Snow Miser and Nina began loading up Nina's plane the next morning. Tingler carefully approached the aircraft. Seeing his hesitation, Nina assured him, "It won't hurt you."
Snow put a suitcase in. "Yeah, and Nina's the best pilot in the whole world. We won't have any trouble, weather permitting."
Nina smiled at her fiancé. "You flatter me, Snow God."
Snow Miser gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's true, angel."
Tingler watched the scene, his eyes softening. Clearing his throat, he stated, "Oh, I'm not afraid. I was wondering, that is, if you'll permit me, Lady Nina...May I touch the plane?"
"Yeah, go for it," Nina replied, closing the hatch after all the luggage was loaded.
The Sound Imp gingerly touched the side of the emerald green plane with his hand. Snow looked at Nina and shrugged. The couple was slightly confused at his solemn interest in the aircraft. "Have you seen one before?" Nina asked.
"Yes, many of them, but none like this. This one has a story. Many do, but not like yours."
Nina suspected that the citizens of the Forest of Burzee had heard about her first journey to the North Pole and about the crashes. Her first instinct was to look at Snow Miser to see his reaction. She generally avoided talking about that part of their history, fearing it would upset her lover.
"I guess you guys know about all the stuff that went on," Snow mentioned to Tingler.
"Not everything. I know that Lady Nina flew to the North Pole, and you saved her life several times. This plane is a connection between you two, and it is awe-inspiring to be able to touch a part of your story."
Nina sighed in relief. "Yep. My plane is pretty special to me." She laid her hand on it, close to where Tingler had his. He quickly moved his hand off of the plane.
"Are you sure you're both alright with me going with you?" Tingler asked.
"Of course," Nina replied.
"The more, the merrier," Snow added, "but if you start getting air sick, don't throw up on us. We probably should take a bag or two, shouldn't we, sugarplum?"
"That would be a good idea. I'll go in and get a couple. I need to check and see if we have everything, anyway." With that, Nina went inside the ice castle and returned with some paper bags. "We're all ready," she announced.
"Now we just gotta pick up Hothead, and we'll be set," Snow Miser said as he got in the plane.
As soon as the three of them were strapped inside the aircraft, Nina took off and flew to Heat Miser's. Getting out, she said, "I'll be right back."
Nina knocked on Heat Miser's front door. He opened it and said, "I need a few more minutes."
He tried to hide a worried expression, but Nina saw right through his mask. She followed him inside, where he was packing a suitcase. "Heat..." Her voice was gentle and full of compassion.
"I know. I know. I should have had this done by now. It'll only take a minute."
Nina laid a hand on his arm. "It will be okay."
The gesture made Heat Miser stop packing and stare at her.
"I won't let anything bad happen to us," she assured him. "If anyone tries to hurt any of you while we're there, they'll have to deal with me." She helped him finish packing.
"I...I thought about not going," Heat admitted as he closed the suitcase. "That's why I didn't get this done sooner. I kept going back and forth about it."
"I'm glad you decided to go. It means a lot to me that you'll be there with us."
"It does?" Heat asked, surprised.
"Of course. You're the brother I never had, and I love you. Don't worry about a thing; everything will turn out okay."
As they left the castle, Heat said, "Hey, don't mention any of this to my brother. The last thing I need right now is him mocking me."
"I won't, though I doubt he'd do that."
They got to the plane, and Heat sat in the back next to Tingler. When Nina buckled up, she asked, "Is everyone ready?"
After the three said yes, Nina took off, and they began their journey.
Five minutes later, Snow Miser playfully whined, "I'm bored."
Nina shook her head and smiled. "There's some books in the bag by your feet."
"Why don't we all sing a song?" Snow suggested.
"If you start singing, I'm going to throw you out of this plane," Heat warned.
Tingler turned pale but stayed quiet.
Snow roared with laughter. "I'd like to see you try!"
"If you guys don't behave, I'll turn this airplane around, drop you off, and go to Southtown without you two. Tingler and I can go by ourselves," Nina said.
"I-I-I'd r-rather..." Tingler stuttered, nervously.
Heat looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "What's with you?"
"Please, don't hurt me!" Tingler cried out. He covered his face in fear.
"Hey, nobody's going to hurt you," Snow Miser assured him, turning his head to look at the distressed Sound Imp.
"Yeah, we're just kidding around," Heat agreed. "I wouldn't REALLY throw anybody out of a window...well, not this high up, anyway."
This seemed to ease Tingler's mind, and he gradually calmed down.
"I think a song would help pass the time," insisted Snow, trying to provide a distraction.
Heat huffed. "Fine, but nothing corny."
"Oh, but the cornier, the better! Tingler, do you sing?" Snow asked the Sound Imp.
"A little," Tingler replied.
Snow Miser began singing a campfire song, and Nina joined in. Heat grumbled but eventually added his voice, and Tingler sang, quietly, at first. After a couple more songs, Tingler's voice became louder.
Heat shook his head. "It's a good thing I brought earplugs," he said, fishing through a bag he brought. He put his earplugs in and said, "I'm going to take a nap. Try to keep the noise down."
"Just one more song," Snow said, and he, Nina, and Tingler sang together while Heat went to sleep.
"We sound pretty great," Snow Miser said after the three finished the song. "Don't you think so, sugarplum?"
"Absolutely," Nina cheerfully answered. "You know, it's a lot more pleasant to have company rather than to fly alone."
"Have you flown by yourself a lot?" Tingler asked.
"Yes. It wasn't until a couple of months ago that I started taking people with me." Her tone immediately became serious.
Seeing her change in attitude, Snow reached over and squeezed her hand. "I'm a pretty good travel buddy, I hope."
She gave him a small smile. "You are the best, but I'm really happy to have more people with us this time."
Heat Miser mumbled, "I'll be happy when I can get some sleep."
The other three laughed.
At last, the plane was flying near Southtown. The three men were asleep, so Nina was alone with her thoughts. She hoped this trip would go smoothly, but she had learned long ago that nothing ever turned out completely perfect in life.
She woke the others up and told her fiancé and future brother-in-law to change into their human forms. Snow Miser stretched, and Heat yawned. "We're there already?"
"Yep," Nina answered. "Well, almost. We still have a few minutes. I know you two need some time to change."
"Should I close my eyes?" Tingler asked, placing his hands over his eyes.
"No. We just shapeshift a little," Snow replied.
"Yeah, it's not like we become nude or anything," added Heat.
Tingler lowered his hands, relieved, and the Miser brothers transformed into their human selves. Heat Miser had orange hair and amber eyes, and Snow Miser had platinum blonde hair and pale blue eyes.
Nina was used to seeing them like this, so she didn't pay much attention, but Tingler stared at the men in awe. When he kept his gaze on Snow Miser for a little too long, Snow asked, "How do I look, Tingler? Not too bad for an elemental demigod, huh?"
Before Tingler could reply, Heat rolled his eyes and said, "You're so full of it. You better not talk like that down there and blow our cover."
Snow nonchalantly waved his hand. "Relax. Nobody's going to know we're not human."
"Ah, what about me?" Tingler asked.
"They won't give any of us any trouble," Nina answered, approaching her house. "We'll get you some more clothes from the store if we have to. I know Mrs. Claus made you some before we left."
"Yes! They fit perfectly!"
Nina landed the airplane in her yard. Everyone got out, a little disoriented. Tingler fell over, and Snow Miser helped him up. "You okay, there?"
"Y-yes," Tingler stammered, slightly embarrassed. "My legs feel like jelly."
"No kidding. It's been a long flight." He looked over at Nina, who had unlocked the front door and was already starting to bring the luggage inside. "Hey, angel. I'll help you with that."
"Don't rush in and be the hero," Heat said. "I'll help, too." He grabbed his suitcase and stopped before going into the house. A few people were walking by and looking at them.
When Nina came back out, Heat told her, lowering his voice, "There's a bunch of humans staring at us."
"It's okay. People do that every time I come here. I promise they're not staring at you. They're just curious."
"Well, they can go be curious somewhere else." He took the luggage inside.
Nina sighed and picked up another suitcase. She closed the hatch and entered the house, shutting the front door behind her.
The men were already setting their stuff down. Nina said, "I'm really sorry we don't have enough beds. The old one is in the storage room."
"He can have the bed," Heat stated.
"Oh, I couldn't-" Tingler started.
"There's a perfectly good couch right here I can sleep on," Heat interrupted, pointing to the couch.
Nina and Snow Miser set up the bed and got out extra pillows and blankets. "It's not much, but it should be pretty comfortable," Nina said.
"You don't have to apologize, Lady Nina," stated Tingler. "Your home is quite beautiful."
"Well, it's actually Snow Miser's and my home. We're still working on redecorating it." She sneezed.
"Bless you, angel," Snow told her, coming in from the kitchen. "Looks like we have to dust again."
"That can wait until later. I'd like to make a few stops today."
Heat Miser sat down on the couch. "Have fun."
"I want you two to go with us."
"Out there? With all those people?"
"There's not that many people in Southtown," Snow mentioned. "There's nothing to worry about."
With a sigh, Heat got up. "Let's get this over with."
"It will be fun. We're just going to see some people who are very special to me," Nina told him. "Try to relax and have a good time."
"I won't make any promises, but I'll make an effort for your sake."
"I appreciate it. Is everyone ready?"
When the men answered in the affirmative, the four of them left the house.