light.

"Rudolph…" The young red-nosed reindeer looked behind him to see a barely conscious Hermey clinging to one of the remains of the Toothmobile. "Swim to shore. Swim to shore." Hermey said weakly before passing out, vanishing beneath the waves.

"Hang on, Hermey!" Rudolph called, swimming over to his friend. Taking a deep breath, Rudolph dove under the water and quickly spotted his friend slowly sinking.

Swimming down, Rudolph grabbed Hermey by the collar of his jacket and began swimming up to the surface.

But before he could reach the surface, he felt something grip his ankle.

Confused, Rudolph looked down to see what appeared to be some sort of creature clinging to his back leg. The creature was fairly human-esc, wearing a thick fur coat and a strange pack that looked big enough to fit a person into it on it's back, it's face obscured by a thick mop of black hair.

The creature then lifted it's head, and Rudolph's eyes widened when he saw it's fish-like features, it's skin a pale green with wide sunken eyes.

The creature then opened its mouth and let out a muffled roar at him, which caused Rudolph's nerves to kick into overdrive. Pulling his leg free, Rudolph kicked the creature in the face before trying to swim to the surface.

He then noticed that the water seemed a lot darker and colder than when he first went under. Lighting up his nose, Rudolph nearly screamed when he saw there were hundreds if not thousands of these creatures all swimming towards him, their hands outstretched and ready to drag him down into the dark depths.

Adrenaline running through his veins, Rudolph swam as fast as he could, carrying Hermey with him as he managed to reach the surface, breaching the water and flying into the air.

Using just enough strength, Rudolph managed to get Hermey onto his back as the elf started to come to.

"Hermey! Are you alright?!" Rudolph shouted over the bellowing storm.

The elf dentist coughed up some sea water. "Y-Yeah," He sputtered, "I'm okay. Mostly."

"C'mon, we need to find land!" Rudolph told him.

Rudolph flew around for a while, shivering from the cold and barely missing some bolts of lightning.

"Land!" Rudolph yelled once he spotted a small island. He then floated down to the island, touching down on the snow.

"Where are we?" Hermey asked.

"Who knows?" Rudolph replied. "And for that matter, who cares? Let's just get out of this storm before those creatures come back!"

Turning back, they saw remains of the Toothmobile washing up on the shore.

Hermey took off his hat, as if he was mourning for a lost loved one. "You were too beautiful to live."

The two then walked away from the shipwreck to look for a place to keep shelter, Rudolph's nose being their only source of light.

And as they came up to a hill of snow, they noticed a wooden sign standing at the top of the hill.

"'Welcome to Castaway Cove." Hermey read the words on the sign.

"'No trespassing," Rudolph continued.

"'Darling?'" They both finished in confusion.

"Halt! Who goes there?!"

The two friends turned to see a small group of gingerbread men dressed like royal guards wobble up to them, pointing their tiny sword at them.

"You're not toys!" One of the gingerbread men said. "Begone, trespassers!"

"W-Wait, you don't understand! We got shipwrecked!" Rudolph tried to explain.

Hermey then pointed over to the right, which made the gingerbread soldiers all see the remains of the shipwrecked Toothmobile.

"Please, if it's not too much trouble, we need some warm and dry shelter from this weather and those… creatures, until we can be back on our way." Hermey said.

The gingerbread soldier sighed. "Very well then, follow me. And do be quick, those qalupalik will be back for leftovers."

Looking back to the shore, Rudolph and Hermey caught a brief glimpse of one of the 'qalupalik' peeking at them before going back under the waves.

Gulping, Rudolph and Hermey quickly went after the gingerbread soldiers.

Clarice stared out at the open ocean by the dock worriedly. They should have been back by now and it was getting late, what was taking them so long?

She then noticed the big storm clouds far out in the ocean, which caused her anxiety to spike. What if they were caught in the storm? What if they crashed? What if…

What if she would never see Rudolph again?

The very thought brought tears to her eyes. She loved him so much, she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

"Clarice?"

The young doe turned to see Donner and Mrs. Donner approached her.

"I-I'm scared." She all but whimpered out, sniffling a bit. "Scared for Rudolph, for Hermey. What if something happened to them? I-I…"

Mrs. Donner gently pulled her into her chest. "Shh, shh. It's alright." She whispered as Clarice began to cry. "I know Rudolph, we both do. And knowing him, he'll find some way to get back home, I just know it."

Donner meanwhile could only look at his wife and his son's girlfriend sadly, feeling just as worried for his son but still feeling the need to be strong for them.

'Come back to us, son.' Donner silently prayed. 'Please come back to us in one piece.'

Thought I'd add a little horror element in there with the qalupalik.